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? on't tl 00row that away!
Wilson Recycling
named 'Recycler
of the Year'
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Wilson Recycling in Ma-
son County will find a way
to recycle just about any-
thing, including the kitchen
sink.
On May 24, the Washing-
ton State Recycling Associa-
tion named the two-and-a-
half year old company the
Washington State Recycler
of the Year, partly because
of the sheer number of recy-
clables Wilson takes in.
"This award recognizes
that we are going above and
beyond in the world of re-
cycling," said David Baker,
executive director of Wilson
Recycling.
The award was for a
primary business, which
means that the recipient is a
company that only recycles.
"Last year's winner was
Nucor Steel in downtown
Seattle - that's a pretty
substantial organization,"
Baker said. 'You're talk-
ing about competing with
a company that spends a
million-and-a-half dollars a
month on electricity ... and
this year we won."
Despite its small size,
Wilson will take in things
most 15eople don't even
know can be recycled, like
plastic swimming pools,
streetlights and even kitch-
en sinks.
Wilson does not actu-
ally recycle what they take
in, but like most recycling
centers he cleans, sorts and
strips down items brought
in, then sends the resulting
materials to companies that
specialize in recycling spe-
cific things.
"What we do is source
separate, so we break it
down into its most funda-
mental pieces and then we
recycle it as that," Baker
said. "We accept far more
materials than probably
any other recycle center."
Among the things that
Wilson exclusively recycles
in Mason County is shrink-
wrap plant nursery pots,
lumber wrap, agricultural
plastic and giant outdoor
plastic toys.
In fact, it's easier to un-
derstand how much Wilson
recycles if you ask what
they can't take.
"We haven't found a good
home for fiber optic cable,"
Baker said.
The award also came as
recognition for "creative
re-use" within the facility,
Baker said.
One of the ways Wilson
recycles in-house was to
take large paint containers,
cut the top off, and use them
as storage for recyclables.
Journal photos by Natalie Johnson
Above, David Baker
holds out bits of PVC
coating which will
soon be recycled. At
left, Zach Reynolds
works to disassemble
metal parts at Wilson
Recycling.
They also use 55-gallon
drums as storage, Baker
said.
The recycling center will
also pay for some recycla-
bles, including metal tools.
"Some people come and
they want to sell for metal
value some of their tools.
We have used many of those
tools and do every day,"
Baker said. "A hammer here
or whatever isn't that big a
deal but it saves us money,
it demonstrates our commit-
ment to reuse and recycling
and it creates a value for the
customer."
While the award ulti-
mately does not have any
monetary value for Wilson
Recycling, Baker said it had
a very definite, if intangible,
value for the company and
the community.
"It puts Wilson Recycling,
Shelton and Mason County
on the radar and on the map
in the world of garbage and
recycling," he said. "We're
doing it on a very small
scale but we're doing it well
... if you can do this here ...
it can be done."
"I've got to find a new place for
Mom, but I've never done this before.
What can you tell me about Alpine Way?
What do I get for the money? I don't even
know what questions to ask!"
: --: We're here to help. We've
been providing a safe and lovely
home for seniors for over twenty
years. For less than the cost of the
nursing home, Alpine Way has private
apartments with private showers, 24-
hour on-duty licensed nurses, a shuttle
bus to downtown shopping and doctor
appointments, a variety of activities,
social areas for gathering and visiting, a beauty and barber shop, chef-prepared
meals, laundry services, and security. Everything is on one level (no stairs!) and
parking is available for residents who still bring their cars. A full-service hospital and
several clinics are just a few blocks'away. Best of all, we are complimented the most
for our friendly and helpful employees.
If you're ready to help Mom find a new home, come and tour Alpine Way. We'd love
to treat you to lunch, show you our lovely apartments, and answer all your questions.
tDmN
Call Kathy Burbidge at
(360) 426-2600
for a free lunch and tour
900 West Alpine Way
Shelton, WA 98584
@
RETIREMENT APARTMENTS,
ASSISTED LIVING AND
ALZHEIMER'S SPECIAL CARE
www.encorecommunities.com
Concerns raised over assessments
By ARLA SHEPHARD
Some residents around Tiger Lake,
Panther Lake and LakeLand Village
feel as though their properties are not
being assessed at fair market value,
according to the testimony of nearly a
dozen homeowners at the Mason Coun-
ty commissioners meeting in Belfair
Tuesday.
Property owner after property owner
shared their grievances with the coun-
ty commissioners, stating problems
they've encountered with confronta-
tional appraisers and unsympathetic
members of the Board of Equalization,
which hears appeals to property assess-
ments.
"The current assessments around
Tiger and Panther Lakes have owners
outraged," said Ken Langhorn, a Tiger
Lake resident of 30 years. "The asses-
sor's office is trying to attribute the
[rise in] assessment values to [Mason
County] being on a four-year reevalua-
tion cycle instead of a one-year. It's still
inflated.
"This is the first time I've felt I had
to file a petition."
With rising property assessments,
one woman, widowed two years ago,
testified that she didn't think she could
afford to keep the home her father-in-
law had built in 1969.
Jennifer Sims, of Panther Lake Road
in Bremerton, said that her Mason
County neighbors were being assessed
at values much higher than their ad-
jacent Kitsap counterparts -- one Kit-
sap neighbor's home had been assessed
at $103,000, while a Mason County
neighbor's home was valued at twice as
much, $206,000.
"The assessor's [office] is not seeking
fair market value of property," Sims
said. "The appeals are rejected or mini-
mally addressed ... I think it's a real is-
sue and I hope the commissioners can
put some sense in their heads."
All three commissioners said they
were limited in what they could do with
the assessor's office, which is an elected
position.
"We will work with you and work
with the, assessor, but the assessor is
an individually elected official," said
Commission Chair Lynda Ring Crick-
son. "It's not empty to talk to us, I think
we all care, but just so you understand,
there are limitations."
Following public testimony, which
included comment on the Belfair Water
District's upcoming hearing in Shel-
ton over the River Hill annexation and
pleas for the county to adopt some type
of medical marijuana dispensary or-
dinance, county staff gave updates on
various departments.
Parks & Trails Director John Keates
shared the county's plans to acquire
property at the edge of North Bay for
the North Bay trail project, funded in
part through recent grants from the
state capital budget, and plans to im-
prove parking at Latimer's Landing
and the Union Boat Ramp.
Keates also sought public input as
the county moves forward with creat-
ing a master plan for the undeveloped
Harvey Rendsland Park on Jiggs Lake
near Belfair Tahuya Road.
The first meeting to look at park de-
sign will be held sometime this month,
Keates said.
Staff with the Stormwater Program
and the Shoreline Master Program also
"entreated the public to share their in-
put at upcoming public meetings.
The Stormwater Program is host-
ing three public meetings next week to
solicit opinions on managing water re-
sources at noon on June 7 at the Public
Works building in Shelton, at 5:30 p.m.
on June 6 at the Hoodsport Fire Hall
and at 5:30 p.m. on June 9 at the Theler
Community Center in Belfair.
The Shoreline Master Program will
be holding an open house at 3 p.m. on
July 19 at the Harmony Hill Retreat
Center in Union.
After the presentations, more mem-
bers of the public testified their dissat-
isfaction with the assessor's office.
"There's nothing fair about it, there's
nothing equitable about it," said David
Rahm, who lives at Tiger Lake in Bel-
fair and noted that he and neighbors
received arbitrary front-foot values
around the same lake. "If there wasn't
a problem, we wouldn't be here."
The commissioners said they would
work within their limitations to ad-
dress the problem.
"This is such a volatile issue, espe-
cially for waterfront property owners,"
said Commissioner Tim Sheldon.
67 Annual
Mason Count/Forest Festival
"Forest Tales"
June 2- 5 2011
Diamond
Excavating
2011
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RIESOURCE COMI-ANY
Shelton-Mason CountY Journal -Thursday, June 2,2011 -.Page A-3
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