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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 6, 2012     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 6, 2012
 
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..... . ~ • . O w q ~t~; q':',F H~ ~ :~:: ; ~ ~ ~ ~ %~:~! ~':~:G :"~ i iiT~4~(i¸: fi~?:~, ..... ' ~:;!f, bS"l "{~%,;} 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