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I
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncoun.ty.com
In a handwritten letter, a
Bordeaux Elementary student
thanked the Saints' Pantry Food
Bank for sending her home from
school on Friday afternoons with
a plastic bag containing Top Ra-
men, oatmeal, chili, fruit cups,
energy bars, macaroni and cheese
and fruit juice.
"In these bags aren't just food
but love," the girl wrote the Shel-
ton-based charity group, which
launched its "backpack" program
last winter.
Some of the other 115 Mason
County homeless kids who re-
ceived the food backpacks also ex-
pressed their gratitude in letters.
"Thanks for the food bags, they
have made it much easier to go
through the weekends when we
have no food stamps left. These
food bags have been lifesavers
when times are harsh for those of
us who have the 'short end of the
stick.'"
"Thank you for being someone
who cares. I don't know I'd sur-
vive without them."
"I'm not sure what I would have
Journa photo Dy Gordon Weeks
Patty Russell, community outreach coordinator for the
Saints' Pantry Food Bank in Shelton, and Steve Russell,
the organization's executive director, display the food
items the group donates in bags to homeless local chil-
dren as they leave school on Fridays.
eaten without them. It means a
lot to know you care enough about
us to make these for us.
But as the school year begins.
Saints' Pantry Food Bank di-
rectors say they will struggle to
meet the demands of the estimat-
ed 300 homeless, food-deprived
children in local schools, many
of whom receive free or reduced-
price breakfasts and lunches at
school. The organization was dis-
tributing 115 food packs on Fri-
days at the end of the last school
year, but plan to donate 150 bags
each week beginning in late Sep-
tember.
The food backpacks - actually
packaged in plastic Walmart bags
for discretion - cost the Saints'
Pantry about $5.19 each. The
food bank is fueled exclusively by
donations, and its supplies are
being stretched by residents who
recently had their food stamps
cut off by the state, said Billie
Howard. vice president of the or-
ganization's board of directors.
"When you're putting together
115 backpacks a week, your food
supply dwindles fast," said Steve
Russell. the food bank's executive
director.
Teachers and counselors iden-
tify the students who do not have
a parent or adult in the home
full-time, or sleep on the couches
of friends. For some kids, "when
they go home on the weekends,
they have absolutely nothing,"
said Saints' Pantry Community
Outreach Coordinator Patty Rus-
sell.
One child was sharing his bag
with his brother and parents, all
living m one car, said Steve Rus-
sell.
The protein and fruit is vital to
learning, the food bank coordina-
tors said.
"(Teachers) see a difference in
the children in their attention
span, and improvement in their
work," said Patty Russell.
Checks can be sent to The
Saints' Pantry Food Bank, with
a notation to be credited to the
Backpack Program, P.O. Box
1064, Shelton. Food items can
also be delivered to the food bank
at 214 S. Second St. in Shelton.
The organization will also pick up
donations. For more information,
call 427-8847 or 426-8443.
Residents can also donate food
items at a benefit block party for
The Saints' Pantry hosted from
1-5 p.m. onSept. 15 at St. David's
Episcopal Church, 324 W. Cedar
St., Shelton. The event features
food, games, a dunk tank and mu-
sic by the band The Varmints.
The food bank serves about
1,000 people each week. Patrons
don't have to prove they are
needy, and no one is ever turned
away.
"All you have to do is let us
know if that you're hungry," said
Howard.
urray,
ason
un
pics p
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@mason.county.corn
Shellfish harvesting xs one
of the largest and longest
running local industries.
Last Thursday, U.S. Rep.
Norm Dicks and U.S. Sen.
Patty Murray visited Mason
County, specifically Taylor
Shellfish's Skookum Inlet
shellfish farm, to discuss how
their Wild Olympics Wilder-
ness and Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act of 2012 would help
preserve the industry for fu-
ture generations.
Murray and Dicks intro-
duced the bill in Congress
and the Senate in June.
"Clean water is something
that's absolutely critical to
this state's future." Murray
said to a small group of mem-
bers of the press and support-
ers of the bill Thursday.
The legislation is designed
to create 126.554 acres of
new wilderness in the Olym-
pic National Forest. accord-
ing to Murray's office.
It also allows for an addi-
tional 5,346 acres of wilder-
ness to be created by future
elected officials and designates
19 rivers and seven tributaries
as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
Proponents of the bill say
it will preserve and enhance
existing recreational areas
in the Olympic National For-
est. protect drinking water
and fisheries and encourages
tourism.
"Protecting shellfish is
a jobs issue in Washington
state." Dicks said.
He said preserving wilder-
ness and rivers is expected
to improve water quality in
Puget Sound.
"It's from the snowcaps
~o the whitecaps." he said.
"Hood Canal has been a spe-
cial place for my family. We
have challenges. One of the
great challenges is preserv-
ing water quality."
Dicks said the bill would
address ocean acidification
in Hood Canal and Puget
Sound. a major concern of
his. A decrease in the pH in
waters of Puget Sound harms
native species.
While he said the bill was
popular, some members of
congress do not support it.
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Page A-2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012
"There are people in con-
gress who are still in denial
... that there is something
called climate change and
people have some responsibil-
ity for it." he said. "I think we
have really looked a~ these is-
sues and tried to look at what
people have said. This is very
good legislation and it has
broad support."
The senator and represen-
tative spoke in front of the
backdrop of the historic Skoo-
kum Inlet shellfish farm,
Owned by Taylor Shellfish.
Bill Dewey, spokesman
for Taylor Shellfish, said the
area has been cultivated for
shellfish since the 1870s.
Taylor has owned the land
for 50 years.
Taylor CEO Bill Taylor
gave his support for the Wild
OlympicS'plan. He said that
increased international de-
mand for shellfish makes
preserving the waters of the
Puget Sound essential to his
company.
"This helps ensure water
quality in the Olympic re-
Journa ono~o Dy Natalie Johnson
U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, left, speaks with Bill
Dewey, spokesman for Taylor Shellfish, Bill
Taylor, CEO of Taylor Shellfish and U.S. Sen.
Patty Murray before they made comments on
the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act of 2012.
gion. I think it's going to be
a long-term insurance for our
industry," he said.
Dicks, who represents the
6th Congressional District,
is not running for reelection
this year. Bill Driscoll (R)
and Derek Kilmer (D) will vie
for the position in the general
election.
Dicks said it would be up
to Murray and other propo-
nents of the bill to keep it
moving forward.
Washing for a cause
Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
Olympia resident Allie Weideman, 6, and Tianna Oien of Shelton wash
vehicles as part of the Fairemoon Equine Rescue Car Wash for the
Critters Saturday at Del's Feed and Farm Supply in Shelton. Members
of the group also raised funds that day washing vehicles at the Arcadia
Chevron station. They also accepted donations of animal care items,
animal feed and blankets and clothing for people impacted by the fires
in Kittitas County.