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nomination had been "suspended," rather than withdrawn.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