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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 29, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 29, 2011
 
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S I found the best VOTE IN OUR READER'S ELECTIONS The Best in Mason Coun00 20f IJoe00'ael 227 W. Cota St • Shelton 98584 The Best of Mason County 2011 Plumbing company: Beer: BBQ: Chinese: Asian: Cocktail: Coffee: Deserts: Fish & Chips: Pizza: Salad: Sandwich: Shellfish: Steak: Sushi: Tacos: Tea: Teriyaki: Hamburger: The best place to buy Auto Parts: Boats: Cars/Trucks: Flowers: Furniture: Hardware: Grocery: Jewelry: Shoes: Small Electronics (iPod, phone, game systems): Tire s: Toys: Building Supplies: This is the best Auto detailing shop: Real estate agency: Rental agency: Restaurant" Hair salon: People are the best Artist: Banker: Bank teller: Barber: Barista: Bartender: Business owner: Car salesman: City employee: CNA: Coach: County employee: CPA: Cook/Chef: Dentist: Doctor: Host/Hostess: Lawyer: Mechanic: Musician: Nurse: Physical Therapist: Chiropractor: Elected official: Officer of the law" Auto repair shop: Bank: Pastor/Priest: Personal trainer: Bar: Casino: Coffee stand: Day care: Dry cleaner: Gas station: Gift shop: Grocery store: Health clinic: Insurance agency: Secretary" Stylist: Teacher North Mason: Teacher South Mason: Volunteer: Waiter/Waitress: Writer: Pharmacy" Page A-2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, September 29, 2011 Erickson mak( y VAN OORE f Mason County Commissioner Lynda Ring Erickson has announced that she will not t seek a third term as county commissioner, but rather will run as a Democrat for the 35th District State Representative seat being va- cated by Fred Finn. Ring Erickson said that she is proud of what she's accomplished as county commis- sioner. "It has been such an honor to serve the citi- zens of Mason County and I am proud of what we've been able to accomplish," she said. Ring Erickson points to efforts to reinvent and streamline the delivery of vital govern- ment services, improve public safety, upgrade county infrastructure and generate a positive environment for job creation and business growth as some of her biggest accomplish- ments. 'ough economic times require leaders to set priorities, innovate, and just say no to the things we can't afford," she said. 'TCe've been able to do that here in Mason County without shifting the burden to taxpayers." Looking to her race for state representa- tive, Ring Erickson praised the work of Fred Finn. "I want to thank Representative Finn for his hard work and service to the people of the 35th District," she said. Ring-Erickson said that Finn has served a the district with honor and distinction and that she hopes to carry on that tradition. "As state representative, my top three is- ( sues will be jobs, jobs and jobs," she said. h 'TCith dwindling revenue into the state cof- Shelton schools mak ByARLASHEPHARD Ol a While students at every grade level in the t] Shelton School District improved on the state tl standardized math exams over last year, read- h ing scores remained mostly flat and the district h plans to work on improving those scores with early intervention and regular assessments, e The school board's number one goal is to have t( all students who have attended the district for sl at least two years to read at grade level by the end of third grade, said Pam Farr, executive di- y, rector of teaching and learning at the district. 'q That goal was not met last year, she added, tl 'Then we focus on math, we need to not gq forget reading and keep both of those on the front burner," she said. "We always assume w that while we've made some progress, there's s( still more to do." s The district will continue using a response tt to intervention program (RTI)to screen stu- dents in the early grades to make sure that P they're reading at grade level, fc Poorly performing students are then assigned S to intervention groups to help them catch up. ei %Ve want to continue to refine that system S and there aren't any students in our district tc who wouldn't go a few weeks without that close monitoring this year," Farr said. "We're F just getting better and better at doing it so r we're more effective and so those kids are get- s( ring the right interventions." e At the start of the 2010 through 2011 school year, the first year RTI was imple- fr mented, 38 percent of kindergarteners need- w ed intensive intervention and only 39 percent read at benchmark grade level. At the end of the year, 65 percent met vi benchmark and only 14 percent needed the nq intensive intervention, w The district focuses on early grades be- sI cause after third-grade, the way students r) read changes, Farr said. ol "Up to third-grade they're learning how gn to read, how to sound words out, how to de- w code, learning different vocabulary words and sc things like that," she said. "From third-grade tc ' " ' t ': The Journal presents this straw bal who or what you, our read This ballot will run in the Journal fi read the Journal and write in your run for House / rs, the only way to turn things around is to row our way out through busines growth nd job creation. The answer is no to over urden taxpayers who are already struggling ) make ends meet. The solution_]requires mders who can set priorities, male tough ecisions and find new ways of solviig prob- 1, ms - that's the same thing we've done here i:  Mason County." Ring Erickson said that cur other priorities include education and t chnical training, the sound stewardship of r atural resources, transportation improve- rants including long-term stability for the f rry system and standing up for senior citi- z ens and veterans. Ring Erickson grew up in Grays Harbor (',ounty and has had a diverse professional areer including working as a pohce and pro- ation officer, a senior policy analyst for the (',ity of Olympia, the director of con mtmity r elations for the Shelton School District and e uecutive director of the Suburban C [ties As- s ciation of King County. She has ])een ac- t:ve in many civic organizations iMuding Iason Matters, Mason County Literi tcy, Ma- )n County Law and Justice Working Team; helton Rotary and the League of Women oters. She has also served on nmerous oards and commissions including the Wash- gton Sentencing Guidelines Commission, e Washington Sex Offender Policy Board, e Washington Forensic Advisory Council nd the Washington Association of Cpunties. The 35th Legislative District includes all of lason and portions of Kitsap, Thurston, and trays Harbor Counties. Ring Erickson and er husband, Gerry, have one daughter and ve in unincorporated Mason County. e reading priority there's a shift. They're using thereading lot in other content areas, reading o learn; my're a lot more independent. It's important tat we get kids at grade level before then cause it's pivotal. It just gets harder and arder for them to catch up." Each Friday after students are released trly from school, teachers will work in teams talk about what works and what doesn't in udent learning, Farr said. "We started a lot of these things new last ar, and we want to get better," she said. Ve decided it would kill our teachets if we ied to add more stuffand so we war/t to just t better at what we have." The district also looks closely at scores Oakland Bay Junior High School, which ,rves eighth- and ninth-graders, to make tre that students who have transitiolaed into e district from feeder schools are keeping up. Students from the K-8 Hood CanaI arid oneer school districts attend Oakland Bay r one year before moving on to Shelt0n High ;hool, while South Side students come in at ghth-grade. Students at OlympiclMiddle ;hool in the Shelton School District lalso at- nd Oakland Bay for two years. | "The transitions are really kind of deadly," rr said. "If you don't connect with them in nth-grade, then they don't make it to high hool because in ninth-grade you need to rn credits for high school." Each school will take its individual scores )m last year and work with them his fall aen the schools update their school improve- ent plans. "Each school will look at their scores indi- dually based on their kids to see what they ;ed to do," Farr said. "Every school will be )rking on that this fall and they each have ,ecial challenges. Like Evergreen Elementa- , our bilingual school, every year they focus t how do they assess assessments for a lan- rage learner. When a student doesn't score ell, is it a reading or language problem? Each hool has its different way for how to respond those interventions." lot of our readers to determine ers consider to be the ,r the rest of September. Simply choices for the Best of Mason County in the categories listed on this page. It is that simple, that easy, and that fun. Then, in Octob,'r, see who wins our elections in an upcoming specid section entitled will:::::b:e :,¢o unted .NO