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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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Jourtl00l gf OPINIOI00. Since you asked Q- Governor Ray says she has suspended her nomination of Col. Eli M. Rodosovich to head the Washington National Guard• How do you "suspend" a nomination? A-You suspend a nomination the same way you "misspeak" a statement. Dizy Lee, you will remember, was a member of the Nixon Administration, where she learned from The Master the art of perverting the language. When Nixon lied and was caught at it, his spokesman explained that he had "misspoken." When Dizy nominated a clinker and was caught at it, her mouthpiece explained that the nomination had been "suspended," rather than withdrawn. You've heard of bonehead English? The Nixon-Ray variation should be called hardhead English. 8t * * * Q- I tried the new do-it-yourself pregnancy test and can't seem to get satisfactory results one way or the other. Here are the notes I kept. What am I doing wrong? A - Your notes were extremely helpful. On the basis of what you wrote, plus a call to a pediatrician, we have concluded you will get better results if your wife, rather than you, takes the test. Q- Why is Senator Henry M. Jackson going to China? A - Chinese leaders have asked him to help them work out an energy program for their nation. They were © impressed with the way Jackson speedily pushed the Who gets hook ed? innovative new energy bill through Congress, despite the V V' ' foot-dragging of less enlightened legislators. L Q- Our cat has learned how to open the microwave By JOHN M. ANDERSON because it would put the snail therein. oven and is now sleeping in it. What should we do? With his left hand, the darter up the creek without a As you might expect if A- Just follow the directions in the little book that magician hopes to divert your paddle. The dam was well on the you're at all familiar with the came with the oven. It will tell you how much time per attention while his right hand way towards completion. The methods used by the Corps, performs the trick. By calling TVA bureaucrats, the labor BuRec, and TVA in justifying pound, your attention to a plant with a unions, and contractors were such projects, TVA had grossly * * * * funny name, or a fish that's too appalled. At first they had blood exaggerated the number of small to catch, the pork barrel in their eyes from frustration, recreational visits to the Q- Is Muriel Humphrey the most qualified person to profiteer hopes you won't notice Later they had blood in their proposed lake. They had replace her husband in the Senate? the cost-benefit ratio of his pet nostrils as they smelled victory double-counted other benefits, A - Of course. The alternative would be to appoint an project, in their struggle to get the used irregular claims for outsider, which would raise all kinds of hell in the world's Section 7 of the Endangered bothersome Endangered Species navigational benefits, and could most exclusive club. It's best to let sleeping dinosaurs lie. Species Act says your tax dollars Act off the books, not explain how they computed cannot be spent on a project "Here," cried they with a water.supply benefits. * * * * that will jeopardize the survival sudden bray, "is our The GAO report also of an endangered species unless crematorium. We'll say hundreds discusses a point which TVA Q - Don't you think the Dean Martin roasts on there is no alternative. This of jobs are lost in order to save a spokesmen had great difficulty television are the funniest thing you've ever seen? infuriates old-line government stupid fish and the Endangered justifying during the Senate A-No. The funniest thing we've ever seen was a agencies such as the Tennessee Species Act will go up in hearings. It seems that although bunch of adolescent athletes taking the pants off a Valley Authority, Army smoke!" Many a congressman the proposed lake would flood schoolboy scholar and hanging them in a tree. But Martin Engineers and Bureau of and senator listened with about 16,500 acres, some 38,000 and his pals come in a close second. Reclamation. They have been sympathetic ears. acres were condemned and * * . , spending great gobs of time and Recently, the General purchased from dispossessed Accounting Office got around to !' private land owners. , ... . ..... ., "., public m',eytffepeal the  . .. :o :.•.... , Q--Why "n't: yo¢$'verfl/about how dynaiTic entire act.'' "; .......... ' reporting on its mvest,gat,on,of This extra area includes Jimmy Carter is? Last' yearl you recall that the Tellico Dam Projecf. Some about 17,100 acres of prime Tellico Dam, a TVA boondoggle, very interesting conclusions and quality agricultural land in a A - We've intended to on numerous occasions, but each was stopped by a federal judge recommendations are contained state that doesn't have any good time have fallen asleep at the typewriter, farm land to spare. According to -, thin00, ,ym, 00ucor I O00vm, up C_._apitolaDome: around Lakewood recently when I saw this strange orange object moving at a high rate of speed with eerie lights mandates dam, p ,,'ns-ec':on flashin, and wierd noises issuing from it. Do you think it Bill was a UFO? By ROBERT C. CUMMINGS This winter's death-dealing storms in the Midwest and East may have obliterated earlier tragedies from the minds of many, but not those of many legislators. Ever since the burst of an A- If the strange noises were instrumental, you saw a UFO. IF they sounded like a barbershop quartet singing "Down by the Old Mill Stream" off key, you saw the state's new mobile drunk tank. The trauma of the trough earthen dam on the Stuck River near Pacific took the life of a small girl, the House Ecology Committee has been working on legislation designed to prevent a recurrence. A more recent, more devastating disaster which cost 37 lives near Taccoa, Georgia, added impetus to their efforts, and prompted a new draft of a By JOHN GAAR Ever wonder which is the least known privileged class in America? Not the labor leaders or pornografotographers but federal employes. To be sure, there is the case of a minor Teamster official who received $352,330 in 1976 or the 18 other Teamsters who made over $100,000. Robert Windrem called their method of pay "legal embezzlement" because such men had multiple titles. Public employes and many elected officials do something similar - the renewed "double-dip" - the ability to retire from one job and reappear on the public payroll in another capacity. Firemen, police, ex-militarymen and elected offieals do this with such reliability they make the Eveready battery people envious. The bureaucrats' big advantage is position. They have intimate contact with governmental processes and a superior vantage point to view those processes. They concentrate a continuous study on specific problems and thereby gather a fund of knowledge unmatched by either the executive or legislative branches. They give teeth and bite to the adage about knowledge being power. When Congress tried to make the Social Security system solvent by bringing federal workers into the system, those workers threatened Congress so successfully that only 38 representatives voted for the measure. What's good for you wasn't good enough for the bureaucrats so your social security taxes, and your employers', increased. Are federal retirement and pension plans desirable? An aide for Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare earns more than his boss or Vice-President Mondale. How? He retired from one federal job and took another. The police chief of Washington, D.C. retired on a disability pension this year. Why? In 1969 an anti-war demonstrator kicked him in the leg and the chief finally found a doctor to say he might develop a blood clot later. Can you imagine loggers or farmers retiring because of bruises? Not at $31,000 a year, I can't. Can you? Need the chief await mandatory retirement? A 1977 act abolished this possibility for federal workers. When bankers retire to seek federal jobs you know the pensions are great. The pay? There's a secretary, less than a year on her job, no college degree, who earns $26,000-plus a year. That exceeds the average pay for elected officials in Washington State and of college professors nationally. Is that common? Well, the counties with the highest per capital income in the nation are Montgomery, Maryland and Arlington, Virginia. They're suburban counties of Washington, D.C. and the home of many federal workers. bill which had been approved by the committee a year ago, only to die in Rules Committee. Federal Funds Expected Mandating annual inspections of the more than 50 earthen dams in this state, the new draft provides for additional inspectors, but leaves the number open, contingent Upon the amount of federal funding received. The state presently has only one part-time inspector, an engineer who also is required to perform other duties. This leaves him time only to inspect plans for projected new dams, and virtually none to be spent in the field. Feds Lack Authority The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also lacks sufficient personnel but, more important, they also lack right of access and enforcement authority. Most of the earthen dams are located on private property, and Do fantastic benefits attract better workers? Bribery ¢Ttl,e lournal Itot00 amongst federal workers (inspectors usually)is laughably O/l easy and their duplicity exceeds that found in Congress. COUfllY-eJF" "LI Competence? Our scientists, with their advanced equipment, couldn't find the radioactive remains of that 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 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER ...................... Henry G. Gay Soviet satellite. Two fellows on the ground stumbled on the wreckage. What do the bureaucrats do? "First (they) possess a highly technical body of knowledge which the layman cannot readily master.., second (they) produce tangible achievements which the average man can easily recognize. This combination of obscurity in means and clarity of results seems an irrestible |brmula for success..." thinks Johns Hopkins University Professor Francis Rourke. Whatever the secret of their success is, they do better than the lobbyists. Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, February 9, 1978 even if the corps were able to inspect them, they lack authority to mandate remedial action. Not only would the proposed state legislation give the State Department of Ecology the right of access, but it also could require the proPerty owner to do whatever was necessary to make the dam safe. Failure to comply would lead to severe penalties. A proposal by the State council for Postsecondary Education for establishment of a student loan program has won endorsement of two key legislators. the report, TVA intended to resell the property at a handsome profit to recover some of the project costs. I suppose the Commies are even more heavy-handed when they take possession of private property. After all, even though these landowners whose ancestors had cultivated those valleys for generations didn't want to sell, they were paid a "fair price" for their land. With a benign, paternal smile, TVA says it must consider the welfare of the entire nation, not just a handful of sentimental landowners. But back to the Government Accounting Office. The report concludes with an interesting aRca dcFs ' u r. __ a l : Feelings Editor, The Journal: Run 'era out on Rapid Rail. At last week's city commissioners' meeting held on January 31, we presented the mayor and commissioners with a refendum petition containing 920 signatures of concerned citizens of our city. At that time City Attorney Herb Fuller stated that, by law, City Clerk Helen Stodden must check the signatures to make sure all of those who signed are voters in the city. In fact, the petition was handled through the county auditor's office, where upon verification, 856 signatures were true and valid. We feel at this time the county auditor's office made a sincere effort to do the best job possible. The 856 valid signatures are more than enough needed to bring the Rapid Rail system to a referendum vote of the people. Yet last week, after the petition was verified, and before the commission's acceptance, the boys employed at the city are still assembling the new cans which may be returned in the future. It would seem at this time the sensible thing to do would be to haltany further implementation of the new system. In our opinion the city crew is being kept busy and are not working their jobs as they should be. The public was also told that the new truck would arrive in February. In a recent conversation with the salesman of the RR system, he stated that the new truck would arrive no sooner than the last week of March. It appears to us that they are again telling the public only what they want them to hear. There was also a very short discussion about the extra man riding in the truck with the driver. There will be more discussion in the very because it appears this is needed for assistance t instances. There may 1 permanent job we are of. In the Mason Dennis Colvin the city is ten years old. is a 1975 model constant need Remember, too, that being used for the new and is good for years. The public has several, occasions only three re 300-gallon container. only in a very, There are as many as per container in the city where the presently been If you live on a more than six homeS, are going to share than two families, supplied only ;containers per already established In our opinion, shown to us on the are purely specula nothing else. The old system are system has been years and will c0 accommodate Shelt reasonable rate system will pay for Somewhere along someone forgot to feelings of the future I doubt happen again. Shelton is a good keep it that way. We refer to the as the "Triple R." and repulsive, and the summer would put on rotten. Dave recommendation: That the Edit self serving Tennessee Valley Authority be directed to develop one of the , , i m , alternative plan s'O pr6tlW:ltP ........  '"  ''r,' ..... *  ............. ' ! historic character of the valley, Editor, The Journal: and show sensitivt to allow continuation of Your "Why we do what we effect upon a young agriculture, and to assure do" explanation of Journal excessive public preservation of the Little policy in reporting names of To identify a Tennessee River, which is a minors who are the victims of a rape case and to magnificent trout stream, rape attacks is self-serving and evidence given in Not surprisingly, in spite of unsatisfactory, the most sordid this report by hard-headed The minor is a victim, not a policy. It is a cruelty accountants who can do simple criminal. Most responsible minor and an arithmetic very well, some newspapers throughout this community. congressmen and senators are country respect this difference urging that the project be completed as originally conceived. They argue that to halt completion of the dam would be a waste of the moneyalready spent on it. Increase unj The argument, as usual, is specious. Admittedly, that Editor, The Journal: annual revenues to money is down the drain, but to My family and I moved up in order to keep pour in additional millions to to Shelton from California two services. That is destroy land in a project that years ago. The cost of a pay past five years, can never pay for itself, is gross phone was ten cents down there. Bell's profit has stupidity. We were shocked to discover average 15.2 Early in the next session of that Washington's pay phones The board Congress, hearings are expected cost 15 cents. Now Pacific appeased the on reauthorization of the Northwest Bell wishes to raise for higher Endangered Species Act. If so, the cost of pay phones to 25 the dividend on the GAO report may be cents! Outrageous! from $1.04 to discussed in detail. The old-line Raising single party service over that same time bureaucrats in TVA, and the from $8 to $10/month is a 25 profits and congressmen and senators who percent increase. Certainly increasing, it are pushing for pork barrel inflation has not been that high increase is projects in their own states, will in the past year. But Pacific Under no try valiantly to divert attention Northwest Bell does not stop an increase of away from the dollars-and-cents there, asking for a 67 percent justified since aspects of the dam and onto the increase in the cost of pay represents 22.9 snail darter. Which, they say, has phones, attempting to drown the Northwest Bell's no "material" value: average citizen. The inflation rate revenues for fiscal 1! To a zoologist, a snarl darter has not been 67 percent much Pacific is a snail darter. To a boondoggle less 25 percent, not need the promoter, it is a red herring. The Now, of course, Pacific increase. next session of Congress should Northwest Bell states that they determine who gets hooked, the need the $56 million raise in bureaucrat or the taxpayer. The police are good guys Editor, The Journal: Many times I've wanted to write letters to the editor, but for one reason or another I chickened out, but this time I'm going to carry it through. I wish to commend and give praise where it is due. I have very seldom heard a good word for our local authorities and sometimes I have gone along with the things I've heard. (Never again!) I am the female checker at Brad's Quick Stop that was held at gunpoint Thursday, February 2, while a young ,nan proceeded to remove all the money from the tills. After he left and I called the police, they responded immediately. They had roadblocks with police ears everywhere. It was unbelievable! The authorities had the situation under control so fast it made "Dragnet" look sick. I have never before seen such efficient organization and cooperation between the city police, county sheriff's department, and the state patrol. I only wish more people could have seen the action that was taking place. The suspect was apprehended in very short order; in fact I was still talking to ,one officer when we heard a report on the scanner that they had custody. I commend these m¢ for a job well not only efficient, and understanding' to share the respect that is these fine people ,faithfully for welfare. Hey! You kids The police are and will help you need them. A