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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 27, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 27, 2011
 
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Read all about tt] Le~s~a~ion was i~troduced late last week again ~ ~ ..... ~ i JOURN.4L E DITO RIAL in both houses of the Washington Legisla- But, the more troubling aspect of the ef- ture that will undermine the public's ability to keep tabs on local government. The proposed laws would give all cities and counties in the state the option of plac- ing their government notices on their web- sites instead of publishing them in their designated legal papers like the Journal. Legal notices, to be sure, play an inte- gral role in supporting newspapers as busi- nesses and this legislation will kill jobs and weaken newspapers from here in Mason County to Pend Oreille County and back fort to get local governments out of the pub- lic notification business is that local govern- ments should be bending over backwards to inform taxpaying citizens, not finding ways to avoid them. County Commissioner and State Senator Tim Sheldon is currently listed as one of the sponsors on the senate version of this leg- islation. We urge him and his colleagues to do everything they can to see to it that both versions of the legislation don't make it out of committee. l~~ll . LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR How do we spend the money for schools Editor, the Journal The Shelton School Dis- trict has sent advertise- ments to me twice by mail asking me as a citizen to support the upcoming levy. They want $6,570,000 for the first year (2012) which they say is 14 percent of the budget. There is then a bud- get of $47,000,000 available for the around 4,000 stu- dent in the district or about $11,750 for each one. I could not find the actual budget on the school district web site. For 20 students that is $235,000. If we set up a "new" school, we could then pay a teacher salary and benefits of $80,000, rent a house with utilities at $2,400 a month or $28,000 a year, give each student a computer with accessories at $1,000 each for a total of $20,000, give each student $1,000 for books, etc., cost- ing $20,000 for a grand to- tal of $168,000. That leaves $66,200 for incidentals or $3,310 per student. While this "new" school is only imaginary, perhaps we should all think about how we fund our schools and how all the money we vote for is spent. It seems to me that $11,750 is a lot of money per student and that we should be getting a lot more for our money. Richard Buchholz Shelton The levy must pass Editor, the Journal We are trying to bring awareness to the Shelton community to pass a levy that will provide the school with funds desperately needed for facility upgrades, repairs and general func- tion. The February levy (which is the continuation of a levy people are already paying on) really must pass. If it falls, many important ad- vantages available before will see cuts that will dra- matically impact the region and the opportunities we can provide our students and the surrounding com- munity of all ages. As a middle-aged rein- dent of Olympia I am con- cerned that aside from that, these proposed reductions could be the demise of an outstanding local festival, "Bluegrass from the For- est" which uses the Shelton High School as its only pos- sible facility. This festival is a boon to the Shelton/Olym- pia community and the loss of it would truly be a shame. If this levy is defeated it will impact everyone; with the cuts in many important offerings formerly provided. Imagine, aside from affect- ing the arts, even school safety and emergency pre- paredness programs, nurs- ing services, special educa- tion and many other impor- tant things will also largely be affected. Vote yes. Barbara Collins Olympia Our shools need repair Editor, the Journal As a homeowner in the Pioneer School District, I would like to bring to the attention of district voters that we have an opportunity to vote on February 8, 2011 for Proposition 2 - a bond to expand and construct schools. This bond would replace the current Pioneer Intermediate/Middle School and expand the Elementary School. The oldest part of the In- termediate/Middle School was constructed initially in 1952. Between then and 1984, the district cobbled together a haphazard cam- pus of five small buildings. As soon as you step inside any of the buildings, but particularly the oldest ones, it is obvious that the build- ings are broken. In fact, an independent study of the ex- isting buildings rates 15 of 20 of the building systems as poor or unsatisfactory. The electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation sys- tems must be replaced. The buildings do not have fire sprinklers, are not designed to withstand earthquakes, and do not comply with ac- cessibility standards. This is not a safe place for kids to learn. It puts our children and teachers at risk. You may ask, "why not just remodel and bring things up to code?" Cost analysis show that remod- eling would cost 85 percent of new construction and not address the disorganized campus or the problems arising from fourth and fifth graders being housed in the intermediate building rath- er than an age appropriate environment. Our community bears the responsibility to provide a safe, relevant learning en- vironment. By passing this bond, taxpayers will be able to see how their money is being spent. Pleases consider attend- ing one of the informational meetings being held at Pio- neer Intermediate School and take a look at the school for yourself. You will also receive information on costs and have an opportunity to ask questions. Meeting times are listed at pioneer- citizensforeducation@gmail. to editor, will print signed; dginal :te te: s: of local interest. We will not publish comer call 360-427-2615. Barb Cooney are libelous or scurrilous in nature! :Letters Shou!d Shelton be under 350 words and provide cofitact and ad dress information for the Jou al! Stunning dlsregarcl for people's rights , Editor, the Journal It is disturbing to know that, with the exception of Jack Miles, Port of Shelton Commissioner, not a single elected official has reached out to those thousands of Mason County residents who object to having two biomass incinerators sited in their community. Even when confronted with reams of scientific and medical evidence proving that the biomass to power process is harmful to human health the city of Shelton, the County of Mason and the Port of Shelton have not raised a finger to respond to citizen concerns or even avail themselves of the dan- gers. To the contrary, our lo- cal leaders have done ev- erything in their power to thwart opposition to the two-biomass proposals. Pub- lic hearings were refused, petitions were ignored, and the Chamber of Commerce has taken the foolish po- sition of pitting business members against their own customers. None of this con- troversy is necessary. Pro- tection of the public health and promotion of business interests are not mutually exclusive efforts, unless you want them to be. Such a stunning disre- gard for the right of the peo- ple to be heard not only eats at the very roots of our com- munity relationships, but makes one wonder if the bio- mass issue isn't really about providing jobs as much as it is about maintaining the po- litical status quo. Let's face it, less people, less trouble for local offi- cials, so long as they have an industrial base from which to extract revenue. When one considers the propos- als that are currently being promoted by county officials - another 1,500-bed correc- tion facility, two biomass incinerators and a motor- sport race track - and the one they're trying to derail - a large residential devel- opment - you can't help but wonder if their vision of Ma- son County excludes people. Incinerators, racetracks and mega-prisons is not my vision of Mason County, is it yours? It's true, Mason County has to grow or die, but it doesn't have to grow and die. There are better ways to make a buck than are currently being proposed. Tom Davis Shelton Pioneer school levy costly Editor, the Journal Pioneer School District is asking voters to approve about $9.5 million as a maintenance and opera- tions levy for the next three :i years, a 71 percent increase 'over the previous levy, plus $24.5 million (not counting interest) to build a new in- termediate school. The bond issue for the new school is 52 percent more than has ever been previously sought, even when the proposal included a new high school. The new school would cost about $55,000 per full-time equiv- alent student, not including millions in bond interest. Because we must re- pay the bonds and interest within 20 years, we bear the financial responsibility if the district's securities bro- ker proves too optimistic in projecting higher property values. The sad pictures of de- ferTed maintenance used to justify the bond issue cast the board itself in a poor light, since they show ne- glect of the facility we have. While I could support more money for mainte- nance, the issue is whether we need to tear down the middle school and build a new facility. Spending mil- lions to reconfigure the school layout to provide a single entrance, supposedly for safety, won't make chil- dren safer. A madman with a gun might cause just as much mayhem if he entered one way as another. The real question is whether we can expect sub- stantial improvement in educational achievement. In recent years, Pioneer eighth graders have slightly beaten statewide average scores in reading; third graders scor- ing generally lower, though they beat the statewide averages last year. Both middle school and primary school students have scored somewhat below average in math. Yet, if the interme- diate facilities were com- paratively poor, one would expect students in the pri- mary school, which is gener- ally conceded to have better physical facilities, to show superior results. Because they do not, the allegedly inferior middle school fa- cilities do not appear impor- tant in determining desired educational outcomes. The glittering ambitions of the school board should be tempered by the practical realities of today's economy and the absence of evidence that spending millions on 'bricks and mortar' makes much difference in the qual- ity of education. John Diehl Harstine Island Out of towner spends money in Shelton Editor, the Journal Each spring my family and I travel to Shelton to at- tend the Bluegrass from the Forest Festival. During our stay, we spend money at lo- cal restaurants and stores. Best of all, we enjoy music performance at the Perform- ing Arts Center at the High School. This is an amazing performance space, one that you should be proud to have. The acoustics are great and it's a gorgeous venue for the music shows. Although I don't live in Shelton, I urge voters to pass the levy to keep this venue open. Otherwise, my family won't be visiting and spending any dollars in your town. Linda Hamm Grez North Bend Seventy plus Editor, the Journal The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Chicken Little is alive and well. That's the feeling I get when I read the letters in the Journal against Adage and the bio- mass power plant. The impression portrayed in a cumulative fashion is that the single smoke stack will be spewing out clouds of black noxious smoke and particles that will kill any- thing that comes in contact with it. Admittedly I know little personally about the tech- nology involved with the proposed furnace/incin- erator, but, I can assure just about everyone on the planet that it will be far less noxious than the exist- ing slash piles smoldering unattended in the timber lands that exist today or the typical house wood burning stove. Both of these are very inefficient and produce high levels of pollutants. Neither method of burning gets a sufficient amount of air/oxy- gen for a clean burn. Over the years, the pub- lic has elected legislators that have created the EPA and various other regula- tory agencies each of which have created regulations for control of emissions and al- lowable levels of pollutants. With that in mind the EPA and the regulatory agen- cies should be allowed to do their job. If they approve of the technology and the lev- els of emissions that may be created by the biomass pow- er plant then the construc- tion and operation should be allowed. It was the state legislature with the consent of EPA that put biomass on the table as a renewable re- source. The claim that the stan- dards are out of date just doesn't wash. If I believed the levels stated by the EPA for lead, acids and a variety of other chemicals used in my past career I would have been dead many years ago. I'm 70 plus now, relatively healthy and have a host of friends that were equally exposed and still doing well. If I have a complaint at all about the possibility that a biomass power plant is to be built here in Mason County it is that the local PUD is not the originator of the concept. At least that would keep the profits local and perhaps lower our elec- trical rates. The opposition can be summed up with one state- ment "NIMBY," not in my back yard. Bill Hrbacek Shelton l ~ Shelton-Mason County IT~ .... ....... She~ton-Mason County Joumal is a member of usPs 492-800 Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason SUBSCRIPTION RATES: County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. $37 per year for Mason County addresses, $51 per year in state of Washington but outside Mason County, $61 per year out of state. Owned and published by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 Published weekly by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid at Sheltort, Washington Rick Kennedy, publisher Newsroom: Jesse Mullen, editor Kevan Moore, news editor Mary Duncan, living section Dean Siemon, sports Aria Shephard, North Mason, environment, reporter Natalie Johnson, reporter Advertising: Dave Pierik, advertising manager Harvey Morris, ad representatl~,e Kimberly Janda, ad representative Front office: Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper Margot Brand, circulation Cricket Carter, mailroom supervisor Composing room: William Adams, graphics Gaylene Wiseman, paginator Koleen Wood, classifieds/legals Pressroom: Kelly Riordan, production manager Travis Miller press operator