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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 13, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 13, 2007
 
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00ournal of Opinion: On the home front Another census of Mason County's homeless has been taken, once again spotlighting one of the community's most heartrending problems often hidden from view. The situation becomes especially disturbing with autumn's approaching cold nights, when the elements literally will chill to the bone the unfortunate inhabitants of the woods and streets. When you read the numbers - 504 people with no home or at risk of losing their shelter - remember that those figures are low. Census takers, because they don't have the resources to go out and seek the homeless, depend on people coming forward to be counted. That's a great start, says Lisa Hayes of the Cold and Hungry Coalition, but it doesn't record the majority of the homeless, who by definition are very private. Most are ashamed or afraid to come forward. So the 504 are "a scary representation of what really exists," Hayes says. She estimates at least 1,500 utterly homeless in the woods, in cars and on the streets. While decision-makers are doing their best with limited funds to support at-risk people who come forward for aid, most of the truly homeless aren't being helped, she says. Hayes contends you cannot solve a problem or obtain the resources to solve it if it's not defined accurately. She praises the work being done to help the homeless here but believes it will continue to be a partial solution as long as the census portrays an inaccurate picture. Meanwhile, she continues work with the coalition to reopen the emergency cold-weather shelter in Saint David's Parish Hall in Shelton on freezing nights this year. Last winter it cost $17,000 to run the shelter, and this year the county allocated $2,500, which means thousands of dollars must be raised. Anyone with a heart for the homeless may send a check to the Cold and Hungry Coalition at 329 West Railroad, #203, Shelton. Or you can volunteer to staff the shelter, donate blankets or sleeping bags or call Hayes at 490- 1411 for information. Or give food to the soup kitchen downtown or support other ministries that serve the poor and homeless. It wouldn't hurt, either, to act socially and politically to strike at the heart of things causing homelessness. For, when the homeless are surveyed, loss of a job isn't the main reason they're on the street. It's sixth. The top five in order" are family breakup, alcohol or drug use, domestic violence, inability to pay rent or a mortgage and conviction for a felony crime. That's a ton of work that needs to be done to solve a problem in a society where most look the other way. On the waterfront Just as the Oakland Bay Action Plan is approved in an attempt to clean up the mess humans have made of a beautiful body of water at one end of the county, a proposal is made for a monstrous resort on Hood Canal that would affect an equally beautiful body of water at the other end. The proposed Brinnon Master Planned Resort isn't in Mason County. It's a few miles over the Jefferson County line. But just as a NASCAR track in Kitsap County a few miles from Belfair would have had drastic effects on Mason County, so would the Brinnon resort change the nature of this county's northwest tip. If you moved to Brinnon because it's Brinnon - someplace in the middle of nowhere - this is your worst nightmare. If a $300- million resort at Pleasant Harbor with a hotel, 890 rental units, golf course, 290-slip marina, commercial village and conference center is built, Brinnon will have lost its character. As the hearing process before Jefferson County officials begins this month, some in Brinnon are excited about the possibility of an economic boost, same as for the NASCAR track. Others are extremely concerned. At a time when Hood Canal has an oxygen deficit because of pollution, developers hope to bring thousands more people to the shores of the fragile tord. Tireless defender of the environment, Donna Simmons of Hoodsport, says her Hood Canal Environmental Council has deep concerns about whether developers can mitigate the impacts of the resort on the environment. Water quality will be a huge issue, she says. An estimated 42 acres at the resort would be impervious surface; that's a lot of stormwater. Questions remain about aquifers and drinking water for thousands. Simmons recalls her first inkling that Hood Canal had a pollution problem. It was st 1972 study indicating high levels of bacterial coliform. For 35 years some residents have been concerned about pollution while others poured still more pollutants into the water. One house, one business or one farm dumping nitrogen into the canal won't ruin the body of water, but there is a cumulative impact of all the development over the years. And a Brinnon resort would not be a minor addition. -CG l ,,.,.ton- ournal (00ounty usPs 492-600 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ShaRon-Mason County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by Shelton Publishing Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $31.00 per year in-county address, $45.00 per year in state of Washington $55.00 per year out of state Charles Gay, editor and publisher. Newsroom: Sean Hanlon, managing editor; Steve Patch, sports editor; Jeff Green, general assignment, city government, schools, Port of Shelton; Rebecca Wells, society editor, county government; Mary Duncan, police, courts. Advertising: Stephen Gay, advertising manager; Dave Pierlk and Harvey Morris, ad sales. Front office: Julle Orme, business manager; Kathy Lester, circulation; Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper; Cricket Carter, mallroom supervisor. Composing room: Diane Rlordan, supervisor; Margot Brand, Jan Kalltnen, pagination; Frank Isaac, pagination, photo technician; Koleen Wood, typesetter, computer system manager; William Adams, ad builder, computer system manager;, Clinton Kendall, proofreader. Prewroom: Nick Carr, pressman; Jon Hughes, pressman's assistant. u Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 13, 2007 ,7!  //./" /t il ,• "FII00T Coot DO YOU "TI.IINK Tt0000Y'LL Go AFT00 NLZY3 ", DICK?' i00eaders" ¢]ournal: Vet story had negative spin Editor, The Journal: I was extremely disappointed to read last week's front-page story regarding Allison Moore, the first female member of the Shelton 40 et 8. You took what should have been a positive ar- ticle and put a very negative spin on it. Several of the facts as you reported them are, in my opinion, inaccurate and misleading. I do have a little background knowledge of the 40 et 8. My fa- ther, a World War II veteran, was proud to be an active member of the 40 et 8 in Okanogan County for years. My mother, even after his death, continued her active membership in the women's aux- iliary association of the 40 et 8. My husband, a retired Special Forces sergeant, is a new mem- ber of the 40 et 8 in Shelton. I contacted the National Voi- ture of the 40 et 8 for additional information. At the national con- vention in 2006, they changed their bylaws to accept women. Until the fall of 2006, a local chapter could not grant member- ship to female veterans, even if it wished to do so. Here is an excerpt from an August 2007 press release for the Voiture Nationale regarding women in the 40 et 8: "The Forty & Eight was Amer- ica's only remaining all-male vet- erans fraternity until last year when women members of The American Legion were, by con- vention floor vote, allowed en- try into the 88-year-old Forty & Eight honor society. The majori- ty opinion was that the increased role of women in the U.S. mili- tary, and the risks they endure in combat, have grown signifi- cantly from the all-male troops of WW I to today's male and female combat veterans of Iraq and Af- ghanistan." Regardless of whether Allison Moore's initial application for membership encountered any resistance, the facts are that she was accepted by majority vote into the Shelton 40 et 8 within months of the national organiza- tion making the bylaw change. I would contend that the club's quick decision indicates a willing- ness by the previously all-male membership to be open-minded and progressive. Furthermore, I have been a guest in the club on many occa- sions, as have female friends of mine. We are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy by those present. The negative inci- dent alluded to in the article was an isolated one unrelated to Alli- son's quest for membership and was resolved. I also take exception to the term, "gentleman's club," and what it implies. These "gentle- men" all share a common bond, in that they served in the armed forces during wartime, and the majority of them were in com- bat. They have joined together in a veterans' club to support each other and all rently serving in the They have put their lives line for this country. vice and membership in should not be trivialized term, "gentleman's club." I do applaud Allison's to be a groundbreaker, but concerned that your discourage additional and also men, from membership in the 40 et 8. is unfortunate. It is a sad that service clubs, such as 40 et 8, have an aging ship. While the Shelton is currently healthy, other are not as fortunate. been unable to attract a membership, therefore, dying a slow, painful death. Women can certainly do part to reinvigorate these d nizations, which have bee torically run by men. admission into the 40 et 8 have been handled as a women breaking through those remaining barriers a slam on the As a community you should do everything i power o support service zations and encourage ty members to take an in these clubs. aging articles such as th published last week are conflict with that role Pamela D. Mill sans sprinklers risked Editor, The Journal: The Journal's August 30 sto- ry of the Shearer Brothers mill burning described a devastat- ing loss to a local business. The article was brief and did not ad- dress an obvious question: Was the building sprinklered? And if not, why not? In the paper's subsequent re- port on September 6 it was re- vealed the plant indeed did not have sprinklers, having operated for years under the excuse of its being built as a "maintenance structure" not requiring sprin- klers. Of course it did run as a fully operational wood hog-fuel processing mill. This would raise the next ques- tion: How did the owner afford to risk the loss and endangerment of his employees, his business, the building, equipment and a dozen local jobs? The initial of a modern dry-pipe sprinkler system been an easy choice. As the fire marshal, the i ance underwriters and the will dictate, this won't again. And hopefully be a watchman on duty the next in-plant Those loose sticks jinx shi Editor, The Journak This week we were visited by yet another surprise and most un- welcome visitor to our buoy and boat that is moored out in front of our house. In the past year, on three separate occasions, we and our next-door neighbors have helplessly watched our boats and buoys being helplessly sucked out of the sand and floating away with one of the monster derelict boom- sticks guiding them down the bay and out to sea. In our eyes, there is no excuse for this problem that us boat own- ers have to bear for neglect in po- licing log booms in Oakland Bay. We see them freely floating by al- most every day just waiting and searching for a helpless buoy to affix to. Enough is enough! We need a daily log patrol by the owner of the booms to take these monsters back home where they belong and permanently secure the and for all. These logs are gational horror and essary. We do not want aY grief from someone else'S gence. People are fined for the roadways and dum refuse in the woods. Let's the littering of waterway s make it fair to all. Patty and Bob HammersleY Singing Medic One's praises Editor, The Journak The people at Mason County Medic One do not get enough praise for the job they do. There should be a billboard at both ends of town singing their praise; there should be a full-page ad in The Journal every week. I have had occasion three times in the last five years to call 911 for family members, and each time I have been impressed and grateful when their trucks have rolled into the driveway. These skilled young men and women not only take charge of the emergency at hand, compassion for the family friends of the patient is ing. You can bet I will alway  my support to Medic One! Cheryl 00ournal of Opinion: On the home front Another census of Mason County's homeless has been taken, once again spotlighting one of the community's most heartrending problems often hidden from view. The situation becomes especially disturbing with autumn's approaching cold nights, when the elements literally will chill to the bone the unfortunate inhabitants of the woods and streets. When you read the numbers - 504 people with no home or at risk of losing their shelter - remember that those figures are low. Census takers, because they don't have the resources to go out and seek the homeless, depend on people coming forward to be counted. That's a great start, says Lisa Hayes of the Cold and Hungry Coalition, but it doesn't record the majority of the homeless, who by definition are very private. Most are ashamed or afraid to come forward. So the 504 are "a scary representation of what really exists," Hayes says. She estimates at least 1,500 utterly homeless in the woods, in cars and on the streets. While decision-makers are doing their best with limited funds to support at-risk people who come forward for aid, most of the truly homeless aren't being helped, she says. Hayes contends you cannot solve a problem or obtain the resources to solve it if it's not defined accurately. She praises the work being done to help the homeless here but believes it will continue to be a partial solution as long as the census portrays an inaccurate picture. Meanwhile, she continues work with the coalition to reopen the emergency cold-weather shelter in Saint David's Parish Hall in Shelton on freezing nights this year. Last winter it cost $17,000 to run the shelter, and this year the county allocated $2,500, which means thousands of dollars must be raised. Anyone with a heart for the homeless may send a check to the Cold and Hungry Coalition at 329 West Railroad, #203, Shelton. Or you can volunteer to staff the shelter, donate blankets or sleeping bags or call Hayes at 490- 1411 for information. Or give food to the soup kitchen downtown or support other ministries that serve the poor and homeless. It wouldn't hurt, either, to act socially and politically to strike at the heart of things causing homelessness. For, when the homeless are surveyed, loss of a job isn't the main reason they're on the street. It's sixth. The top five in order" are family breakup, alcohol or drug use, domestic violence, inability to pay rent or a mortgage and conviction for a felony crime. That's a ton of work that needs to be done to solve a problem in a society where most look the other way. On the waterfront Just as the Oakland Bay Action Plan is approved in an attempt to clean up the mess humans have made of a beautiful body of water at one end of the county, a proposal is made for a monstrous resort on Hood Canal that would affect an equally beautiful body of water at the other end. The proposed Brinnon Master Planned Resort isn't in Mason County. It's a few miles over the Jefferson County line. But just as a NASCAR track in Kitsap County a few miles from Belfair would have had drastic effects on Mason County, so would the Brinnon resort change the nature of this county's northwest tip. If you moved to Brinnon because it's Brinnon - someplace in the middle of nowhere - this is your worst nightmare. If a $300- million resort at Pleasant Harbor with a hotel, 890 rental units, golf course, 290-slip marina, commercial village and conference center is built, Brinnon will have lost its character. As the hearing process before Jefferson County officials begins this month, some in Brinnon are excited about the possibility of an economic boost, same as for the NASCAR track. Others are extremely concerned. At a time when Hood Canal has an oxygen deficit because of pollution, developers hope to bring thousands more people to the shores of the fragile tord. Tireless defender of the environment, Donna Simmons of Hoodsport, says her Hood Canal Environmental Council has deep concerns about whether developers can mitigate the impacts of the resort on the environment. Water quality will be a huge issue, she says. An estimated 42 acres at the resort would be impervious surface; that's a lot of stormwater. Questions remain about aquifers and drinking water for thousands. Simmons recalls her first inkling that Hood Canal had a pollution problem. It was st 1972 study indicating high levels of bacterial coliform. For 35 years some residents have been concerned about pollution while others poured still more pollutants into the water. One house, one business or one farm dumping nitrogen into the canal won't ruin the body of water, but there is a cumulative impact of all the development over the years. And a Brinnon resort would not be a minor addition. -CG l ,,.,.ton- ournal (00ounty usPs 492-600 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ShaRon-Mason County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by Shelton Publishing Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $31.00 per year in-county address, $45.00 per year in state of Washington $55.00 per year out of state Charles Gay, editor and publisher. Newsroom: Sean Hanlon, managing editor; Steve Patch, sports editor; Jeff Green, general assignment, city government, schools, Port of Shelton; Rebecca Wells, society editor, county government; Mary Duncan, police, courts. Advertising: Stephen Gay, advertising manager; Dave Pierlk and Harvey Morris, ad sales. Front office: Julle Orme, business manager; Kathy Lester, circulation; Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper; Cricket Carter, mallroom supervisor. Composing room: Diane Rlordan, supervisor; Margot Brand, Jan Kalltnen, pagination; Frank Isaac, pagination, photo technician; Koleen Wood, typesetter, computer system manager; William Adams, ad builder, computer system manager;, Clinton Kendall, proofreader. Prewroom: Nick Carr, pressman; Jon Hughes, pressman's assistant. u Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 13, 2007 ,7!  //./" /t il ,• "FII00T Coot DO YOU "TI.IINK Tt0000Y'LL Go AFT00 NLZY3 ", DICK?' i00eaders" ¢]ournal: Vet story had negative spin Editor, The Journal: I was extremely disappointed to read last week's front-page story regarding Allison Moore, the first female member of the Shelton 40 et 8. You took what should have been a positive ar- ticle and put a very negative spin on it. Several of the facts as you reported them are, in my opinion, inaccurate and misleading. I do have a little background knowledge of the 40 et 8. My fa- ther, a World War II veteran, was proud to be an active member of the 40 et 8 in Okanogan County for years. My mother, even after his death, continued her active membership in the women's aux- iliary association of the 40 et 8. My husband, a retired Special Forces sergeant, is a new mem- ber of the 40 et 8 in Shelton. I contacted the National Voi- ture of the 40 et 8 for additional information. At the national con- vention in 2006, they changed their bylaws to accept women. Until the fall of 2006, a local chapter could not grant member- ship to female veterans, even if it wished to do so. Here is an excerpt from an August 2007 press release for the Voiture Nationale regarding women in the 40 et 8: "The Forty & Eight was Amer- ica's only remaining all-male vet- erans fraternity until last year when women members of The American Legion were, by con- vention floor vote, allowed en- try into the 88-year-old Forty & Eight honor society. The majori- ty opinion was that the increased role of women in the U.S. mili- tary, and the risks they endure in combat, have grown signifi- cantly from the all-male troops of WW I to today's male and female combat veterans of Iraq and Af- ghanistan." Regardless of whether Allison Moore's initial application for membership encountered any resistance, the facts are that she was accepted by majority vote into the Shelton 40 et 8 within months of the national organiza- tion making the bylaw change. I would contend that the club's quick decision indicates a willing- ness by the previously all-male membership to be open-minded and progressive. Furthermore, I have been a guest in the club on many occa- sions, as have female friends of mine. We are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy by those present. The negative inci- dent alluded to in the article was an isolated one unrelated to Alli- son's quest for membership and was resolved. I also take exception to the term, "gentleman's club," and what it implies. These "gentle- men" all share a common bond, in that they served in the armed forces during wartime, and the majority of them were in com- bat. They have joined together in a veterans' club to support each other and all rently serving in the They have put their lives line for this country. vice and membership in should not be trivialized term, "gentleman's club." I do applaud Allison's to be a groundbreaker, but concerned that your discourage additional and also men, from membership in the 40 et 8. is unfortunate. It is a sad that service clubs, such as 40 et 8, have an aging ship. While the Shelton is currently healthy, other are not as fortunate. been unable to attract a membership, therefore, dying a slow, painful death. Women can certainly do part to reinvigorate these d nizations, which have bee torically run by men. admission into the 40 et 8 have been handled as a women breaking through those remaining barriers a slam on the As a community you should do everything i power o support service zations and encourage ty members to take an in these clubs. aging articles such as th published last week are conflict with that role Pamela D. Mill sans sprinklers risked Editor, The Journal: The Journal's August 30 sto- ry of the Shearer Brothers mill burning described a devastat- ing loss to a local business. The article was brief and did not ad- dress an obvious question: Was the building sprinklered? And if not, why not? In the paper's subsequent re- port on September 6 it was re- vealed the plant indeed did not have sprinklers, having operated for years under the excuse of its being built as a "maintenance structure" not requiring sprin- klers. Of course it did run as a fully operational wood hog-fuel processing mill. This would raise the next ques- tion: How did the owner afford to risk the loss and endangerment of his employees, his business, the building, equipment and a dozen local jobs? The initial of a modern dry-pipe sprinkler system been an easy choice. As the fire marshal, the i ance underwriters and the will dictate, this won't again. And hopefully be a watchman on duty the next in-plant Those loose sticks jinx shi Editor, The Journak This week we were visited by yet another surprise and most un- welcome visitor to our buoy and boat that is moored out in front of our house. In the past year, on three separate occasions, we and our next-door neighbors have helplessly watched our boats and buoys being helplessly sucked out of the sand and floating away with one of the monster derelict boom- sticks guiding them down the bay and out to sea. In our eyes, there is no excuse for this problem that us boat own- ers have to bear for neglect in po- licing log booms in Oakland Bay. We see them freely floating by al- most every day just waiting and searching for a helpless buoy to affix to. Enough is enough! We need a daily log patrol by the owner of the booms to take these monsters back home where they belong and permanently secure the and for all. These logs are gational horror and essary. We do not want aY grief from someone else'S gence. People are fined for the roadways and dum refuse in the woods. Let's the littering of waterway s make it fair to all. Patty and Bob HammersleY Singing Medic One's praises Editor, The Journak The people at Mason County Medic One do not get enough praise for the job they do. There should be a billboard at both ends of town singing their praise; there should be a full-page ad in The Journal every week. I have had occasion three times in the last five years to call 911 for family members, and each time I have been impressed and grateful when their trucks have rolled into the driveway. These skilled young men and women not only take charge of the emergency at hand, compassion for the family friends of the patient is ing. You can bet I will alway  my support to Medic One! Cheryl