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I
By NATALIE JOHNSON
After long time Shelton
School District (SSD) Su-
perintendent Joan Zook's
announcement of her up-
coming retirement last sum-
mer, the district embarked
on a long search for a good
candidate for the job.
Their top pick, Wayne
Massie, officially began as
the new SSD superinten-
dent on July 1 and is quick-
ly settling into his new job.
"The first year is so much
about getting to know the
culture of the district and
the community - just getting
to know a lot of the commu-
nity members and I'm trying
to get involved with some of
the service organizations,"
he said. "I very much want
to meet people who are
the movers and the shak-
ers here in our community,
but I want to meet parents
and really pick their brains
about what's good about the
community and the school."
Massie said he is optimis-
tic about the future of Shel-
ton and the school district.
"Shelton is certainly mak-
ing some good movement to
be right on the cusp of doing
some great things," he said.
For the last five years
Massie served as the su-
perintendent at the Tekoa
School District in east-
ern Washington. He also
worked as an administrator
in the Ferndale School Dis-
trict for 15 years and taught
for 11 years in Oroville and
Idaho.
This will be his first
year in
the Shel-
ton School
District,
which in-
cludes
Shel-
ton High
School,
Choice
Massie H i g h
School,
Oakland Bay Junior High
School, Olympic Middle
School, Evergreen Elemen-
tary School, Mountain View
Elementary School, and
Bordeaux Elementary.
Massie's initial goals are
to get involved with the com-
munity in Shelton, but over-
the long-term he wants to
"establish an environment
of academic excellence" in
the district.
"That's something that
every school district would
really like to aim for," he
said. "It's really getting ev-
erybody, including parents,
students, new staff and ev-
erybody that works in the
district pulling together to
make that come to fruition."
Massie said that it is
necessary to create this at-
mosphere of excellence in a
time when students need to
get a high school diploma to
be competitive in the work-
force.
"There's a lot of challeng-
es out there for kids com-
ing out of our school system
right now," he said. "You
have to know so much and
have so much background
behind you to be competi-
tive out there."
While he said that a
four-year college is not for
everyone, Massie wants to
encourage all kids in the
district to pursue some kind
of post-secondary education.
"It could be an appren-
ticeship, it could be the
world of work, it could be
the military or it could be a
post secondary institution.
It could be a two-year col-
lege, a four-year college or
a technical school. You get
them prepared to move on-
ward and be successful," he
said.
Massie said that he wants
to be available to parents to
receive input about the dis-
trict. He plans on creating
some kind of forum outside
of school district meetings
to allow for public input.
"I've looked at having
some forums throughout the
year to see if there are some
ways to elicit some more
responses and informa-
tion from parents," he said.
"They could focus on differ-
ent types of topics or the dif-
ferent schools in the area."
Overall, Massie said that
he wants to see concrete re-
sults from the extra training
that teachers in the district
have been going through.
Teachers in the SSD should
be able to tailor instruction
to student needs after their
recent training programs.
"Training has been ongo-
ing and pretty intense and
teachers have worked hard
and now they need to apply
it and we need to start see-
ing results from students,"
he said.
6o to
for medical
Water district applies for USDA funcls
By ~ SHEPHARD
The Belfair Water District is applying for
a $2 million federal loan and grant offered
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Ru-
ral Development program.
If obtained, the USDA monies would be
used toward funding the district's water-
line removal and replace-
ment project under State
Route 3, which is required
as part of the Washing-
ton State Department of
Transportation's (WS-
DOT) highway widening
project.
As required under the
guidelines for the grant
Tipton and loan application, the
district held a public meet-
ing as a notice of its intent
to apply for the funds on Monday night.
District Manager Dave Tipton explained
that the district's project, like the state's
SR-3 widening project, would extend from
the McDonald's on Ridgepoint Boulevard to
Sweetwater Creek behind the Mary E. The-
ler Community Center. t
Tipton said it was uncloli} as to whether
the district was obliged to move the water-
line for the entire scope of the WSDOT proj-
ect.
"We don't know if we're required to move
the line from Belfair Street to McDonald's,"
Tipton said. "We don't have all of the pieces
of the puzzle. I can't tell you want will be
the hard and hard and the fast of it because
we don't know yet."
The application would not preclude the
district from seeking funding elsewhere. A
previous application for the funds was made
to the state's Public Works Trust Fund, but
the proposal did not make the funding cut-
off after the legislature reduced the budget
for public works.
"We're not putting all our eggs in the
USDA, but it's our best bet at this point,"
Tipton said.
The water district's contracted engineers
have completed their jobs, and the. district
is still negotiating with WSDOT to see if the
state could construct the waterline project
at the same time as the widening project,
Tipton said.
BWD candidates advocate transparency
By ARLA SHEPHARD Phillips will still appear at the district and look into
on the ballot in the August changing the meeting time.
16 primary, up against can- "I'd like to secure the
While six candidatesorig- didates Linnie Griffin and funding for the pipe that
inally threw their names in Lynn Stevenson. has to go in the ground [as
the hat for the two open po- Stevenson, 71, said he required by the State Route
sitions on the Belfair Water was motivated to run for3 state widening project],"
District Commission, essen- office by the thick stack of Stevenson said. "I'm out for
tially only four now remain, newspaper articles concern- the good of Belfair."
Ken VanBuskirk with- ing the water district on his Stevenson's competitor
drew his name for conten- kitchen table and by the re- Linnie Griffin has moved
tion on June 17 in the race straining order that Phillips to Belfair in 1974 with her
for the two-year Commis- attempted to file against husband and three children,
sioner Position No. 2, and him earlier this year, which who all attended school in
incnmben~ John Phillips in t~e aistrict court threw out. ~ort]] 1~ason.
the six-year Commissioner "I was one of the earliest Griffin has served and
Position No. 3 has made it water ratepayers in the Bel- volunteered on numerous
clear that he has no plans to fair water system and I've public service boards and is
run an active campaign, watched the water district the current chairperson of
"This office is taking too for years," said Stevenson. the North Mason Communi-
much of my time," said Phil- "It's not since the last two ty Voice and a commissioner
lips, who said he has been years that it's disintegrat- on the cemetery district
in politics for more than 40 ed." board in Belfair.
years and has never lost an Stevenson moved to Bel- "Some of it just comes au-
election. "I want to see my fair in 1958 with his wife tomatically, it's just part of
grandchildren and travel and three daughters, nowmy life," Griffin said of her
on church missions. I called grown, and has spent 50 volunteer work, which also
Mason County Auditor's Of- years in the construction in- includes volunteering for
rice to withdraw and have dustry in Washington, Ore- 45 years for the Girl Scouts.
my name removed from the gon, Alaska and the Central "I just go and give a hand
primary election ballot, but Pacific, where he workedwherever I can, it's part
I was too late. Therefore, I on making ~slands biggerof being in a community,
have told my friends and for missile l~unch pads, he just putting a helping hand
supporters I will not run an said. when you can."
active campaign as I am not If he were elected, he
interested in another term." would make staff changes See District on page A-7
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Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, July 21,2011 -
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