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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[
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