Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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I'm OK paying property tax bill Editor, the Journal, Last year I purchased my first home, after over 15 years of renting and five years of saving. It hurt to pay nearly double the price the house sold for previously in 2017, but that pain is dulled by the facts that I can even afford to buy due to the circumstances afforded to me being a childless 30-something with marketable skills. I recently got my first tax bill, and the assessor definitely paid attention to the sale price and adjusted my...
The Shelton-Mason County Journal encourages original letters to the editor of local interest. Diverse and varied opinions are welcome. We will not publish letters that are deemed libelous or scurrilous in nature. We reserve the right to reject any letter for any reason. When submitting a letter, please observe the following guidelines: Writers are limited to one original letter plus one rebuttal or counter-rebuttal per calendar month; Letters should be no more than 300 words; Letters will be edited for grammar, spelling, style, clarity and... Full story
What is nice? Editor, The Journal, I must wonder, does the Journal’s editorial cartoon artist even read your paper or research his chosen topic? Based on last week’s cartoon, I would have to say no. The cartoon depicted a citizen complaining to the school board about free speech. That has happened recently; however, the cartoonist’s point was that the complaint was about being asked to be “be nice” while the citizen wanted to “name call, insult.” I assume the cartoonist was referring to recent public comments at the Shelton School Distri...
Property tax Editor, the Journal, The assessor took an oath to support the U.S. Constitution, especially the first article in the Bill of Rights not to prohibit the free exercise of religion which has been done when children are being exposed to comprehensive sex-ed K-12th grade against the Holy Bible. Two-thirds of property tax funds public schools and the remainder also is illegal because the property tax is against our original state Constitution according to appellant, David Darby. At 91...
Fire support Editor, the Journal, I am a Matlock Fire District 12 resident and I am asking Mason County residents to please support the West Mason Fire District 16 levy. I have heard that there is a lot of confusion over the district boundaries and also that the recent corruption in Matlock Fire 12 has negatively impacted West Mason Fire 16’s levy. We in the Matlock district are dealing with our issues as best we can but we do not want our problems to negatively affect West Mason Fire 16. West Mason Fire 16 is professional and fiscally r...
Sunshine act Editor, the Journal, In response to Ed Reiter "Vote on the clock." I totally agree a vote of the people would have been a great way to find out the "will of the people" regarding staying Pacific Standard Time or switching the clocks to Daylight Saving Thief. As it stands now, in 2019 a group of our legislators changed the RCWs and gave the decision to switch to Daylight Stealing Time permanently to Congress. Thank goodness they took forever to select a speaker of the House and the...
Thank you, Gary Burleson Editor, the Journal, I was pleased to see that the District Court building was going to be named in honor of Gary Burleson. I knew Gary going back into the late '70s. During the '80s, we did battle many times and he and I developed a good working relationship. His was a thankless job. Even though it was in the days before social media, there were still many avenues for people to inappropriately react, jump to conclusions, or otherwise interject themselves into...
A student's view on homelessness Editor, the Journal, I am Summer and I am a senior at Shelton High School. I am writing to you about the homeless issue in Mason County to further spread awareness, if this sees print. The issue we face as a community is considerable in size and many are uneducated about the topic. Currently, there are not enough shelters to accommodate the number of unhoused individuals, forcing those without housing to find camp elsewhere and trespass on private or public...
How many more need to die on 101? Editor, the Journal, How many more of our citizens are going to die in head-on crashes on the U.S. Highway 101 bypass around Shelton? For years and years, I begged the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Legislature to simply install jersey barriers on the centerline. Impaired drivers easily cross the centerline with tragic results. The bypass has adequate width for centerline barriers, even crossing Goldsborough Creek. I have lost track of how many of our community have died because of...
Editor's note: In a recent letter to the editor, Mr. Graham questioned a letter writer's use of TinyURL links. TinyURL is a link-shortening website that allows for more user-friendly entry into an internet browser than typing out a full web address - some of which can be hundreds of characters long. The shortened links in question came from the Journal staff during the editing process. This note was intended to be included in last week's edition to clarify the process but was inadvertently left...
A message to a candidate Editor, the Journal, My response to Richard Beckman's announcement that he is running for the District 2 commissioner seat. First, Kevin Shutty has been present at many of our Mason County Fire District 12 meetings and Matlock community meetings. As one of the leaders of our community, I invite you to attend the next community meeting. I am not sure that Kevin did everything that he could do, but he did more than most of the elected officials. Thank you, Kevin, for...
A vote for music Editor, the Journal, Music education changed my life. Hood Canal School has no space for a music program. The current bond proposal will provide that space. I went through eight years of basic education in a school without music education. I missed out on: ■ Learning that music is math-intervals like thirds and fifths to make harmony; scales and note values and rhythms. ■ The joy of making music; feeling the rhythms and vibrations in my body; moving with the music and joi...
Gun insanity: Revisited Editor, the Journal, This letter is in response to Dr. Busacca's Letter to the Editor on Jan. 11, "Gun Insanity." Dr. Busacca, you have been a long-standing, respected member of Mason County, but your letter, while spirited, veers away from historical precision and distorts key statistics. First, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, guns are not the leading cause of death for people under 20. I suspect you got that statistic from a flashy headline...
The power of ‘yes’ Editor, the Journal, ■ 60+1: an age for contemplating retirement. ■ 60+1: exceeding the speed limit on U.S. Highway 101 (a bit.) ■ 60+1: a supermajority — the percentage of “yes” votes needed to pass a bond measure for school construction. We are retired, live in Union, and have no children or grandkids who attend Hood Canal School, where passage of the current bond measure will do much to bolster “Orca Pride.” In fact, the improvements the bond addresses, if passed, will do much to enrich our entire community. Recently...
Vote 'yes' for Hood Canal schools Editor, the Journal, Things are changing at Hood Canal School District. The student population is increasing. As a result, there is need for more classrooms, teachers, and paraeducators. Administrative leadership is stabilizing with the hires of our new superintendent, Lance Gibbon, and principal, Steven Torres. Current staff deserve the kind of space and equipment that allows them to teach to the demands of the 21st century and our students deserve the...
Have we learned? Editor, the Journal, After nearly 75 years, Capitol Lake will be turned back into an estuary, a decision demonstrating we have learned that estuaries are a biologically rich environment playing an important role in the lives of many species. Or have we? Near Capitol Lake, at the end of Hammersley Inlet, is the beautiful natural estuary of Oakland Bay. Our state government - the Department of Natural Resources - is considering whether to lease publicly owned aquatic lands a...
Join a caucus Editor, the Journal, Dear fellow neighbors of Mason County, All across our state the precinct caucus will take place Saturday, Jan. 13. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for registration, with the caucus beginning at 10 a.m. and will conclude by approximately noon. What is a precinct caucus? At its core, the county caucus is about unity. It's about bringing together diverse voices under shared principles and goals. It's a significant gathering of the "grass-roots" right here in our...
Democratic answer Editor, the Journal, Mr. Anvik recently posed questions to Democrats regarding abortion. One caused me to seriously ponder. He asked that since half of aborted fetuses are female, if not aborted by law and grown to womanhood, how would they feel about abortion? Interesting question. If they knew they were unwanted, it would likely have an undesirable impact on the relationship with the birth mother and increased likelihood of other emotional issues throughout life. Child psychologists suspect children born to a women forced...
Concerned about expansion Editor, The Journal, I am writing to voice my concern about expanding the capacity of the Community Lifeline homeless shelter. Like those who testified at the hearing last Monday, I consider myself a compassionate and caring person who is deeply troubled by the invasion of the ever-growing drug culture throughout our community. It is tragic and I am heartbroken for the families and individuals whose lives have been destroyed by these drugs. I am deeply grateful for...
Unjustice system Editor, the Journal, There's an important development happening in our Superior Court in Mason County. Everyone needs to know how unjust our justice system has become. The appeal court had a resentencing for Asaria M., one of the co-defendants in the murder of my daughter in 2012. In September, our Superior Court had a resentencing for a murderer. The courtroom was full. The people who showed for the victim, Barbie G., were family and close friends. The defendant had every...
Xinh was an icon Editor, the Journal, To say that Xinh was an icon would be an understatement. I got to know her when I ran the shucking competition with Jef Conklin at OysterFest for 15 years or so. This was during the years when she won her championships. She was a world-class shucker. More importantly, she was a world-class person. Over the years, the shucking competition evolved. There were the locals, old-timers and newcomers, people coming from different parts of the world that made our area their new home. Restaurant people from Seattle...
American virtue Editor, the Journal, Sheriff Ryan Spurling recently spoke to The North Mason Rotary Club. He shared plans, statistics and Peelian principles of ethical policing. To be average, the Sheriff’s Office needs 80 officers, but it has only 48 (FBI UCR/LEOKA 2019). The jails are re-accredited (waspc.org). The violent crime clearance rate is up 7.8 percent compared with the last 10 years (cde.ucr.cjis.gov). Alternatives to jail are thriving for veterans, people addicted to drugs, and people with mental illness (masoncountywa.gov). I a...
Value of diversity Editor, the Journal, For 10 years, I was on the board of trustees for a small Christian college that emphasized the importance of educating students who would not otherwise have access. I loved meeting these students and hearing their stories and watching them throughout their four years grow into thoughtful, articulate, courageous, well-educated adults. As the student body, staff, faculty, administration, and board of trustees became more diverse, the lives of all involved...
Speed dating Editor, the Journal, Thank you, Mason County League of Women Voters for organizing Speed Dating with the Candidates. Candidates moved from table to table with five minutes at each table. Being able to question the candidates directly was invaluable. I learned about the Port of Shelton and how it affects Shelton, I heard about recent issues with curriculum at the school district, and I was able to put a face to candidates. It was a great experience. I was sorry that a significant num...
Editor's note: As a matter of policy, the Journal does not publish original letters regarding candidates in the edition directly preceding an election because it doesn't allow time for a rebuttal or response. A matter of color Editor, the Journal, I read in the Journal where the anti-Taylor Shellfish people are losing the fight against the oyster bags. So, now they are arguing the color now makes a difference. They want the color to be something other than black. I have stayed out of the...
