Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 - Week 9 - The Voice of Mason County since 1886

Pool debate rages

Journal photo by Shawna Whelan
Maddie McGee, left, Laura McGee, holding Jace McGee, and Kason McGee hold signs supporting the Shelton High School pool remaining open Feb. 19 in front of the Shelton Timberland Library.

Mason County Jail to rehouse female inmates in Forks, Nisqually

By Natalie Johnson
natalie@masoncounty.com

   The Mason County Jail will start sending female inmates to jails in Nisqually and Forks starting next week due to a shortage of female corrections officers.
    Mason County Sheriff’s Office command staff briefed Mason County Commissioner Randy Neatherlin on Monday about the proposal, which would cost the county more than $49,000 per month. Commissioners Tim Sheldon and Terri Jeffreys were absent.
    “Having our female clients 30 minutes away is going to cause a great hardship,” said Susan Sergojan, head of the county’s Public Defense Department. “I understand we have to compromise.”
    Sergojan told the Journal the changes would also affect inmates’ families.
    “A lot of people don’t have the funds, don’t have a car,” she said, adding that the jail already sends some male inmates to Forks when it overfills. “The families are just out of luck if they can’t get there.”
    The Sheriff’s Office does not need approval from the Mason County Commission to make the change. However, the agency might have to request an amendment to its 2015 budget in the future to cover the costs.
    State standards require two female corrections officers per shift in jails with female populations, Undersheriff Jim Barrett said. The Mason County Jail has five female corrections officers to cover three shifts, plus two female supervisors. The jail’s budget allows for as many as 10 female corrections officers.


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About 250 attend contentious School Board meeting Tuesday

By Gordon Weeks
gordon@masoncounty.com

  Despite pleas to keep the Shelton pool open, the Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening remained committed to its plan to close the 41-year-old facility July 1.
    Before a contentious and sign-wielding crowd of about 250 people, the board members declined to vote to overturn their Feb. 10 decision to close the pool.
    The district will now consider another use for the pool building while it seeks another site to conduct swimming lessons and serve as a practice facility and venue for home meets for the Shelton High School swimming  and dive teams. The candidates include the pools at The Evergreen State College in Olympia and on the Squaxin Island reservation.
    The board on Feb. 10 voted 4-1 to close the pool and voted unanimously to create a plan to repurpose the pool building by June 30. The board followed the recommendation of interim Superintendent Art Jarvis, who said the district “should not divert operation funding to the capital needs of the pool.”
    Many residents met the news with disbelief and outrage. On Feb. 19, dozens waved signs supporting the pool remaining open at Shelton’s busiest intersections.

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HIGHCLIMBERS FINISH STRONG

By Emily Hanson
emily@masoncounty.com

    Harrison MacAlevy improved on his Shelton High School 50-yard freestyle record twice during the weekend.
    The senior lowered his time to 21.51 seconds in the preliminaries at the 3A WIAA State Boys Swim and Dive Championship at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
    That wasn’t good enough.
    “Off my time, the swim was good, but when it came to my turn and finish, it felt bad,” MacAlevy said. “It didn’t feel on point. It could use more improvement.”
He improved again Saturday morning, placing third in the event with a lower time of 21.41.
    “The record made me happy,” he said. “I didn’t have the best turn and I came in third 1/100th of a second behind second place. All-in-all, I’m happy with my time.”
MacAlevy joined nine other Highclimbers in five events at the state meet.
    The Highclimbers took 14th place among 33 teams. It was the first time Shelton placed among the top 16 teams in years, co-head coach Chad Youngquist said.
    Additionally, MacAlevy wasn’t the only Highclimber to set a school record.
Junior diver Jon Netzel placed third with 419.35 points, a new school record.
    “I’m really proud of the guys and their performance,” MacAlevy said. “It was a great way to end the season.”
    He said he was especially proud of how the Highclimbers performed compared with other 3A Narrows League teams at the meet.
At the league championship in January, Shelton took fourth place among the eight teams.
    However, when the Highclimbers competed at the 3A West Central District III Championship on Feb. 13 and 14, the team finished second among its league opponents.
    At state, Shelton topped them all.

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Journal photo by Emily Hanson
Shelton senior Harrison MacAlevy barely lifts his face from the water on a stroke of the 100-yard butterfly preliminary Friday at the 3A WIAA State Boys Swim and Dive Championship at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. His preliminary time was 52.74 seconds for sixth place, but he disqualified in the finals.