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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 ? .........
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F U N E C E M E :::gli}}i!ii:ili
Sh00ito., WAi000000iii
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.......... i:iill i::i::i::ii:i:i:i:!:i
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:':.:.:+:,:. 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
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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
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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
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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
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Page 2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, March 18, 1999