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LETTERS THE
An excellent judge
Editor, the
Judge Cadine Ferguson-Brown
is running for election to the Su-
perior Court. Over 40 years, I
practiced in front of more than 15
local superior court and district
court judges, as well as many court
commissioners, and have been a
commissioner myself in both ju-
venile court and probate—domestic
court. We have been extremely
fortunate here because of the really
high quality of almost all of these
judges. l have spoken at length to
Judge Ferguson—Brown, and she
impresses as someone who is al—
ready an excellent judge for Mason
County.
How to decide? First, lookat her
supporters. The many local judges
and lawyers who have supported
her are people who only want to
make sure the system is as good as
it can be for everyone. I know most _
of them and trust their opinions.
Second, look at what she chose
to do as a lawyer before becoming
a judge. She has been involved in
all sorts of cases, not just crimi—
nal matters, because she has an
interest in the people and issues
that come up. Most people who
are parties in court proceedings
would rather have their domestic
relations, probate, real property,
guardianship, business, personal
injury, and so on, cases heard by
someone with a demonstrated in—
terest in clients who are involved
in matters that aren’t. just criminal
cases. These parties are real people
who need someone who can under“
stand the law‘that matters to them,
and also understand them and
their circumstances.
Robert Wilson—H055
Shelton
Shellfish lease
Editor, the Journal,
The proposed Taylor Shellfish
aquaculture lease is a complex is-
sue that requires careful consider»
ation. One aspect that seems to be
overlooked is the economic ben—
efits that the lease would bring to
the state and the local community.
The lease would generate revenue
from the products sold by the com-
pany, as well as the lease fee paid
to the Washington state Depart—
ment of Natural Resources.
DNR uses the lease fees from
aquatic lands to fund the aquatic
lands enhancement account, which
supports public access and main—
tenance of recreational areas on
aquatic lands.
The lease would also contribute
to the production and export of
goods, which is Vital for the health
of our economy. Many of our in—
dustries are based on services and
imports, which create a negative
trade balance and weaken our cur—
rency. We should support busi—
nesses that create value and ex—
port products, which improve our
trade balance and strengthen our
economy.
As a resident of Allyn, I respect
the opinions of the Shelton com-
munity and their right to decide on
this project. However, I think it is
important to consider all the facts
and implications before making a
decision on this proposal.
Philip Wolff
Allyn
Letter policy
Editor, the Journal,
Editor Justin Johnson has a
new letter policy. What problem
did it fix? If newsprint’s expensive,
eliminate “Mary’s Memoirs,” 3 bor—
ing 1949 diary. Johnson claimed:
“some writers present lies or mis—
leading information,” followed
with “we don’t fact check every
letter.” How do you determine
statements are lies or misleading
if no fact—checking? Most letters
are opinions; the editorial page is
called Opinion. If you don’t want
opinions, change the name. Dic—
tionary defines opinion as a View,
judgment or appraisal. Readers
should read opposing opinions.
People can make their own in-
formed decisions when they are
able to hear both sides. Thomas
Paine said, “If you’re afraid to of—
fend, you can’t be honest!” The
Journal should support informa-
tion sharing; Johnson prefers lct—
ters about local issues. We don’t
live in a bubble. There’s likely fen—
tanyl, manufactured in China and
smuggled from Mexico, in Mason
County. We are part of that world.
Issues from Washington, DC, and
Olympia are important. Why limit
letters to local issues? Why must
we write letters to your scale of im—
portance? That’s censorship. Let—
ters limited to 300 words won’t re-
duce misinformation. The reverse
is more logical; more detail helps
define issues. It took 700 words to
state your letters policy. No 300-
word limit for you.
Mr. Mullen wants the Journal
to interact with our neighbors.
Letters are popular yet this policy
seems to discourage letters in the
Journal. Newspapers are going
extinct; witness The Olympian.
Young people get their news from
the internet. Most Journal readers
are old—timers. Johnson’s arbitrary
rules limit information sharing. Let
Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 — Shelton-Mason County Journal Page 5
us decide what to read and write
for ourselves; return to the previ—
ous policy.
Ardean Anvik
Shelton
Bible lust
Editor, the Journal,
...and those who danced were
thought crazy by those who didn’t
hear the music.
We are all complicated crea-
tures, each individual thinks their
way of approaching life, and self-
limiting exposure to ideas and
modifying certain behaviors are
much better ways than others’ con—
trary ways of thinking. Ethics is of
ten situational marinated in shades
of gray and not always in black and
white.
Many are now saying school
kids shouldn’t be reading books
with salacious stories contained
therein. Those who want to ban
those books likely wouldn’t and
haven’t spoken out publicly to de-
mand that the Bible be taken out
of circulation and censured for its
salacious content too.
Example: Ezekiel 23:20 “There
she lusted after her lovers, whose
[bleep] were like those of donkeys
and whose [bleep] was like that of
horses.”A great library has some-
thing therein to offend everyone.
Darrell Barker
Shelton
Editor’s note: Thefirllowing
letter makes a claim that Judge
Cadine Ferguson—Brown did not
attend law school. According to a
response by the Governor’s Office,
Judge Fcrguson—Brown attended
the School ofLegal Studies at the
University of Wolverhampton in
the United Kingdom from 1997—
and is a member of the New
York and Washington state bar
associations.
Ask questions
Editor, the Journal,
Why won’t anyone ask Judge
Cadine Ferguson-Brown the hard
questions? Up until her appoint-
ment by Gov. Jay Inslee, she never
did a civil trial in Superior Court.
All she ever did before her ap—
pointment was immigration law
and worked as a guardian ad litem,
which you don’t even have to be a
lawyer to do. She never even went
to law school. Her main qualifica—
tion seems to be that her appoint-
ment checked boxes for Inslee.
Curtis Fosdick
Shelton
The Shelton-Mason County Journal
encourages original letters to the editor of
local interest. Diverse and varied opinions
are welCome. We will not publish letters that
are deemed libelous or scurrilous in nature.
We reserve the right to reject any letter
for any reason. When submitting a letter,
please observe the following guidelines:
Writers are limited to one original letter
plus one rebuttal or counter-rebuttal per
Journal Letter Policy
The weekly deadline is 5 pm. Monday.
Letters received after that time will run
in the following week’s edition. All letters
must be signed and include the writer’s
name, physical address and daytime phone
number, which will be used for verification
purposes only. To submit a letter, email it to
editor@masoncounty.com. Please type your
letter directly into the email or attach a Word
document. Letters submitted via external
Phone and Internet Discounts
Available to CenturyLink Customers
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month and business services are $43.50 per month.
Specific rates will be provided upon request.
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Residents who live on federally recognized Tribal
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calendar month; Letters should be no more linksor cloud drives will not be
opened. You
than 300 words; Letters will be edited for
grammar; spelling, style, clarity and length.
may also drop it off at 227 W. Cota St., or
mail it to PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584.
1‘800—201—4099 with questions.
Priority will be given to local opinion and
topics. Letters about national politics and
topics will run on a space—available basis;
Due to time constraints, the publication
of handwritten or typed letters may be y
‘ A
delayed. 7
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