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MAKING HAY while the sun shines are the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Bert
Deyette, Skokomish Valley. Mark mans the tractor and Brad loads the hay
pitched by big brother Lon.
1971.
29
Published in Shelton, Wa. Entered as second class matter at the post office at Shelton, Wa. 98584,
under act of Mar. 8, 1879. Published weekly, except two issues during week of Thanksgiving, at
227 W. Cota. $5 per year in Mason County, $6 elsewhere.
3 Sections -- 20 Pages
10 Cents Per Copy
and John When he completes his six months
of Port in the Mason County Jail, he will
-~d to onebe sent to the Washington
on chargesCorrections Center.
sault. Six
~nee was
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.)°d were
Court
COunt
on
Both Jackman and Wood have
been in jail since their arrest April
15. Judge Henry, in passing the
sentence, allowed them credit for
the time they have already been
in jail on the six months they
were ordered to serve.
There were also ordered to
make restitution to Schletty for
medical expenses he incurred as
With
Second
COUnts
lection
had
guilty of
was an
State
the
the
at the
Parole
trail.
The cas'e of Leo Livingston
against Mason County
Commission, Mason County
Planning Commission, Auditor
Ruth Boysen and Planning
Director James Connolly was.
continued for one week by Judge
Hewitt Henry in Mason County
Superior Court last Thursday.
The case had been scheduled
for a show cause hearing last
week.
Livingston seeks a writ of
the result of the incident.
Francis Louise Williams,
Grapeview, appearing on a charge
of grand larceny, pleaded not
guilty to the charge.
John Ragan, Shelton
attorney, appeared in court with
Mrs. Williams and told the court
a Tacoma attorney would be
representing her.
He a~so told the court that
Mrs. Williams' husband, Billy,
who was charged with her, was in
custody in British Columbia at
the present time.
review asking that all county
commission and planning
commission records in connection
with the approval of the plat of
Beard's Cove No. 8 be turned over
to the court for review.
The suit contends the
county's action in approving the
plat was unlawful, arbitrary and
capricious.
The hearing is scheduled for
Superior Court this morning.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams are
charged with taking about $8,000
from Miller's Department store.
They were arrested in the Capitol
Hill area and the money
recovered.
William Lee Morris, 27,
Shelton, pleaded guilty to a
charge of second degree assault
and was given a five-year deferred
sentence by Judge Henry.
He was accused of running his
flatbed truck into the home of his
inlaws, Mr. and Mrs. Howard
Davis, last Dec. 7.
His court-appointed attorney
Fred Gentry, Olympia, told the
court Morris had been shot as he
fled the scene of the incident and
that he had had medical
treatment in Olympia and Seattle
and needed further medical
treatment. Gentry said Morris
wanted to go into a Veterans
Administration hospital to
complete the medical treatment
necessary.
He was also ordered to make
some $1,900 in restitution for the
repair of the Davis home and to
pay $150 into the current
expense fund of Mason County.
SSIS
er
HAS moved into the assistant postmaster's office from his
ition behind the counter at the Shelton Post Office.
The appointment of Floyd
Ridout as Assistant Postmaster
was announced this week by
Shelton Postmaster Frank
McGuire.
Ridout succeeds Howard
Yule, who died unexpectedly
earlier this month, as assistant~'
postmaster.
Ridout began working for the
Shelton Post Office in 1945 as a
temporary employee while still in
High School, and has been with
them since that time.
McGuire said Ridout has been
in training as a supervisor for the
past 3½ years, acting as assistant
postmaster when the postmaster
or assistant postmaster have been
absent.
McGuire said under the new
Postal Service system, he was able
to make the appointment without
having to go through higher postal
authorities for approval as had
been necessary in the past.
Ridout is married and the
father of two sons. His wife,
Dorothy, is a teacher at BordeaUx
School.
He has been active in Little
League baseball in the
community.
Mason County, like most
other counties in the state, is not
having as much response to
property tax exemptions for older
persons as was anticipated County
Assessor Willis Burnett said this
week
He said So far, 298 persons
have signed up for the tax
exemption. This compares to
about 400 who signed up under
the previous program last year.
The State Legislature liberalized
the qualifications for the
exemption which makes more
persons eligible than under the
previous program.
The deadline for signing up at
the Assessor's office for the
exemption for 1972 taxes is July
31.
Burnett said the exemptions
do not constitute a lein against
the property at a future date.
Earnings limitations on senior
citizens who claim property tax
exemptions do not apply to those
who are 72 years of age or older.
The new state exemption law
for retired and disabled
homeowners follows federal social
security law in this respect.
Under the state exemption
statute, total income of claimants
may not include an amount of
earnings that would cause the
federal government to make a
deduction from their social
security benefit. At the present
time this allowable limit on
income from wages and
self-employment is $1,680.
However, since social security
pensioners 72 or older can earn
more than $1,680 without any
deduction from their federal
pension, they also can qualify for
the property tax exemption with
earnings of more than $1,680.
Their overall income cannot
exceed $6,000, however.
Property owners 62 through
71 years of age with incomes of
$4,000 or less whose earnings do
not exceed the $1,680 limit will
be entitled to full exemption
from excess property taxes in
1972. Those with incomes
between $4,000 and $6,001 will
have to pay only half of them.
The rule for those 72 and
older is the same except that the
$1,680 provision does not affect
them.
Registration of senior citizens
for 1 972 tax exemptions is
running only 38 per cent of those
eligible in the state outside of
King County.
A check of 14 county assessor
offices showed that 24,700 of an
estimated 65,000 eligible retired
and disabled homeowners had
been processed for exemption
from excess levies payable in
1972.
Deadline this year is July 31.
Sign-ups in ICing County have
been at anticipated numbers. The
Association of "Elected County
Officials said Thursday afternoon
that the King County assessor's
office estimated that it has
processed 20,000 applications.
The Department of Revenue
projection for the county was
22, 100.
Yakima is another county
close to its proiected target. It
Jailed
Drug Case
A Shelton couple, James Ott
Meitzner, 35, and his wife, Janet
Kay, 29, Rt. 2, Box 627, Shelton,
were arrested early Saturday
morning on charges of possession
of controlled substances.
Bail on each was set at
$25,000. Meitzner is being held in
Mason County jail in lieu of bail
and his wife is being held in
Thurston County for Mason
County.
They were arrested at 1:35
a.m. after four deputysheriffs, a
state trooper, two Seattle Police
Department detectives and the
Mason County Prosecuting
Attorney went to their home with
a search warrant.
Officers were first notified of
the incident by the Seattle
officers who called here stating a
car driven by Mrs. Meitzner was
being sought in a drug
investigation.
On the basis of information
obtained from the Seattle
officers, a search warrant was
obtained for the couple's home.
Officers said a large quantity
of drugs was found during the
search of the home.
Prosecuting Attorney Byron
McClanahan said the couple
would be charged with possession
of marijuana, cocaine, hashish,
LSD and amphetamines in Mason
County District Justice Court and
the case would be brought into
Superior Court Thursday.
I'IAMMERSLEY INLET off Walker Park was a perfect spot
to Cool off during Tuesday's scorching heatwave.
reported 4,500 claims received
from a potential of 6,200
applicants.
Snohomish County, with a
possible 7,500 claimants, reported
that it had processed between
2,200 and 2,400. Pierce County
had about 5,000 out of an
estimated 11,300 eligibles, Clark
County 1,560 out of 4,700, and
Thurston County less than 1,000
out of 2,300.
Ot her county registrations
were Cowlitz, 800 of 2,500;
Benton, 550 of 1,300; Chelan,
600 of 1,600; Grays Harbor,
1,000 of 3,100; Whatcom, 1,500
of 3,900; Spokane, 3,100 of
11,500; Kitsap, 1,000 of 2,400;
Lewis 1,200 of 2,700.
J. Harold Turner I I I
By JAN DANFORD
"When I go to the polls I'll
probably toss a coin," says J.
Harold Turner the Third, the first
18-year-old voter to register at the
Mason County Court House on
July 1. "Or maybe I'll do what so
many adults do - just not vote at
all."
J. Harold Turner the Third,
son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold
Turner Jr., heard on the radio of
the ratification of the 18-year-old
vote, and promptly went to the
court house to sign his name.
"I was the only one there," he
says," and they didn't seem to
expect even me."
The youthful voter has never
been too interested in politics.
"I don't even know who the
mayor is," he admits, "and I've
never been elected to a class or to
a club office."
He doesn't like the
Republicans, and he doesn't like
the Democrats either. In fact, he
doesn't think much of politicians
in general.
"They talk a lot," he states,
"but I don't feel that any. of them
are doing anything worthwhile. I
can't see myself voting for any of
them."
Turner professes himself to be
unprepared to vote, having no real
political beliefs of any sort.
A 1971 graduate of Shelton
High School, he feels that the
12th year civics class, which
supposedly teaches the students
to understand our political
system, fails to adequately
inform.
"I think, however," he
declares "that the 18-year-old is
Don Hughes, owner and
operator of Hughes Ambulance
Service here, said this week he
plans to make some adjustments
in his rate schedule and will
continue service as usual to Mason
County residents.
He commented that the
change will most likely come in a
small increase in the mileage rate.
Hughes stated he had studied
the matter out thoroughly, and,
decided this was the best course
of action.
He stated the $350 a month
subsidy he had received when he
came to Shelton in 1964 had not
been received for almost three
years and that he had continued
his operation.
Hughes stated he realizes
there will be no more subsidy and
that with the adjustment in rate
schedule, he will continue to
operate as he has been.
every bit as well prepared as the
21-year-old, who is not prepared
either."
The average l -year-o d,
according to Turner, is more
interested in sports, in parties, in
his job and his friends than he is
in politics.
"The 2 1 -year-old," he
continues, "has even less time
than the younger fellow to learn
about political issues. He is either
in college, or in the service, or
perhaps even married with a
family."
The schools are lax, in the
estimation of the young man, in
their failure to teach the youth of
the nation how to take apart and
to understand political speeches;
how to evaluate political issues;
and how to vote intelligently.
"For each election," Turner
states, "the voter is prepared by
the campaigners, which is no way
at all." He deplores the fact that
the voter is concerned with an
image, rather than with a real
person.
"I would like to see better
education at all levels,"
announces Turner, who feels that
for the average student his high
school years are wasted.
"After completing the seventh
grade," Turner states, "a person
knows reading, writing, and
arithmetic, the essential
requirements for earning a living.
The average student proceeds to
spend the next four or five years
just getting by or even flunking
out. The outstanding student,
who amasses many credits and
really applies himself, can't
advance to the best of his abilities
because of limited opportunities."
Turner is employed in the
preparation of food by his father,
who is the owner and operator of
Bob's Tavern. He will perhaps
attend a technical school to
become a computer programmer.
Reading is his hobby and his
recreation.
He listens to the radio every
day, and intends to absorb
through this medium all the
political information possible. He
will listen to campaign speeches
and he will exchange ideas with
other people.
It is his belief that many
people do not vote because they
are dissatisfied with all
candidates. He suggests a possible
method of dealing with persons
who are not sufficiently
interested to go to the polls.
"if a major portion of the
populace doesn't turn out to vote,
we might just temporarily abolish
the office in question," he
laughed.
There have been 56
newly-eligil~le voters 18, 19 and
20 years of age who have
r~gistered to vote since they
became eligible, County Auditor
Ruth Boysen said this week.
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