December 1, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 1 (1 of 22 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
December 1, 2011 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
Thursday, December 1, 2011
-- Week 48 -- The Voice of Mason County since 1886" Published in Shelton, Washington -- $1
Former
Journa pno[o Dy atalle Johnson
Evergreen Elementary School's physical education teacher Kenn Clark runs from students during the 32nd
Turkey Trot.
Children take to the streets
for annual Turkey Trot
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Evergreen Elementary students gathered
last Wednesday for a yearly ritual spanning
more than three decades at the school - the
annual Turkey Trot.
"They've done it as long as the school's been
here," Evergreen parent Sharon Fogo said.
Kenn Clark, physical education teacher
at Evergreen. volunteered to dress up as the
turkey for the 32nd Turkey Trot.
While the race is a quarter-mile long for
kindergarten through second-grade students
and a half-mile for third- through fifth-grad-
ers,'Clark said the race is mostly for fun.
Tiny turkey enthusiasts normally run on
loop field, but heavy rains made the field a
soupy mess, so the school roped off a city
block and ran the race in the street.
Fogo has two daughters in the race, fourth-
grader Sierra and second-grader Jenessa,
The Fogo family has a proud history of doing
well in the race, she said.
"My second-grader, when she was in kin-
dergarten, she won the Turkey (Trot), so now
she puts all this pressure on herself," Fogo
said.
Fogo's daughters aren't the only ones who
take the race seriously, and for good reason.
In each grade, the winning boy and girl
each take home a turkey. The second place
girl and boy in each grade get chickens, third
gets a game hen and fourth place winners
take home a dozen eggs.
Evergreen staff members said they mar-
vel each year at how a dozen eggs get safely
home with an elementary school student.
ason
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Mason County's local fair
has been in a precarious po-
sition since the county elimi-
nated the event from its bud-
get in 2010.
In spite of the long odds
against it, the Mason Area
Fair will once again go on,
with new leadership in 2012
and is scheduled for Friday,
July 27 through Sunday,
July 29.
"Something that's been
going on for over 100 years.
Why wouldn't you wan~ to
see it continue?" said Art
Tozier.
The Mason Area Fair As-
sociation unanimously elect-
ed a new executive board in
November.
Tozier was elected presi-
dent of the board, with Julie
Gray as wce president, Sha-
ron Donaldson as secretary
and Lissa McClanahan as
treasurer. The only returning
executive board member is
Leilani Dixon as co-treasurer.
In 2010. when the county
announced it would no lon-
ger put on a fair. a group of
fair enthusiasts and super-
intendents got together to
create the Mason Area Fair
Association, a nonprofit, in
order to keep a local fair in
Mason County.
After two years, of put-
ting on the fair. the associa-
tion needed a new executive
board for 2012.
IllliJ!!l!i!il!!!!tli!llll
will b
Journa photo Dy Natalie Johnson
Art Tozier, the newly elected president of
the Mason Area Fair Association Executive
Board, said counties need to work to
preserve local fairs.
community, if we have the
capabilities to guide some-
thing so pure as a commu-
nity fair, then we should."
Tozier said finding a
new location for the fair
needs to be a continuing
conversation for the fair
board.
The current fairground
property, near Sanderson
Field on Port of Shelton
property was leased to Ma-
son County by the port for
almost 50 years. In 2013,
the original end of the
"It didn't look like there
was anybody who wanted
to take the responsibility,"
Tozier said. "On a local
level, if you don't have any
sustainability in agricul-
ture you have problems...
I see it as something that
needs to be carried for-
ward."
Tozier said the Mason
County Fair, and agricul-
ture, has always been a
huge part of his life.
"We're farming the
same farm that has been
farmed by my family for
decades." he said. "I think
it's truly truly important
-- anything that connects
people with their roots,
family, agriculture."
John and Rachel Han-
sen, of Northwest Event
Organizers, will also re-
turn to organize the 2012
Mason Area Fair.
After the 2011 fair,
the Hansens announced
that after two years, they
would not organize the fair
in 2012, after discourag-
ing opposition from some
members of the public.
However, Rachel Han-
sen said they reconsidered
after seeing that by No-
vember, no one else had
stepped forward to orga-
raze the fair.
'%Ve waited and nobody
else was doing it and I was
surprised that a lot of peo-
ple just kind of wrote the
fair off. After a century,
how can everything grind
to a halt when two single
people walk away?" she
said. "With all the things
that are being cut in our
gain in 2012
county's lease, the Port of
Shelton is required by the
Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration (FAA) to revert the
land to airport use, and
displace the fair.
One way or another, the
fair needs to go on, to help
kids learn about agricul-
ture and to bring the com-
munity together, Tozier
said.
In an era when kids
spend much of their time
indoors playing video
games and when many
people don't know where
their food comes from be-
yond the grocery store,
fairs are very important,
he said.
"It's important to keep
traditions alive," Tozier
said. "There's nothing
more important than com-
munity."
Tozier and his fellow
fair board members will
begin working hard in
January to put on the 2012
fair.
"I don't know whether
we can do a better job than
anyone else has done but
we ... can give it a good
effort and stand behind
something," he said. "If
we do the things that are
there better and add m it
I bet it will be a success
story."
Fair association meet-
ings are public and are
usually on the first Mon-
day of the month.
There is no December
meeting. The next meeting
is at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 at
the Port of Shelton admin-
istrative office.
SPD chief
dies at 60
STAFF REPORT
Former Shelton Police
Chief Terry Davenport died
Sunday, Nov. 27, following
complications from a stroke.
Davenport, who lived in
Olympia, was 60 when he
died.
Davenport took over the
Shelton Police Department
in 2001 and retired this
past March to take a job as
a program manger for the
Washington Traffic Safety
Commission.
Davenport's policing ca-
reer began in Tumwater
where he joined the force as
a patrolman. While there,
he Was promoted lieuten-
ant patrolman, detective
and acting commander.
During his time there, he
was responsible for bring-
ing the D.A.R.E. program to
Tumwater schools. Prior t'o
becoming a policeman, Dav-
enport served in the United
States Army, from 1970 to
1985, including two tours in
Vietnam.
A complete obituary for
Davenport appears in an ad
on page B-7 of this week's
Journal.
Skok man's
drowning
ruled acCident
By KEVAN MOORE
Mason County Coroner
Wes Stockwell has deter-
mined that a 27-year-old
Shelton man found dead on
an Oakland Bay beach Fri-
day, Nov. 25, died acciden-
tally as a result of saltwater
drowning.
The fully clothed body of
longtime Skokomish Res-
ervation resident Edward
Charles Cultee III. 27, was
found by a couple walking
the beach near Swindlers
Cove Road. Investigators
say that Cultee was a tran-
sient at the time of his death
and was likely living in a
homeless encapment near
where he die&
Mason County Sheriff's
Office Chief Deputy Dean
Byrd said that there was no
obvious trauma to Cultee's
body or any other signs of
foul play.
Stockwell also said tha~
suicide was ruled om as a
possible manner of death.
An autopsy was performed
Monday and toxicology re-
sults are still pending.
Journal, 40 et 8
Christmas donations
surpass $7,000
A series of donations
pushed the Journal and
40 et 8's Christmas baske~
fund past the $7,000 this
week. The overall goal is to
raise $40,000.
Here's a closer look at the
most recent donations:
Sons of the American Le-
gion, $200; Jim and Tina
Nutt in Memory of Ted
Hawk, $40: anonymous,
$100; Mariano's Fine Jewel-
ry, $300; Bill LaMont, $100;
anonymous, $20: Shelton
Kiwanis Club, $500: John
and Patricia Tarrant, $100;
Roslynne and David Reed,
$300; Barbara W. McDow-
ell, $100; Fawn Lake Ladies
See Donations on page A-7