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Page A-4 - Mason County Journal - Thursday, July 31,2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Fight night at
county meeting
Editor, the Journal
At the end of a long and emotional
bout, two Mason County Commis-
sioners, Randy Neatherlin and Terri
Jeffreys, flexed their political muscles
and voted "yes" to lift the recently
imposed moratorium on cannabis
growers. Out in the lobby, the decision
brought a packed house to its feet,
moving a couple of spectators to break
into a "Rocky Balboa'-style victory
dance.
Although the marijuana issue was
the main event, there Were also two
warm-up contests on the evening's
fight card. The first involved designat-
ing target areas for tax exempt low
income housing in the three UGAs
(Urban Growth Areas) of Shelton,
Allyn and Belfair. Selecting areas in
Shelton and Allyn was a no-brainer;
their UGAs are served by central
sewer systems, a mandatory crite-
rion. But Belfair was another mat-
ter. Though residents served by the
first phase of the sewer system - the
only phase operational -- were still
dazed and reeling from the effects of
$100-per-month bills, commissioners
decided to deliver a haymaker concen-
tration of low-income housing to the
same area.
The second contest was even more
punishing. Matched against a Green
Diamond Resource Co. request to
change county code to allow for non-
contiguous open space in high density
developments, the commissioners took
a dive. And though the decision to
tag-team the public was unanimous,
the adopted changes to Title 16 of the
Mason County Development Code will
likely hit the canvas when challenged
before the Growth Management Hear-
ings Board.
But the upset of the evening goes
to the attending public for sitting
through nearly four hours of politi-
cal footwork and verbal jabs without
storming the ring; from the opening
bell it was clear that the fix on all
three hearings was in even before pub-
lic comments were heard.
Why commissioners chose to sched-
ule three important hearings on one
card is anyone's guess.
But if they thought the public didn't
have the legs to go the distance, they
were wrong.
And though there were no knock-
out punches or blood drawn by any
of the combatants, it was clear to
all who attended that, in the arena
of Mason County politics, the Mar-
quess of Queensbury rules no longer
apply.
Tom Davis
Shelton
Nulify North
Mason's surplus
of Theler Center
Editor, the Journal
A special North Mason School
Board meeting was held June 23 with
about 24 hours notice. Board member
Dinah Griffey was absent. There were
about 11 people in the audience, the
most I've seen at a school board meet-
ing for a while.
The board talked for more than an
hour about Mary E. Theler Commu-
nity Center issues, with handouts for
the audience.
Board directors John Campbell and
Art Wightman seemed to talk the lon-
gest, defending their vote to "surplus"
the Theler property and the need to
educate the public about what "sur-
plus" means.
In my opinion, all "surplusing does
is just cloud the issue and sweep re-
sponsibility under the rug.
The four board members also ex-
pressed concerns about the use of levy
money currently supporting Theler
operations. They plan to conduct an
online survey before a public forum,
scheduled for Aug. 14.
It seems to me most of Theler's
problems started about the same
time the school board instituted
"policy governance" (2007-2008) and
current board directors Laura Boad,
Campbell, and Wightman appointed
Superintendent David Peterson to
the Salmon Center board of directors
and Mel Coffman to the Theler board
of directors.
Could it be that the real failure of
Theler rests with the school board
and Peterson? Is that why there
seems to be no progress on the Ma-
son County Sheriffs Office investiga-
tion?
Bottom line -- the school board
should nullify the motion to surplus
the property and the Sheriffs Office
shouldbe allowed to finish their inves-
tigation.
Ken VanBuskirk
Belfair
could help
teachers teach
Editor, the Journal
I bungled through Washington's
K-12 system before most here were
born. In the interim the adjusted cost
per student has more than quintupled
and the quality of education is flat to
maybe a little down.
That's what happens when we look
to government to provide stuff. We get
less for more.
There's a way to get more for less in
education, as everywhere else. That's to
allow the robust competition that en-
courages disruptive and endless chains
of innovation; encourages and rewards
merit and punishes incompetence.
Easier said than done.
The folks who wrote our governing
documents were sharp cookies who
realized that decent education is key
see LETTERS, page A-5
Mason County
USPS 492-800
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