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Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012
week 35 - The Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- PubliShed for Mason County and Nan Stricklin of Shelton -- $1
Court:
County
acted
improperly
Residents push county
to act on decision
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncounty.com
For more than three
years, Mason County has
been battling a complaint
from the Teamsters Local
252 union alleging that the
county refused to bargain in
good faith, violating RCW
41.56.140(4).
This summer, a Thurston
County judge upheld thd
complaint, and concluded
that the Mason County
Board of Commissioners en-
gaged in unfair bargaining
practices when it rejected
a contract that had been
signed by the union in April
2009.
During the commission's
regular meeting on Tuesday
evening, Annette McGee,
Mason County resident and
former county commissmn-
er, asked the commission-
ers what they planned to do
about the recent decision.
"I was blown away lit-
erally when all this came
down," she said. "There's
questions. The public needs
to be informed. It can't be
hidden any longer."
The Teamsters filed their
complaint on April 27, 2009,
on behalf of four bargaining
units it represents among
county staff, including gen-
eral services, appraisers,
probation services and ju-
venile detention. The union
filed a fifth complaint on
behalf of the International
Union of Operating Engi-
neers, Local 302, which rep-
resented public works em-
ployees.
The matter came be-
fore hearing examiner Joel
Greene, who found that the
county did in fact violate its
obligation to bargain in good
faith when the commission
rejected the negotiated con-
tracts.
The counW appealed the
decision to the Public Em-
ployment Relations Com-
mission (PERC), which af-
firmed the hearings exam-
iner's opinion in October
2011.
The PERC decision states
that then county Human Re-
sources Manager T.J. Mar-
tin led the union to believe
that the contracts would be
approved by the county com-
mission.
"...the Examiner found
that at the time the employ-
er was making its economic
proposals, the employer
was aware of its economic
situation but continued to
assure the union that the
agreements would be rati-
fied," the PERC decision
states. "Thus, according to
the Examiner, the employer
was not permitted to with-
draw from its proposals. We
agree."
The opinion stated that
the county could not with-
draw from a negotiated
contract due to monetary
concerns at the beginning
of the recession because the
commission and county staff
knew about its financial sit-
uation during bargaining.
The contracts appeared
on the commission's agenda
on April 7, 2009, and were
See County on page A-8
8 IIIIU! !l!!ll!!!U!l1112
Concern over service, conduct
prompt fire district merger petition
i ~i i"
By NATALIEJOHNSON Mike DeCapua and Trevor Sever- ........ ::
natalie@masoncou~ty.com once, residents of Mason County Fire
District 9 have circulated a letter this
month asking residents of Fire District
Mason County's 16 fire districts often 9 to approve a merger of part of the dis-
work together to provide fire protection trict with Mason County. Fire District 6.
and emergency medical services to resi-
dents of the county See erger on page
Grant Wolfkill, left, is presented with a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Marines, by Captain
to mark 50 years since he was released from a communist Pathet Lao prison in Laos in 1962.
Journa phOtO by Natalie Johnson
Darren Beatty,
Medal of Honor recipient celebrates 50 years as a free man
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncounty.com
Grant Wolfkill has been
through a terrible ordeal un-
imaginable to most people,
but he doesn't dwell on it.
On Aug. 18, Wolfldll's friends and family
celebrated his 50 years of freedom after being
captured and held in a Laotian prison for 15
months in the early 1960s.
While it was unlucky to be captured, he fo-
cuses on being lucky to be alive.
On May 15, 1961, Wolfkill, an NBC news
cameraman stationed in Southeast Asia,
caught a ride on a helicopter in an effort to
"I've been very lucky in my aim troops
breaking a cease-fire agreement in
Laos.
life,"
the Shelton resident The helicopter, a privately owned craft con-
said. tracted with U.S. forces in the area, crashed
due to mechanical failure, stranding Wolfkill
and two other Americans -- Edward Shore,
the helicopter's pilot, and John McMorrow, the
mechanic.
Not long after the crash, the three men
were captured by communist Pother Lao fore-
es. Over the next 15 months, they were held as
prisoners Of war in several makeshift prisons,
each seemingly worse than the last.
Wolfkill published his account of his time as
a Pathet Lao prisoner in his book, "Reported to
See Freedom on page A-8
Waste spill causes concern
Landlord~tenant issue
leads tO county order
By NATALIE JOHNSON
nataIie@mas°nc°u nty'c°m
Hood Canal boasts" some of the
best shellfish beaches and scenic
vacation destinations the North-
west has to offer, but in the past
several years bacteria problems
and a low dissolved oxygen con-
tent has left environmentalists
struggling to address the damage.
This summer, an aging septing
system has been leaking raw sew-
age into a drainage ditch on the
westbound side of State Route
106, which flows into Hood Canal.
At the root of that leak is a bit-
ter landlord/tenant dispute at the
Union Bay Cabins.
"This used to be the cutest lit-
tle place three months ago," said
tenant David Dunkum.
Now the septic system is over-
See Spill on page A-7
Water from a the
septic system serving
the Union Bay Cabins,
on State Route 106
overflows down the
driveway for the
cabins. The Mason
County Department of
Public Health and
Human Services has
issued an order that the
septic system must be
repaired by this week
or the property must be
vacated.
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson