January 27, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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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~
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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