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SHELTON-
MASON COUNTY
JOURNAL
Thursday, January 4, 2007 121st Year -- Number I 4 Sections -- 36 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington 75 cents
Born in the USA
Cradled safely in his mother's arms is Isaac Keith
Whitley, the first baby born at Mason General Hospital
this year. From left are sister Maite, age 8, father
Allen and mother Paula Whitley of Shelton. Isaac was
born at 10:58 a.m. on New Year's Day. He weighed 8
pounds, 5 ounces and was 20xh inches long. Dr. Farida
Ghoghawala assisted during the birth.
Tarrant is okay
after concussion
Shelton Mayor John ('You ought
to see the other guy") Tarrant is
sporting a pair of black eyes these
days, but that isn't because he got
into a tussle with a discontented
constituent.
At 7 a.m. on the morning of
Saturday, December 23, Tarrant
was in Sandpoint, Idaho, and was
wal his dog in a motel park-
ing lot when he slipped on ice, fell
and fractured his skull.
The injury caused him to lose
consciousness for a time and land-
ed him in a hospital for a day and
a half. On Tuesday evening Tar-
rant, as chipper as ever, was back
at his post chairing the Shelton
City Commission meeting.
Rainfall in 2006
15" over normal
The evergreen wood fiber which
does so much to improve the lives
of man and woman, fish and fowl
living hereabouts, owes its abun-
dance in no small part to the same
Precipitation which chills us to the
cry marrow of our bones. Trans-
ation: the gain in rain is mainly
la the pain.
As is our habit at the start of
every new year, the staff of The
JOUrnal will take pains to gain
COmprehensive knowledge about
the rain that falls in this vicinity.
Toward this end, we invite persons
Who watch the rain to share their
results with the news staff so that
they can pass it on to our readers.
Two rainmeisters anticipated
this request and have already filed
their reports. Jess Tobler of Is-
land Lake tells us that in 2006 he
COunted 110.25 inches of precipita-
tion at his home, with 29.5 inches
falling in November.
Carl Johnson of Union counted
97.6 inches at his home on Union
.Heights Place, including 31.6
inches in November. There was no
naeasurable precipitation in July
and August.
Measurements are recorded for
Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
On the inside
Births .................................... 2
Classifieds ........................... 28
Community Calendar .... ... 17
Crossword ........................... 32
Entertainment, Dining ..... 29
Health Journal ................. 18
Journal of Record ............. 22
Obituaries ........................... 10
Opinions, Letters ................. 4
Sports ................................... 25
Tides ..................................... 20
Weather .................................. 9
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIlUIIIUUllUlUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIU
1111151!lJl!!lllJlJ!l!l!llill00
the National Weather Service at
Sanderson Field. Rain watchers
there counted 80.85 inches of pre-
cipitation for 2006. That's 15.87
inches more than the 75-year
average of 64.98 inches. The re-
ported totals were 23.27 inches in
January, 3.93 in February, 5.01 in
March, 1.71 in April, 2.36 in May,
1.15 in June, 0.24 in July, 0.00 in
August, 1.68 in September, 1.57 in
October, 27.31 in November and
12.71 in December. Somehow they
add up to .09 inch more than the
80.85 figure.
Persons who would like to share
their rain results with readers can
mail them to The Journal at P.O.
Box 430, Shelton, 98584. For more
information, call Sean Hanlon at
426-4412.
Emergency
agency has
new director
By JEFF GREEN
In emergency management,
you just never know.
Remember the Y2K computer
scare? As New Year's Day ap-
proached in 2000, people around
the globe held their breath won-
dering if their computers would
continue functioning.
Local law enforcement agen-
cies, fire departments and public
utility districts were ready and
waiting for any additional woes
created by the Y2K computer is-
sue. The Y2K problem, caused by
the inability of older computer
systems to recognize all four dig-
its of a year, put public service
employees on high alert.
Fortunately, no major prob-
lems arose and computers and
systems continued working.
"Sometimes we're the victims
of our own success," said Marry
Best, the new director of Mason
County's Department of Emer.
gency Management. "Emergency
(Please turn to page 7.)
Southside boosters'
ex-treasurer accused
By MARY DUNCAN
A former treasurer of the South-
side School Booster Club appeared
in Mason County Superior Court
last month facing allegations she
stole more than $20,000 from the
nonprofit, volunteer group during
her tenure in office.
Michelle Lee Gustafson, 33, of
5371 SE Arcadia Road, Shelton,
was identified on December 27
in an investigation of theft in the
first degree. She appeared with
defense attorney George Steele.
Gustafson is accused of mak-
ing unauthorized cash withdraw-
als totaling $20,596.50 from the
booster club account at Bank of
America between May 6, 2005
and August 29, 2006, according
to a probable-cause statement by
Inspector Dean Byrd of the Ma-
son County Sheriffs Office. She
served as treasurer for the orga-
nization from January 1, 2005 to
October 10, 2006.
Officers said Christina S. An-
dersen, booster club president,
discovered the withdrawals when
her treasurer Nicole A. Cougher
called her about a cash with-
drawal. Andersen said there are
no provisions for any officer to
make cash withdrawals from the
account.
Michelle Gustafson reportedly
admitted to Cougher in a tele-
phone conversation on November
11 that she had taken the cash.
She also allegedly admitted to her
sister-in-law, Leslie A. Gustafson,
in a conversation on November 29
that she had taken the cash, ac-
cording to Byrd's report. Leslie A.
Gustafson is vice president of the
booster club.
"What it boils down to is that
people here just feel really taken
advantage of," Cougher said.
Judge James Sawyer said the
$2,500 bail which Gustafson
posted would remain in effect and
scheduled arraignment for Janu-
ary 8. He ordered her to have no
contact with the booster club and
its officers, who may be potential
witnesses.
Fairgrounds manager let go
By REBECCA WELLS
Due to recent delegations of
responsibilities at the Mason
County Fairgrounds, the county
decided it no longer needed Deb-
by (Baker) Alexander to work as
the full-time fair director. So on
Tuesday, December 26, county
staff gave her two weeks notice
of her contract ending.
"It just wasn't a full-time job
any longer except right before
the fair time," explained Greg
Hering, the county's human re-
sources director. Her termina-
tion was based on business -
good stewardship of the county's
money - not performance issues,
he noted.
Alexander had accepted the
job as the county's fair man-
ager in June of 2006, under for-
mer stipulations which included
overseeing the grounds and tour-
ism as part of her duties, Hering
said. However, since then Mike
Rutter, the county's facilities and
grounds manager, has taken over
supervision of the fairgrounds fa-
cilities and the Shelton-Mason
County Chamber of Commerce is
promoting tourism.
"We've kind of divided it up so
you don't need a year-round fair
manager anymore," Hering told
The Journal.
Betty Wing, the county's direc-
tor of central operations, is cur-
rently in charge of discussions
on how to address Alexander's
replacement. Though the county
has not come to an official deci-
sion at this point, there is some
consideration of hiring a vend-
ing coordinator and marketing
personnel, along with making do
with current staff. But all of this
is yet to be determined, Hering
said.
Alexander did not return the
Journal's phone call to her.
County denies music fest funds
By SEAN HANLON
The Mason County Commis-
sion has reiused another infu-
sion of public funds requested by
the Annas Bay Music Festival, a
nonprofit group that is bringing
art music and the classics to the
shores of Hood Canal.
Action came on the advice of the
Mason County Lodging Tax Advi-
sory Committee, a panel chaired
by Jayni Kamin during her final
days as a county commissioner.
Draft minutes from last month's
meeting of the committee noted
that festival events planned for
October and December were can-
celed "due to a lack of support and
attendance."
A schedule for this year's festi-
val is to be announced on Satur-
day, and a preview suggests the
2007 program will include perfor-
mances of French chamber music
and German art song as well as
dance lessons and a dance series
that may includc waltz, salsa
and polka. The featured event of
last year's music fest was a series
of concerts titled, "Of Thee We
Sing," which began on August 31
and concluded on September 11
with a special commemorative
concert honoring the victims of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New
(Please turn to page 6.)
Driver who dumped log load here
accused in coastal fatal accident
A log truck driver who dumped
a load of logs near Shelton during
a mishap on November 6 was sent
to jail in Grays Harbor County
on December 18 where he faces
vehicular homicide charges in an
earlier case.
Garland Massingham, 41, of
Rochester faces trial on January
30 in Grays Harbor County Supe-
rior Court on two counts of vehicu-
lar homicide in the October 2005
deaths of two seismologists on
Highway 101 near Humptulips.
Massingham is accused of being
on methamphetamine at the time
he lost a load of logs in the Grays
Harbor County incident. The seis-
mologists, Tony Qamar and Daniel
Johnson, died when their car was
crushed by the logs.
Massingham was uninjured
and was reportedly driving about
70 miles per hour as his log truck
approached a curve, said a news
story in The Daily World newspa-
per. According to court documents,
a blood test some 90 minutes after
the accident indicated Massing-
ham had meth in his system and
investigators said his truck was
overloaded by 7,700 pounds, the
newspaper reported.
No one was injured in the No-
vember 6 accident near Shel-
ton. According to Inspector Dean
Byrd of the Mason County Sher-
iffs Office, the trailer on Mass-
ingham's log truck went into a
ditch on Hulbert Road. There are
no charges pending against the
(Please turn to page 7.)
MARTY BEST, the new director of Mason County's Department of
Emergency Management, says he plans major changes in 2007.
SHELTON-
MASON COUNTY
JOURNAL
Thursday, January 4, 2007 121st Year -- Number I 4 Sections -- 36 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington 75 cents
Born in the USA
Cradled safely in his mother's arms is Isaac Keith
Whitley, the first baby born at Mason General Hospital
this year. From left are sister Maite, age 8, father
Allen and mother Paula Whitley of Shelton. Isaac was
born at 10:58 a.m. on New Year's Day. He weighed 8
pounds, 5 ounces and was 20xh inches long. Dr. Farida
Ghoghawala assisted during the birth.
Tarrant is okay
after concussion
Shelton Mayor John ('You ought
to see the other guy") Tarrant is
sporting a pair of black eyes these
days, but that isn't because he got
into a tussle with a discontented
constituent.
At 7 a.m. on the morning of
Saturday, December 23, Tarrant
was in Sandpoint, Idaho, and was
wal his dog in a motel park-
ing lot when he slipped on ice, fell
and fractured his skull.
The injury caused him to lose
consciousness for a time and land-
ed him in a hospital for a day and
a half. On Tuesday evening Tar-
rant, as chipper as ever, was back
at his post chairing the Shelton
City Commission meeting.
Rainfall in 2006
15" over normal
The evergreen wood fiber which
does so much to improve the lives
of man and woman, fish and fowl
living hereabouts, owes its abun-
dance in no small part to the same
Precipitation which chills us to the
cry marrow of our bones. Trans-
ation: the gain in rain is mainly
la the pain.
As is our habit at the start of
every new year, the staff of The
JOUrnal will take pains to gain
COmprehensive knowledge about
the rain that falls in this vicinity.
Toward this end, we invite persons
Who watch the rain to share their
results with the news staff so that
they can pass it on to our readers.
Two rainmeisters anticipated
this request and have already filed
their reports. Jess Tobler of Is-
land Lake tells us that in 2006 he
COunted 110.25 inches of precipita-
tion at his home, with 29.5 inches
falling in November.
Carl Johnson of Union counted
97.6 inches at his home on Union
.Heights Place, including 31.6
inches in November. There was no
naeasurable precipitation in July
and August.
Measurements are recorded for
Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
On the inside
Births .................................... 2
Classifieds ........................... 28
Community Calendar .... ... 17
Crossword ........................... 32
Entertainment, Dining ..... 29
Health Journal ................. 18
Journal of Record ............. 22
Obituaries ........................... 10
Opinions, Letters ................. 4
Sports ................................... 25
Tides ..................................... 20
Weather .................................. 9
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIlUIIIUUllUlUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIU
1111151!lJl!!lllJlJ!l!l!llill00
the National Weather Service at
Sanderson Field. Rain watchers
there counted 80.85 inches of pre-
cipitation for 2006. That's 15.87
inches more than the 75-year
average of 64.98 inches. The re-
ported totals were 23.27 inches in
January, 3.93 in February, 5.01 in
March, 1.71 in April, 2.36 in May,
1.15 in June, 0.24 in July, 0.00 in
August, 1.68 in September, 1.57 in
October, 27.31 in November and
12.71 in December. Somehow they
add up to .09 inch more than the
80.85 figure.
Persons who would like to share
their rain results with readers can
mail them to The Journal at P.O.
Box 430, Shelton, 98584. For more
information, call Sean Hanlon at
426-4412.
Emergency
agency has
new director
By JEFF GREEN
In emergency management,
you just never know.
Remember the Y2K computer
scare? As New Year's Day ap-
proached in 2000, people around
the globe held their breath won-
dering if their computers would
continue functioning.
Local law enforcement agen-
cies, fire departments and public
utility districts were ready and
waiting for any additional woes
created by the Y2K computer is-
sue. The Y2K problem, caused by
the inability of older computer
systems to recognize all four dig-
its of a year, put public service
employees on high alert.
Fortunately, no major prob-
lems arose and computers and
systems continued working.
"Sometimes we're the victims
of our own success," said Marry
Best, the new director of Mason
County's Department of Emer.
gency Management. "Emergency
(Please turn to page 7.)
Southside boosters'
ex-treasurer accused
By MARY DUNCAN
A former treasurer of the South-
side School Booster Club appeared
in Mason County Superior Court
last month facing allegations she
stole more than $20,000 from the
nonprofit, volunteer group during
her tenure in office.
Michelle Lee Gustafson, 33, of
5371 SE Arcadia Road, Shelton,
was identified on December 27
in an investigation of theft in the
first degree. She appeared with
defense attorney George Steele.
Gustafson is accused of mak-
ing unauthorized cash withdraw-
als totaling $20,596.50 from the
booster club account at Bank of
America between May 6, 2005
and August 29, 2006, according
to a probable-cause statement by
Inspector Dean Byrd of the Ma-
son County Sheriffs Office. She
served as treasurer for the orga-
nization from January 1, 2005 to
October 10, 2006.
Officers said Christina S. An-
dersen, booster club president,
discovered the withdrawals when
her treasurer Nicole A. Cougher
called her about a cash with-
drawal. Andersen said there are
no provisions for any officer to
make cash withdrawals from the
account.
Michelle Gustafson reportedly
admitted to Cougher in a tele-
phone conversation on November
11 that she had taken the cash.
She also allegedly admitted to her
sister-in-law, Leslie A. Gustafson,
in a conversation on November 29
that she had taken the cash, ac-
cording to Byrd's report. Leslie A.
Gustafson is vice president of the
booster club.
"What it boils down to is that
people here just feel really taken
advantage of," Cougher said.
Judge James Sawyer said the
$2,500 bail which Gustafson
posted would remain in effect and
scheduled arraignment for Janu-
ary 8. He ordered her to have no
contact with the booster club and
its officers, who may be potential
witnesses.
Fairgrounds manager let go
By REBECCA WELLS
Due to recent delegations of
responsibilities at the Mason
County Fairgrounds, the county
decided it no longer needed Deb-
by (Baker) Alexander to work as
the full-time fair director. So on
Tuesday, December 26, county
staff gave her two weeks notice
of her contract ending.
"It just wasn't a full-time job
any longer except right before
the fair time," explained Greg
Hering, the county's human re-
sources director. Her termina-
tion was based on business -
good stewardship of the county's
money - not performance issues,
he noted.
Alexander had accepted the
job as the county's fair man-
ager in June of 2006, under for-
mer stipulations which included
overseeing the grounds and tour-
ism as part of her duties, Hering
said. However, since then Mike
Rutter, the county's facilities and
grounds manager, has taken over
supervision of the fairgrounds fa-
cilities and the Shelton-Mason
County Chamber of Commerce is
promoting tourism.
"We've kind of divided it up so
you don't need a year-round fair
manager anymore," Hering told
The Journal.
Betty Wing, the county's direc-
tor of central operations, is cur-
rently in charge of discussions
on how to address Alexander's
replacement. Though the county
has not come to an official deci-
sion at this point, there is some
consideration of hiring a vend-
ing coordinator and marketing
personnel, along with making do
with current staff. But all of this
is yet to be determined, Hering
said.
Alexander did not return the
Journal's phone call to her.
County denies music fest funds
By SEAN HANLON
The Mason County Commis-
sion has reiused another infu-
sion of public funds requested by
the Annas Bay Music Festival, a
nonprofit group that is bringing
art music and the classics to the
shores of Hood Canal.
Action came on the advice of the
Mason County Lodging Tax Advi-
sory Committee, a panel chaired
by Jayni Kamin during her final
days as a county commissioner.
Draft minutes from last month's
meeting of the committee noted
that festival events planned for
October and December were can-
celed "due to a lack of support and
attendance."
A schedule for this year's festi-
val is to be announced on Satur-
day, and a preview suggests the
2007 program will include perfor-
mances of French chamber music
and German art song as well as
dance lessons and a dance series
that may includc waltz, salsa
and polka. The featured event of
last year's music fest was a series
of concerts titled, "Of Thee We
Sing," which began on August 31
and concluded on September 11
with a special commemorative
concert honoring the victims of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New
(Please turn to page 6.)
Driver who dumped log load here
accused in coastal fatal accident
A log truck driver who dumped
a load of logs near Shelton during
a mishap on November 6 was sent
to jail in Grays Harbor County
on December 18 where he faces
vehicular homicide charges in an
earlier case.
Garland Massingham, 41, of
Rochester faces trial on January
30 in Grays Harbor County Supe-
rior Court on two counts of vehicu-
lar homicide in the October 2005
deaths of two seismologists on
Highway 101 near Humptulips.
Massingham is accused of being
on methamphetamine at the time
he lost a load of logs in the Grays
Harbor County incident. The seis-
mologists, Tony Qamar and Daniel
Johnson, died when their car was
crushed by the logs.
Massingham was uninjured
and was reportedly driving about
70 miles per hour as his log truck
approached a curve, said a news
story in The Daily World newspa-
per. According to court documents,
a blood test some 90 minutes after
the accident indicated Massing-
ham had meth in his system and
investigators said his truck was
overloaded by 7,700 pounds, the
newspaper reported.
No one was injured in the No-
vember 6 accident near Shel-
ton. According to Inspector Dean
Byrd of the Mason County Sher-
iffs Office, the trailer on Mass-
ingham's log truck went into a
ditch on Hulbert Road. There are
no charges pending against the
(Please turn to page 7.)
MARTY BEST, the new director of Mason County's Department of
Emergency Management, says he plans major changes in 2007.