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Thursday, July 20, 2023
Fire board .
aims to grow
By Matt Baide
ma z‘t@masoncounty. com
Central Mason Fire & EMS has a ballot
measure Aug. 1 to expand its board of commis—
sioners to five members.
“We are a growing department and we are
covering a lot of extra ground and having more
representation across our entire district will
better serve our community and our citizens,”
CMFE executive secretary Norma Brock told
the Journal.
‘ The board had six commissioners after the
merger with Fire District 11 brought in the
three commissioners from Island Lake Fire.
By law, it has to be reduced to three because
it was what the voters approved for CMFE. If
the Aug. 1 ballot measure passes and increases
the number to five, it would allow two commis—
sioners to stay and complete the five—member
board.
All five positions would be considered at—
large and people within the fire district would
be eligible to run for a commissioner seat.
Dan Hora was a commissioner for Fire Dis-
trict 11, but he announced his retirement at the
June 21 CMFE commissioner meeting, leaving
five commissioners who would be in place ifthe
ballot measure passes. Kelly Frazier and Kev-
in Ward were the two commissioners from Fire
District 11 who are still commissioners, along
with commission chair Steve Pierce, Tom Tay—
lor and Pete Butkus.
According to Brock, the terms of Butkus and
Frazier are set to expire this year, and if the
measure is approved, they would be up for elec-
tion next year. If not, the two commissioners
would not be retained after Jan. 1.
Division Chief of Logistics Brandon Sea rles,
former Fire District 11 chief, said the merger
has been great.
“We were already working together very
closely over the years and this just made it
seamless and now we’re just one big happy
family,” Searles told the Journal.
Since the merger June 1, CMFE has been
busy.
see BOARD, page 11
Allyn
Days
Festival
volunteers
prep salmon
during the
Allyn Days
Salmon Bake
and Geoduck
Festival on
Saturday
at Allyn
Waterfront
Park.
See more
photos of
the festival
on page 36.
Journal photo
by Matt Baide
SHELTON—MASON COUNTY
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SHHTON
The Voice of Mason County Since 1886 Vol. 137, No.29
New home for vets
*******st*******CAR_RT LOT**C 005
SMALL TOWN PAPERS
927 W RAELROAD AVE
WA 985843847
ego
8—22 8-160.
Lonnie Spikes Jr., the vice president of the board of directors of Quixote
Communities, addresses.
an audience at the grand opening of the Shelton Veterans Village on Tuesday
on North 13th Street
in Shelton. About 150 people attended the event. Journal photo by Gordon
Weeks
Homeless veteran village finally opens in Shelton
ByéordonWeeks 7'
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About six years after it was pro-
posed, the Shelton Voterans Vil—
lage finally opened its doors Tues—
day to about 150 people celebrating
the new residence for 30 homeless
Mason County veterans.
The nonprofit organization
Quixote Communities operates the
village on North 13th Street across
from Christmas Village. It features
seven four-plexes, one duplex and a
community building that includes
a laundry room, two bathrooms,
three offices and a boardroom. The
group also has homeless villages in
Orting and Olympia.
In email to the Journal,
tit Quinnnmitics Fl.«n,*cuti‘.’e
Director Colleen Carmichael said
the group is waiting to receive a
certificate of occupancy from the
City of Shelton before residents
can move into the units.
“We do not have a wait list as
all of our veteran residents need to
go through coordinated entry,” she
wrote. “We are actively working
with agencies in the area to get po-
tential clients into the coordinated
entry system.”
At the ceremony, Carmichael
told the audience the village “has
been a labor of love for our associa-
tion.” For veterans, “your service
you gave to this country deserves
By Matt Baide
matt@masoncounty.com
the fire station in Matlock.
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Three sentenced
for murder in Tahuya
DINSIDE_THIVSWEEK j _ ~
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3
Movies in the Park
is a hit in Shelton
_ Commissioner chair Albert
Wilder resigned from Mason
County Fire District 12 at
Tuesday’s regular meeting at
“At the conclusion of this
day, I am resigning as a com—
missioner,” Wilder said right
before the end of the meet-
ing. “1 will continue to serve
the community as a volun—
teer firefighter and EMT, but
as far as the commissioner, I
am resigning at the end ofthis
Wilder joins two other Fire
this,” she said.
Lonnie Spikes Jr., the vice
president of Quixote Communities '
board of directors, called the vil-
lage “a small dip in a whole ocean
of homelessness but as long
as you move forward, that’s the
point.” .
The project has faced many
hurdles.
“For a time, we weren’t sure it
was going to happen,” Jaycie Os-
terberg—Brown, associate director
of Quixote Communities, told the
audience.
The nonprofit received a $1 mil-
lion grant from the Washington
see VILLAGE, page 8
Fire 12 resignation
12 commissioners, John Pais
and Brian Jutson, who have
resigned. All three still face
a recall vote because their
names are on the Aug. 1 ballot.
The commissioners re-
viewed two separate nepotism
policies during the meeting.
Wilder is the father of com-
missioner .Kelli Walsworth,
and Walsworth is married to
fire chief Bryan Walsworth.
The nepotism policy Was
not voted on and adopted dur—
ing the meeting, but the poli—
cies reviewed are posted on
the Fire District 12 website.
see FIRE 12, page 11
Port of Allyn makes plans
to deal with dock sea lions
e
r ‘
v