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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
June 30, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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June 30, 2011
 
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EDITORIAL The line at the Saints Pantry Food Bank wrapped around the block again this week in downtown Shelton. Just like it did last week. And the week before that and the week before that. With the exception of July 2009 and October of last year, Mason County has been in double-digit unemployment for almost two- and-a-half years. Our current unemployment rate of 10.8 percent makes Mason County the tenth worst county in the state. The state and national unemployment rate, meanwhile, are both at 9.1 percent. Despite those dreadful numbers, Lynda Ring Erickson, the chair of the Mason County commission, only just a couple of months ago said, =It feels really hard when you're here and things are struggling and you're seeing businesses struggle, but the reality is Mason County has done fairly well during these difficult times." Huh. Could have fooled us. One supposed bright spot in Mason County's economic future wqs supposed to be the Belfair sewer project. Now, though, the project is millions of dollars overbudget and has many north- end residents worried that what was supposed to be a job creator could be a small-business killer. The sewer, which relied upbn millions of local, state and federal tax dollars, will serve a tiny number of homes and businesses at a cost that many will simply not be able afford dub to huge hook-up charges and mammoth monthly fees. ~dd to all of that the fact that two out of the three commissioners seem hellbent on instituting a sales tax increase to pay for enhanced mental health services -- a tax increase that will likely disproportionally punish the people it purports to help. Of course, like any good government project, this one has to be studied to death by high-priced consultants before our elected leaders can actually make a decision to go through with it. Our local legislators also never seem to miss a chance to pat themselves on the back for a job well done. But the budget passed this year by state lawn~akers ' is, quite frankly, a trahawreck waiting to happen. ! Clearly there is no silver bullet to Mason County's unelnployment woes, let alone the state's or the nation's. But pretending like everything is hunky-do~ry while writing blank checks on runaway projects and paying cor sultants $82.50 per hour just to Idrive here and recommend raising taxes doesn't seem like mucl~ of an answer at all. TO EDITOR Not g verdict - really? Editor, the Journal I certainly hope if I'm ever charged with murder that I h~ve Jeanette Boothe as my attorney. She obliviously doesn't know much about hunting but a lot about juries, dr had no choice but to represent a ¢nan that has no business with a gun in the woods. How could you mistake a man tor a bear or was it what's called a brush shot? A brush shot is what it's called when you hear the brush cracking in the woods and shoot at the sound. Any hunter would know by the sound weather your bullet had hit a tree, brush or flesh. He must not have paid a lot of attention or he would have gone over and investigated and found what he had shot. Perhaps he could have saved a man's life, at least held him while he died as they think he must have lived from twenty minutes to an hour after he was shot. We cringe at the thought of him lying there dying by himself. How a jury finds him innocent is not believable to me and apparently not to other readers. I hope he leaves his gun at home, sells it or gives it to a more responsible person and walks in the open so he never meets another "bear" while in the woods. I've carried a gun since I was given my first one when I was twelve (I'm 85) and have hunted and killed bear, deer and elk for food. I love our woods and the animals that live there. It's for all of us to enjoy without fear of someone shooting us. Reta Baney Shelton We need emergency care Editor, the Journal I am writing to express my strong support and would like to be counted among those who support Fire District 6 Emergency Medical Service Levy for 24-hour emergency medical services: As a recently retired resident of Union for the last 35 years facing , significant medical and . health issues, I have become more aware than ever the importance of Fire District Six ten year replacement levy. When I first moved to Union, local residents frequently commented that if you unfortunately were in a traffic accident in Mason County, hope that it occurs in the Union area. Why, because we had the best volunteer firefighters in Mason County to respond to your emergency. Over the last 49 years, starting in 1962, that has not changed as our local volunteer firefighters and commissioners have advanced from transporting local residents of the Mason County Hospital's emergency room in the back of their cars and pick-up trucks. The volunteers of our Fire Department continue to work hard and train even harder, as the leadership of our district's commissioners and volunteer firefighters and even their family members of Fire District 6 have been committed to expanding the progress that has been made. Just as our Union area continues to grow, our Fire District must continue to grown and strengthen its capabilities to provide professional and proactive firefighting and EMS services. These men and women give their time voluntarily to help save lives and property and are very important to our fellow Union healthy, injured and sick residents. When fires, heart attacks and car crashes threaten lives, speedy and professional responses are very essential. With district estimates averaging nearly 80 percent of its emergency calls for medical services, it is import that we renew the levy and enable the district to continue providing the current professional EMS level of services they do every day of the year. Our tax dollars support Shelton-Mason County a multitude of public services, but m more impertan emergency inte our local fire d( On August 17, • Fire District 6 to reaffirm thei the~EMS levy. ,ne is ; than the rventions of partment. voters in ~II be asked r support of :believe that it deserves Voter approval. Ed Binder Union to the Editor, the JOurnal I want to make a correction to th~ article, "A haven away from home" that ranin the ~une 23 edition of the Belfair Herald. The article was an interview with Debra Jamerson, who!with her husband Ron c0-owns the Heaven in Allyn assisted living facility. It states, "The realtor that sold (the Jamerson) their house sent Debra the listing for the vacant building that would become the Haven - the building had been built in 1998 as a boarding house and was a former assisted living facility b~fore the previous owners closed it down." I The buildin~ had been specifically designed and built by Charles and Kathie Fogle of Allyn as an assisted livi~ag facility. According to an e-mail I just received from Kathie, K&S Partnership owned it, and the partners were Lyle and Sandy Nelson and Charles and Kathleen Fogle. Kathie npted that it was licensed with Washington Department of Health as a boarding home, the technical d~scription of the license and that the generic term for any such facility was assisted living. It was named The Allyn Retreat Assisted Living Center and it opened in 1998; the Fogle~ managed it themselves. The Retreat was well known through out the area for its good care, personal attention to residents and a very active program schedule. It was sold in 2004 and the Fogles retired; I was the reporter for the Herald at the time and interviewed the man who introduced himself in the county were opposed to me as the new buyer, to it also. I believe there The facility had continued was only one commissioner operation for a short while who was against it. The but he later decided to turn rest were really pushing for the building into office it. Why? Why is it people space and had already sent who are whistle blowers get 30-day relocation notices fired? to the residents. I later The people of this county saw one of those letters, deserve to know what is shown to me by an outraged going on. They are the one's daughter. Apparently the paying your salary. Don't business conversion itself ever forget what your job is, did not succeed and I later to work for the good of all heard that the building had the people of the county. become vacant. Maybe some of the big The Fogies did some fish in Mason County fine w5rR in their personal should find another pond to design, construction and swim in. long-term operation of a Molly Clark very popular and financially successful assisted living facility and that record EMS of Allyn's recent history should be given due credit.Elizabeth Case funding for Belfair 2012 Editor, the Journal Indifference Fire District 6 wiU be running an EMS levy in politics August 16. We are getting by this year on reserve Editor, the Journal funds, but if the levy fails My heartfelt thanks for there will be no EMS the editorial in the June 23 funding for 2012. Our levy rd Journal. Thanks editor, last November got 57.3 keep up the good work. You percent approval, but EMS are so right about freedom levies require 60 percent of speech and the press. I approval to pass. For a am a firm supporter of the home assessed at $250,000, constitution of the United the levy rate of $.35 per~ States of America. thousand will result in I am really appalled at a tax of $87.50 per year the total indifference some or $7.29 per month. This of the leaders of our county modest amount of money and city appear to have will allow us to staff the fire for the people of Mason station 24/7 by using part County. You were elected time labor during nights to support the people of and weekends. Staffing the Mason County - all the station 24/7 will reduce the people, district response times by I saw this indifference several minutes. when I attended meetings For me personally, this on the Adage issue. I went is more than just a game into my first meeting with of numbers. Recently, I an open mind because had a stroke in which the I knew very little on fire department responded this subject. ARer much to my home. This incident listening and researching, happened on a Sunday, I found myself very much and the response time was opposed to this project. I much faster because we had saw that mo§t of the people just implemented weekend 24-hour coverage pass this levy, w~ able to extend th~ coverage to seve~ week. If we do nc levy, we will haw hour coverage on , If we will be ., 24 hour days a t pass the no 24- any day of the week. It's j~st that simple. For a rehltively few dollars a househc have full EMS co hours a day, seve week. I commend Ffi 6 personnel for g to the drawing l~ coming up with t of using the exisl room in the fireh bedroom thus av, cost of another b, house our 24/7 pq I know these are times economical a modest per hov cost on the order per year for the i of our communit, will get 24/7 cov~ medical calls. I b this is a bargain, will significantly response times. Mez ld, we can ~erage 24 n days a e District )ing back mrd and he idea i~g spare )use for a )iding the dlding to ;rsonnel. tough ly, but for sehold of $100 lajority ,, we rage for ~lieve which reduce lyn Flakus Union Bulb when v Editor, tEe Jou~ At 8 a.m. the n of June 28, I was south on Seventh and stopped at t~ Seventh and Rail I waited for the li change green an~ right of way with /ill it ~al torning walking Street e light on mad Ave. ght to I had the the white walk sign lit up. glanced to my leR and sa@ a white pickup truck tray cling south on Seventh and was in the right turn lane to turn onto Railroa See Letters o page A-5 It She~ton-Mason County Joumal is a member of Rick Kennedy, publisher Advertising: Composing room: L usPs 492-800 Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association. Jesse Mullen, general Dave Pi.erik, advertising manager William Adams, graph cs manager Ha.rvey Morns, aa represenmuve Koleen Wood, classifiq ~ls/legals i POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason SUBSCRIPTION RATES" Mat taylor, aa represemauve Becky Corr, typing County Journal, RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. $37 per year for Mason County addresses, Newsroom: ~__...=, .... j Published weeldv by SheRon-Mal~n County Journal no $51 per year in state of Washington but outside Kevan Moore, managingr.mL ~n~:i-- --k- r Pre~rOOm: ; " : uonna a re, DO0 Keepe ' " editor . . Kelly Riordan, product on manager at 227 West Cota ~eet, Sheltoo,~: . ~ ~i Mason County, $61 per' year out of state ........... Mamot Brano, circulation TravisMillerpressoDerator /ma ~negnaro, Norm Mason, ;;,:~-:f_:;,~ .... maikoom - "- " ~0= i Mailing address: p.o. Box 430 ,SJ1 mi, lil .84. - : i .,. " ' " : : " ' " : enviro ,. : ,- ::. : ,., mor; :.:-: " ':- " ...... .... Telephone(360)426-4412,www.~.dOifi :" ~l~publll$1ied.ly~ ! .... ":::~:~: Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington She~ton-Mason County Journal, Inc Natalie Johnson, reporter Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 30, 201 1