Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 127
Sherwood Forest Editor, the Journal, In response to the "Save Sherwood Forest" letter to the editor printed on April 23: The proposed timber sale is harvesting second-growth trees on school trust land. Monies derived from the sale of timber from lands held in trust for schools go into the school construction fund. If you haven't had a chance take a tour of the fairly new North Mason High School - if it wasn't for monies from the sale of timber the levy rate would have been twice as much for the...
Ka-ching, ka-ching Editor, the Journal, If I may be so bold as to slightly edit Mr. R.E. Graham's letter of April 20 by lining through some of his words and replacing them with [mine]: "This was very difficult for me [but not nearly enough that prevented me from writing this letter]. I confess to having a very, very dim view of today's Democratic [Republican] Party, from its reckless spending [after Donald Trump trashed the economy by disregarding pandemic warnings] to its recent lurch to the...
Manager Ziegler Editor, the Journal, Mark Ziegler for city manager. First, he's local; he knows Shelton and has lived here his entire life. Also, Mark has worked for the City of Shelton for 30-plus years. His experience and work ethic speaks volumes and will undoubtedly make him a great city manager. Dave Putvin, Shelton No evidence Editor, the Journal, Katherine Price has been an assiduous detective for the last two weeks, sniffing out hate crimes in the Journal's letters section. (Shame on...
Letter response Editor, the Journal, Recently I wrote a letter about Senate Bill 5427. This bill, regardless of protestations to the contrary, will be used to silence critics. Milton Friedman, the great American economist said, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” Many programs with great intentions end up as political terrorism.An example is the COVID shutdown of Washington. Gov. Jay Inslee said he did it for our health and safety; instead it put many businesses out of...
Define gun Editor, the Journal, Responding to Mr. Bob Pickles and like-minded individuals. Can you define what an assault weapon consists of? Personally, I am offended by those stating, "Most Americans want" when it comes to biased, one-sided issues when those making those statements do not know or want to understand the other point of view. There are many that hunt and many who compete in target competitions that do so lawfully, and responsibly, but little by little people with the AK-47...
Let’s consolidate Editor, the Journal In response to the editor’s opinion March 16 in the Journal, I would like to convey my experiences on the subject. When we retired and moved to Mason County in 1997, one of the first things that I noticed was that there were seven school districts in Mason County, serving a county of less than 50,000 people. I was raised in Seattle, and at that time Seattle had a population of over 500,000 with one school board serving eight high schools, and many junior high schools and elementary schools. When I rem...
Opaque omission Editor, the Journal, Auditor Steven Duenkel's recent report detailing his efforts to secure our elections does conform with his pledge of transparency. But he has one big opaque omission. He campaigned that our elections were not only vulnerable to fraud but victim to it. After multiple audits of the last election, and multiple inquiries, he has not reported any fraud. And that conforms with the false Republican narrative claiming election fraud without evidence. If his...
A Pioneer thanks Editor, the Journal, On behalf of the students, staff, board of directors and parents of the Pioneer School District, I would like to thank all of those stakeholders who voted to support our recent levy. The levy will give our district the necessary funding to continue our work in helping students recover from the delayed learning that occurred during the pandemic. It will also create opportunities for enrichment activities beyond the classroom that will only enhance the...
What's next, auditor? Editor, the Journal, Regarding the so-called Mason County Voter Research Project, I find the idea that random "citizens" (do you provide the people whose doors you knock on documentation of your citizenship?) accosting folks in their homes to attempt to discover if they are lawful voters disingenuous and repugnant. What's next? A Driver's Research Project stopping people at intersections demanding to see if they have valid driving licenses? How about a Taxpayer Research...
Marxist Democrats Editor, the Journal, Democrats and politics are different today. Democrats embrace woke politics and critical race theory social issues. Their textbook is “Rules for Radicals” from America’s leading Marxist, Saul Alinsky (1909-1972). Alinsky’s 13 rules were meant to change politics. Democrats believe America has social issues so use Alinsky’s rules to fix these problems. Marxists use these rules to cancel our Constitution. Defund the police is an heir to the violent 1960s Marxist movement when anti-war protesters threw bag...
Election questions Editor, the Journal, Thank you Mr. Duenkel for your reply to my previous inquiries. While you may not have accused anyone of voter fraud, your campaign rhetoric certainly accused our election system of being subject to fraud. Three months post-election, the question you have failed to, answer is how much voter fraud have you uncovered? I'll restate the questions I believe the voters of Mason County are entitled to. In the November '22 election, how many ballots were rejected...
Fire tax rates Editor, the Journal, Hi, Mason County Dist 17 residents, I just wanted to provide some information on your tax rates and Brinnon Fire District 4 tax rates. These can be found by going to the assessors’ websites for Mason County and Jefferson counties. These are rates per $1,000 of assessed value: Mason County District 17 EMS: $0.3670 Fire: $0.2499; Brinnon Jefferson County District 4 EMS: $0.3633 Fire: $0.9391 Fire bond (2019): $0.3384. That is a difference of $1.03 per thousand dollars assessed. Just thought you should have t...
Document lesson Editor, the Journal, In anticipation of more nonsense from some willfully misinformed letter writers (AA and RG come immediately to mind), I respectfully submit important differences between what may be inappropriate document retention by President Joe Biden and what is clearly inappropriate document retention by ex-President Donald Trump. On Nov. 2, lawyers for Biden found a batch of documents at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, dating from his time as vice president. Biden’s attorneys immediately c...
Reply to Mr. Pfender Editor, the Journal, Dear Mr. Pfender - Shortly after taking office, I invited the new chair of the nonpartisan Mason County Voter Research Project to meet with the elections team and discuss how to collaborate efforts. The Voter Research Project was created with the intent to help auditors keep voter rolls current and correct. The local group in Mason County has a list of potential voter anomalies from the 2022 election that they plan to investigate through canvassing. The elections team will then work through the next...
Support Pioneer School Editor, the Journal, I am in support of the levy for Pioneer School. This is a replacement levy, not a new one. The levy is about 20% of the district’s budget. It supports transportation costs not covered by the state, after-school academic tutoring for students, athletic programs, reading and math specialists, support staff not covered by the state and other programs. I am retired and do not have children in school, but education is important for the children’s and our future. Pamela Harrell, Shelton Vote for sch...
Thank your school board Editor, the Journal, January is School Board Appreciation Month. Please join me in celebrating the work of our volunteer school board members and honoring their commitment to the students, staff and community in which they serve. The Pioneer School District No. 402 is thankful to have a school board that truly cares about our students, their academic achievements, as well as their social and emotional well-being. Our board is committed to providing our staff of 137...
Support teachers Editor, the Journal, Dear friends in the Shelton School District, As we approach voting time for the replacement levy for our local schools, I appreciate this opportunity to tell you about my school experiences over the last year. Most people know me as the owner of Smoking Mo’s restaurant in town, but some new faces now know me as Ms. Mo, the substitute teacher. A little over a year ago, I developed some health issues that required me to step away from full-time kitchen work. After hearing a number of friends discuss the extre...
The real war on Christmas Editor, the Journal, Every year we are treated to the war on Christmas silliness of right-wing media. I shrug it off because the whole “Happy Holidays” [not the hit song by Irving Berlin released in 1942] seems not to be worth mentioning. But an incident today made me write about the real war on Christmas. I was taking a walk when I passed two gentlemen talking. They said hello, and I responded with “Merry Christmas.” The response from one was “that was yesterday.” Even as I write, Christmas trees are being throw...
Minding the vote Editor, the Journal, Owen Ray said there hadn’t been any cases of voting issues proven in court. Wrong. Judicial Watch filed lawsuits nationwide requiring states to enforce the National Voters Registration Act of 1993. JW won lawsuits in Ohio and Kentucky; filed successful lawsuits against Indiana, Maryland and California; filed an amicus brief in the 11th Circuit Court for Alabama and Georgia; sent letters to election officials in Virginia and Colorado. JW estimated there were 3.5 million ineligible voters nationwide. I...
On economics Editor, the Journal, I have been reading letters commenting on the state of the economy over the last couple of months. It has gotten to the point that one must respond. The letters go on about how we need pipelines to solve our economic woes. They also criticize those who disagree with their right-wing talking points. They have everything except economic analysis. First, let’s get rid of the parroting of Reagan, or worse, Ayn Rand. Citing them for conclusory opinions is not analysis. It just being a parrot. Let us look at a s...
Maintain levy Editor, the Journal, As a former student of Shelton Schools and as a supporter of a vibrant community, I encourage you to continue your support of Shelton students by voting "yes" on the upcoming Valentine's Day election. Your vote not only maintains the current levy amount (set to expire in December 2023), but also ensures additional funds are received from the state of Washington - approximately $3 million annually. By voting against this replacement levy or by not voting at...
Southside: Thanks Editor, the Journal, On behalf of the students, staff, families and directors of Southside School District I would like to thank voters for approving the Southside Educational Programs and Operations replacement levy. Southside is a great school with a 120-year history of family values and traditions. We appreciate all the community support for our independent public school district. Paul Wieneke, Superintendent, Southside School District Let’s thank Biden Editor, the Journal, Well, the election is over. We Democrats did n...
Thank you, Paddy Editor, the Journal, Now that midterm elections are over, and the results for Mason County are finalized, I would like to thank Mason County Auditor Paddy McGuire for all he has done to make local elections fair, and for keeping the process transparent and understandable. I have been a Mason County resident for over 40 years, and I cannot remember any previous auditor who has done as much to help keep citizens so informed about the intricacies of the voting process. From numerous articles in the Journal to mailed pamphlets...
Midterm offerings Editor, the Journal, Well, as I write this, a few midterm elections still drag on. The Republicans may still win the House, but the Democrats managed to gain a tie in the Senate. Our silver-tongued vice president will have to once again, for a couple of years anyway, cast the tie-breaking vote there. These elections show us to be a closely divided, if not tribal, people. Even so, the Dems are doing cartwheels and victory laps as if they won the whole enchilada. This is typical behavior of people in a party frequently...
Blatant usurpation Editor, the Journal, The Shelton-Mason County Journal front-page headlines for Nov. 3 explained Sen. Maria Cantwell's and Congressman 6th District Rep. Derek Kilmer's meeting with city, county, and economic leaders for a roundtable discussion on local economic development opportunities. I was appalled at the blatant usurpation of taxpayer funds for efforts best left to the private sector - until I recognized the unintended humor of the bill's title: RECOMPETE (Rebuilding...
