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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
October 27, 2016     Shelton Mason County Journal
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October 27, 2016
 
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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-5 LETTERS TO THE EDffOR Neatherlin a fountain of Editor, the Journal My husband and I have owned property in Tahuya River Valley Community in North Mason since 1989. We met Randy Neatherlin in October 2003, when our first road washout disaster occurred. There were ap- proximately 250 households stranded inside the TRV area for four days. We still only have one way in and out of the area. Randy was there help- ing us. Randy is a fountain of information with knowl- edge from attending all the meetings he attended long before he was a county com- missioner. Randy has never steered us wrong. We trust him wholeheartedly. Any is- sues between any department have nothing to do )vith the taxpayers and voters. With one senior county commis- sioner retiring this year, we need someone in there that knows what's going on. Randy has been in that position long enough and understood the issues long before he was in that chair. We want somebody who represents us in North Mason with the knowledge of what's going on in the entire county. Randy grew up in North Ma- son and is aware of our needs. He has his own family grow- ing up there as well. We learned that in an emergency, it's best to have someone with knowledge and know-how to get us through any kind of emer- gency. We have always been able to depend on Randy in the past and still can. He has been loyal and trustworthy and quite honest. We are en- dorsing Randy Neatherlin for Mason County Commissioner. Margie and Walter Benson Tahuya leads the way Editor, the Journal I am writing to encourage voters to look carefully to the future as we vote for candi- dates to represent us in local, state and federal positions. There are many challenges and the Democratic candi- dates represent the hope for the future. Please compare the Republican and Demo- cratic party platforms: For human rights; environmental concerns; tax fairness; good paying; green jobs and women and minority equality, the Democratic platform leads the way. I also encourage a vote for the creation of a separate parks district that will focus on the future of our county parks, trails, recreation and green spaces. The new com- missioners will be able to build upon what good has been created and advance the opportunities for citizens and visitors to benefit their health and our children's positive outcomes. Michael Siptroth Belfair We need at the top Editor, the Journal There is promise and power in the determination of our future when we exercise the right to vote. We get to speak our minds and pos- sibly set the direction of our community when we vote our conscience. While many are greatly disenchanted with the presi- dential stage, let us not forget the importance and impact of local elections. The roles and responsibilities of our locally elected officials truly impact our daily lives more than we know. This campaign has given me insight as to what lengths we need to take to better com- municate and educate our citizens on local government process and issues. We need to go the extra mile to reach outto our communities; find new ways to engage our citi- zens in the local process; and expand public input and par- ticipation. We need true leadership at every level of government. Leadership is more than just stepping up to the micro- phone. Leadership is trust, character and communica- tion. I believe that in this elec- tion cycle, we need to look at our local leaders and decide who we trust, whose charac- ter we respect, and whether they communicate honestly. Leadership is not easy, but it is necessary to move forward as a county and a commu- nity. Let's think about the fu- ture of Mason County. Let's create a vision that is bold in nature and careful in planning. Instead of getting drawn into public disputes, let's turn our energy to hav- ing a greater sense of compas- sion for others and invest in our communities. We have an opportunity to change the direction of our local leadership in the hopes of finding solutions and strat- egies for sometimes complex local issues and concerns. "I believe that voting is the first act of building a com- munity as well as building a country." (John Ensign) I ask for your vote for Kel- ley McIntosh for county com- missioner District 1 on Nov. 8. Jean Farmer Allyn Shutty not tenured enough to serve Editor, the Journal A past article in the March 10 Journal featured an interview with an aspir- ing county commissioner candidate who seeks to pro- vide "affordable housing, public safety and open and transparent government for our community." He seeks to do this having lived in District 2 (Union) for a little more than a year. He stated, "I think com- missioner (Tim) Sheldon has provided a stable voice and he certainly brings experience, and I want to take up where he left off." Unfortunately, he failed to check Sheldon' record as a part-time county commission- er. The attendance records reveal the many occasions on which Sheldon failed to meet with the other commissioners or signed in and walked out to do his "other job in Olympia." This double dipping is paid for by Mason County taxpay- ers. It doesn't take a genius to determine that a brief residence in Union won't do what is needed after this lengthy neglect and self-service conduct of the incumbent whom he seeks to emulate. Roslynne Reed, also a can- didate, was born in District 2, is a Skokomish Tribal mem- ber, a member of the Hood Canal School Board, a land- owner and a small business entrepreneur. She has served with and continues supporting numer- ous volunteer organizations. Working with the local tribal economic development effort to increase economic resourc- es is her passion. Unfortunately, for Mr. Shutty, an affable, friendly newcomer, he has fixed his gaze on the wrong star. Doug Sayan Agate Opportunity for progress in Mason County Editor, the Journal Strangely, most of my closest friends are very con- servative. They have some admirable values and I have great respect for them, but in my mind, they are missing something. They tend to like the status quo. I think rather than living in the past, we should accept the reality of daily change, and take advantage of it in a progressive process. Here are some things to consider, support and make happen in our community: 1. An ongoing plan for a four-lane state Route 3 from the connection in Bremerton, bypassing Belfair and over- land to U.S Highway i01, continuing as four lanes to connect south of Shelton. 2. If item i is still in the future, then the existing state Route 3 needs a middle lane at Johns Creek and Deer Creek business areas, and the dangerous Johns Prairie intersection needs reconfigu- ration. Our current state rep- resentatives claim that funds generated here are going other places. 3. The Lynch Road inter- section reconfiguration on U.S. 101 is continually post- poned. Get it done. 4. Aggressive cleanup of the swampy lakes along U.S. 101 north of Shelton that were left with dumped pollutants from the Rayonier Inc. pulp mill in the 1950s. 5. Cleanup of the original garbage dump at the west end of C Street. 6. Support of the proposed business and residence devel- opment west of U.S. 101 in north Shelten. 7. Expand the two-lane ex- periment on Railroad Avenue in Shelton. 8. With the flower baskets provided by the Chamber of commerce, and other vegeta- tion, Railroad Avenue really looks great. Don't step now. 9. Expand downtown Shel- ton and the waterfront area for a tourism market. 10. Replace the narrow Goldsborough Creek bridge on First Street. 11. A good activity for the chamber could be to encour- age businesses in the area to enhance their integrity as leaders of change, setting ex- amples for others by commit- ting to the following: a. Stop the silliness of a product priced at $29.99 when $30 would work just fine. Al- though it's been generally ac- cepted through the years and taught in marketing college courses, it's manipulative, kind of insulting to customers, and shows a lack of integrity, and the lack of courage to change it by its users. Keep it simple. b. Service stations in Ma- son County: Please go a step beyond item (a) above, and lead the country by eliminat- ing the idiotic nine-tenths of 1 percent supplement on the price of a gallon of gas. Again, it's manipulative. It's been around since the 1930s. At about $2.70 a gallon, do people really care? Keep it simple. Some folks will probably consider the above to be ram- blings of an old geezer and there's probably some truth to that. Obviously, there are other pressing needs to be consid- ered, but Ill bet citizens in our area have some even bet- ter goals than the ones I've listed. Lee Hatch Agate about taxes with Prop. 1 Editor, the Journal After reading the letter from Neal Winders, it's ap- parent that Mr. Winders does not get it at all. I did not ex- pect scare tactics concerning families, kids and recreation. Please, Mr. Winders, what people are concerned about is how this proposition got on the ballot and the costs to taxpayers of the county. I like parks and recreation, how- ever your $30 to $40 a year for the average taxpayer con- cerns many owners of prop- erty here in Mason County. Many of us will exceed that number by $100, and what will we get except another layer of government? We have a parks department. Let's hold the commissioners ac- countable so they may not di- vert funds from parks into the Belfair sewer mess. Where are the timely public meet- ings that were also not held prior to Prop. 1 appearing on our ballots? Was this sup- posed to fly under the radar? We have commissioner Neatherlin up for election. Let's not return him to office for another term. What in the world are we creating here? Until we get more public timely input into this Prop. 1 and know more about it, there is only one choice. Vote no. Roy Kleiven Grapeview see lETTERS,-page A-6