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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 28, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 28, 2011
 
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No laughin l ment figures were releasec EDITORIAL Tuesday morning and the: County numbers, once aga abysmal. The local unemploymen climbed from 10.8 percent ~ason n, are rate n May to an even 11 percent in June. The state unemployment rate, meanwhile, edged up to 9.2 per- cent. You have to go back to No- vember and December of 2008 to find the last back-to-back months of single digit results, and since then only two other months (July 2009 and Oct. 2010) have been at 9.5 percent. Here's how Jim Vleming, a re- gional economist, summed things up on the Washington State Employment Security Depart~ ment website: "While the county posted some positive growth rates between 1990 and 2006 averag- ing 3.3 percent, the shoe appears to be on the other foot now. The falling nonfarm payrolls have con- tinued into 2011, and the ability to overtake 2010 totals remains questionable." That's why this week's news that the City of Shelton is headed back to square one in its efforts to , ~zone 160 acres on the west side of Highway 101, about a half mile south of Sanderson Field, is so disappointing. At a time when the city and county are reeling, the Port of Shelton is bending over back- wards to fight the kind of develop- ment that is so desparately need- ed. Adage's smokestacks were just fine with the port, but new homes that will allow for an expanded commercial and retail base are somehow not okay. The whole thing had us hum- ming a silly tune this week: How many rezones would a rezone rezone if a rezone could rezone rezones? Sometimes you just have to shake your head and laugh it off. Fire 4- help us help you Editor, the Journal Speaking with the peop regarding Mason County F~ District 4's upcoming fire t~ lid-liR proposal has brought light many misconceptions ol there when it comes to loc fire districts that I would lil to clear up. Fire districts are not pa of county government nor they tied up in the county, the city budget. Fire distric are a quasi-government wil their own elected officials m individual budgets. Just because the valuatic of your property has gone u does not mean the fire distri receives more money. Bas~ on Initiative 747 passed: 2001, your fire district can on levy a one percent increase p year without voter approw To put that into perspectiv Fire 4 only levied a $4,712 i~ crease from 2010 to 2011. Fire 4 does not have pa firefighters or EMTs on du' 24/7. Fire 4 has three full-tin paid administrative staff; tl remainder of our responds are volunteers. These voh~ teem have families, full-tin jobs and lives that they put ¢ hold when you dial 911. Those are the three biggo misconceptions I have he~ from the people, now I wou like to address the facts tit make people say, "Wow, didn't know that." With the $1.10 we A. asking for, a home valued $200,000 would pay $18.," per month for Fire/EMS pr tection, which is equivalent four lattes. Fire 4 has the third hi~ est call volume in the coun' (out of 14 fire districts). Wer spond to appro~dmately 10( calls per year. Fire 4 currently has tl lowest Fire/EMS tax rate : the county and has nev, raised the fire tax in our 6 year existence. Fire 4 has no debt. The average age of our fE engines is 19. Volunteers are not free. 7o train and outfit a firefight~r cost around $5000 then ano er $500 per year to maint with ongoing training and i. surance costs. Fire 4's vision is to six fire at the room of origin, sa~ more lives and do so effective and efficiently. Vote yes on August 16, he us help you. Lisa BrengE Shelt¢ our local fak Editor, the Journal Let's celebrate our loc fair. Call it the Mason Coun Fair or Mason Area Fair;, il all the same. It is our fair. 1V husband and I led a 4-H hot group for many years, please come and support the kids. They have been working hard to got a chance to go to the State Fair. We have many tal- ented people around here with art, photography, collections, gardens, flowers, animals and so much more plus enter- tainment and contests. Don't forget all the hard work and many, many hours that the volunteers have spent to make sure that we even have a fair. rve heard some individuals may not attend because of the actions of certain local elected officials. Please do not let them divide this commtmity. We must remember how luck we are to live in this community and it is the people that make a difference. I hope to see all of you at the fair this weekend. The $5 admission (kids 16 and under got in free) will go a long way in supporting all who have worked so hard and have tak- en the time to participate. Let us celebrate all the things about our community. Chris Bretche Shelton ~unt'y ing to Mr. Baumgart of Belfair efforts to make your own per- Our community needs to (Journal 7/14), I feel you were sonal property a place of peace approve the EMS levy or we way off base about the cats and smelling nice and devoid may face a future without and also calling him loath- of cats. Continue to do what EMS. I am a proud member some for feeding his squirrels you have to do to achieve this. of this community and my and birds. I totally agree with Katie Groves wife and I feel safe here. I urge him in every aspect. There are Shelton you to educate yourself on the many dangerous people, my- EMS levy by reading the levy self included, who are darn fhcts literature sent to us in wellfedupwithloesocatsand District 6 the marl by the department. the stench they leave by our Look for it and I believe you houses. Mr. Baumgart never levy is ~ see that this is an essen- said he killed the cats, only a tial service that has served our took them to animal control, community well since 1962. If you are missing a cat, go Rich Heinrich Editor, the Journal check out the pound, pay the Fire Chief(retired) fee and get it back, or adopt a Union How is it that our pert cem- stray and keep it home. If they Editor, the Journal missioners are so concerned areferal, they don't need to be My name is ]~i.ch He'mrich Simpsonis with keeping their meetings running lose. They can also and I served as the Fire Chief secret? Did they keep it a se- carry disease, like your hated of the Union Fire Department cret when they were trying to squin~ls, for over 11 years before retir- jam through the biomass pol- We have to build a fence ing in 2009. luter project? ! understand to contain our dog and pay to I am writing today to urge our water one of the commissioners was license her. Responsible pet the citizens of Union to sup- so enamored with the proj- ownership means containing port the 2012 EMS Levy by ect he stated, "Anyone who's your pet on your own property voting yes in the August elec- not in favor of the project is a and picking up after them if tion. This levy is vital to the koek." Shortly after this state- you are walking them I am Rre department and the cou- ment, all the doctors at Ma- speaking of both cat and dog munity because it provides son Genera] Hospital signed owners, air a petition stating they were You know what is loath- the only source of funding for our emergency medical services. against the project because it some, Ms. Fisher? Loathsome Without this levy, our fire de- was a health hazard, what a is having cats come in your partment will no longer be Editor, the Journal bunch of kooks. How much fenced back yard and kill the able to fund the emergencey of the commissioners time and birds you feed. I.~athsome is medical program. If you followed the Adage our meneywas spent in secret gardening and breaking up What does this mean to story in this paper (or else- trying to push through this fi- dirt clods that are cat turds, you and me? In my opinion, where) you know that con- asco? ~athsome is sitting in our liv- it means tht reponse times to cerned citizens organized and Only one commissioner has ing room and watching several medical emergencies will in- resisted, with all their might, a spoken out against the love times a day two to three neigh- crease by six to eight minutes; pollutingindustrybeingplaced affair between the biomass borhoed cats wander over to the department wil no longer in the heart of our community. industry and our secretive you or yourneighbor'syard to carry top of the line medi- That proposed biomass in- commissioners -- Jack Miles. do their business and you are cinerator would have been lo- Because of his ~mreasonable" helpless to do anything about cal equipment or life saving cated right next to the MCRA medications and the fire sta- position with his colleagues he it. Loathsome is the stench tion willnot have 24 hour a soccer fields, within shouting distance of a school, and right has become the target of child- near the front door from a fa- day staffing ready to serve our next to the neighborhood of ish sniping such as working vorite dumping spot for neigh- community. overtime in the office for one borhood cats. In today's cash strappedHiawatha. It was planned and a half hours. If everyone kept their economy, I fully understand that this fire-breathing dragon I would suggest everything cats and dogs indoors or in the interest in cutting waste- would burn Washington's for- those commissioners do should an enclosed (for cats) run we ful government spending, but est "debris" 24 hours a day, be made public immediately so wouldn't be having this con- I can assure you that the EMS seven days a week, 365 days we can keep an eye on them. versatien. Like stray dogs, cats levy is not wasthfl. It is an es- a year and that it would emit Joe Carney shouldlikewise be taken to the sential service that our corn- dangerous pollutants into the Shelton pound and their owner pay to munity relies upon daily. Our air measured in tons. bail them out. A few times of fire department stands ready This was bothersome to that and they will keep them to serve us day and night. Con- the citizens; whose vocal resis- penned up or indoors. If you sidering that a house worth tance may be part of the rea- care for your pet you would $250,000 would be taxed only sen Adage is no longer a threat anyway. Anyone who loves$87.50 a year or a meager to our community. their pet would not risk them $7.29 a month, I regard that But we citizens learned exposed to cars, other animals, as very inexpensive health in- a few things while studying slug bait, garden poisons, or irate property owners pushed surance. I say again that this the science and medicine in to buying and legally using cat EMS levy is not wasteful. This learnedconnecti°nthatwithpollutantsAdage" mea-We is what government was cre- sured in tons are unacceptable Editor, the Journal traps, ated to do, deliver essential To Jean Fisher, (JournalMr. Baumgart, I and my services, when they rain down on chil- 7/21). As to your letter respond- neighbors, support you in your dren and other living things. Simpson Timber Company has been burning in the har- bor for over 100 years. Simpson is polluting our water and polluting our air. Presently, Simpson's air operating permit is up for re- newal and, if renewed, it will be renewed for five years. Knowing what we know now about air pollution and particulate matter, and the risk to the young and the el- derly posed by burning wood to create energy (think "cave- man technology" here), I feel it is very important that the citi- zens be afforded a public hear- ing in connection with ORCAA issuing a five year air operat- ing permit. If you feel the same way I do please write ORCAA to let them know that you desire a public hearing, that the hear- ing should be held in Shelten and that the notice of the pub- lie hearing should be published in the Shelton-Mason County Journal (for the Adage public hearing they published notice in the Olympian). The science does not change from Johns Prairie to the Har- bor. If it is not acceptable to rain death on Hiawatha and the soccer fields, it is not okay to rain it on downtown. Katherine A. Price Sbelton Editor, the Journal Regarding last week's arti- cle "Grapeview candidates vie for fire district positions," my attention was drawn to candi- date Catron's piece wherein he alludes to the ~little squabble" that is going on in Grapeview. What really got to me was the intimation that the members of the Grapeview Community Association are a bunch of free loaders because "They seem to think they don't have to pay a maintenance fee, so I guess they really want the tax payer to pay their maintenance." Mr. Catron knows, but may have forgotten in his declin- ing years, that members of the community association raised the money to build the present fire department facility after a levy for that purpose failed. In return for their largess the fire department granted to the community association in writing the right to use the building at no charge, which it has done for several years. Re- cently however the fire depart- ment unilaterally changed the language in its Station Use Policy to include the word ":rental" charge and began charging the community ass ciation $100 per month calling it a utilities fee. I see that in another life Mr. Catron was a banker. I guess only a banker would presume such an under handed major change would only provoke a 'q_ittle squabble." Stan Walster Grapeview USPS 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send address cha County Journal, p.o. Box 430, Sh( Published weekly by Shelton-Masc at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Mailing address: P.O. Box 430, Sh, Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.v Periodicals postage paid at Sheltc Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason C( She~ton-Mason County Journa/ is a member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association. ~ges to Shelton-Mason ton, WA 98584. County Journal, Inc. lashington Iton, WA 98584 asoncounty.com ,, Washington SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $37 per year for Mason County addresses, $51 per year in state of Washington but outside Mason County, $61 per year out of state. Owned and published by She~ton-Mason County Journal, Inc Jnty Journal - Thursday, July 28, 2011 Rick Kennedy, publisherAdvertising: Jesse Mullen, general mgr. Dave Pierik, advertising manager Harvey Morris, ad representative Newsroom: Mat Taylor, ad representative Kevan Moore, managing editor Front office: Aria Shephard, North Mason, Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper environment, reporter Margot Brand, circulation Natalie Johnson, reporter Emily Hanson.sports reporter Cricket Carter, mailroom supervisor Adam Rudnick, copy editor Composing room: William Adams, graphics Koleen Wood, classifieds/legals Becky Corr, typing Pressroom: Kelly Riordan, production manager Travis Miller press operator ' i