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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
June 14, 2012     Shelton Mason County Journal
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June 14, 2012
 
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Shelton-Mason County Journal WHAT%COOKIN' NARST NEISLANDNEWS Alternative high school staff focus on respect By NATALIE JOHNSON ~1 "We try to let the kids nat(dieC~;m~so~zcounEy,com ~ have fun -- it's not as ........................................ 'formal as other gradua- tions," Anderson said. Stacey Anderson has spent her entire While some kids grad- career at CHOICE Alternative School. In uate early, and others that time. she's seen just how much good late, about 50 percent of the school does for local teens. CHOICE students leave "They want to graduate, they're me- the school right on time, tivated, they just need a little extra sup- she said. port." she said. "We minimize some ofStacey While there is often those barriers kids have to graduate." Anderson a perception of alterna- Last Thursday, 42 students graduated rive schools as a place for from CHOICE. with 37 participating in "bad kids" Who have dropped out ofa tradi- the ceremony, tional school, Anderson said most students just need a different atmosphere to thrive. "For whatever reason they've struggled in school," she said. Some of CHOICE's students are re- covering from drug or alcohol problems, dropped out of school at a young age and are now coming back or had teen pregnan- cies derail their education, while others come just to escape the "drama" of a larger school, Anderson said. "A lot of kids come down here because it's a smaller environment. They can get a little more one on one attention," she said. "It feels like a family here." In order to encourage students who have struggled in school, staff at CHOICE See CHOICE on page B-2 Doves soar over Monte and Jackie Summers' house in Mason County. The in their business, Jackie's Angel Dove Release. Journal ono[os o~ Natahe JohnsoF couple breeds the birds for use FOR THE BIRDS Local couple raises, releases homing pigeons By NATALIE JOHNSON ytat(~He@m, asor~county.com The humble pigeon has held a special place in Man- te Summers' heart since he was a small boy. "My "dad brought some birds home from SeaTac Airport that had been hit by planes." he said. The 8-year-old Summers nursed the injured birds back to health and has been in love ever since. "I love pigeons -- don't ask me why." he said. Today, Summers and his wife. Jackie. still own doz- ens of the birds. Many of their birds are Rock Doves, otherwise known as hom- ing pigeons. "'I've had every kind of pigeon you can think of over the years." he said. Specifically,the birds are Belgian Plentinckx doves, which were first bred in the United States after World War II and were most famously used by Walt Disney at the opening of Disneyland in 1955 and for special events at the park for many years after that. "They're a racing pi- geon they're slimmer," he said. "They're bred for speed." 'In the past, Summers competitively raced the Monte Summers looks with pride on two very young doves. Summers has raised various kinds of pigeons since he was a young child, and now he and his wife Jackie have a business releasing the doves at weddings, funerals and other events. birds," Summers said. In some large races, the birds would be released early in the morning at a location in California, and return in record time. "In the evening I'd be sitting on my porch and see them," he said. "It's really amazing." Today, the Summers' focus mostly on training birds for their business called Jackie's Angel Dove Release. They release their birds at weddings, funerals and other events. While the birds rarely race now, Summers still starts training them at a young age to come home af- ter they're released. "You just start when they're young and let them fly around the loft," he said. After a short time, Sum- mers releases the birds a mile away, and waits for them to come home. "They'll be back in 15 minutes, 10 minutes." he said. Over time, the training distances get longer and longer, until Summers is confident in the birds' abili- ties. birds, which he said can fly miles away. Today, they have about up to 60 mph. Over many years, hem- 60 doves, mostly the In a homing pigeon race, ing pigeons have been Plentinckx variety, a few the birds are timed by how selectively bred to makesmaller dove breeds, a long it takes them to re- them instinctively come chicken and a very vocal turn home from a location back to their roost. sometimes hundreds of "I call them my'500-mileSee Birds on page B-2 Thursday, June 14,2012 "get notes every now and again about the number of seagulls on the bridge .light poles, and, of course, there are the times a killer whale passes under the span. But this week's observation takes a little different twist. Jim and Ruth Irish own a dark blue Prius. The other day as they were leav- ing the island they noticed a dark blue Prius in the rear view mirror. Then, as they neared the center of the bridge another dark blue Prius was approach- ing them, making three on the bridge at the same time. Now that has to be some kind of record. " Nick Neuerburg is at it again work- ing the Bud G]assier aluminum can drive. Nick and his partners continue to get the scrap, turn it in for money and then distribute the money to a variety of needy programs. This past month they hauled 1,622 pounds of~crap to the recy- cling. They made a total of $1,110.92. The money went te; Ma- son 5 Firefighters $100: Harstine Island Community Club $100; Harstine Island By MIKE Women's Club (chil- CALLAGHAN dren's carnival) $100; Harstine Island Grange $100; Pioneer Kiwanis $100; Theater Club $70; Senior Lunch $200; Neighborhood Watch $50; 40 et 8 (nurses' program) $50; Mason 5 Firefighters Association (memorial) $50: Hartstine Pointe Maintenance $ 50; Habitat for Humanity $50; Adopt a Pet - $50; and Nick Neuerbaurg {fuel expense) $42.92. These guys donate a lot of time to raise this money, but then that is part of what makes this island so special. A quick note to remind you to mark your calendar for the play, "Light Up the Sky," by Moss Hart. The Harstine Island Theatre Club will be presenting the play June 29, June 30 and July 1. The Harstine Grange is inviting islanders of all ages to their June 15 meeting. This meeting will be for the purpose of gathering ideas from the com- munity as to what the bridge triangle area should look like. For the night, the grange will suspend their regular business meeting. They would like everyone to share in a potluck dinner and after dinner discuss ways to create an appealing welcome for visitors and residents as they come onto the is- land. The potluck will start at 6:30 p.m. and the discussion at 7:30 p.m. Most do not know or understand the long standing tradition of the grange's work on the triangle area. They will out- line that history. In a recent effort to clean up the triangle area the county shut them down. At the meeting they will explain the problems they have had to overcome. They have now obtained the proper county permits and have a list of county mandated constraints, such as height, materials and setbacks that have to serve as the parameters of the new design. They now look forward to coor- dinating ideas and efforts in hopes of breathing new life into an old Harstine Grange tradition. They have had a couple suggestions already -- one person mentioned an H design, it looks the same coming and go- ing. Perhaps the H could be planted in lavender or shaped with oyster shell and outlined with driftwood. The grange would like you to jump in with your thoughts. The size of the tri- angle is roughly 50' on the east side, 57' on the south and 84' on the north. If you are unable to attend the meeting your ideas or monetary donations can be sent to Harstine Gran. ge 586, 1403 E. Bal- low Road, Shelton WA 98584. So, bring something to share and your own uten- sils like they do at a community club meeting. The women's club held their monthly meeting on June 7. Jo Ewart sent me a copy of minutes from which I will steal some thought. The hostesses were Mi- chelle Mott, Judy Callaghan and Brenda Stainbrook. They used a bright pink theme with watering cans of green and pink filled with tissue paper flowers on each table. The center- pieces were later given away as See Harstine on page B-2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - ~age B-1