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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
March 31, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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March 31, 2011
 
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COLUMN EDITORIAL helton's solid core In last week's editorial, If so, then it would seem to the Journal offered the opin- us that an Economic Develop- ion that the sky isn't falling ment task force should be era- on Shelton's economy; there powered to review these rag- are levels of good news ulations, and see which ones in the~ weeks and months are really necessary in this ahead. Shelton has a solid day and ag , and give an ben- core of hometown businesses est assessment of which ones and services, and some are are counterproductive, acting doing very well. as barriers to keep business Of course, those sentiments out. may not mean much to those Two, existing businesses who are among the 12.4 per- should not have to jump cent unemployed here, or 1o- through additional bureau- cal businesses, who are strug- cracy for expansion. If they gling, as opposed to thriving, are already open, and they and anyone coming to down- want to add facilities and town can see the empty store- jobs, then they should be able fronts and closures, to do so without excessive or Yes, we agree Shelton can unjustified red tape. do- and must do- better, bet- Three, the city should look ter in attracting businesses, at incentives, like tax-free better in producing new jobs, zones or enterprise zones, to better in fostering a business fill these empty downtown growth environment, one store fronts. And, even a that encourages new invest- "parking holiday" once or ment and entrepreneurship twice a month would encour- not discourages it. age shoppers to park, and Where to start7. More stay, and spend money for than one developer has said a while, rather than worry the City of Shelton, due to about the price of ticket. its myriad of regulations, These arejust a few simple building codes, and outdat- examples of ways the City of ed ordinances, is one of the Shelton could foster economic toughest places -- one of the growth, entrepreneurship, three toughest in the state -- and create jobs to improve to do business, the local climate. Tattoos scare me but if ver sum- mon up the courage to ink and nee- dle myself, I know what I want and where I want it: "Do not resuscitate" emblazoned across my chest. This week a newspaper told yet another story about yet another government agen- cy receiving yet another grant to house yet another automated exter- nal defibrillator TOM (AED) and I'm full MULLEN up to here, some- where above my imaginary do not resuscitate tattoo, with paying for these things. Defibrillators have their place and that, I believe, is in hospitals and on television shows about hospitals. When I was but a child I was loosely trained in the fine art of re- suscitation. That training involved two big dummies, one named Resu- si-Annie and the other named Tom, one baby dummy and a lot of rub- bing alcohol. As I remember it, we were trained to shake the dummy, perhaps she was only sleeping, feel for a pulse, listen for a heartbeat and if unre- sponsive begin administering CPR, Cardio Pulmonary resuscitation. That simply meant pinching Annie's nose and blowing air into her via her rubbing alcohol-tasting lips. If that didn't work I would, I think on a count of four, I would compress her chest until her ticker came back online. • Back then I hoped that someday I'd be able to perform an emergen- cy tracheotomy with my medium point Bic pen but I never dreamed of holding paddles high in the air and shouting "Clear!" before zapping some dead person's chest back to a pounding rhythm. At that time I was working for a big hospital and all employees were required to know the fundamentals of saving people but it was there and then that I began to formulate my ideas on value of both life and death. It seems obvious to me that our society places far too much value on life and not nearly enough on death. We go to great lengths to keep people alive that really have no busi- ness being alive. Mickey Mantle, for instance, was one of my favorite ball players and certainly one of my era's most noble drunks. So while it is perfectly un- derstandable that he would want to pay for a new liver, and did, that decision bought him, maybe, a few more months. The same goes for bad tickers: if I want to abuse my body with alcohol, tobacco and bacon then why should ( ( my fellow taxpayers foot the bill to bring my deservedly lifeless and horizontal body back from the great beyond? There is no good reason, only that we all place a little too much value on life when in reality it is death that gives life its value. Last week I read the story of a 70-year-old man in Lacey, Washing- ton who died of administering CPR. He called 9-1-1 to report that his wife, 69, was not breathing and to please send an ambulance and that he would begin performing CPR on his wife. When the emergency respond- ers arrived they found the husband dead of a heart attack brought on by exhaustion, his body over that of his wife. What a perfect way to leave this world.. And I don't mean to sit in judg- ment of the Mick or anyone else who wants to prolong their life beyond its natural limits. No matter how much pain I'm feeling these days I still say it's bet- ter than the alternative. But I do believe we're all put- ting too much stock in this world and I don't think taxpayers should foot the bill to keep the likes of me, or any other self-abusing schmuck, alive beyond their self-imposed expi- ration date. TO EDITOR We need to own our Editor, the Journal I feel much relief and gratitude that Adage has decided to leave Shelton. Thanks to everyone who worked to keep the big cor- poration from walking into town and over the people, even though they say our resistance was meaning- less. However, this is a wake up call for our continued vigilance. Until we see port leases cancelled and per- mit request pulled, we will continue and beyond. This issue has had a very silver lining- there is a large and growing group of involved citizens who have learned to know each other and become organized and communicat- ing. We will continue and we will work for what we want in Shelton, including solu- tions to our employment and health problems. But I want to push our thinking even more out- ward. I began to think about really why Adage is leaving. Of course there was no merit to the project, we knew that from the beginning and so did they. They said their decision to leave was several months in the making. If we recall, a few months ago we had a historical national election. As a result of the outcome, we are now in the process of further disman- tling many of our regulator (and other long held social) systems. There are several ways to do this. Withholding funding is currently well un- der way, so that there are no "cops on the beat." Changing laws is another, as thecalls to do away with the EPA, for example. And then there is the Supreme Court, whose majority is actively working to upset long held precedent and clear the way for corpo- rations to basically do what they want and spend unlim- ited amounts of money to in- fluence elections and further "own" the government. So why do Duke Energy/ Adage spend a little money here in Shelton when they are going to be able to do what they want, every- where. Pollution? who will stop them? Carbon credits? who needs them any more? My take? They (Adage or some form) will be back, somehow, somewhere, in spades. What we had was not a victory, just a lull. Linda Gruer Shelton Crime on the rise Editor, the Journal Mason County residents need to be ~ware Of the rash of robberies taking place within the county. Thieves are really interested in items that do not have se- rial numbers and are easily converted into cash. Car and equipment batteries seem to be a high priority; they take them the easy way, cutting cables to get at them fast. Gold is a target as they can take the trinkets to the many places that buy gold, moving from place to place so as to not make a buyer suspicious. Coins are a treasure as they can take them to the coin machines at many of the local businesses to be changed to dollars, quickly. They of course, will take any item easily moved and easily disposed such as weld- ers, GPS systems, small boat motors and tools, anything that can be pawned or sold. They are leaving no one unscathed. Construction sites, homes, trailers, cars and motor homes are all targets. No one or anything is safe. The burglars do their homework by casing homes and businesses and strike when the chance of getting caught is least.., day or night. The sheriffs' office is The Journal welcomes and encourages your busy withmoreimportant pr ig ed, g matters than break-ins and otheeditor.: will ints n ori inallette theft. It is unfortunate that the sheriffs are unable to of local interest. We will :not publish letters that come out and investigate these crimes instead ofjust are libelous Or scurrilous in nature. Letters should taking a report via tele- phone. In fmrness to the be under 350 words and provide contact and ad- sheriiTs office they are work- ing with a very minimal dress information for the JournaL : : budget. Maybe a show of officers on the scene might be a deterrent to the thieves knowing that these crimes Wallace-Kneeland, I could lanes had on-coming traffic are being reported and hear sirens. I kept watching and they too did not move investigated and not just to see if they were coming off the road. The ambulance ignored and that something my way. There was a white could not get by. Finally, the is being done to protect the car behind me and nine cars ambulance was able to get innocent and hard work- roughly a city-block in front around the row of cars block- ing citizens that live in the of me. When the ambulance ing them, but only because county, came onto the highway, the northbotmd traffic thinned Without the needed car behind me did not move and two cars pulled off the protection of our sheriff's offthe highway, instead road letting ambulance we need to be on the alert, when I signaled and pulled swing into the on-coming Make sure your homes and to the side the driver behind lane. cars are locked, keep lights me used the opportunity to I hope none of those driv- en and let your neighbors. • pass, still not pulling over ers, unwilling to give up know if you are going to be to let the ambulance by. there precious positions in out of town. If you see any- I watched amazed as theline, had a mother, father, thing suspicious call law ambulance, lights flash- or child in the back of that enforcement, they may be in4;, sirens blaring, was still ambulance and if the am- able to respond if a crime is caught behind the white car bulance was rushing to a in progress, as they came up behind the stroke or heart attack I hope Oliver Hutchins row of cars. Only one car in you made it. Lousy driving that row, that's right, only people. one pulled off. Both uphill Cheryl Stewart Shelton Change the headline Editor, the Journal Perhaps the headline in the March 17 Journal should have read Adios: Adage Adios: NASCAR Adios: 101 Connector Adios: Renaissance fair Hola: Goodwill Anyway you translate it this is the path to prosperity for Mason County? Phil Wolff lyn driving in Editor, the Journal I've gotten used to having my doors blown off as I trav- el on the highway despite the fact that my cruise is usually set at 62 to 64. And, I'm good at watching my side mirrors and rearview mirror for what's happening beside me or behind me and really avoid tailgating. Un- fortunately, I've seen enough stupid tricks to be ultra cau- tious on the stretch or road between Wallace-Kneeland and the 1st exit to Shelton. Last Thursday around 5 p.m., about quitting time, the driving went beyond lousy to criminal. As I entered the highway at =I started my vegetarianisra for health reasons, then it became a moral choice, and now #'s jut't to annoypeople." County USPS 492-800 She#on-Mason County Journal is a member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by Shelton-Msson County Journal, Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.corn Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $37 per year for Mason County addresses, $51 per year in state of Washington but outside Mason County, $61 per year out of state. Owned and published by She/ton-Mason County Journal, Inc Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, March 31,2011 Rick Kennedy, publisher Advertising: Composing room: Dave Pierik, advertising manager William Adams, graphics Newsroom: Harvey Morris, ad representative Gaylene Wiseman, paginator Jesse Mullen, editor Mat Taylor, ad representative Koleen Wood, classifleds/legals Kevan Moore, news editor Front office: Becky Corr, typing Dean Siemon, sports Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper Aria Shephard, North Mason, Pressroom: environment, reporter Natalie Margot Brand, circulationKelly Riordan, production manager JohnsOn, reporter Cdcket Carter, mailroom supervisor Travis Miller press operator