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" I00eaders ' 00]ournal:
18u kl p kid
, C eu s
!
14tor, The Journal:
r' ! tt is time for zero tolerance for
ibi lera with unbuckled children, seatbelt laws, because it's a prov-
ff I"ac crashes are the leading
0f death for American chil-
of all races It's the law on
eservation and in all states
children must be restrained.
)ecause adults are breaking
lW
¢ , children are being crip-
and killed in car crashes
d'O
D
j jr
tff
"Y day. In fact, six out of 10
:t •i: [ren who die in crashes are
d[e |tbUckled up at all! Of those,
gl |lY half would be alive today if
|Y.hadwo. just been buckled up.
|h0uld be using every means
! !hie to make" :'" sure every child
!. ashington is buckled up.
Sd
¢!D nmg the week of May 24,
.0 [e ": Skokomish tribal police are
lg with thousands of law-en-
Our officers will also be step-
ping up enforcement of adult
en fact that most adults who don't
buckle up themselves, don't buck-
le up kids. Recent studies have
found that a buckled driver is
three times more likely to buckle
up a child.
Last year alone, more than
2,000 children died and 300,000
children were injured in crashes
nationwide. Too many of these
deaths and injuries could have
been prevented if only the adults
had done their job to protect vul-
nerable children.
We must stop drivers who don't
buckle up kids. Our children's
lives depend on it.
Officer Erik Moon
Skokomish tribal police
l vI(
ieent agencies in all 50
tsll"
.s in the next nationwide Op-
;
h.
I' € Oil
, I .ABCMobilizatmn, andis Drawing to
b' tng zero tolerance for driv-
er" l0 are endangering children
ar eglecting to buckle them up the editor
;t !t erly. Drivers who do not obey
a rvation and Washington From MaryReller, Shelton
s,- d L! childb passener safety laws
q ! eSt°pPed' andenf°rcement i
• "oa will be tak n
pr ¢ilu' . * e .
rkO' I e know that these nation-
,._ |e Crackdowns are making a
'e i Ierence an ..... ,, lives The
,e l27 aal Highway Traffic Safety
, |!.aistration reports that the
Ig2
tzations conducted in 1998
.°.lt 1, t]. a more Americans to buckle
]ale largest, single-year in-
, r e in seatbelt use in eight
Idi ], Its estimated that this in-
.^. |e will result in 1,500 lives
i,l | N0,,e.ach year.
h$ ,ang is more devastating to
er than breaking the news
tfrents that their child has
d killed or critically injured.
1(' nOwin that enforcement
II Oll •
• ,p. Y works but will spare
F aes a lifetime of pain and re-
,, ', We must declare zero toler-
lot . .e for drivers with unbuckled
00igreat new00 law .....
The Journal:
the closing minutes of the
legislative session, the
State House of Rep-
took an important
)rotecting the lives
from drowning.
of consideration,
iacket bill was finally
a strong majority in
HOuse and Senate.
common-sense preventa-
Sure protects kids 12
and younger in small
drowning by requiring
Wear lifejackets. The
this bill is clear. Since
shington State Parks re-
boating-related deaths
children aged 12 years
it
The Journal."
on Highway 3 in and
lfair numerous times a
for years. Traffic is
the growth we are
mncing it is impossible
on the highway.
it is down for construe-
accident or even closed as
May 9 altogether
commuting hours, the
I go on forever.
time for a bypass
out of the 10
here carry one per-
are not even stopping in
nything at all.
, People, use your voting
e Powers to get a bypass.
needs to be done be-
any worse.
Dotti Gaskey
Belfair
f
and younger. Drowning continues
to be the second leading cause of
unintentional injury death for
children in Washington and na-
tionally. As the warm weather ap-
proaches, the child lifejacket bill
is a timely and needed law to help
save children's lives.
A diverse group of drowning-
prevention coalitions, hospitals,
boating and aquatics programs,
parents, doctors, boaters, marine
patrols and health departments,
worked persistently to advocate
for these protections.
State Senator Tim Sheldon and
state representatives Bill Eick-
meyer and Kathy Haigh of the
35th District were supporters of
the bill and deserve our thanks
for all their efforts. Senator Shel-
don was also a Senate sponsor of
the legislation.
As this bill is implemented,
and children and families
throughout the state are made
more aware of the dangers of
drowning, we'll all be able to en-
joy our state's waters a little more
safely.
Elizabeth Bennett
Children's Hospital
Seattle
DOCTOR, INQ
"We Make
House Calls"
LETE ROOF*
OFF
ANY
id with any other discount. Coupon must be presented at time of accep-
One coupon per customer. Valid March 1, 1999-May 31, 1999.
o.,, 427-8611
ESTIMATES
2136 Olympic Highway North, Shelton .ooms
How will people remember WPPSS fiasco?
Editor, The Journal:
This is a copy (with slight revi-
sions) of the letter I wrote in reac-
tion to the quarterly publication of
the PUD 3 News, spring 1999 edi-
tion. I was informed today by the
News editorial staff and the PUD
manager that it would not be
printed because of "the cost
involved." Thus, I submit it to
your readers.
There is a common saying
about history that it is written by
the victorious. With respect to the
history of public power in Wash-
ington State, as we celebrate our
PUD's 60th anniversary, both the
private and public sectors of the
utility business have their respec-
tive and legitimate versions about
how things came to be as they
are. Precisely because in the
1930s, Seattle and Tacoma utili-
ties remained within the public
sector and the PUDs secured the
majority of rural and farming
business in the state. The private
utilities, on the other hand, main-
tained a large portion of the busi-
ness within the high population
density areas on both sides of the
Cascades. One might say, "Both
were victorious."
I think it will be very interest-
ing to see how the history of the
Washington Public Power Supply
System's (WPPSS) nuclear energy
venture is written, as well as the
history of PUD 3's involvement in
WPPSS. As to the writing of his-
tory, there is no one story, despite
the fact that U.S. history up until
the last decade, was almost uni-
versally and nationally uniform.
In other words, it didn't matter
where one went to school, we all
learned the same things and we
all had to memorize the same
dates, places and significant peo-
ple. Yet how many of us were told
the story of Little Big Horn from
the Sioux perspective? Or told the
story of southern plantation life
from the perspective of the slave?
How many of us today realize
that one-third of the land mass of
what is now the USA was land
taken away from Mexico after the
war of 1845? Therefore, how will
the history of WPPSS and PUD 3
be remembered?
When Linda Gott and I were
€andidates for the PUD commis-
sioner position in this past elec-
tion, we were asked at one of the
forums, "How did the WPPSS fi-
asco happen and what would you
do to prevent it from happening
again?" Linda went to the podium
first and although I can't quote
her exact words, she basically ad-
mitted that she didn't know much
about the WPPSS fiasco. She in-
dicated that it happened back in
the 1970s and early 1980s and
that she wasn't involved with the
issues then.
Well, when and from whom
will Linda Gott hear the stories
about WPPSS? How will she un-
derstand PUD 3's involvement in
WPPSS? How did the board of
commissioners she praised in her
recent article (although she did
leave out Bob Olson) come into
power over 15 years ago? A lot
will depend on who she talks to,
what books she reads and, if
there is a willingness on her part,
to seek an understanding of what
I consider a very important time
period in our PUD's history.
She could hear one story from
an angry bondholder who lost
money on WPPSS. She could get
another story from a disgruntled
worker who lost a job when the
plants were terminated. She
could be told that WPPSS failed
because the Three Mile Island ac-
cident in Pennsylvania changed
all the safety regulations of the
nuclear power industry. Or that it
was the fault of the radical envi-
ronmentalists, protesters, irate
ratepayers and nuclear naysay-
ers, as I was so often called. But
either all of those things are true,
or none of it is.
For those of you who did not
attend the candidates' forum
when Linda and I were asked
about WPPSS, I had my opinion
and I expressed it. Basically, the
WPPSS fiasco happened because
the Bonneville Power Administra-
tion (BPA) issued a "notice of in-
sufficiency" for the electrical pow-
er needs of the Northwest region,
acting on behalf of the private
utility industry and the direct
service industry customers
(DSIs), which were the large alu-
minum companies. The BPA even
warned or threatened the region
with the possibilities of electrical
shortages, severe enough to cause
brownouts.
As a result, WPPSS used its
municipal bonding authority to
launch one of the biggest and
most ambitious nuclear energy
construction projects in the world;
five plants, three at Hanford and
two at ElmedSatsop. This, despite
the fact that public and municipal
utilities had a "preference clause"
on the hydroelectric power from
the Columbia River system, guar-
anteeing them power. One might
ask, why would WPPSS do that? I
have my opinion and so do many
other onlookers and participants
in those events. The explanations
will be crucial to our understand-
ing of that time period as a public
power community.
There has always been a strug-
gle over the control of resources
between the private and public
sector. There always will be. Now
it is taking shape in the form of
"deregulation." Yet whatever it is
called, however it is labeled, it's
about control of resources. In eco-
nomic terms, it's about socialism
versus capitalism.
I can remember back in those
days when the Mason County En-
ergy Education Group and the
Owner's Association went in
numbers to the Mason County
Democrats' election platform
meeting and helped pass a resolu-
tion to "deregulate" or
"nationalize" the oil industry.
That county platform resolution
was then carried to Spokane, for
the state Democratic platform
meeting, where it was soundly de-
feated. Well, at least we talked
about it.
This country is fundamentally
a balancing act or experiment in
democratic socialism with a
healthy respect for the private
sector, despite claims to the con-
trary that the USA is strictly
democratic capitalism. We have
public schools, hospitals, postal
service, fire departments, police
service, road maintenance, port
districts, PUDs, etc., etc. It's a
combination of socialism and cap-
italism, with an inherent conflict,
struggle and tension between the
two. Yet in my mind, it is or can
be a healthy tension, in which
people democratically set the
scales so to speak and create a
balance between the two.
Keep in mind that the original
slogan or phrase, which the power
advocates used in their election
campaign to establish PUDs over
60 years ago, was Progress Under
Democracy (PUD). In fact, the
slogan is still printed on the back
cover of the Revised Code of
Washington book of laws for
PUDs. I often feel the opponents
of growth management should
have their slogan be, Democracy
Under Progress (DUP), because it
seems they would place progress
and private property rights above
the democratic process.
Just for the record (historically
speaking), the recall election in
1983, which put the board of com-
missioners in power that Linda
Gott and many others have
heaped praise upon, was a very
unfortunate development and a
trying time for many families,
despite the positive outcome. The
commissioners who were recalled
were to an extent simply follow-
ing the advice of the utility man-
ager, the power supply manager
and the district's attorney. It was
the upper echelon of the adminis-
trative staff of the utility who
should have been recalled, but
since they were hired and not
elected, it was the commissioners
who took the heat.
Then after the recall, because
the unwritten and certainly the
unofficial policy of the new board
(Olson, Warnaca and Whalen) to
have motions unanimously ap-
proved or not even brought to the
table (there may have been one or
two exceptions over the years?),
that manager stayed on the job at
PUD 3 for another two years, be-
fore he was finally asked or told
to leave. However, he wasn't
fired, although in my opinion he
should have been and would have
been immediately, had I been
elected. Instead, he was given his
walking papers to another well
paying job in Oregon, despite
squandering millions of our
PUD's dollars and either directly
or indirectly, depending upon
one's perspective, caused the re-
call of two relatively innocent
commissioners.
I hope and I am fairly confid-
ent that Linda Gott will be a good
commissioner. One who keeps the
"public interest" first and fore-
most in her decisions. One who
understands that it is the written
and lawful responsibility of a
PUD commissioner "...to preserve
and protect the resources.., for
the benefit of the people..." (RCW'
54.04.020), not the private utili-
ties or the direct service industry.
I wonder too, if Linda knows or
realizes how the PUD 3 News
came into existence? It wasn't
around before 1983, which in my
opinion was the last time the pub-
lic was really involved in the
PUD.
I would suggest to her, as she
is getting a history lesson about
our utility, that she look into the
recommendations presented to
the PUD commissioners by the
Citizen's Advisory Committee
(CAC) and the Rate Task Force
back in the early 1980s. The only
such time since the actual forma-
tion of the utility that a broad
and representative spectrum of
our community looked into the in-
ternal workings of the PUD.
Many of the CAC suggestions and
recommendations were never act-
ed upon for a variety of reasons
by either the pre- or post-recall
board.
Finally, I found the second
paragraph concerning "public
purposes legislation," on the back
page of the PUD 3 News, in the
article, "Regional Roundup," dis-
turbingly interesting. Within the
many recommendations of the
CAC, which I mentioned in the
paragraph above this, that never
became PUD 3 policy, one will
discover the very same ideas that
are mentioned in the article, like
"assistance to low-income users,
pay(lug) for conservation pro-
grams and fund(lug) renewable
sources of power."
What I find disturbing is that
many owner/ratepayers of Mason
County PUD 3 would not object to
or oppose a 3 percent hike to our
electric bill, used for such "public
purposes." In fact, many owners
of this utility, including myself,
would consider the use of PUD
revenue in such a way to be a
fair, just and wise investment,
despite the insinuation contained
within the article's parenthesis,
that we would object to such a
raise or hike in our bills. Espe-
cially, if one considers that at the
present time, a significant portion
of our electric bill (30 to 40
percent?) is being used to pay off
the WPPSS debt, despite no kilo-
watts in return and another por-
tion of our money to keep the
plants "preserved." History, un-
Iess it is well understood, has a
tendency to repeat itself.
Bill Shanahan
Harstine Island
Outstanding in Our Field
Financing starts at 6.99% APR up to 60 months - cr - 0 down, 0 interost for first gO days
Other tors alao available. All on approval of credit,
First & Mill, Sheton
426-4373 or 426-2411
Mon-Sat 7:30-7, Sun 9-8
i Hill
From farming and dairy, to construction, lawn maintenance, utility sites
and home estates, Kubota has been leading the way with innovative engi-
neering and outstanding versatile tractors in the 12.5 to 98 PTO horse-
power range; compact construction equipment; performance-matched
implements and attachments; residential and commercial mowing equip-
ment and a comprehensive line of power products.
Standing behind our quality product line is a progressive company with
a vision dedicated to our customers and committed to our professional,
nationwide dealer network. Kubota people -- from the dealer, to our prod-
uct specialists, to our automated parts depots, to the factories -- working
together to provide our customers with outstanding support, parts and
service.
i
Thursday, May 20, 1999 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 5
" I00eaders ' 00]ournal:
18u kl p kid
, C eu s
!
14tor, The Journal:
r' ! tt is time for zero tolerance for
ibi lera with unbuckled children, seatbelt laws, because it's a prov-
ff I"ac crashes are the leading
0f death for American chil-
of all races It's the law on
eservation and in all states
children must be restrained.
)ecause adults are breaking
lW
¢ , children are being crip-
and killed in car crashes
d'O
D
j jr
tff
"Y day. In fact, six out of 10
:t •i: [ren who die in crashes are
d[e |tbUckled up at all! Of those,
gl |lY half would be alive today if
|Y.hadwo. just been buckled up.
|h0uld be using every means
! !hie to make" :'" sure every child
!. ashington is buckled up.
Sd
¢!D nmg the week of May 24,
.0 [e ": Skokomish tribal police are
lg with thousands of law-en-
Our officers will also be step-
ping up enforcement of adult
en fact that most adults who don't
buckle up themselves, don't buck-
le up kids. Recent studies have
found that a buckled driver is
three times more likely to buckle
up a child.
Last year alone, more than
2,000 children died and 300,000
children were injured in crashes
nationwide. Too many of these
deaths and injuries could have
been prevented if only the adults
had done their job to protect vul-
nerable children.
We must stop drivers who don't
buckle up kids. Our children's
lives depend on it.
Officer Erik Moon
Skokomish tribal police
l vI(
ieent agencies in all 50
tsll"
.s in the next nationwide Op-
;
h.
I' € Oil
, I .ABCMobilizatmn, andis Drawing to
b' tng zero tolerance for driv-
er" l0 are endangering children
ar eglecting to buckle them up the editor
;t !t erly. Drivers who do not obey
a rvation and Washington From MaryReller, Shelton
s,- d L! childb passener safety laws
q ! eSt°pPed' andenf°rcement i
• "oa will be tak n
pr ¢ilu' . * e .
rkO' I e know that these nation-
,._ |e Crackdowns are making a
'e i Ierence an ..... ,, lives The
,e l27 aal Highway Traffic Safety
, |!.aistration reports that the
Ig2
tzations conducted in 1998
.°.lt 1, t]. a more Americans to buckle
]ale largest, single-year in-
, r e in seatbelt use in eight
Idi ], Its estimated that this in-
.^. |e will result in 1,500 lives
i,l | N0,,e.ach year.
h$ ,ang is more devastating to
er than breaking the news
tfrents that their child has
d killed or critically injured.
1(' nOwin that enforcement
II Oll •
• ,p. Y works but will spare
F aes a lifetime of pain and re-
,, ', We must declare zero toler-
lot . .e for drivers with unbuckled
00igreat new00 law .....
The Journal:
the closing minutes of the
legislative session, the
State House of Rep-
took an important
)rotecting the lives
from drowning.
of consideration,
iacket bill was finally
a strong majority in
HOuse and Senate.
common-sense preventa-
Sure protects kids 12
and younger in small
drowning by requiring
Wear lifejackets. The
this bill is clear. Since
shington State Parks re-
boating-related deaths
children aged 12 years
it
The Journal."
on Highway 3 in and
lfair numerous times a
for years. Traffic is
the growth we are
mncing it is impossible
on the highway.
it is down for construe-
accident or even closed as
May 9 altogether
commuting hours, the
I go on forever.
time for a bypass
out of the 10
here carry one per-
are not even stopping in
nything at all.
, People, use your voting
e Powers to get a bypass.
needs to be done be-
any worse.
Dotti Gaskey
Belfair
f
and younger. Drowning continues
to be the second leading cause of
unintentional injury death for
children in Washington and na-
tionally. As the warm weather ap-
proaches, the child lifejacket bill
is a timely and needed law to help
save children's lives.
A diverse group of drowning-
prevention coalitions, hospitals,
boating and aquatics programs,
parents, doctors, boaters, marine
patrols and health departments,
worked persistently to advocate
for these protections.
State Senator Tim Sheldon and
state representatives Bill Eick-
meyer and Kathy Haigh of the
35th District were supporters of
the bill and deserve our thanks
for all their efforts. Senator Shel-
don was also a Senate sponsor of
the legislation.
As this bill is implemented,
and children and families
throughout the state are made
more aware of the dangers of
drowning, we'll all be able to en-
joy our state's waters a little more
safely.
Elizabeth Bennett
Children's Hospital
Seattle
DOCTOR, INQ
"We Make
House Calls"
LETE ROOF*
OFF
ANY
id with any other discount. Coupon must be presented at time of accep-
One coupon per customer. Valid March 1, 1999-May 31, 1999.
o.,, 427-8611
ESTIMATES
2136 Olympic Highway North, Shelton .ooms
How will people remember WPPSS fiasco?
Editor, The Journal:
This is a copy (with slight revi-
sions) of the letter I wrote in reac-
tion to the quarterly publication of
the PUD 3 News, spring 1999 edi-
tion. I was informed today by the
News editorial staff and the PUD
manager that it would not be
printed because of "the cost
involved." Thus, I submit it to
your readers.
There is a common saying
about history that it is written by
the victorious. With respect to the
history of public power in Wash-
ington State, as we celebrate our
PUD's 60th anniversary, both the
private and public sectors of the
utility business have their respec-
tive and legitimate versions about
how things came to be as they
are. Precisely because in the
1930s, Seattle and Tacoma utili-
ties remained within the public
sector and the PUDs secured the
majority of rural and farming
business in the state. The private
utilities, on the other hand, main-
tained a large portion of the busi-
ness within the high population
density areas on both sides of the
Cascades. One might say, "Both
were victorious."
I think it will be very interest-
ing to see how the history of the
Washington Public Power Supply
System's (WPPSS) nuclear energy
venture is written, as well as the
history of PUD 3's involvement in
WPPSS. As to the writing of his-
tory, there is no one story, despite
the fact that U.S. history up until
the last decade, was almost uni-
versally and nationally uniform.
In other words, it didn't matter
where one went to school, we all
learned the same things and we
all had to memorize the same
dates, places and significant peo-
ple. Yet how many of us were told
the story of Little Big Horn from
the Sioux perspective? Or told the
story of southern plantation life
from the perspective of the slave?
How many of us today realize
that one-third of the land mass of
what is now the USA was land
taken away from Mexico after the
war of 1845? Therefore, how will
the history of WPPSS and PUD 3
be remembered?
When Linda Gott and I were
€andidates for the PUD commis-
sioner position in this past elec-
tion, we were asked at one of the
forums, "How did the WPPSS fi-
asco happen and what would you
do to prevent it from happening
again?" Linda went to the podium
first and although I can't quote
her exact words, she basically ad-
mitted that she didn't know much
about the WPPSS fiasco. She in-
dicated that it happened back in
the 1970s and early 1980s and
that she wasn't involved with the
issues then.
Well, when and from whom
will Linda Gott hear the stories
about WPPSS? How will she un-
derstand PUD 3's involvement in
WPPSS? How did the board of
commissioners she praised in her
recent article (although she did
leave out Bob Olson) come into
power over 15 years ago? A lot
will depend on who she talks to,
what books she reads and, if
there is a willingness on her part,
to seek an understanding of what
I consider a very important time
period in our PUD's history.
She could hear one story from
an angry bondholder who lost
money on WPPSS. She could get
another story from a disgruntled
worker who lost a job when the
plants were terminated. She
could be told that WPPSS failed
because the Three Mile Island ac-
cident in Pennsylvania changed
all the safety regulations of the
nuclear power industry. Or that it
was the fault of the radical envi-
ronmentalists, protesters, irate
ratepayers and nuclear naysay-
ers, as I was so often called. But
either all of those things are true,
or none of it is.
For those of you who did not
attend the candidates' forum
when Linda and I were asked
about WPPSS, I had my opinion
and I expressed it. Basically, the
WPPSS fiasco happened because
the Bonneville Power Administra-
tion (BPA) issued a "notice of in-
sufficiency" for the electrical pow-
er needs of the Northwest region,
acting on behalf of the private
utility industry and the direct
service industry customers
(DSIs), which were the large alu-
minum companies. The BPA even
warned or threatened the region
with the possibilities of electrical
shortages, severe enough to cause
brownouts.
As a result, WPPSS used its
municipal bonding authority to
launch one of the biggest and
most ambitious nuclear energy
construction projects in the world;
five plants, three at Hanford and
two at ElmedSatsop. This, despite
the fact that public and municipal
utilities had a "preference clause"
on the hydroelectric power from
the Columbia River system, guar-
anteeing them power. One might
ask, why would WPPSS do that? I
have my opinion and so do many
other onlookers and participants
in those events. The explanations
will be crucial to our understand-
ing of that time period as a public
power community.
There has always been a strug-
gle over the control of resources
between the private and public
sector. There always will be. Now
it is taking shape in the form of
"deregulation." Yet whatever it is
called, however it is labeled, it's
about control of resources. In eco-
nomic terms, it's about socialism
versus capitalism.
I can remember back in those
days when the Mason County En-
ergy Education Group and the
Owner's Association went in
numbers to the Mason County
Democrats' election platform
meeting and helped pass a resolu-
tion to "deregulate" or
"nationalize" the oil industry.
That county platform resolution
was then carried to Spokane, for
the state Democratic platform
meeting, where it was soundly de-
feated. Well, at least we talked
about it.
This country is fundamentally
a balancing act or experiment in
democratic socialism with a
healthy respect for the private
sector, despite claims to the con-
trary that the USA is strictly
democratic capitalism. We have
public schools, hospitals, postal
service, fire departments, police
service, road maintenance, port
districts, PUDs, etc., etc. It's a
combination of socialism and cap-
italism, with an inherent conflict,
struggle and tension between the
two. Yet in my mind, it is or can
be a healthy tension, in which
people democratically set the
scales so to speak and create a
balance between the two.
Keep in mind that the original
slogan or phrase, which the power
advocates used in their election
campaign to establish PUDs over
60 years ago, was Progress Under
Democracy (PUD). In fact, the
slogan is still printed on the back
cover of the Revised Code of
Washington book of laws for
PUDs. I often feel the opponents
of growth management should
have their slogan be, Democracy
Under Progress (DUP), because it
seems they would place progress
and private property rights above
the democratic process.
Just for the record (historically
speaking), the recall election in
1983, which put the board of com-
missioners in power that Linda
Gott and many others have
heaped praise upon, was a very
unfortunate development and a
trying time for many families,
despite the positive outcome. The
commissioners who were recalled
were to an extent simply follow-
ing the advice of the utility man-
ager, the power supply manager
and the district's attorney. It was
the upper echelon of the adminis-
trative staff of the utility who
should have been recalled, but
since they were hired and not
elected, it was the commissioners
who took the heat.
Then after the recall, because
the unwritten and certainly the
unofficial policy of the new board
(Olson, Warnaca and Whalen) to
have motions unanimously ap-
proved or not even brought to the
table (there may have been one or
two exceptions over the years?),
that manager stayed on the job at
PUD 3 for another two years, be-
fore he was finally asked or told
to leave. However, he wasn't
fired, although in my opinion he
should have been and would have
been immediately, had I been
elected. Instead, he was given his
walking papers to another well
paying job in Oregon, despite
squandering millions of our
PUD's dollars and either directly
or indirectly, depending upon
one's perspective, caused the re-
call of two relatively innocent
commissioners.
I hope and I am fairly confid-
ent that Linda Gott will be a good
commissioner. One who keeps the
"public interest" first and fore-
most in her decisions. One who
understands that it is the written
and lawful responsibility of a
PUD commissioner "...to preserve
and protect the resources.., for
the benefit of the people..." (RCW'
54.04.020), not the private utili-
ties or the direct service industry.
I wonder too, if Linda knows or
realizes how the PUD 3 News
came into existence? It wasn't
around before 1983, which in my
opinion was the last time the pub-
lic was really involved in the
PUD.
I would suggest to her, as she
is getting a history lesson about
our utility, that she look into the
recommendations presented to
the PUD commissioners by the
Citizen's Advisory Committee
(CAC) and the Rate Task Force
back in the early 1980s. The only
such time since the actual forma-
tion of the utility that a broad
and representative spectrum of
our community looked into the in-
ternal workings of the PUD.
Many of the CAC suggestions and
recommendations were never act-
ed upon for a variety of reasons
by either the pre- or post-recall
board.
Finally, I found the second
paragraph concerning "public
purposes legislation," on the back
page of the PUD 3 News, in the
article, "Regional Roundup," dis-
turbingly interesting. Within the
many recommendations of the
CAC, which I mentioned in the
paragraph above this, that never
became PUD 3 policy, one will
discover the very same ideas that
are mentioned in the article, like
"assistance to low-income users,
pay(lug) for conservation pro-
grams and fund(lug) renewable
sources of power."
What I find disturbing is that
many owner/ratepayers of Mason
County PUD 3 would not object to
or oppose a 3 percent hike to our
electric bill, used for such "public
purposes." In fact, many owners
of this utility, including myself,
would consider the use of PUD
revenue in such a way to be a
fair, just and wise investment,
despite the insinuation contained
within the article's parenthesis,
that we would object to such a
raise or hike in our bills. Espe-
cially, if one considers that at the
present time, a significant portion
of our electric bill (30 to 40
percent?) is being used to pay off
the WPPSS debt, despite no kilo-
watts in return and another por-
tion of our money to keep the
plants "preserved." History, un-
Iess it is well understood, has a
tendency to repeat itself.
Bill Shanahan
Harstine Island
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Thursday, May 20, 1999 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 5