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 10, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 12     (12 of 40 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 12     (12 of 40 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
December 10, 2020
 
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




Page A-12 Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020 Lead found in water at Mission Creek women’s prison By Isabella Breda isabe/la@masoncoun1y.com A September 2020 water sampling found actionable levels of lead in the water at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women in Belfair Russell Kallio, a resident of Ket- chikan, Alaska, has a friend at Mis- sion Creek and said she’s concerned for her well-being. “Over the last week, we’ve been talking back and forth about it she’s got pretty serious concerns for her own health,” Kallio said in a phone inter— view. “Because she’s 52 she’s no young spring chicken. She wants to come out of there healthy in the next year.” An Oct. 8 memo from the state Department of Health to Gordon Sprague, MCCCW plant manager, stated that “the 90th percentile values for the results were 0.078 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for lead.” These results exceeded the “lead ac- tion level of 0.015 mg/L,” according to the memo. State and federal regulations re- quire that the facility conduct public education following exceeding the lead action level. “Since your system is small, we will waive the requirement for a press re- lease as part of your public education,” the memo said. On Dec. 1, a memo from Superinten- dent Dennis Tab to all MCCCW staff, contractors and volunteers stated the DOH did not place any restrictions on water use. “They only require that the water be run and is cold prior to drink- ing,” the memo/stated. According to the EPA’s Lead web- page, bathing and showering in lead- contaminated water is safe, however, “adults exposed to lead [in drinking water] can suffer from cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension, decreased kidney function, [and] reproductive problems (in both men and women).” A Nov. 25 memo circulated to MCCCW staff, contractors and vol- unteers stated that bottled water was made available for all staff, con- tractors, volunteers and incarcerated individuals. In addition to public education, the prison is required to collect two sets of water quality parameters, “in- cluding pH, calcium, alkalinity, con- ductivity and temperature,” the Oct. 8 memo stated. Judy Gerren, public information officer for MCCCW, said the facility hired Confluence Engineering Group to perform the corrosion control study. , That’s the next DOH-required step and will lead to a recommenda- tion report for further treatment op- tions. County comments on outbreak at Cerrections Center By Kirk Boxleitner kbox/eitner@masoncounty com David Windom, director of Mason County Community Services, which includes Ma- son County Public Health, updated the Mason County Board of Commissioners on the COVID-19 outbreak at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton. “They obviously fall out of our system for case investi- gation and contact tracing,” Windom said during the Mon- day meeting. “State inmates come to Mason County first, at the Washington Correc- tions Center, and then they go elsewhere. So, once they come in, they’re quarantined for the two weeks before they go into the general population.” Windom said that the re- ported COVID case num- bers for Mason County and a provider of antigen tests, which can check for both COVID-19 and flu viruses at the same time, to determine whether Mason County could obtain 10,000 kits. Windom suggested the first kits could be issued to the Mason County Jail and other “congregate living situations” within the county. Because antigen tests re turn results as quickly as 20 minutes, Windom believes that rapid testing could be conducted as often as once or twice per week, “so we can stay on top of who’s actually infectious, and we can get our hands around this, before it becomes something like the corrections facility.” According to the US. Food Md Drugw Administration, antigen tests usually provide results diagnosing an active coronavirus ’infection faster the Washington Corrections Center “don’t match” because Mason County Public Health is tracking the county’s resi- dents, some of whom might be working at'the WCC, “and those are the ones we do the case investigations and con- tact tracing on,” in coopera- tion with the corrections facil- ity. Washington Corrections Center in Shelton is suffering a COVID-19 outbreak among in- mates and staff. Journal photo by Lloyd Mullen Windom noted the state Departments of Health and Corrections have their own COVID—19 case number tracking and reporting sys- tems, although he pointed out that the WCC is not the only state correctional facility to experience a sharp rise in its COVID cases. “But again, the ones we’re really concerned about for Mason County are those local residents who work there, and making sure we get on top of that,” Windom said. “Which is where antigen testing comes in. I really want to see more antigen testing.” Windom reported he’d re- cently been in touch with than molecular tests, but antigen tests have a higher chance of missing an active infection. For that reason, if an an- tigen test shows a negative result, indicating that you do not have an active coronavi- rus infection, your health care provider may order a molecu- lar test to confirm the result. i)cdi(i25itcd (0 your smile. i §pecial ; Exam & X-Ray with paid cleaning Exam & X-Ray Valued at $223 See office for details Muhammad Mthanymnaoffm. Mun plum com a: dint of mine. Expire- 11/31/2010. Monday tln‘ou Serving Shelton since 1932! Family Owned and Operated for 32 years! , Alex LeCault, Owner ' Besides prescriptions, vitamins, diabetic supplies,and . home healthcare, we are also known for our gift shop! '11 Friday 9 — 6 Saturday 103111- 2pm I Closed Sunday l 2 W, Franklin Si. in Shelton 360-426-3327