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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 11, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 11, 2007
 
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MS Power push in Potlatch A crew works on a new administration building for the Cushman Hydroelectric Project in Potlatch. The two Cushman dams are owned by Tacoma Public Util- ities and supply electric power to the city on the other side of Puget Sound. The stone structure behind the workers is part of the power generating facilities of the hydroelectric system. County commission roundu.p: Higher fees for buildings, plans Fees for building and planning on this proposal. Prior to the vote, permits in Mason County are on the rise. After a public hearing on esday, January 9, the Mason. bounty Commission voted unani- mously to approve increasing cur- rent fees in the department by 10 Percent.  Barbara Robinson, the county's eputy director of community de- Velopment, explained that this increase will help the department [und necessary services. An ear- a report suggested revenue had .alien short in the department .Since the last fee rise of 2 percent m 2004, while staff cost-of-living Wages have increased about 3.5 percent each year in the last three years. bThis proposal initially came eiore the board - then inc!uding ! :SnwDYc  Y:ed 79.onsAt Ghai tirae the commissioners decided to postpone a decision in order to allow staff to meet with repre- sentatives of the Mason County Home Builders' Associat!Onr: t lSCuss their concerns. - ;he Olyrapla Master Bmlae Though the original proposa also included a 3 percent increase 1 in subsequent years in order to continue maintaining neces- sary revenues for services, staff removed this section until the county receives more comments Robinson read into the record a letter from Brandon Houskeeper, government affairs director of the Olympia Master Builders, speak- ing in favor of the fee increase. In other business on January 9, commissioners: • Scheduled a public hearing for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23, to consider amendments to the Belfair/Lower Hood Canal Water Reclamation Facilities Plan, also known as the Belfair Facility Plan. They will consider establishing a Limited Area of More Intense Ru- ral Development along the North Shore of Hood Canal. • Authorized an agreement with Washington State Univer- sity in the amount of $208,528 for the WSU Extension programs for 2007. • Authorized an amendment to an agreement with the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration for Aggression Replacement Training Clinical Consultation. • Authorized John Keates, the county's parks and trails director, to request proposals for the Oak- land Bay Park Master Site Plan Design Services. • Conducted a public hear- ing and then rezoned 15.23 acres north of Tahuya from its previous zoning designation of Rural Resi- dential 20 to Rural Residential 5, as requested by John Hoff. Shelton to hold talks on urban growth area The City of Shelton is holding an open house to share informa- tion about the proposed Shelton Urban Growth Area Plan. The open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 17, at the Shelton Civic Center, 525 West Cota Street. Property owners, residents, business own- ers and other interested parties are invited to attend this meeting to learn more about how the plan was developed, ask questions and provide comments. The city is preparing to com- plete the urban growth area plan and adopt it as a new chapter in the city's comprehensive plan. The urban growth area plan will: include goals and policies specific to the urban growth area that pro- vide guidance to decision-makers; plan for orderly growth and de- velopment; enable the cost-effec- tive extension of city services; give greater predictability to property owners on the future use and en- joyment of their property; and pro- vide the city with a framework to guide future annexation decisions and extensions of public services. Also under consideration are refinements to the urban growth area boundary that would result in the removal of some lands from the urban growth area. The city is planning to adopt the urban growth area plan by April of this year. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllll IIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Benjamin Christopher Scott was born on December 22, 2006 at Capital Medical Center in Olym- pia to Colleen and Hari-Jodan Scott of Tumwater. He weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and was 191/2 inches long. Grandparents are John and Linda McCallum of Edmonds and Stephen Scott Sr. of Tumwater. Great-grandparents are John and Debbie McCallum of Seattle, Di- ana Rogers of Kent and Martha Pierson of Deepwater, Missouri. Jason Kenneth Northness was born on December 31 at Capital Medical Center in Olym- pia to Jaime and Eric Northness of Shelton. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Cassie Lynn Muenchow was born on December 30 at Capital Medical Center in Olympia to Meghan and Alan Muenchow of Shelton. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Montana Paj6 Cain was born on January 3 at Ma- son General Hospital to Melanie and Adam Cain of Shelton. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. She joins Ga- briel, age 8. Grandparents are Rick and Paula Wood of Shelton, Bryce and Belinda Cain of Medical Lake, Rick and Neva Peekham of Mc- Cleary and Hal Studer of Shelton. Great-grandparents are Daniel and Barb Wadsworth of Grape- view, Huck and Ernestine Strutz, Ella Ray, Richard Wood, the late Harvey and Caroline Pollock of Shelton, Calvin and Ruth Cain of Port Orchard and Morris Ray of Battle Ground. The following students from Shelton have graduated from South Puget Sound Com- munity College in Olympia and have received associate of arts degrees: Kathryn Elise Olin, Rebecca Joy Faust and, Joanna Marie Col- vin, James Scott Wallace, also of Shelton, earned an associate of general studies. SHELTON School District #309 BREAKFAST & LUNCH I00tNtl January 15-19 MONDAY: NO SCHOOL - MARLIN LU- THER KING DAY TUESDAY: Breakfast: Cold cereal, churro, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star Smart Bar: Main Line: Crlamy macaroni and cheese, ham slice, chocolate milk. Speed Line: Chicken burger with Thousand Island dressing. WEDNESDAY: Breakfast: Breakfast sau- sage, bagel, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star 5mart Bar: Main Line: Chili with warm pretzel, happy birthday cupcake, milk. Speed Line: C.heese sticks with Marinara sauce. THURSDAY: Breakfast: Pancake, sausage link, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star Smart Bar: Main Line: Turkey gravy over mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, dinner roll, milk. Speed Line: Chicken burger. FRIDAY: Breakfast: Breakfast pizza, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star Smart Bar: Main Line: Cheese- burger on a whole wheat bun, French fries, chocolate milk. Speed Line: Chicken burger with Thousand Island. This menu sponsored by LUMBERMENS SHELTON 114 E. Cedar St. 360-426-2611 HOODSPORT 150 N. lake Cushman Rd. 360.877-6881 I know you better than you think I do. I know you are itching fbr the year-end Coffeehouse Investor portfolio returns. We'll save those for next week. First, I could start off by congratulating you on the outstanding job you did managing your portfolio this past year, with returns in the double-digit arena. Heck, I could pat you on the back to recognize the fine job you have done over the past four years, with your portfolio showing significant increases year after year. I could make this an end-of-year feel-good column to match the end-of-year feel-good report you will be receiving from your stockbroker shortly, who will CERTAINLY be patting himself on the back for the fine job he has done managing your account. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you take it), I am not in a feel-good mood. I am in a "wake-up- and-get-real" mood. The reality is that you are doing a lousy job managing your portfolio. Downright miserable. And you don't even know it. But I do. I know you better than you think I do. You think you had a good year in your common stock portfolio this past year or four years? Compared to what? The ten-year Treasury bond? You are so busy with your life and so blinded by Wall Street's glowing stock market reports that you have no idea that your hodge podge portfolio of blue chip stocks has underperformed the large cap benchmark by several percentage points this year. Feeling good about your stock market returns over the past four years? Sure you are, but only because you possess some vague notion that your common stocks are outpacing your two-year CDs. Don't kid yourself. You have no idea how your common stock returns matched up to a diversified Coffeehouse-type equity index-fund benchmark, which, by the way, has generated annualized returns of 21 percent during the same forty-eight month stretch. I am not bragging about and touting the Coffeehouse portfolio because you and I both know those returns won't last. I am just letting you know that I know that you don't know what is going on inside your portfolio compared to a benchmark. You are clueless. Why? Because you are complacent. You are lazy. You think it doesn't matter. Your account is on the plus side for the year, well north of CD rates, and that is all that matters to you. The fact that your common stocks aren't even coming close to capturing the market's entire return is completely irrelevant to you. I listen to you whine about the high price of gas. I listen to you bellyache about the increase in the price of a latte. And yet you sit there in your lazy-boy chair and won't make fifteen minutes worth of positive changes in your portfolio that will probably save you hundreds of thousands of dollars at retirement twenty years out. How do I know that? Because I have taken the time to run the numbers. For myself. Let me fill you in. Underperforming a benchmark by three percentage points annually over the next twenty years in my retirement account is going to cost me so much that I can only laugh in pain today. Think you are a pretty good investor? Average at best? You bet you are - average like the average American who is too busy to put together a long term financial plan because you don't want to deal with the hard truth that you probably should be saving a little more and spending a little less. I know you better than you think I do. Last year, early on in this space, I challenged you to keep track of your expenses, so at the end of the year you could make some rational decisions on where your dollars go - the first step in saving more and spending less. Were you up to the challenge? I invited you to take up this exercise of keeping track, not to constrict your lifestyle, but to ACCENTUATE your life. Last January, I wrote, I know you better than you think I do. Despite the many challenges of building a successful portfolio for" your retirement years, I know that deep down inside you DO want to take personal responsibility for your financial & emotional well-being. It is just that our lives are so darned busy that we hardly know where to start. On top of that, we abhor change and are a little bit complacent, especially when things appear to be going our way. If you can't look beyond the rose colored facade of your portfolio and make a few positive financial changes in your life for the New Year, who will do it for you? DON'T BE AFRAID!! Pacific Asset Management Donald Gardner, CPA, CFW (360) 426-8262 601 Railroad, Suite 400, Shelton , DonaldGardnerCF  ..... :., Thursday, January 11, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 9 MS Power push in Potlatch A crew works on a new administration building for the Cushman Hydroelectric Project in Potlatch. The two Cushman dams are owned by Tacoma Public Util- ities and supply electric power to the city on the other side of Puget Sound. The stone structure behind the workers is part of the power generating facilities of the hydroelectric system. County commission roundu.p: Higher fees for buildings, plans Fees for building and planning on this proposal. Prior to the vote, permits in Mason County are on the rise. After a public hearing on esday, January 9, the Mason. bounty Commission voted unani- mously to approve increasing cur- rent fees in the department by 10 Percent.  Barbara Robinson, the county's eputy director of community de- Velopment, explained that this increase will help the department [und necessary services. An ear- a report suggested revenue had .alien short in the department .Since the last fee rise of 2 percent m 2004, while staff cost-of-living Wages have increased about 3.5 percent each year in the last three years. bThis proposal initially came eiore the board - then inc!uding ! :SnwDYc  Y:ed 79.onsAt Ghai tirae the commissioners decided to postpone a decision in order to allow staff to meet with repre- sentatives of the Mason County Home Builders' Associat!Onr: t lSCuss their concerns. - ;he Olyrapla Master Bmlae Though the original proposa also included a 3 percent increase 1 in subsequent years in order to continue maintaining neces- sary revenues for services, staff removed this section until the county receives more comments Robinson read into the record a letter from Brandon Houskeeper, government affairs director of the Olympia Master Builders, speak- ing in favor of the fee increase. In other business on January 9, commissioners: • Scheduled a public hearing for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23, to consider amendments to the Belfair/Lower Hood Canal Water Reclamation Facilities Plan, also known as the Belfair Facility Plan. They will consider establishing a Limited Area of More Intense Ru- ral Development along the North Shore of Hood Canal. • Authorized an agreement with Washington State Univer- sity in the amount of $208,528 for the WSU Extension programs for 2007. • Authorized an amendment to an agreement with the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration for Aggression Replacement Training Clinical Consultation. • Authorized John Keates, the county's parks and trails director, to request proposals for the Oak- land Bay Park Master Site Plan Design Services. • Conducted a public hear- ing and then rezoned 15.23 acres north of Tahuya from its previous zoning designation of Rural Resi- dential 20 to Rural Residential 5, as requested by John Hoff. Shelton to hold talks on urban growth area The City of Shelton is holding an open house to share informa- tion about the proposed Shelton Urban Growth Area Plan. The open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 17, at the Shelton Civic Center, 525 West Cota Street. Property owners, residents, business own- ers and other interested parties are invited to attend this meeting to learn more about how the plan was developed, ask questions and provide comments. The city is preparing to com- plete the urban growth area plan and adopt it as a new chapter in the city's comprehensive plan. The urban growth area plan will: include goals and policies specific to the urban growth area that pro- vide guidance to decision-makers; plan for orderly growth and de- velopment; enable the cost-effec- tive extension of city services; give greater predictability to property owners on the future use and en- joyment of their property; and pro- vide the city with a framework to guide future annexation decisions and extensions of public services. Also under consideration are refinements to the urban growth area boundary that would result in the removal of some lands from the urban growth area. The city is planning to adopt the urban growth area plan by April of this year. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllll IIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Benjamin Christopher Scott was born on December 22, 2006 at Capital Medical Center in Olym- pia to Colleen and Hari-Jodan Scott of Tumwater. He weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and was 191/2 inches long. Grandparents are John and Linda McCallum of Edmonds and Stephen Scott Sr. of Tumwater. Great-grandparents are John and Debbie McCallum of Seattle, Di- ana Rogers of Kent and Martha Pierson of Deepwater, Missouri. Jason Kenneth Northness was born on December 31 at Capital Medical Center in Olym- pia to Jaime and Eric Northness of Shelton. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Cassie Lynn Muenchow was born on December 30 at Capital Medical Center in Olympia to Meghan and Alan Muenchow of Shelton. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Montana Paj6 Cain was born on January 3 at Ma- son General Hospital to Melanie and Adam Cain of Shelton. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. She joins Ga- briel, age 8. Grandparents are Rick and Paula Wood of Shelton, Bryce and Belinda Cain of Medical Lake, Rick and Neva Peekham of Mc- Cleary and Hal Studer of Shelton. Great-grandparents are Daniel and Barb Wadsworth of Grape- view, Huck and Ernestine Strutz, Ella Ray, Richard Wood, the late Harvey and Caroline Pollock of Shelton, Calvin and Ruth Cain of Port Orchard and Morris Ray of Battle Ground. The following students from Shelton have graduated from South Puget Sound Com- munity College in Olympia and have received associate of arts degrees: Kathryn Elise Olin, Rebecca Joy Faust and, Joanna Marie Col- vin, James Scott Wallace, also of Shelton, earned an associate of general studies. SHELTON School District #309 BREAKFAST & LUNCH I00tNtl January 15-19 MONDAY: NO SCHOOL - MARLIN LU- THER KING DAY TUESDAY: Breakfast: Cold cereal, churro, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star Smart Bar: Main Line: Crlamy macaroni and cheese, ham slice, chocolate milk. Speed Line: Chicken burger with Thousand Island dressing. WEDNESDAY: Breakfast: Breakfast sau- sage, bagel, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star 5mart Bar: Main Line: Chili with warm pretzel, happy birthday cupcake, milk. Speed Line: C.heese sticks with Marinara sauce. THURSDAY: Breakfast: Pancake, sausage link, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star Smart Bar: Main Line: Turkey gravy over mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, dinner roll, milk. Speed Line: Chicken burger. FRIDAY: Breakfast: Breakfast pizza, fruit or fruit juice, milk. Lunch: Five Star Smart Bar: Main Line: Cheese- burger on a whole wheat bun, French fries, chocolate milk. Speed Line: Chicken burger with Thousand Island. This menu sponsored by LUMBERMENS SHELTON 114 E. Cedar St. 360-426-2611 HOODSPORT 150 N. lake Cushman Rd. 360.877-6881 I know you better than you think I do. I know you are itching fbr the year-end Coffeehouse Investor portfolio returns. We'll save those for next week. First, I could start off by congratulating you on the outstanding job you did managing your portfolio this past year, with returns in the double-digit arena. Heck, I could pat you on the back to recognize the fine job you have done over the past four years, with your portfolio showing significant increases year after year. I could make this an end-of-year feel-good column to match the end-of-year feel-good report you will be receiving from your stockbroker shortly, who will CERTAINLY be patting himself on the back for the fine job he has done managing your account. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you take it), I am not in a feel-good mood. I am in a "wake-up- and-get-real" mood. The reality is that you are doing a lousy job managing your portfolio. Downright miserable. And you don't even know it. But I do. I know you better than you think I do. You think you had a good year in your common stock portfolio this past year or four years? Compared to what? The ten-year Treasury bond? You are so busy with your life and so blinded by Wall Street's glowing stock market reports that you have no idea that your hodgepodge portfolio of blue chip stocks has underperformed the large cap benchmark by several percentage points this year. Feeling good about your stock market returns over the past four years? Sure you are, but only because you possess some vague notion that your common stocks are outpacing your two-year CDs. Don't kid yourself. You have no idea how your common stock returns matched up to a diversified Coffeehouse-type equity index-fund benchmark, which, by the way, has generated annualized returns of 21 percent during the same forty-eight month stretch. I am not bragging about and touting the Coffeehouse portfolio because you and I both know those returns won't last. I am just letting you know that I know that you don't know what is going on inside your portfolio compared to a benchmark. You are clueless. Why? Because you are complacent. You are lazy. You think it doesn't matter. Your account is on the plus side for the year, well north of CD rates, and that is all that matters to you. The fact that your common stocks aren't even coming close to capturing the market's entire return is completely irrelevant to you. I listen to you whine about the high price of gas. I listen to you bellyache about the increase in the price of a latte. And yet you sit there in your lazy-boy chair and won't make fifteen minutes worth of positive changes in your portfolio that will probably save you hundreds of thousands of dollars at retirement twenty years out. How do I know that? Because I have taken the time to run the numbers. For myself. Let me fill you in. Underperforming a benchmark by three percentage points annually over the next twenty years in my retirement account is going to cost me so much that I can only laugh in pain today. Think you are a pretty good investor? Average at best? You bet you are - average like the average American who is too busy to put together a long term financial plan because you don't want to deal with the hard truth that you probably should be saving a little more and spending a little less. I know you better than you think I do. Last year, early on in this space, I challenged you to keep track of your expenses, so at the end of the year you could make some rational decisions on where your dollars go - the first step in saving more and spending less. Were you up to the challenge? I invited you to take up this exercise of keeping track, not to constrict your lifestyle, but to ACCENTUATE your life. Last January, I wrote, I know you better than you think I do. Despite the many challenges of building a successful portfolio for" your retirement years, I know that deep down inside you DO want to take personal responsibility for your financial & emotional well-being. It is just that our lives are so darned busy that we hardly know where to start. On top of that, we abhor change and are a little bit complacent, especially when things appear to be going our way. If you can't look beyond the rose colored facade of your portfolio and make a few positive financial changes in your life for the New Year, who will do it for you? DON'T BE AFRAID!! Pacific Asset Management Donald Gardner, CPA, CFW (360) 426-8262 601 Railroad, Suite 400, Shelton , DonaldGardnerCF  ..... :., Thursday, January 11, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 9