September 10, 2020 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Page A—8 — Shelton-Mason County Journal -'Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020
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no meeting rooms, no restrooms, and no computer use at this time.
93W, gala/3W Tahuya man
killed bytree
By Boxleitner
kbox/eitner@mascncounty.com
Labor Day weekend ended with a
death due to high winds and an ex-
tended closure of a highway due to a
wildfire in Mason County.
Tahuya resident Jon F. Maves, 75,
was killed about 11:45 a.m. on Sept.
‘ 7 while he was trying to find trees on
his property that might be hazardous
due to the high winds that were blow- .
ing, according to Mason County Coro-
ner Wes Stockwell. Stockwell said the
falling tree that struck Maves was rot—
ten and snapped at its base, striking
Maves.
The death was investigated by the
coroner and the Mason County Sher-
iffs Department.
Also on Monday, a wildfire just
north of Lilliwaup shut down U.S.
Highway 101 for more than 14 hours
from the evening to the next morning.
Washington State Patrol troopers
were on the scene of the wildfire along
U.S. 101 near milepost 326. Initial
reports suggested power lines were
knocked down.
WSP Trooper Brian Johanson
tweeted that crews were dropping wa—
ter on the fire and that workers with
the state Department of Transporta—
tion and Mason County Public Utility
District 1 were on the scene.
At 8:25 p.m., Johanson tweeted the
fire had spread to trees near power
lines, presenting additional hazards
to crews, although the initial report of
downed power lines had not been con-
firmed.
By 5:28 a.m. on Tuesday, Johanson
tweeted that state Department of Nat-
ural Resources workers were working
-to control the fire and provide crowd
control, and WSDOT and state troop-
ers had cleared the scene, but the road
remained blocked near Lilliwaup.
By 9:33 a.m. later that day, Johan-
son reported the road reopened. Mason
County Fire Districts 1, 6, 16, 17 and
18 were all toned to this event, accord-
ing to Fire District 17 Chief Nadine
Brown, while Fire District 16 Chief
Matthew Welander served as the ini-
tial incident commander.
Welander told the Shelton-Mason
County Journal it was a l-acre fire
that had threatened one house, and he
commended the on-scene responders
for “putting themselves between the
fire and that home.”
Janet Pearce, communications
manager for the Department of Natu-
r’al Resources, told the Journal two
fire engines remained on the scene as
of 11-230 a.m. Tuesday.
Pearce said an investigation needed
to be conducted, but that the fire was
“human-caused.”
College prepares for new year
By Kirk Boxleitner
kbox/eitner@masoncounty. com
Allison Smith, the Shelton commu-
nity education manager for Olympic
College, can point to a few programs
where in-person instruction is still re-
quired on campus, including welding
and nursing certifications. .
. But even in those cases, admittance
to campus is strict.
“Before you even come onto campus,
you have to fill out a Whole stack of
forms, and confirm you have no symp—
toms,” Smith said.
The campus computer lab also is
open to students because of the many
students in the county who live in ar-
eas without internet access. Those who
wish to use the lab must make reser—
vations, given the limited number of
students who can occupy the lab while
maintaining safe distances. ..
Such distancing limits are also wh
the campus’ few in—person classes have
had to offer more sessions — each class
can now accommodate fewer students.
“We’re already a very small cam-
pus,” Smith said.
Even with Olympic College going
“mostly remote,” according to Smith,
in its lesson plans up to January, it’s
still a relatively expensive proposition '
to keep the school running, even before
, anticipated budget cuts of between
10% to 20% next year. .
Smith said the campus was sani-
tized in March, but every time a stu-
dent leaves an area such as the com-
puter lab, that space is sanitized.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS
With the expenses of maintaining
the school’s operations, coupled with
the number of buildings that are new
unused, Smith said Olympic College
has been considering shutting some
buildings down while ensuring they
remain in proper repair.
Smith expressed her gratitude to
the financial assistance provided by
the CARES Act, and looks forward to
any further money the state. or federal
governments provides.
“All our offices are still open vir—
tually,” Smith said. “People can still
contact the counseling, admission and
financial aid offices during our regular
working hours. If anything, I think our
staff has been working even harder as
a result of working from‘ home, be-
cause when you’re at home, it’s that
much harder to tell yourself, ‘No, it’s
past 5:30 p.m., and you need to put
this work away for the, day.”’
Smith lamented Olympic College’s
drop in enrollment, but she said it’s
an inevitable consequence of so many
courses being offered online-only,
which she noted can be intimidating to
less tech-savvy students! '
Such challenges were compounded
by Olympic College. transitioning to
a new computer system earlier this
year, less than two months before the
pandemic hit.
“It slowed everything down at first,”
Smith said, “because we were all
learning how to use this new system,
and from home to boot, but once we get
used to it, it should facilitate our dis-
tance learning.”
Dillon Bohdi Hebert Wheaten, a boy, was born on August 28, 2020, to
Kristin Maria Wheaten and Toby James Hebert, at Capital Medical Center in
Olympia, WA. He was 7 pounds, 3 ounces. '