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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 20, 2012     Shelton Mason County Journal
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EDMTOWSNOTE if!i!? Letters Continued from page A-4 Decision on curious Editor, the Journal At a recent Shelton School Board meeting, the members made an "offi- cial" decision not to renew the contract of last year's varsity girls' soccer coach. Now although that decision was not a popular one with some parents and players, nor did the coach do any- thing wrong, at least it was made by the entire board. You see, weeks earlier one member of the board made the decision inde- pendently and Without the knowledge of the rest of the board, to notify the coach via the athletic director, that his contract was not being renewed. As stated in last week's article, when coach Mike Malpass was told his contract was not being renewed, no official decision was made by the board. How can a coach be told he will not have a contract if it hasn't been officially voted on by the board? Now it appears the board has gone into damage control mode and are back- pedaling, trying to cover the actions of that one board member. According to the website, the district core values are integrity, commitment, ac- countability, respect and equity. The actions of this one individual would lead me to believe that those values are mere words on a page or website and mean nothing. The board member who overstepped his authority should be held accountable for his actions and should step down. The integrity of the board and district is at stake. It makes me wonder what promises were made or markers called in that led this bg.~.rd member to originally bypass the other members and make that contract decision. Going off on his own shows a lack of respect for his fellow board members and I would ques- # . tion his commitment to the district as it appears he has his own personal, hidden agenda. The board should also re- view its policies and proce- dures in regards to the time- lines involved in reviewing and renewing coaching con- tracts. Changes shouldn't be made just weeks before practices start. That is not fair to the players nor does it allow time for the most highly qualified candidates (which they already had in place with coach Malpass) to apply and be hired. Kerry Halvorsen Shelton The Gay Editor, the Journal Reference: Diane Eaton (Journal, Sept. 13). First and foremost, I would like to personally thank Kathy Haigh, 35th District state representa- tive, for supporting mar- riage equality. If you are truly inter- ested in learning about the so-called "Gay Agenda," I highly recommend http:// www.cnn.com/2012/06/17/ opinion/granderson-gay- agenda/index.html entitled "The Secret Gay Agenda" by LZ Granderson, CNN contributor. I am quite puzzled as to why Diane purports to be so knowledgeable about the "Gay Agenda" and why she feels compelled to give us a lesson on the law of gravity when perhaps she needs to become better versed in constitutional law, particularly the 14th Amendment. Sandra Cyr Union Malfeasance troubling Editor, the Journal Recent court reports al- leging grave malfeasance involving a former and a sitting county commis- sioner are most troubling. Apparently noncompliance with established rules in awarding a labor contract is going to cost the Mason County citizens consider- able money, and the situa- tion gives one much pause in considering who we should trust in the future with the community's vital resources. This is especially true now, as the two indi- viduals involved are aspir- ing to government seats in the November election. There has been no rebut- tal, explanation or other comments from the two named responsible indi- viduals as yet, but it would seem that we citizens at least deserve to hear their side of the story. Mean- while, it would be of benefit to all of us to use extreme caution casting our votes in the upcoming elections. Jack Krause Shelton Veteran Editor, the Journal Rob McKenna is, by word as well as deed, a strong supporter of veterans and their families. He is the son of a career Army warrant officer and his positions as a candidate reflect contin- ued and unqualified sup- port. Jay Inslee, on the other hand, represents a far dif- ferent perspective. In Octo- ber 2011, prior to Inslee's resignation from Congress, there were 16 bills in Con- gress that benefitted vet- erans and their families. Then-Congressman Inslee had not signed on as a. co- sponsor or supporter of one of those bills. The issue is not the scope or content of a particular bill, but the pattern of a lack of support by Inslee of any of these measures. In light of such a significant failure of sup- port, what can be expected in the future? McKenna is by far the true supporter of veterans and their families and the best choice for governor. Jim Sims Shelton Letter writer Editor, the Journal I read John Gunter's let- ter to the editor in a recent Journal and feel perplexed by it. I was the one who pointed out that one of the members of the recently established Belfair Ad- visory Committee (BAC) didn't live in the Urban Growth Area, not Randy Neatherlin. Per the county commissioners' resolution, the minimum number of BAC members is seven, and all members must reside within the UGA. I wonder if the BAC is a legal group and can they meet as a committee with only four members? I want the BAC to suc- ceed. Barbara Adkins (Com- munity Development direc- tor) is paid to attend the meetings. I'm not, nor are any of the committee mem- bers, but I am committed to attend these meetings because I feel I can offer much needed background. I care about the community I live in even though I'm not a resident of the UGA. I can assure you that Neat- herlin has been attending the meetings for the same reasons. Neatherlin and I have been asking the Mason County commissioners to create a BAC for quite some time, but we wanted one made up of all "stakehold- ers," not just residents. When I was rejected from serving on the committee because I was not a "resi- dent," the commissioners assured me that any ac- tions from the BAC would come before the Planning Advisory Commission of which I was a member. Neatherlin and I, while serving on the Planning Ad- visory Commission, stood up to former director Do- bey and stopped a planned $15,000-to-$30,000-per- parcel assessment that was scheduled to begin this year. This was before any- one was focusing on any of these issues. We advocated that the affected citizens be informed of this huge assessment and told that the sewer was about to be forced onto them before most people even knew they lived in the UGA. If we hadn't spoken up, the sewer would already be headed into Phase 2 and the resi- dents would already be pay- ing $15,000 to $30,000 per parcel, as was scheduled to be imposed this year. I feel Mr. Gunter has misinterpreted Neather- lin's comments, which he garnered from the Port of Allyn article published in the Belfair Herald on Aug. 9. Name-calling does no one any good. I hope we will all try to seek common ground because if we don't work to- gether, we will end Up with the illplanned, overbuilt and financially devastat- ing sewer in our backyards, and quite possibly never see a Belfair Bypass in our lifetimes. Ken VanBuskirk Belfair lake's water quality Editor, the Journal Yes, this is another letter about the pendi.ng re-zoning of the north shore at Lake Nahwatzel. Mason County citizens should be concerned be- cause this pending re-zone will affect other areas of the county and allow those areas to be developed into residential sites. The devel- opment of these lands will affect the wildlife and the quality of your life. Addi- tional human use, noise, air pollution and water quality are just a few of the adverse consequences. • Water quality is my main concern at Lake Nah- watzel. If the re-zone is allowed, human use of the lake and surrounding'area will dramatically rise and subsequently affect the wa- ter availability and quality. During a recent stay at the lake, I monitored the water level of the lake for a week. During that time, the weather finally turned nice and consequently the human use of the lake increased. The water level dropped sev- eral inches during that time. I hate to think what would happen if the weather had been nice all summer. The lack of a true water inlet, evaporation and hu- man use all contributed to the water loss in the lake. A small trickle of water com- ing in on the south side and ground seepage are the only ways the lake can replen- ish. These water sources are not adequate and will be greatly affected if the north shore is developed. A Google search says there are 7,570 websites that mention Lake Nahwatzel. In a quick look at a few I found a common theme. Words like beautiful, clean, gin clear, pristine and crystal clear were all used in describing the water in the lake. Water quality should be at the forefront of the deci- sion as to allow these re- zones. Only devastation of water quantity and quality will occur once these lands are allowed to be developed. Paul Wenzel Westport Gay agenda Editor, the Journal I take issue with the remarks of Diane Eaton of Grapeview in the Sept. 13 edition of the newspaper. Ms. Eaton: your opinion may be "truth" in your eyes, however, it is not "trnth" for everyone. Your "truth" is not the same as gravity. Gravity is a scientific fact, your opinion is based on your religious beliefs, to which there is absolutely no evidence that God ex- ists, except for your faith. According to our Consti- tution, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free ex- ercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to as- semble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances." In essence, the constitution is saying there is to be no "official" religion sanctioned by the govern- ment. The founding fathers considered several versions of the first amendment: Some early draft amend- ments to the religion sec- tion were: "James Madison, 1789 - "The Civil Rights of none shall be abridged on ac- count of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be es- tablished, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any man- ner, nor on any pretext infringed. No state shall violate the equal rights of conscience or the freedom of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases." House Select Cbmmit- tee - "No religion shall be established by law, nor shall the equal rights of conscience be infringed." Samuel Livermore, AUG- 15 -"Congress shall make no laws touching religion, or infringing the rights of conscience." House version - "Con- gress shall make no law establishing religion, or to prevent the free exer- cise thereof, or to infringe the rights of conscience." (Moved by Fisher Ames) Initial Senate version - "Congress shall make no law establishing religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Final Senate version - "Congress shall make no law establishing articles of faith or a mode of worship, or prohibiting the free exer- cise of religion." Conference Commit- tee - "Congress shall make no law respecting an es- tablishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The final wording was accepted by the House of Representatives and by the Senate. It was ratified by the states in 1791." Quote from ReligiousTolerance. org. While you are indeed free to worship as you see fit, so are others free to worship as they see fit. If others have no problem with same sex marriage, why should you? The point is, a marriage is valid in the eyes of the state only when it has a valid marriage license. And the state is where all the ben- efits are: insurance, medical decisions, rights of survivor- ship, you name it. Every cit- izen is entitled to the same rights as every other citi- zen. You may believe that a marriage is valid in the sight of God when a couple is married in a church by a minister or priest. That is your beliefi You can retain the right to refuse to per- form marriage ceremonies that go against what you believe, but you may not infringe upon the rights of others to practice their reli- gion in the way that seems right to them. I am sorry that you are having a hard time 'accepting this. Intoler- ance is what has divided our country and caused the hate and discontent that now rears its ugly head. I find that it is impossible to hate the sin and love the sinner as the two are so closely tied to each other. You view homosexuality as a sin. oth- ers do not. You may wish to, but you are prohibited from foisting your beliefs on the rest of the citizens of this and other states in this United States of America. I don't claim to know the mind of God, but I believe that he gave His only begot- ten Son, a sacrifice that we cannot understand because we are not God, to redeem the world He declared he would have mercy on whom he would have mercy, who are you, then, to judge God's children? I say, get over yourself, and find out what God has in mind for you. Don't worry about what oth- ers are doing. God will make everything known at a later date. Andrea Abruzzo Belfair Lake's SEPA questioned Editor, the Journal Our family has had a resi- dence at Lake Nahwatzel for six years. It is our intention to maintain this property for generations to come. Our extended family has personal experience with lakes in British Columbia that have been ruined by both algae and overuse caused by poorly planned residential expansion. This is why we located in Mason County at Lake Nahwatzel. The situation proposed now, locally, seems headed that same direction. This is a huge concern to us. from our observed experience in Brit- ish Columbia, as it IS irre- versible on a practical basis. I have serious concerns regarding the recent Mason County acceptance of the required State Environ- mental Policy Act (SEPA) study submitted by Green Diamond Resource Com- pany (GDR). There are many things that concern me about the situation at hand, but the overarching issues fall into three primary categories: • Residents, such as ourselves, were not notified until very recently, in spite of the process being in play for over a year. • The poor quality of the SEPA study submitted by Green Diamond, • The acceptance of the SEPA study and "Determi- nation of Non-Significance" by Mason County. Early notification of people directly affected by such proposals is part of the intended process for such matters. The SEPA report is ad- mittedly "observations" made at random. This re- port has numerous errors, due to the process by which the study was conducted. There are several examples of wildlife not included in the report, such as otter and loons that are not common to the surrounding valley area. These two examples alone should be more care- fully studied to determine the impact such action would have upon them. It is clear to me that a complete Environmental Impact Statement should be completed - with the normal process and care that is due such a mat- ter. I am very surprised by Mason County's accep- tance of the shoddy SEPA report submitted by Green Diamond. It is probably due to the longstanding good working relationship of GDR with the county and community but this action is a mistake, or more simply wrong. The GDR proposal needs to be properly managed, before it becomes impossible to reinstate Lake Nahwatzel to the healthy, vibrant, natural lake and wildlife habitat (in delicate bal- ance) as currently exists for fishermen, visitors, and residents. James Dunne Shelton, Salem, Ore. • Duetothe large vol- ume of letters to the editor this Campaign season, The Shelton-Mason County Journal has not been able to immediately publish all submissions each week. If you Submitted a letter and have not seen it published, please wait until after the Nov. 6 general election to contact us. An apology Editor, the Journal To Randy Neatherlin and Jennifer Hines: I offer a sincere apology to you. I acted in good ihith and asked those in authority in the county to clarify about whether or not our commit- tee could vote on issues with less than seven members. When they told me that you were flat-out wrong, I checked and double- checked what they told me. I asked and re-asked the same questions. I was livid and felt like you needed to be called out publicly on it since you spoke out publicly about our committee m a negative way and you are running for a public office. Turns out. Randy and Jen- nifer, you were accurate and the county was dead wrong in the information they gave me. I'm sorry! I only started to doubt Mason County when I bad written to the assistam attorney general about another county issue and asked him. 'Oh by the way, about a quorum, here is the resolution and here is what I was told.' He suggested I speak with the prosecutor of the county, but added tbat it sounded like we could not operate as a committee un- til we had more members. I could not believe it! I checked again with the county and they con- firmed once again that you were wrong. Only after l asked them to check with the prosecutor did they get back several .days later and say that you were correct! I was just as livid about that as I was about what l thought was wrong infor- mation you gave us! I would have written this sooner, however. I didn't find out until Sept. 13 that the county was wrong. I humbly apologize to you! I regret that at this point in time, the county doesn't seem to know their right hand from their left hand on matters of basic opera- tions. It is truly unfortu- nate and regretful! John Gunter Belfair Sign food petition Editor, the Journal If you would like to know what is in your food by ge- netic manipulation, such as insertion of fish genes into corn or inserting bacteria or herbicides and pesticides into the genetic makeup of fruits and vegetables, you can sign a petition at Healthy Benefits at 825 W. Franklin St. in downtown Shelton and many other locations throughout the state. The petition 1-522 "The People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act" is an initiative to the Washington state Leg- islature to establish manda- tory labeling of foods pro- duced through genetic engi- neering, so the public has a choice. Label It WA's goal is to gather 320,000 signatures by Dec. 31, to ensure we have at least 241,153 valid signatures needed to get 1-522 on the ballot. Anyone who would like to volunteer to collect signatures, such as outside grocery stores, or if you have a place of business and want to have a petition on the counter, can go on- line at www.labelitwa.org or email labelitwa@gmail.com or call 253-256-1921. Pat Jerrells Shelton Shelton-Mason County Journal- Thursday, Sept. 20,2012 - Page A-5