Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
December 6, 2012     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 4     (4 of 20 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 4     (4 of 20 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
December 6, 2012
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




JOURNALEDITORIAL Panic of 1893 took toll on Mason County, Northwest These are tough times in our region. Mason County's "official' jobless rate is 9.4 percent (unofficially, it's a lot higher). It's worse in our neighboring Grays Harbor County, at 11.3 percent. But the bad times today certainly do not compare with the economic disaster that struck here and everywhere more than a century ago. Historians call it the Panic of 1893, one of the two worst economic depressions to ever hit America. Only the 1930s Great Depression is considered worse. The '93 di- saster was especially cruel to timber towns like Shelton and to mill towns like Everett and Bellingham. "The crash came in May of 1893," wrote Mur- ray Morgan in "Puget's Sound," his history of the South Sound region. His account has a familiar ring, seemingly presaging the economic woes that have faced America since By JOHN" the housing collapse of KOMEN 2008. "There was the classic run on the banks," wrote Morgan. "Credit dried up as though a spigot had been turned. Construction stopped, services were cut, men were laid off by the tens of thou- sands." It was as if a switch had been thrown. Visit Port Townsend and you will see where everything stopped. Many of those historic buildings preserved today as tourist attrac- tions were abandoned by their owners in the Panic of'93. It is as if Port Townsend's downtown was preserved in historical am- ber. Timber towns were devastated. Centra- lia's population fell from 5,000 in 1891 to 1,200 in 1893. Towns such as Port Discov- ery, Port Madison and Seabeck virtually disappeared when sawmills shut down. On Hood Canal, "Dreams of making Union City into the 'Venice of the Pacific' failed to materialize," wrote historian J. Kingston Pierce. "Union City was booming prior to the Panic." East Coast financiers had plans to make Everett "New York on Puget Sound." Their plans collapsed; they sold out to John D. Rockefeller, who a year later also bailed out. Everett's paper mill, factories and street car company withered and died. Other abandoned projects included a planned steel mill at Kirkland on Lake Washington. High-powered industrialists invested $1 million in the Kirkland project and lost it all. Tacoma suffered grievously. Only four of Tacoma's 21 banks survived 1893. In Bellingham, the city's two largest banks -- The First National Bank and Bellingham Bay National -- closed their doors. Eleven banks in Seattle went under. Bellingham had to stop construction of its new city hall. Tourists today visit the classic structure that now houses a well- supported museum full of local artifacts, including exhibits relating to the Panic of 1893. Robert E. Ficken in his "The Forested Land, A History of Lumbering in Western Washington" writes "Under the financial strain, trade fell off and the Pacific North- west economy collapsed." Some merchants began accepting shingles "in lieu of cash." Morgan relates the tale of Tacoma's Paul Schulze, a Northern Pacific Railroad executive, whose various major business enterprises went into bankruptcy. "Schul- ze's house at 601 North Yakima was mort- gaged beyond its worth. He owed 35-thou- sand dollars alimony. His debts exceeded three hundred thousand, not counting the more than a million it was later discovered he had embezzled. His assets were about five thousand." The broken businessman killed himself with a bullet to the temple. The tragic stories continued, until finally in 1897 gold was discovered in Alaska, and the ancillary effects sped recovery on Puget Sound. There's no gold strike to spur recovery of today's Great Recession. Unless you want to consider government bailouts the equiva- lent of a gold mine. LETTERSTOTH EEDITOR • John Komen, who lives on Mason Lake, was for 40 years a reporter and edi- tor, TV anchorman, national TV network correspondent, producer, columnist, edito- rial writer and commentator. His column, Komen Comment, appears each week in the Shelton-Mason County Journal. Shelton-Mason County 's try to less ent Two men and a 16-year-old girl were charged with first-degree murder, among other charges, in Mason County Superior Court last week in connection with the shooting of Shel- ton resident Barbara Giles on Nov. 21. She died of her injuries three days later. Authorities allege that a child custody case between Giles and 37-year-old Anthony Miller of Shelton sparked a dispute. They say Miller gave his 16-year-old daughter's boyfriend -- who they say pulled the trigger -- money to purchase a gun prior to the murder. All three individuals charged in con- nection with the shooting death are being held in the Mason County Jail on $1.5 million bail apiece. The act leaves an entire community with more questions than answers. While we may not ever know exactly what took place between all of the in- volved parties, we're sad to see another violent crime take its toll on Mason County this year. Including this most recent shooting, we've seen six murders take place within our county in 2012. That doesn't include attempted mur- ders and othere deaths ruled homicides. The majority of cases have involved drugs or alcohol. In May, we wrote that it's no longer acceptable to sit back and watch our county crumble under violent crime. That was shortly after Mason County had suffered a rash of murders and ho- micides. We asked residents to speak out -- we wanted them to let our county, city and school officials know that one homi- cide in Mason County is too many. The last line we wrote was "(speak- ing out) is the least we can do to make sure this year doesn't end like it began." It seems that it has. So we ask again. We just elected two new county corn- missioners, as well as a number of state and federal office holders, into office. Let's make sure they hear us say that violent crime in our county is not accept- able. As we've expressed before, attend a public meeting, write us a letter to the editor, or call an elected official. Hold them accountable. But that's just the first step. We know that the Shelton Police De- partment and Mason County sheriffs deputies can't be everywhere at once. But we as a group of citizens can edu- cate our family members and children on the dangers of drugs and alcohol. We can tell a friend who's worried about domestic violence about the resources we have in Mason County. Whether it's fair or not, we all have to be accountable. Hopefully, looking introspectively will help. Let's try to make 2013 a better year than 2012. Status quo is not Editor, the Journal The re-election of Tim Sheldon for a third term as county commissioner Position 2 all but cements in place a paternal form of governance that percolates down to every citizen advisory committee in Mason County. Let's face it, some lead- ers in our community see themselves as beneficent benefactors; entitled by stat- ure and endowed by heritage to maintain the status quo. As a result, every solution to every problem carries with it the same mindset that helped create the problem we're at- tempting to fix. Citizen advi- sory committees, therefore, are the only means by which the public has any meaning- ful say in the process. But whatever objectivity those members may bring to the is- sues that come before them, it would be foolish to think decisions are not influenced by outside forces. At the end of the day, com- mittee members are citizens first and advisory members second, and no one wants to be the lone voice that speaks out against the status quo. Adding to this problem are committee members who represent special interests, staff support, elected officials and ex officio watch- dogs. They may or may not have a vote in the proceedings but leave little doubt as to their preferences. There are all types of methods by which influence is exerted, and citizens come to the table unprepared for the pressures asserted by knowl- edgeable professionals with an agenda. In this way a member may be nuanced or even bul- lied into a decision. On a larger scale, well- intentioned decisions that appear to benefit the commu- nity may turn out to enable a sea change of unanticipated consequences, as was the case with last year's comprehen- sive plan amendment that allows long-term commercial forest lands to be rezoned for residential development (just ask the folks out at Lake Nah- watzel). Still, there can never be too much citizen participa- tion. Case in point: county commissioners' mismanage- ment of labor negotiations that turned a budget surplus into a mandatory minimum ending balance. Only after the fiscal plane crashed was the flying public asked to partici- pate in the flight plan. Until then, negotiations were held outside of public view. Yet, when these conditions are challenged, reaction is quick and decisive: new regulations are adopted and existing regulations are manipulated in such a way as to keep the old machine churning out new mistakes. In this iaanner the status quo is carried forward on a carpet of what would appear to be clear reasoning, but is nothing more than blind alle- giance to a corrupted system. And when things fail, as they so often do, the revisionists are all too ready to roll out the smoke machine and ask citizens to shoulder the conse- quences. For this reason, pitfalls notwithstanding, public par- ticipation at every level of gov- ernment and at every stage in the policy process cannot be overstated. Because, if things go really bad and it looks like we're headed over the cliff, you can bet that the folks you thought were driving the car will not be in it. Tom Davis Shelton Shelter doors will stay open for now Editor, the Journal Last month, the Journal published a letter from Ann Baker, director of the Cold Weather Shelter that operates in the St. David's Parish Hall from November through April. She pointed out the absolute importance of the shelter to homeless people in our com- munity and to the community in general. She also made it clear that given the funds on hand and what was expected to become available, the shel- ter would not be able to pay its very modest operating expenses after Feb. 1, 2013, and could be forced to shut down. The people who operate and support the shelter were disturbed by this prospect, but accepted the harsh reality of the situation. It seems that Ann has a good sense of the generous na- ture of people in our commu- nity. In the few days since the letter was published, 30 peo- ple have come forward with donations totaling more than $4,500. The donations came from across the economic spectrum -- ranging from $1 to $600, reflecting the willing- ness to sacrifice by people of all financial means. The funds received will cover 16 nights of shelter operations (a typical winter month sees the shelter open for 17 nights). Ann says that the honor isn't all hers. Journal reporter Gordon Weeks published an article the same week about the Cold Weather Shelter and the Shower Ministry that St. David's provides. Mr. Weeks' article was very compelling and covered a lot of informa- tion that Ann's letter did not have room for. We can't say enough to thank the generosity of those folks who came forward with donations. It looks as if the shelter doors will stay open at least through February. Of course, if more community members come forward to help, we can ensure that we have enough money to cover the remaining two months of the cold weather season. Donations can be directed to St. David's Parish Hall Min- istries, PO Box 339, Shelton, and are tax-deductible. Toby Kevin Shelton Election shouldn't define marriage Editor, the Journal This recent election shows that people are misguided in thinking that marriage is sole- ly the union of two individu- als. Marriage is so much more than that. Marriage provides the very foundation of our society. For this reason, mar- riage was established to pro- vide a positive environment to produce and nurture the next generation of our society. What this recent election shows us is that same-sex union proponents used ar- guments that would touch people's emotions and not the reality of what is needed to continue our society. What is the main purpose of every spe- cies here on earth? That pur- pose is to continue their own species, otherwise what is the point of that species existing at all? How is a human be- ing created? The creation of a human being comes from the union of a male and a female. This process is the same today as it has always been. This is what the same-sex union proponents hoped that people would not base their vote on in this past election. That homosexuals are mak- ing a choice that goes against human nature. Males and females were created with biological and psychological differences so to complement each other as two halves.of a whole. Since the two halves of a same-sex couple are the same, this type of union does not have the pieces to com- plete the whole. It's this wholeness that provides the backbone of marriage. The biological and psychological differences of a male and female are the very foundation of the true definition of marriage. These differences provide all the necessary elements required to fulfill the true definition of marriage. Marriage is the environment in which a child is created and nurtured from the differences of its biological parents to take its place in society. The union of these individuals is just the consequence of marriage, not the sole definition of mar- riage. Betsy Maddux alyn "Farmball" raises $500 Editor, the Journal On Nov. 24, the Davis Farm in Belfair hosted its 15th annual farm football game, known as "Farmball." This year included a post- game lunch and wreath-mak- ing tutorial. The game was originally an opportunity for friends and foes to gather for a good- spirited game of house rules tackle football, but it has grown into a community- building event. Players, spectators and wreath makers donated more than $500 to the Tom and Irene Davis Memorial Schol- arship funds. Their ideals of hard work and community involvement are celebrated during this event. The funds generated are used to sup- port students who share these values. This event is always open for participation at noon on the Saturday following Thanksgiving on the Davis Farm. Consider joining us next year, and please remem- ber the importance of hard work and community involve- ment. Sam Maupin Belfair USPS 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mailing address: P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington Shelton-Mason County Joumal is a member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $37 per year for Mason County addresses, $51 per year in state of Washington but outside Mason County, $61 per year out of state. Owned and published by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc Kari Sleight, publisher Newsroom: Adam Rudnick, editor Natalie Johnson, reporter Gordon Weeks, reporter Emily Hanson, sports reporter Advertising: Dave Pierik, Sr. Acct. Executive Maggie Burdick, ad representative Front office: Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper Renee Chaplin, circulation Cricket Carter, mailroom supervisor Composing room: William Adams, graphics Pressroom: Kelly Riordan, production manager Travis Miller, press operator Mary Northover, press assistant Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012