September 27, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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FI~ILL TOi~',~ P~PERS
~17 ~ COTA ST ~ ....
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012
Week 39 -- The Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- Published for Mason County and Norm Curtis of Tahuya -- $1
Rehabilitation project celebrated during ribbon-cutting
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoneounty.eom
Completion of the $39-million up-
grade to the City of Shelton wastewa-
ter treatmen~ plant allows more shell-
fish harvesting in Oakland Bay, helps
the city meet water quality standards,
and improves capacity for a growing
population.
The rehabilitation project was cel-
ebrated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony
on Tuesday at the plant on Fairmont
Avenue, on a wooded bluff above Ham-
mersley Inlet.
The upgrade culminates 12 years of
efforts by a partnership that includes
the City of Shelton, Mason County,
the Port of Shelton, the Squaxin Is-
land tribe, and the state departments
of ecology and health.
"It's not something the city of Shel-
ton could have taken on on its own,"
said Steve Goins, the city of Shelton's
See Wastewater on page A-7
Burn ban
extended
until end
of October
Local agencies
take precautions
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@ma,~oncounly.com
After more than a month
of little or no rainfall region-
wide. local and state agen-
cies are taking precautions
to prevent fires.
The Mason County Fire
Marshal's Office announced
Monday that the burn ban
in the county, which began
July 15, would be extended
through Oct. 31.
"Normally by this time of
the year we've had a~ least
a moderate amount of rain-
fall. The burn ban would
normally have come off by
the end of September," said
Mike Patti, Central Mason
Fire & EMS assistant chief.
Under the burn ban rec-
reational fires, such as camp
fires, are still allowed.
Extending the burn ban
into October is an unprece-
dented step to prevent fires,
Patti said.
"We've never considered
going into October, at least
in the 40 years I've been in
the fire service," he said.
With the spring and early
Journa onoto by Gordon Weeks
A crew dredges rocks, sand and other debris from Shelton Creek next to Dairy Queen on Monday. The dredging will
continue to shut down a portion of First Street to traffic through the end of the week, said Shelton City Engineer
Mike Michael. The $349,000 project to prevent flooding in downtown Shelton is expected to be completed by
mid-October.
summer months being wet,
grass and brush grew quick-
ly, contributing to the dan-
gerous fire conditions the
county faces in early fall, he
said.
"With the late summer
coming in it dried out and
that's what's giving us our
grief," he said.
Fire district personnel
throughout Mason County
are patrolling areas to spot
fires early. Patti said dis-
trict staff members are also
working ~o educate the pub-
lic about fire safety.
"If you're going to have
your recreational campfires,
make sure they're out when
you're done," he said. "This is
not a time to burn any kinds
of fires if you don't need to."
The City of Shelton Parks
and Recreation Department
announced that effective
Sept. 21, it would close its
watershed property -- the
Huff n' Puff Trail and Ma-
son County Disc Golf Course
-- due to fire danger.
"The city closed their
watershed property and
they happen to house the
Huff n' Puff and the disc
golf course," city Parks and
Recreation Director Mark
Ziegler said.
See Burn ban on page A-7
8 ilIIU! !I!!II!U!!!I1112
JOURNAL SPECIAL REPORT
in
By NATALIE JOHNSON
nataiie@masoncounty.corn
It wasn't a full moon Thurs-
day night, but Mason County had
a weird, on-edge feel all night.
A storm was rolling in, and the
strange 911 callers came out.
It was slow -- about 40 calls
fewer than average bythe end of
the night -- but that wasn't the
only reason. Three ofthe calls Ma-
son County Sheriffs Deputy Jus-
tin Cotte responded to involved
potential, or unsuccessful suicide
attempts.
Several callers recanted their
statements to dispatchers as soon
as a deputy arrived. Dispatch ac-
cidently sent out the code for ho-
micide, then quickly reversed it,
shooting everyone's pulse through
the roof for a moment.
Another call reported a poten-
tially dangerous felon in a stolen
car, which seemed to flit in and
out of their grasp.
Swing shift for the Mason
County Sheriffs Offi~e~run from
2 p.m. to midnight. 0~i ~nursday,
that meant from early afternoon
until the early mo~ng hours,
there were only twq :~ree sher-
iffs deputies on the road.
One of them wa~Cotte, who
joined the Mason C~ Sheriffs
Office when he w~/~: 2003 as
County quickly. On busy nights,
Mason County Jail staff some-
times have to house new inmates
on cots in common areas of the
jail.
Journal DnOIO D~ Natalie Johnson
Mason County Sheriffs Deputy Justin Cotte works the
swing shift Thursday night. It was a slow night, marked
with strange calls.
a corrections officer at the Mason
County Jail.
Four years later, in 2007, he
became a patrol deputy.
Many members of his family
are firefighters, and when it came
time to chose a career. Cotte said
he Wanted to be active and meet
new people.
"I've always liked customer ser-
vice, but l hated working i~side,"
he said. "You meet new people.
You get to help people"
2:38 p.m.
The first event of what would
become a slow night happened on
Shelton Matlock Road shortly af-
ter 2:30 p.m. while Cotte was on
the way to get a formal statement
from a fraud/identity theft victim.
Cotte swung the car around
after his dashboard radar caught
a man driving 30 miles over the
speed limit on Sheldon Matlock
Road.
Cotte let the man off with a
warning. He said he prefers not to
write traffic tickets if he can help
it.
However, the people he meets
are not always pleasant, and they
don't always want help.
Oxycontin and heroin have
been major problems in Mason
County recently, Cotte said, but
methamphetamine use is everpre-
sent and coming back into fashion
4:12 p.m.
A Shelton Police officer puts
out a call for assistance along
Olympic Highway South. He
pulled over a man who was mak-
ing vague threats and he wanted
some backup. Cotte and another
Shelton Police officer pull over to
support the first officer.
After five years on patrol and
among users in the area because e0~tless traffic stops, Cotte said
it's cheap and easy to find. he still feels nervous as he walks
Low bail costs and an over- up to the driver's window.
crowded jail also put many offend-
ers back on the streets of Mason See Deputy on page A-7