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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
March 8, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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March 8, 2007
 
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FRED NICHOLS reflects on his many years as a homeless man while keeping warm in the basement of Saint David's Parish Hall. The photograph is by B. Allison Hanlon. Homeless man gets burned; life goes on By ELIZABETH WELLS and B. ALLISON HANLON Have you ever been driving in Shelton and seen a clean man with a cardboard sign that says: "Win- dow washer, any work, any help thanks"? The objects he has with him are the tools of his trade, his window-washing equipment. That's Fred Nichols, a home- less person who has been living in the Shelton area. He's "flying the sign," in homeless jargon. He does this when he really needs money. Nichols has a limp these days from a 6xl0-inch burn on his right thigh. Prior to his injury he spoke about his litb. That was another cold night in Shelton, so cold that the emer- gency shelter in the basement of Saint David's Parish tlall was open. Steve Saunders, a fbrmer Jobless r0000.te high ' er he:l:e Unemph)yment in Mason Coun- ty climbed to 7.7 percent in Janu- ary, according to state labor econo- mists. That's more than a full point higher than jobless rates of 6.1 percent in December and 6.3 per- cent in January of last year. These tigures are from the latest Labor Market Analysis of the Washing- ton State Department of Employ- ment Security. State economists report that 23,000 Mason County residents had jobs in a labor tbrce of 24,910, leaving 1,910 unemployed. Those numbers are estimates rounded to the nearest zero. The statewide unemployment rate was 5.9 per- cent, also higher than December and January of last year. Of those counties that border Mason, the lowest rates of unem- ployment were in Thurston and Kitsap with 5.4 percent. The job- less rates were 9 percent in Grays Harbor, 5.9 percent in Jefferson and 5.$ percent in Pierce. homeless man who now supervises the shelter, called one of the men to meet us: "Fred! Come on over here. I have someone I want you to meet." Fred Nichols is a well groomed, clean, amiable man who looks younger than his age, 62. He's been homeless in Shelton tbr the last four years and gets by doing odd jobs, especially washing win- dows. Mr. Nichols lives in a tent by the railroad tracks a couple miles from town. He has set up tarps to keep off the rain and cre- ate an area tbr cooking. His tent was given to him by a tourist who didn't want to take it home. BY USING a fl'iend's address, Mr. Nichols is able to get mail and food stamps. Several local Shelton and Olympia businesses use his window-washing services, such as Olsen's, Nifty Thrity, and Lew Rents. For two dollars, Nichols can take the bus to and from Olympia to ply his window-washing trade. For free, he can travel anywhere by bus in Mason County. He gets his window-washing jobs by walk- ing into a business and ottbring to wash the windows. Nichols says he has a hard time getting a regular job because of his age. "Take my word tbr it. If you're 62 they don't want you." He says the worst part about his situation is "I like work but I can't always find it." As for the washing of win- dows, he says: "You have to under- stand that this isn't something you do every day or every week. When you do them, they don't have you do them again for like two months. I do a thorough job, I scrape the windows and when I leave they look really good, and then they don't get dirty that quick, so I need a lot of clients." He'll clean win- dows and wash just the outside for $3o. Food tbr the homeless is plen- tithl in Shelton. The Community Kitchen is open on weekdays and on weekends volunteers and Saint David's volunteers lay out a nice dinner spread. "They ted like a Please turn to page 28.) Pizza & Salad FREE Bread 555 & Brownies Add Some Sides Honday Madness S Tire & Repair 202 South First Street, Shelton • 426.9762 Double: Amazin' Greens Page 26 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, March 8, 2007 Lawmakers consider changes in programs for the homclcss Washington lawmakers are considering a couple of" bills which address the issue of homelessness in the state. House Bill 1921 would create a transitional housing program to assist homeless people, and House Bill 1115 would make some chang- es to the 2005 Homeless Housing Assistance Act. Both measures are now before the House Appropria- tions Committee. State Representative Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, is a sponsor of the latter bill, which concerns a $10 surcharge on documents is- sued by the office of Mason County Auditor Karen Herr and dedicates the money to the goal of reducing homelessness in the county and the state. The proposed legislation chang- es the name of the Homeless Hous- ing Assistance Act to the Ending Homelessness Act and adds more planning, reporting and evalua- tion requirements. If enacted, it would authorize the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development to spend its share of the surcharge to fund grants to end homeless- ness and "to provide housing and shelter to homeless people and to financially support homeless shel- ters and other homeless housing programs." THAT'S ACCORDING to a re- port on the bill by Robyn Dupuis, a legislative staffer employed by the House Committee on Housing, which held a hearing on the bill. She summarized some of the tes- timony in favor of the bill as fol- lows: "The current homeless pro- gram has been effective in raising awareness of the homeless issue. It is important to nmintain the momentum gained so far." Mason is one of 37 counties par- ticipating in the Homeless Hous- ing and Assistance Program, with revenues that generated about $240,000 to improving the housing picture in 2006. The 2005 act set a goal of reduc- ing homelessness in the county and the state by 50 percent by July 1, 2015. A step in this direction is to determine just how many people are homeless, and so last year was the first year Mason County took a census of the homeless people liv- ing here. That eflbrt counted 515 homeless persons representing 202 households. By interviewing a number of people without homeS, the census-takers determined that the three most common causes for homelessness were domestic vio- lence or family break-up, employ" ment loss and medical problemS. PATTI SELLS organized the conduct of a second census in January of this year and will be assembling the data in her new capacity as coordinator of home" less programs in Mason CountY. This is an extension of her work at Saint David of Wales EpisC0" pal Church, where she is a dea" con and has been instrumental in establishing the parish hall as an emergency shelter for the home" less on those nights when the te" perature drops towards and belo freezing. Sells and others hosted a lunch tbr the homeless at Saint David'! on January 22, this in an effort to get more people counted andt0 learn about how they came to be without homes. A group of people in Belfair hosted a lunch there too (Please turn to page 27.) Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (25 + Years Experience) General Dentistry full service practice Restorative care (Crowns, Bridges, Fillings) Extractions * Full & Partial Dentures Repairs • Relines Most Insurances Accepted S. Peters, DPD C. Ngo, DDS 3 Iqedlum 1-Topping Pizzas and an Order of 10 Oven Baked Brownie Squares Buy Any Bread Item & Get The 2 "d Item FREE! New Cheesy GadS: Breed Pizza Medium 1-Topping Your Choice of Buffalo Wings OR Domino's Pizza Buffalo Chicken Kickers", 1 Bread Side & a 2-Liter of Co€a-Cola .... 1 Hedium 2-1;opping Pizza & an Amazin' Greens* Salad Valid 10:$Oarn-3pm & 9pro-CloSe 1 Hedium 2-Topping Pizza & 2 Cans of Coca-Cola* Add Any 2" Hedium 1 X-Large 2-Topplng Pizza & 1 Large 2-Topping. l-Topping Pizza Your Choe of Hot Or Pizza & a 2-Liter ot BBQ Buffalo Wings Buy an Amazin' Greens" Salad & Get Your Choice of Breadsticks, Cinna Stlx* or Cheesy Bread FREE! 2 Hedium 2-Topping Pizzas Cheesy Garlic Bread pizza & Choice of Buffalo Wings OR Domino's Pizza Buffalo Chicke Kickers , Any Bread Item a 2-Liter of Coca-Cola' FRED NICHOLS reflects on his many years as a homeless man while keeping warm in the basement of Saint David's Parish Hall. The photograph is by B. Allison Hanlon. Homeless man gets burned; life goes on By ELIZABETH WELLS and B. ALLISON HANLON Have you ever been driving in Shelton and seen a clean man with a cardboard sign that says: "Win- dow washer, any work, any help thanks"? The objects he has with him are the tools of his trade, his window-washing equipment. That's Fred Nichols, a home- less person who has been living in the Shelton area. He's "flying the sign," in homeless jargon. He does this when he really needs money. Nichols has a limp these days from a 6xl0-inch burn on his right thigh. Prior to his injury he spoke about his litb. That was another cold night in Shelton, so cold that the emer- gency shelter in the basement of Saint David's Parish tlall was open. Steve Saunders, a fbrmer Jobless r0000.te high ' er he:l:e Unemph)yment in Mason Coun- ty climbed to 7.7 percent in Janu- ary, according to state labor econo- mists. That's more than a full point higher than jobless rates of 6.1 percent in December and 6.3 per- cent in January of last year. These tigures are from the latest Labor Market Analysis of the Washing- ton State Department of Employ- ment Security. State economists report that 23,000 Mason County residents had jobs in a labor tbrce of 24,910, leaving 1,910 unemployed. Those numbers are estimates rounded to the nearest zero. The statewide unemployment rate was 5.9 per- cent, also higher than December and January of last year. Of those counties that border Mason, the lowest rates of unem- ployment were in Thurston and Kitsap with 5.4 percent. The job- less rates were 9 percent in Grays Harbor, 5.9 percent in Jefferson and 5.$ percent in Pierce. homeless man who now supervises the shelter, called one of the men to meet us: "Fred! Come on over here. I have someone I want you to meet." Fred Nichols is a well groomed, clean, amiable man who looks younger than his age, 62. He's been homeless in Shelton tbr the last four years and gets by doing odd jobs, especially washing win- dows. Mr. Nichols lives in a tent by the railroad tracks a couple miles from town. He has set up tarps to keep off the rain and cre- ate an area tbr cooking. His tent was given to him by a tourist who didn't want to take it home. BY USING a fl'iend's address, Mr. Nichols is able to get mail and food stamps. Several local Shelton and Olympia businesses use his window-washing services, such as Olsen's, Nifty Thrity, and Lew Rents. For two dollars, Nichols can take the bus to and from Olympia to ply his window-washing trade. For free, he can travel anywhere by bus in Mason County. He gets his window-washing jobs by walk- ing into a business and ottbring to wash the windows. Nichols says he has a hard time getting a regular job because of his age. "Take my word tbr it. If you're 62 they don't want you." He says the worst part about his situation is "I like work but I can't always find it." As for the washing of win- dows, he says: "You have to under- stand that this isn't something you do every day or every week. When you do them, they don't have you do them again for like two months. I do a thorough job, I scrape the windows and when I leave they look really good, and then they don't get dirty that quick, so I need a lot of clients." He'll clean win- dows and wash just the outside for $3o. Food tbr the homeless is plen- tithl in Shelton. The Community Kitchen is open on weekdays and on weekends volunteers and Saint David's volunteers lay out a nice dinner spread. "They ted like a Please turn to page 28.) Pizza & Salad FREE Bread 555 & Brownies Add Some Sides Honday Madness S Tire & Repair 202 South First Street, Shelton • 426.9762 Double: Amazin' Greens Page 26 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, March 8, 2007 Lawmakers consider changes in programs for the homclcss Washington lawmakers are considering a couple of" bills which address the issue of homelessness in the state. House Bill 1921 would create a transitional housing program to assist homeless people, and House Bill 1115 would make some chang- es to the 2005 Homeless Housing Assistance Act. Both measures are now before the House Appropria- tions Committee. State Representative Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, is a sponsor of the latter bill, which concerns a $10 surcharge on documents is- sued by the office of Mason County Auditor Karen Herr and dedicates the money to the goal of reducing homelessness in the county and the state. The proposed legislation chang- es the name of the Homeless Hous- ing Assistance Act to the Ending Homelessness Act and adds more planning, reporting and evalua- tion requirements. If enacted, it would authorize the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development to spend its share of the surcharge to fund grants to end homeless- ness and "to provide housing and shelter to homeless people and to financially support homeless shel- ters and other homeless housing programs." THAT'S ACCORDING to a re- port on the bill by Robyn Dupuis, a legislative staffer employed by the House Committee on Housing, which held a hearing on the bill. She summarized some of the tes- timony in favor of the bill as fol- lows: "The current homeless pro- gram has been effective in raising awareness of the homeless issue. It is important to nmintain the momentum gained so far." Mason is one of 37 counties par- ticipating in the Homeless Hous- ing and Assistance Program, with revenues that generated about $240,000 to improving the housing picture in 2006. The 2005 act set a goal of reduc- ing homelessness in the county and the state by 50 percent by July 1, 2015. A step in this direction is to determine just how many people are homeless, and so last year was the first year Mason County took a census of the homeless people liv- ing here. That eflbrt counted 515 homeless persons representing 202 households. By interviewing a number of people without homeS, the census-takers determined that the three most common causes for homelessness were domestic vio- lence or family break-up, employ" ment loss and medical problemS. PATTI SELLS organized the conduct of a second census in January of this year and will be assembling the data in her new capacity as coordinator of home" less programs in Mason CountY. This is an extension of her work at Saint David of Wales EpisC0" pal Church, where she is a dea" con and has been instrumental in establishing the parish hall as an emergency shelter for the home" less on those nights when the te" perature drops towards and belo freezing. Sells and others hosted a lunch tbr the homeless at Saint David'! on January 22, this in an effort to get more people counted andt0 learn about how they came to be without homes. A group of people in Belfair hosted a lunch there too (Please turn to page 27.) Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (25 + Years Experience) General Dentistry full service practice Restorative care (Crowns, Bridges, Fillings) Extractions * Full & Partial Dentures Repairs • Relines Most Insurances Accepted S. Peters, DPD C. Ngo, DDS 3 Iqedlum 1-Topping Pizzas and an Order of 10 Oven Baked Brownie Squares Buy Any Bread Item & Get The 2 "d Item FREE! New Cheesy GadS: Breed Pizza Medium 1-Topping Your Choice of Buffalo Wings OR Domino's Pizza Buffalo Chicken Kickers", 1 Bread Side & a 2-Liter of Co€a-Cola .... 1 Hedium 2-1;opping Pizza & an Amazin' Greens* Salad Valid 10:$Oarn-3pm & 9pro-CloSe 1 Hedium 2-Topping Pizza & 2 Cans of Coca-Cola* Add Any 2" Hedium 1 X-Large 2-Topplng Pizza & 1 Large 2-Topping. l-Topping Pizza Your Choe of Hot Or Pizza & a 2-Liter ot BBQ Buffalo Wings Buy an Amazin' Greens" Salad & Get Your Choice of Breadsticks, Cinna Stlx* or Cheesy Bread FREE! 2 Hedium 2-Topping Pizzas Cheesy Garlic Bread pizza & Choice of Buffalo Wings OR Domino's Pizza Buffalo Chicke Kickers , Any Bread Item a 2-Liter of Coca-Cola'