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SHELTON-
MASON COUNTY
JOURI00IAL
Thursday, February 1, 2007
121st Year n Number 5 5 Sections m 44 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington
75 cents
A PRACTICE BURN in Shelton gives firefighters the chance to work
on their skills, but a second exercise was canceled due to a burn ban.
There's more about the burn that proceeded as planned on page 29.
Irlversion leads to burn ban
temperature inversion led to
one burn ban effective at
last Sunday, which contin-
at least through Wednesday
and Thurston counties.
burning is allowed in fire-
or uncertified woodstoves,
all outdoor burning is pro-
even in areas where out-
is not permanently
according to the Olympic
Clean Air Agency.
A change in weather will be
needed to restore cleaner air qual-
ity, but that's not forecast until
sometime next week, the agency
noted in a press release.
Chilly overnight temperatures
in the 20s coupled with thick fog
also created slick conditions on
some area roadways during morn-
ing commute times, but no serious
accidents wsre reported.
The burn ban forced Fire Dis-
trict 4 to postpone a live-fire ex-
ercise scheduled for Wednesday
evening at 51 Binns Swiger Loop
Road. It was rescheduled for Feb-
runty 17.
Last Saturday's practice burn at
an abandoned house in downtown
Shelton went off as planned since
the burn ban was not yet in effect.
For a story and photos of the train-
ing exercise, see page 29.
neer to run $9.8-minion bond
EVERETT
an eye toward making a
modern learning environ-
all students, the Pioneer
Board is submitting a $9.8-
school construction bond
to the voters on March 13.
of the current frag-
distribution of classes in
buildings, the bond would
for two distinct schools,
school and a 6-
school. This would be
by adding 11 new
to Pioneer Primary
:it a K-5 building.
existing middle school
renovated for students in
6-8 by modernizing the five
classrooms, adding new
renovating the current
renovating and ex-
gymnasium to
regulation-size floor and
of the existing locker
S.
toaddition, funds would be
Construct a covered play
shed where the elementary chil-
dren could have recess during
inclement weather. The elemen-
tary-school gymnasium would also
be extended to provide for the in-
crease of students needing to use
the facility for physical-education
classes.
PROCEEDS FROM the bond
would be used for the construction
of a new library, administration
building, kitchen and commons
area which would provide greater
opportunities for community use.
"We would like our patrons to
think of Pioneer as a community
center," stated Superintendent
Dan Winter. "For example, it was
wonderful to have the gymnasium
used as the Red Cross Center dur-
ing the recent power outages. Pio-
neer would be even a greater place
for community meetings than it is
now."
Safety of the students is a major
concern for any school district. The
primary building, which opened
its doors in 1994, is regarded as a
safe and secure facility. However,
school officials believe that with its
many spread-out buildings, the in-
termediate and middle school can
leave students vulnerable to un-
desirable situations. Officials said
the bond would provide a more
secure environment with fewer ac-
cess points to the middle school.
Improvements to the playfields
would also be made as well as im-
provements to the existing water
towers and parking areas.
"THESE PROJECTS are part
of the Pioneer School District's ef-
forts to provide our taxpayers with
the best possible return on their
investment," Mr. Winter said.
Currently, Pioneer taxpayers
pay 60 cents per thousand dol-
lars of assessed valuation for the
1992 bond which built the primary
school. That bond is due to expire
in 2011. The estimated combined
cost for the new bond and the ex-
isting bond will be $1.39 per thou-
sand dollars of valuation for a pe-
riod of 13 years ending in 2020.
: no record of denying ride
Transit officials said
Was not denied to a con-
offender who has found
in more trouble with the
lbert Eugene Vanguilder, 33,
serltenced on January 18 in
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUlUlIIIIIIII I
the inside
°Q°t°**eeotooeoll*l*n*gooo*ooolloJ 3
....................... 33
Calendar ....... 17
........................ 36
Dining ..... 32
Journal ................. 18
of Record ............. 26
10
Letters ................. 4
............... 21
"'"................................ 26
11
IIIIIIulllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIilIIIIIlIIIIIIIIlII
illpj!ll!l!Ijllijiji!i!l!lil00
Mason County Superior Court to
43 months in prison for failure to
register as a sex offender.
State law requires convicted
sex offenders to inform local au-
thorities of their whereabouts.
This is Vanguilder's fourth con-
viction of this particular felony
crime. He told Judge James Saw-
yer that he didn't register because
Mason Transit bus drivers refused
to give him a ride from Belfair to
Shelton.
(Please turn to page 8.)
First and only director:
Busacca to leave
literacy agency
Lynn Busacca, executive direc-
tor of Mason County Literacy, is
retiring after 151/2 years as head
of the nonprofit organization.
Busacca told The Journal she
made her decision to retire a year
and a half ago and that it is time
for the organization to bring in
some new energy.
Mason County Literacy offi-
cially became a nonprofit organi-
zation in May 1991 and Busacca
has been head of it ever since,
starting as a part-time coordina-
tor, then as full-time executive di-
rector.
The organization currently is
seeking a new executive director
to replace her. Busacca said she
will continue to volunteer to help
Mason County Literacy with Spell-
E-Bration, its annual community
spelling bee and major fund-rais-
ing event.
Strozyk named
Citizen of Year
Hard-working volunteer Gene
Strozyk was honored as Citizen
of the Year and Hood Canal Com-
munications won Business of the
Year at the Shelton-Mason Coun-
ty Chamber of Commerce's annual
awards banquet last month.
Strozyk, who belongs to the 40
et 8 veterans' organization and
is the leader behind the 40 et 8-
Journal Christmas Fund food bas-
ket program, also leads the Kody
Foundation.
Chamber vice president Bob
Buhl made a few remarks on pre-
senting the award.
"Gene works tirelessly ev-
ery year raising funds to ensure
that every family has food to eat
for the holidays," he said. "He
screens these families so that the
supporters of the 40 & 8 projects
(Please turn to page 9.)
CITIZEN OF the Year Gene
Strozyk with chamber
president Patti Tupper.
Orcas top Trojans
in big name game
By MERLYN FLAKUS
The Hood Canal School Board
has changed the name of the
school mascot from the Trojans to
the Orcas.
Board action was taken on
Thursday with the selection made
from a choice of five candidate
names presented to the school
board by the Mascot Committee.
Members of the Mascot Committee
were: Wendy Wakeling, chair and
a community member; Bridgette
Johnson, Ricky Rutledge and Rian
Wakeling, students; Jolean Gra-
ham, school staff; and Principal
Bert Miller.
The final five names, selected
from a much larger list, were the
Orcas, Kingfishers, Hawks, Cou-
gars and Otters. The task for the
Mascot Committee was to solicit
mascot names from the students
and community and then select
five to be voted on by the school
board. Rules of engagement in-
cluded that the five names had to
be familiar and significant to the
people residing in Hood Canal
School District 404. These names
also were to be different from the
mascot names in the surrounding
school districts.
The school board quickly elimi-
nated the Cougars and Hawks
because these mascot names are
already used by Washington State
University and the Seattle Sea-
hawks, respectively. After discus-
sion of the merits and meaning of
the three remaining names, the
school board zeroed in on the name
"Orcas" as being well identified
with the school district's location
in the lower Hood Canal region.
They also noted that orcas are a
species of whale that possesses the
majesty and strength one normal-
ly associates with a school mascot
name.
The next step is to develop the
logo for the new mascot. A design
contest open to students and com-
munity members will be conduct-
ed in the near future to arrive at
a fitting logo. Rules for the contest
are still being developed under the
guidance of Superintendent Ron
Zier.
Lieutenant governor
recaps his state job
By JEFF GREEN
Brad Owen has traveled a long
way from the days more than 30
years ago when he was a Shelten
city commissioner and owned a
couple of convenience stores that
sold everything from food to cough
drops to wide loggers' suspenders.
Just starting his 32nd year in
public service, Owen, who lives
just outside of Shelton, was the
guest speaker at Tuesday's meet-
ing of the Shelton Kiwanis Club.
And he's traveling more now than
ever.
Owen has ascended in politics
from the local to state level. He
served several terms as a state
representative, then state sena-
tor, before being elected lieuten-
ant governor in November 1996.
Rather than speak Tuesday
about the current legislative ses-
sion, which he said should be left
to the 35th District's legislators,
Owen opted to talk to the Kiwan-
ians about his current job.
AS LIEUTENANT governor,
he said, he takes the place of the
governor whenever she travels
outside the state, even to Oregon,
for example. That means Owen
can sign or veto bills, or even call a
special legislative session.
His regular duties include pre-
siding over the state senate, just
as the vice president presides over
the U.S. Senate. Owen can break
tie votes and chairs the powerful
Rules Committee, which decides
which bills are going to come out
of committee and be discussed on
the senate floor.
He said he is a member of about
Brad Owen
10 committees, and is chairman of
the state Economic Development
Committee. In that role he takes
members of the senate all over the
state, as the committee is both a
fact-finding as well as an idea-gen-
erating body.
Since 1989, Owen has been
committed to helping children
make positive choices in their
lives. These days he visits mostly
elementary schools to talk to kids
about subjects such as bullying,
diversity and getting along with
(Please turn to page 8.)
.t
SHELTON-
MASON COUNTY
JOURI00IAL
Thursday, February 1, 2007
121st Year n Number 5 5 Sections m 44 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington
75 cents
A PRACTICE BURN in Shelton gives firefighters the chance to work
on their skills, but a second exercise was canceled due to a burn ban.
There's more about the burn that proceeded as planned on page 29.
Irlversion leads to burn ban
temperature inversion led to
one burn ban effective at
last Sunday, which contin-
at least through Wednesday
and Thurston counties.
burning is allowed in fire-
or uncertified woodstoves,
all outdoor burning is pro-
even in areas where out-
is not permanently
according to the Olympic
Clean Air Agency.
A change in weather will be
needed to restore cleaner air qual-
ity, but that's not forecast until
sometime next week, the agency
noted in a press release.
Chilly overnight temperatures
in the 20s coupled with thick fog
also created slick conditions on
some area roadways during morn-
ing commute times, but no serious
accidents wsre reported.
The burn ban forced Fire Dis-
trict 4 to postpone a live-fire ex-
ercise scheduled for Wednesday
evening at 51 Binns Swiger Loop
Road. It was rescheduled for Feb-
runty 17.
Last Saturday's practice burn at
an abandoned house in downtown
Shelton went off as planned since
the burn ban was not yet in effect.
For a story and photos of the train-
ing exercise, see page 29.
neer to run $9.8-minion bond
EVERETT
an eye toward making a
modern learning environ-
all students, the Pioneer
Board is submitting a $9.8-
school construction bond
to the voters on March 13.
of the current frag-
distribution of classes in
buildings, the bond would
for two distinct schools,
school and a 6-
school. This would be
by adding 11 new
to Pioneer Primary
:it a K-5 building.
existing middle school
renovated for students in
6-8 by modernizing the five
classrooms, adding new
renovating the current
renovating and ex-
gymnasium to
regulation-size floor and
of the existing locker
S.
toaddition, funds would be
Construct a covered play
shed where the elementary chil-
dren could have recess during
inclement weather. The elemen-
tary-school gymnasium would also
be extended to provide for the in-
crease of students needing to use
the facility for physical-education
classes.
PROCEEDS FROM the bond
would be used for the construction
of a new library, administration
building, kitchen and commons
area which would provide greater
opportunities for community use.
"We would like our patrons to
think of Pioneer as a community
center," stated Superintendent
Dan Winter. "For example, it was
wonderful to have the gymnasium
used as the Red Cross Center dur-
ing the recent power outages. Pio-
neer would be even a greater place
for community meetings than it is
now."
Safety of the students is a major
concern for any school district. The
primary building, which opened
its doors in 1994, is regarded as a
safe and secure facility. However,
school officials believe that with its
many spread-out buildings, the in-
termediate and middle school can
leave students vulnerable to un-
desirable situations. Officials said
the bond would provide a more
secure environment with fewer ac-
cess points to the middle school.
Improvements to the playfields
would also be made as well as im-
provements to the existing water
towers and parking areas.
"THESE PROJECTS are part
of the Pioneer School District's ef-
forts to provide our taxpayers with
the best possible return on their
investment," Mr. Winter said.
Currently, Pioneer taxpayers
pay 60 cents per thousand dol-
lars of assessed valuation for the
1992 bond which built the primary
school. That bond is due to expire
in 2011. The estimated combined
cost for the new bond and the ex-
isting bond will be $1.39 per thou-
sand dollars of valuation for a pe-
riod of 13 years ending in 2020.
: no record of denying ride
Transit officials said
Was not denied to a con-
offender who has found
in more trouble with the
lbert Eugene Vanguilder, 33,
serltenced on January 18 in
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUlUlIIIIIIII I
the inside
°Q°t°**eeotooeoll*l*n*gooo*ooolloJ 3
....................... 33
Calendar ....... 17
........................ 36
Dining ..... 32
Journal ................. 18
of Record ............. 26
10
Letters ................. 4
............... 21
"'"................................ 26
11
IIIIIIulllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIilIIIIIlIIIIIIIIlII
illpj!ll!l!Ijllijiji!i!l!lil00
Mason County Superior Court to
43 months in prison for failure to
register as a sex offender.
State law requires convicted
sex offenders to inform local au-
thorities of their whereabouts.
This is Vanguilder's fourth con-
viction of this particular felony
crime. He told Judge James Saw-
yer that he didn't register because
Mason Transit bus drivers refused
to give him a ride from Belfair to
Shelton.
(Please turn to page 8.)
First and only director:
Busacca to leave
literacy agency
Lynn Busacca, executive direc-
tor of Mason County Literacy, is
retiring after 151/2 years as head
of the nonprofit organization.
Busacca told The Journal she
made her decision to retire a year
and a half ago and that it is time
for the organization to bring in
some new energy.
Mason County Literacy offi-
cially became a nonprofit organi-
zation in May 1991 and Busacca
has been head of it ever since,
starting as a part-time coordina-
tor, then as full-time executive di-
rector.
The organization currently is
seeking a new executive director
to replace her. Busacca said she
will continue to volunteer to help
Mason County Literacy with Spell-
E-Bration, its annual community
spelling bee and major fund-rais-
ing event.
Strozyk named
Citizen of Year
Hard-working volunteer Gene
Strozyk was honored as Citizen
of the Year and Hood Canal Com-
munications won Business of the
Year at the Shelton-Mason Coun-
ty Chamber of Commerce's annual
awards banquet last month.
Strozyk, who belongs to the 40
et 8 veterans' organization and
is the leader behind the 40 et 8-
Journal Christmas Fund food bas-
ket program, also leads the Kody
Foundation.
Chamber vice president Bob
Buhl made a few remarks on pre-
senting the award.
"Gene works tirelessly ev-
ery year raising funds to ensure
that every family has food to eat
for the holidays," he said. "He
screens these families so that the
supporters of the 40 & 8 projects
(Please turn to page 9.)
CITIZEN OF the Year Gene
Strozyk with chamber
president Patti Tupper.
Orcas top Trojans
in big name game
By MERLYN FLAKUS
The Hood Canal School Board
has changed the name of the
school mascot from the Trojans to
the Orcas.
Board action was taken on
Thursday with the selection made
from a choice of five candidate
names presented to the school
board by the Mascot Committee.
Members of the Mascot Committee
were: Wendy Wakeling, chair and
a community member; Bridgette
Johnson, Ricky Rutledge and Rian
Wakeling, students; Jolean Gra-
ham, school staff; and Principal
Bert Miller.
The final five names, selected
from a much larger list, were the
Orcas, Kingfishers, Hawks, Cou-
gars and Otters. The task for the
Mascot Committee was to solicit
mascot names from the students
and community and then select
five to be voted on by the school
board. Rules of engagement in-
cluded that the five names had to
be familiar and significant to the
people residing in Hood Canal
School District 404. These names
also were to be different from the
mascot names in the surrounding
school districts.
The school board quickly elimi-
nated the Cougars and Hawks
because these mascot names are
already used by Washington State
University and the Seattle Sea-
hawks, respectively. After discus-
sion of the merits and meaning of
the three remaining names, the
school board zeroed in on the name
"Orcas" as being well identified
with the school district's location
in the lower Hood Canal region.
They also noted that orcas are a
species of whale that possesses the
majesty and strength one normal-
ly associates with a school mascot
name.
The next step is to develop the
logo for the new mascot. A design
contest open to students and com-
munity members will be conduct-
ed in the near future to arrive at
a fitting logo. Rules for the contest
are still being developed under the
guidance of Superintendent Ron
Zier.
Lieutenant governor
recaps his state job
By JEFF GREEN
Brad Owen has traveled a long
way from the days more than 30
years ago when he was a Shelten
city commissioner and owned a
couple of convenience stores that
sold everything from food to cough
drops to wide loggers' suspenders.
Just starting his 32nd year in
public service, Owen, who lives
just outside of Shelton, was the
guest speaker at Tuesday's meet-
ing of the Shelton Kiwanis Club.
And he's traveling more now than
ever.
Owen has ascended in politics
from the local to state level. He
served several terms as a state
representative, then state sena-
tor, before being elected lieuten-
ant governor in November 1996.
Rather than speak Tuesday
about the current legislative ses-
sion, which he said should be left
to the 35th District's legislators,
Owen opted to talk to the Kiwan-
ians about his current job.
AS LIEUTENANT governor,
he said, he takes the place of the
governor whenever she travels
outside the state, even to Oregon,
for example. That means Owen
can sign or veto bills, or even call a
special legislative session.
His regular duties include pre-
siding over the state senate, just
as the vice president presides over
the U.S. Senate. Owen can break
tie votes and chairs the powerful
Rules Committee, which decides
which bills are going to come out
of committee and be discussed on
the senate floor.
He said he is a member of about
Brad Owen
10 committees, and is chairman of
the state Economic Development
Committee. In that role he takes
members of the senate all over the
state, as the committee is both a
fact-finding as well as an idea-gen-
erating body.
Since 1989, Owen has been
committed to helping children
make positive choices in their
lives. These days he visits mostly
elementary schools to talk to kids
about subjects such as bullying,
diversity and getting along with
(Please turn to page 8.)
.t