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Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012
Week 36 -- The Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- Published for Mason County and Ray Anderson of Union -- $1
First-degree murder among three convictions
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie(~'mc~oncounty.com
A jury found Travis Carl Baze guilty
of first-degree murder yesterday after-
noon in Mason County Superior Court
after deliberating for an hour and 20
minutes.
Baze, 28, was also found guilty of first-
degree assault and first-degree robbery
in connection with a beating of Shawn
Joseph Morrow, 23, on March 26. Mor-
row died of his injuries on March 30.
All of the counts involved enhance-
ments for the use of deadly weapons.
The prosecution and defense gave
their final arguments yesterday morn-
ing in Mason County Superior Court in
the first-degree murder trial of Travis
Carl Baze.
Baze was accused of assault, robbery
and murder in connection to the beat-
ing of Morrow that ultimately led to his
death at a public fishing area just north
of Bayshore on State Route 3. Celtic
Bazes sentencing is scheduled for
Oct. 15. While sentencing is complicat- Festi.al'" :,
ed when multiple charges are involved,
Mason County Prosecutor Mike Dorcy
said Baze will likely serve more than 20
See Trial on page A-5
Journa~ photo by Gordon Weeks
Lusina Hernandez lifts the hood from her 6-year-old son Alex while 8-year-old Carlos looks on before they enter
Evergreen Elementary School in Shelton on the first day of school yesterday, The brothers wore matching
Jackets.
results for Mason County schools
By GORDON WEEKS
...... g ord n@ nasoncounty.com
The Grapeview School District
students who attended the fourth
grade d~g the 2011-12 school
year soared in reading comprehen-
sion. The seventh graders in the
Southside School District, south-
east of Shelton, excelled at writing.
Almost two-thirds of the teach-
ers in the Pioneer School District
have at least a master's degree. Al-
most every student in the Hood Ca-
nal School District was eligible to
receive a free or reduced price meal
at school.
' " Those are among the findings of
the 2012 state standardized tests
and school district demographic
data, which were released last
week by the state Office of the Sfl-
perintendent of Public Instruction.
Students in all grades were tested
in math and reading, but not all
grades were tested in writing and
science.
The results are from the admin-
istration of Measurements of Stu-
dent Progress (MSP), High School
Proficiency Exams (HSPEs) and
high school End-of-Course (EOC)
exams. To see the scores at individ-
ual schools, go to the state's website
at www.kl2.wa.us and click on the
"State Report Card" button.
In the Shelton School District, ev-
ery grade from third through eighth
improved its math scores from the
previous year. The percentage of
students who met or exceeded state
of seventh graders, and from 57 to
63 percent of eighth graders.
D~ Pam Farr, the Shelton School
District's executive director of teach-
ing and learning, said the reaSons for
the improved math scores include
the teachers better understanding
of the state test, professional learn-
ing time set aside for teachers every
other Friday. more frequent assess-
standards in math rose from 57 to. ments of student progress and high-
58 percent amongst third graders, er expectations of students because
from 54 to 58 amongst fourth grad- of increased success.
ers, from 45 to 50 percent of fifth Farr pointed ot~t that while 45
graders, from 49 to 60 percent of
sixth graders, from 49 to 65 percent See Testing on page A-5
Countersuit
• filed over
Ridge
allegations
First court hearing
scheduled for Sept. 10
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masonzountyx~om
Rodney and Karen Pow-'~
ell, co-owners of The Ridge
Motorsports Park, filed a
countersuit on Aug, 28, in
response to a lawsuit from
co-owner Joel M. Manke
filed on Aug. 14, alleging
breach of contract by Rod
Powell, infliction of emo-
tional distress and other*
charges.
"We are deeply disap-
pointed that these differ-
ences could not be settled
in private, we have built a
number of companies over
the years, "and good busi-
ness dictates issues like this°
stay behind closed doors,"
the Powells wrote in a state-
ment to the Shelton-Mason
County Journal. "Sadly, not
everyone has that same pri-
vate point of view. Karen
and I will continue to oper-~
ate the companies so that
these difficulties are trans-
parent to the larger motor-
sports community."
The countersuit denies
any wrongdoing on behalf of
the Powells, specifically de-
nying a breach of contract,
improper arrangements'
with contractors described
in Manke's lawsuit as "se-
cret dealings," improper
accounting practices, inflic-
tion of emotional distress
by Rod Powell on Manke
and breach of management
agreements.
The countersuit brings
forward several counter-
claims against Manke.
First, Powell's counter-
suit specifically denies the
Manke lawsuit's claim that
Manke held a 75 percent
share in the track, while
Pow¢ll held a 25 percent
share. The countersuit
states that income tax re-
turn records prove a 50/50
split of shares between the
two owners.
The countersuit also al-
leges that Manke has com-
missioned unnecessary work
on the track, at times mak-
ing "side deals with custom-
Port approves fairgrounds plan
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masorwounty.com
The Port of Shelton Com-
mission made a step in a
new direction Tuesday and
approved a Fairgrounds Re-
s IIII0! !l!!ll!U!!!l1112
location Plan by a vote of
2-1.
Commissioners Dick Tay-
lor and Tom Wallitner voted
in favor of the plan, which
suggests creating a citizens'
committee with the task of
finding a new location for a
county fairgrounds.
"I think it's time to move
forward," Wallitner said. "It
looks to me to be a question
of where do we move it ~o
and how do we pay for it."
The plan states that
the fairgrounds should be
moved, but does not specify
by whom. Taylor said he
does not intend the port to
run the advisory committee.
"The current property is
not appropriate for a fair-
ground," the plan states.
Commissioner Jay Hupp
See Fairgrounds on page A-5
Port of Shelton
Commissioner
Jay Hupp
voted against
a Fairgrounds
Relocation
Plan Tuesday.
Journal unoto DV Natalie Jonnson
ers providing for discounted,
or even non-paying, use of
the track facilities."
The countersuit alleges
that Manke has failed to
account for thousands of
dollars associated with the
Ridge Motorsports Group
and Pacific Motorsports
Management, companies
owned by Powell and Man-
ke.
Manke and Powell never
signed a formal manage-
ment agreement for either
company, and on June 25
See Suit on page A-5