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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
March 29, 2012     Shelton Mason County Journal
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March 29, 2012
 
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Thursda3~ SMALL TOWI, I PAPERS 217 ~I COTA ST ~.C~ SHEI3"ON, WA 98584-'~t~63 March 29, 2012 Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- Published for MaSon County and Mike Sprouffske of Shelton-- $1 un in Limeric Authorities say it is boy's missing father By KEVAN MOORE kevan@masoncounty.com Police recovered the body of Shelton resident Sheldon W. Olsen, 39, from Lake Limerick at about 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. Olsen went missing dur- ing a canoe trip in the lake in the evening of March 17 at around 6:48 p.m. The body of his son, Jace, was recovered later that evening. The father and son had em- barked on a canoe trip in the lake that Sheldon e v e n i n g and wit- Olsen nesses told deputies the two were seen on the-: lake offshore from the club- : house as late as 6:13 p.m. The alarm was sounded lat- er when the canoe was spot- ted on the lake empty. The body of Olsen was recovered from Lake Lim- erick, on the same day as his son's memorial, after a weeklong effort by the Ma- son County Search and Res- cue Volunteer Dive Team in partnership with the Squax- in Island Tribal Police Dive Team. Olsen was located approximately 150 feet from shore in 14 feet of water.. Divers conducting search patterns visually located O1- sen and recovered his body from the lake. Mason County Sheriffs Office deputies organized a search immediately after being called on March 17, utilizing one of the depart- ment's three boats and div- ers. Sheriffs deputies found 2-year-old Jace's body at about 9:20 p.m. Deputies suspended the searches af- ter a 2½-day effort. Then, after reviewing the search and analyzing data from the search, deputies resumed See Found on page A-8 No room at the inn WCC, county jail running over their capacities By KEVAN MOORE kevan(~nasoncounty.com The Washington State Department of Corrections has gotten a lot of media attention this week regard- ing overcrowding, especially when it comes to Washing- ton Corrections Center here in Shelton. See Crowding on page A-8 sllll!!!l!!ll!U!l!l!l1112 Draft comprehensive plan amendment possible By NATALIE JOHNSON hard to draft an update for a por- nataHe@n~asoncounty.com tion of its comprehensive plan ......................................... that outlines economic develop- ment strategies. After four years of recession, "We've just got a bad economy the City of Shelton is working and we need to do something and we're kind of on our own," City rather than commuting to Thur- Administrator Dave O'Leary said. ston or Kitsap counties. "Cities are our economic engines "The number one break that and they need to facilitate com- we've gotten is the new develop- merce." ment that hopefully will be hap- The draft update to the com- pening with the Shelton Hills prehensive plan includes goals to (property)," Mayor Gary Cronce create new jobs in Mason County- and to keep people working here, See Economy on page A-7 Journal photo by Kevan Moore Three-year-old Wyatt Dean was more than willing to ham it up for the camera while enjoying the tire swing at Kneeland Park on Tuesday. Young Mr. Dean and many others have taken the chance to enjoy bursts of intermittent sunshine in recent days. For further evidence that spring has sprung, please turn to page B-8. uses uary More than "200 pieces of woody debris placed to create habitat By NATALIE JOHNSON natalie',ii~masoncounty.com The Skokomish Tribe, in partnership with the Mason Congervation District, used a helicopter to place more than 200 pieces of large woody debris at the Skokomish Estu- ary last Monday. The project is intended to restore habitat in the estuary, said Shannon Kirby, habitat biologist for the Skokomish Tribe. "Basically what we're trying to do is recre- ate the conditions that were there in 1938," she said. After 1938, the Nalley Island Dikes changed the landscape in the Skokomish Es- tuary. In 2007 the tribe implemented Phase 1 of its project to restore the estuary. This phase included 130 acres on the western side of the estuary. "That consisted of removing the perim- eter dikes and putting in a boardwalk that extends along Tacoma Power's lines," said Skokomish Tribe Habitat Manager Alex Gouley. In 2010, the tribe began implementing Phase 2 of the project, which includes 215 acres of the estuary. In this phase, contractors removed the re- mainder of the dikes, roads and culverts and dug ditches to help channel water through the estuary. Gouley said the tribe hadn't originally planned on including the addition of large woody debris in Phase 2. "We had some funding left over because the bids came in low,,' he said. The project was funded by a Salmon Re- covery Fund Board grant which also fund- ed Phase 1 and 2 of the dike removal proj- Courtesy photo The Skokomish Tribe, in partnership with the Mason Conservation District, used helicopters to drop more than 200 pieces of large woody debris into the Skokomish Estuary last Monday to recreate fish habitat that hasn't existed since before the Nalley Island Dikes were complete in 1938. ect, Kirby said. Phase 1 cost about $1.5 million and Phase 2 cost about $2.3 million. Before dams and dikes changed the land- scape of the Skokomish Estuary, high water flow would cause trees to fall into the river, which created areas for salmon to rest, feed and spawn. Without the large, woody debris, these places don't exist. "The primary benefit was to create fish habitat," Kirby said. Placing the woody debris in the estuary expedites the restoration ~process by helping create channels and capture sediment, and creates habitat for salmon and other fish, she said. "We're tryirig to recreate what historic conditions were there," Kirby said. Helicopters worked throughout the day Monday placing root balls and logs around the estuary. "It was really cool to see," Kirby said. The wood for the project was donated by Brady's Trucking and the Ridge Motor- sports Park and moved by Columbia Heli- copters. Both Phase 1 and 2, and the introduction of the woody debris will help reintroduce the tidal processes and flooding of the estuary, Gouley said. While this will improve fish habitat, it will also help restore the salt flats that used to make up the estuary. "When Nalley diked the farm that salt~ marsh plane slowly subsided and changed into mud flat. It (the salt marsh) slowly sub- sided over time because there was no flood- ing," he said. "Through accretion the salt flats will build up again." In some places, the land is five or six feet lower in elevation than it was before the salt flats eroded, Gouley said. A portion of the Skokomish Estuary along State Route 106 was never diked, and gives the tribe a valuable picture of what the rest of the land once looked like, Gouley said. "We have a reference," he said. "Getting natural debris to settle in the floodplain by removing the dike, that will help with the revegetation process. It is kind of an experi- ment but we knew it was the natural pro- cess."