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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
August 23, 2012     Shelton Mason County Journal
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August 23, 2012
 
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By NATALIE JOHNSON natalie@masoncounty.corn Absconded level 3 sex of- fender Jimi Lee Johnson was arrested early in the morning on Aug. 16 in downtown Shel- ton. Shelton Police officers ap- prehended Johnson at about pprehend level 3 7 a.m. Thursday morning at a house a block away from the Shelton Police Department. Local law enforcement re- ceived several 911 calls re- porting Johnson's possible whereabouts, which includ- ed the Shelton area and the Skokomish reservation. Johnson has been required to register as a sex offender since pleading guilty to one count of indecent liberties and one county of first-degree burglary in 2008. According to authorities, when Johnson was 17, in 2004, he broke into a home and sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman there. While out on bond, Johnson broke into another home and, smelling of alcohol, walked into the bedroom of a 17-year- old girl, authorities said. Deputy Bill Adam of the Mason County Sheriffs Office said Johnson was released from prison after the burglary charge in January 2011 after serving about three years. On Aug. 3, he failed to re- port his location to the Wash- er Shelton ington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and a war- rant was issued for his arrest. Transient sex offenders in Mason County are required to report to the sheriffs of- rice. When Johnson missed his appointment on Aug. 6, the sheriffs department be- gan looking for him, Adam said. Jimi Lee Johnson pen governm rum encourages in Media members among panelists By NATALIE JOHNSON natagie@rnaso~couT~b,,com Local government lead- ers, elected officials and citizens had an opportu- nity on Aug. 15 to speak with authorities on state and federal open meetings and public records laws at a forum at the Alderbrook Resort. The event was co-spon- sored by the Washington Coalition for Open Gov- ernment and the Mason County League of Women Voters. "We are a nonprofit, vol- unteer organization. We encourage informed and active participation in gov- ernment," said league Pres- ident Amy Davis. "I can't stress enough that this mission enjoys a strong bi- partisan support." The forum was moderat- ed by John Hughes, a long- time Grays Harbor resident and editor and publisher of the Aberdeen Daily World. "Your panel tonight ... is about as good as it gets," Hughes said. The panel of guest speak- ers included Washington State Archivist Jerry Han- field, former Washington State House Majority Lead- er Lynn Kessler, Tacoma News Tribune reporter Sean Robinson and Tim Ford, assistantattorney general for government ac- countability. The members of the panel referred on several occasions to a passage of the Washington state Con- sitituion, which reads, "The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in dele- gating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on Journa~ DllOIO D'~ Natal e Johnsor Sean Robinson, a reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune, spoke as part of a panel at a forum on Aug. 15 at the Alderbrook Resort on open meetings and public information. remaining informed so they maintain control over the instruments that they have created." Robinson said this pas- sage describes the power public records give citizens over their government. "You don't give up your power --the records belong to you, so you get to look at them," he said. Ford, who described himself as the state's open government ombudsman, began the panel's presenta- tions by giving a brief over- view of Washington's laws related to public meetings and open government. He explained that public records laws as we know them, contained in Re- vised Codes of Washington (RCW) 40.12, 42.30 and 42.56, were initiated as a part of campaign finance reform in the 1970s. Since the RCWs were originally drafted, Ford estimated as many as 400 individual exemptions had been approved to the laws. Between 2011 and 2012, 49 new exemptions were proposed and 10 were passed by the state Legis- lature. Ford explained that there are fewer federal ex- emptions to public records laws, but they are drafted very broadly. "In Washington state we try to draft exemptions very narrowly," he said. Both Ford and Kessler are part of the 13-member "sunshine committee," to examine these new and old exemptions and report back to the Legislature on them. "We can't review as many exemptions as they can create," he said. Kessler talked about the need to broaden public records laws to include re- cords pertaining to execu- tive session, or closed-door meetings conducted to talk about matters exempted from the open public meet- ings act, such as person- nel matters or real-estate transactions. She said a proposal to make such records public, specifically, to require tape recordings to be made of ex- ecutive session meetings, was ultimately unsuccess- ful and met with resistance in the state House. "Why are you making it look like you're behind closed doors breaking the laws?" she asked. Several of the panelists, including Hanfield, said a lack of education about record-keeping practices leads to many, violations of public records laws. Hanfield also spoke about how public records help hold government ac- countable and prevent fraud. "You can't just destroy records because you want to," he said. "They have a purpose." Washington is: the first state in the country to offer online audio archives. It is also a leader in digital ar- chives, Hanfield said. Hanfield said opponents of digital archiving say on- line records make identity theft easier. In reality, he said identity theft has de- clined 4.3 percent since the state began digitizing ar- chives in 2004. "The reason why we have public records available to everyone is they preven~ fraud." he said. After the panelists spoke, members of the au- dience had the opportunity to ask questions and voice their concerns about public records laws. Several asked for advice about how to pro- ceed with requests more ef- fectively. "You have to actually ask for them, you have to know what you're asking for," Robinson said. Robinson als0 recom- mended being patient and polite to anyone in charge of public records and put all requests in paper. "Part of the obligation for you is to push," he said. Buy & Sell! Vendor Space Available Open 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. 7 Days A Week 831 West Golden Pheasant Rd. • (360) 791-0448 • (360) 915-4637 Call (360) 426-4412 to subscribe to the If Shelton-Mason County |[ ZL _ s37 (Mason County Address), s51 (Washington State), $61 per year out of state www.masoncounty.com • RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 m Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 - Page A-5