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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
March 3, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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March 3, 2011
 
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Olympic Fabrication to shut doors soon By NATALIE JOHNSON This month, the econom- ic depression has claimed another casualty in Mason County. Olympic Fabrication Inc., located on Port of Shel- ton property on Sanderson Field, notified its suppliers, customers and 26 employees this week that the company plans to shut its doors by the end of March. "Olympic has struggled since the third quarter of 2009," said Don Putvin, Olympic Fabrication's gen- eral manager. Olympic Fabrication, owned by the Sealaska Corporation, manufactures parts for the aerospace and nuclear industries in both the commercial and defense sectors. A letter dated February 28, 2011, signed by Putvin and Jason Fujioka, director of sales and marketing for Sealaska, states that Seal- aska will work with employ- ees and customers during the shutdown. "The shutdown process will be handled in an orga- nized manner and supplier, customer and employee ob- ligations will be fulfilled to the greatest extent possi- ble," the letter states. Until 1993, Putvin said, Certified Aerospace, a com- pany that manufactured parts for Boeing, among other companies, owned the space that Olympic Fabrica- tors now occupies and more. "At one time at Certified Aerospace there were 450 (employees)," he said. In 1988, Olympic Tool and Engineering opened in Mason County. When Certi- fied Aerospace went out of business in 1993, Olympic Tool took over some of their business and space, Putvin said. In December 2006, Olym- pic Tool became Olympic Fabrication, and stream- lined their operations even more. "Our high in the last year and a half was 70 (employ- ees) and now its 26 and soon to be less," Putvin said. Putvin said that the slow decline of Olympic Fabrica- tion was due mostly to the poor economy and the loss of manufacturing jobs to com- petitors overseas. He said that Olympic Fabrication's sales had declined to every customer but the govern- ment. "Boeing has a lot of their stuff built overseas - that was not the case when there were 450 people working here," he said. Putvin said that, in his opinion, the decline in local living wage manufacturing jobs was no small loss to the community. "In my opinion, manufac- turing jobs drive the econo- my," he said. "I've watched, as not only our local econo- my but a great deal of our national economy shifts to- wards service jobs - I don't think those are value added efforts. Manufacturing is value added. We produce a tangible product that will support service sector jobs." There is an auction sched- uled at the end of March to liquidate Olympic Fabrica- tion's assets, including their machining equipment, Put- vin said. However, the letter states that Sealaska is working with potential buyers for their Olympic Fabrication assets. Port of Shelton represen- tatives declined to comment at this time. Sex offender gets 81 months in prison By IEEVAN MOORE convicted of failing to regis- release directing him to reg- A Shelton man was sen- tenced this week in Mason County Superior Court to 81 months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender and escape from community • custody. • : Local law enforcemnt of- ficials say that Troy Allen Gamber, 33, is the first per- son in the State of Washing- ton to be convicted under Washington's newly en- hanced sex offender regis- tration law which took effect on July 10, 2010. Pursuant to the new law, a person is guilty of a class B felony when that person fails to register as a sex or kidnap offender and has been convicted at least twice before failing to register. The new law is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Since Gamber had been ter on at least two prior oc- casions, he was eligible to be charged under the new law. Gamber was found guilty by a Mason County jury on February 10 on both new counts of failure to register and escape from custody charges following less than one hour of deliberation at the conclusion of the one- day trial. Deputy Prosecutor Ja- son Richards tried the case and told jurors that Gamber "wanted to have his cake and eat it too" by claiming that he wasn't aware that he had to register but tried to anyway only to get turned away from the Mason Coun- ty Sheriffs Office. "The truth is, Mr. Gam- ber just didn't care," Rich- ards told jurors. A Department of Correc- tions official testified that Gamber signed an order of ister within three days of re- lease from prison. But offi- cials, ilcluding two sheriffs office clerks, testified that Gamber never checked in. One clerk testified that she didn't know who Gam- ber was and had never seen him at the .heriffs office, while the other said that she was expecting him to check in at the time of his November 2010 release but never saw him. "Mom doesn't want to live with strangers. Can she get a private apartment with nursing assistance without paying an arm and a leg?" Did you know that in addition to producing award- winning display ads the Journal advertising staff can help you plan a campaign that will help you grow your business and reach new customers? We have the experience and expertise to partner with you in the success of your work and goals. Call us at 360-426-4412 Ij;DljSheltoniMason County We are invited into thousands of homes each week. Journal photo by Natalie Johnson A boxer waits to be adopted at the city's animal shelter. The city is still trying to find money in their 2011 budget to keep the shelter open. City hopes to save animal shelter through 2011 By Natalie Johnson Despite fears that the Shelton Animal Shelter would shut its doors at the begin- ning of this year, the shelter now has a ray of hope. The city of Shelton commission and city staff discussed a plan to save the animal shelter through 2011 during its retreat meeting on Friday. During the budget process in late 2010, the city struggled to find a way to balance the budget and keep the animal shelter, but eventually only settled on a contract with current animal shelter staff member Teri Ward only through the end of March. After that, the city planned to train code enforcement officer Erik Birk to also work as the city's animal control officer, and the shelter would be closed •except to dan- gerous dogs. The plan, city staff said, was not with- out its drawbacks. "What we would lose is a good portion of our code enforcement," said Steve Goins, community and economic development director. "That's in theory, I'm guessing how much time dealing with animal con- trol would take." City of Shelton police chief Terry Dav- enport said that with the help of volun- teers from the community, Ward could work half time, saving the city money, while still keeping the shelter's doors open. "What we're proposing is that we run the shelter Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m." Davenport said. Davenport said that the functions of the shelter would be very basic, includ- ing only the general care of a few stray dogs, with no animal control functions, and would include no budget for eutha- nasia. Davenport said that the shelter would house dangerous dogs as well as those dropped at the shelter by law enforce- ment, or dumped by their owners. "Occasionally people bring dogs in the middle of the night and tie them to the fence," he said. City staff said that the total cost to the city's 2011 budget for keeping Birk in code enforcement full time and Ward at the animal shelter half time would be $18,000. Staff members proposed using 2010 budget carryover funds to cover that $18,ooo. Commissioner Mike Byrne commented on the city's budget policies, which sug- gest that carryover money be deposited into the city's reserves. "We set a very high bar with our finan- cial policies," he said. 'Tou have to be flex- ible enough to save some of the priorities." The city will continue to discuss the op- tion, and took no formal action during the retreat. Yes, for less than the cost of t] Le nursing home! At Alpine Way our apartments are single-occupancy and each includes a full bathroom and walk-in shcwer. We have nurses and caregivers to assist as needed in the privacy of he : own studio apartment. Call for a free lunch and tour so you can find out if Alpine Way is right for your mom. For further information, call (360) 426-2600 and ask for Kathy Burbidge- Public Relations Schedule your complimentary lunch and tour today! RETIREMENT APARTMENTS, ASSISTED LIVING AND ALZHEIMER S SPECIAL CARE 900 West Alpine Way • Shelton, WA 98584 (360) 426-2600 Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, March 3,2011 - Page A-3