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Thursday, October 27, 2011
-- Week 43 -- The Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- Published ,in Shelton, Washington -- $1
By NATALIE JOHNSON
The Shelton Police responded to a pos-
sible gun threat at Oakland Bay Junior
High School on Friday after parents found
a Facebook post with photos showing mul-
tiple teens, guns and gang mgns.
Last Thursday evening, Oct. 20, Shel-
ton police received a report from several
concerned parents about the suspicious
Facebook post, said acting Lt. Virgil
Pentz.
Pentz said on Friday that the Facebook
post contained "a report of some kind of
altercation with firearms today."
Ten officers and eight cars six marked
and two unmarked - stood guard at the
school Friday, which was an early release
day for the junior high.
Students were not evacuated and left
on schedule. All of the officers on scene
left soon after the school emptied.
Shelton School District Superintendent
Wayne Massie said that students were at
no time in danger, but the school and po-
lice needed to take the issue seriously.
Officers restricted entry into the build-
ing at all entrances throughout the day,
Massie said.
"More than anything they wanted to
make a presence in case there was an out-
side person coming in from anywhere," he
said. "We want kids safe and staff at ease.
It's being aware more than anything. It's
perceived threats, but a lot of bravado
over Facebook."
BJJH staff sent out an email to parents
explaining the situation. Massie said.
"I think the staff did a great job," he
added.
As of press time, the Shelton police
were still exploring possible leads into
the identity of the teens in the Facebook
post.
"We're still digging into it," Pentz said.
At least one teen was determined to be
from Kitsap County, but several others
had not been identified.
Officers found a cell phone number as-
sociated with the post, but it came from a
prepaid cell phone.
"It's almost a dead end," Pentz said.
A detective is assigned and will contin-
ue to investigate the case.
"We're definitely going to take every-
thing like this seriously," Pentz said.
Local schools, police
crack down on bullying
By NATALIE JOHNSON
In the last decade school fights and
bullies have taken a frightening
turn, from hair pulling and school-
yard scuffles to kids bringing guns
and knives to schools.
In only the past few months,
students around the country have
taken their own lives over intense
bullying, and only this week, a
gun threat initiated a significant
policepresence at Shelton's own
Oakland Bay Junior High School,
and a knife attack has left one
student in critical condition at a Sno-
homish high school.
"Bullying and harassment is a big
issue for teenagers." said SHS prin-
cipal Wanda Berndtson. "This hap-
pens at our school, online and in the
community. We are teaching students
how to address these serious
See Bullies on page A-7
Tahuya
man gets
25 years
in prison
Judge gives Daniel
R. Halverson, 52,
305-month sentence
By KEVAN MOORE
Tahuya resident Daniel
R. Halverson, 52, was sen-
tenced Monday to 25 years
in prison for attempted
murder.
Mason County Superior
Court Judge Amber Fin-
lay's 305-month sentence
follows guilty verdicts of
attempted murder and
first-degree assault earlier
this month in Halverson's
second trial.
The first trial in July
ended in a hung jury.
Halverson was arrested
in September of last year
after his Cheyenne Hill
Drive neighbor was shot
three times.
Halverson admitted
~o being at the man's
home in the early morn-
ing hours of Sept. 16 to
discuss the purchase of
a motorcycle, but denied
shooting him.
The victim, though, tes-
tified at trial that it was,
indeed, Halverson that
shot him.
Though Halverson's July
trial ended with a hung
jury on the assault and at-
tempted murder charges,
he was found guilty at the
time of being a felon in pos-
sessmn of a firearm due to
an earlier drug possession
conviction.
!
Candidates campaign on city time; city breaks Wash. campaign law
By NATALIE JOHNSON
The City of Shelton Com-
mission, and particularly
Commissioner Dawn Pan-
nell broke campaign laws
last Monday, according to
the Washington State Pub-
lic Disclosure Commission
(PDC).
"It's not only unethical,
it's illegal," said Lori An-
derson, PDC spokesman.
Pannell spoke during
the commissioner comment
portion of Monday's regu-
lar meeting with the intent
to dispel "rumors" in the
community.
The statements -- which
Pannell made an effort
to refute -- came direct-
ly from a campaign flyer
printed by Pannell's oppo-
.llllU!!l!!II!Ul!l!l!lIII2
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
City commissioner and mayoral candidate Dawn
Pannell broke campaign laws by speaking about
information opponent, Gary Cronce,
publicized in campaign materials.
nent in the November may-
oral race, Gary Cronce.
Mayor John Tarrant vo-
cally agreed with Pannell,
calling the "rumors," or
Cronce's statements in his
flyer, "unconscionable."
Shelton Police Chief
Dave Eklund gave a brief
presentation on crime
rates to address one par-
ticular issue, at Pannell's
request, and said that only
the robbery rate had gone
up by 171 percent. The
city's overall crime rate
went down 2 percent in
that time.
Also, Pannell said the 1
percent figure for streets
was entirely wrong. The
street fund is separate
from the general fund, she
said, and comprises more
than 1 percent of the total
budget.
Cronce then stood up
during the public comment
portion of the meeting
In the flyer, Cronce and acknowledged that he
wrote that the Shelton publicized the disputed in-
crime rate went up 171 formation, which Pannell
percent from last year and sought to discredit, as part
that the city only spends of his campaign.
1 percent of its budget on "It has never been my
streets, intent to lie or be 'uncon-
scionable,'" Cronce said at
the meeting.
According to the PDC,
neither candidate should
have been allowed to speak
on a disagreement over
campaign material dur-
ing the meeting per RCW
42.17.130.
According to the RCW,
"No elective official ... may
use or authorize the use
of any of the facilities of a
public office or agency, di-
rectly or indirectly, for the
purpose of assisting a cam-
paign for election of any
person to any office."
Anderson said that Pan-
nell violated the RCW by
speaking out against state-
ments made by her oppo-
nent in the mayoral elec-
tion during a public meet-
ing.
"We consider that com-
mission meeting a facility,"
she said.
Pannell said she was
acting only in her capac-
ity as a commissmner and
gave no thought to her
campaign.
"I would take exception
to that - all I was doing
was responding to rumors,"
she said. "I thought long
and hard about it before I
did it."
Whatever Pannell's in-
tention, Monday's meeting
turned into an impromptu
debate.
"This was not a cam-
paign issue," she said. "If it
was going to be a campaign
issue, I would have made
sure a whole bunch of peo-
ple were there to hear it."
Anderson said candi-
dates ~unning against sit-
ting commissioners should
also not be allowed to testi-
fy during public meetings,
since it could be construed
as a campaign statement.
See Candidates on page A-7
¢