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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
October 27, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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October 27, 2011
 
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[ JOURNALEDITORIAL When will kicking the can end? When county commissioners can down the road instead of dem- agmn. Fear not. though, because elected to spend thousands of dol- onstrating real leadership, instead of voting on the issue them- lars for consultants to lead a local Now that the consultants haveselves the board can kick the can study group on a mental health tax, done their consulting, the commis- yet again. we felt that they were kicking the sioners have caught up to the can The board can approve the tax, as an advisory committee suggests. and gwe mental health the at- tention it deserves here in Mason County or it can kick the can to vot- ers to decide. We favor the former over the latter. Adequately fimding and provid- ing mental health serwces makes sense. That's why 16 other Wash- ington counties already have the tax in place: it's an investment that pays demonstrable dividends. At a time when so many are so frustrated by political gridlock at so many levels, it would be refreshing to see our county commissioners stand up and do the right thing. Not because they have to, but because they CAN. LETTERSTOTHEEDITORTM Make your trict 6 is efficient and capa- ston's first words focused operation. And we are look- ble of serving the taxpayers on why a doorknob hangering for other cost-cutting and he does that by making did not have the name ofoptionS that we might vote for sure the proper trainingthe person who paid for implement. and tools are available to the door hanger. Clearly, As the mother of a l(:lyl I~T~'" "10" his staff and volunteers, no leadership displayed daughter who lived on the [ agree with Dave Salzerthere on the part of John- streets for many years, I when he wrote that a com- ston. Next, Johnston wascan tell you how important Pannell missioner for a fire district the subject of a complaint this shelter is. I know what does not have to be a fire- by an employee of the dis- it would have meant to my and Byrne man. Johnston needs to trict. Rather than conduct daughter to be able to sleep know how to hire the right an open hearing into thesomewhere that she knew person as chief and let that matter, the board chair she'd be sai~ and warm. Vditor. the Journal person run the operations, conducted an'investigation Someplace she could get a Someone who knows opera-with no formal report orshower and a clean pair of Ag~tm 1 am compelled tions is not necessarily the open meeting activities. So socks and place that would t(, write to urge my fellow right person to make themuch for transparency and have a hot cup of coffee or Shelton and Mason County decisions that affect finan- perpetuation of the good old cocoa to help her warm up. residents to vote for several cial. legal, personnel and boy network. Johnston and I realize that a lot of peo- very qualified candidates policy issues, the chairman of the board ple have problems with the rmming for office in the up- Elect Johnston and you'll have long been suspectedhomeless why don't they coming November election, continue with the personof conducting district busi- get a job? How come they We are so blessed that this who has the right creden- ness outside of regular or expect everyone else to sup- cahb~r ol people are willing tials to maintain the integ- special meetings, a factport them? There are many to serve us in these diffi- rity and function of Fire now confirmed on video by answers to these questions, cult economic times. First District 6. the chairman on Sept. 27. answers that would take is Dick Taylor. running for 2011 after Commissioner too much space here. But Port of Shelton commis- Mary Jo Cady,Flakus indicated he has no the point is, they do need stoner. Dick is a big-picture Former Mason County idea of what decisions had help and those of us who problem solver, willing to Commissioner been made about hiring an have a roof over our heads w(,'~ ~t an issue to get all Shelton attorney and related expen- can all do a little. slde~ and hear all constitu- diture of district funds. The We need your support. en~ He comes with no oth- State Attorney General'sWe hope you would show ,, agenda chan to do what " ,r-I'leln our Ombudsman concluded thatyour humanity by help- Ls best tbr the community the chairman and Johnston ing those who don't have as a whole. He is an honest, students had probably violated the a home. A donation in any trustwurthy and straight- state's Open Public Meeting amount would be very i~,~ wa, d m,n with tons of Act. Retaining Johnston as gracefully received and k.,~dt~ .qup ~xperieuce who commissioner will continue every dollar helps. The ~ ~1[ maku a great port com- Editor, the Journal to erode what little confi- shelter operates under St. mis~mner Hood Canal students deuce many of the firefight- David's non-profit status so ~ext ,,~ Dawn Pannell. currently use technologyers in the district have in any donation is ~ax deduct- ru,mng tbr mayor of Shel- equipment that was pur- the majority of the board, ible. ton l)awu has been an chased used through the For information on how integral part of all of the state surplus system, was Mike DeCapua, to donate, call 432-1678 or infrastructure progress that donated, or was purchased Union email annde164Ca~nsn.com. Sh~qtou has been making used from more affluent I also welcome your ques- lat~:t~ cud has the experi- school districts. The state tions and concerns about ence ueeded to continue of Washington does not Safe and our program. tM. momentum. Dawn is a provide funding ~o pub- great |i~tener. very intel- lic schools for technology Ann Baker, Director [igent cud has a huge heart equipment so we are asking wa rm C~Jld Weather Shelter hn ~helton. I believe she the voters of our communi- Shelton will ,step into the leadership ties to support a technology Editor, the Journal rule as gracemay°r with enthu- leVYonly that would be assessed Imagine: it is 35 degrees "t let slas,u and a pile of in 2012. Don ~r,at new ideas. Please help our studentout, it's raining and the And fiually, Mike Byrneto be technologically liter- wind is ,owio u. the COP d~.,~cve~ to be re-elected to ate. It is vital to their suc- usual an event in western Washington in the winter. the Shelton commission in cess. order to continue the great And anyone who has spentdismantle work he has begun. Mike Tom Churchill even one winter around here knows that under brings a thoughtfhl and in- Superintendent telligent approach to the job Hood Cfinal School those conditions, it's darned ~nd can hit the ground run- District cold. Now imagine that you umg to continue the current have to sleep inn doorway reaulations progress m the city. or under a bridge or in the I' nn "1" i woods without any tent, KristyBuck .~.w..I,. reta r~ sleeping bag or bedding. Editor, thedournal Sound like fun? No, I don't SheltonJohnston think so. Last week I climbed Here in Mason County Mt. Ellinor. Wow. I am so Running a Editor, theJournal toWe have an opportunitYkeep people out of situ- fulhapPy to live in this beauti-state. I am a retired deputy ations like this. The cold One thing I noticed business police chief, former director weather shelter, which is though, while taking in the of public safety, former fire housed at St. David's parish magnificent view, was the Editor, the Journal commissioner and currenthall, provides a warm, safe layer of smog that now ap- property owner in Union,refuge for homeless adults pears to be a permanent The job of a commission- and I am a volunteer fire- in our county on nights part of our horizon. When I er at any level is to develop fighter. The recent letters when the temperatures are was young, I only heard of policies, procedures and a of support for Fire District low. This shelter is nor- smog in the southern Call- budget to run the business 6 Commissioner Dave mally funded by a FEMA fornia area. Johnny Carson they represent. Johnston have missed thegrant and a grant from used to make L.A. smog Dave Johnston, since his mark, in my opinion. First, Mason County plus private jokes. appointment as a Fire Com- Johnston implies that he as donations. However, thisIt saddens me to think missioner for Fire District a commissioner is respon- year, the grants were not that pollution is now so 6, has shown that he is able sible for the many service forthcoming. Now the shel- common and so accepted. to do all of that well. I've improvements undertaken ter is in trouble. It takes It worries me that the known Johnston for quite by district 6. All of the about $5,000 per month Washington GOP wants to a while and have been im- measures Mr. Johnston as- to operate; this includes open up the Olympic Penin- pressed with the way he sociates himself with came payroll, insurance, utilities sula for even more logging accomplishes the duties to from the command staff and and other expenses. At this and wants to dismantle which he commits himself, firefighters in the district, point, private donations are the EPA regulations. This He's able to maintain his The commissioners ratified critical, would certainly open the dignity and professionalism these programs so enjoy In my position as direc-road for even more corpora- even when others are at- success by association. In tor of the shelter, I amtions only interested in the tacking him. fact, rather than celebrat- working with others to find profits of incineration for His goal is to represent ing the district's success at ways to cut expenses. Wedirty energy to come to our the taxpayers to the best the meeting following the are asking local churches to state. of his ability. His job is to EMS levy vote and con- supply volunteer staff. We Now that all of our make sure that Fire Dis- gratulate the district, John- are planning to cut hours of county commissioners and all but one of our port commissioners are pro- incineration, I hope that people will consider voting for Jack Miles for Port of Shelton Commissioner. He is the only elected official who listened to those of us who believe in moving toward truly green energy and clear horizon. Carol Fulcher Hepburn Shelton What happened to fixing our roads? Editor, the Journal A few years ago, the City of Shelton tried to pass a vote that would have property owners paying out for paving our city's streets. Before it went up to a vote. I wrote a letter to the Journal's editor ex- plaining the appearance of all the streets within my hometown during a visit in Missouri. The city's roads were all paved inside the city limits and had been kept up. I also explained that citizens of Excelsior Springs, Mo. had a passed a half percent sales tax that went directly to roads. That way, anyone who traveled though or lived in the city would be. paying for the streets. The very day my letter was printed in the Jour- nal. I received a phone call from a ranking city official. I was told that I had a re- ally good idea. but however the Shelton city sales tax was maxed out and the city would have to apply for a higher tax increase to be approved by the state in Olympia. At that point in time the person couldn't see the tax being increased anytime soon. City voters voted it down. So now we are being asked to increase the city's sales tax to allow funds for public safety. I am all in for funds for public safety. Last time I checked, you need safe and well-maintained roads for your fire trucks and police officers to trav- el safely on. My question to the city and my fellow citizens of Shelton is what happened to the inter- est of getting our roads all paved and the upkeep maintenance? Apparently, the city got their sales tax max increase approved. I am all for public safety having funds to do their jobs, but I feel Shelton's streets should be priority No.1 and already should have been a measure that was voted on and passed first with our sales tax or been included with the current Public Safety Measure. Steve Gray Shelton Do what's best for our children Editor, the Journal I have always had a genuine interest in the education of our children. That's why my undergradu- ate degree is in elementary education. After more than 26 years in the military, I chose to teach rather than pursue some of the more lucrative opportunities that were available to me upon retirement. After teaching for six years, I reluctantly retired again to help care for my aging parents. For the last two years, I've been honored to serve on the Shelton School Board. I am not seeking re-elec- tion to the board because of family and personal reasons, but it has been a genuine pleasure serving with four people who are completely selfless and dedicated to our kids. I want to encourage you to re-elect Gene Crater and Sue McCausland. I didn't know Crater or McCausland at the time I joined the board, but over the last ~wo years I have become very well ac- quainted with them. I have the utmost respect for their abilities, integrity, dedi- cation and motivation as members of the board. Both are motivated by only one thing and that is to do what is best for our childrens' education. They eacl-i briiig unique skills to the job. Crater has years of teaching experience and has served as a leader in the teachers' union. He is eminently qualified to help set policy that balances the needs of the students with the needs of the teachers to whom we entrust our child- rens' education. McCausland has a vast knowledge of the laws gov- erning education, legislative and budgetary issues. She has the expertise to help lead this board through the difficult times ahead as we face further budget cuts. She too has an abiding love for and concern in seeing our schools improve. Both Gene and Sue are always available to listen to your concerns whether you are a parent, teacher, stu- dent or member of the com- munity. I have personally seen them in action and I can assure you they care- fully consider your opinions and suggestions. Brenda and I plan to vote for Crater and McCausland for the Shelton School Board. If you want Shelton schools to continue to improve, man- age wisely our tax dollars and provide a conduit for the community to participate in the process of educating our kids, then I encourage you to re-elect Gene Crater and Sue McCausland. Dean Hirschi Shelton See Letters on page A-5 lr~ Shelton-Mason County 11[ ..... ~ ............... ....... .................................. She~ton-Mason County Journal is a member of usPs 492-800 Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason SUBSCRIPTION RATES: County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. $37 per year for Mason County addresses, Published weekly by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. $51 per year in state of Washington but outside at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mason County, $61 per year out of state. Mailing address: P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com Owned and published by Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington She~ton-Mason County Journal, Inc Jesse Mullen, general mgr, Newsroom: Kevan Moore, managing editor Aria Shephard, North Mason, Advertising: Dave Pierik, advertising manager Harvey Morris, ad representative Front office: environment, reporter Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper Natalie Johnson, reporter Margot Brand, circulation Emily Hanson, sports reporter Cricket Carter, mailroom Adam Rudnick, copy editor supervisor Composing room: William Adams, graphics Koleen Wood, classifieds/legals Becky Corr, typing Pressroom: Kelly Riordan, production manager Travis Miller press operator Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, October 27, 2011