July 2, 2009 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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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.
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Thursday, July 2, 2009 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-7