February 18, 1971 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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February 18, 1971 |
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O
Olympia man is dead and another is in the Mason
Jail on a charge of first degree burglary after an
at the Lilliwaup Motel and Grocery early Wednesday
Mason County Sheriff's office identified the dead
Benson, 29, 1501 E. 4th St., Olympia.
Sheriff's Office said Benson was shot by Harry {Bud)
owner of the motel and grocery.
held in Mason County Jail on a charge of first
burglary is Robert LaVern Johnson, 23, 1702 N.
1, Olympia.
Sheriff's Office said Hays, a deputy with the Mason
Sheriff's Reserve, apprehended the two men in the
• ordered them to go outside and lie prone on the
men Dead Car
hal
Bessie M. Vermillion, 70,
Box 545, Shelton, died
after her car left
101 near Potlatch State
plunged into Hood
State Patrol,
the accident,
Mrs. Vermillion was
iound on Highway 10t
miles south of Potlatch
when it rail off the
went over a 20-foot
and came to rest in
feet of water about 100
shore.
ers from the Mason
Office assisted in
Mrs. Vermillion's body
cause of the accident is
investigation, WSP
Vermillion was born May
in Missouri. She was a
clerk and worked in a
drug store before her
ivivors include two
Mrs. Charles Stroad and
Herron, both of
Mo.
body was sent by
Funeral Home to
rtz Funeral Home in
for funeral services and
ground until the Deputy Sheriff on duty arrived. Hays' wife
was calling the Sheriff's Office while her husband held the
two men.
Officers said Benson apparently got up from the ground
and started coming toward Hays, who fired two warning
shots at Benson's feet as he (Hays) backed into the store.
The Sheriff's Office said Hays was knocked down in a
scuffle between the two men and that Benson apparently hit
Hays on the back of the head with a stick of fire wood. After
being knocked down and struck with the piece of wood,
Hays fired two shots at Johnson at close range. One of the
shots in the chest was the fatal one.
Officers said among other items which were recovered in
the investigation at the scene was the stick of fire wood
which showed traces of hair where Hays was struck.
When the shots were fired, officers said, Johnson fled the
scene in the car in which the two had arrived, first going
north and then heading back south where he turned onto the
Skokomish Valley road.
Officers said Johnson told them he ran out of gas and
obtained gas from the small store and gas station in the
Skokomish Valley.
He was arrested by Sheriff John Robinson and two
deputies when he came back out onto Highway 101 from the
Skokomish Valley road.
Officers said the incident started when Mrs. Hays heard a
noise in the grocery store and awakened her husband to
check on it. The Hays family lives in an apartment above the
Thursday, February 18, 1971 Published in Shelton, Wash. Entered as second class matter at the post office at Shelton, 2 Sections-- 20 Pages
Wash. 98584, under act of Mar. 8, 1879. Published weekly, except two issue~ during
85th Year -- Num ber 7 week of Thanksgiving, at 227 W. Cota. $5 per year in Mason County, $6 elsewhere. 10 Cents Per Copy
The city of Shelton is
continuing to take petitions for
the planned summer street
improvement program, City
Engineer Howard Godat said this
week.
The city is planning to put
asphalt surfacing on streets on
which it is requested by petitions
from the property owners. The
work will be financed through
city participation and LIDs to be
paid by the property owners.
Godat said the estimated cost
rvlce
to the property owners will be
about $3 a front foot. He urged
those interested to get petitions
from city hall and get them
signed. As much work will be
done as the city has financing for
its share. The streets to be
included will be decided on a first
come, first serve basis.
Commenting on the condition
of the streets, Street
Superintendent Robert Temple
told the city commission at its
meeting Tuesday that during the
nine days the city crews were able
to do patching during January,
there were 70 tons of patching
mix used.
He commented that streets
surfaced two years ago with
surfacing similar to what will be
used in the program this year had
stood up very well and had
needed little or no repair work.
Godat told the commission
the water main on Jones Road
was complete except for some
road restoration work. He
on
an
Shelton School Board
a special meeting at
in the Evergreen
to discuss school
Ju
Burgess called the Police neatly groomed, wearing a blue
Station at 10:l 9 p.ml Sunday and levi jacket and jeans.
told them he had been struck on Police said he left the scene
the head and the station robbed. .on foot after the robbery heading
Officers said the suspect in through the alley.
the case was described as between Officers asked that anyone
25-30 years old, between 5 ft. 8 who might have seen someone
inches and 6 ft. tall and wearing answering the description to
side burns. He was described as contact them.
Shelton Police are continuing
their investigation of a robbery at
Binger's Service Station Sunday
night in which the attendant was
struck on the head and about
$300 taken.
Police said the attendant,
Rick Burgess, was hospitalized
and is in good condition.
recommended that 90 per cent of
the money collected from the
property owners be paid to the
contractor, Glenn Parr, and the
remaining 10 per cent held until
the road restoration work is
complete.
Godat asked and was given
permission to hire an appraiser to
appraise property needed for
right-of-way for the improvement
of San Joaquin Ave. to Capitol
Hill.
Fire Chief Allan Nevitt
reported that a pool table
Discussions on annexing all of
the area encompassed by Fire
District 1 1 are being headed
by members of the Fire District
1 1 Commission.
A meeting has been scheduled
for 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Fire
Hall. The town hall type meeting
is intended to answer questions
and present information on
annexation°
The mayor, city
commissioners, police chief, fire
chief, city engineer and a
representative of the county
assessor's office will be on hand
to answer questions.
The fire commissioners
commented that the mill levy
after annexation would be. 13 less
than the property owners of the
area are paying now.
If the area were annexed, the
property owners would pay the
Test Results
donated for the fire hall by
Simpson Timber Co. had arrived Not
and been set up. The fire chief
stated he had one additional
volunteer fireman and one
additional sleeper, which was just
about all the volunteer and
sleeper crew he could handle. He
was grafted approval for the
purchase of two additional sets of
turn out equipment to be used by
the volunteers.
He stated that he would start
a waiting list of those interested
in joining the volunteers since he
already had a sufficient number
on the active list.
:k
The results of tests by the
University of Washington
Toxicology laboratory to
determine the cause of the death
of Robert C. Johnson, 21,
Shelton, have not yet been
received, Coronor Byron
McClanahan said Wednesday.
Johnson was found dead in an
apartment at 121 Cedar St. Feb. 5
and an autopsy revealed no
organiccause for his death.
Samplesfrom the body were
taken to the UW toxicology
laboratory in efforts to determin
the cause of the death.
store.
When Hays went downstairs, he found the two men in
the store, officers said.
Benson's body was taken to Batstone Funeral Home
where an autopsy was to be performed Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecuting Attorney Byron McClanahan, who
investigated at the scene, stated there was conclusive evidence
that Hays had both the moral and legal right to take the
action he did to protect his life.
McClanahan added that Johnson was being held on a
charge of first degree burglary.
The shooting occured about 3 a.m. Wednesday. Johnson
was captured about 5:30 a.m. and taken to the Mason
County Jail.
city mill levy in place of what is
now paid for county road millage,
the fire district and Timberland
Library.
The fire district presently is
paying about three mills a year to
retire bonds which were voted for
the purchase of the fire truck and
the construction of the fire hall.
The property owners would have
to complete laying for this bond
issue in addition to their regular
millage as they are now, the
commissioners said.
The fire district wraps itself
around the city, and, if part of
the area were to be annexed, the
rest might not have enough
assessed valuation to finance the
operation of the district.
The city has received a
request from the Shelton School
District for the annexation of the
site of the new high school.
|S
For
Dinner
Donald Moos
Donald W. Mops, State
Director of Agriculture, will be
the speaker at the Mason County
Republican Central Committee's
Lincoln Day Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 at Mt. View School.
Tickets are on sale at the S.W.
VanderWegen CPA office or by
calling 426-3252 or 426-8513.
Mops was named Director of
Agriculture by Gov. Daniel J.
Evans in 1965. He served four
terms in the State House of
Representatives before his
appointment to the agriculture
post.
Mops has been active in
RcpuNican party affairs including
serving as a precinct
committeeman in Lincoln
County, as president of the State
Young Republican Federation, as
temporary and as permanent
chairman of the State Republican
Convention and as a delegate to
the Republican National
Convention.
A HOME-LIKE ATMOSPHERE for the vulnerable infants of
unwed mothers is the goal of a new organization,
Ind 3thers of Mason Cour
By JAN DANFORD
A brainchild is born and a
dream is coming true for the
many dedicated persons who have
labored so long and so lovingly to
bring into being the organization
known as the Independent
Mothers of Mason County.
For young unwed mothers
who have elected to keep their
babies a dwelling will be
established wherin they may live
in a home-like atmosphere under
a stabilizing influence during a
traumatic period in their lives and
in the lives of their children.
The old Collier residence on
Hammersley Inlet will house five
mothers, each with one or more
children. Each girl will live in a
private room with cooking
facilities, and on the main floor
spacious living and dining areas
will offer a suitable setting for
social hours.
In the huge basement, which
once served as a hangar for a
seaplane, partitions will be
removed to provide a winter
recreational area for the children.
A large lawn, which must yet be
fenced for the safety of the
youngsters, will serve as a
fair-weather playground where
mothers can conveniently keep an
eye on their offspring.
Independent Mothers of
Mason County is a non-profit
organization whose goal is not
only to assist the unwed mothers
to function as parents and as
members of the community but
also to lay the foundation upon
which their children may develop
their potential worth.
There are a surprising number
of single mothers and their srnan
children who are existing on the
fringe of poverty, steeped in
despair; public assistance grants
are often their only incomeS.
Independent Mothers of Mason
County believes that the 1¢ssening
of the pressures of inadequate
funds, poor housing, loneliness,
lack of experience, and feelings of
rejection will permit these perf..n,s
to develop in a worth m'
manner.
A broad spectrum of the
community is represented by
dues-paying members of the
group, nine of whom compose the
board of directors. Chairman S.
Gordon Craig explains that the
board shall have the legal
responsibility for the home,
signing the lease and performing
the tasks of collection and
payment of rent and the
maintenance of facilities as well as
other required duties. The board
will work directly with the
Division of Public Assistance for
financial and social services and
with academic institutions for
suitable educational programs.
They will also endeavor to
develop all possible community
resources to secure programs
beneficial to the residents,
exercising these responsibilities
within a framework of respect for
the mothers.
Other board members are Kay
M. Boyd, vice-chairman; Mildred
Welch, secretary; Penny Wallen,
treasurer; Peter Coleman; Mrs.
Alan Harding; Miss Mary Isely;
Mrs. Barbara Martin; and Mrs.
Carol Westlund.
A board member has pointed
out that Independent Mothers of
Mason County touches Upon an
aspect of the situation that has
heretofore been sadly neglected.
In the past, excellent care has
been taken of the girl who
relinquishes her baby and
excellent care has been taken of
the child itself. Attention has
been given the prospective
adoptive parents; but nothing has
been done for the mother who
kept her little one. It is also a fact
that the father of the child goes
unscathed while the unmarried
mother is all too often relegated
to the gutter.
According to Craig, weekly
sessions will be held with a
WOrker from the Divisionof
Public Assistance, who will be
available should unusualor
Unexpected problems arise.
Organizational meetings will
develop the concern for one
another which will determine the
day-to-day operation of the
home, thus in turn enhancing the
mother's ability to function in a
family situation.
Other community resources
to be utilized by the Independent
Mothers of Mason County are
many. The Mason County
Community Mental Health
Organization will be available for
consultations; the Mason
Thurston County Health
Department will serve similarly in
the areas of physical health and
personal care; Shelton High
School will provide regular classes
leading to a diploma, or special
classes leading toward a job, with
the school psychologist offering
needed evaluations to those
enrolled; a local bank and also
Credit Unions have pledged
courses in the use of checking and
savings accounts, long and
short-term loans, credit cards and
revolving credit, explaining the
costs thereof and the importance
of maintaining a good credit
reputation; the home economist
in the Mason County Extension
Office has offered her services to
teach nutrition, including the
purchase, preparation and serving
of food, and to counsel on
budgeting, clothing, etc.; a garden
club will assist the young women
in learning the principles of
landscaping, the art of flower
arranging and the therapeutic
value of gardening.
Also expressing a desire to
support the project are attorneys;
Olympic and Centralia Junior
Colleges; the Juvenile
Department; the Ministerial
Alliance; real estate agencies;
Shelton Fire and Police
departments, and Washington
State Patrol.
Monthly grants of the
mothers will cover operating
costs, making the household
self-supporting; however, there
are "extras" that the girls
themselves cannot manage.
"Community response,"
declares Gordon Craig, "has been
most favorable. Many individuals
have given freely of their time and
talents; donations of money and
furnishings have been received."
Among those pledging help
are Kay's Draperies with the gift
of an entire bolt of material and a
promise to help the girls in the
making of their drapes; Bill
Smith, who offers an ironing
(Please turn to page 5)
KAY BOYD, left, and Lynne Frederickson of Kay's
Draperies discuss material to be donated for the making of
drapes for the new home of the Independent Mothers of
Mason County.