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" "" PDC looking to fix law on
00UI00I4 leS
00eno000000e00ttan00 lying thrown out by court
er • " and wife Karen of Everett and
n w.ife Barbara
e] -law Billie
[ck and Michael Hunt-
ley of Olympia, Tanya Graham
most of her
nin Shelton.
:ghe was born
0-lIay 11, 1918
rl| West Stay-
, , Oregon, to
u rge F. and
| babeth (Jack-
a) Stoner.
Herfatherand
hs worked in
u ing camps
l her fam-
returned to Vernis
ti eltoa to be Skillman
er to family
lbers, living in what is now
Own as the Walker Park area.
L ing the Great Depression, she
her family called many places
e, traveling back and forth
en Eastern and Western
,hiagton as they followed the
"7t harvests. ,
it_er father and uncles movea
, ir families to Arizona, where
9 Uncles worked in mines and
!mlt Wood, while she, her mother
I d sisters picked cotton to help
F°Vide for their family.
When the family returned to
lrt, she attended Southside
ool and Shelton Junior High,
Ving after the eighth grade to
rk as a live-in housekeeper and
.Vide childcare for an affluent
lton family.
,he married Thomas Leonard
hnan Sr. on June 19, 1937
;q Lthelton. They settled into a
J house on the shore of Lake
pi, bella before moving into a
) le they built together above
lid lake. They were married 43
0 ars before Mr. Skillman died
e L 1980.
, .$Uer her husband's death,
I.. Skillman lived with a sister
her husband and they trav-
l I. throughout the U.S. in a mo-
i.hOrae and took several cruises
li Alaska. f
li$Ahe was a homemaker most o
er life. When her children left
!e, she pursued her dream of
rki in the nursing field an
IU
led the staff at Fir Lane Health
1 Rehabilitation Center.
She volunteered in the reading
grara at Evergreen Elemen-
ry School, at the Tollie informa-
!1 booth and at the First Baptist
ch where she helped put out
Weekly bulletin and assisted
the kitchen during dinners,
ldings and funerals.
Stlrviving are daughter Hazel
lllmarth and husband John of
talWater; sons Jerry Skillman
of Livermore, California, Tiffney
Olson of DuPont, Sharon Settle
and Karen Visser of Union, Jodi
Carlson of Palmer, Alaska, Jef-
frey Skillman of Phoenix, Arizo-
na, Troy Skillman of Everett and
Shannon Skillman and Heather
Nacht of Shelton; 14 great-grand-
children, two great-great-grand-
children and numerous nieces and
nephews.
She was also preceded in death
by her son Tom Skillman Jr. in
2007, twin sister Vires Height,
sisters Frances Olson and Rosa-
lie Lefebvre and grandson Jessie
Visser.
A memorial service will be held
at 11 a.m. on Friday, November
16, at Hope Chapel, 421 West E
Street in Shelton. Pastor Ken
Nielsen will officiate.
Memorial donations may be
made to the Mason County His-
torical Society, P.O. Box 1366,
Shelton.
Arrangements are by McComb
Funeral Home of Shelton.
Avery Shoemate
' Avery E. Shoemate died of can-
cer on Wednesday, November 7, at
Saint Peter Hospital in Olympia.
He was 69 and had lived in Union
since 2006.
He was born on September 26,
1938 in Woodland, California, to
Avery and Eva (Commons) Shoe-
mate.
He married Barbara Stevens
on July 1, 1998 in Saint Andrews,
Scotland.
Mr. Shoemate worked for Pa-
cific Bell Telephone Company as
a portfolio manager, retiring in
1996.
He enjoyed golf and attended
the First Baptist Church in Shel-
ton.
Surviving are wife Barbara
Shoemate of Union; sons Robert
Shoemate of California, Chris
Morris of Oregon and Erin Morris
of Boston, Massachusetts; mother
Eva Kircher of Arizona; brother
Charles Kircher of Arizona; sister
Leotta Kircher of California; and
tbur grandchildren.
His son, Richard Shoemate, pre-
ceded him in death in October.
A memorial service will be held
at 1 p.m. on Thursday, November
15, at the First Baptist Church in
Shelton. Pastor Gary Schwarz will
officiate.
Arrangements are by McComb
• Funeral Home in Shelton.
00}rive to keep local
[oster children cozy
coat and pajama drive' will
fit foster children in Mason
ty.
Pae activity will run from 10
. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Novem-
'17, in the parking lot of Olsen
raiture at 414 West Franklin
'et in downtown Shelton. Chil-
of contributors will be treated
mplimentary cookies, coffee,
rn and balloons.
L e goal is to provide every fos-
Child in the county with a new
00reak dis .rupts
Fater services
A Water main at North 13th
et and Northcliff Road broke
around 3 p m. Wednesday,
:lton Public Works Director Jay
sor reported.
s a result, water was sched-
• fl to be offfor up to four hours to
.f Terrace Heights and North-
residents, including those who
oa Roy, James, Barnhard and
th streets while crews did nec-
|ary repairs on the water main.
Complete $595
360-705-2857
or 1-800-575-8823 24 hours
41Ways low cost with dignity
4ERICAN BURIAL &
SV, RV00CWS
pair of pajamas and a new coat for
Christmas. All are welcome to stop
by and bring a donation.
These items are needed in all
sizes for more than 200 boys boys
and girls. Information regarding
foster parenting and sponsoring a
foster child for Christmas will also
be available.
More information is available
by calling Jeanine Smith at 451-
6424.
(Continued from page 3.)
lenging the constitutionality of the
law which authorized it. Her cause
was taken up by the American
Civil Liberties Union of Washing-
ton, with attorney Venkat Bala-
subramani arguing that the law
infringed on Rickert's free-speech
right and that political truth
should be decided by voters and
not the state. Judge Paula Casey
found for the PDC in Thurston
County Superior Court, but Rick-
ert prevailed when she took her
case to Division II of the Wash-
ington Court of Appeals and when
the Washington Supreme Court
affirmed that ruling in a 5-4 deci-
sion published on October 4.
A dissenting opinion by Justice
Barbara Madsen said the deci-
sion "is an invitation to lie with
impunity" that "advances the ef-
forts of those who would turn po-
litical campaigns into contests of
the best stratagems of lies and
deceit, to the end that honest dis-
course and honest candidates are
lost in the maelstrom." Writing for
the majority, Justice James John-
son made the point that under
the law "a candidate is free to lie
about himself, while an opponent
will be sanctioned" and that this
language "suggests that the inter-
est proferred by the legislature
"- protecting candidates (including
themselves) - is the true interest
behind this law, not protection of
the electoral process." Johnson
holds that in the heat of a political
campaign a candidate's "factual
blunder" is unlikely to escape the
notice and correction by the oppo-
sition.
"IN OTHER WORDS, the
best remedy for false or unpleas-
ant speech is more speech, not
less speech," Johnson wrote. "The
importance of this constitutional
principle is illustrated by the very
real threats to liberty posed by al-
lowing an unelected government
censor like the PDC to act as an
arbiter of truth."
With three justices signing on to
Johnson's written analysis of the
case, Justice Gerry Alexander cast
the deciding vote and invited more
legal speech by writing a concur-
ring opinion to the effect that the
government may penalize "defam-
Women helping women
Cynthia Neilson accepts a $1,200 scholarship from the
Shelton chapter of the International PEO Sisterhood.
She has spent the past eight years in the Physical Ther-
apy Department at Mason General Hospital. PEO is a
philanthropic and educational organization founded
on January 21, 1869 at Wesleyan College in Iowa with
the purpose of bringing educational opportunities to
women.
Safety class helps older drivers
A driver safety class for senior
drivers will be offered on Thurs-
day and Friday, December 6-7,
at Mason General Hospital, 901
Mountain View Drive in Shel-
ton.
Eight hours of instruction will
be given between the hours of 10
a.m. and 3 p.m. on those days.
Participants must attend both
days in order to receive a certifi-
cate of completion, which may
qualify them for a discount on
Forest Funeral
0 REST
Home
"A reputation built on service"
Prearrangement is the
"best" thing yo.u can do
for your k,0000ed ones
Burial
Cremation
Ship outs
We are full service and affordable
Call on us today
360-427008044
313 West Railroad Avenue, Shelton, WA
i nl i
atory political speech" but that the
law in question is faulty in that it
also prohibits speech that is not
defamato.ry. "In my opinion the
majority goes too far in concluding
that any government censorship of
political speech would run afoul of
the First Amendment to the Con-
stitution," Alexander wrote. "The
United States Supreme Court has
ruled that defamation is not pro-
tected by the First Amendment."
Defamation is defined as an
attack on a person's good name
and reputation. In asking the Su-
premes to take another look at the
case, the PDC is looking for guid-
ance in how that definition can be
applied to attacks that are both
false and unfair. While it might be
false to proclaim that a convicted
burglar was instead convicted of
taking bribes, it might not be all
that unfair if the proclaimer was
merely confused about crimes
starting with the letter b.
A petition filed on behalf of the
PDC on October 24 by Assistant
Attorney General Linda Dalton
states that prior rulings of the
Washington Supreme Court have
held that even if a state law is
"substantially overbroad" the stat-
ute will not be stricken from the
code "unless the court is unable to
place a sufficiently limiting con-
struction upon the statute." With
this in mind, the PDC is asking
the court to define limits of the
law "restricting its application to
defamatory political speech that
constitutes libel or defamation."
ANDERSON OF. the PDC said
the justices can reject the petition
without comment or expand on
the subject of defamatory politi-
cal speech. Depending on how that
goes, the Public Disclosure Com-
mission still has the option of tak-
ing its case to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Rickert versus the PDC was the
subject of comments at last week's
meeting of the Mason County Com-
mission by Louis Cofoni of Spencer
Lake, who found the case to be un-
settling. "What are we to tell our
children?" he asked. "I wouldn't
want to see young people who are
getting to be voting age to figure
it's okay to lie."
State Senator Sheldon, who is
also a county commissioner, did
not attend the meeting.
their auto-insurance premium.
Those who attend will have
a half-hour break at noon for
lunch. Cost of the class is $10 per
person, and preregistration is re-
quired. To enroll, call 426-5239.
Blooms By
The Park
Delivery to
Mason and
Thurston counties
Weddings,
funerals,
• Unique
holidays, fl bts
or any • Garden
occasion, decor
• Live plants
Open Mon.-Fri. 8am-6pm,
Sat. 9am-3pm
Vema Liles, Owner
Your cal full-sertce floritt
Located b X Kneeland Park at
421 S. 1st St., SheRon
Amy W. Vandepitte
Amy W. V.andepitte, 95, of Shelton,
Washington, died Saturday, November 3,
2007. Amy was born February 14, 1912 in
Vancouver, B. C. to Fred and Emma (Han-
cock) Hartle. She grew up in Vancouver
and graduated from high school there. In
1935, Amy married Leon J. Vandepitte in
Vancouver. Leon died in December 1977.
Amy was a tailor at Littlers and Drury the
Tailor in Seattle. In 1959 they moved to
Escondido, California. While there they owned their own tailor
shop for several years. Amy moved to Olympia, Washington in
1995 and later to Shelton. In her later years she became an ac-
complished oil painting artist.
Survivors include her daughter, Donna Carnahan and husband
David, Shelton; three grandchildren, Brent (Tammy) Camahan,
Bakersfield, CA, John Carnahan, Olympia and Kathy (Randy)
Drayer, Lake Havasu, AZ; a nephew, Ken (Marlene) Phillips, Nara-
mata, B. C., Canada; also six great grandchildren, Lisa, Sarah,
Kevin, Jason, Kimberly and Lindsay.
Memorial donations may be made to Providence Sound °
Homecare and Hospice, 2146 W. Railroad Ave., Suite C, Shelton,
WA 98584. The family would like to give a special thanks to the
caregivers at Heatherwood Adult Family Home and Providence
SoundHomecare and Hbspice for their kind and loving care.
A private family service will be held at a later date.
Please leave condolences online at; www.funcralalternatives.
o_
Arrangements with Funeral Alternatives of Washington, (360)
753-1065.
Paid Obituary Notice -
i i i
Thursday November 15, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 11
" "" PDC looking to fix law on
00UI00I4 leS
00eno000000e00ttan00 lying thrown out by court
er • " and wife Karen of Everett and
n w.ife Barbara
e] -law Billie
[ck and Michael Hunt-
ley of Olympia, Tanya Graham
most of her
nin Shelton.
:ghe was born
0-lIay 11, 1918
rl| West Stay-
, , Oregon, to
u rge F. and
| babeth (Jack-
a) Stoner.
Herfatherand
hs worked in
u ing camps
l her fam-
returned to Vernis
ti eltoa to be Skillman
er to family
lbers, living in what is now
Own as the Walker Park area.
L ing the Great Depression, she
her family called many places
e, traveling back and forth
en Eastern and Western
,hiagton as they followed the
"7t harvests. ,
it_er father and uncles movea
, ir families to Arizona, where
9 Uncles worked in mines and
!mlt Wood, while she, her mother
I d sisters picked cotton to help
F°Vide for their family.
When the family returned to
lrt, she attended Southside
ool and Shelton Junior High,
Ving after the eighth grade to
rk as a live-in housekeeper and
.Vide childcare for an affluent
lton family.
,he married Thomas Leonard
hnan Sr. on June 19, 1937
;q Lthelton. They settled into a
J house on the shore of Lake
pi, bella before moving into a
) le they built together above
lid lake. They were married 43
0 ars before Mr. Skillman died
e L 1980.
, .$Uer her husband's death,
I.. Skillman lived with a sister
her husband and they trav-
l I. throughout the U.S. in a mo-
i.hOrae and took several cruises
li Alaska. f
li$Ahe was a homemaker most o
er life. When her children left
!e, she pursued her dream of
rki in the nursing field an
IU
led the staff at Fir Lane Health
1 Rehabilitation Center.
She volunteered in the reading
grara at Evergreen Elemen-
ry School, at the Tollie informa-
!1 booth and at the First Baptist
ch where she helped put out
Weekly bulletin and assisted
the kitchen during dinners,
ldings and funerals.
Stlrviving are daughter Hazel
lllmarth and husband John of
talWater; sons Jerry Skillman
of Livermore, California, Tiffney
Olson of DuPont, Sharon Settle
and Karen Visser of Union, Jodi
Carlson of Palmer, Alaska, Jef-
frey Skillman of Phoenix, Arizo-
na, Troy Skillman of Everett and
Shannon Skillman and Heather
Nacht of Shelton; 14 great-grand-
children, two great-great-grand-
children and numerous nieces and
nephews.
She was also preceded in death
by her son Tom Skillman Jr. in
2007, twin sister Vires Height,
sisters Frances Olson and Rosa-
lie Lefebvre and grandson Jessie
Visser.
A memorial service will be held
at 11 a.m. on Friday, November
16, at Hope Chapel, 421 West E
Street in Shelton. Pastor Ken
Nielsen will officiate.
Memorial donations may be
made to the Mason County His-
torical Society, P.O. Box 1366,
Shelton.
Arrangements are by McComb
Funeral Home of Shelton.
Avery Shoemate
' Avery E. Shoemate died of can-
cer on Wednesday, November 7, at
Saint Peter Hospital in Olympia.
He was 69 and had lived in Union
since 2006.
He was born on September 26,
1938 in Woodland, California, to
Avery and Eva (Commons) Shoe-
mate.
He married Barbara Stevens
on July 1, 1998 in Saint Andrews,
Scotland.
Mr. Shoemate worked for Pa-
cific Bell Telephone Company as
a portfolio manager, retiring in
1996.
He enjoyed golf and attended
the First Baptist Church in Shel-
ton.
Surviving are wife Barbara
Shoemate of Union; sons Robert
Shoemate of California, Chris
Morris of Oregon and Erin Morris
of Boston, Massachusetts; mother
Eva Kircher of Arizona; brother
Charles Kircher of Arizona; sister
Leotta Kircher of California; and
tbur grandchildren.
His son, Richard Shoemate, pre-
ceded him in death in October.
A memorial service will be held
at 1 p.m. on Thursday, November
15, at the First Baptist Church in
Shelton. Pastor Gary Schwarz will
officiate.
Arrangements are by McComb
• Funeral Home in Shelton.
00}rive to keep local
[oster children cozy
coat and pajama drive' will
fit foster children in Mason
ty.
Pae activity will run from 10
. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Novem-
'17, in the parking lot of Olsen
raiture at 414 West Franklin
'et in downtown Shelton. Chil-
of contributors will be treated
mplimentary cookies, coffee,
rn and balloons.
L e goal is to provide every fos-
Child in the county with a new
00reak dis .rupts
Fater services
A Water main at North 13th
et and Northcliff Road broke
around 3 p m. Wednesday,
:lton Public Works Director Jay
sor reported.
s a result, water was sched-
• fl to be offfor up to four hours to
.f Terrace Heights and North-
residents, including those who
oa Roy, James, Barnhard and
th streets while crews did nec-
|ary repairs on the water main.
Complete $595
360-705-2857
or 1-800-575-8823 24 hours
41Ways low cost with dignity
4ERICAN BURIAL &
SV, RV00CWS
pair of pajamas and a new coat for
Christmas. All are welcome to stop
by and bring a donation.
These items are needed in all
sizes for more than 200 boys boys
and girls. Information regarding
foster parenting and sponsoring a
foster child for Christmas will also
be available.
More information is available
by calling Jeanine Smith at 451-
6424.
(Continued from page 3.)
lenging the constitutionality of the
law which authorized it. Her cause
was taken up by the American
Civil Liberties Union of Washing-
ton, with attorney Venkat Bala-
subramani arguing that the law
infringed on Rickert's free-speech
right and that political truth
should be decided by voters and
not the state. Judge Paula Casey
found for the PDC in Thurston
County Superior Court, but Rick-
ert prevailed when she took her
case to Division II of the Wash-
ington Court of Appeals and when
the Washington Supreme Court
affirmed that ruling in a 5-4 deci-
sion published on October 4.
A dissenting opinion by Justice
Barbara Madsen said the deci-
sion "is an invitation to lie with
impunity" that "advances the ef-
forts of those who would turn po-
litical campaigns into contests of
the best stratagems of lies and
deceit, to the end that honest dis-
course and honest candidates are
lost in the maelstrom." Writing for
the majority, Justice James John-
son made the point that under
the law "a candidate is free to lie
about himself, while an opponent
will be sanctioned" and that this
language "suggests that the inter-
est proferred by the legislature
"- protecting candidates (including
themselves) - is the true interest
behind this law, not protection of
the electoral process." Johnson
holds that in the heat of a political
campaign a candidate's "factual
blunder" is unlikely to escape the
notice and correction by the oppo-
sition.
"IN OTHER WORDS, the
best remedy for false or unpleas-
ant speech is more speech, not
less speech," Johnson wrote. "The
importance of this constitutional
principle is illustrated by the very
real threats to liberty posed by al-
lowing an unelected government
censor like the PDC to act as an
arbiter of truth."
With three justices signing on to
Johnson's written analysis of the
case, Justice Gerry Alexander cast
the deciding vote and invited more
legal speech by writing a concur-
ring opinion to the effect that the
government may penalize "defam-
Women helping women
Cynthia Neilson accepts a $1,200 scholarship from the
Shelton chapter of the International PEO Sisterhood.
She has spent the past eight years in the Physical Ther-
apy Department at Mason General Hospital. PEO is a
philanthropic and educational organization founded
on January 21, 1869 at Wesleyan College in Iowa with
the purpose of bringing educational opportunities to
women.
Safety class helps older drivers
A driver safety class for senior
drivers will be offered on Thurs-
day and Friday, December 6-7,
at Mason General Hospital, 901
Mountain View Drive in Shel-
ton.
Eight hours of instruction will
be given between the hours of 10
a.m. and 3 p.m. on those days.
Participants must attend both
days in order to receive a certifi-
cate of completion, which may
qualify them for a discount on
Forest Funeral
0 REST
Home
"A reputation built on service"
Prearrangement is the
"best" thing yo.u can do
for your k,0000ed ones
Burial
Cremation
Ship outs
We are full service and affordable
Call on us today
360-427008044
313 West Railroad Avenue, Shelton, WA
i nl i
atory political speech" but that the
law in question is faulty in that it
also prohibits speech that is not
defamato.ry. "In my opinion the
majority goes too far in concluding
that any government censorship of
political speech would run afoul of
the First Amendment to the Con-
stitution," Alexander wrote. "The
United States Supreme Court has
ruled that defamation is not pro-
tected by the First Amendment."
Defamation is defined as an
attack on a person's good name
and reputation. In asking the Su-
premes to take another look at the
case, the PDC is looking for guid-
ance in how that definition can be
applied to attacks that are both
false and unfair. While it might be
false to proclaim that a convicted
burglar was instead convicted of
taking bribes, it might not be all
that unfair if the proclaimer was
merely confused about crimes
starting with the letter b.
A petition filed on behalf of the
PDC on October 24 by Assistant
Attorney General Linda Dalton
states that prior rulings of the
Washington Supreme Court have
held that even if a state law is
"substantially overbroad" the stat-
ute will not be stricken from the
code "unless the court is unable to
place a sufficiently limiting con-
struction upon the statute." With
this in mind, the PDC is asking
the court to define limits of the
law "restricting its application to
defamatory political speech that
constitutes libel or defamation."
ANDERSON OF. the PDC said
the justices can reject the petition
without comment or expand on
the subject of defamatory politi-
cal speech. Depending on how that
goes, the Public Disclosure Com-
mission still has the option of tak-
ing its case to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Rickert versus the PDC was the
subject of comments at last week's
meeting of the Mason County Com-
mission by Louis Cofoni of Spencer
Lake, who found the case to be un-
settling. "What are we to tell our
children?" he asked. "I wouldn't
want to see young people who are
getting to be voting age to figure
it's okay to lie."
State Senator Sheldon, who is
also a county commissioner, did
not attend the meeting.
their auto-insurance premium.
Those who attend will have
a half-hour break at noon for
lunch. Cost of the class is $10 per
person, and preregistration is re-
quired. To enroll, call 426-5239.
Blooms By
The Park
Delivery to
Mason and
Thurston counties
Weddings,
funerals,
• Unique
holidays, fl bts
or any • Garden
occasion, decor
• Live plants
Open Mon.-Fri. 8am-6pm,
Sat. 9am-3pm
Vema Liles, Owner
Your cal full-sertce floritt
Located b X Kneeland Park at
421 S. 1st St., SheRon
Amy W. Vandepitte
Amy W. V.andepitte, 95, of Shelton,
Washington, died Saturday, November 3,
2007. Amy was born February 14, 1912 in
Vancouver, B. C. to Fred and Emma (Han-
cock) Hartle. She grew up in Vancouver
and graduated from high school there. In
1935, Amy married Leon J. Vandepitte in
Vancouver. Leon died in December 1977.
Amy was a tailor at Littlers and Drury the
Tailor in Seattle. In 1959 they moved to
Escondido, California. While there they owned their own tailor
shop for several years. Amy moved to Olympia, Washington in
1995 and later to Shelton. In her later years she became an ac-
complished oil painting artist.
Survivors include her daughter, Donna Carnahan and husband
David, Shelton; three grandchildren, Brent (Tammy) Camahan,
Bakersfield, CA, John Carnahan, Olympia and Kathy (Randy)
Drayer, Lake Havasu, AZ; a nephew, Ken (Marlene) Phillips, Nara-
mata, B. C., Canada; also six great grandchildren, Lisa, Sarah,
Kevin, Jason, Kimberly and Lindsay.
Memorial donations may be made to Providence Sound °
Homecare and Hospice, 2146 W. Railroad Ave., Suite C, Shelton,
WA 98584. The family would like to give a special thanks to the
caregivers at Heatherwood Adult Family Home and Providence
SoundHomecare and Hbspice for their kind and loving care.
A private family service will be held at a later date.
Please leave condolences online at; www.funcralalternatives.
o_
Arrangements with Funeral Alternatives of Washington, (360)
753-1065.
Paid Obituary Notice -
i i i
Thursday November 15, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 11