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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 17, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 17, 2011
 
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Shelton-Mason County Journal Cou ncil hel Lake Cushman et 'Firewise' Journal photo by Natalie Johnson Deanie, left, and Bill Sostrich want people in Lake Cushman to know how they can protect their homes from wildfires. By NATALIE JOHNSON she said. "All we need is a dry sum- methods such as trimming trees and mer and some wind." cleaning off roofs and gutters. Lake Cushman residents know the After that fire, residents, includ- "The pttrpose is to teach people ... value of fire protection, ing Bill and Deanie Sostrich, came educate homeowners and residents The heavily forested area is sub- together to form the Lake Cushman how to live and be prepared with ject to annual fires related to poorly Firewise Council, part of the Na- wildfires," Deanie Sostrich said. "Es- containted camp fires and has had tional Fire Protection Association's pecially areas like ours that interface two fires in Bear Gulch, the most re- (NFPA) Firewise Communities pro- with forests." cent in 2006. gram. More specifically, she referred to "It started down there close to the The Sostriches said Leonard (Doc) "wildland urban intervace," meaning lake and burnt up the hillside," Bill Allot was instrumental in forming that around Lake Cushman, houses Sostrich said. the community in Lake Cushman. are built right in the forest, often Deanie Sostrich said the fire made Now, Bill Sostrich is the president of with little room between the houses residents realize that they needed the group and Deanie Sostrich is the and trees. Little trimming is done to to work hard to protect themselves secretary, any surrounding trees. from a forest fire. The donation-funded nonprofit, The council gets a lot of help and "That came within a mile of our di- which runs on only $3,000 to $5,000 visions at the west end of the lake," per year, promotes fire prevention See Council on page B-6 i i :i¸ /' Journal photos by Natalie Johnson KiT Klint~ left, dxrector.of Mason Matters and Jtflie Forville.write down their aspirations as part of last Thursday's Art of Life celebration, which recognized strides taken by the countywide Student Success Initiative. Communty leaders applaud programs leading to increased graduation rates By NATALIE JOHNSON Mason County schools. At that time, only clothing, dental screenings and other 60 percent of seniors graduated from high much needed services to the kids. Communty leaders came together lastschool in this county. "It's 100 different things I can't keep up Thursday to celebrate the accomplish- "A lot of families' basic needs weren't with ... We realized if that happened kids ments of the Student Success Initiative af- met," Klint said. "People fall through the would start graduating and not dropping ter years of working to improve graduation cracks." out," Klint said. rates in Mason County by 30 percent. A broad range of community organiza- Mason Matters is a countywide orga- "What we're acknowledging today is the tions came togther and realized that to nization, they started in the Grapeview community ... has really stepped forward support families and children, they had School District in 2006. As one of the many to fill the gaps in the safety net system," to work with schools and make sure kids programs involved in the Student Success said KiT Klint, director of Mason Matters. were ready to learn when they walked into Initiative, the Coalition of Churches and The celebration was dubbed the "Artschool in the morning. Community North Mason started putting of Life" Festival to honor Fran Morgan, a Klint recognized several groups, includ- together brown bag lunches for low-income contributor to the program who recently ing the state's Readiness to Learn pro- students. died unexpectedly, gram, which provides support to at-risk Jim Snyder was the superintendent of "There's a large hole in the hearts of students. Grapeview School District when the pro- many of the kids that she touched," Klint "They have the ability to make a hearty grams started. said. "Fran had the art of life ... we miss soup out of sticks and stones," she said. "It's just amazing starting with the bare her presence dearly." The programs started with providing roots and all of a sudden one program In 2003, Mason Matters put on a Chil- free meals to low-income students both worked successfully and then another and dren, Youth and Family Summit to ad- during the school year and over summer dress concerns over high dropout rates in breaks. Other organizations provided Holiday House at the Harstine I've noticed a lot less traffic on the island roads as the weather chills. By the same token, I think people tend to speed even more because they feel there aren't as many cars to get in their way. Again, I have to confess to a little extra acceleration at times, but with our narrow roads, we need to take care and slow down. In fact, with the end of 2011 fast approaching, that~ght be a good New Year's resolUti6n. ........ I hope you had a chance to attend the craft bazaar at Pioneer School. They had a great turnout and lots of ven- dors. The kids had a chance to make some wonderful holiday crafts and the Ki- wanis Club served up some delicious hot dogs. With that MIKE thought in mind, Dianne Dawley, CALLAGHAN Holiday House chair, would like to remind you of the next special event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26. The Holiday House at the Harstine Is- land community hall and fire hall will be filled with 35 crafters displaying their wonderful handmade items. Last year the Holiday House was attended by more than 600 shoppers, each ven- dor donates a handmade item, which fills three raffle baskets. The winners are chosen at 3 p.m. and you don't have to be present to win. Tickets may be purchased for $1 each or 6 tickets for $5, during the Holiday House hours. Also, to warm you up, the kitchen at the community hall will be serving soup, sandwiches and goodies. Last week the HICC held its monthly meeting and 61 people showed up. They had a great time, so you might want to put next month's meeting on your calendar. The new refrigerator has been installed and they need a few more donations to pay for it. The HICC presented hand-turned maple bowl (made by Harstine Island Design) to Pam Wood, for her service as the hall manager for the last 11 years. She has done a great job keeping the calendar, renting the hall and much more. Pam had a mission, which she handled with efficiency and flair. With this gift, the HICC family wanted to thank her for her dedication and service to our is- land community. The year 2012 is just around the corner. The community hall was built in 1914 so last month the HICC formed a Historical Preservation Committee. I think there is going to be a big 100-year ~ ' celebration for the hall so the commit- tee is searching for old records, photo- graphs or any other information about the hall. They are asking that you take some time and go through your records to see if you have anything to contrib- ute. Thanksgiving Day dinner at the community hall has been the island See Graduation on page B-6 See Harstine on page B,6 Thursday, November 17, 2011 - Shelton-Mason County Journal L Page B~i