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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
March 18, 1999     Shelton Mason County Journal
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t '::'I ΈΈ North slide oozing toward 101, Lilliwaup's situation improving (Continued from page 1.) by a slide and are a potential danger. "That goes up the slope a ways," Whitehouse said. "The soil's been disturbed. They're go- mg to come down sometime." On a more upbeat note, the de- bris flows at the Lilliwaup slide have subsided somewhat and slowed down substantially, ac- cording to the DOT. Whitehouse said he hopes that within a week, depending on the weather, crews can start clearing one lane of traffic at the Lilliwaup slide. Once they start it will take the crews a good three days to haul material out to open one lane, he said. Portable traffic signals have been ordered. And when the lane has been opened the signals will be operating at each end of the one-lane passage- way and a barrier will be erected along the centerline of the high- way to protect motorists from fall- ing rocks. Whitehouse said the depart- ment of transportation has ap- plied for an additional $10 million in federal aid for repairs at the Jorsted Creek slide. That's on top of the $12 million in Federal Highway Administration Emer- gency Relief Fund money the DOT is seeking for the slide at Lilliwaup and other locations. DOT CREWS LAST Satur- day plowed and Monday graded a U.S. Forest Service road from the Hamma Hamma Road to Lake Cushman via the 2480 and 24 roads. That gives residents north of the Lilliwaup slide a detour around it. "It's a good alternate route for local traffic," Whitehouse said. "It's a good forest road. It's a stable road." The detour is close to 30 miles long, but nearly half of it is paved, he added. The opening of the Forest Ser- vice road came as welcome news to Hood Canal School Superinten- dent John Simpson. Nineteen Hood Canal students live on the north side of the Lilliwaup slide, he said, and the school has been m;ui Merchants battling against slide impact About 75 business owners and merchants from the Hoodsport area gathered Monday evening at the Tidewaters Restaurant to hash out what they can do in re- sponse to the huge mudslide that's blocking Highway 101 a mile north of Lilliwaup. "I was encouraged. There were some productive ideas that came out of it," said Cindy Sund, an area businesswoman who called the meeting and has organized SOS (Save Our Summer) in an ef- fort to pull local businesses to- gether in light of the highway clo- sure. "Even when the road is not closed, we need. mor tourism,  she said. "We need to boost this aftra." The thrust of the meeting was to intbrm the public that the area was still open, as are businesses and services. "We ain't dead and we are still doing business on the canal," said one attender. Sund said three courses of ac- tion are being pursued. Those in- clude: • Creating a Web page about Hood Canal and its businesses. • Contacting a public relations firm to assess the area. • Planning special events each month to boost tourism. As for the latter, Sund said the initial special event is targeted for the first weekend in May and will revolve around oysters. "This is a great time for oysters," she said. "Hood Canal is the oyster catal ofthie te." .... She,esys the oyster theme might include area restaurants featuring oyster dishes, locals teaching visitors how to shuck oysters and more. iuuMui scrambling to make arrange- ments for them. SIMPSON SAID the school district now will be able to trans- port those students in a school bus, which he said was the safest mode. The detour will take an ad- ditional 40 minutes each way, but Simpson, who toured the area on Tuesday, said he is satisfied with the route around the slide. A proposal to provide the school district with four-wheel- drive vehicles from the Washing- ton State Department of Natural Resources to transport the stu- dents past the slide via a private road was never put into action. Simpson said he did not think that route was a safe alternative. He thanked DNR, Forest Ser- vice, Hoodsport Fire Department and DOT workers for cooperating with the school district to remedy the situation. As for the addition- al transportation cost to the dis- trict for the alternate route, Simpson said he's had indications that assistance is forthcoming from the Office of the Superinten- dent of Public Instruction. Meanwhile, plans are afoot for providing temporary passenger- only ferry service around the slides from Triton Cove State Park near the county line to Hoodsport. MASON COUNTY Depart- ment of Emergency Services Di- rector Joe Murray has investigat- ed leasing ferry service from a private company to provide four runs a day. A catamaran that would hold from 50 to 150 pas- sengers could be used, Murray said, with ferry service meshing with Mason County Transit buses south of the slides and with Jef- ferson Transit buses on the north if a contract is negotiated with Jefferson Transit to bring buses down to Triton Cove State Park. "The money is the key factor," he said of the ferry service, which would cost between $2,500 and $3,000 a day. The DOT told Mur- ray it couldn't provide regular fer- ry service between the two Mason County points. Murray said his department is working with the DOT and Wash- ington State Department of Emergency Management on the funding issue. The ferry service could commence in a day if the funding is provided for it, he said. The private ferry service pro- viders (he's talked to four compa- nies) are licensed by the state, ap- proved by the U.S. Coast Guard, have trained crews and are prop- erly equipped with life boats and life preservers, he said. MURRAY SAID he's looking at a worst-case scenario for the big Lilliwaup slide if tons and tons of logs and material come down across Highway 101. At best, he said, he thinks it will be September before both lanes of the highway are opened. "If it happens sooner that's great," he said. "We've got school children who can't get to school. We've got people with medical needs. We've got people who commute and need to get to work." But 35th District State Repre- sentative Kathy Haigh, who came up with the idea for running fer- ries around the slides, now says they may not be needed. Opening of the Forest Service road may negate the need for the ferries, which, she said, would take about 45 minutes to make the run be- tween Triton Cove State Park and Hoodsport. The weather is the key for clearing one lane at the Lilliwaup slide, she said. "They do think the road. surface underneath (the slide) is in okay shape," she said. "Safety is first. Second, it is a big job. It isn't a little slide." AND, BECAUSE of the clo- sure of Highway 101 just north of Lilliwaup, Mason County Transit has announced it cannot connect with Jefferson Transit at Brinnon until further notice. Until the highway is reopened, scheduled bus service will be available only to Hoodsport and back to Shelton. Scheduled depar- ture times from Shelton have been changed from 8:15 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. and from 2:15 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. Hoodsport departure times and arri,'al time back in Shelton remain unchanged. For more information, call Ma- son County Transit's Customer Service Center at 427-5033 or 1- 800-374-3747. County commission roundup: School hopes for COPS grant put the creek back in its old channel, County Engineer Jerry Hauth explained.' With the extensive rainfall this winter, Hauth said, "The river is now doing an end run around the rock work we had done before." Downstream prop- erty owners are losing a sub- stantial amount of property due to increased velocity of the water's flow, he added. • EXECUTED 11 appraisal re- views for the road department's Crestview Drive road p'oject. Hauth told the board his depart- ment was trying to proceed quickly with the appraisals but there was "another batch" yet to come. • Okayed an agreement with Geo Engineers, Incorporated of Redmond for geotechnical ser- vices not to exceed $3,000 at a slope failure at 5130 East Picker- ing Road. The slide occurred in January, Hauth said, and the services are for review of docu- mentation, site reconnaissance and cost estimates during the first phase and for design and on-site assistance during the second phase. • Approved a change-of-work order adding $280 to the contract for the de-watering project at A Mason County sheriff's deputy could be stationed at North Mason High School as soon as next fall if the sheriff's office is successful in its bid for a $125,000 federal grant. At Tuesday's Mason County Commission meeting Under- sheriff Gary Crane told the board the grant application is with the U.S. Department of Justice Com- munity Oriented Policing Ser- vices (COPS) program and cov- ers a three-year period. A key component of the appli- cation is a partnership agree- ment with the North Mason School District, Crane ex- plained. On February 25 the sclmol district affirmed its sup- port of the COPS grant applica- tion and its intention to fund the full-time position beyond the life of the grant, he reported. CRANE DESCRIBED the job as "a full package" including a full-time deputy and a vehicle. He said the officer would be on duty at the high school campus during regular school hours in addition to evening and week- end events there. Calls for service to the sher- iffs department from NMHS were 95 in 1996, 97 in 1997 and 98 in 1998, Crane noted, adding five calls last year were weapons or firearms complaints. Commis- sioner Cindy Olsen pointed out there are only 288 days in the school year. With increasing response times for deputies, it would be ad- vantageous to have an officer at the high school, Crane said. The officer's presence could have a deterrent effect as well. If the grant is approved by mid-summer, a deputy could be placed at the high school at the be- ginning of the 1999-2000 school year, Crane added. IN OTHER BUSINESS con- ducted without Commissioner Mary Jo Cady, who was attend- ing another meeting, the board: • Approved a shoreline sub- stantial-development permit for a public works department bank stabilization project on Decker Creek at milepoint 0.5 on Haven Drive. Planner Shandra Fitzpa- trick reported that the work had begun under an emergency per- mit issued March 1 because severe erosion threatened prop- erty in River Haven, a commu- nity of residential and vacation lots. The channel had cut across an old oxbow several years ago and a project was undertaken to try to Ol We de'iver EATIN G JS L COMPARE OUR W PRIC Located at Sanderson Industrial Park We carry kerosene. UNOCAL@ 427-8084 Building III. Facilities Manager Mike Rutter reported the addi- tional funds were needed for compaction testing on the alley behind the building bringing the total cost for the project to $48,209, still below the $50,000 initially budgeted. • Appointed Olsen to the Southwest Puget Sound Endan- gered Species Act (ESA) Region executive committee which is working on a recovery plan for Puget Sound chinook salmon following its listing this week under the ESA. The region in- cludes Thurston, Pierce, Kitsap and Mason counties. • Approved veterans' assis- tance applications as recom- mended by the screening com- mittee for five individuals total- ing $1,520.70. Year 2000 issues: City s,: 00edules on 'Y2t bug' ma Is it Y2K or Why2K? Come to a Community Forum on Year 2000 and find out. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, in the Shelton Middle School Commons and is sponsored by the city of Shel- ton. "As the new millennium approaches, citizens are interested in learning more about how the transition to the year 2000 may affect their fi- nances, utility services, food supply and many other aspects of their lives," said Joel Myer, spe- cial projects coordinator for Shelton. To help an- swer their questions and concerns, the city has arranged for the forum. Early computers had limited memory and storage space, Myer explained. To save space, computer programmers wrote codes in which years were represented by their last two digits. The problem represented by Y2K (or the year 2000 technology bug) is that computers and some equipment with embedded-date computer chips, which exist in many devices that control process- es, functions and machines, still maintain years as two digits and may not recognize that the year 2000 is greater than 1999. "NO ONE KNOWS what problems may oc- cur, how widespread they may be or how long they will last," notes a brochure about Y2K pub- lished by the American Red Cross. "The good news is that federal, state and local govern- ments; banks and tail businesses; and every other group by this problem have been working to and a great deal of progress has been Many businesses, utility providers ernmental entities in Mason County to meet the challenges presented by the problems posed by Y2K. Participants March 30 forum include Shelton, Mason PUD 3, Mason General Hospital, Mason Department of Emergency Services, gency 911 Communications Center, Timber Company, Shelton School others. Shelton has been working to identify lems, fix them and prepare for the Year, Myer said. City administrators have talking about having staff members at keY tions at the end of the year, Myer said. do manually what they can to keep things he explained, adding that the city contingency plans for times when services disrupted, such as during a power outage. Recently the city underwent a Y2K ment provided through the Washington tion of Cities. An assessment report leased next week. "We really felt good report," Myer said. "It showed we're right things now so that our customers get in the least impacted manner." Weather keeps airlift away: Man trapped in crash, other driver is arre A two-car collision on State Route 3 near Johns Creek sent one person to Harborview Medi- cal Center in Seattle and another to Mason General Hospital late Friday evening, according to Fire District 5 Chief Richard Knight. The accident, almost a head- on,' trapped one driver in his pick- up truck, Knight indicated. Ger- ald F. Lake, 37, of Belfair, who was driving home from work at Simpson Timber Company, was extricated after half an hour's ef- fort by rescuers. Meanwhile, Airlift Northwest reported it could not fly a helicop- ter to Mason County due to heavy rain and low visibility. Lake was transported to Mason General Hospital for stabilization in the emergency room before being transported by District 5 to Capi- tal Medical Center's helipad in Olympia for transport to the trau- ma center at Harborview. LAKE SUFFERED fractures to both legs, his pelvis and his right ankle and right arm, accord- ing to Knight, who reported that Lake was in serious condition. His condition, said Harborview spokesman Larry Zalin, has been upgraded to satisfactory. "He ap- parently suffered no chest or ab- dominal injuries, which helped to increase his survival chances while trapped in his pickup," Knight reported. Shelton Fire Department per- sonnel with extrication equip- ment and Mason County Medic One were on the scene for mutual aid, Knight said. Paramedic Victor Feist, who was on the scene within five Did You Know... Until recently, there has only been one funeral home in Shelton. Now you have chi ? ......... a 0 ce ...... : ........ ::;i ..... ! ...... i i , ' i i i: F U N E C E M E :::gli}}i!ii:ili • Sh00ito., WAi000000iii .: :,:,:.:.:,:.:,:.:,;.:,:.: +: : .......... i:iill i::i::i::ii:i:i:i:!:i iiiiii!!!!!ill !ii!iiiii!i!! : ':: :,:.: :':.:.:+:,:. i:::::::i:!:i: Sheiton: 3601427-8044 • Olympia: 360/943.6363 minutes of the report of the acci- dent, said he'd "never been in- volved in an accident where Air- lift Northwest could not fly," Knight reported. Feist called the situation "frustrating," but credit- ed Mason General Hospital with doing "a great job in stabilizing the patient." THE SECOND victim, John T. Carle, 33, of Juneau, Alaska, suffered facial and internal inju- ries in the accident and was transported by ambulance to Ma- son General Hospital. The state patrol said Carle, who was driving a 1992 Toyota four-door sedan, crossed the cen- terline as he drove southbound on State Route 3 near the Bayshore Store. His vehicle, according to the investigating trooper's report, hit Lake's 1978 Datsun pickup in the northbound lane, rolled over and came to rest in the south- bound lane. A spokesperson for Mason General Hospital said Carle was treated and released. Washington State Patrol Ser- geant Wes Stockwell, who heads the WSP's Shelton Detachment, said the accident remained under investigation, with Carle facing a potential vehicular-assault charge. Carle was arrested at Ma- son General Hospital immediate- ly after the accident on a poten- tial vehicular assault charge, Stockwell said. Both vehicles were described as totaled and were taken to the state bullpen. FOUR PEOPLE were in a three-car accident Route 300 west of Belfair Hill Road last Sunday according to the The investigating ported that a vehicle road headed toward another eastbound was stopped to make s onto Sand Hill Road a collision between and one coming A four-door by Heather H. Beesley, huya hit a Dodge Leland M. DeBaker, Orchard at the wheel, patrol reported. The DeBaker's vehicle into a Nissan pickup d Richard M. Loftin, 27, The state patrol incurred neck and and a passenger in his Christine C. DeBaker, fered neck and leg ley suffered neck and and Loftin incurred and head injuries. All four were medics and aid cars to Memorial Hospital in according to the state However, a spokespersOn rison Hospital could only for Beesley and were both treated ar IRA An Edward Jones self-directed IRA gives you: I Tax mlvlnfJgu i i00/milit# I Tailored investments I PersonaHzed Transferring your existing IRA is easy. Armin Baumgartel Call or stop by today for details. Armin Baumgartel Investment Representative 821 West Railroad Avenue, suite " Shelton 426-0982 • 1.800-441-091 www.edward jones.. Memloer SIPC EdwardJe Serving Individual Investors SiDce yp Page 2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, March 18, 1999 t '::'I ΈΈ North slide oozing toward 101, Lilliwaup's situation improving (Continued from page 1.) by a slide and are a potential danger. "That goes up the slope a ways," Whitehouse said. "The soil's been disturbed. They're go- mg to come down sometime." On a more upbeat note, the de- bris flows at the Lilliwaup slide have subsided somewhat and slowed down substantially, ac- cording to the DOT. Whitehouse said he hopes that within a week, depending on the weather, crews can start clearing one lane of traffic at the Lilliwaup slide. Once they start it will take the crews a good three days to haul material out to open one lane, he said. Portable traffic signals have been ordered. And when the lane has been opened the signals will be operating at each end of the one-lane passage- way and a barrier will be erected along the centerline of the high- way to protect motorists from fall- ing rocks. Whitehouse said the depart- ment of transportation has ap- plied for an additional $10 million in federal aid for repairs at the Jorsted Creek slide. That's on top of the $12 million in Federal Highway Administration Emer- gency Relief Fund money the DOT is seeking for the slide at Lilliwaup and other locations. DOT CREWS LAST Satur- day plowed and Monday graded a U.S. Forest Service road from the Hamma Hamma Road to Lake Cushman via the 2480 and 24 roads. That gives residents north of the Lilliwaup slide a detour around it. "It's a good alternate route for local traffic," Whitehouse said. "It's a good forest road. It's a stable road." The detour is close to 30 miles long, but nearly half of it is paved, he added. The opening of the Forest Ser- vice road came as welcome news to Hood Canal School Superinten- dent John Simpson. Nineteen Hood Canal students live on the north side of the Lilliwaup slide, he said, and the school has been m;ui Merchants battling against slide impact About 75 business owners and merchants from the Hoodsport area gathered Monday evening at the Tidewaters Restaurant to hash out what they can do in re- sponse to the huge mudslide that's blocking Highway 101 a mile north of Lilliwaup. "I was encouraged. There were some productive ideas that came out of it," said Cindy Sund, an area businesswoman who called the meeting and has organized SOS (Save Our Summer) in an ef- fort to pull local businesses to- gether in light of the highway clo- sure. "Even when the road is not closed, we need. mor tourism,  she said. "We need to boost this aftra." The thrust of the meeting was to intbrm the public that the area was still open, as are businesses and services. "We ain't dead and we are still doing business on the canal," said one attender. Sund said three courses of ac- tion are being pursued. Those in- clude: • Creating a Web page about Hood Canal and its businesses. • Contacting a public relations firm to assess the area. • Planning special events each month to boost tourism. As for the latter, Sund said the initial special event is targeted for the first weekend in May and will revolve around oysters. "This is a great time for oysters," she said. "Hood Canal is the oyster catal ofthie te." .... She,esys the oyster theme might include area restaurants featuring oyster dishes, locals teaching visitors how to shuck oysters and more. iuuMui scrambling to make arrange- ments for them. SIMPSON SAID the school district now will be able to trans- port those students in a school bus, which he said was the safest mode. The detour will take an ad- ditional 40 minutes each way, but Simpson, who toured the area on Tuesday, said he is satisfied with the route around the slide. A proposal to provide the school district with four-wheel- drive vehicles from the Washing- ton State Department of Natural Resources to transport the stu- dents past the slide via a private road was never put into action. Simpson said he did not think that route was a safe alternative. He thanked DNR, Forest Ser- vice, Hoodsport Fire Department and DOT workers for cooperating with the school district to remedy the situation. As for the addition- al transportation cost to the dis- trict for the alternate route, Simpson said he's had indications that assistance is forthcoming from the Office of the Superinten- dent of Public Instruction. Meanwhile, plans are afoot for providing temporary passenger- only ferry service around the slides from Triton Cove State Park near the county line to Hoodsport. MASON COUNTY Depart- ment of Emergency Services Di- rector Joe Murray has investigat- ed leasing ferry service from a private company to provide four runs a day. A catamaran that would hold from 50 to 150 pas- sengers could be used, Murray said, with ferry service meshing with Mason County Transit buses south of the slides and with Jef- ferson Transit buses on the north if a contract is negotiated with Jefferson Transit to bring buses down to Triton Cove State Park. "The money is the key factor," he said of the ferry service, which would cost between $2,500 and $3,000 a day. The DOT told Mur- ray it couldn't provide regular fer- ry service between the two Mason County points. Murray said his department is working with the DOT and Wash- ington State Department of Emergency Management on the funding issue. The ferry service could commence in a day if the funding is provided for it, he said. The private ferry service pro- viders (he's talked to four compa- nies) are licensed by the state, ap- proved by the U.S. Coast Guard, have trained crews and are prop- erly equipped with life boats and life preservers, he said. MURRAY SAID he's looking at a worst-case scenario for the big Lilliwaup slide if tons and tons of logs and material come down across Highway 101. At best, he said, he thinks it will be September before both lanes of the highway are opened. "If it happens sooner that's great," he said. "We've got school children who can't get to school. We've got people with medical needs. We've got people who commute and need to get to work." But 35th District State Repre- sentative Kathy Haigh, who came up with the idea for running fer- ries around the slides, now says they may not be needed. Opening of the Forest Service road may negate the need for the ferries, which, she said, would take about 45 minutes to make the run be- tween Triton Cove State Park and Hoodsport. The weather is the key for clearing one lane at the Lilliwaup slide, she said. "They do think the road. surface underneath (the slide) is in okay shape," she said. "Safety is first. Second, it is a big job. It isn't a little slide." AND, BECAUSE of the clo- sure of Highway 101 just north of Lilliwaup, Mason County Transit has announced it cannot connect with Jefferson Transit at Brinnon until further notice. Until the highway is reopened, scheduled bus service will be available only to Hoodsport and back to Shelton. Scheduled depar- ture times from Shelton have been changed from 8:15 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. and from 2:15 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. Hoodsport departure times and arri,'al time back in Shelton remain unchanged. For more information, call Ma- son County Transit's Customer Service Center at 427-5033 or 1- 800-374-3747. County commission roundup: School hopes for COPS grant put the creek back in its old channel, County Engineer Jerry Hauth explained.' With the extensive rainfall this winter, Hauth said, "The river is now doing an end run around the rock work we had done before." Downstream prop- erty owners are losing a sub- stantial amount of property due to increased velocity of the water's flow, he added. • EXECUTED 11 appraisal re- views for the road department's Crestview Drive road p'oject. Hauth told the board his depart- ment was trying to proceed quickly with the appraisals but there was "another batch" yet to come. • Okayed an agreement with Geo Engineers, Incorporated of Redmond for geotechnical ser- vices not to exceed $3,000 at a slope failure at 5130 East Picker- ing Road. The slide occurred in January, Hauth said, and the services are for review of docu- mentation, site reconnaissance and cost estimates during the first phase and for design and on-site assistance during the second phase. • Approved a change-of-work order adding $280 to the contract for the de-watering project at A Mason County sheriff's deputy could be stationed at North Mason High School as soon as next fall if the sheriff's office is successful in its bid for a $125,000 federal grant. At Tuesday's Mason County Commission meeting Under- sheriff Gary Crane told the board the grant application is with the U.S. Department of Justice Com- munity Oriented Policing Ser- vices (COPS) program and cov- ers a three-year period. A key component of the appli- cation is a partnership agree- ment with the North Mason School District, Crane ex- plained. On February 25 the sclmol district affirmed its sup- port of the COPS grant applica- tion and its intention to fund the full-time position beyond the life of the grant, he reported. CRANE DESCRIBED the job as "a full package" including a full-time deputy and a vehicle. He said the officer would be on duty at the high school campus during regular school hours in addition to evening and week- end events there. Calls for service to the sher- iffs department from NMHS were 95 in 1996, 97 in 1997 and 98 in 1998, Crane noted, adding five calls last year were weapons or firearms complaints. Commis- sioner Cindy Olsen pointed out there are only 288 days in the school year. With increasing response times for deputies, it would be ad- vantageous to have an officer at the high school, Crane said. The officer's presence could have a deterrent effect as well. If the grant is approved by mid-summer, a deputy could be placed at the high school at the be- ginning of the 1999-2000 school year, Crane added. IN OTHER BUSINESS con- ducted without Commissioner Mary Jo Cady, who was attend- ing another meeting, the board: • Approved a shoreline sub- stantial-development permit for a public works department bank stabilization project on Decker Creek at milepoint 0.5 on Haven Drive. Planner Shandra Fitzpa- trick reported that the work had begun under an emergency per- mit issued March 1 because severe erosion threatened prop- erty in River Haven, a commu- nity of residential and vacation lots. The channel had cut across an old oxbow several years ago and a project was undertaken to try to Ol We de'iver EATIN G JS L COMPARE OUR W PRIC Located at Sanderson Industrial Park We carry kerosene. UNOCAL@ 427-8084 Building III. Facilities Manager Mike Rutter reported the addi- tional funds were needed for compaction testing on the alley behind the building bringing the total cost for the project to $48,209, still below the $50,000 initially budgeted. • Appointed Olsen to the Southwest Puget Sound Endan- gered Species Act (ESA) Region executive committee which is working on a recovery plan for Puget Sound chinook salmon following its listing this week under the ESA. The region in- cludes Thurston, Pierce, Kitsap and Mason counties. • Approved veterans' assis- tance applications as recom- mended by the screening com- mittee for five individuals total- ing $1,520.70. Year 2000 issues: City s,: 00edules on 'Y2t bug' ma Is it Y2K or Why2K? Come to a Community Forum on Year 2000 and find out. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, in the Shelton Middle School Commons and is sponsored by the city of Shel- ton. "As the new millennium approaches, citizens are interested in learning more about how the transition to the year 2000 may affect their fi- nances, utility services, food supply and many other aspects of their lives," said Joel Myer, spe- cial projects coordinator for Shelton. To help an- swer their questions and concerns, the city has arranged for the forum. Early computers had limited memory and storage space, Myer explained. To save space, computer programmers wrote codes in which years were represented by their last two digits. The problem represented by Y2K (or the year 2000 technology bug) is that computers and some equipment with embedded-date computer chips, which exist in many devices that control process- es, functions and machines, still maintain years as two digits and may not recognize that the year 2000 is greater than 1999. "NO ONE KNOWS what problems may oc- cur, how widespread they may be or how long they will last," notes a brochure about Y2K pub- lished by the American Red Cross. "The good news is that federal, state and local govern- ments; banks and tail businesses; and every other group by this problem have been working to and a great deal of progress has been Many businesses, utility providers ernmental entities in Mason County to meet the challenges presented by the problems posed by Y2K. Participants March 30 forum include Shelton, Mason PUD 3, Mason General Hospital, Mason Department of Emergency Services, gency 911 Communications Center, Timber Company, Shelton School others. Shelton has been working to identify lems, fix them and prepare for the Year, Myer said. City administrators have talking about having staff members at keY tions at the end of the year, Myer said. do manually what they can to keep things he explained, adding that the city contingency plans for times when services disrupted, such as during a power outage. Recently the city underwent a Y2K ment provided through the Washington tion of Cities. An assessment report leased next week. "We really felt good report," Myer said. "It showed we're right things now so that our customers get in the least impacted manner." Weather keeps airlift away: Man trapped in crash, other driver is arre A two-car collision on State Route 3 near Johns Creek sent one person to Harborview Medi- cal Center in Seattle and another to Mason General Hospital late Friday evening, according to Fire District 5 Chief Richard Knight. The accident, almost a head- on,' trapped one driver in his pick- up truck, Knight indicated. Ger- ald F. Lake, 37, of Belfair, who was driving home from work at Simpson Timber Company, was extricated after half an hour's ef- fort by rescuers. Meanwhile, Airlift Northwest reported it could not fly a helicop- ter to Mason County due to heavy rain and low visibility. Lake was transported to Mason General Hospital for stabilization in the emergency room before being transported by District 5 to Capi- tal Medical Center's helipad in Olympia for transport to the trau- ma center at Harborview. LAKE SUFFERED fractures to both legs, his pelvis and his right ankle and right arm, accord- ing to Knight, who reported that Lake was in serious condition. His condition, said Harborview spokesman Larry Zalin, has been upgraded to satisfactory. "He ap- parently suffered no chest or ab- dominal injuries, which helped to increase his survival chances while trapped in his pickup," Knight reported. Shelton Fire Department per- sonnel with extrication equip- ment and Mason County Medic One were on the scene for mutual aid, Knight said. Paramedic Victor Feist, who was on the scene within five Did You Know... Until recently, there has only been one funeral home in Shelton. Now you have chi ? ......... a 0 ce ...... : ........ ::;i ..... ! ...... i i , ' i i i: F U N E C E M E :::gli}}i!ii:ili • Sh00ito., WAi000000iii .: :,:,:.:.:,:.:,:.:,;.:,:.: +: : .......... i:iill i::i::i::ii:i:i:i:!:i iiiiii!!!!!ill !ii!iiiii!i!! : ':: :,:.: :':.:.:+:,:. i:::::::i:!:i: Sheiton: 3601427-8044 • Olympia: 360/943.6363 minutes of the report of the acci- dent, said he'd "never been in- volved in an accident where Air- lift Northwest could not fly," Knight reported. Feist called the situation "frustrating," but credit- ed Mason General Hospital with doing "a great job in stabilizing the patient." THE SECOND victim, John T. Carle, 33, of Juneau, Alaska, suffered facial and internal inju- ries in the accident and was transported by ambulance to Ma- son General Hospital. The state patrol said Carle, who was driving a 1992 Toyota four-door sedan, crossed the cen- terline as he drove southbound on State Route 3 near the Bayshore Store. His vehicle, according to the investigating trooper's report, hit Lake's 1978 Datsun pickup in the northbound lane, rolled over and came to rest in the south- bound lane. A spokesperson for Mason General Hospital said Carle was treated and released. Washington State Patrol Ser- geant Wes Stockwell, who heads the WSP's Shelton Detachment, said the accident remained under investigation, with Carle facing a potential vehicular-assault charge. Carle was arrested at Ma- son General Hospital immediate- ly after the accident on a poten- tial vehicular assault charge, Stockwell said. Both vehicles were described as totaled and were taken to the state bullpen. FOUR PEOPLE were in a three-car accident Route 300 west of Belfair Hill Road last Sunday according to the The investigating ported that a vehicle road headed toward another eastbound was stopped to make s onto Sand Hill Road a collision between and one coming A four-door by Heather H. Beesley, huya hit a Dodge Leland M. DeBaker, Orchard at the wheel, patrol reported. The DeBaker's vehicle into a Nissan pickup d Richard M. Loftin, 27, The state patrol incurred neck and and a passenger in his Christine C. DeBaker, fered neck and leg ley suffered neck and and Loftin incurred and head injuries. All four were medics and aid cars to Memorial Hospital in according to the state However, a spokespersOn rison Hospital could only for Beesley and were both treated ar IRA An Edward Jones self-directed IRA gives you: I Tax mlvlnfJgu i i00/milit# I Tailored investments I PersonaHzed Transferring your existing IRA is easy. Armin Baumgartel Call or stop by today for details. 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