October 21, 1971 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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October 21, 1971 |
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EXPLORER SCOUTS AND Scout officials discuss details of the search they
Conducted here last week in the effort to find some trace of Kelly Coots, 11,
who disappeared Oct. 11. Left to right are Bill Pearce, district scout
executive, and Leslie VanderWegen and Bob Bednarski Jr., members of the
Law Enforcement Explorer Scout Post. With his back to the camera in the
reground is Dick Thompson, district Scout commissioner for Mason
County.
anal
enles
ooi
Canal School
in a statement
Supt. John Pill,
to delay the
lion of the new
complex by
questioning the
their district's
District Supt.
the Shelton
at its Oct. 12
Canal District
Whether, under
required
deposit the
COunty treasurer
of the new
COuld delay the
State Board of
that all funds
of the county
plans are
District has
Orney general's
they have
The statement from Pill said:
"The Hood Canal School
District is not unmindful of the
needs of the Shelton School
District for the construction of the
proposed new high School as stated
in last weeks Shelton Journal and
we have no intentions of stalling
the beginning date of construction.
If anything stalls the construction
of the new facility, it would,
appear, it will be State Law and the
Department of Building and
Facilities of the State Department
of Public Instruction. We all look
to pride in the new facility and the
benefit our Hood Canal students
will derive in the new Shelton ttigh
School.
"As administrators of the
Hood Canal School District we feel
it is our responsibility to bring to
the attention of the people of our
district, the Shelton district, and
other participatiori, n0n-highs ill
the capital fund aid, the
clarification we are requesting
from the State Department of
Public Instruction, Department of
Building and Facilities. From our
previous experience of going thru
four different building programs in
our district it appears Shelton
School District is correct in issuing
its September 15, 1971,
resolution that the Department of
Building and Facilities is
demanding prior for its
presentation of Final Plans. The
Hood Canal School District also
appears to be correct and feels the
immediate sale of bonds appears to
be questionable in accordance with
RCW 28.56.075. Very briefly,
RCW 28.56.075. appears to
indicate, that the high school shall
pass a resolution for issue and sale
of bonds within ninety days after
the high school is ready for
construction: The liood ('anal
School District is requesting a
clarification from the State
Department of Public Instruction
by way of an Attorney (;eneral's
opinion on the matter.
in a re~olution passed the 13th
day of September l t)71, at a
(Please turn to page 2)
W. Bennett
~, Holly Hills
the Shelton
at its meeting
r '$183,726.52,
City last week
Fristoe,
Olympia.
the couple
wrongfully
at Harper's
~abers of the
states the
force in
and continued
on Bennett
Which occured
that as the
use of
numerous
d contusions
the body of
injuries to
ligaments,
of Bennett,
I
including a severe head injury.
The claim also states that as the
result of the injuries, Bennett has
been required to obtain medical
John W. Bennett
treatment and was hospitalized.
With the rejection of the
claim, an action is expected to be
filed in Mason County Superior
Court in the case.
Bennett, a candidate for
Public Works Commissioner of
the city of Shelton in the Nov. 2
general election, his wife and
step-son Leo J. Beyer Jr., 304
East D. St., Shelton, were arrested
by officers shortly before
nfidnight Oct. 1.
Bennett was charged with
being drunk in public, resisting an
officer, creating a nuisance,
assaulting an officer and resisting
arrest. Mrs. Bennett was charged
with obstructing and resisting a
police officer and Beyer was
charged with being drunk in
public and resisting an officer.
They were scheduled to
appear in the municipal
department of Mason County
District Justice Court Monday.
Their cases were continued to
Nov. 1 in justice court.
The Mason County Sheriff's
Office and the Shelton Police
Department continued this week
to check out any information
they received which might gix.c
some clue to the disappearance of
l 1-year-old Kelvin (Kelly)Coo~
Oct. 11.
The boy was seen shortly
after 5:30 p.m. that day in the
area of Seventh St. near the
Thunderbird Motel.
Foot and vehicle patrols, ~t
boat patrol of shorelines and
aerial searches by two helicoptms
and a fixed wing aircraft turned
up nothing last week.
George Doak, county civil
defense director, said some 35
Explorer Scouts from Mason a~d
Thurston Counties spent three
days in a ground search of the
area around Shelton last week.
Members of the Timber
Runners and Pack Rats
four-wheel drive clubs patroled
back roads. The Sheriff's Office
sent its boat out to patrol
shorelines from Shelton tO Ally~t
in the search effort. Two
helicopters and a fixed wing
aircraft flew search patterns over
the county last week also.
A German Shepherd tracking
dog search and rescue group from
the Kent area spent one day last
week in the search effort also.
The ground search effort was
stopped Friday with the idea that
with the hunting season opening
over the weekend there would be
a large number of people in the
woods.
Doak said the ground search
could be resumed on short notice
if law enforcement officials come
up with any idea as to where a
search might be worthwhile.
The Sheriff's Office has
appealed to hunters and
Christmas Tree workers who will
be in the woods shortly to keep
an eye out for anything unusual
and to report anything they see to
the Sheriff's Office immediately.
The Sheriff's Office and
Police Department are continuing
to check out any possible lead
which comes to their attention
and will welcome any information
which anyone might have,
The Annual patrol of
Christmas Tree areas in Mason
County, which is a joint effort
between the Mason County
Sheriff's Office and the Douglas
Fir Christmas Tree Association,
will start about Nov. 1.
Under the plan, which has been
in operation here for the past
several years, the tree growers
provide funds to pay for having
off-duty deputy sheriffs patrol in
the tree areas during the tree
harvest season. The county
provides the cars and gasoline to
keep them running.
The patrol was started as a
method of reducing the number
of Christmas Tree thefts which
were occuring in the county.
Anyone in the county hauling
more than one tree must have a
hauling permit under the c.ounty
ordinance.
Plans for the patrol were
discussed at a meeting of the trec
growers Tuesday night.
Tom ('rcekpannl, chief
criminal deputy with the Mason
('ounty Sheriffs office, told the
group two problems which were
encountered last year were the
difficulty in getting tickets for
violations prosecuted and that
donations to pay the tnen making
the patrols were slow in coming
in.
Allen Rasmussen. state game
protector here, told the group his
department would .~ssist as they
had last year m checking on tree
hauling as they patroled in these
area in their own work.
One of the tree growers
commented that hunters should
be cautioned that there are people
working in the tree areas during
hunting season that caution
should be used.
The tree growers also
commented that an area of theft
which has been on the increase is
digging up young trees which have
been planted and carrying them
away. This is particularly true of
Noble Fir and other species which
are not found growing wild.
The tree growers discussed the
tax roll back on timber and
Christmas Tree land which was a
part of the legislation passed by
the last session of the state
legislature. Present for the
meeting to discuss the question
were Prosecuting Attorney Byron
McClanahan and the three county
commissioners.
The law, as understood by
those present, states that timber
and Christmas Tree land which
was reassessed this year must be
rolled back to the assessed
(Please turn to page 2)
undersheriff Harold Brown said
this week.
The boy, who is described as
11 years old, of small, thin build
with brown hair and grey eyes.
When last seen, he was wearing
grey bell bottom slacks and a
green turtle neck shirt with grey
dots. He is four feet tall.
Kelly was last seen at the
Thunderbird Motel where he went
to talk to members of the
Redheads, a traveling girl's
basketball team which played a
benefit game here the night of his
disappearance.
The team was getting ready
for the game at the time and told
the youth they would see him at
the game. He had been at the
Shelton High School gymnasium
earlier and talked to some of the
girls and had been invited to sit
on their bench during the game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~u~~~~|
Plans for the establishment of a reward for information
about I l-year-old Kelvin (Kelly) Coots, who disappeared
from a downtown Shelton street Oct. 11, were formulated
this week.
Donations to the reward can be left at the Seattle-First
National Bank here.
One of the earliest responses to the fund was a pledge of
$50 from the Shelton Lions Club. The action was taken at
the Lions Club meeting Tuesday night.
i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, Oct. 21, 1971
85th Year Number 42
Published in Shelton, Wa. Entered as second class matter at the post office at Shelton, Wa. 98584,
under act of Mar. 8, 1879. Published weekly, except two issues during week of Thanksgiving, at
227 W. Cota. $5 per year in Mason County, $6 elsewhere.
24 Pages --3 Sections
10 Cents Per Copy
ru
The Mason County Civil
Service Commission, after a
hearing last Friday, overruled the
action of Sheriff John Robinson
in dismissing Deputy John Hays
after an incident last June in
which another deputy was
accidentally shot in the leg.
The commission ruled Hays
should be suspended 30 days as a
diciplinary action for his part in
the incident.
Hays has been on suspension
since June 9, the date of the
incident. He will receive back pay
for all except 30 days of the time
he has been off duty and will be
able to return to duty with the
Sheri."f's Office as a deputy.
Prosecuting Attorney Byron
McClanahan acted as advisor to
the civil service commission
members, M. H. Lambert, Bob
Watson and Tom Weston. Hays
was represented• by B. Franklin
Heuston, Shelton attorney and
Robinson was represented by
Fred Gentry, Olympia attorney.
Leading off as witness for
Sheriff Robinson in the hearing
Was Tom Creekpaum, chief
criminal deputy for the sheriff's
office.
Creekpaum said he had
investigated the incident at the
request of the Sheriff and that
from statements taken from Hays,
Deputy Fred Hadden and Deputy
Brian Schoening he had been able
to reconstruct what had
happened.
Creekpaum stated that
apparently ttadden and Schoening
had come into the jail area off
road patrol duty and that Hays
had been standing in for Hadden
as jailor-dispatcher while Hadden
was in the field.
Hadden at that time had a .22
derringer which hc used as an off
duty gun and as an auxiliary gun
willie on duty, and. that it had
been unloaded and the three
deputies had examined the gun
and discussed it and that the gun
had then either been handed back
to Hadden or had been placed on
the corner of the dispatcher's
desk.
Creekpaum then stated that
Hadden had reloaded the
two-shot weapon preparing to put
it away, and, that some discussion
developed as to where the gun
could be carried while on duty.
He stated Hadden then
removed a package of cigarettes
The Pioneer School Board has
scheduled a special meeting at
4:15 p.m. today at the school to
consider passing a resolution for
the sale of bonds to raise the
district's share of the money for
the new Shelton ltigh School
complex.
The district's share of the
funds for the new facility is
Wes Johnson's plans for a new
Alderbrook Inn took another step
forward last week when the Mason
County Commission voted to
approve a Shoreline Management
Act permit for the project.
The proposal now goes to the
Department of Ecology in
Olympia, which has 45 days to
take action on it.
The county commission
approved the proposal with
provisions that construction be
started before Jan. 1, 1972 and
that the buildings be not more than
120 feet in height.
from llays' shirt pocket and
dropped the then loaded gun into
il. There was some discussion
along the line of the shirt pocket
not being a good place to carry
the gun since it would fall out if
the man bent over, and, that Iiays
had removed the gun from his
shirt pocket and placed it in his
pants pocket where he had turned
the barrel upward and pulled the
trigger to see if it could be fired
from there.
The bullet struck Schoening
$1,O06,702. Voters in the district
approved a bond issue for the
money earlier this year.
The Shelton school board has
approved a resolution asking that
participating non-high school
districts deposite their share of
the money with the county
treasurer within 90 days after the
date of the resolution, Sept. 15.
The commission held a hearing
on the proposal Oct. 12, but
postponed action until Oct. 14 to
give them time to check height
requirements.
The proposed buildings are
above the 35 foot height required
by the Shoreline Management Act.
Johnson told the commission
the project would be constructed
in three phases and that when the
project was completed, most of the
existing Alderbrook facilities
would have been torn down and
replaced.
The Tri-County Advisory
in the thigh.
Creekpaum stated that at the
time he had seen acting as
gunnery officer in the department
giving some instruction in the
handling of firearms and that
firearm safety was a part of the
instruction. Hays had been one of
those to whom he had given
training, Creekpaum said.
Under cross examination by
lteuston, Creekpaum said he had
worked with tlays and that he
was an average or little above
officer and had carried out his
duties.
tie also stated there was a
regulation posted that no firearms
were permitted to be carried in
the jail area.
Creekpaum said he, Robinson
and other officers had practiced
dry firing at a target high on the
wall in the sheriff's office coffee
room. The wall separates that
room and the juvenile office.
Next to take the stand was
Schoening who testified about the
(Please turn to page 2)
ii i
ii,
Committee, a group formed to
study and make recommendations
to the county commissions of the
three counties with lands on Hood
Canal, at a meeting last week voted
to approv~ the plans as now
presented.
The group, which is concerned
with environmental issues in Hood
Canal, was one of the strongest
opponents of Johnson's previous
proposal to build on a filled area
out from the shore of the canal.
Representatives of the group
had attended the county
commission hearing Oct. 12.
OFFICERS AND ambulance attendants assist Mrs. Oleta Perrine, 25 from
her car after an accident at Third and Cota Monday evening. Her car was
involved in a collision with a station wagon driven by Lytle Johnson, 82.
Shelton Police, who investigated the accident, said Mrs. Perrine suffered cuts
on her face and possible chest injuries and Johnson suffered cuts on his face.
Mrs. Perrine was headed east on Cota St. and Johnson north on Third at the
time of the accident. Johnson's vehicle hit a light pole at the intersection as a
result of the impact of the collision. Both were taken to Mason General
Hospital for treatment of their injuries.