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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 9, 1978     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 9, 1978
 
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COULD YOU CLOBBER this pony with a 2x4 and starve it for days at a time? The owners of "Grouchy," as she's come to be called, apparently did just that before abandoning her last week. 00unty horse-neglect cases ot as rare as some think neglect is not. According to law Once the Horsemen keepers, have,,taken enforcement and humane officers discovered a Lake Limerick Grouchy, and here, offenses failing under the woman starving her five horses. general heading of cruelty to "She knew how to take care of she's a pony of horses occur with alarming them properly," says Horsemen and the hide frequency. Treasurer Merridee Guyer, "but and matted hair "It's real common," attests she didn't have the money to o her bones like Humane Officer Glenn Guyton feed them. She refused to sell e, when Grouchy of Mason County Citizens for them because she said she .ager strength she Animals. "In just the last f6ur couldn't get her money out of with the best months I've seen three different them. She wouldn't give them cases involving a total of seven away, either. And then, when Scared to death, and horses - and of course only a they were so sick they could is that of almost small .percentage of the cases hardly stand, and it was obvious involving neglect ever get they were close to dying, she you see, is the reported." even refused a veterinarian's a crime alarmingly Although the steady upsurge offer to put them down lace here in Mason in feed costs is believed to have humanely." is indeed it is in most contributed significantly to what "In effect," adds Kimball, elks with the price Mason County Sheriff's Deputy "she said, 'They're my horses can acquire an Dale Matson identifies as a and if I want to let them lie noticeable increase in neglect there and die I can!'" OWners mistreated cases over the last couple of The court intervened, forcing neglected her, years, the problem is hardly the woman to give the horses her, abused novel, away, but two of them died .Y and, finally, During its most active period anyway. er COmpletely. of volunteer work for the More recently, sheriff's oose in the streets, county, Shelton's Versatile officers responding to citizens' natural she acts Horsemen _ an organization of calls discovered an emaciated s," says Connie some nine Mason County horse mare spread-eagled in the mud C Bar J experts upon which the burden field of a local horse raiser - the two-year.old of responsibility often fell in one whose activities, though putting some neglect cases - responded to "at never resulting in conviction, frame about a least 25 calls a winter," have been the bane of humane deputies according to President Tulla officers and Versatile Horsemen Kimball, herself a humane officer for years and years. tangled in barb here until last year. The man, when confronted with a 2x4 by The often appalling cases by the deputies, maintained that "and discovered practically fill a book. food was provided the horse for days In fact, Kimball has done just daily and that any possible food or water, that with the ones upon which infirmities were not attributable are able to nurse her Versatile Horsemen have to any sort of neglect on his she adds, acted _ and they've never lost a pa/t. scars may case despite the fact that existing Thus, by meeting ostensibly state laws are, as commissioned the only real requirement of the the brutality in deputy Kimball puts it, "silly law - that food be provided Case is Unusual, the and pretty near useless." daily - the owner avoided legal interference. suspicion that he had 111q1 fClCeS brouTt out the grain only usa ploy, and in truth withheld it P OpQ ty ch  ge again after the authorities had r r Ira left, could not be proven. 19, 3821 warrant. Shortly afterward, though, est, Seattle, Daniels is charged with the maredied. "State laws dealing with the Son County having a boat belonging to problem are really open at both lay before WiUard Ratcliff in his possession ends," complains Kimball, in nry for last August 26. reference to the 70-year-old charge of Judge Henry appointed the RCW Title 16 clauses titled Tumwater law firm of Jarrett "Prevention of Cruelty to taken into and Kaeding to represent Daniels Animals." sheriff at on the charge. Bail was set at :30 P.m. $15,000. "For instance, they specify booked Daniels is being held in the that in order to impound an perior Court jail in lieu of bail. animal suspected of being confined without food and water you must observe such confinement for more than 24 consecutive hours. "Now, assuming you're willing to sit there for 24 hours, all the owner has to do really is give the horse just one handful of food and he's met the requirement - at least according to law." Kimball submits that, given only a fraction of the attention lawmakers have lavished on other animal-related legislation, these largely outdated and ineffectual cruelty laws might do the job. "Take our fencing laws," she says. "They're almost ridiculous. You could keep elephants! Yet our cruelty laws are so loose a horse almost has to be in the • kind of shape where you have to carry it home inn basket before you can do anything about it." While the strong arm of the law is needed in extreme cases, (Please turn to page five.) Festival Three Shelton High School senior girls, Shaun Byme, JoAnn Krogh and Ann Mueller, are candidates for Mason County Forest Festival Queen this year. Candidates for Paul Bunyan are Don Daniel, a Shelton High School senior, and Tim Diggle, a Mary M. Knight High School senior. The festival royalty candidates were announced Monday night at the annual press night. Queen Selection Chairman Darryl Cleveland said North Mason High School did not send candidates this year. He said school officials told him they questioned the amount of time away from school which was required for the student candidates. Mary M. Knight High School did not send a queen candidate this year, he said, since there are only two girls in the graduating class, neither of whom was able to make a conmitment to participate in the summer (Please turn to page two.) Youth A 17-year-old Lacey youth is being held in Thurston County Juvenile Detention on charges of first-degree armed robbery after being arrested by authorities here last Thursday. Juvenile authorities say a petition to remand the youth to adult court has been filed and a hearing is scheduled today to determine if he will be remanded. They said the petition to remand Was filed based on the seriousness of the offense, his with robbery age, ry of offenses., Settle was the youth at a /earing Friday. The youth k charged with the robbery of Stud's No. I on Hillcrest last Thay. '; Officers sail about: 12:46 p.m. a lone gurxnan pointed a small pistol at a tma!e clerk and ordered her to open the cash register. He then removed the money, officers said, and left the store on foot. The youth was arrested about 1:30 p.m. by Mason County sheriff's deputies about five miles south of Shelton on ttighway l j01. Officers responded to the call and began setting up roadblocks. The officer who stopped the car did so to check it out because it was the same model as one which had been observed in the vicinity of the store although the car was not the same color as the description which officers had. Officers said a search of the car by Shelton police officers resulted in finding a small pistol and several hundred dollars in bills and change. Officers said a .2S-caliber unspent cartridge was taken into evidence at the store. Shelton police were assisted by the Mason County sheriff's office and the Washington State Patrol in the search for the robbery suspect. ::/ i ¸ : ¢T//e .,o iI Thursday, February 9, 1978 ' Ninetyond Year - Number 5 4 Sections - 38 Pages 15 Cents Per Copy Garbag system petitions are ruled invalid by city Either way you go you will. probably end up in court, City Attorney Herb Fuller told the Shelton City Commission Tuesday in reporting on his findings on the petitions which had been submitted to the commission the previous week asking that the commission either rescind the amendment to the garbage control ordinance or put the ordinance to a vote. In a letter from the county auditor's office, the commission was told the petitions contained the name's of 856 registered voters in the city, about 38 percent of the number who voted in the city commission election two years ago. Fuller told the commission state law provided that a refernndum petition seeking a vote on an ordinance has to be filed within 30 days of the final approval of the ordinance by the commission. The amendment to the garbage ordinance, he said, was pasged, early in December and the petitions asking it be put to a vote were not received until the end of January, well past the 30 days specified in the state law. He said it was his opinion that since the petitions were not received in the required 30 days, the request for referendum was invalid. He said the commission could legally put the issue on the ballot for an advisory vote, but that whichever way they acted, they faced a court test of tile action. If they rule the petitions invalid, he said, those who submitted them could file a suit asking that the petitions be ruled valid. If the commission were to rescind the ordinance or put it to a vote as asked in the petitions, someone who favors the new system could then file a court suit on the basis that the commission action was on invalid petitions. Fuller said there were ways in which the city itself could file a court suit to get the question of validity of the petitions before a court. The commission voted to rule that the petitions were invalid because they were not filed in time, and in the same motion asked Fuller to take action to get a court suit filed on the petitions. Fuller Said he would have to take a look at the ways in which this could be done before making a decision as to how he would proceed. One way, he said, would be to name the person who had verified the petitions as a defendant in a suit brought by the city. The cost of this, he said, would be a $45 filing fee and probably some added costs for proper legal service on the persons named as defendants. Dick Swearingen, one of those who circulated the petitions, stated he believed the purpose of the petitions was being obscured, that the purpose was to have the issue of the new garbage collection system put to a vote. The petitions, he said, do not seek to get rid of garbage collection, only to repeal the amendment to the garbage ordinance which was passed early in December. Mayor James Lowery said the commission is trying to make sure any action which is taken is on firm legal ground. The city, he said, has to follow the law, and at the same time the commission cannot ignore the 856 persons who signed the petitions. Swearingen also brought out that there is nothing in state law which says a shortage of funds is a reason for putting an emergency clause on an ordinance. Peggy Knutson asked if, putting the petitions and the question of their legality aside, it would be legal to put the question to vote. Fuller stated it would not be illegal for the commission to put the question tO an advisory vote. Mrs. Knutson stated the issue should be put to a vote of the people of the city. Dave Knutson stated that people were upset about the new garbage system and that he could give a long list of reasons and that the people should have the right to vote on it. Monday holiday for some City, county and state government offices along with some businesses will be closed Monday in observance of Lincoln's Birthday. Federal government offices will not be closed and there will be full postal service that day. Schools do not have a holiday. The state driver's license office here will be closed Saturday in observance of the holiday. The office will resume regular office hours Tuesday. The following Monday, February 20, city, county, state and federal government offices along with some businesses will be closed in observance of President's Day. There will be no school that day for students in the county. The post office will have holiday service that day with mail going out from the post office. There will be no rural or city delivery or delivery to post office boxes on that day. Commissioner Brad Owen stated that the legality of the commission action had been questioned, that opponents had stated there was a possibility of children getting into the garbage cans, and that the cost projections had been questioned. Owen stated he would like to know just what the opposition to the new system is. Knutson said he could not see how the city could justify spending $200,000 for the new system when the garbage department was in debt. He also stated that the new garbage cans were the homeliest things he had ever seen. He also stated the cost figures put out by the commission did not take into consideration the cost of replacement of the cans and the cost of denning, the large cans which the city said it would do although that was not provided for in the ordinance. .... He also stated, that while the commission had said that it would take one man to operate the truck, it appeared that two would continue to be needed where there is pick-up of the individual 90-gallon cans because the extra man is needed to place the cans on the curb where the truck can be reached; .... Two persons at the meeting stated they had no objections to the new system. Ann Simpson stated she had no objection to the garbage system, but asked if the city could look at the minimum. She stated she believed it was too low. City Engineer Howard Godat commented there are quite a few,water-users who use less than the minimum. Helen Morrow stated that she had been opposed to the new garbage system at first, but that since it was in operation she had changed her mind. She stated she had not had to pick up garbage scattered around by dogs since the new cans were put out. s royalty candidates annou.nced FOREST FESTIVAL QUEEN and Paul Bunyan candidates are, left to right, Shaun Byrne, JoAnn Krogh, Don Daniel, Ann Mueller and Tim Diggle.