............................. 0000Mason County
217 W Cota St /" f 38 143 1476
Shelton WA 98584-2263 r" !"
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J, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014- Week 43- The Voice of Mason County since 1886- $1
Trend: Commission keeping doors closed
Number of executive, closed sessbns on rise
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun com
In the past four years, the
Mason County Commission
has met behind closed doors
with increasing frequency.
The commission held 49
sessions closed to the public
between January and August
2014, averaging about six ses-
sions per month, according to a
Mason County Journal analy-
sis of county meeting agendas.
In contrast, in 2011, the
commission met in private
an average of four times per
month.
Members of the Mason
County Board of Commission-
ers said the increase in closed
meetings reflects the work of
the board to prevent lawsuits,
negotiate its 11 union con-
tracts, and sensitively handle
grievances.
"I think we're doing what is
required under state law," said
Commissioner Tim Sheldon.
The commissioners said
that although the number of
closed meetings has increased,
those meetings follow the let-
ter of the law.
"We're not in violation of
anything," Commissioner Ran-
dy Neatherlin said. "I believe
the situations that arise deter-
mine the necessity for those
executive sessions."
Of the 49 closed-door meet-
hags as of Aug. 31, five were to
discuss litigation, 15 involved
real-estate discussions and 29
involved labor discussions.
Some county residents have
grown concerned with the
increase, most notably Tom
Davis, who refused to leave a
previously scheduled closed
see MEETINGS, page A-22
%
k
SOUND CLEANUP
Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
Volunteers drop off beach garbage Oct. 16 near the Arcadia boat ramp during the Pacific Coast
Shellfish Growers Association's 17th biannual beach cleanup. Volunteers collected nearly
54 cubic yards of debris. Almost 91 percent of the debris was plastic foam, tires and public
trash. Participants last week also found a ship in a bottle, hide-a-bed, refrigerator, tent and
toilet.
Testimony begins in double-homicide trial
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
Charles S. Longshore listens during pretrial motions
at his first-degree murder trial Tuesday. Longshore is
charged with two counts of aggravated murder in a
May 2012 double homicide.
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun com
Testimony began Tues-
day in Mason County Su-
perior Court 2 ½ years af-
ter two Shelton residents
were killed in what au-
thorities have deemed a
drug-related shooting.
Charles S. Longshore,
24, is charged with two
counts of aggravated first-
degree murder in the shoot-
ing deaths ofAnitrea "Roxy"
Taber, 37, and Tyler "Red"
Drake, 19. In 2012, Long-
shore pleaded not guilty.
The shooting took place
about 1 a.m. May 28, 2012,
at 213 W. Harvard Ave. in
Shelton.
Attorneys for the pros-
ecution and defense gave
very different accounts of
the events surrounding the
shooting.
"You're going to hear
a lot of evidence in this
case, but it will all lead to
one conclusion -- that the
person who pulled the trig-
ger on that gun sits right
there at the council table,
Charles S. Longshore,"
deputy prosecutor Jason
Richards said during open-
ing statements.
see TESTIMONY, page A-22
Transgender
school-district
policy sparks
heated debate
School Board's (arnahan
calls move 'offensive'
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun corn
A Shelton School Board meeting Oct. 14
dissolved into a shouting match as members
of the Shelton School District Board of Direc-
tors discussed a district policy prohibiting
discrimination against transgender students.
The board voted 3-2 to approve the poli-
cy with School Board members Jim Carna-
han and Sandy Tarzwell voting no.
A video of a portion of the meeting was
posted on the Internet last week. The video
can be viewed at youtu.be/yI0y033cxek.
During the meeting, board Vice President
Carnahan voiced his opposition to the policy.
"This is offensive, the
law is offensive," Carna-
han said.
School Board Presi-
dent Brenda Hirschi at-
tempted to restore order
as School Board and au-
dience members shouted
back and forth.
"Just vote on the stu-
pid thing and get it over Carflahan
with. This is ridiculous,"
Carnahan said. "There is no law that re-
quires us to pass this policy."
According to the state Office of the Su-
perintendent of Public Instruction's (OSPI)
"Prohibiting Discrimination in Washing-
ton Public Schools" guidebook, all state
school districts are required to publish a
nondiscrimination statement containing
language supporting state and federal non-
discrimination laws.
"I believe that there is a law that re-
quires all school districts to have an anti-
discrimination policy," Superintendent Art
see POLICY, page A-21
Candidates sound off
at public forums
Page A-3
Joint public parking, plaza
proposal an option
Page A-11
School Board reverses
course on Theler Center
Page A-29
