July 26, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Week 30 m The Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- Published for Mason County and Svein Gilje of Seattle -- $1
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Attempted murder among charges after 'random' Burger King attack
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncounty.com
Shelton man Jacob Curtis, 18, was
charged with attempted murder in the
first degree Friday in Mason County
Superior Court after a woman was
stabbed several times early that morn-
ing at the Shelton Burger King,
Shelton police officers responded
to reports of a robbery at the East
Wallace Kneeland Boulevard Burger
King at 2:30 a.m. Friday to find an
employee of the restaurant had been
stabbed.
Authorities say the employee,
Elaine Keck, was attacked outside
the restaurant as she left work for the
night.
Curtis allegedly approached her and
stabbed her with a weapon he brought
See Stabbing on page A-6
Journa onoIos By Natahe Johnson
Volunteer Chris Messner, center, leads a discussion on marine life at the Lilliwaup Community Club's annual day
camp on July 19. The camp offers opportunities for children to learn about marine life and survival and
includes hiking and kayaking activities all at no cost to participants.
Lilliwaup day camp gets children out of the house
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@ masoncounry.com
Each summer, the Lilliwaup Commu-
nity Club provides a day camp to get local
kids out of the house and on to the beach.
This year's one-day camp was held on
July 19. The event was sponsored by the
Lilliwaup Community Club and Hood
Canal Kiwanis and was free to partici=
pants.
Between 60 and 65 students from sec-
ond to fifth grade sign up for the camp,
hosted at Camp Robbinswold, a Girl
Scout facility north of Eldon on Hood Ca-
nal.
"We take those 60 to 65 kids and we
break them down into four groups," coor-
dinator Kerry Fraser said.
For the last seven years second, third
See Camp on page A-7
Day campers mark the progression of the incoming tide during the
Lilliwaup Community Club's annual day camp.
Burke gets
5-year
sentence
Prison for driver
of May crash
that killed Terra
Dittmer, 38
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@rnasoncoun Cy,com
Dylan J. Burke. 25, was
sentenced Tuesday in Ma-
son County Superior Court
to 64 months, or five years.
in prison for vehicular homi-
cide and vehicular assault.
Burke spoke ~o the court
during his sentencing hear-
ing Tuesday morning.
"Nothing as going to
change what happened that
night." he said. "I'm willing
~o man up and face the conse-
quences. All I can really do is
apologize for what it's worth."
On May 15, Burke at-
tended the 21st birthday
party for his friend Cody
R. Laney at the Towne Pub
and Dell in Shelton.
Burke was the desig-
nated driver, and shortly
after midnight while driv-
ing Laney, Jason J. Brown.
31, and Terra Dittmer, 38,
home m Dittmer's 2003
Mercedes, he crashed into
a tree on Mikkelsen Road
near Shelton.
Dittmer was killed in the
crash. Laney suffered a bro-
ken leg and internal bleed-
ing and was airlifted to Har-
borview Medical Center in
Seattle. Brown and Burke
were treated for injuries at
Mason General Hospital
and released.
According to Mason
County Prosecutor Mike
Dorcy, Burke had a .12
blood alcohol level at the
time of the crash. The blood
sample was obtained from
the drivers' side airbag and
is a match to Burke's DNA.
Washington state's legal
blood alcohol limit while
driving is .08.
Burke turned himself in
~wo days after the crash and
was charged with one count
of vehicular homicide and
~wo counts of vehicular as-
sault.
See Sentence on page A-6
Candidate forum brings county commission candidates together
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@mas°nc°unty'c°m
On July 18, Mason Coun-
ty voters had a chance to
meet and question the ,more
than one dozen candidates
for county commissioner in
districts 1, 2 and 3.
"Tonight we're going to
be talking about the biggest
job in the county and expe-
rience does matter," said
Randy Neatherlin, who is
running in Commissioner
District 1.
Neatherlin characterized
the possibility of electing
three entirely new county
commissioners as voters
"hitting the reset button."
The event was co-host-
ed by the Mason County
League of Women Voters,
Shelton Mason County
Chamber of Commerce and
the Green Diamond Re-
source Company and took
place at Oakland Bay Ju-
nior High School. Heidi Mc-
Cutcheon, executive direc-
tor of the Shelton Mason
merce, moderated the even~,
Eleven of the 13 candi-
dates running for Mason
County Commissioner at-
tended the forum.
Each of the candidates
was invited to gave opening
and closing statements, am
swered three questions pre-
pared by the event sponsors,
and also answered ques-
tions submitted by mem-
County Chamber of Com- bers of the public before the
forum began.
Mason County Commis-
stoner District 1 includes
much of the north end of the
county, from the Pickering
area up to Belfair on State
Route 3, and across Hood
Canal to Twanoh, Dewatto
Tiger Lake and Tahuya.
Three of the four candidates.
Neatherlin, who states no
party preference, Denny
Hamilton (D), and Traws
Couture (R) attended. Doug
Ellingson (I) did not attend
the forum.
Each of the district 1 can-
didates, spoke about jobs
and the economy as well as
other issues relevant to Ma-
son County and particularly
the district, such as infra-
structure growth.
Couture focused on the
See Forum on page A-7