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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 17, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 17, 2020
 
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continued frorribage Register to vote Tuesday Editor, the Journal, National Voter Registration Day is Tuesday, Sept. 22. Every eligible voter should have a fair and equal opportunity to register to vote and to cast a ballot. The time is now and it couldn’t be easier. Young people who will turn 18 by Nov. 3 can register to vote now. Vot— V ing is your chance to take control over what happens to us, our families and our community. Your vote is your voice. ~ Are you registered to vote? Is your address current? Have you had a name change? Do you know the loca- tion of your nearest ballot drop box? Check out www.VoteWA.gov to be vote ready and vote safely. As the Nov. 3 election approaches, the League of Women Voters of Ma- son County will have voterregistra- tion events: Pioneer School drive- through, Saturday, Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Kneeland Park drive-up, Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 2 to p.m. Look for our volunteers and signs. The LWVMC will be updating the information you need to be an informed voter at www.Vote411.org, an online voter pamphlet. Compare candidates side by side and read their views on the important issues in their own words to help you decide who and what to vote for. Your vote, your voice, your future. Amy Davis ,LWVMC Co-president Shelton Our leader isn’t leading Editor, the Journal, I have listened for the last four years to the current political regime. It is difficult for me tohear continuing rhetoric with little substance in sup- port of our country. There were numerous statements arguing pro and con’about the current person heading up our country. Yes, that person and or his staff may have made some good decisions that aided our economy. There may have been a few more items to their credit. There are factions that surfaced in the past four years that Override the above accomplishments. It has be- come obvious that there are too many to be listed in one document. Several are obvious that add up to deceit and obstruction to what this country stands for. There is verbal conflict, name-calling and blaming others while defending his state- ments. He calls recordings a “hit job,” some articles “fake news” and calls opponents “nasty.” What more will he come up with? He continues to deliberately mislead us by playing down the obvious statements made by scientists and qualified leaders in their field. The office guides the nation. Con- flict is expected in the political arena. Leaders take charge and guide with humility. Department heads within the administration are advisers and are expected to be qualified and make intelligent decisions to assist the office. He has fired, dismissed and discarded over 18 of those individuals who reported to the issue that went against his wishes. He has been called “rudderless.” This could be construed to be someone trusted leading the country forward with no distinct di- rection. I think the GOP should be insulted Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal Page A_—5 Journal Letter Policy The Journalencourages original letters to the editor of local interest. Diverse and varied opinions are welcomed. We will not publish letters that are deemed libelous or scurrilous in nature. All letters must be signed and include the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number, which will be used tor verification purposes only. All letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. To submit a letter, email justin@masoncounty.com, drop it off at 227 W. Cota St, or mail it to P0. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. to allow this to continue. The “politi- cal system” does not allow another replacement candidate to represent them. Go down with the ship. News media is in every home re- porting. He is on screen daily with contradicting combative comments. They are rude, controversial and can— not be avoided. Put it all together folks. Bill Bruder Shelton Lesson of the sneeze, Editor, the Journal, “Achoo.” It’s just a sneeze. And the oral tradition we all have is that when someone sneezes we say “Bless you” or “God bless you.” Those phras- es are a result of the black plagues of hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Sneezing was one the plague’s main symptoms, and it is believed that Pope Gregory I suggested that a tiny prayer in the form of saying, .“God bless you” after a sneeze would protect the person from death. I guess that was the best cure folks had at the time. In 1720, a plague merchant ship entered the Port of Marseille in south- ern France. It had a cargo of silk and cotton onboard. The ship and crew were immediately quarantined and eventually all the crew died. The city leaders knew the potential risks of doing something wrong would be devastating to their city. They were absolutely correct. The city merchants, the owners of the ship and cargo were very, very powerful and influential. The mer- chants wanted their ship and cargo. One can just hear the arguments and pressure from the merchants. It’s our cargo, it’s our ship, .the cargo is essential, it is our right to get the cargo, the quarantine has been going on too long, and the quarantine has done its job, there are no more plague deaths, here is a bribe for your efforts, this plague concern is a hoax, show me where the plague is, there is no one dying now, the people at the me- dieval fair are counting on us, the city government can’t just hold on to our stuff, it is illegal and unfair, we have our rights, you’re affecting our liveli- hoods, we are losing money, maybe there were threats, maybe there was other intimidation tactics, and so on. The pressure on the port city officials was overwhelming. The port officials eventually turned the ship and cargo over to the merchants. I In two years, 100,000 thousand people would die in and around the port cityf There currently is a very thin de- fensive line protecting us Americans from COVID-19. It is all of the medi- cal and first responders and all of the medical researchers and all of their scientific data and all of the testing and all of their cautious approaches and all of the government leaders who have the brains and the guts to stand up‘ and push back against intimida- tion and superstition, and greed and stupidly and political posturing and incompetence. This defensive line in our nation has recently been severely pushed on and sometimes bent and even breached. Do not allow this defensive line to fail, thousands and thousands and thousands of lives are at stake. History does repeat itself. The motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, is a “super spreader event” of COVID-19. Looks like incompetence and greed has again ruled the day.So be grateful that you are still alive and well enough to be able to say those su— perstitious and magical words when someone goes “achool” Earl W. Burt Bremerton Slogans can’t hide problems Editor, the Journal, As sloganeering County Commis— sioner Randy Neatherlin appears to be having his (Restore the Trust) signs rapidly replaced, it gives one pause to consider his other poster slo- gan, (Experience Matters). So to whom does his experience seem to matter or benefit? First and foremost this alleged experience came at the expense of local taxpayers, and given Neatherlin’s record, it came at our detriment. One needs to ask how many more slimy real-estate deals, poor decisions, incompetence and cro- nyism that leaves taxpayers holding the bag will come from a third term? Neatherlin really needs to go back to the car lot or his friend and former employer Rob Drexler’s Belfair Real- Estate Agency and be all he can be, not be any further burden on the tax- payers. A fresh commissioner at this point will be a good start but until we bring Home Rule Charter to this county, we will continue to pay more than we can afford for county gover- nance. Patrick Burke Shelton Do something, Sen. Sheldon Editor, the Journal, I’ve written state Sen. Tim Sheldon a few times but have not heard back. I’d like to publish a few new letters to him: Please, Sen. Sheldon, take a look outside your smoky window today and think about a way to start sig- nificantly addressing climate change. You’ve been holding up a clean fuels bill for several years because it would increase the price of fuel. I agree with you that many folks can’t afford any increase in fuel prices, but until a price is put on 002 emissions, I don’t believe we can make much progress toward addressing global warming (1 saw this from Europe putting a price on airplane COZ emissions and the subsequent development of their aviation biofuel industry). There is another way — implementing a 002 fee and dividend bill in Washington would put a price on fossil fuel C02 emissions but would return those funds to citizens. Statistics show that the wealthy (those making more than $205,000/year) use 2.2 times more fuel than the average Mason County citizen (making $27,300/year) and rich folks use 3.4 times more fuel than poor folks ($11,300/year). According to Washington State Energy Office models, increasing the fuel price for everyone, and then evenly returning those funds would result in the aver- ’ age Mason County citizen making money. Starting at a fee of 9 cents/ gallon in 2022 and then gradually in— creasing, an average Sheltonite would ultimately pay $443 more per year by 2050 but their family would receive almost $1,000/year back. A long- distance Mason County commuter (about 17,520 total miles/year) would pay an additional $149 but their fam- ily would still receive $394.75 more per year than their added fuel costs. That is because rich folks’ private jets and yachts use even more fuel. If you won’t go along with this plan, please tell us your plan so that‘our grand- ‘ kids won’t have to look out a smoky window every summer day. Dave Daggett Shelton Something fishy in Waterwheel Park Editor, the Journal, Why would anyone be against the Waterwheel Park, which would be- come the first real park in the Belfair UGA? This park and expanded trail network, including an Americans with Disabilities Act fishing pond, would be a beautiful attraction for all ages. But wait a minute, something fishy is going on. Ted Jackson is actively trying to stop it. Jackson, using his Port of Allyn email, declaring himself a port commissioner and chair of the Port of Allyn, lobbied Mason County commissioners against the park with- out the consent of the other two port commissioners. Jackson sent emails to Mason County, saying “As a Port of Allyn commissioner and current chair I do not support the current proposal. I understand why and who is behind this request.” ’ The proponent partnership of the ' park, North Mason School District, Port of Allyn, stateof Washington and Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group was only asking the Mason County Commission to support the project. No Mason County funds were requested. Jackson went rogue and broke from the Port of Allyn commis- sion, promoting his own agenda with- out a vote and against the wishes of the other two Port of Allyn Commis- sioners, who wholeheartedly support the park project. Equally disappoint- ing, after the email was sent to the Mason County commission, Commis- sioner Randy Neatherlin madea mo- tion to support the park, but neither Commissioner Sharon Trask nor Commissioner Kevin Shutty would second the motion due to Jackson’s email. Was there a backdoor conversation among Jackson, Trask and Shutty? Why should “why and who” matter? What is the basis for denying support of the park? Being one of hundreds of local citizens to commit in-kind funding and support to this asset for Mason County, I am extremely disap- pointed. ‘ Jack Johnson Belfair see LETTERS, page A—6