January 6, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 1 (1 of 32 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
January 6, 2011 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
,/ ,~ ~:~!~, : :v"~,':-"~
~-, ~ : ~it~ +/:'! ~'ii~:i: ~ ;"i/;~'~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i~
YEAR 125, $1
SHELTON, MASON COUNTY, WASH. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2011
WEEK 1
JACK MILES IS A PORT OF SHELTON COMMISSIONER.
PORT COMMISSIONER
FILES HARASSMENT
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Mason County Journal Reporter
The tension at Tuesday's
Port of Shelton commission
meeting was, once again,
palpable.
During the meeting, port
commissioner Jack Miles
filed a formal complaint
with the commission against
port executive director John
Dobson.
"It's unfortunate that the
beginning of the year has to
start out on such a unhappy
note," Miles said.
The complaint alleges
that Dobson made more
than one threat to Miles
over the course of the last
several weeks. He request-
ed that Dobson be placed on
administrative leave or sus-
pended.
Miles said that the
threats are related to his
continued stance against
the proposed ADAGE bio-
mass facility.
"He said I should watch
my back," Miles said.
Miles did not comment
on any other specific threat,
but said he felt uncomfort-
able in the same room with
Dobson.
"I no longer feel safe in
this environment," he said.
"I should not have to feel
this way. If necessary I
will file a restraining order
against Mr. Dobson."
Commissioner Jay Hupp
questioned whether the
commission had any author-
ity or interest in hearing the
complaint.
"It seems to me that it's
a problem between you and
John," Hupp said. "From a
legal standpoint the com-
mission neither has the ob-
ligation nor is the commis-
sion in a position to inter-
cede between an employee
and a commissioner. If you
were an employee it would
be a completely different
situation."
Hupp then called Miles'
allegations "unsubstanti-
ated."
Port attorney Skip Haus-
er assured Hupp, however,
that the commission could
hear complaints from any-
one against any of their em-
ployees, including Dobson.
"The port can always re-
ceive a complaint," Hauser
said. "The complaint can be
quashed."
Miles said that he sought
support from commissioners
Hupp and Tom Wallitner in
an earlier executive session,
and asked them to suspend
Dobson, but was ignored.
"They're not going to do
anything about it," he said.
"It's what I expected."
Miles said the threats
have continued, but didn't
give any details.
Wallitner said that he
knew nothing of the com-
plaint before today.
"I'm flabbergasted," he
said. "John Dobson does not
talk like that."
The commission declined
to take action because Dob-
son was not in attendance at
the meeting, but said they
would look into the com-
plaint.
Miles filed his complaint
with the Mason County
Sheriffs office Tuesday af-
ternoon.
Dobson declined to com-
ment on the complaint.
AREA BUSINESSES
BOAST OF RECORD
SALES IN DECEMBER
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Mason County Journal Reporter
Mason County residents
showed their support for lo-
cal businesses this holiday
season, making the First
Friday celebration, and the
rest of December, a resound-
ing success for the business
community.
"December was the big-
gest month in the history
of our store," said Carolyn
Olsen, owner of Sage Book-
store. "It's clear that people
were buying."
Olsen said that a combi-
nation of loyal customers
and a successful first Fri-
day, among other things, set
them up for a great month.
"We have a great custom-
I[IIU!UJJ![I!UIjIjIJIIrl2
er base," she said.
For other businesses,
December was less monu-
mental, but still had steady
business.
"Things started to turn
around for us last sum-
mer," said Colleen Hunter
of Lynch Creek Floral. "It's
steadily getting better."
Hunter also said that
First Friday catapulted
them into a successful
month.
"It was fabulous," she
said. "We had people who
came in who said they had
been waiting since last year
to come back."
Programs like First
Friday helped draw
attention to local businesses
for the holiday season, and
Continued on page 5
By KEVAN MOORE
Mason County Journal News Editor
A pair of Shelton women
died following separate col-
lisions on local roads' within
the last week.
Shelton resident Kristen
L. Roy, 40, died following a
wreck on Highway 101 on
Wednesday, Dec. 29, and
Linda K. Mapes, 50, also
of Shelton, died following
a single-vehicle collision in
the 1200 block of East Agate
Road on Jan. 2.
In the first case, the
Washington State Patrol
said that Roy was headed
northbound on Highway
101 in a blue 2006 Toyo-
ta Solara. Upon reaching
Brockdale, Roy's vehicle
spun clockwise across the
center-line and was struck
by a southbound 2006 Hon-
da Pilot.
The driver of the Pilot,
Marry S. Muckian, 33, and
her passengers Brian P.
Muckian, 34, a 4-year-old
boy, a 7-year-old boy and
an ll-year-old boy were all
transported to Mason Gen-
eral Hospital and released.
The highway was fully
blocked for two hours and
34 minutes and partially
blocked for 41 minutes. The
state patrol said that the
cause of the wreck is still
under investigation and
that no charges are pending.
The second fatality of the
week occurred around 8:45
p.m. on January 2.
The Mason County Sher-
iffs Office said Mapes was
driving her 2008 Kia Spec-
tra westbound when she
drove onto a frosty shoulder.
The sheriffs office said that
she then apparently over
corrected, causing the vehi-
cle to slide broadside across
both lanes of travel.
The vehicle impacted a
ditch and rolled, partially
ejecting Mapes. According
to investigators, Mapes was
not wearing a seat belt and
died at the scene. Deputies
are continuing their inves-
tigation to determine the
contributing factors to this
collision.
GOODWILL ADDING
STORE, EXPANDING
PROGRAMS IN SHELTON
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Mason County Journal Reporter
Tacoma Goodwill is look-
ing to expand its empire to
Mason County, adding a
store and expanding social
programs designed to help
people empower themselves
and get good jobs.
"People didn't want a
hand-out, they wanted a
hand-up, that's Goodwill in
a nutshell," said Matthew
Erlich, media relations and
PR coordinator for Tacoma
Goodwill.
By March, Tacoma Good-
will expects to open its
Shelton store, located in
Kneeland Plaza, which will
employ 25 people, many of
which will have some type
of barrier to employment,
Shelton store manager Rod
Clement said.
"It's kind of our focus," he
said. "We have various re-
sources, placement services
that we work with."
Clement has worked as a
Goodwill store manager for
the last seven years, work-
ing in Centralia and Olym-
pia. Goodwill picked him to
run the Shelton store partly
because he lives in Mason
County
Goodwill representatives
stressed that it is much
more than a store, and is
instead a larger non-profit
organization that also offers
federally funded education
and job training programs.
One of the programs that
Goodwill has already imple-
mented in the area is their
Senior Community Service
Employment Program .(SC-
SEP) located at the Shelton
WorkSource office.
Terry Weber, interim
Supervisor at WorkSource,
said that programs like this
Continued on page 5
RESULT
OF DUI
The Washington State
Patrol said that a Belfair
man will face criminal
charges following a Janu-
ary 4 single-vehicle collision
in which drugs or alcohol
played a role.
The state patrol said that
Belfair resident Jeremiah
M, Northup, 29, was driv-
ing a silver 2005 Subaru
Impreza soutbound near
Judy Lane when it crossed
the oncoming northbound
lane, left the roadway and
struck a DOT sign and dirt
embankment.
The state patrol said that
Northup was restrained
at the time of the wreck,
but had to be transported
to Harrison Hospital in
Bremerton with head and
neck injuries. The state pa-
trol also said that the colli-
sion was caused by DUI and
reckless driving and that
Northup would be charged
accordingly.
SERWNG MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON FOf~ 125 YEARS
YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED A
CHANGE TO THE JOURNAL
THIS WEEK. WE ARE
CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
OF JOURNALISM IN MASON
COUNTY AND KICKING
OFF WITH A RETURN TO
THE PAST. THE FLAG THAT
GRACES THE TOP OF THIS
PAGE WAS A MAINSTAY IN
THE COMMUNITY FOR FIVE
DECADES. THE STYLE OF THIS
FRONT PAGE IS BASED ON OUR
PRODUCT IN THE '30'S.
- JJM EDITOR
THE SUN
SHINES BUT
BRINGS COLD
TEMPERATURES
High Low Precip
Fahrenheit (In.)
December29 42 23 .02
December30 37 19 .00
December31 35 17 .00
January 1 39 15 .00
January 2 41 21 .00
January 3 39 17 .00
January 4 35 21 .00
Measurements are re-
corded for the National
Weather Service at Sander-
son Field.
The sunny weather that
Mason County has enjoyed
for the past week or so has
officially come to an end,
according to the National
Weather Service.
Consistent rain and pos-
sible snow are predicted
throughout the next week.
Thursday should see a
high temperature around
45 degrees with light winds
from the southwest. There is
a 70 percent chance of rain.
Thursday night should
be mostly cloudy with a low
around 40 degrees.
Friday, there is an 80 per-
cent chance of rain, with a
projected high of 44 degrees
and winds up to 15 miles per
hour from the southwest.
Continued on page 5
GREETINGS FOR A NEW YEAR!
MEMBERS OF THE AREA BAND SIDEWAYS REIGN PERFORM DURING A CONCERT TO WELCOME THE
NEW YEAR AT THE ROBIN HOOD RESTAURANT AND PUB ON DECEMBER 31, 2010 IN UNION CITY.
JUSTIN STANG IS PICTURED AT LEFT WITH BAND MEMBER CODY GOODWIN AT RIGHT.
PHOTO BY NATALIE JOHNSON