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JOURNA LEDITORIAL
n
During the 125-year history of the Shel-
ton-Mason County Journal, we faced our fair
share of controvery and sometimes been a
part of the news.
This week we reflect on a policy estab-
lished by former owner Henry Gay that
stirred emotions and put many in this com-
munity at odds with the Journal.
The policy of naming witnesses in sexual
assault cases, even those under the age of
18, that was upheld by the state's supreme
court, but has since been abandoned, is the
subject of this editorial. The Journal no lon-
ger names those witnesses under the age of
18.
Part two of our series is a column writ-
ten by Journal legend Henry Guernsey Gay
(1926-1999) on March 5, 1992.
Newsprint justice
Editor, the Journal "
The trouble with the criminal-justice sys-
tem in this country is that it's too cumber-
some. There are all these rules that must be
followed, all these procedures that must be
carried out.
The dedicated men who wrote our Consti- and smile buttons, left unplowed.
tution and its Bill of Rights did a splendid job This being the case, it is time to do away The responsible newspaper decides to
in most areas but they missed the boat when with the unnecessary expense and time-con- replace the criminal-justice system as the
they gave equal rights to a citizen everyone suming effort wasted on citizens everyone judge, jury and punisher of the officeholder.
knows has committed a crime. Or, ~or that knows are guilty of crimes. To spend the na- It considers the evidence and pronounces
matter, any citizen a responsible newspaper tion into bankruptcy because of the fears of him guilty. It then delivers a long, post-ver-
knows has committed a crime, an earlier time is foolish. Let's take a hypo- dict summation in the newspaper's pages.
Both circumstances are the same, of thetical case to see how effective and efficient It prints detailed accusations of the eight
course, because it is the responsible newspa- the new rules will be. women but does not name them. This use
per that provides the information that con- A responsible newspaper finds eight wom- of hearsay evidence from unnamed sources
vinces everyone the citizen has committed a en who say they were sexually harassed by a is a helpful device that does away with such
crime. That's what newspapers are for. As public officeholder. Their charges range from time-consuming and unnecessary consider-
the moral and social arbiters of the nation, unwanted fondling to rape. These are serious ations as the presumption of innocence and
they have not only the duty, but the right, accusations and under our system of justice, the right of the accused to face his accusers.
to decide who is entitled to equal rights and it would be the duty of the newspaper to urge The beauty of this new brand of respon-
who is not. the women to file criminal charges against sible newspaper justice is that it circumvents
The framers of the Constitution came the alleged perpetrator. This done, it would the outlived framework of jurisprudence that
from different backgrounds than persons liv- follow and report the ensuing investigation demanded rights for a citizen everyone knows
ing today. They lived under the heel of an ar- and trial, if one is found warranted, has committed a crime. In our hypothetical
bitrary, unrepresentative government. They But in this case there is a problem. The case, it will have served its purpose if the of-
were just a few years removed from the days women refuse to file charges because that ficeholder is driven from office. Although he
of witch trials and church-state cabals that would entail being identified and they do not doesn't deserve it, the lucky devil will have
ruled through fear and retribution. That is want to be identified. The responsible news- been given his day on the front page, an ac-
why they went overboard on laws to protect paper understands this because it knows that ceptable substitute for his day in court.
the populace from government abuse and women, unlike men, do not have the strength It is to be hoped responsible newspapers
mass hysteria, to withstand the counter-accusations and will embrace this counter-culture system of
Today, of course, there is no need for such embarrassment of public exposure in trials justice. Perhaps it's greatest boon is that it
overblown caution. The government is be- involving sex. They need to be protected by is cost-effective. Taxpayers will not have to
nign and non-intrusive. There are no knocks strong, responsible newspapermen, pick up the bill for an alleged rapist's journey
in the night except for those who deserve The responsible newspaper now makes a though the costly criminal-justice system
them, no overreaction by law enforcers or responsible decision. First, it decides he is from trial to possible incarceration. Already
other authorities. The efficacy of the melt- guilty. Next, it decides he must be punished, hard-pressed taxpayers should not have
ing pot has done away with racism, and the Since the women will not charge him, the to pay to feed and house a person everyone
demise of demagoguery has put an end to punishment of a public trial and possible knows is a rapist. If responsible newspapers
howling mobs and religious fanatics in the conviction leading to incarceration and loss adopt newsprint justice, he will be out on the
streets. A united people, we now live in a of his office, is out. What to do? The answer street fending for himself, among his fellow
community of brotherly love, yellow ribbons is not only logical but breaks ground too long men. And women.
LETTERSTOTHEEDIT()R
Thanks to
District 5
Editor, the Journal
My husband, Gerald
(Jerry) passed away in De-
cember, before his passing
he asked me to stop by and
thank the men of District
Five at Lake Limerick for
their time and energy in the
several calls they made to
our home.
My thanks also go out to
you. We couldn't have made
it without you.
Sorry I have not been able
to stop by, as he wanted.
Take care you guys and
God Bless each and every-
one of you.
Levina Brown
Lake Limerick
end to
wood stoves
in Mason
County
Editor, the Journal
Will biomass proposals
put an end to wood stoves in
Mason County? The answer
is a resounding, maybe, in
Quesnel, British Columbia,
a city very much like Shel-
ton, biomass power and
lumber mills have resulted
in air quality so poor that
wood-burning water heat-
ers and non-complying wood
stoves have been banned.
Last week, the Olympic
Region Clear Air Agency
(ORCAA) issued mandatory
restrictions on wood stoves
in Thurston County, except
in cases where it is the only
available source of heat.
During this time, Mason
County issued an advisory
on wood stove operation.
But voluntary compliance
may soon become a thing of
the past, because according
to ORCAA, biomass fueled
power-generating plants
like the ones Adage and
Simpson are proposing will
be exempt from any burn-
ban restrictions.
Common sense dictates
that periods of burn-bans
will then occur more fre-
quently, as these facilities
will add thousands of tons
of carbon dioxide and other
pollutants into our local air
shed, 24 hours a day, 365
days a year.
If biomass power plants
become a reality, our com-
munity can look forward
to adding increased home
heating bills to a laundry
list of negative impacts,
such as health issues, high-
er taxes, congested roads
and lower property values.
Our local officials are lead-
ing us in exactly the wrong
direction, and at the worst
possible time.
Mason County is per-
fectly poised to capitalize
on baby-boomers, still flush
with cash and looking for a
place to escape the rat race
of past professions. Biomass
will destroy any chance of
attracting this source of sus-
tainable revenue, as well as
those derived from tourism
and sports enthusiasts.
Progress does not have
to look like belching smoke-
stacks and larger prison fa-
cilities, as is being proposed,
but in residential develop-
ment and suitable business
enterprise.
Mason County needs to
take the high road and be a
place where people come to
live, work and enjoy what
they truly value; an unmo-
lested natural paradise. The
money and jobs will follow.
The long-term economic
vitality of our community
lies more in the exercise of
our brains, and a little less
in the flexing of local politi-
cal muscle.
Tom Davis
Shelton
Volunteer
programs
may end
Editor, the Journal
Shelton Junior Programs
supports the Shelton School
District Maintenance and
Operations levy election on
February 8.
For the past 11 years,
2,500 Mason County ele-
mentary students per year
have had the opportunity
to attend live, professional
theater. If the levy fails, the
Shelton High School audito-
rium will no longer be avail-
able and this volunteer pro-
gram will end.
Please join us in support
of this levy on February 8.
SheltonJunior Programs to the editor. We will print signedi original letters
Board of Directors: of local interest. We will not publish I-tters that
Mary Hamlin, Shirley
Gray, KathyOrud, are libelous or scurrilous in nature. Letters should
Jean Benedict, Margaret
Chambers, Phyllis Ahlf,
Jo Ewart, David Miser,
Dorothy Vonhof
125 years of islature. Theses funds help to express our opinion on ,besides doctors, scientists
with paying for materials, how we think our govern- and health care profession-
programs, and even people ment should be doing things als)? They have all issued
for our schools. Our schools through our vote. lengthy papers connecting
really need these funds. The Shelton School Dis- exposure to air pollution to
Editor, the Journal These funds are not a trict has submitted a re- life threatening illnesses.
Having held a continued new tax, but a continuation placement levy on this bal- Adage promises our com-
64 year subscription to the of taxes now being paid. So lot. This replacement levy munity jobs; twenty-four at
Journal, you can under- no new additional money is is crucial for the continua- last count. But that is not
stand our surprise and plea- being asked for. tion of many programs in all Adage will bring to our
sure in seeing the 1930's Our most important our schools. Programs like community. Here is a par-
flag at the top of last week's responsibility is also our sports, music, drama, ad-tial list of the pollutants
issue, commemorating 125 greatest resource. Our kids vance placement courses Adage has the potential to
years of existence, deserve our attention andand most of the afterschool emit annually. These num-
Through those years we support so they can receive events, which use the pool bers were obtained from the
have read, criticized, com- an education that will en- or auditorium, will be elimi- website of Olympic Region
plained and enjoyed the able them to successfullynated if this replacementClean AirAgency(ORCAA).
work and product of no less deal with the world we are levy should fail to pass.Particulate matter 10 -
than four separate owner/ leaving them. Many of our students re- 73.1 tons
publishers, each with their Please help us. Vote yes main in school just so they Nitrogen oxides-240 tons
own, sometimes diverse,for Shelton's school levy. can participate in these Carbon monoxide- 248
leanings. Please encourage others to programs. Once these pro-tons
To have evolved and help. grams are gone, I expect we Carbon dioxide - 687,248
grown over all that time, Walter "Oz" Johnston will lose many students who tons
the Shelton Journal manag- Shelton might have stayed on andVolatile organic com-
ers and crews can obviously graduated, pounds - 34 tons
On the public use side Sulfur dioxide- 83 tons
well.bepr°ud°faj°bbeingd°ne Thank you things, without the levy(SeeTable 9.1 onpage34
Congratulations. passage the school district of 50, of ORCAA's condition-
Robert Holt smi e makers would lack the funding to, al approval document.)
Union keep the doors to the pool These are tons of pollut-
and auditorium open. The ants, described as "major
Editor, the Journal adult swim programs and source," which each year
What really A big thank you to all the community events in the will be added to the already
homeowners and neighbors auditorium are among those compromised air quality we
who decorated their yards, programs that will cease to experience in Mason County.
houses, windows, trees, etc. exist. The above list is not
for Christmas. It was so Please get out and vote inclusive of all of the pol-
Editor, the Journal much fun to go for a drive on February 8. It is your lutants we can expect to
As we start a new year and search out the lights. It right and privilege, receive from Adage; like a
and a new decade there are put a" smile on my face as I Dave Miser daily vitamin, we can all get
many problems in our world, drove home each night, a daily dose of ammonia and
job shortages, bills, debts at I have to admit, I miss hydrochloric acid from Ad-
personal, city, state and fed- the cheery drive home and age as well.
eral levels. We all have our all those displays. I even en"an"ersut.j Residents of Mason
work cut out to overcome saw a festive pole. Krammer County, our Grandchildren
these problems, would be so proud, should not become an en-
But most importantly, Looking forward to next the health dangered species. Locat-
we still have a responsibil- year. ing the Adage facility on
ity for raising our children. Judy MeNtal of Mason John's Prairie will endanger
the health of our seniors
These kids had nothing to Shelton ty Oun""
do with these problems and
and
our
youngsters.
Are
the promised 24 jobs really
must count on the adults to Vote on the lives and health
raise them. Editor, the Journal
It is Shelton School Dis- F- L __ of the two most vulnerable
trict levy time again. Time reDrL ary 8 The American Heart As- groups ofour community? I
for our citizens to raise the sociation, Lung Association, do not think so. What do
money required to educate Editor, the Journal Medical Association have the Journal readers think?
our kids. These are addi- something in common. Katherine Austin Price
tional funds that are not February 8 is the day What do these organi-
provided by our state leg- that we get the opportunity zations have in common
See Letters on page A-5
Shelton-Mason County
USPS 492-800
Shelton-Mason County Journal is a member of
Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association.
Rick Kennedy, publisher
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason Newsroom:
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$37 per year for Mason County addresses,Kevan Moore, news editor
Published weekly by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. $51 per year in state of Washington but outside Mary Duncan, living section
at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mason County, $61 per year out of state.Dean Siemon, sports
Mailing address: P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Aria Shephard, North
Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com /'Juvruad ~¢'wi n~h i_oJ-~dbv Mason, environment
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Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011
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Dave Pierik, advertising manager
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Composing room:
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Front office: Pressroom:
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Margot Brand, circulation
manager
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]