Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
October 25, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 1     (1 of 48 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 1     (1 of 48 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
October 25, 2007
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




tl SHELT IjMM__ASON CO °N" UNTY JOURNAL 00GDVF K 121st Year -- Number 43 5 Sections m 48 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington 75 cents Christian club SHELTON'S STUDENT MEDIATORS pose in the wake of their "summit meeting" last week with Capital. Seated, from left, are Jacob II Hicks, Paige Barrett and Jacob Hanes. In back are Dee SiA.gmjond, Robyn I Stewart, Kyle Burbridge and Adam Spurling. Not pictured. Alex Olson. Capital' ,,0000limbers meet The Enemy' -- PATCH e slings and arrows were fo be left at the door. ative though they were, they clidn t figure to serve tructive purpose with re- . the business at hand: ng to mend the longstand- L, tl tbetween Shelton and Capi- Schools. . COnsidered it to be kind ol i an unhealthy rivalry," said Climb- er principal Wanda Berndtson, speaking on behalf of her Cougar counterpart. And so it was that the two ad- ministrators did something about it last week. They rounded up rep- resentatives of the two warring student bodies and brought them together behind closed doors. On hand were matching con- tingents from each school. From Shelton: football starters Kyle Burbridge, Jacob Hanes, Adam Spurling and Jacob Hicks, bas- ketball starters Paige Barrett and Alex Olson, cheerleader cocaptains Dee Sigmond and Robyn Stewart, AD and football offensive coordi- nator Bill Hicks, counselor Susie Honaker Wirzbicki and principal Berndtson. Two days later the Climbers' representatives reassembled on their own, expressly for the benefit of the Journal. (Please turn to page 22.) of tainted soil to close First and Franklin streets, a second just a few blocks west at Fourth and Franklin. The First and Franklin site has more contamination, perhaps as much as 10 times more, than the other site, said Shelton Engineer Mike Michael. Beginning Monday, November 12, First Street will be closed at Franklin Street for an estimated two weeks for the cleanup operation, which includes soil extraction, infrastructure repairs and soft replacement. Closure of the intersection means traffic will have to be rerouted. First Street is one of the main north-south arterial streets downtown. There formerly were two gas stations on comers at First and Franklin. Michael thinks the probable cause of the contamina- (Please turn to page 12)  GREEN .ry of a contaminated soil town Shelton may snarl Bag an already busy First  Upwards of two weeks or ldhtl.n city commissioners  ,uon, Monday. "a b ![,  Were discovered recently I[york on the downtown Basin Project. One site is at First Ption's landmark waterwheel 00nerates historic nomination view of a property should a federal or state action have a potential ad- verse effect on the property's his- toric values. The structure was fixed up and planted in a new location along- side State Route 106 by the efforts of the Dalby Waterwheel Reloca- tion Committee. Financial support for this came from 23 members of the "Bucket Brigade," people who contributed a total of $34,000 by sponsoring the buckets lashed to the wheel. More than 125 people attend- ing a dedication ceremony in April of last year watched as the wheel started turning in its new confines. Among them were approximately 30 members of the Dalby family who traveled to Union from places as distant as England and British Columbia. The council will consider the status of the waterwheel at a meet- ing scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, November 2, in Room 412 of Barge Hall on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Overdose of rrteth took motorist's life The death of 43-year-old Grape- view man last month in a one-ve- hicle crash has been ruled an ac- cident from drug overdose, Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell has announced. Edward L. Koller died Septem- ber 16 at Mason General Hospi- taps emergency room after being involved in a non-reportable colli- sion on State Route 3 south of A1- lyn. "Autopsy and toxicological re- ports revealed that Koller's cause of death was from acute metham- phetamine intoxication also re- ferred to as an overdose," Stock- well reported. The death has been ruled an accident, according to Stockwell. Initial autopsy findings were in- conclusive and did not reveal any injuries to Koller's body, Stockwell said. alby Waterwheel in Union nsidered for inclusion on ,hington Heritage Register ilaShington State Advisory  Historic Preservation.  of a property does not deral or state restrictive s or easements. However, es assure protective re- IIIIIllllllillilllmllllllllllllllliillJlillllllllllllilllll the inside as ........................... 36 ttnity Calendar ....... 17 rd ................. 43 ient, Dining ..... 34 :uOUrnal ................. 18 h; es ........................... 10 bt i , Letters ................. 4 " .................................. 21 HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII B,!!!!IIIIjIJLILILIIlll at SHS okayed By JEFF GREEN It was come to Jesus time for the spellbound Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening. The board experienced a conver- sion from two weeks ago when a majority voted in eflbct to exclude two proposed new clubs at Shelton High School, the Christian Stu- dents United and Scrabble Club. But the board this week saw the light and voted to approve both clubs, bringing a round of ap- plause from several folks in the audience. What revelations prompted the change? Superintendent Joan Zook told board members Tues- day that religion-based clubs have both protections and restrictions. Such clubs must meet associated student body requirements, such as having a constitution and vol- unteer advisor, and cannot be sup- ported by public funding. ZOOK SAID she believes the Christian Students United club has met those obligations and recom- mended the board approve it for the current school year. The vote was 3-0 for approval, with board mem- bers Marry Crow, Holly Sharpe and Sue McCausland voting in fa- vor. Board member Peter Boome, who two weeks ago expressed his concern about the separation of church and state, abstained from voting Tuesday. Julianna Miljour, the board president, also abstained. She chooses not to vote other than to break any tie votes. After the vote, Miljour asked for comments from members of the public who had signed up prior to the meeting to speak on items on the agenda. Dick Swearingen said there was no chance for public corn- ments before the vote and chided the board for a process that he said was backwards. He also said it isn't good to inject the religious aspect into schools and that he's very much opposed to the board's decision. Lois Walker also signed up to speak, but opted not to, instead giving each board member a copy of her printed remarks. Among other concerns, Walker wrote the club will likely create another "in" group and a larger group ostra- cized as outsiders, students who don't want to belong to the club. "It certainly will not encourage critical thinking but rather follow- ing one or another version of reli- gious teaching," she wrote. WITH SO MANY different church groups (43 congregations listed in the Shelton phone book), Walker noted, there are plenty of places for students to pursue their religious beliefs. She failed to see how the club can add to the educa- tional goals of the high school. Boome said while he person- ally disagrees with having such clubs on campus, after looking at case law, it's apparent such groups have the right to exist. Federal law requires schools to give them equal access, and the district is legally bound to make sure they have equal access. The law is pretty clear in this case, he said, adding realistically the board had no choice. "We have an obligation to go along with the law," added Sharpe. As for the Scrabble Club, Zook said it also met the necessary re- quirements. Crow, Sharpe, Mc- Causland and Boome voted to ap- prove it, while MiIjour, as usual, abstained. Most mishaps? Bear Creek-Dewatto Road Which road in the county has the highest number of collisions? A segment of Bear Creek-De- watto Road, according to statistics compiled by Mason County Public Works for the three years prior to 2OO5. Data indicate this spot had logged 28 collisions and an acci- dent rate of 2.09 collisions per mil- lion vehicles miles of travel. A second segment of the same road also has one of the highest collision rates in the county. Runners-up in the county's col- lision count include: McReavy Road between State Route 106 and Manzanita Drive; Highland Road north of Little Egypt Road; Cole Road between Lynch Road and Shadowood Drive; Bear Creek- Dewatto Road between the Kitsap County line and Elfendahl Pass Road; and Arcadia Road between the Mill Creek Bridge and Lynch Road. Most of the collisions involved a fixed object off the roadway, ac- cording to information from the county. Excessive speed and driv- ing under the influence of alcohol or drugs were the leading causes of the crashes. Officials said that in most cases drivers' actions, rather than the road conditions, are to blame for collisions. About a third of all ve- hicle collisions in Mason County happen during hours of darkness, the report added. Staircase Road to close Forest Service Road 24, which leads to the Staircase area at the north end of Lake Cushman, will be closed to all public access (in- cluding foot traffic) beginning No- vember 1, Olympic National For- est officials announced this week. The gated closure, located just beyond the Mount Rose subdivi- sion, is in response to the 2006 Bear Gulch II fire, which burned approximately 1,200 acres directly above the road. The precaution is necessary to prevent injury to the public from rock and debris slides expected throughout the winter rainy season, a Forest Service press release noted. The road is the main access point for the popular Staircase area of the Olympic National Park. "The winter time is a deceptively dan- gerous time for the condition of the road," said Dean Yoshina, district ranger for the Hood Canal District of the Olympic National Forest. "Wind, precipitation and freezing all add to the amount of material that can come down." Due to the steep topography, that section of road typically ex- periences debris and rock fall, requiring routine cleanup and maintenance. However, the 2006 fire increased the amount of debris significantly - sometimes result- ing in boulders the size of small cars tumbling down the hillside. A similar fire in 1979 also closed the road for a time when debris de- stroyed a section of it. There are several cabins located beyond the gate on the west side of Lake Cushman. "Those owners, willing to assume the risk, may obtain access to their property through the Lake Cushman Com- pany," said Yoshina. He added that the Forest Service does not intend to do any road maintenance or debris cleanup during the closure period. This winter, an assessment team will continue to evaluate con- ditions, monitor slope stability and track debris accumulations. The information will be used to deter- mine if the road should be closed again next winter. The Forest Service plans to reopen the road on April 1, 2008 when risk levels return to normal. tl SHELT IjMM__ASON CO °N" UNTY JOURNAL 00GDVF K 121st Year -- Number 43 5 Sections m 48 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington 75 cents Christian club SHELTON'S STUDENT MEDIATORS pose in the wake of their "summit meeting" last week with Capital. Seated, from left, are Jacob II Hicks, Paige Barrett and Jacob Hanes. In back are Dee SiA.gmjond, Robyn I Stewart, Kyle Burbridge and Adam Spurling. Not pictured. Alex Olson. Capital' ,,0000limbers meet The Enemy' -- PATCH e slings and arrows were fo be left at the door. ative though they were, they clidn t figure to serve tructive purpose with re- . the business at hand: ng to mend the longstand- L, tl tbetween Shelton and Capi- Schools. . COnsidered it to be kind ol i an unhealthy rivalry," said Climb- er principal Wanda Berndtson, speaking on behalf of her Cougar counterpart. And so it was that the two ad- ministrators did something about it last week. They rounded up rep- resentatives of the two warring student bodies and brought them together behind closed doors. On hand were matching con- tingents from each school. From Shelton: football starters Kyle Burbridge, Jacob Hanes, Adam Spurling and Jacob Hicks, bas- ketball starters Paige Barrett and Alex Olson, cheerleader cocaptains Dee Sigmond and Robyn Stewart, AD and football offensive coordi- nator Bill Hicks, counselor Susie Honaker Wirzbicki and principal Berndtson. Two days later the Climbers' representatives reassembled on their own, expressly for the benefit of the Journal. (Please turn to page 22.) of tainted soil to close First and Franklin streets, a second just a few blocks west at Fourth and Franklin. The First and Franklin site has more contamination, perhaps as much as 10 times more, than the other site, said Shelton Engineer Mike Michael. Beginning Monday, November 12, First Street will be closed at Franklin Street for an estimated two weeks for the cleanup operation, which includes soil extraction, infrastructure repairs and soft replacement. Closure of the intersection means traffic will have to be rerouted. First Street is one of the main north-south arterial streets downtown. There formerly were two gas stations on comers at First and Franklin. Michael thinks the probable cause of the contamina- (Please turn to page 12)  GREEN .ry of a contaminated soil town Shelton may snarl Bag an already busy First  Upwards of two weeks or ldhtl.n city commissioners  ,uon, Monday. "a b ![,  Were discovered recently I[york on the downtown Basin Project. One site is at First Ption's landmark waterwheel 00nerates historic nomination view of a property should a federal or state action have a potential ad- verse effect on the property's his- toric values. The structure was fixed up and planted in a new location along- side State Route 106 by the efforts of the Dalby Waterwheel Reloca- tion Committee. Financial support for this came from 23 members of the "Bucket Brigade," people who contributed a total of $34,000 by sponsoring the buckets lashed to the wheel. More than 125 people attend- ing a dedication ceremony in April of last year watched as the wheel started turning in its new confines. Among them were approximately 30 members of the Dalby family who traveled to Union from places as distant as England and British Columbia. The council will consider the status of the waterwheel at a meet- ing scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, November 2, in Room 412 of Barge Hall on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Overdose of rrteth took motorist's life The death of 43-year-old Grape- view man last month in a one-ve- hicle crash has been ruled an ac- cident from drug overdose, Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell has announced. Edward L. Koller died Septem- ber 16 at Mason General Hospi- taps emergency room after being involved in a non-reportable colli- sion on State Route 3 south of A1- lyn. "Autopsy and toxicological re- ports revealed that Koller's cause of death was from acute metham- phetamine intoxication also re- ferred to as an overdose," Stock- well reported. The death has been ruled an accident, according to Stockwell. Initial autopsy findings were in- conclusive and did not reveal any injuries to Koller's body, Stockwell said. alby Waterwheel in Union nsidered for inclusion on ,hington Heritage Register ilaShington State Advisory  Historic Preservation.  of a property does not deral or state restrictive s or easements. However, es assure protective re- IIIIIllllllillilllmllllllllllllllliillJlillllllllllllilllll the inside as ........................... 36 ttnity Calendar ....... 17 rd ................. 43 ient, Dining ..... 34 :uOUrnal ................. 18 h; es ........................... 10 bt i , Letters ................. 4 " .................................. 21 HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII B,!!!!IIIIjIJLILILIIlll at SHS okayed By JEFF GREEN It was come to Jesus time for the spellbound Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening. The board experienced a conver- sion from two weeks ago when a majority voted in eflbct to exclude two proposed new clubs at Shelton High School, the Christian Stu- dents United and Scrabble Club. But the board this week saw the light and voted to approve both clubs, bringing a round of ap- plause from several folks in the audience. What revelations prompted the change? Superintendent Joan Zook told board members Tues- day that religion-based clubs have both protections and restrictions. Such clubs must meet associated student body requirements, such as having a constitution and vol- unteer advisor, and cannot be sup- ported by public funding. ZOOK SAID she believes the Christian Students United club has met those obligations and recom- mended the board approve it for the current school year. The vote was 3-0 for approval, with board mem- bers Marry Crow, Holly Sharpe and Sue McCausland voting in fa- vor. Board member Peter Boome, who two weeks ago expressed his concern about the separation of church and state, abstained from voting Tuesday. Julianna Miljour, the board president, also abstained. She chooses not to vote other than to break any tie votes. After the vote, Miljour asked for comments from members of the public who had signed up prior to the meeting to speak on items on the agenda. Dick Swearingen said there was no chance for public corn- ments before the vote and chided the board for a process that he said was backwards. He also said it isn't good to inject the religious aspect into schools and that he's very much opposed to the board's decision. Lois Walker also signed up to speak, but opted not to, instead giving each board member a copy of her printed remarks. Among other concerns, Walker wrote the club will likely create another "in" group and a larger group ostra- cized as outsiders, students who don't want to belong to the club. "It certainly will not encourage critical thinking but rather follow- ing one or another version of reli- gious teaching," she wrote. WITH SO MANY different church groups (43 congregations listed in the Shelton phone book), Walker noted, there are plenty of places for students to pursue their religious beliefs. She failed to see how the club can add to the educa- tional goals of the high school. Boome said while he person- ally disagrees with having such clubs on campus, after looking at case law, it's apparent such groups have the right to exist. Federal law requires schools to give them equal access, and the district is legally bound to make sure they have equal access. The law is pretty clear in this case, he said, adding realistically the board had no choice. "We have an obligation to go along with the law," added Sharpe. As for the Scrabble Club, Zook said it also met the necessary re- quirements. Crow, Sharpe, Mc- Causland and Boome voted to ap- prove it, while MiIjour, as usual, abstained. Most mishaps? Bear Creek-Dewatto Road Which road in the county has the highest number of collisions? A segment of Bear Creek-De- watto Road, according to statistics compiled by Mason County Public Works for the three years prior to 2OO5. Data indicate this spot had logged 28 collisions and an acci- dent rate of 2.09 collisions per mil- lion vehicles miles of travel. A second segment of the same road also has one of the highest collision rates in the county. Runners-up in the county's col- lision count include: McReavy Road between State Route 106 and Manzanita Drive; Highland Road north of Little Egypt Road; Cole Road between Lynch Road and Shadowood Drive; Bear Creek- Dewatto Road between the Kitsap County line and Elfendahl Pass Road; and Arcadia Road between the Mill Creek Bridge and Lynch Road. Most of the collisions involved a fixed object off the roadway, ac- cording to information from the county. Excessive speed and driv- ing under the influence of alcohol or drugs were the leading causes of the crashes. Officials said that in most cases drivers' actions, rather than the road conditions, are to blame for collisions. About a third of all ve- hicle collisions in Mason County happen during hours of darkness, the report added. Staircase Road to close Forest Service Road 24, which leads to the Staircase area at the north end of Lake Cushman, will be closed to all public access (in- cluding foot traffic) beginning No- vember 1, Olympic National For- est officials announced this week. The gated closure, located just beyond the Mount Rose subdivi- sion, is in response to the 2006 Bear Gulch II fire, which burned approximately 1,200 acres directly above the road. The precaution is necessary to prevent injury to the public from rock and debris slides expected throughout the winter rainy season, a Forest Service press release noted. The road is the main access point for the popular Staircase area of the Olympic National Park. "The winter time is a deceptively dan- gerous time for the condition of the road," said Dean Yoshina, district ranger for the Hood Canal District of the Olympic National Forest. "Wind, precipitation and freezing all add to the amount of material that can come down." Due to the steep topography, that section of road typically ex- periences debris and rock fall, requiring routine cleanup and maintenance. However, the 2006 fire increased the amount of debris significantly - sometimes result- ing in boulders the size of small cars tumbling down the hillside. A similar fire in 1979 also closed the road for a time when debris de- stroyed a section of it. There are several cabins located beyond the gate on the west side of Lake Cushman. "Those owners, willing to assume the risk, may obtain access to their property through the Lake Cushman Com- pany," said Yoshina. He added that the Forest Service does not intend to do any road maintenance or debris cleanup during the closure period. This winter, an assessment team will continue to evaluate con- ditions, monitor slope stability and track debris accumulations. The information will be used to deter- mine if the road should be closed again next winter. The Forest Service plans to reopen the road on April 1, 2008 when risk levels return to normal.