September 8, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Oyster beaches closed due to bacteria
By KEVAN MOORE
Several people who ate raw Hood
Canal oysters have gotten sick from
a naturally occurring bacteria called
Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Cooking
shellfish thoroughly prevents vibrio-
sis illness and is especially important
during the summer months when
warm temperatures and low tides al-
low the bacteria to thrive.
State health officials close a shell-
fish growing area when there are
four or more sporadic illnesses in a
specific area; this recently happened
in Samish Bay and in Hood Canal 5,
which runs from Clark Creek (about
a mile north of Hoodsport) north to
Cummings Pointe.
Oyster harvest in both areas has
been closed by the state Department
of Health to reduce exposure to Vibrio
bacteria. There have been other vib-
riosis cases identified this summer,
scattered around the state's growing
areas. Typically, Washington sees
about 50 cases of vibriosis a year.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria
are found naturally in the environ-
ment. When water temperature ris-
es, so does the chance of dangerous
bacterial growth. The warm weather
and daytime low tides have likely
contributed to the latest cases of ill-
ness.
Symptoms of vibriosis include di-
arrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea,
vomiting, headache, fever, and chills.
The symptoms usually appear about
12 hours after eating infected shell-
fish, but they can begin within two
hours or as late as 48 hours after con-
sumption. The illness is usually mod-
erate and lasts for two to seven days;
however, it can be more serious, even
life threatening to people with weak
immune systems or chronic liver
disease. Teking certain medications
may make vibriosis more likely to oc-
cur after eating shellfish.
To help keep shellfish safe to eat,
keep them cool from the time they
are harvested until the time they are
cooked. Thorough cooking will kill
the bacteria, making the shellfish
safe to eat. Food safety specialists
recommend oysters be cooked to an
internal temperature of 145 ° F to kill
the bacteria.
More information, including maps
of the affected areas, is available on
the agency's website (http://www.
doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/default-sf.htm).
It's important to remember that just
because an area doesn't appear to be
closed because of Vibrio parahaemo-
lyticus, it may be closed for marine
biotoxins. Check our biotoxin Web
page (http://ww4.doh.wa.gov/gis/mo-
gifs/biotoxin.htm) to make sure an
area you wish to harvest in is free
from marine biotoxins.
County
releases
preliminary
budget
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Mason County released
its preliminary 2012 bud-
get for the first time during
the regular Board of Coun-
ty Commissioners meeting
Tuesday morning.
"We are presenting the
anticipated revenues and
the anticipated expendi-
tures from each elected
official and each depart-
ment director," said Kar-
en Herr, Mason County
Auditor.
Herr addressed the com-
mission Tuesday, and gave
a brief outline of the bud-
get.
According to the prelim-
inary budget, the county
expects revenues total-
ing $23,739,767. Total re-
quested expenditures at
this point in the budget
process total $24,454,287,
resulting in a $714,520
deficit.
"These figures are very
similar to last year," Herr
said.
County department
heads and staff members
Journal photo by Natafie Johnson
Mason County Auditor Karen Herr presented the preliminary 2012
county budget to the county commission Tuesday.
have worked to draft the
preliminary since July,
when the county commis-
sion gave them initial bud-
get instructions.
"Each department was
asked to submit a budget
at the same level or below
their current June 30, 2011
level," Herr said.
Most departments com-
plied with the commis-
sion's request to keep fund-
ing levels at the status quo.
"For the fourth year
in a row, these budgets
do not include any salary
increases for the depart-
ment directors, for the 80
plus employees not repre-
sented by a union, or for
any elected official, with
the exception of the three
percent salary increase for
the board of commission-
ers," Herr said.
Herr said there are also
no new provisions for new
contractual obligations
with "employee bargaining
units."
"Weighing our available
resources, with what ser-
vices are essential to our
citizens, will no doubt be
quite a challenge," Herr
said.
The preliminary budget,
totaling 331 pages, consists
of three different sections
- current expenses, spe-
cial and enterprise funds,
and an 11 page condensed
budget with comparisons
to previous budgets.
Copies of the budget
documents are available at
www.co.mason.wa.us.
State test scores show good, bad and
ugly results for Mason County kids
By ARLA SHEPHARD
Local school districts welcomed good
and bad news last week, as the Wash-
ington state Office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction released the results
of last spring's standardized test scores.
High school sophomores took the
High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE),
consisting of reading, writing, math and
science portions, and are required to
pass the reading and writing exams or a
state-approved alternative in 2011 and
2012 to graduate high school.
Students were also offered End of
Course (EOC) exams in algebra and ge-
ometry; in 2013 and 2014, graduating
classes will be required to pass one math
EOC exam with the HSPE reading and
writing, and in the class of 2015, stu-
dents will need to pass two math EOCs,
the HSPE reading and writing and a Bi-
ology EOC to graduate.
In the Shelton School District, 75.9
percent of tenth-graders passed the
writing portion of the HSPE and 79.7
percent passed the writing (see website
reportcard.ospi,kl2.wa.us).
While little more than 20 percent of
tenth-graders passed the math HSPE,
55.6 percent of students in all grades
passed the EOC Math Year 1 exam (Al-
gebra) and 74.2 percent passed the EOC
Math Year 2 exam (Geometry).
"We actually had some very good
news and some great gains in the school
district," said Pare Farr, director of
teaching and learning at Shelton School
District. '%Ve're very proud of our kids."
Third- through eighth-graders took
the Measurements of Student Progress
(MSP) exam, and in the Shelton School
District students across the board held
steady in reading -- more than 50 per-
cent ofstudents in all grade levels passed,
All grades levels in the Shelton School
District showed improvement over last
year's math MSP scores: third- and
eighth-graders performed the best with
57.3 percent passing in each grades and
fifth-graders performed the least well
with a 45.3 percent pass rate.
Shelton School District students also
improved in writing and science; 71.2
percent of seventh-graders passed the
writing and 47.4 percent of fifth-graders
passed science - a more than 20 percent
improvement over the previous year.
About 4,200 students attend schools
in the Shelton School District, with a 5.4
percent dropout rate in 2010, the most
recent year for which data is available,
and 61.3 percent qualifying for free or
reduced lunch in 2011.
At little more than half the size of the
Shelton School District, about 83 per-
cent of North Mason sophomores passed
the reading and writing HSPE, 46.4 per-
cent passed the EOC Math Year 1 and
58.5 percent passed Math Year 2 (See
story in this week's Belfair Herald for
more North Mason scores).
Mary M. Knight sophomores per-
formed well in everything but math
-- 82.4 percent passed reading, 94.1
percent passed writing and 50 percent
passed science.
Only one-third of students in all
grades passed either of the EOC Math
exams. Overall at Mary M. Knight, less
than a third of each grade level passed
math beyond fourth-grade.
Each grade level taking the MSP
performed lower than the same grade
level in math the previous year, except
for fourth-grade. Sixth- through eighth-
graders also performed lower in reading
over the previous year.
Some of the results were particularly
dismal -- only 29.4 percent of Mary M.
Knight seventh:graders passed reading
and 11.8 percent passed math (see web-
site).
About 190 students attend Mary M.
Knight schools, with a 1.9 percent drop-
out rate in 2010 and 56.7 percent on free
or reduced lunch in 2011.
The K through 8 Pioneer School Dis-
trict, with 766 students enrolled in May
2011, witnessed drops in reading scores
among eve:y grade but fourth and sixth,
which scored the highest with 75 per-
cent of students passing.
Writing scores held steady with a
nearly 50 percent pass rate in fourth-
and seventh-grade and science scores
improved over last year -- 34.9 per-
cent of fifth-graders and 64.2 percent of
eighth-graders passed.
Except for students in the eighth-
grade, math scores improved or held
steady, with sixth:graders again posting
the best scores at a 59.7 percent pass
rate, a 30 percent jump over the sixth-
graders of the previous year.
About 57 percent of Pioneer students
qualify for free or reduced price lunch.
At the Southside School District,
where 223 students attended in May
2011 and 48 percent qua[ified for free
or reduced price lunch, math scores im-
proved overall, while reading slightly
dipped over the previous year and writ-
ing and science held steady.
Math and reading scores hovered
mostly at the 50 percent pass rate or
below, with notable exceptions in third-
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and sixth-grade reading.
At the Hood Canal School District,
more than half of all students in each
grade did not pass the math test, with
less than a 30 percent pass rate in all
but third- and fifth-grade.
Scores for reading ranged from a 31.9
percent pass rate in seventh-grade and
an 84.8 percent pass rate in third-grade
(see story on page A-8).
All but one of the 347 students en-
rolled at Hood Canal in May 2011 quali-
fied for free or reduced-price lunch (99.7
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Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, September 8, 2011 - Page A-3