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Much more work needed to solve county health dilemna
Mason County is ranked must be getting smaller because sometimes forget to put an em- teachers and administrators The high school graduation rate
one of the least healthy two years ago we were ranked phasis on education. Why bother have done. has risen 8 percent in just a few
counties in Washingtonthe 37th. finishing school when making Most of the teachers in our years from 72 percent graduating
according to a yearly ranking The study also notes that Ma-$50,000 a year without a diploma community are taking a well de- to 80 percent.
developed by the University of son County residents drink is a possibility? But times have served rest this week for spring Although it may be true our
Wisconsin Population Health excessively at a rate double the changed and timber is no longer break. Over the last few years, friends in Aberdeen have helped
Institute and the Robert Wood national average and a quarter a viable career path for a large many of them have worked tire- our rise with their decline, it's
Johnson Foundation of Princ- of us are smokers, so it might be percentage of the population,lessly to improve test scores and good we have shown modest
eton, New Jersey. The institute asked: "What don't we do?" Finishing high school has been increase graduation rates, improvements and hope our resi-
surveyed all 50 states. We are The answer, according to the shown to make a major differ-Without the work of educators, dents, educators and government
ranked the 35th least healthy out survey, is finish high school, ence in quality of life and Ma- Mason County may still be in the officials will continue working
of 39 counties, the bottom five. Communities with large son County alternative schools bottom three counties in Wash- hard to help improve the quality
And speaking of bottoms, ours amounts of natural resources should be applauded for the work ington according to the ranking, of life in Mason County.
WO DONTHESTREET
LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR
Water line who could help this time of
day. She contacted a dentist
whom she knew through
not needed church and that had an of-
fice in Shelton. This dentist
was Dr. Bowers. Dr. Bowers
Editor, the Journal had just gotten home from
Why a $3.5 million wa- work and was preparing to
ter line? Why is the state leave for a fishing trip he
of Washington building ahad planned. He also did not
$3.5 million dollar water live real close to the office.
line from the City of Shelton Our friend explained the sit-
water supply to the State uation to him and asked if
Patrol Academy in Shelton he could help or knew any-
in Mason County? one who could. Dr. Bowers
The State Patrol Acad- did not hesitate to help and
emy now gets its water from told our friends to have us
the Port of Shelton, which meet him at his office. We
only uses a fraction of its had our friends take Skylar
total capacity. The port has down to Dr. Bower's office to
supplied excellent water to meet him as we raced from
that property for years.Bremerton to get there too.
I have not yet been given Dr. Bowers explained every-
any understandable jus- thing in detail as he worked
tification or need for this on Skylar's teeth. Skylar's
expenditure, now or in the teeth were so ready to fall
foreseeable future when out that Dr. Bowers had to
there are such huge city, glue them together to hold
county and state budget them in place and put an
shortfalls. Funds are be- extremely heavy-duty wire
ing cut from schools, law on his braces to keep them
enforcement, social services from having any movement.
and many others. He also carefully glued his
The water line is not nec- bottom lip together, which
essary; this money could be prevented us from having to
spent as needed elsewhere, take Skylar to the emergen-
Having been a commission- cy room for stitches. Due to
er at the Port of Shelton for the trauma to Skylar's teeth
almost 18 years, I am very Dr. Bowers said that it was
aware of the port's morevery likely his teeth would
than adequate water supply die and he would most likely
to the State Patrol, which have to have root canals
purchased the property for on them so we needed to
the Port of Shelton manykeep a close watch on them.
years ago. The reason we share this
Why do they need two story is that Dr. Bowers is
water supplies? a rare person. During this
time we thanked him so
Rose Nye much for seeing us at this
Shelton inopportune time as it was
not convenient for him and
it interrupted his fishing
trip. His response to us was
that it was not a problem
others as and having children of his
own he hoped that someone
you would would be there for him if
this happened to him. Dr.
Bowers saw us for follow
want them ups and worked with our
orthodontist along with our
to treat
you regular dentist to ensure
the best for Skylar's teeth.
Three years later with
Editor, the Journal braces off, Skylars teeth sur-
Just about three years vived and are healthy. Had
ago our oldest son Skylar it not been for Dr. Bower's
was at some friends of willingness and expert care,
ours house while we were Skylar would have lost his
out of town for a sporting teeth. Dr. Bowers also did
event with youngest son on such a great job at gluing
a Friday evening. Skylar Skylar's lip together that he
was outside playing around does not even have a notice-
with friends when their able scar. Some may say,
dog, a large Malamute ran "well I am sure he made
between his legs knocking great money on an emer-
his feet out from under him gency call like that." I want
in which he landed face to tell you Dr. Bowers did
first onto a stump severely not even want to bill us. We
knocking loose his four front had to insist he bill us. We
teeth with braces on causing truly want to thank you Dr.
them to go through his low- Bowers, you and your staff
er lip. His teeth were pretty are a rarity. It is rare to find
much just hanging there, people who willingly put
Once we were contacted the needs of others before
about the accident we im- their own without expecting
mediately called our dentist something in return and to
on his emergency line with de it with integrity. We are
no luck of reaching him. forever grateful for the care
We frantically contacted you gave our son.
another friend of ours who
works in the dental field to Mark and Tracie Core
see if she knew of anyone Shelton
Why do you think youth perform poorly on standardized testing?
Ron Eileen Matt Erik
Feldman Preferment Williams Smith-Dodgson
"The tests themselves "Weak skills from the
ask questions that al- start with no prereq-
though the answers uisites and they make
have been taught, the mistakes on things that
questions are asked dif- they already know how
ferently than they are to do. They also think
taught. Students are they have a skill mas-
taught the processes tered but forget it while
and how to do the work testing."
but do not understand
what the question is
asking."
"School is too easy and "Teachers do not teach
students are not chal- us what the state wants
lenged enough. Their us to know."
hand is held through all
their work so they are
not prepared."
PAPERBOY
Click your heels together three times
W~uen I was 28 our family
ffered a great tragedy
ut those gloomy days
were balanced by the tenderness of
our family and friends.
The greatest gift of that time
was a recognition that our neigh-
bors, most of whom I thought to be
strangers, came forward with an
outpouring of help.
In the decades since, I have
moved my fam-
ily from place to
place. First to
a small town in
Nebraska and
then to an even
smaller town in
Wyoming.
That first re-
location wasn't
By TOM
difficult for me
MULLEN despite the hard-
ship of our finan-
cial means.
The job I had been offered paid
only $14,500 per year (this was
1992) but held the promise of run-
ning a newspaper.
My two years in Nebraska were
spent learning how to run a com-
munity newspaper and playing
with my kids. My wife busied her-
self pursuing her degree, having
put professional nursing behind
her, and working part time jobs so
we wouldn't fall too far behind on
bills.
So when I left for that first pub-
lishing job in Wyoming there was
little to miss other than my men-
tor, Les, who had provided me with
the opportunity that lay before
me. Nine years later my sons were
grown.
Fed up with the responsibility
that came with being that small
town publisher, I happily fled my the arts and every wall, every coffee
duties for the promise of anonymity cup, every where you looked you
and more money in a bigger town were seeing or touching an original
(17,000), overseeing the operations work of art. The home was an over-
of a dozen or so papers, whelming experience of inspiration,
Most of the friends I'd made in a true reflection of its owners.
those nine years had moved on to Another newspaperman, Mike
further their own professional lives Sellett of Jackson appeared to have
so I was leaving little behind - I a nice home and once I almost got a
thought, look inside.
One night, before I left, I started One morning my partners and I
writing down the names of those crashed his patio where he was en-
few good friends who would remain joying his morning juice. We were
there. They numbered 14. all sitting in the breezeway when a
Still I was longing for the upcom- young moose came charging into his
ing move and I thought there would yard. Having never seen a moose I
be little to miss of the town I'd was a bit shocked and wondering
called "home" from 1996 until 2005. what to do and as I looked around
But I can still see those names, I could see that I was the only one
and I knew I would miss each of left at the table so I knew it was
them, terribly, time to move.
One friend has set upon writ- Sellett had ducked into his kitch-
ing a book on Wyoming's greatest en and so I jumped up and grabbed
places and asked me for for some the handle on the sliding glass door
ideas and that is when this memory only to discover the (expletive de-
took hold. leted) had locked me out!
Because in the past three years In Buffalo we often visited the
I have seen little of my Wyoming home of Jim and Mary Hicks. It
home but it was easy to recount was in his backyard that he taught
what places I missed the most: The more than one of my boys how to fly
homes of the people I missed most fish. There's even a petting zoo!
(including our own). Angus Thuermer Jr is the long-
Our home was built on the shale time editor of the Jackson newspa-
ledge that runs from the edge of per and his cabin rests at the foot
the Black Hills down to the Main of a mountain where I have been
Street where the edge of the Thun- treated to a middle of the night
der Basin begins. We could see apple martini and slept on his G.W.
Laramie Peak from my deck, 135 Stevenson Memorial Couch. That
miles away. That deck was in the couch is the stuff of legends and
tree tops and birds were all around thanks to his dogs, you'll always
us. The people who sold us the wake up wearing a new fur coat.
home fed those birds so sitting on What I miss most about Wyo-
my deck was akin to relaxing in an ming are the men and women who
aviary, made it great. Their homes are the
My favorite spot in Powell, Wyo- greatest places in the state because
ming was Dave and Dianne Ben- they are filled with their love and
ner's home. Diane was a patron of their lives.
Shelton-Mason County 1~
USPS 492-800
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason
County Journal, RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584.
Published weekly by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc.
at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington
Mailing address: P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584
Telephone (380) 428-4412 • www.masoncounty.com
Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington
She~ton-Mason County Journal is a member of
Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association.
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
Karl Sleight, publisherAdvertising:
Dave Pierik, Sr. Acct. Executive
Newsroom: Harvey Morris, ad representative
Jesse Mullen, editor Sharee Miller, ad representative
Kevan Moore, reporter Front office:
Natalie Johnson, reporter
Emily Hanson, sports reporter Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper
Adam Rudnick, copy editor Margot Brand, circulation
Cricket Carter, mailroom
supervisor
Composing room:
William Adams, graphics
Becky Corr, typing
Pressroom:
Kelly Riordan, production manager
Travis Miller press operator
Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, April 5, 2012