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| May 31, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal |  |
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
Week 22 -- The Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- Published for Mason County and Wini Ferguson of Everett -- $1
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Suspect questioned and released by police at crime scene
By KEVIN SPRADLIN ner s Office news release.
keuin@masonco~,nty~iom The Shelton Police Department has iden-
~-- tiffed Charles Sydney Longshore, 22, as the
' shooter.
A Shelton man is wanted for his alleged in- Police said Longshore shov3d be considered
volvement in a shooting on Memorial Day that
left two city residents dead due to "homicidal
Longshore violence," according to the Mason County Coro- See Murder on page A-2 ....~ :
'Not guilty' plea for
vehicular homicide
Journa ohoto by Kevin Spraal.tr
Marines from the Security Force Battalion at Bangor Naval Base perform a 21-gun salute
during the 13th annual Memorial Day ceremony at Allyn Waterfront Park.
Race day at the Ridge brings bikers in droves
By NATALIE JOHNSON J
natalie@m,a.~onco~tnty.corn
I
Motorcycle enthu'siasts
raced to Shelton's Ridge
Motorsports Park over Me-
morial Day weekend for the
track's first official event.
"It's the most fun track
I've ever been on." said
Logan Hanks. of Califor-
nm. who spent time on the
track last weekend in his
250 cc Kawasaki motor-
cycle, with BC Motorides.
"It's got a lot of elevation
changes. It's kind of like a
rollercoaster."
The Washingxon Motor-
cycle Road Racing Asso-
ciation (WMRRA) held the
third round of its 2012 sea-
son at the track Saturday,
Sunday and Monday. The
club has two more weekend
race events scheduled at
the track this summer.
Race Director Jeff Wie-
and said out of 400 WMRRA
members, there were more
than 100 individual entries
in the weekend's events.
"We love the track here.
This is a world-class facil-
ity in our backyard ... that
will benefit people for years
to come." he said.
Wieand said the
WMRRA worked with the
Ridge Motorsports Park to
make the new track as safe
as possible for the motor-
cycles.
The club installed Air-
fence for the event. Air-
fence, or soft, airbag-like
barriers, line hard fencing
to protect riders.
The WMRRA also pre-
pared for rain over the
weekend.
"We can actually put a
.lll!!!l!!ll!!l!!!ll12
Journa photo Dy latale Johnson
Above, motorcyclists
come down the s-curve
at the Ridge
Motorsports Track
during a "Taste
of Racing" session.
John Gessner, right, 13,
finished his first race at
the park Saturday 16
seconds ahead of his
competition.
knee on the ground with
rain tires," he said.
Over the three day
event, novice riders got to
check out the track in a
special "Taste of Racing"
event, and experienced rac-
ers set the first-ever speed
records on the brand-new
track.
The "Taste of Racing"
event let non-racers take
their street bikes out to do
laps on the track.
WMRRA racer Eli Ed-
wards set the first record
with a time of 1 minute.
41.385 seconds over the
two and a half mile track.
"This has been a week-
end of firsts," said Ridge
Motorsports co-owner Rod
Powell.
At 13, John Gessner was
by far the ymangest racer
at the weekend's event, but
also one of the fastest. He
won his first event on Sat-
urday evening by a margin
of 16 seconds.
"I've had about a quarter
of the experience that the
other people have." he said.
Gessner rides an RS 125
style bike. which is pow-
ered by a two-stroke en-
gine.
Powell said throughout
the weekend the young
racer showed a remarkable
amount of humility and
composure, especially for
one so young.
Gessner. who lives, in
Bellingham, started rac-
ing with the support of his
parents at age 5 after get-
ting interested in racing
while watching MotoGP, or
Grand Prix motorcycle rac-
rag, on TV.
"When I was 3 I told my
dad I wanted to be a Mo-
toGP world champion." he
said.
Since then. his parents
have supported him every
step of the way.
"Since he was 5, he's
raced every year and got-
ten faster every year," his
father. Troy Gessner said.
Troy Gessner said it can
be difficult watching his
son on the track, but he has
faith in his ion's judgment
and abilities.
"Stress management is
huge," he said. "He's al-
ways been very cautious
and analytical. He always
thinks things through be-
fore he does them instead
of recklessly opening the
throttle."
Three years ago, at 10
years old. Gessner had to
petition the WMRRA to let
him race under the "Novice"
classification and since 12,
has raced as an "'expert."
Each year since then he has
petitioned for the exception
to allow him to race.
"In most race organiza-
tions you have to be 18, he
said. "When I'm 16 I'll get an
AMA (American Motorcyclist
Associatiom pro license."
While he has been fo-
cused mainly on getting
the racetrack up and run-
nmg for the last year, Pow-
ell said he plans to cre-
ate more opportunities ~o
cross-promote the track
with local businesses.
On May 22. the Mason
County Commission ap-
proved a grant of $18.500
of lodging tax funds for
the Economic Development
Council of Mason County to
direct track enthusiasts to
loca] restaurants and ho-
tels.
See Race on page A-2
By KEVIN SPRADLIN
kevin@masonc.ounty.com
Dylan J. Burke plead-
ed not guilty on Tues.day
in Mason County Supe-
rior Court.
Burke, 24, of Shelton,
is charged with one felo-
ny count of vehicular ho-
micide in the May 15 car
crash that claimed the
life of Terra K. Dittmer,
,38, of Shelton.
Authorities have said
Burke and Dittmer, along
with Jason J. Brown, 31,
and Cody R. Laney, 21,
were celebrating Laney's
21st birthday at the
Towne Pub in Shelton on
the evening of May 14.
Shortly after midnight,
the vehicle left East Mik-
kelson Road north of
Shelton and struck a
tree. Dittmer was pro-
nounced dead on scene
while Burke, Brown and
Laney all were injured in
the incident.
COurt documentsre-
flect Burke. who was the
group's designated driver
for the night, was driv-
ing under the influence
with a blood alcohol con-
tent level at or above the
state's legal limit of 0.08.
If convicted, Burke
faces a maximum of life
imprisonment and/or a
$50,000 fine on the •Class
A felony charge. On relat-
ed Class B felony counts
of vehiculal" assault,
stemming from the inju-
ries to Brown and Laney,
Burke could face up to 10
years in prison and/or a
fine of up to $20,000 on
each count.
Burke has been con-
fined at the Mason Coun-
ty Jail since he turned
himself in.
Burke' entered the
courtroom on Tuesday
last in a line of four in-
mates from the adjacent
Mason County Jail. He
wore a navy blue top
and bottom, gray socks
and brown slippers. His
wrists and ankles were
cuffed.
See Homicide on page A-2
Journa Dnoto O~ Natalie Johnsor
Squaxin Island Tribal Chairman David
Lopeman and Mason County Commission
Chair Lynda Ring Erickson sign an
interlocal agreement to create a Pollution
Identification and Correction program.
Tribe and county join up
for pollution control.
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoneounty.com
The Squaxin Island Tribe and Mason County ce-
mented a new partnership to protect shellfish Tues-
day afternoon when leadership from the two groups
signed an interlocal agrebment.
"This is really to advance the cooperation between
the county and the tribe," said John Konovsky, envi-
ronmental program manager for the Squaxin Island
Tribe, when the groups signed the agreement.
Together, the groups will manage an enhanced Pol-
lution Identification and Correction (PIC) program, as
part of the Washington State Shellfish Initiative.
The parties signed an interlocal agreement which
stated, in part. "Whereas, both parties share a strong,
mutual interest in promoting the health of South
Puget Sound, and wish to memorialize our good faith
intentions to work together to protect and enhance
the opportunity to harvest shellfish for commercml,
recreational, ceremonial and subsistence purposes in
perpetuity."
The shellfish initiative is a combination of the Na-
tional Oceanographic Administration's (NOAA) Na-
tional Shellfish Initiative and Washington state, with
an emphasis on supporting aquaculture and shellfish
harvesting in the state.
See Partnersh ip on page A-2
L