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Page A-8 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016
MAGIC HOLD FULL GRIP TRES AMIGOS
PEACE MARIJUANA O-KAY
PEACE ASIDE FREE STYLE DEVIL HORNS
HANG LOOSE ONE-TWO BAD FINGER
Garments on Zazzle.com • Facebook Lighter Wave
Available at
Off the Walls in Shelton (703 W. Railroad)
and Boom Gallery in Olympia (520 Adams St. SE)
UndaRudinFrizzell.com
FEBRUARY
Volunteers hand
out supplies, count
Five months prior to the star~ of
2016, Joseph Rapski had a roof over
his head and a bed to sleep in.
Earlier this year, he was searching
for a sleeping bag that would keep him
dry at night on the ground.
Rapski was one of more than
45 homeless people who arrived at
North Mason Resources in Belfair in
late January, seeking cold-weather
equipment to survive the winter. The
resource center offered gear, clothing
and a hot meal to anyone attending its
branch of the annual homeless count,
which took place Jan. 28 across the
nation, the Journal reported in Febru-
ary.
The U.S. Interagency Council on
Homelessness schedules the national
point-in-time count each year as a way
to measure homelessness through-
out the country. In Washington, the
Homelessness Housing and Assistance
Act requires each county to conduct
the point-in-time count.
Residents: Dump
cleanup too slow
Four officials from the state De-
partment of Ecology on Feb. 9 told
about 75 Shelton residents they
were beginning the process to ad-
dress the polluted former C Street
landfill.
But attendees of the meeting at
the Shelton Civic Center continually
interrupted the presenters to express
their dismay at the amount of time it's
taken to address the toxic, 16-acre site
west of downtown Shelton.
Four people suggested that Simp-
son Lumber Co. should be a liable
party in a lawsuit against the city re-
garding the landfill because it dumped
toxic baghouse ash down toilets, which
was turned into waste sludge that was
dumped at the site.
The four DOE employees stressed
that they were beginning the process
to address the site.
Voters approve
school levies by
wide margins
Voters in February overwhelmingly
approved school maintenance and op-
erations levies in three Mason County
school districts.
Levies in North Mason, Hood Canal
and Mary M. Knight school districts
led by sizeable margins m'ler the Feb.
9 special election.
For the third consecutive time, vot-
ers approved a replacement levy for
the North Mason School District.
Nearly 62 percent of voters checked
"yes" when returning the ballot; 38.09
percent voted "no" for the levy.
Voters in the Hood Canal School
District passed a replacement levy for
programs, maintenance and operations.
On the first ballot count, the mea-
sure had received 950 votes almost
60 percent -- while 639 residents had
voted "no," reported the Mason County
Auditor's Office.
Mary M. Knight School District's
replacement levy passed handily, with
almost 65 percent of the vote.
On the first ballot count, the Mason
County Auditors Office reported the
measure had received 166 "yes" votes
and 90 "no" votes.
EW
General manager
of MTA resigns
The
Mason Transit Authority
Board accepted the
resignation of Gen-
eral Manager Brad
Patterson on Feb. 16
afLer an employee
complaint was filed
against him in late
January.
The board and
Patterson came to
Patterson a separation agree-
ment in lieu of ter-
mination, said Board Chairwoman
Terri Jeffreys, who is also a county
commissioner.
Patterson received a severance, ac-
cording to the separation agreement.
Patterson was hired as MTA's
general manager in 2011, when he
replaced Dave O'Connell, who retired.
Sheldon votes for
controversial bill
The Senate in February rejected
25-24 a bill that
would repeal a
rule affirming that
people can use re-
strooms and locker
rooms that match
their gender iden-
tity.
Only two Demo-
crats voted Feb. 10
Sheldon to repeal the rule:
24th District Sen.
Jim Hargrove and 35th District Sen.
Tim Sheldon.
Sheldon, who historically cau-
cuses with the Republicans, said
his vote reflected his traditional
values.
Sheldon and other supporters of
the bill argued that repealing the
rule would shut the door on predators
who could use it as a guise to prey on
children.
Mountainous
hurdles for
Shelton Hills
For 10 years, the Shelton Hills de-
velopment has been anxiously await-
ed as the city's great growth explosion
to the west.
The plans for the 604-acre devel-
opment in the woods alongside U.S.
Highway 101 call for a 50-acre busi-
ness park, 68 acres of commercial
property, as many as 1,600 primarily
single-family residential dwellings,
a new school and 10 parks. The de-
velopment by Hall Equities Group of
Walnut Creek, California, is projected
to take 20 years to complete, and
add 4,877 residents and 3,546 jobs to
Shelton.
But two years after ground was
scheduled to be broken, the project
was still stalled in February by legal
wrangling and unmet requirements
involving the state Department of
Transportation (WSDOT) and Mason
County PUD 3.
In emails to the City of Shelton,
Hall Equities claims the construction
delays have cost the development
two anchor tenants, Fred Meyer and
Lowe's Home Improvement, among
other hurdles.
Journal reporter Gordon Weeks
put together an extensive story on
Shelton Hills, which appeared in the
Feb. 25 issue of the Journal.