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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 2, 2009     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 2, 2009
 
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I _ lllllll IIIlIIlIIWlIU nlll lllll Sparklers burn at more than 2,4oo degrees Continued from page A-1 fireworks. "They make it to be that sparklers are safe for children," she said of the fireworks industry. But she added that people don't know sparklers burn at more than 2,400 degrees. "They do not go out in water," she said, noting her brother-in-law put a lit sparkler in a glass of water and it kept burning. "Just because it says it's made for children, it's not," she said. "The experience was so traumatizing I don't want any child or parent to have to go through that." "I always thought sparklers were safe for kids," Travis Fisk said. "I didn't think if it touched your skin it would burn you." Holding Colton and hearing him scream and cry is something Travis said he'll always remember. "Be careful with all fireworks," he warns people. "You can't even turn, can't even blink your eyes, I guess." These days, Colton is a frisky 3-year-old, but his skin graft gets sore at times. When the family drove to the Mountain View neighborhood to watch the fireworks show after last month's Mason County Forest Festival, Colton was bothered by it, hiding under a blanket in the back of their SUV and falling asleep, Bobbi said. As for this Fourth of July, she said simply, "We're staying home." Leaders struggle with task of managing the growing shortfall Continued from page A-1 As the county begins its most important work for 2010, leaders struggle with the constant task of man- aging the growing shortfall in the 2009 budget. And though commission and fi- nance committee chair Tim Sheldon said the 2009 bud- get will close "in the black," many at the county and in the community question the reality of it. The heavy lifting comes one week after the board of commissioners voted unanimously to fire budget director Ione Siegler and two weeks after firing the director of operations, Betty Wing. Budget duties have re- verted to the auditor's office. Herr said she was concerned about overall manpower, but also said, "We're totally capable of doing this." Much of Monday's meet- ing was spent looking for a term with which to refer to the sought pre-budget information regarding era-_ ployee costs at the behest of Commissioner Lynda Ring Erickson. There are a lot of terms, it is confusion, she said. "Could we come up with a title for it like administra- tive overhead or something so we can all agree," Ring Erickson said. "It would help me understand the cost better." Per-employee costs for the county vary based on each individual's Social Security contributions, healthcare costs, retirement accounts, how much they drive for work and individual union contracts. Sheldon recommended that healthcare cost con- tributions from employees be looked into for 2010. He said the cost represented a large portion of costs to the county. "That's going to make a big difference in the bottom line of this budget," Sheldon said. "I don't think that we spent a lot of time in the past scrutinizing that." Sheldon said he favors a "sustainable budget" that avoids "adjustments" that department heads, elected officials and the public can count on. Monday Sheldon will of- fer his colleagues a simple challenge and ask everyone on the finance committee, which he chairs, to write down their bottom-line fig- ure and work to satisfy ev- eryone. The county needs to have somehow built a bud- get reserve into the 2010 budget, he said. "In my mind it would not include new taxes or raised taxes," Sheldon said. Ring Erickson said she wanted to start the process off with a focus on public safety and transparency. Another area to look at is the government priority fo- cus groups that human re- sources director T.J. Martin conducted, she said. To do anything, first the commissioners need some form of estimate on the rev- enue projections for 2010, Ring Erickson said. Both Ring Erickson and Sheldon favor the proposed weeklong public comment period on the budget in which anyone can go to the county and review the docu- ment and comment if they like. Let the July 4 celebration be a safe one By MARY DUNCAN With the approach of the Inde- pendence Day holiday, the Mason County Sheriffs Office in coopera- tion with the Washington State Fire Marshal's Office offers some tips and information on the responsible use of fireworks. The holiday weekend is always very eventful, according to Chief Deputy Dean Byrd. The sheriffs office may experience up to 200 calls for service per day this week- end. "The number of people in Ma- son County can double on holiday weekends from visitors enjoying our magnificent forests and lakes. This creates dramatic increases on law enforcement resources," Byrd explained. "When calls for service spike, our deputies are trained to prioritize those calls and handle the most serious incidents first. For ex- ample, assaults, injury traffic colli- sions and felony crimes in progress are handled before excessive noise in a neighborhood or vandalism to mailboxes with no suspects." He said fireworks complaints in- volving noise only will be considered low priority. Fireworks incidents in- volving immediate threats to life or property will be considered high pri- ority. "The sheriffs office has experi- enced a significant reduction in per- sonnel in the past year, so response times for low priority calls will at times be longer than usual." According to the State Fire Mar- shal's Office in 2008 there were 785 fireworks-related emergency inci- dents in Washington resulting in $208,018 in property loss. There were 518 fires and 267 injuries. Of the 785 incidents in 2008, 412 oc- curred between July 3 and July 5. A majority of injuries are from il- legal fireworks and most of the inci- dents were caused by males between 8 and 14, according to the state fire marshal. The sheriffs office and state fire marshal offer the following tips on the use of fireworks: Children should not handle fireworks. Never let children handle, play with or light any fireworks. Only adults should handle and light the fireworks. The fireworks are great family fun, but they burn very hot and are intended to be handled only by adults. Do not ,use alcohol with fire- works.  = - Please do not consume any alcohol while lighting or handling fireworks. Fireworks must be used only by in- dividuals who act in a responsible manner and who are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you are impaired in any way when you use fireworks, you increase the possi- bilities of misuse and injury to your- self and others.: Follow the laws; use common sense. Follow local and state laws regard- ing the possession and use of fire- works and use good common sense when using fireworks. Read all direc- tions, cautions, labels and warnings on each individual firework item to understand the product performance and hazards associated with it. Use fireworks on a hard sur- face in a clear open area. Always light fireworks on a hard, flat and level surface to ensure the stability of the items. Grass is gen- erally not suitable for any item in- tended to be used in an upright po- sition. If lighting fireworks on grass, lay down a flat wooden board for a shooting surface. Always keep the audience and particularly children a safe distance away from the shooting site. Always light fireworks in a clear open area away from buildings, vehicles and shrubbery. A minimum clear radius of 30 feet for fountains and other ground-based items and 100 yards , for any aerial product is recommend- ed. Avoid lighting the fireworks in any area where there is dry grass or brush that could catch fire or near any flammable items. Never use fire- works indoors. Never shoot fireworks in metal or glass containers. Keep clear of the fireworks. Never put your head or any part of your body over the top of any fire- work product. Never look into a tube to check on the firework item. Never hold a lighted firework item in your hand. Keep as far from the firework item as possible when lighting. Use care in lighting the fire- works. Always light firework products with punk, a Phantom Pyro Torch, a flare or an extended butane lighting device. This will enable you to keep as far from the firework item as pos- sible. If needed, use a flashlight at night so the fuse can be easily seen; never use a lantern or other flame- producing device near fireworks for illumination. Light the firework product and get away quickly. Re- spect the fireworks, because if used improperly they can be dangerous. And, light only one firework item at a time. Don't use malfunctioning or "dud" items. Never attempt to re-light, alter or fix any "dud" firework item. If a firework item fails to ignite, let it stand for at least five minutes, then immerse it in water. Dispose of the item properly. Have water close by. Have an accessible fire extinguish- er, water supply, hose or bucket of water nearby for emergencies. Dur- ing any fireworks shoot, there should always be one individual assigned as the "fireman," whose sole job is to be alert and at the ready with a water source. Beware of windy conditions. Be cautious of lighting any fire- works during strong wind conditions. Fireworks should be lit with the pre- vailing wind blowing away from the spectators. If there is a significant wind shift during the time you are lighting the fireworks, rearrange the shooting site to accommodate the wind shift or stop shooting until the windy conditions subside. Use care in handling fire- works. Do not carry fireworks in your pocket or on your person. It is prefer- able to keep the products in a closed container before ignition. Always be careful in handling fireworks to pre- vent dropping them. Never smoke when handling fireworks. Never use the fireworks as weapons. Never aim, point or throw any fireworks at another person or at any property. Storage of unused fireworks. Always store fireworks in a cool, dry place and dispose of fireworks properly. Use fireworks outdoors. Never use fireworks indoors; only use them outdoors under safe condi- tions. Purchase fireworks from reli- able dealers. Buy fireworks only from reliable, licensed fireworks dealers, who only carry those products that meet stan- dards set and enforced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commis- sion. Do not use illegal explosives; do not alter any firework device; do not make your own fireworks. Be careful with animals. The noise and lights of fireworks often frighten some animals, so it is very important to be careful with pets and farm animals. You may want to consider moving the animals away or keeping them inside during your display. Regulations for fireworks in Mason County: Fireworks use permitted on July 4 between 9 a.m. and midnight and on July 5 between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. Comments about this story may be directed to reporter Mary Duncan at: maryd@masoncounty.com or 426- 4412. "None feel I engaged in that" s00..d Continued from page A-1 Sheldon has taken advice from at least I was busy over there," she said. four attorneys on the allegations of age dis- "Only one of us is willing to come forward crimination, but has not retained a lawyer with documents," Sheldon said. for the matter as of Wednesday.   Outside of public meetings, Sheldon "None feel I engaged in that," Sheldon hasn t spoken to Ring Erickson since last said. week and said he will refrain until the al- legations have been resolved. r No More Dial-up Internet! • Where cable and telephone companies stop, WfldBlue begins. • Fast, affordable, always on. • Download pictures and videos in a flash. • Visit your favorite Web sites faster. 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