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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 2, 1978     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 2, 1978
 
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!i Jour00l C_OPINl0100. Why we do what we do You arc aware, if you have read the letters to tile editor during tile past month, that a munber of readers have objected to the Journal's policy of using tile nanle of the alleged victim in reporting a rape trial. Our policy on rel)orting public trials is exceedingly shnple. The Journal reports all major trials in Mason County. Our purpose is to transmit to readers a true ; picture of what transpired in the courtroom. In order to be ', fair and accurate, it is necessary that all principals be I , nanled. : Those who disagree with our policy ask that we make • an exception in one type of case. They ask that we set aside our ethics during the coverage of a rape trial and omit the name of one party. Their response is understandable, given the emotion generated by the crime of rape. But we believe they are overlooking some important aspects of the criminal justice system which the newspaper must consider if it is to act fairly and responsibly. They choose to ignore, but the newspaper should not, the basic concept of law which insists that the rights of the accused must be protected. Until, and unless, a jury returns a verdict of guilty, there is no victim and no lawbreaker. The principals are the accuser and the accused. In any test of fairness, the rights of the accused must be considered equal to those of the accuser. We ask those who criticize our policy to contemplate how they would explain to an accused rapist who was acquitted why his name appeared in the story of the trial and the name of his accuser (lid not. We also ask them to. consider what the result would be if what they claim is an important reason foi" not printing the name of the alleged rape victim is true. They claim that i more alleged victims would agree to go to trial if they could be promised their names would not be used. r! ': If that claim is true and a newspaper adopted such a  policy for that reason, the newspaper would become a "; weapon in the prosecutor's arsenal. A newspaper has no ; business being in such a position. 7, We do not know enough law to understand the legal :2 ramifications of such a conspiracy, but we think a defense attorney might be interested in exploring its effect on his b, client's right to fair treatment. l- , Be that as it may, the Journal wants no part in such an arrangement or even the appearance of such a partnership. The newspaper's role is to bring you the news of what is going on in the courts, not take part in the proceedings. These, then, are the reasons for the Journal policy which is being questioned. We think they make sense and are ,onsibility for the consequences of r We have no quarrel with those who question the policy. They have every right to do so. We do hope, however, that i they will put emotion aside and try to understand why we do what we do. And we hope they will tmderstand that there are no monsters at the Jourual. We are all compassionate human being'. We deplore the crime of rape. We get no enjoyment from covering rape trials. We do not sensationalize; the report you read is a matter-of-fact account of what went on in the courtroom. A repeated opinion of the objectors is that only law enforcement personnel and her immediate family will know lllllllllllllll the alleged victim's identity if her name is not published. This is simply not true and those who attempt to alleviate her suffering by telling her that are practicing a cruel, if well-intentioned, deception. The trial is public. Police, court officials, courthouse workers, reporters and casual visitors arc all aware of her identity. Human nature dictates that they will discuss the case with others, who will also pass along the information. Friends and neighbors also know of the incident, and they become links in the chain of gossip. We want to stress again the matter of fairness. A newspaper's good reputation rests upon its readers' perception of the fairness with which it presents the news. If it is deliberately unfair in just one instance, there is no reason for its readers to believe it is fair in all others. No matter what its other shortcomings, we want you to believe our newspaper is fair. Words of wisdom We live in conmplex times. But you can work your way through the troubling maze if you renlember the following truisms. Never trust a psychiatrist who is sitting on his mother's lap. If at first you don t succeed, run as a Democrat. Old beauticians never fade away, they just dye. The Army Corps of Engineers can move mountains - and valleys, and rivers, and trees, and homes, and.. • Movies are better than ever - if you're five years old. Hysterectomies are the stuff of which investment portfolios are made. Howard Hughes was a willful man. Malfunctioning computers are best described by words that are unprintoutable. Never argue with a judge who wears a black leather robe. Vampires are a pain in the neck. Old plagiarists never die, they just steal away. When tile cat's away, the mice sneak off to the laboratory to smoke cigarettes. The milk of human kindness is currently rated at two percent. • The late show would be easier to follow if they didn't "'"keep interrupting the commercials with those dumb old', movies. Junk food is nature's way of subsidizing the medical profession. A Congressman is known by the companies that keep him. Take-home pay is the doggie bag the bureaucracy gives you after it has finished eating. If you wish to sight a sasquatch, first buy a defective camera. If God had wanted man to shop in discount stores, he would have labored seven days and rested after 9 p.m. Jimmy Carter always sends a good old boy to do a man's work. Mack McGinnis' Going to Comedy"00Comment t h e d o g s ' |uuu|uluuu Bob Ban" tells about the two Eskimos who were sitting in their kayak and got chilly. So they lit a fire, but when they did the boat sank. It proved once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too. (Bob Batz in Dayton Daily News) • Announcement about a school play that was printed in a Memphis :publication: All of the cast will be played by members of the eighth :grade, except the baby Jesus, who will be played by a concealed 40-watt light bulb." (Red O'Donnell in Nashville Banner) Phyllis Diller on her heavyweight mother-in-law: "She was so big when she was a kid she could only play 'Seek.' She eats so fast there's a racing stripe on her fork. When she wants a salad I pour oil and vinegar on the lawn and tell her to graze." (Jack Berry in The Detroit News) A farmer sent his nephew t c¢te.of chickens but the crate burst open just as he started to take them out. He wrote his uncle, "I chased 'em through my neighbor's yard but I only got back eleven." "You did alright," wrote back the uncle, "I only sent you six." (Claude McDonald) ¢l'tl.e 00007;Jourrlal Founded 1886 by Grant C. Angle Mailing Address: Box 430, Shelton, Wa. 98584 Phone 426-4412 Published at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Mason County, Washington 98584, weekly. Second-class postage paid at Shelton, Washington Member of National Editorial Association Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $7.00 per year in Mason County, $9.00 per year in State of Washington $12.00 per year out of State By DAVE AVERILL You know how it is with people. All of us are, well, particular. Toss us in with a cross-section of hunlanity, and we'll find those we like and those we can't stand. Only one person ever said, "I never met a man I didn't like," That was Will Rogers, who was noted more for his wit than for his truthfulness. As for the rest of us, every day brings people who are easy to like, and people who are just not very likeable, and people who are dreadful. But now look at the human race through a dog's eyes. Nobody is so unpleasant, so grouchy and nasty and awful, that he can't bring up a dog to love and admire him. Unlike our fellow humans, dogs look at us without criticism. Consider the fragrant drunk who is propped up against the bar in the saloon. He may be a disgrace to the human race, but his dog waits patiently for him out there on the sidewalk. Chirpy ladies who crowd into lines ahead of you have dogs who love them. Sullen grouches who want to argue with the whole world go home to dogs who think they're marvelous. So do zanies who want to discuss theology with strangers on street corners. If the rest of tile world thinks old Crazy Sigmund is slightly demented, at home there is a dog who thinks he's just right. What do people mean when they say somebody has gone to the dogs? They mean he has acquired problems that bring only scorn from his fellow humans -- but not, obviously, from his canine friends. Dogs are not snooty. • They can love anybody. That's what we mean when we call them dumb animals. EDITOR AND PUBLISHER ...................... Henry G. Gay Lacking good sense, they can admire even tile worst of us. Page 4 - ShaRon-Mason County Journal - Thursday, February 2, 1978 Changing of the Guard "General Rodosovich reporting, me'm. Where's the War?" 00e00ters'JourrLa__l : Those with less should pay less Editor, The Journal: money's worth. This will not be ' allowing this would be "fined" After going to recent city council meetings I feel I can better understand the council's motives regarding the Rapid Rail garbage system. However, I feel that the council needs to better understand the feelings of families who find they are expected to pay a rate for garbage service regardless of the type of service they need. Upon expressing my feelings to the council, I received the following responses from Mayor Lowery: It is not feasible to have split rates because of the problem of enforcement; people would put two cans' worth of garbage in one can to get the lower rate; health and sanitation problems would result. These things can be worked out satisfactorily if an attempt is made. Although the 'Rapid Rail system is pleasing to the eye, it has a very unpleasant effect where it ,counts - in the pocketbook! I understand from the council that even if the Rapid Rail system does not stay (and some people don't want it to), rates will not go down. In fact, they might go higher. That would be even worse! But what recourse do we have when we disagree with a bill? We cannot pay it. Nothing would happen if we didn't, except that the unpaid charges would accrue as a lien on our property, forcing us to pay them sooner or later. That is not the answer. The answer is to make the council see that the new type of service can accommodate staggered rates similar to those present under the old system. By charging according to need, Family A will not have to pay for weekly pick.up service because Family B has a lot of garbage. A fact the council acknowledges (verbally) but does not seem to recognize when the bills are sent is that fixed incomes do not change just because rates increase. This is frustrating for people just trying to make ends meet. And fixed incomes apply to more than just senior citizens. Everyone should have the right to pay for only what they need or use. The careful shopping by families to leut down on garbage should be rewarded. Cutting back on garbage generated means the landfill where it is ultimately dumped will last longer before a new site will have to be found. But people, being what they are, will strive for the most for their money. If they are forced to pay for a 90-gallon can picked up weekly, they will do their best to fill it just to get their economical for them or ecological for our city. Charging everyone the same rate is a fast way to make up needed revenue to balance the city budget, but is the extra revenue gained worth the public ill will? The 300-gallon cans, a'ccording to the council,  combine service for several families, saving time and money for stops around town. Time and money could also be saved on the 90-gallon cans if the city would pick them up less often for small families. It takes the same amount of time and expense to lift a full can as an almost-empty can. Charging by the stops per month per family would put the major expense where it belongs - on families generating the most garbage. Families who can neatly contain their garbage for less-frequent service should be allowed the chance to save on their bills. If necessary, people could report if they see unsanitary accumulations of garbage piling up in their neighborhoods and those with increased rates. But those who could keep things neat would be "rewarded" with lower rates. Or perhaps with the new, larger containers the whole city might be ready for bi-monthly pick-up service. This would result in great savings being passed:i'on. The city councl E s admitted poor planning in going to the Rapid Rail system and raising the garbage rates at the same time. Though they maintain the two have no correlation, it is practically impossible to get this across to the public (me included). It looks like too much of a coincidence. They further complicated the matter by raising the water and sewer rates at the same time. Somehow, these changes should have been done in steps. The people asked for structured garbage service to keep the city cleaner; they did not ask to be forced into the poorhouse to accomplish it. Jan Ward Shelton Where are feathers? Editor, The Journal: Health and Sanitation Ordinance 410-413, page 4, section XII, states: "The charges for refuse collection and disposal shall be compulsory. The charges shall be paid at the City Hall office by the owner or tenant... The charges shall become a lien against the real property for which the garbage collection service is rendered . . . " Page 2, Ordinance 410-413, Section V, states: "Accumulation of Refuse. it shall be the duty of every person in... control of any dwelling.., at all times to keep.., portable appurtenances, metal or other approved cans for th.e deposit therein of garbage... "Such cans shall be constructed.., of not less than 15 and not more than 35 gallons' capacity, shall have two handles at the sides thereof and tight fitting lids ..." Ordinance 410-413, page 5 section XVII, states: "Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor..." Garbage pickup in City of Tacoma: One 32-gallon can per week, $2.45 a month; curb or alley service. I've got the tar! Do you have the feathers? Them. "Site" Adams Shelton Help for seniors Editor, The Journal: I have heard for years how our city fathers and politicians are going to help the senior citizens and low income. Well, this new garbage system is a good example. I burn everything that will burn in fireplace or burning barrel. The balance goes in compost box except for a few bottles and cans, which were dumped in the street and not in the truck on January 24. I would rather haul my garbage to the disposal site and pay 50 cents per month than to get out in the rain and clear the streets of broken glass and empty cans. The largest piece of garbage I have is the can itself. It's hard to store behind less than a four-foot door and runs full of water if left in the open. J. C. Willis Shelton Capitol 000111e: Accord sought on IAC By ROBERT C. If lawmakers can how it should be done, change the compositi, lnteragency Outdoor Recreation session. The present the IAC was one of concerns expressed a t' meeting of the Senate Parks and Rec Committees in Established in mandated by an approved in 1964, presently consists of members appointed Governor, and seven officials. The latter commissioner of public the directors of recreation, game, transportation, economic developrae ecology Opponents of the set-up have objected that state agency the commission and position to pass their own projects. This has led to inequities, and corn the inability governments to IAC-approved projectS. Proponents, that the present provides a good balancel state and local re They also in state agency results in more ob evaluation of funding projects, where intense. Though the attracted little if attention to date, the of the two commit! , Peter vonReidabauet and RepresentatiVe Hurley (D-Spokane) important enou special joint explore the issue The purpose of administer tile federal and state funds for conservation and A nationwid conducted by the showed that in 38 states, this is an function of a state other responsibilities. Not Worth The subcommittee didn't waste any this latter method, the likelihood of a Governor Dixy • unsuccessful efforts present parks Odegaard, is still minds. They are, studying varioUS proposals which! prepared by Of seven plans the subcommittee, have discarded three, . studying the other One calls for • state agencies from increasing t membership from ' Another would number of state . from seven to four citizen membership eight. Still another state agency repreS four, increase citizen to seven, and add a official to the Subcommittees A fourth pro' dividing the subcommittees, one local. The state be composed of members and the dir four state a responsible for recreation. The local sub would be county officials, officials and fou members. Each have authority to decisions within category, but the would establish criteria and the statewide plan. :