Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014 -Mason County Journal- Page A-25
A section of the Mason County Journal
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014- Serving the communities of Belfair, Allyn, Crapev,ew, Mason Lake, South Shore and Victor
Dis
m;
Project to coincide with state Route 3 widening million, Peadon said. District Commissioner Mike will also need maintenance in
"We cannot award a bid Pope said the district could re- the next few years.
when we can't afford to pay for ceive some loan forgivenessPeadon said the district will
it," he said. because of its size. The Belfair have a $500,000 capital budget
By NATALIE JOHNSON with 12-inch ductal iron pipe Instead of starting from Water District has about 500 for district maintenance and
nata/io@masoncoun~com will now be completed in two scratch, the district will split customers, projects each year for the next
phases, the first of which could the project into two phases. "Our rates are probably five years.
A project to replace Belfair be completed as early as No- The first phase will replace the highest in the state," Pope The project has been in the
Water District's aging water vember, Peadon said. the water main from Sweet- said. planning stages since 2008
main could get underway soon. In 2012, the project was es- water Creek to Romance Hill. Peadon said the district and coincides with a Wash-
District Manager Tom timated to cost $1.9 million, That phase could be finished does not anticipate needingington State Department of
Peadon gave an update on the Peadon said. The water dis-as early as November, Peadon to increase rates to cover the Transportation project to add
project Tuesday evening dur- trict obtained a loan for the said. additional cost of the project, a left turn lane on state Route
ing the Mason County Com- amount from the state Public "We're hoping that we do This year, district residents 3 through Belfair.
mission's fifth Tuesday meet- Works Trust Fund and hired get additional funding (for were dealt a 15 percent rate The widening project is
ing in Belfair at the Northan engineer to begin planning Phase 2)," Peadon said. increase and will see a 2 per- scheduled to begin as early as
Mason School District boardthe work. The district applied this cent annual increase in rates March, according to the WS-
room. However, when the district week for a $1.5 million loan for the next five years. DOT.
The project to replace anti- went out to bid on the project from the state Department of Pope noted that the rest of
quated asbestos concrete pipe in July, the lowest bid was for Health for the project, the district's infrastructure see PROJECTS, page A-26
Northwest author
and family embrace
natural world
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncounty, com
D Ylan Tomine and his family
are not technology-shun-
ning Luddites. They own
televisions and iPods.
"We're not off-the-grid fanatics
by any stretch of the imagina-
tion," said the Bainbridge Island
writer.
But about five years ago, To-
mine encountered two teenagers
sitting together on a couch texting.
When he asked them who they
were texting, they pointed to each
other.
That's when the outdoors writer
and former fishing guide realized
"the proliferation of electronic op-
tions" is keeping many youngsters
from connecting with one another
and their surroundings. The To-
mines and their children, Skyla
and Weston -- then ages 6 and
3 -- turned away from the screens
and toward a relationship with na-
ture, including foraging for berries
and shucking oysters.
The result of that lifestyle shift
is Tomine's first book, "Closer to
the Ground: An Outdoor Family's
Year on the Water, in the Woods,
and at the Table." Tomine will
talk about the book from 6:30 to
7:30 tonight at the North Mason
branch of the Timberland Library
at 23081 NE state Route 3, Bel-
fair.
"Closer to the Ground" was
selected to be the "Timberland
Reads Together" selection for this
year.
"The book is about a way to in-
tegrate the outdoors into everyday
Photo
Bainbridge Island author Dylan Tomine, shown with his children Weston and Skyla,
book, "Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family's Year on the Water, in the Woods,
at 6:30 tonight at the North Mason branch of the Timberland Library in Belfair.
courtesy of Dylan Tomine
will talk about his
and at the Table,"
life of suburban families without
making radical changes," the
writer said.
He added, "I would hope it
would remind people about how
precious time is with people that
you love, that it's just flying by.
You don't get a rewind."
Tomine, 48, was born in Cor-
vallis, Oregon, and grew up in
western Oregon. His father was a
fisherman, and the family gath-
ered berries.
IF YOU GO:
WHAT: Author Dylan Tomine speaks about his book,"Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Fam-
ily's Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table"
WHEN: 6:30 tonight
WHERE: North Mason Timberland Library, 23081 NE state Route 3, Belfair
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call 275-3232
see NATURE, page A-26
