June 14, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Letters ........................................................................................
Continued from page A-4
unwise
Editor, the Journal.
Since my wife and I relo-
cated to Mason County, we
have been active in the Port
of Shelton and its intended
directions. It must be stated
that our efforts and those of
a large group of the commu-
nity were not supportive of
the port decisions but were,
in fact, opposed to the port
directions. Primarily, these
areas included the port's de-
cisions and actions regarding
ADAGE LLC, the potential
closure of the community
Fairgrounds and continued
heavy funding of the EDC.
During the past six to
seven years the port ap-
peared to "forget" that they
are a municipal corporation,
basically owned and heavily
supported by the taxpayers/
citizens. They also appeared
to "forget" that the port's re-
sponsibility should be directly
tied to the needs, wishes and
demands of the taxpayers.
Instead, the community/
citizens were forced to spend
thousands of dollars in a legal
battle with the port and AD-
AGE. The port spent thou-
sands of "taxpayer dollars" to
fight against our community.
Can it be that the current
elected and/or hired port
leadership is realizing that
without community/citizen
support the Port of Shelton
will continue to wither and
eventually die? Unfortu-
nately, this would be a huge
loss to this community at
large and we should not al-
low this to happen!
Therefore. the issue is: Do
the taxpayers/citizens of the
port district as well as all
Mason County citizens want
the continuation of a "Ma-
son County Fairgrounds"? I
believe that we do if specific
and binding actions are taken
by the port. The port must
demonstrate and prove to the
public that they deserve our
continued support. The re-
establishment of community
support can be initiated by
listening to and adopting the
following guidelines in any
future fairground plan.
The name of the fair must
remain "Mason County Fair-
grounds" in keeping its 100
year community history and
investment alive. This com-
munity enterprise is not a
"Sanderson Field Fair" - it is
the taxpayers fair.
The port must change
its policies to reflect a true
intent to move in a direction
of community betterment
-- the community's idea of
'`betterment," not that of the
port. Without regard for the
community/citizens/taxpay-
ers, the port has proceeded
to: a) authorize a water line
to nowhere at heavy cost to
the taxpayers and without
citizen support; b) push the
development of ADAGE
LLC without community
support and at great cost to
the taxpayers; c) authorize,
and continue to authorize,
the excessive expenditure of
taxpayer dollars for an attor-
ney who, in many cases, has
fought the taxpayer in court
or hearings.
Formal responses to "Fair-
grounds Future Use Plan",
as it appeared in the June 6
port press release:
Current and future FAA
aviation safety requirements
must be finalized before any
long-term decisions on the fu-
ture fairgrounds can be made.
Lease terms need to en-
sure a fair (to be determined
how?) return on public and/
or private enterprise use of
said Fairgrounds.
The Port of Shelton has
stated that: "The fair-
grounds property is one
of the least desirable loca,
tions for future aviation
development at Sanderson
Field" (Port Press Release,
June 6). A five-year lease
guarantee is not valid un-
less item (a) (FAA issue) is
resolved. Therefore, any .
future aviation development
stipulations must be omitted
from any future Fairground
commitments and/or nego-
tiations.
A relocation guarantee
would be valid only if 1) FAA
issues identified in (a) are
dealt with; 2) Relocation
would include infrastruc-
ture improvements such
as water, sewer, power and
broadband communications.
However, it needs to be de-
termined who will burden
these costs - will it be the
taxpayer; 3)"The expected
cost of building movement"
to a new location or to build
replacements will "be borne
by whatever eventuality
might make fairgrounds dis-
placement necessary~' (Port
press release. June 6). It
needs to be determined if
the FAA will supply funds
or grants to burden the cost
since it appears most likely
that such relocation will be
as a direct result of FAA reg-
ulations or requirements.
Since the port has previ-
ously stated that the current
fairground is the "least desir-
able" area, only unresolved
FAA issues will remain a
concern and they make it
impossible to offer any guar-
antee.
So, maybe, just maybe,
there is some hope to be had.
Stay active. Stay informed.
Dick and Jo Curtis
Shelton
Taking a
look at
privitization
Editor, the Journal
Mention the privatization
of liquor, or the privatization
of the post office, or schools,
or libraries and the reaction
varies from why not to a re-
sounding no way and every-
thing in between. The debate
goes on both locally and at
• the national level as propos-
als to transfer federal, state
or local government services,
assets and/or functions to the
pri;cate sector are considered.
The National League of
Women Voters decided to
study the stated goals and
perceived impact of priva-
tization and in late fall of
2011, encouraged local and
state leagues to participate.
They defined the scope of
the project, prepared back-
ground papers and developed
consensus questions.
Our local League of Wom-
en Voters Mason County
for~ned a committee to study
the background information
and in addition accessed a
blog designed to reach across
the nation linking articles
and insights on this complex
topic. Each of our seven com-
mittee members researched a
subject. We chose the privati-
zation of prisons, education,
solid waste, libraries, ports,
parks and social services.
Through case studies,
we found good and bad ex-
amples of how privatizing
government services can
affect communities, and will
continue to report our find-
ings this coming year. As an
organization dedicated to
open government, transpar-
ency, accountability, and
preservation of the common
good, our objective is to iden-
tify those policies that serve
and protect the public.
Our committee agreed
that the essential core gov-
ernment functions should ex-
ist to provide for the safety,
security and general welfare
of citizens. There have been
efforts with mixed results
over the past 30 years to
privatize services such as so-
cial security, Medicare, stu-
dent loans, military services,
interstate highways, trans-
portation, mental health,
public health, court services,
roads and bridges, railroads,
utilities and water along
with the afore-mentioned
topics of discussion.
By evaluating and tak-
ing measure of the impact of
privatization, it is our inten-
tion to inform our league
members and our communi-
ties, thereby helping to guide
in shaping the policies and
parameters in the privatiza-
tion process.
Amy Davis
League of Women Voters
Mason County
Shelton
Schafer Park
open
for business
Editor, the Journal
Memorial Day we went
camping at Schafer Park. I
believe this is one of the pret-
tiest state parks in our state.
Unfortunately, the park was
only half filled, which is very
unusual. A few months ago
there were articles in differ-
ent newspapers saying that
Schafer was about to be dosed
this year and the ranger, Ar-
nold Hampton, reassigned.
This did not happen, but the
information was out there,
and there were no other ar-
ticles contradicting the first
ones. So I want everyone to
know -- Schafer State Park is
open for business, as beautiful
as always, and our wonderful
rangex is still there too. So
ffwe want to keep this park
open, we need to go camping
there or picnic at the "day
use" side. I would hate to lose
this park. It is on the histori-
cal register and has a history
after being gifted to the state
by Schafer Brothers Logging.
The beautiful Satsop River
rims along the campground
for swimming, fishing, rafting
or just wading. Support our
parks and come camping.
Arline Goldsby
Shelton
Editor, the Journal
For those of you that may
not know me, my name is
Willie Pierce and I am a life-
long resident of Hoodsport.
Marrying my high school
sweetheart and raising three
children, I have witnessed
our town of Hoodsport change
and grow. Starting at the
PUD in 1974, I began work-
ing as a groundman later
becoming a lineman in 1981.
Over the next two decades,
while working in both the
water and electric depart-
ments, I eventually worked
my way up and became the
superintendent of Mason
County PUD 1, retiring in
2004. I have seen every angle
of PUD 1 from customer to
superintendent. Having at-
tended many board meetings
and understanding the inner
workings of PUD 1, I•feel that
I am the candidate for the
job. With the recent economy,
every dime must be spent
wisely, and as your commis-
sioner I will strive to achieve
this goal. I will work with my
fellow PUD 1 commissioners
to ensure our policies greatly
reflect the interests of our
community. Thank you for
voting.
William H. Pierce
Hoosport
Sheldon's
attendance
in question
Editor, the Journal
This letter is to express
my concern over the re-elec-
tion bid of Sen. Tim Sheldon
as Mason County Commis-
sioner in District 2. It is a
matter of public record that
Sen. Sheldon's attendance
at Mason County Commis-
sion meetings over the past
six years indicates a habit of
missing meetings or leaving
meetings early.
This is no doubt due to his
work as a Senator in Olym-
pia. which is precisely the
point of this letter.
As a Senator, Mr. Shel-
don's time and energy are
needed in O}ympia so that
he can focus on serving his
constituents statewide. Be-
cause he is serving as both
a Mason County Commis-
sioner, and as Senator, he is
sh0rt-changing the citizens
of Mason County who elected
him to represent their con-
cerns in District 2. His fre-
quent absences mean that he
is not available to meet with
his constituents in Mason
County, and that his input is
lacking during discussions.
votes, and other important
county business. Not only
does it seem a bit unethical
to hold two elected positions
concurrently, even if legal,
why does Senator Sheldon
feel that it's necessary? There
are manyother qualified can-
didates who desire to serve
this county as commissioner,
and who can devote their full
attention to the job.
I feel it is in District 2's best
interest to carefully consider
~the other candidates running
in their district, and to not
cast their vote for Senator
Sheldon simply because his
name is well known. It's time
to give someone new a chance
whose service will not result in
a conflict of interest between
state and county matters.
Goldsborough
Creek
Apartments
is accepting wait
list applications for
seniors ages 62 and
better. HUD subsidized,
controlled access,
garden setting, minutes
from downtown
shopping. Non-Smoking
Property. 23 1-Br. and
one 2-Br. 303 S 7th St.,
(306) 426-3903
W
E RE HERE?
www.ppgnw.org
WHAT WOULD YOU
LIKE TO BE SELLING
MORE OF THIS WEEK?
We can he # you wnen you ca
(360] 426-4412 to advertise
qhclh~a-.Ma~{~l~ Cou~l
lle /a lj
www.masoncounty.com
Virginia G. Schnabel
Shelton
have
fishing 427-9099
Supplies!
Skokomish Indian Tribal
Enterprises (S.I.T.E.)
@
19390 North U.S. Hwy. I01
Skokomish Nation, WA.98584
At the intersection of Hwy. I01 & Hwy, 106
minutes north of Shelton on the Skokomish Indian Reservation
Shrimp Bait
Here Now
3-piece
Chicken
& Jo Jo's
$3.99
Coors & Coors
~allS
Bud & BudLight Madb
1 '
$
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING:
NORTHFORK O. ino Smok.uo Now G,ea, He ,oes
BAR & GRILL Serious Risks To Your Health
Shelton-Mason County Journal- Thursday, June 14, 2012 - Page A-5