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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
December 4, 1969     Shelton Mason County Journal
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December 4, 1969
 
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Editorials: It will be a gas Okinawa's loss may be Mason County's gain. if all goes well, the holiday season in Christmastree land will be brightened by a trainload of nerve gas rumbling through the county on its way from Bangor Naval Ammunition Depot to Umatilla, Oregon. This happy news was conveyed to Governor Dan Evans Tuesday by representatives of the Department of Defense, which is stuck with a batch of the stuff it must remove from Okinawa. The Okinawans, known throughout history as chronic gripers, have insisted they do not care to make Asia safe for democracy if that entails sharing their island with tanks of nerve gas. Governor Tom McCall of Oregon is apparently another Nervous Nellie type such as the Colorado scientists and teachers who complained last year because the government had stcred lOObillion lethal doses of nerve gas near Denver. When the governor heard about the coming sh/pment to Umatilla, he vowed to do evything in his power to prevent it, Governor Evans, as this was be/ng written, had adopted what political reporters call a "wait-and-see attitude," He was assured by the reds that every precaution would be taken to prevent a mishap during the shipment, which will be by rail. This is why Mason County may come up with the prize• The Department of Defense must know that if the shipment is unloaded and deposited on a train in Seattle, thousands of curious onlookers will rush to the scene for their first look at this star in our arsenal of defense, clogging the right-of-way and trying to snatch souvenirs. They know this will not happen in Mason County, where we are built of sterner and more responsible stuff. Moreover, if an "incident" did occur, it could provide the opportunity for the federal government to start its first experimental program of rural renewal. That would be truly exciting. The government could call for bids on a thorough scrubbing of the landscape and when that was completed repopulate the fresh new county with living creatures from a disadvantaged comer of Grays Harbor Cotmty, This is our community's shining hour and we must do something to show the world that we both deserve and appreciate the honor. It will take some hurried planning, since the shipment is scheduled for late this month or early in January, but we suggest the event be marked by the First Annual Mason County Early-Winter Nerve Gas Festival and Monster Rally. The prettiest girls in the county can vie for the title of Mi Ganglia. The winner, attired in a bikini fashioned of clam shells, will ride in the locomotive from Bangor through Sparkling Mason Lake, alongside Lovely waterfront to Freshly-scrubbed Cub Scouts and Bluebirds can line the tracks holding lighted candles as the passing taxpayers' millions roll solemnly toward a hole in the ground in Oregon. The Jaycees can import some sheep from Utah and sponsor the First Annual Mason County Early-Winter Nerve Gas Festival and Monster Rally Mutton Barbecue on the post office l.awn. And on every breast will be a colorful plastic button which proclaims in psychedelic lettering: "Living in Mason Cotmty is a gas!" Let's get moving. (As the old settler said when the cavalry found him with twelve arrows through h/s body: "It only hurts when I laugh,") L I • --et s talk books: ..... i t i .......... i "1 speak for both my wife and myself!" d • • Cap,tol dome. State reassessing aid to counties may decrease uncertainties, of an initiative cam paign. Initiatives on unemploymen.t compensation have been filed with the Secretary of State on three occasions, 1932, 1934, and t950. but none obtained enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Not Without Precedent Conflicting initiatives on the same subject, and on the same halloa, would be unusual, but it has ha ppened twice before. In 1944 there were two initiatives on public assistance. one sponsored by the Washington Old Age Pension Union and one by the Townsend Clubs of Washington. Both were rejected by substantial rnjorities. By ROBERT C• CUMMINGS ('eL| III it2S now rea ssessing property with financial assistance from the state are facing a possible slowdown for next year. At least another $4 million in state funds will be needed for tile second half of lhe bienuium. Governo Evans hasn't decided whethe to ask the 1970 Legislature for the money, but he apparently isn'l optimistic about getting it. lie has instructed the Department of Revenue to strelch the $2.85 million appropriated in 1969 to last lhrough the next year. The governor originally had asked the 1969 Legislalure for $4 million, with the intention of asking for additional funds next amounl lO g2.85 millioN, ballot. Initiative 176. which was however, and many have sponsored by the old age pension displayed a marked lack of union• and Initiative 179. enthusiasm for appropriating sponsored by Gee. Arthur B, more. Langlie's administration. Some 31 of the 39 counties Initiative 176 was defeated by are participating in the program an overwhelming n-ajority, but Double or Nothing. Initiative 179 was approved by a If the unemployment margin of about 102.000. compensation issue goes to the Initiative 179 drastically ballot box nexl year there will be amended Initiative 172, which two initiatives on the subject ..... had been sponsored successfully two or none at all. by the old age pension union two If the Wash/ngton State Labor years prev/ously. Council files an initiative, the "Wait 'Til Next Year" Association of Washington The Legislative Council's Business also will file one. But if judiciary committee is working on labor doesn't file, neither will credit'card legislation, but this is management, one of the issues which will be Both are hesitant of the held over until the 1971 expense, as well as the tegislativesession. Old flattop in the stormy Tokyo Boy strike combat duty Until, in an atr show in San Fran (and half drunk), he looped the Golden Gate bridge. He was disciplined, and, later, assigned to Annapolis to train midshipmen. It was here that Ben, now roan'led to Terry, mei "Golden Boy" Lee, a bigtime football star. "Ferry invited Christy to have dinner with them, after which -- to Ben's dismay - he became a steady visitor. One night, on coming home late, he found his wife and Lee in bed. In a fight, Lee was knocked out. Much later, by coincidence, the two men were assigned to the Shenandoah. The big battle at Tokyo Bay was a bloody one. It began in a howling typhoon that churned the sea. Men were swept overboard, planes broke loose and crusLed them, fires were everywhere. It was then, in a Jap attack, that Ben saw Christy Lee abandon station and jump into the sea to save himself. As the storm died down, more kamikazes came. Worst of all was the baka "fool bomb." with its human pilot, carried by a plane, loaded with a ton of TNT. These rockets came so fast they could not be tracked, much less shot down• Hit after hit was made on the Shenandoah and other task force ships. It was after the carrier's commander Capt. Milch was killed that Ben Caste took charge• Ihmk c;.].. Ire ;mlhol. i,,; an air and sea vel.ra, iloltxl I¢)r Ills combat tales. IIc wriles front carrier with Christy Lee, then a junior officer, and both know he is not fit for high command. Barney wants to face Lee at the hearing with eye witness accounts of his cowardice. Ben, knowing how Lee tends to panick under fire, wants to get to him ahead of the hearing, force him to withdraw his name. The unforeseen way this matter turns out ia the climax of the tale. Ben Casco came out of the hawtm pipe, so to sltmak. A poor boy, an athlete, set on a higlchool degree. He almost had it when Ter, whom he had dated, said she was pregnant, and Ben left town in a hurry. He enl/sted in the Navy and was sent to Pensacola for pilot training. He got his wings and was headed for By LLOYD A. COOK The Hero Ship. By Hank Searls, NAL, 1969. Force 10 from Navarone. By Alistair MacLean, Doubleday, 1968. Ben Casco, Capt. USN Ret., is on his way to a Senate hearing but stops off for a last look at the old Shenandoah, soon to be junked, lie came aboard the flattop in '41, before Pearl Harbor, and took command near the end of the war. The hearing was to confirm Admiral Christy Lee as U. S. Chief of Naval Operations, an assignment that Ben intended to block. On reaching Washington, Ben confers with Barney Epstein, an old friend. Both served on the lIll1IIlII1lIlIllIIIIIlIIIIIIlIIIl1I1llIlI experience witlf ships, with men and their problems above and below decks. His characters talk like men at war, which is pretty rough• Battle scenes are quite convincing, as is the plot as a whole. Alistair MacLean is best known for his The Guns of Navarone, made into a feature movie, but his "Force 10" novel is just as good. On the Beaufort scale, Force 10 signifies a major storm. Here, in this novel, it is the name for a commando team sent on a mission in World War II. Capt. Mallory leads the men and only he knows the true (or primary) objective. The problems, ostensibly, is to make contact with Tito Partisans m a rocky gorge of the Neretva River who are in desperate need of arms, food, and medical supplies. They are blocking the path of several German divisions which now threaten to destroy this motley army and to break through. The real point of strengthening the Partisans, however, is to cause the Germans to pull in some of their divisions on the Anzio and Cassino lines, where the Americans are attacking. MacLean tells the story with dash and lots of derring-do. Plots and counterplots are numerous, and so are double agents, acts of violence, and heroism beyond the call of duty. Scenes, while very readable and entertaining, are set up no doubt to be filmed. There is, as usual, one beautiful girl. Founded 188G by Grant C• Angle Mailing Address: Box 430, Shelton, Wash. 98584 Phone 426-4412 Published at She/ton, Mason County, Washington, every Thursday. Entered as Second-Class Matt' at the Post Office, Shelton, Wash. Member of National Editorial Association Member of Washington Newl41pr Publ ishers' Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $5.00 Pot year in Mason County, in advance -- Outs|de Mason County $6.00 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER ...................... Henry G. Gay PLANT SUPERINTENDENT ........................ J,m nrum NEWS EDITOR ................................... Alan Ford h Page 4 - Sheiton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, December 4, 1969 Under study is a bill which would relieve recipients of unsolicited credit cards from liability in case such cards should be lost or stolen. The committee will hold hearings on amendments proposed by the Washington Slate Bankers Association before deciding on the final draft of the measure. Slowdown Insignificant Some feel deflation is on the way, but there still isn't any solid evidence in state figures. The latest reports from the state department of reventie show sales tax receipts about 8/10 of I per cent below estimates: too slight to have any significance. St rip mining legislation, which remained bogged down throughout the 120 days of the 1969 legislative session, will be on the agenda for the 1970 session, but its troubles aren't over. It qualifies as environmental legislation, and Gov. Dan Evans has it high on his priority list. With only a little more than a month before the special session is to convene, however, much still remains to be done. A Legislative Council committee has been working over Substitute HB 495, which passed the liouse twice ths year, once in the regular and once in the special session, only to die both times in a Senate Committee• To date, the measure still is in Continuously rismg prices have counterbalanced effects of the same form as when the 1969 Legislature adjourned last May an increase in unemployment, the , "" • " under consideration. outer s pace. Revenue from the excse tax Bonding Dilemma on real estate sales is down about Among other things, the $3.5 million, but this particular committee is seeking enforcement revenue source fluctuates so much alternatives to the bonding that it never is considered a provisions. reliable barometer. The requirement for operators About the only significant to post a bond to guarantee factor is that all of the compliance has raised objections "'insignificant" signs point that bonding companies would downward instead of upward. "skim off the cream" of the business, but wouldn't provide bonds for small operators. Indignant taxpayers all pull together By BOB GANS 1 received my income tax statements today, and all I can say is "OiVay and Good Grief!" This tax bit is not only out of hand but it is absolutely ridiculous. They have now figured out a way to tax me for more than I earn. The way they do this is to make me pay taxes in advance on my anticipated next year's profits. The only thing left is to tax me on my taxes. I don't mind paying reasonable taxes or even extraordinary taxes but where will all this fantasia end? We held a mass-meeting in Beverly Hills, to protest these high taxes. What a meeting! The entire Hawthorne Grammer School Assembly Hall was full to the brim, with irate and • angry taxpayers. Signs were everywhere denouncing the politicians and their henchmen and demanding relief. I particularly liked the one that said, "Up Your Bracket" and the one that read "Taxation, With Representation is Tyranny." Suddenly a hush fell over the shouting, noise-filled hall. Our leader took the rostrum and started to speak. He told us of the intolerable situation in Washington, Sacramento and Los Angeles. He spoke of stupidity, inequities, inefficiencies and nepotism. We all screamed and yelled our approval. "Tell us what we must do" we shouted, and he raised his hands high and answered. "First we must stop spending billions of dollars in foreign aid, especially to countries who despise us." The place became quiet and three Indians, two Peruvians and four Yugoslavians walked out. "Then we must stop allowing churches and religions to go into business and not pay taxes." Three priests, two ministers and a rabbi stalked out the side doors. "Now we have to stop those billions spent on Pork Barrel projects, like flying to the moon and building rest homes for retired generals!" Seventy-eight scientists and sixty-five white collared men and a man who looked like Howard Hughes, left the room snarling. "We must stop cheating on Veterans Disabi/ities and relief checks!" Up jumped the Amertcan Legion and marched out. "We must stop subsidizing communist-oriented college professors and militant students!" Fifty-five long-haired, bush-topped screaming kids started a riot and the police threw /hem out, Now the hall was empty except for the speaker and me• We stared at each other. I smiled encouragingly. "And finally," he ejaculated, "we must stop businessmen and salesmen from cheating on their expense checks." I rose from my seat, left the hail, went outside and burned the jerk in effigy. Letter box: Long-whiskered things Editor, The Journal: I would like to congratulate Mr. Eugene French for his letter to the Journal. 1 also think it is high time that we in our community made an issue of what is going on around us and definitely try to put a stop to it. Last Weds. a group of young people seemingly did not like Mr. French's ideas. (1) It doesn't matter how a person looks, acts or talks they said. (2) Children do not as a rule have a luxurious hi-powered car. (3) Watchful parents are liable to cause a child to become rebellious. (4) You say Mr. French was speaking of the masters and mistresses of tomorrow. (5) You also said unselfish idealism is fine but it has now developed into materialism. Your letter was well written and showed that you are gaining knowlege at an average rate. Now if (and I hope you are) decent clean kids, I am sure Mr. French's letter was not aimed at you or your parents. ltowever, I would like to say, knowledge you may be gaining, and that is fine, but knowledge is not worth a cent without wisdom• That is one thing most of us lack. You said the unselfish idealism of your parents who struggled to raise you is now turning to materialism. ! say Colossal Egotism• You say it doesn't matter how a person looks, acts or talks. "Cleanliness is next to Godliness and where you walk and how you talk certainly shows what you are inside." You say Mr. French was speaking of the masters and mistresses of tomorrow. ! say God help us. These dirty disheveled, long whiskered things in Evergreen Square are the ones Mr. French was speaking of and if you are trying to defend them; wg.are speaking of you. You say watchful worried parents are liable to make you rebellious• 1 say those same parents are sure nice to have around when you have to go to Police Court. Child raising is a 100% job and it should be appreciated. You say -not many kids have luxurious cars. I say - Perhaps not but it seems to take a juvenile and a lot of adults a long time to learn that a car is not a toy. In the hands of the wrong person it becomes s dangerous murder weapon. I think there are far too many cars brought to school. We pay taxes for busSeS and the cars should be left home. We also pay funeral expe.ns.es; hospital bills, and htghe insurance rates. Railroad Ave. clear to Dayton is a popular dog striP'nstead of being indi.gnant  Mr French and crying necau., • . OIJI you and your friends got Y . toes stepped on, why don't you take his letter for what " intended it and help clei town up. Don't tell me it need it. Read the Police blotter this paper. When a person has to w_eaa [ long hair, dirty clothes and teat_ to show that he is an intelleCtUu, he is a fraud. He is merely g o!.n$ along with the HippY, AnarclUS" and Communist. You say -- The child should be allowed to speak up in sc_ho I i say .... True. But we send ng our children to schO: learn and not to teach. 1 am -.', many of our teachers are d °a too much listening• • r So my hat is off t°il  French. ! sincerely wish wean d more Superintendentn "- teachers like him. Ralph Endicott Rt. 2. Shelton. Tweak their feathers Editor, The Journal Thank goodness for an editor with a slightly mocking pen. Life would indeed be grim if we were forced to view with awe and reverence the shinanigans and chicaneries of the political arena• It's a long time since we've seena politician :with ahalo and every year our chances gr°W2:  of electing just an honest, mu q self-made candidate. We just car, buy them like that anymo,re, their So, go ahead, twearn'.0n feathers and roast tile occasion. You and [ won't aWsyS agree, but how dull if we did ...., Mrs. W. L. Collins Help for teenagers e t and their would be k p -ld be ob'ectives in all cases w°_,,s that of steering youngste,::vc "Course of Constt Editor, The Journal: We adults shouldn't sit back and criticize unless we can come up with some possible solutions to teenage problems. I have lived here for ten years and very little has been done to solve these problems• So now 1 offer the following solutions: 1. A County Multi-Purpose Recreation Park. We would need a minimum of 40 acres and an additional 40 acres for future expansion. The buildings would have to include swimming pools, game room, snack bar, Gym-Dance area, space for crafts etc. etc. The park area would include picnic facilities, playground, ball field, tennis courts and other features that may be desired, with a future expansion to include a library, a zoo of local wild life, and nature trails• The possibilities are tremendous. It would be put into service with a paid director, volunteer help and a board of County teenagers who would help set up policy and organize activities. 2. A County Inter-District Vocational Training Complex• This could be achieved through a recently passed Senate Bill 88, Chapter 140, laws of 1969 allowing for interlocal agreements between local taxing districts. This vocational school could meet the needs of all teenagers in Mason County• This would allow schools to set up education programs for the vocationally oriented as well as the college bound students. 3. Hire at least two people whose job would be to work with teenagers, completely separated from the school or the law. They would have to be very understanding, dedicated people whom the kids could talk to without fear of being prosecuted or hauled into court• No records d Citizenship." aroiised a t ] 4. Only an can crste, ri concerned public ;s S L ', mobilize and implement res to deal ad uatelv with pro o-.£, l ' q - ' tO"" ,,11 of teenagers in all their corse 7 rofessiona themselves to th all tlt :: newspaper could spearhe enf'l[ improV e idl • program of County you coo 'i:i and, Mr. Editor, provide the leadershiP. 5. The all mighty needed to the tune ol million dollars. valuation of Mason have to be used purposes. We have hospital for $2.35 $1,000.00 valuation llarstine Bridge for each $1,000.00 valuat about aria extra $5. teenagers of Mason got them into this rut; generating a little stea them out. at to steP. ,i[( l withcertainlYthe firstmea'letter' ![/ twO:: not entirely °.st#'..;: content but quoteO ducStolr from leading AmeriCan ,-itta :: of today. I am n°tryi0$t,i teenagers, lust frustrateu -  help kids ' , hgure out a way to --d acltt4: Peovle have haa L01t# needle "the teaching °t'tT!, tame when t but not ths " - wi t of society starts slaal0V¢,7]i interest- yes, and plaintive" 0 ss :> in its dealing with cmo_ /ill American teacherS, w,d $ 0,tl ;' well on the way to.SO l[ greatest national PUZZlellatlOCg ! Gene French ;f Will miss Bill Editor, The Journal: Will miss Bill Dickie's Sideline Slants very much, but do agree that he has earned a rest in Arizona's valley of the sun. Maybe you can prevail upon him to be a guest sports writer at times .... surely he will want to comment on such things as Wes Stock, recently hired coach for the Seattle other such happen' To have his altogether from t Journal would be a whatever his decision, him the best. Claude A. Dailey