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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 3, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 3, 2011
 
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Thursday, November 3, 2011 -- Week 44 -- The Voice of Mason County ~ince 1886 i Published in Shelton, Washington -- $1 By NATALIE JOHNSON The Mason County Board of Commis- sioners approved a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase for mental health and substance abuse issues on Tuesday. The commissioners voted 2 to 1 to ap- prove the tax. making Mason County the 18th Washington county to do so. "It's not going to generate a huge amount of revenue," said Laura Porter, former county commissioner and mental health advisory board member. "What it can do ... is help you manage and reduce costs to the justice system." Commissioners Lynda Ring Erickson and Steve Bloomfield voted in favor of the tax, while Commissioner Tim Sheldon vot- ed against it. The county can begin collecting the ad- ditional revenue, which is estimated to amount to between $400,000 and $600,000, in April 2012. Mason County Public Health will manage the tax and programs created by it. The mental health tax advisory board recommended that the county approve the tax and focus on programs like therapeutic courts for families to help reduce substance abuse and mental health problems span- ning generations and increase the availabil- ity of mental health professionals in jails. Sheldon has been vocally opposed to the tax since it was first proposed. During Tues- day's meeting Sheldon admonished Public Health Director Vicki Kirkpatrick for advo- cating in favor of the tax. Sheldon also voiced concern about over- sight of the tax and programs created by it and asked how Public Health would monitor progress. He asked how the county would know if the tax would give them "bang for the buck." "How would you know if you're doing a good job?" he asked. "Will 40 people be treated? Will 13 people be treated? Where will I find data?" he asked. "We have a re- port at the end of the year from MTA IMa- son Transit Authority) on how many people ride the bus." Kirkpatrick said results that other coun- ties have reported include decreased num- bers of the mentally ill in county jails and decreased recidivism, or rates of reoffending. Every citizen who gave testimony at Tuesday's meeting asked the commission to approve the tax except for one, who said the vote should go to the citizens of Mason County. The commission chose to approve the tax without a vote, in order to begin collecting the funds with less of a delay. George Radovich, commander of the 40 et 8 and Vietnam and Korean War veteran said he recently talked to a Clark County judge about the mental health tax. "He asked why Mason County wasn't on board." he said. "There's 30,000 veter- ans coming back from Iraq and Afghani- stan pretty quick ... they'll all have mental See Tax on page A-7 Veterans barbecue comes together By ARLA SHEPHARD When Frank Oster met Dale Haughian at ProBuild in Shelton last year, the first thing he noticed was Haughian's Navy uniform. Oster then proceeded to jokingly tease Haughian: "I told him I was also in the Navy~ but in the men's de- partment," said Oster. who served in the Marine Corps. Haughian replied back+ +-:,~!~+~+.~I~i quickly: "I tried to get into the Marine Corps, but my mother and father are still married." And that's the story of how Oster found his em- cee for the first-ever veter- ans appreciation barbecue in Hoodsport last year, a grassroots community event that saw a crowd of about 200 people attend. Oster and a small group of veterans including Haughian, and volunteers around Hood Canal. want to repeat the success this year, and they anticipate at least another 100 people to show up. "My personal opinmn is this is about making peo- ple aware of the veterans who are out here," Haugh- :an said. '~You go down the street, and you may walk past a veteran without knowing it. They don't wear it on their hats." Vietnam-era + veteran Bill Leander of Lilliwaup was surprised at last year's turnout. "After the Vietnam War, veterans were vilified," be said. "I didn't want to talk to anyone but family ... You lost pride. But I think that this generation has come to realize that freedom isn't free." The veterans barbecue will feature an open mic ses- stun and four guest speak- ers, many of whom will. tout programs aimed at assist- ing veterans, from Disabled American Veterans (DAV) to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW and more. "A lot of these veter- ans don't know that these programs are available to them," Oster said. "And when you ask for help, the first answer to everything is 'no,' and if you're like me, the first thing I do is give up." See Veterans on page A-7 +IIIIU!UI!!II!!!I!!IIII2 Above, Aurora Wolf, dressed as a lion, takes a break from trick-or-treating at the Robin Hood Village;in Union. ', left, and have met the same fate in their matching Halloween outfits on Saturday at the Robin Hood Village in Union. Journa photos by Natahe Johnson City keeps fingers crossed for upcoming public safety tax vote City of Shelton Commissioner Mike Byrne expressed concern over what state budget cuts could do to the city's finances. Journal photo by Natalie Johnson By NATALIE JOHNSON Budget season has been a painful and frustrating time for local government agencies for several years now, but this year the City of Shelton has a chance to come out more or less un- scathed. While the city has a pro- jected budget shortfall of $387,390, city administra- tor Dave O'Leary said the city has a sufficient fund balance to cover that short- fall, rather than make addi- tional cuts. "This is our fifth year of managing budget short- falls,,' O,Leary said. However, public safety takes up 48 percent of the city's budget, and in order to help fund that large ex- pense, the city placed a one- tenth of 1 percent public safety sales tax on the No- vember ballot: "It's not a panacea - if it passes it shouldn't allow us to add any more than we have and it buys us time," O'Leary said. If passed, the tax -- esti- mated to yield $177,000 -- would not be enough to fund any new programs or offi- cers but would help main- tain existing programs. See Safety on page A-7