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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 12, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 12, 2007
 
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00ournal of Opinion: Shelldom scene It's taken forever - a generation - but the local Indian tribes and commercial shellfish growers that depend on shellfish for their livelihoods can take great pleasure in a recent legal settlement ending the long dispute over shellfish harvesting rights. A celebration of the pact involving the federal government, the state, the tribes and commercial growers was held on the shores of Mason County's Little Skookum Inlet last week. Almost 20 years ago we interviewed an amazingly frank state fisheries director, then in the middle of negotiations with treaty Indian tribes over shellfish rights. That was 14" years after the Boldt decision giving tribes half of the salmon in their customary fishing grounds, and the fisheries director knew what would happen if the case went to court. He said Boldt had given Indians shellfish rights, and the state didn't want to get into a position where a court quantified those rights. Those who have been following the decades-long saga know the negotiations dragged on, the tribes went to court and another federal judge confirmed the tribes' rights to half the shellfish in their customary gathering places. That included private land, and the ruling upset private landowners who didn't want Indians harvesting on their beaches. It was clear the government long ago had solved the seeds of the conflict by allowing sale of tidelands to private citizens with no regard for the Indians' treaty rights. You couldn't blame the Indians for insisting on their treaty rights, and you couldn't blame landowners for thinking their private property was inviolate. Now a settlement means the Indians will give up their rights to harvest millions of dollars worth of shellfish from commercial shellfish beds but will receive millions of dollars in state and federal money to buy and lease tidelands for their exclusive use. It seems only fair to all parties. Burning issue File this one among your list of burning issues within the city limits of Shelton: Not only is it rude, but it's against the law to burn debris in your yard. Walking on Ar/gleside recently we were overcome by thick, acrid smoke from what we guessed had to be quite a fire. We followed our nose three blocks to find a man standing beside his house with a hose to keep a large debris fire under control. Surprisingly he was standing upwind of the blaze instead of positioning himself in the middle of the smoke he was so generously pouring into his neighbors' yards and homes. Whether the pyrocitizen was oblivious to the rules or defiant of them, the fire was illegal. The city is within an urban growth area. Residential yard-debris fires and land-clearing fires are not allowed in such an area. So, no, you can't do a spring pruning or a fall raking and burn the branches and leaves "just this once." At least not without risking a fine. It is not legal to get rid of construction debris by building a fire in your yard. Nor is it legal to burn household garbage or trash in your yard or your fireplace. And the state has outlawed use of burn barrels for any outdoor fire anywhere in Washington. That doesn't mean you can't cook outdoors with charcoal or gas barbecues or a recreational fire. A recreational fire is defined as a cooking fire, campfire or bonfire using charcoal or firewood in a designated area or on private property for cooking, pleasure or ceremonial purposes. It may give you great pleasure to burn your leaves, but that's outside the law. It is not legal to use a recreational fire for disposal of debris. Note that, even if you're enjoying a legal recreational fire, if it generates a complaint it must be extinguished. An illegal outdoor fire in the city is a violation of the state's Clean Air Act enforced by the city fire department and the Olympic Regional Clean Air Authority. Those who see an illegal fire may call the fire department for some action. As long as we're at it, our lungs will make their annual plea: When autumn's chill settles in, if you must burn wood to heat, use hot, clean fires in your woodstove, not air-starved, smoldering fires with unseasoned wood that produce excessive smoke and worsen the city's air pollution. The smoke, with particulates that penetrate deep into the lungs, just hangs in the air at times. This place is growing, and it's going to be a sizable city soon. If it's to remain a nice little city with friendly neighborhoods, it's imperative that the residents show simple courtesy for each other by kindly obeying laws in such areas as burning, noise, fireworks, animal control and driving. There are composting, chipping and recycling alternatives for yard and construction debris that are much more courteous than breaking the law and filling your neighborhood with smoke. -CG uul Shelton- . _. - A . qournal oNnl y r USPS 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason County Journal, RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. kly by Shelton Publishing Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Wa Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $31.00 per year in-county address, $55.00 per year out of state Published weekly by Shelton Publishing Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington $45.00 per year in state of Washington Charles Gay, editor and publisher. Newsroom: Sean Hanlon, managing editor; Steve Patch, sports editor; Jeff Green, general assignment, city government, schools, Port of Sfielton; Rebecca Wells, society editor, county government; Mary Duncan, police, courts. Advertising: Stephen Gay, advertising manager; Dave Pierik and Harvey Morris, ad sales. Front office: Julia Orme, business manager; Kathy Lester, circulation; Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper; Cricket Carter, mailroom supervisor. Composing room: Diane Riordan, supervisor; Margot Brand, Jan Kallinen, pagination; Frank Isaac, pagination, photo technician; Koleen Wood, typesetter, computer system manager; William Adams, ad builder, computer system manager; Clinton Kendall, proofreader. Pressroom: Nick Carr, pressman; Joey Parrott, pressman's assistant. uiu Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, July 12, 2007 i00eaders" 00Journai: Use LIDs to repair city Editor, The Journal: In 1981 I bought a house on Boundary Street in the 1700 block. It was on a dirt street with gravel. At first we tried to keep the dust down with used oil until the government would not let us do it anymore. Then people got together and formed a local improvement dis- trict (LID). Why can't the rest of the people do the same thing to improve their streets? I had to pay my share, a little each month. When it was paid off there were no more taxes. The street is used by es two times a day is open and Mason Transit hour. Everetto Try streets sales tax instead Editor, The Journal: Anyone who has read past is- sues of your newspaper is aware that the city feels the best option to fix our roads is through raising our property taxes. Perhaps that is the ideal option in our local govern- ment's eyes. In summer of 2001, I went back home and visited my family in Mis- souri. Same bumpy potholes and various roads in town that were still gravel and dusty just like back in the old days when I was a kid. Does this sound familiar? Some things never change in small towns. Well, that is what I thought un- til I went back for my class reunion last summer in 2006 and found a very different hometown. My brother worked for the local pub- lic works, and I asked him about how our hometown of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, could afford to fix and pave all of the roads that extend to the city limits. He said it was the best thing that ever hap- pened! It was called the 1/2 percent sales tax. He went on to explain that at one time the City of Excelsior Springs proposed a property-tax increase for the roads, but too many people complained that there were rent- ers, people who lived outsidel city in the county and tran travelers who used their roads would never have to pay for tit With the a/2 percent sales tag; eryone who lives in or comes l Excelsior for business pays sales tax, which goes directl: the upkeep and improvemed the city's roads. Perhaps our local officials sh{ look into a 1/2 percent sales Shelton with the idea that it d go into a general fund and it directly to our roads. Steve Shd Good candidate for demolitio Editor, The Journal: In response to last week's front- page story in The Journal about the city's efforts to have the dilapi- dated Parkview Manor apartment building demolished: When it comes to tearing down old buildings, how about that old red "barn" on North First Street that used to house a tavern and a bowling alley? That building has been an eye- sore since I first'came to Shelton in 1942. My two younger sisters used to set pins there when they were in junior high. They are now in their 70s. It is really ugly. It belong a farm and not in the n d town. Something needs to be do the old Olsen Furniture sto least clean it out. It would m good roller-skating rink. Mary Profltt J°lhS Applause for little theater Editor, The Journal: I would like to applaud all who gave so generously of their time and talents to make possible the Harstine Island Theatre Club's production, Happy Birthday, America. Community theater can't com- pete with what is available in the cities as far as professionalism or grandeur is concerned. But those who participated in making our show give just as much of them- selves as those in elaborate pro- ductions. There is some magic in little theater that big theater can't du- plicate. It's hard to imagine a more ful- filling experience than seeing our youngsters interacting with other and with us oldsters. Those who attended the s know what I mean. To all who were unable to tend, you missed being part of wonderful magic. Fredrick Burgdorf, dire Harstine Islt 00ournal of Opinion: Shelldom scene It's taken forever - a generation - but the local Indian tribes and commercial shellfish growers that depend on shellfish for their livelihoods can take great pleasure in a recent legal settlement ending the long dispute over shellfish harvesting rights. A celebration of the pact involving the federal government, the state, the tribes and commercial growers was held on the shores of Mason County's Little Skookum Inlet last week. Almost 20 years ago we interviewed an amazingly frank state fisheries director, then in the middle of negotiations with treaty Indian tribes over shellfish rights. That was 14" years after the Boldt decision giving tribes half of the salmon in their customary fishing grounds, and the fisheries director knew what would happen if the case went to court. He said Boldt had given Indians shellfish rights, and the state didn't want to get into a position where a court quantified those rights. Those who have been following the decades-long saga know the negotiations dragged on, the tribes went to court and another federal judge confirmed the tribes' rights to half the shellfish in their customary gathering places. That included private land, and the ruling upset private landowners who didn't want Indians harvesting on their beaches. It was clear the government long ago had solved the seeds of the conflict by allowing sale of tidelands to private citizens with no regard for the Indians' treaty rights. You couldn't blame the Indians for insisting on their treaty rights, and you couldn't blame landowners for thinking their private property was inviolate. Now a settlement means the Indians will give up their rights to harvest millions of dollars worth of shellfish from commercial shellfish beds but will receive millions of dollars in state and federal money to buy and lease tidelands for their exclusive use. It seems only fair to all parties. Burning issue File this one among your list of burning issues within the city limits of Shelton: Not only is it rude, but it's against the law to burn debris in your yard. Walking on Ar/gleside recently we were overcome by thick, acrid smoke from what we guessed had to be quite a fire. We followed our nose three blocks to find a man standing beside his house with a hose to keep a large debris fire under control. Surprisingly he was standing upwind of the blaze instead of positioning himself in the middle of the smoke he was so generously pouring into his neighbors' yards and homes. Whether the pyrocitizen was oblivious to the rules or defiant of them, the fire was illegal. The city is within an urban growth area. Residential yard-debris fires and land-clearing fires are not allowed in such an area. So, no, you can't do a spring pruning or a fall raking and burn the branches and leaves "just this once." At least not without risking a fine. It is not legal to get rid of construction debris by building a fire in your yard. Nor is it legal to burn household garbage or trash in your yard or your fireplace. And the state has outlawed use of burn barrels for any outdoor fire anywhere in Washington. That doesn't mean you can't cook outdoors with charcoal or gas barbecues or a recreational fire. A recreational fire is defined as a cooking fire, campfire or bonfire using charcoal or firewood in a designated area or on private property for cooking, pleasure or ceremonial purposes. It may give you great pleasure to burn your leaves, but that's outside the law. It is not legal to use a recreational fire for disposal of debris. Note that, even if you're enjoying a legal recreational fire, if it generates a complaint it must be extinguished. An illegal outdoor fire in the city is a violation of the state's Clean Air Act enforced by the city fire department and the Olympic Regional Clean Air Authority. Those who see an illegal fire may call the fire department for some action. As long as we're at it, our lungs will make their annual plea: When autumn's chill settles in, if you must burn wood to heat, use hot, clean fires in your woodstove, not air-starved, smoldering fires with unseasoned wood that produce excessive smoke and worsen the city's air pollution. The smoke, with particulates that penetrate deep into the lungs, just hangs in the air at times. This place is growing, and it's going to be a sizable city soon. If it's to remain a nice little city with friendly neighborhoods, it's imperative that the residents show simple courtesy for each other by kindly obeying laws in such areas as burning, noise, fireworks, animal control and driving. There are composting, chipping and recycling alternatives for yard and construction debris that are much more courteous than breaking the law and filling your neighborhood with smoke. -CG uul Shelton- . _. - A . qournal oNnl y r USPS 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason County Journal, RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. kly by Shelton Publishing Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Wa Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $31.00 per year in-county address, $55.00 per year out of state Published weekly by Shelton Publishing Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington $45.00 per year in state of Washington Charles Gay, editor and publisher. Newsroom: Sean Hanlon, managing editor; Steve Patch, sports editor; Jeff Green, general assignment, city government, schools, Port of Sfielton; Rebecca Wells, society editor, county government; Mary Duncan, police, courts. Advertising: Stephen Gay, advertising manager; Dave Pierik and Harvey Morris, ad sales. Front office: Julia Orme, business manager; Kathy Lester, circulation; Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper; Cricket Carter, mailroom supervisor. Composing room: Diane Riordan, supervisor; Margot Brand, Jan Kallinen, pagination; Frank Isaac, pagination, photo technician; Koleen Wood, typesetter, computer system manager; William Adams, ad builder, computer system manager; Clinton Kendall, proofreader. Pressroom: Nick Carr, pressman; Joey Parrott, pressman's assistant. uiu Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, July 12, 2007 i00eaders" 00Journai: Use LIDs to repair city Editor, The Journal: In 1981 I bought a house on Boundary Street in the 1700 block. It was on a dirt street with gravel. At first we tried to keep the dust down with used oil until the government would not let us do it anymore. Then people got together and formed a local improvement dis- trict (LID). Why can't the rest of the people do the same thing to improve their streets? I had to pay my share, a little each month. When it was paid off there were no more taxes. The street is used by es two times a day is open and Mason Transit hour. Everetto Try streets sales tax instead Editor, The Journal: Anyone who has read past is- sues of your newspaper is aware that the city feels the best option to fix our roads is through raising our property taxes. Perhaps that is the ideal option in our local govern- ment's eyes. In summer of 2001, I went back home and visited my family in Mis- souri. Same bumpy potholes and various roads in town that were still gravel and dusty just like back in the old days when I was a kid. Does this sound familiar? Some things never change in small towns. Well, that is what I thought un- til I went back for my class reunion last summer in 2006 and found a very different hometown. My brother worked for the local pub- lic works, and I asked him about how our hometown of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, could afford to fix and pave all of the roads that extend to the city limits. He said it was the best thing that ever hap- pened! It was called the 1/2 percent sales tax. He went on to explain that at one time the City of Excelsior Springs proposed a property-tax increase for the roads, but too many people complained that there were rent- ers, people who lived outsidel city in the county and tran travelers who used their roads would never have to pay for tit With the a/2 percent sales tag; eryone who lives in or comes l Excelsior for business pays sales tax, which goes directl: the upkeep and improvemed the city's roads. Perhaps our local officials sh{ look into a 1/2 percent sales Shelton with the idea that it d go into a general fund and it directly to our roads. Steve Shd Good candidate for demolitio Editor, The Journal: In response to last week's front- page story in The Journal about the city's efforts to have the dilapi- dated Parkview Manor apartment building demolished: When it comes to tearing down old buildings, how about that old red "barn" on North First Street that used to house a tavern and a bowling alley? That building has been an eye- sore since I first'came to Shelton in 1942. My two younger sisters used to set pins there when they were in junior high. They are now in their 70s. It is really ugly. It belong a farm and not in the n d town. Something needs to be do the old Olsen Furniture sto least clean it out. It would m good roller-skating rink. Mary Profltt J°lhS Applause for little theater Editor, The Journal: I would like to applaud all who gave so generously of their time and talents to make possible the Harstine Island Theatre Club's production, Happy Birthday, America. Community theater can't com- pete with what is available in the cities as far as professionalism or grandeur is concerned. But those who participated in making our show give just as much of them- selves as those in elaborate pro- ductions. There is some magic in little theater that big theater can't du- plicate. It's hard to imagine a more ful- filling experience than seeing our youngsters interacting with other and with us oldsters. Those who attended the s know what I mean. To all who were unable to tend, you missed being part of wonderful magic. Fredrick Burgdorf, dire Harstine Islt