Page A-4 - Mason County Journal - Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Cold shelter obviously, it's a night
shift, which is quite dif-
needs your ficult for some ofthem
to manage. Their jobs
also include custodial
duties and making sure
the building is neat and
Editor, the Journal clean for other uses
Mother Nature was throughout the day. The
apparently watching the employees are hired
calendar closely. Once through WorkSource
it said fall, she really Washington, so the shel-
brought it on. So now ter is also helping the
with the rains and cooler unemployed in our area.
temperatures, people are Without help from
making preparations for people in the commu-
winter. Propane and fur- nity, the shelter will not
nace oil tanks are being open. Please consider
filled, firewood is being making a donation. Any
brought in, and all the amount helps, and ev-
other things one does to cry penny is appreciat-
prepare for the cold and ed. Checks can be made
storms are being taken payable to Community
care of. How lucky for Lifeline with the nota-
us that we can do these tion "Shelter" and can be
things to ensure that mailed to P.O. Box 339,
we can survive, espe- Shelten, WA 98584. Or
cially since the National they can be dropped off
Weather Service and the between 10 a.m. and
Farmers' Almanac are 2 p.m. Monday through
both saying it's going to Wednesday at its office
be a severe winter, at 218 N. Third St. in
But what about our Shelton.
homeless? There's not In the past, I have
much they can do in written letters similar
preparation. Maybe see to this asking for your
whether the clothing help and you came
bank has warm coats through generously. I
and thermal underwear am hoping this time will
in their sizes. Perhaps be the same. Jesus said
see whether they can we would always have
acquire extra blan- the poor with us, but he
kets. Or they can plan also told us we need to
on making use of the help them. This is an
Cold Weather Shelter, especially good way to
a program of Corn- do that.
munity Lifeline. The
Cold Weather Shelter Ann Baker
can provide our local Cold Weather Shelter
homeless people with director, retired
a warm, safe place to Shelton
spend those severe
winter nights. It can
prevent death by hy-
pothermia. It can help
keep health issues at must answer
bay. It can also be a
place where they know
to
-- L m O
that someone cares, pUDI|C
But the shelter
needs help. At the pres- Editor, the Journal
ent time, there are no After reading the
funds for operating the Journal's Sept. 18 ar-
program. Each month, ticle on the Shelton
the cost of shelter op- School Board meeting
erations is a minimum held on Sept. 11, I was
of $6,000. Each night appalled by board mem-
the shelter is open, ber Brenda Hirschi's
there are two paid staff refusal to hear public
members working to comment or answer
keep things safe and questions from the me-
secure. These people din. Perhaps she needs
work 12-hour shifts at to read Article 1 of our
minimum wage. And, state's constitution,
which states that "all
political power is inher-
ent in the people, and
governments derive
their just powers from
the consent of the gov-
erned."
While the School
Board might have the
right to do what it did
without a public hear-
ing, this is not the at-
titude we want from
our public officials. Ulti-
mately, our officials have
to answer to us -- the
governed.
According to the
Journal, Ms. Hirschi
said to the community
members present at the
meeting, "There will
be no discussion in the
room today.., we will
ask you to leave."
Well, Ms. Hirschi,
your arrogance and dis-
respect will eventually
lead us to ask you to
leave. If your term ex-
pired this year instead of
2017, I doubt you would
treat your constituents
in this manner.
Jamie Bariekman
Shelton
School Board
turning into
Editor, the Journal
I went to the Sept. 23
Shelton School Board
meeting. The first was
concern for and ques-
tions about the termina-
tion of Superintendent
Wayne Massie.
It seems to me that
the Shelton School
Board is leaning to-
ward a dictatorship, its
way or no way. I hope
more of our community
will start attending
board meetings every
second and fourth
Tuesday of each month.
Come and hear what
the Shelton School
Board is saying and
how it says it. It's the
best circus in town.
Beverly Godwin
Shelton
Griffeywill
status quo
Editor, the Journal
Important issues will
be before the Washing-
ton state Legislature in
the next few years. Vot-
ers need to decide which
candidates and leader-
ship group are best to
solve these challenges.
The first issue, the Mc-
Cleary decision, has put
K-12 education on the
front burner. Readers
need to be reminded
that McCleary v. the
State of Washington
was filed in December
2007, so the conditions
prompting the lawsuit
occurred in the years
prior. During those
years, there was no ma-
jority coalition or even
two-thirds vote require-
ment for tax increases;
however, there was com-
plete dominance of the
House, Senate and gov-
ernorship by the Demo-
cratic Party, beginning
in 2005. Those were the
years before the "great
recession"; the gen-
eral fund tax and total
revenue were increas-
ing significantly every
year. Yet even in these
great times, the ruling
party created conditions
in which the suit was
brought. Obviously, "the
paramount duty of the
state" was ignored or at
least placed below the
priorities of the Demo-
crats' agenda.
Next, take the issue
of marijuana. The is-
sue of edibles should
have long since been
addressed since medi-
cal marijuana has been
legal since 1998 via
initiative and amended
by the state Legisla-
ture in 2007 and 2010.
I have recently become
more informed on the
edible forms being sold
in the medical market
and have watched as
the state attempts to
regulate edibles in the
recreational market.
I am appalled at the
edible forms currently
available in the medical
market; they include
forms similar to fruit-
slice candy, chocolate
bars, caramels, bonbons
and other kid-friendly
forms. The packaging
is a normal candy-type
package with a warn-
ing that can range from
pretty obvious to very
hard to pick up. Dos-
ages in these candy-like
forms can be extremely
high. If our Legislature
had taken this on, may-
be requiring standard
packaging and warn-
ings, then maybe we
might have a chance of
discouraging consump-
tion by children in the
expanding recreational
market. Again, where
was the leadership from
those in control of the
Legislature?
And now the people
and party that have
been in control of Legis-
lature almost this entire
time want to return to
solve the problems they
have continually failed
to address. I think it's
time for a true change
in Washington. Change
does not include send-
ing Kathy Haigh, the
advertised education
expert, back to continue
to support Frank Chopp,
speaker of the House
since she was elected in
1998, and his agenda.
Change includes inde-
pendent thinkers with
new ideas who will chal-
lenge the way things
have been done for the
past 16-plus years, take
a fresh look at all issues
and develop solutions.
Dan Griffey is the per-
son we need to represent
the 35th District, chal-
lenge the status quo
and state bureaucracies,
and develop new ideas
to meet our challenges.
Griffey will be part of
the solution, not part of
the continuing problem
of the Legislature being
driven by one party's
agenda.
Robert Rogers
Shelton
see LETTERS, page A-5
.... Mason County
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