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I i
JOURNAL E DITORIAL
Just don't do it
The holidays were a happy time
for most Mason County residents, but
a few. 30 to be exact, got a sobering
wake-up call.
The Washington Traffic Safety
Commission this week released the
local results of a holiday DUI enforce-
ment campaign. From Nov. 24, 2011,
through Jan. 2, 2012, 30 Mason County
motorists were stopped and arrested
for driving under the influence (DUI).
This year's slight up-tick in DUI ar-
rests is disheartening and should serve
as a reminder to everyone that drink-
ing and driving is often a one-way jour-
ney on a dead-end road.
People are sometimes surprised that
they can be cited for DUI if even their
blood alcohol level (BAC) is below the
.08 "legal limit." That's because any
amount of alcohol can impair a per-
son's ability to operate a vehicle, even
amounts below the misnamed "legal
limit." The easiest way to avoid a DUI,
or worse, is to not drive anywhere after
drinking. Those that "have to" go some-
where, should have a designated driver
lined up ahead of time or available via
phone. Short of those two things, taxis
are sparse, but available; and sleeping
it off somewhere outside of a jail cell,
ditch, hospital room or morgue is a far
better option than those other alterna-
tives.
In Mason County, the Shelton and
Squaxin Island Police Departments,
the Mason County Sheriffs Office and
the Washington State Patrol partici-
pated in the extra emphasis patrols,
with the support of the Mason County
Target Zero Traffic Safety Task Force.
The extra patrols were funded by a
grant from the Washington Traffic
Safety Commission.
Last year during the same time peri-
od, officers in Mason County on routine
and extra patrols arrested 27 people for
DUI.
If ever there was an excuse to get be-
hind the wheel after the proverbial one
or two drinks, there isn't anymore.
Just don't do it.
BEJNGFRANK
Salmon
work their
way across a
Skokomish
Valley road
during a
recent flood
season
Journal file pnolo
Salmon are for everyone
I'm starting to wonder
ff the state's budget prob-
lems mean it will no lon-
ger be able to co-manage
natural resources with
the treaty tribes. Even
President Barack Obama
has said recently that the
state's budget crisis is a
"huge problem."
Like
most of
::i]i! ....... state
:ii:i::::: govern-
ment,
Yii':::P: natural
2::o : resource
agencies
are like-
By BILLY ly going
to see a
FRANK huge hit
during
this upcoming legisla-
:ive session as the state
seeks to fill its $2 billion
badget gap. It's sad to see
state government backing
away from the basic work
of natural resources man-
agement, but there's been
at least one bright spot.
The governor has
wisely proposed a one-
time transfer of $1.5
million from the state
Department of Fish and
Wildlife's wildlife fund to
protect salmon production
at several hatcheries. We
hope the Legislature will
support her plan. Sport.
commercial and tribal
fishermen from the ocean
to deep South Puget
Sound would all feel the
effects of the lost hatchery
production.
Some say the transfer
would be wrong because
the funds come from
hunting and recreational
fishing license fees, but
will be used to maintain
production at hatcher-
ies that also support
commercial and tribal
fisheries. I would remind
those people that in 2010,
treaty tribes in Western
Washington produced
more than 30 million
salmon and steelhead at
their hatcheries. Those
fish will be harvested
by everyone, Indian and
non-Indian. That's be-
cause all hatcheries sup-
port all fisheries to some
extent. That's the way it
should be, because the
salmon is for everyone.
Don't ever let anyone tell
you it's not.
Salmon production at
state hatcheries in West-
ern Washington already
has dropped sharply in
the past decade from a
high in 2001 of nearly 90
million fish. That figure
could dip to less than 50
million if projected cuts
become reality.
Most hatcheries were
built to make up for lost
natural salmon production
caused by lost and dam-
aged habitat. If produc-
tion at those hatcheries
is reduced or eliminated,
we all pay twice: once for
the lost natural produc-
tion and again for the lost
hatchery production.
It is important to re-
member that tribal and
state co-management
is not optional. It is
required under U.S.v.
Washington, (the Boldt
Decision) and is key to
international processes
such as the U.S./Canada
Pacific Salmon Treaty.
Co-management also is
required for implementa-
tion of agreements such
as the Puget Sound Salm-
,on Management Plan
and the Hoh v. Baldrige
Framework Management
Plan, which form the
basis of salmon manage-
ment in Western Wash-
ington.
The state's budget
problems, combined
with the ongoing loss of
salmon habitat and the
state's inability to stop
that trend, put tribal cul-
tures and treaty-reserved
rights at risk. The decline
of wild salmon and deg-
radation of their habitat
already has restricted
the ability of the tribes
to exercise their treaty-
reserved fishing rights.
More cuts in hatchery
production and state
participation in co-man-
agement would further
threaten those rights.
The treaty tribes are
committed to co-man-
agement. We know that
difficult decisions must
be made during these
tough economic times,
but they should not come
at the further expense of
tribal cultures and treaty
rights or the fish produc-
tion that we all, both
Indian and non-Indian,
rely on.
Billy Frank Jr. is the
Chairman for the North-
west Indian Fisheries
Commission.
What l
hope to
achieve
Editor, the Journal
Upon just having been
sworn in as Mayor of Shel-
ton, I feel I should take
this opportunity to make
an opening statement.
First, I would like to ex-
press my deep appreciation
and thanks to Shelton's
past,Mayor John Tarrant
and Commissioner's Mike
Byrnes and Dawn Pannell
for their years of service to
our community.
I would also like to ac-
knowledge the hard work
and dedication the employ-
ees of the City of Shelton
demonstrated every day;
their jobs are not always
easy.
Last, I want to thank
the citizens of Shelton for
their patience and support
as we, the commission-
ers, work together to serve
them.
This coming year and
the years to come will
bring new challenges and
opportunities to our city.
I am looking forward to
being a team player with
my fellow commissioners
- Mike OIsen and Dawn
Pannell - as we make poli-
cies that will help Shelton
grow smart.
Sometimes politicians
make promises to get elect-
ed and then ignore them
when they realize how
hard it is to accomplish
them. I don't want that to
happen to me.
I am aware of our city's
financial condition, but:
We still need to pave
more of our city streets;
and we still want to make
our neighborhoods safer
places to live; and we need
Shelton to be a "business
friendly city that encour-
ages quality businesses to
locate here.
I believe our citizens
want these things also.
Thank you and may God
bless our city.
Gary Cronce
Mayor of Shelton
Water
Energy
Editor, the Journal
In the Dec. 26 letters
to the editor, a William
S. Zeigler had a letter
questioning the wording
of RCW 19.285, Initiative
937 passed by the voters in
2006. He has a very valid
point and I encourage him
to do whatever he can to
get the word out. Not al-
lowing use of any water,
clean or not, to generate
electricity, is, to put it
mildly, stupid. I believe
the originators of that ini-
tiative couldn't see past
their noses. I am sure they
were thinking only of big
hydro dams. Think smaller
people. Hundreds of years
before dams people used
water wheels. They work
and have the ability to be
made in any size. You don't
have to have dams. Water
wheels not only are more
ascetic than windmills or
solar panels, they do noth-
ing to harm birds, animals
or fish. They can be put
in any year-round river,
stream or creek. They can
be sized to fit the exist-
ing grids for which the
power companies already
have the right of ways.
say a 10 kw here,, a 50 kw
there or which ever size
fits. Off the shelf genera-
tors and alternators can
be used instead of import-
ing them from Europe or
wherever for millions of
dollars, like those wind
generators. Birds won't fly
into them, they don't make
sub-sonic noise to disorient
birds or animals, and fish
can go under or around
them without harm. I
would suggest the editor
of this paper get behind
mister Zeigler and push
our legislators to amend
that initiative (this can be
done because more than
the required two years has
passed) and start talking
to power companies and
get this started. Think
about it, clean energy at a
fraction of the cost of wind
and solar.
Richard Jones
Grapeview
Hats off
to Mason
County
Editor, the Journal
As we bring to a close
the 65th year of the 40
et 8 Journal Christmas
Basket program, I want to
thank all individuals, civic
groups, fraternal groups,
church groups and busi-
nesses of Mason County
that gave to this project.
Total donations amounted
to $27,154. With the econ-
omy down I am thankful
for all your support for our
needy families of Mason
County. This year we had
905 baskets with a cost of
$30,813.
Thanks to all of the
vendors, Red Apple, Franz
Bakery, Dairy Fresh
Farms for the great help in
procuring the food for all
the baskets.
This year's baskets
i!iiiilili!i!iiiil
fed over 3,700 of which
1,850 were kids 16 years
and younger. A thank
you goes to the Toys for
Kids Plus Auction at
Bob's Tavern for get-
ting toys for all the kids
at Walmart. Families
who could not make it
along with late sign-ups
got toys at the Armory.
Thanks to Mason County
Garbage and a family
who together donated
over 20 bikes.
Special thanks must
be given to all my help-
ers on this project. The
helpers on sign up days,
Julie Orme for all the
work putting names in
the computer, Boy Scout
troop and Cub Scout
Troop 110 for taking the
baskets out to the cars
along with the ROTC of
Shelton High School and
all my fellow 40et8 and
Le Femmes Olivia Petty
for unloading the trucks.
Also Patty's Teddy Bear
Brigade for all the stuffed
animals given to all the
kids and thanks to my
wife and the Shelton-Ma-
son County Journal for
all the work on collecting
the donations and work-
ing with me - great job
ladies.
We in Mason County
can stand tall and proud
for helping the less fortu-
nate of our great commu-
nity. I say thank you all for
your generosity and caring.
What a great community
to be part of. May the new
year bring good health and
prosperity to all.
Gene Strozyk
Shelton
Thanks for
your help
Editor, the Journal
We want to thank all
the people who searched,
called and put up posters
to help us find our beloved
dog Bear. We want to es-
pecially thank Lin Greger-
son and the entire Kitten
Rescue network for all
their hard work. Sadly, we
found out Thursday night,
Dec. 29, that Bear had
been hit by a car on John's
Prairie on Dec. 11 and
died. Thankfully a man
saw what happened at
the time and thought that
animal control was going
to be called. If not for him
seeing what happened
and seeing Bear's picture
in the paper, we wouldn't
have been able to bring
Bear home at last. Once
again, thanks to all.
Kevin and Linda
Nelson
Shelton
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Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, January 5, 2012
Karl Sleight, publisher Advertising:
Jesse Mullen, general mgr. Dave Pierik, advertising manager
Harvey Morris, ad representative
Newsroom:
Kevan Moore, managing editor Front office:
Aria Shephard, North Mason, Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper
environment, reporter Margot Brand, circulation
Cricket Carter, mailro0m
Natalie Johnson reporter
Emily Hanson, sports reporter supervisor
Adam Rudnick, Copy editor
Composing room:
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Pressroom:
Kelly Riordan, production manager
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