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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 1, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 1, 2007
 
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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