Memorial for Jerry Lingle at the Mason County Courthouse

Mourners Gather outside the Mason County Courthouse

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Fred Corbit:

Jerry K. Lingle March 25, 1954 - Aug. 19,2011

Jerry and I logged tens of thousands of miles crisscrossing this State. As a leader in the State as a Freemason he made a difference. Right Worshipful Jerry Lingle, as his fraternal brothers knew him, was always urged to speak at meetings. Okay it did not take much urging. In public speaking across the State and across the Sound sometimes he would repeat the same story. You should repeat the really good ones. I have taken the liberty of rewriting and retelling that story today.

The Starfish Story
There was a young man walking down a deserted beach just before dawn.
In the distance he saw wide shouldered man. 

 As he young man got closer, he saw the vacationer picking up stranded
starfish and throwing them back into the sea.

The young man gazed in wonder as the tattooed man again and again threw
the small starfish from the sand to the water.

He asked, "Hey Mister, why do you spend so much energy doing what seems
to be an impossibility and a waste of time."

The baldheaded man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.

"But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish!" exclaimed the young man. "How can you make any difference?"

Jerry looked at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it to the
safety of the sea, he said, "It sure makes a difference to this one!".

There are a lot of us "starfish" that Jerry threw back to safety. Thank
you my Brother, a pleasure knowing you, and I am better off for knowing
and loving you.

Fred W. Corbett
Union City Masonic Lodge #27


The memorial held on Tuesday August 30th 2011, was very touching, speakers included fellow county commissioners and co-workers.

Judge Meadows speaking

Senator Sheldon Speaking

Port of Shelton- Enablers or Drainers?

Regarding Shelton Hills development
Submitted by Tom Davis
Written by Mark Hall

Unused industrial zoned land at the Port of Shelton

In his recent statement, Port Commissioner Jay Hupp claims the Port is merely defending the airport. The reality is that the Shelton Hills project poses no threat to the airport whatsoever. The real consequence of the Port’s actions is to block economic renewal for Shelton and Mason County.

It has been said that the Port of Shelton is the economic engine that drives Mason County. Unfortunately those at the wheel are driving in the wrong direction. Port officials fail to recognize that in order to attract the executives and employees of new industry to Mason County, the region must provide expanded retail services and modern housing. The Port is in no position to accomplish this. In contrast, the Shelton Hills development will provide expanded and modern retail services and high quality housing, as well as a professionally designed and appointed business park that the region needs in order to attract business to the area.

Mr. Hupp has stated that residences in our project will be built right up to the airport fence and that there would be no buffer between the airport and housing. This is factually incorrect. Actually, we will have an industrial park together with an extensive wetlands buffer between our residentially zoned properties and the airport. This buffer from the airport ranges from 2000 to 3000 feet wide.

Mr. Hupp is acting like Chicken Little when he talks about noise complaints. The Port has offered no proof that there will be a noise issue. In fact, the Port’s own studies show that airport noise will not pose a problem for residential development. The Port need only examine the work of its own consultants to calm its baseless hysteria and fears.

Mr. Hupp claims that the re-zone of a small portion of our land inventory from industrial to residential will “stifle business development” by reducing the amount of industrial and commercial land inventory available. The lack of inventory of commercial and industrial land that Mr. Hupp refers to is illusory. The demand for industrial and commercial land in Mason County is nowhere near available inventory capacity and to assert otherwise is frankly ridiculous. The County has enough industrial land for the next 20 years at least, even with the Shelton Hills conversion from industrial to residential property. The Growth Board has affirmed this fact. Mr. Hupp fails to ask himself why there would be any demand for this remote piece of industrial property when the Port cannot find users for the thousands of acres of it’s own developed land that already has infrastructure serving it. Furthermore, Hupp knows full well that the Shelton Hills property in question is too steep for industrial uses. It is hard to imagine that there will ever be a market strong enough to pay for the cost of hillside industrial development behind the existing residential zoned property in our project, when so much perfectly flat and easily accessible land is already available.

As outlined in Mr. Hupps statement, we now hear, for the very first time, his latest argument that somehow the re-build of the Wallace-Kneeland interchange will inhibit mobility by making it “all but impossible for truck traffic” to move between the Wallace-Kneeland interchange and the Johns Prairie industrial park. Public officials must be held accountable for the truthfulness of their statements. The fact is that Mr. Hupps Port was directly involved in a 24 month long process that included the City, the County, the Transit Authority, the State Department of Transportation, and many very experienced and informed traffic engineers regarding the redesign of the Wallace-Kneeland interchange. With the Port’s direct involvement, the interchange was specifically configured to handle hog fuel trucks, pole trucks and logging trucks to allow free flowing movement and eliminate unnecessary stoplights. This was a primary design objective in order to improve mobility to Johns Prairie. Now the Chairman of the Port Board of Commissioners asserts it will be “all but impossible” to get through there. This is certainly a curious statement, to put it mildly.
Mr. Hupp states that the Port “has always been in support” of the Shelton Hills project. In fact the Port has initiated several lawsuits against the project. Until the lawsuits that we are defending have been settled, we cannot proceed forward. Mr Hupp knows this. With friends like these, who needs enemies? Mr. Hupp and the rest of the Port Commissioners and its Director, John Dobson, are preventing the citizens of the City of Shelton and Mason County from realizing the benefits of the project. They are single handedly attempting to destroy our project with unsupported and false allegations, some of which I outline here, and by employing a strategy based on outright abuse of the legal process. It is the elected officials of the City of Shelton who have jurisdiction over our land and who the people have selected to decide what is right for them, not the Port Commissioners.

We have a carefully thought out and financed plan to create infrastructure, retail services, industrial development, housing and jobs. We have deep experience at this and we are committed to the success and responsible stewardship of our plan. This plan will be implemented over many years, and we are here for the long haul. This plan will go a long way towards ending the economic despair in the community.

Mr. Hupp and fellow Port Commissioners I ask you point blank, what is your plan? If the Port does not have a sound, economically, environmentally and socially responsible plan for economic development, it should get out of the way of those who do.

Maybe it is time for the voters of Mason County to ask what exactly is the value in having a separate municipal government entity like the Port of Shelton? Do they pay their way, or are they really just an obstruction to progress and the efficient delivery of cost effective government services to the citizenry? Would it be better to collapse the Port and divvy up the oversight to the County and the City? Could the County and the City run the Port activities without the duplication in staff and save the taxpayers a few bucks? Could the Port owned land be sold off to private owners and the proceeds used to improve the roads and schools of the City and Mason County? I believe that a continuation of the questionable behavior of the recent leadership of the Port of Shelton should cause all citizens of Mason County to take notice and start asking these sorts of questions.

Washington to end vehicle emissions tests by 2020

In a huge victory for industry, Washington State has decided to drop the ball and allow more polluting vehicles onto our roads. The Ecology Department says that by 2020 it will stop requiring vehicle emmissions tests.

http://masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/12861-regional-news-for-82111#addcomments

Clean Air is a Civil Right

Article:
Clean air sweeps into civil rights arena

Sweet Victory in the Garden

At last sweet victory is mine.   In preparation for the deforestation festival, the city likes to cut down the blackberry patch in my alley each year   The city took what used to be an abandoned lot with heirloom fruit trees, beautiful old lilacs and maples and ninty seven  year old home and completely leveled it.  They did this so they could use the log to park and run heavy machinery on during the sewer upgrade.  The noise and dust was horrible as was the loss of the fruit trees.  Also, I admit that I kind of liked the two old derelict houses, they added some character to the area and blocked our view of the trains, they also probably helped me to get a great price on my home.   I mean when half the houses on a block (3 out of 6)  are derilict  it probably lowers property values.

When the homes and the trees and the lilacs were gone and the sewer project was over, all that was left was an ugly gravel lot.  But the blackberries grew back, so at least we had a bit of a privacy hedge and some nice fruit to eat.  

But then the city decided to start using the lot as a parking area for the deforestation festival and they came to mow down the grass and the blackberries every year.  When a black berry cane gets cut down it takes two years for it to produce fruit again.  Well, two years ago when the city came to raze the lot in preparation for the deforestation festival, I asked them to not mow down the blackberries.   The guy in charge of mowing the lawn was understanding, but he was sure he would get into trouble if he left the berries.  He said he needed permission from the city to not mow them.  Well, I knew that time was short and the berries would be gone before the city would ever give permission.  It wasn't like I could wait until the next city commissioners meeting to plead for my blackberries, the deforestation festival was looming.  What could I do?

I won't say what transpired, or how I achieved it, but I did manage to save the entire blackberry patch that year.  This year I did not fight for it, and they came back and cut half of it down, so next year I may have to fight again.   But for this year, I get to pick blackberries instead of fights and with the rainy summer we are having, the blackberries are big and juicy.

Home for sale with wall to wall Ivy inside and out

I'm surprised that I never noticed this before:

Jerry Lingle passes away

May he Rest in Peace

Mason County Commissioner Jerry Lingle passed away at the age of 57,  his son found his body in his home.  Cause of death is unknown, an autopsy is going to be performed.  For more information visit the Bremerton Sun

This out of focus picture is the only picture I ever took of Jerry.  He was happy to pose for this picture.

Nippon Paper Industries of Japan, Broke Ground on Biomass Plant Without a Permit

Nasty Nippon

Nasty Nippon

PORT ANGELES — Nippon Paper Industries USA won’t be fined for breaking ground on its biomass energy project without a permit, and opponents of the project are calling foul.

The paper mill on Marine Drive at the beginning of Ediz Hook recently completed the foundation for a new truck dumper that will be used as part of its $71 million cogeneration project.

The construction work needed a permit, said Nathan West, city economic and community development director, and the mill’s management told the city it was unaware the requirement applied to the structure.... read more HERE

Shelton blog note: Nippon is a Japanese company that produces pollution in the USA and profits in Japan.

Biomass Truck Dump in Vermont

Suit Filed to Protect Climate From Biomass Burners

Suit Filed to Protect Climate From Biomass Burners

Large-scale biomass burning -- the incineration of trees and other organic
material for fuel -- is far from carbon neutral. In fact, recent scientific
information shows it can increase global warming pollution even compared to
fossil fuels. Compounding the problem, big biomass plants are under pressure
to log native forests for fuel, chopping down carbon-absorbing trees and
destroying species habitat at the same time.

Yet the Environmental Protection Agency has passed a rule exempting
biomass-burning power plants from carbon dioxide limits under the Clean Air
Act for the next three years.

To save forests, habitat and the climate from a rush to build polluting
biomass power plants, the Center for Biological Diversity and allies on
Monday sued to challenge the rule. "The science is clear," said Center
attorney Kevin Bundy. "Burning our forests for energy makes no sense as a
strategy for dealing with climate change."

Get more from HERE

Simpson Pollution Permit up for renewal

http://news.orcaa.org/2011/08/public-hearing-simpson-aop/



Public comment is currently being accepted on a draft Air Operating Permit (AOP) renewal for Simpson Lumber Company, LLC (Simpson) located in Shelton, Washington, pursuant to Title V of the federal Clean Air Act and Chapter 173-401 of the Washington Administrative Code. This is a draft of the AOP renewal that will be in effect for five years. This will be the second renewal of the AOP for Simpson’s lumber mill in Shelton.

In response to requests from the public, a formal Public Hearing has been scheduled to allow ORCAA staff to hear testimony on this renewal of the AOP. The hearing is slated for:

Tuesday, September 27, 2011
5 p.m.
Shelton Civic Center
525 West Cota Street
Shelton, WA 98584Copies of the draft AOP Renewal and the associated Technical Support Document (TSD) for Simpson are on file and available for review at the Shelton branch of the Timberland Public Library located at 710 W Alder Street in Shelton, and at ORCAA’s office in Olympia. The draft AOP and TSD are also available online here. Comments may be submitted to ORCAA in writing. Written comments should be addressed to: ORCAA, 2940-B Limited Lane NW, Olympia, WA 98502, and will be accepted up to close of the public hearing. Comments should pertain to adequacy of the draft AOP in assuring compliance with applicable air quality regulations and standards.

Our air was safe to breath only 20% of the time on this day in 2010

Simpson Pollution Company Engine #900 - Rant

Why is Simpson "Paper" Company Engine #900 so freaking loud and dirty?  Does it have two sets of horns?  We hate the freaking thing, we always know when it is coming as it is louder than any of the other engines.  Are there any emissions standards for Simpson's filthy polluting trains?   Why can't Simpson get with the times and use an electric train like the rest of the world?  Or better yet just shut down the entire Shelton operation and let us live in peace.  Simpson / Reed, you suck, and you always will.

 Do us a favor and keep your suckiness and your crappy part time starvation level jobs with no benefits, in Tacoma.   (Anyone with a brain works at the casino where they provide full time jobs with full benefits.)   Tacoma  is already an official dirty air city and the 35th most polluted city in the USA, thanks in part to Simpson.  Simpson is a good fit for Tacoma or Mars, but not Shelton.  Go home to Tacoma, you're not welcome here anymore.

Slides from my vacation

My parents and grandparents had to invite their friends and family over to see slideshows of their vacations. Now with the internet, everyone is my friend and I can subject the entire wired world to my vacation photos! This is just a tiny taste of the 1,500 pictures I took in China..

For best results let it load before you push the play button

On Sawmills and Smokestacks and Benevolence in Oregon

Nahalem Oregon, a breath of fresh air



10 image panorama of the old mill smoke stack in Garibaldi Oregon



On a recent trip to visit the cheese factory  and the graves of some of my ancestors, we saw the Garibaldi smoke stack.   The mill shut down years ago and now Garibaldi uses the smokestack and as a tourist attraction.  The old train tracks that served the mill are being used to run an electric / diesel  trolley for tourists to ride on.  The contamination has been removed and a tent friendly RV park is nestled at the base of the smoke stack.

 I am glad that the smokestack was put out of operation and that nature is beginning to reclaim it.

"In 1918 Cummings-Moberly (from Texas of all places) built a sawmill in Garibaldi [Oregon] on what is now the Old Mill property. Thanks to the construction of the P. R. N Railroad, Cummings-Moberly had a distinct advantage over the Smith Mill which relied on coastal schooners to transport its lumber. Shipping by rail meant the new mill was not subject to the tides and weather as were ships. Notwithstanding, Cummings-Moberly went broke in 1920 and was taken over by the Whitney Company which operated until 1924 when it was sold to A.B. Hammond."

"Under Hammond the mill became one of the largest on the West Coast. He was a benevolent employer who, in slow market times, built houses for the workers to keep them busy. By the late 1920’s Garibaldi was known as a “company town” providing homes for mill personnel, a boarding house at the Whitney Inn, and some of the best baseball teams on the west coast."

"Hammond built a smoke stack to keep from suffocating the town’s populace. Standing beside the stack was a large electric generating plant fired by wood waste. In 1930 the wooden “G” was erected on the steep slope behind the City proudly proclaiming, “We are Garibaldians”. The big “G” and the smokestack remain to this day as does the water tower which was necessary to provide sufficient water pressure to fight fires. The Hammond Mill also provided the City’s first fire truck (a 1924 Model T hose-bed truck which the City still owns) along with the men to fight the fires."

"When the Great Depression caused the closure of the Hammond Mill in 1935 Mr. Hammond owned a fleet of ships, a railroad, and dozens of logging camps. Ultimately, as a result of the flagging economy, each of the divisions was forced to close. When A.B. Hammond died in 1935 his assets had to be sold to pay the inheritance"

You can read much more about this site, the clean up efforts and the campground at: http://www.oldmill.us/html/history.html

Recently Seen in Shelton

Port Resistance is Egregious

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Tom Davis:

For those folks who have followed the Port of Shelton’s legal actions against the Shelton Hills Development Project, last week’s letter to the editor by Mark Hall, sponsor of the project, comes none too soon. In his letter, Mr. Hall lays out the facts of the matter, putting to rest, once and for all, any straw-man arguments raised by the Port.

At issue is a decision by the City of Shelton to rezone 160 acres south of the airport from commercial industrial to neighborhood residential. Port resistance to the rezone centers on the fear that new residential development adjacent to the airport threatens the future of that facility. More clearly: Port Commissioners Jay Hupp, Tom Wallitner and Director, John Dobson argue that residents of the new development will find airplane noise so intolerable they will band together and force closure of the airport. To this I say, bull-feathers! There are scores of examples where small airports and adjacent neighborhoods coexist peacefully. And it follows that new residential developments can only increase public demand for additional airport amenities.  

The protracted and expensive legal action brought by the Port is based on an unfounded premise bordering on paranoia. In reality, Port management has spent the better part of three years trying to sabotage what is essentially a major economic recovery opportunity for Mason County. This is a classic case of the few dictating to the many for the benefit of none.

Port resistance is made even more egregious when you consider the Shelton Hills Project will bring many permanent jobs, commercial opportunities and even a new city park to our community, as the developer builds out the entire 700 acre site. It is ironic that a municipality created to attract economic growth to Mason County should be the primary roadblock to precisely that objective.

The Port needs to stop fighting against our recovery and allow the rezone process to move forward. Mr. Hupp, Mr. Walitner and Mr. Dobson should get with the program or step aside and let clearer heads steer the future of our county.

Tom Davis

Reflections on this year's Mason County Fair

$6.00 Pony ride

Reflections on this year's Mason County Fair

I’ve only been to the Mason County fair three times in the last six years. The first time I went, there was no midway. It seems that the fair was unable to attract a carnival company. I thought that it was rather strange and it did not speak well for the county fair.

Fire Breathers

The highlight of the fair for me that year was the show put on by the rock club. If not for the rock club display, the fair would have been a total disappointment. Perhaps I went in with expectations that were too high. I was used the first class fair that Kitsap County holds every year.

The next time I went to the Mason county fair, was the year that they offered free admittance. I admit it, the only reason I went was because I could get in free. The fair seemed better that year, maybe it was really was better or maybe it was me going in with lowered expectations, or maybe I just liked getting in for free.

The next time I went to the fair was this year. After my first two experiences at the fair, I went in with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find a small but complete fair. Everything that should be at a fair was there. Well almost everything, the only thing missing that really bothered me was scones. A fair with no scones? I lamented, how could there be a fair with no scones!? Ah well, the senior center came to the rescue with strawberry short cake. Much to my surprise my little one did not know what a strawberry shortcake was, other than a cartoon character that she detests.

Midway

Being budget minded after our big trip, we gave most of the midway a miss and went on a tour of the animal stalls, the photography competitions and of course the rock club. The rock club display seemed a bit smaller this year, but a wonderful club member gave us a personal tour of all the rocks and discussed her own trip to China with us. My daughter received several new rock treasures as well.

Then we went and visited the clam display. I can’t remember if any other fairs I have been to had clam and oyster displays. We poked all the clams and I was able to clear up some confusion on who owns the access to the land where I do my clamming.

Objection

I was looking forward to taking pictures of the midway after dark but it was getting cold fast, so I took my little one out to my Jeep and we warmed up in the Jeep while we waited for night to fall.

When it was dark enough I went back in to the fair with my camera and tripod and took some fun pictures of the fast moving and brightly lit rides. Then we packed up to leave, but just before we reached the gate we saw the fire breathing show was about to start. So, we stopped and watched the show and I took a few more fun pictures.

All in all we had a good time at the fair and we hope that next year the politics will get sorted out so we can have a public fair that is just as good as this year’s private fair. It’s too bad that the Hansen’s have decided to pull out of next year’s fair; I think they did a good job, and the real issue was with the ongoing lease of the fairgrounds for other events, rather than the actual fair.

Playing with fire

At the same time I am utterly disgusted and appalled that Theresa Rebo was fired simply for writing an open letter to the commissioners addressing the issues she was concerned about. I believe that her termination will come back to bite the port in the ass.

With all the alleged corruption and cronyism at the port, will there be an oysterfest this year?

Vancouver rejects downtown biomass plant



biomass growing downtown



Vancouver rejects downtown biomass plant, says zoning won't allow it

OregonLive.com

By Elliot Njus, The Oregonian So the county tried to sidestep the issue

earlier this summer by moving the proposed site across the street to a
block zoned for light industry, where it argued biomass was an allowed
"waste-related" use. ...
http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-county/index.ssf/2011/08/vancouver_rejects_downtown_biomass_plant_zoning_claim.html

Biomass power generation eyed using wooden debris from quake-hit areas
Mainichi Daily News
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Forestry Agency is considering building biomass power
plants that can use as fuel the large volume of timber debris caused by the
massive earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan on March 11.

Proponents of the idea say it ...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20110806p2g00m0fe038000c.html

U.S. Debt Deal Kills Off Prospects of Renewable-Power Support

Bloomberg

The Treasury Department has paid out $7.78 billion in grants to developers

of wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy under an incentive created in

the stimulus bill and expires at the end of the year. Photo: Daniel

Acker/Bloomberg A rotor assembly ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-05/u-s-debt-deal-kills-off-prospects-of-renewable-power-support.html

Industry goes to court to burn forests for fuel

Natural Resources Defense Council (blog)
The court just upheld a state utilities commission decision that Duke
Energy could count whole trees burned for energy as renewable biomass under
the state's renewable energy standard. The Southern Environmental Law
Center and the Environmental Defense ...
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/mwaage/industry_goes_to_court_to_burn.html

Candidate Meet and Greet Mayoral Candidate Tracy Moore

Event: NO HOST - Candidate Meet and Greet
Start Time: Tuesday, August 9 at 5:30pm
End Time: Tuesday, August 9 at 7:30pm
Location: Grove Steet Brewhouse 233 S First Street Shelton WA

Tracy Moore, Candidate for Mayor of Shelton, and
Mike Olsen, Candidate for Commissioner of Finance,
will be availabe for questions and an opportunity for you
to get to know them better.

 "Come and share your ideas to help lead Shelton to it's full potential."

Burning whole trees is "renewable" - court ruling in favor of Duke

Duke wins court case regarding renewable energy
Bizjournals.com
The decision affirms the North Carolina Utilities Commission's earlier
ruling that Duke can count whole, harvested trees as renewable biomass
energy in order to meet quotas that go into effect next year. The
Environmental Defense Fund and the North ...
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2011/08/04/duke-wins-court-case-regarding.html

From Shelton to Shanghai to Shelton in Search of Bubble Tea

Shelton

Shanghai

Some of my readers may have noticed that I have been away. For the last three weeks I have been behind the great firewall of China with no access to Blogger, Facebook or You Tube. I’ve been from Shelton to Shanghai to Shelton and I’m terribly jet lagged. Today I forced myself to ride my bike around in the sun in an attempt to convince my body that it was actually morning time and not bedtime.

So what did I see on my bike ride? I saw the poor standing in line at the food bank and eating in the soup kitchens.

Community Kitchen was crowded this morning



Word on the street is that St. David's will feed you
lunch and give you a shower without doing too much preaching.



Long line outside of the Saints Pantry Today

I saw the restaurants that have gone out of business this year, I saw an unemployed alcoholic sitting in a pile of garbage in the alley and I saw the fat cats plotting the continued demise of the poor while sipping espressos at Lynch Creek Floral.

 I knew that Lynch Creek Floral was supposed to be the meeting place for the fat cats, but I’ve never been up early enough to witness it before. I could have popped my head in to see if any violations of the open public meetings act were taking place, but I know that our fat cats are smarter than that.

I wondered why the city could not hire the poor to pick up the garbage in the alley. That could keep some people from having to take public assistance or stand in line at the food bank. But I don’t suppose the city cares about the poor, or who collects on STATE unemployment insurance or STATE disability payments. Perhaps our system is too decentralized. Perhaps hick towns and counties should be eliminated and absorbed into the state for the greater good.  One thing is for sure, good capitalists love high unemployment rates because high unemployment keeps the wages low and the workers desperate.

Mark says he will retrieve these later

In every city in China I saw teams of street sweepers in smart uniforms. These street sweepers were proud of their jobs and happy to let me take their pictures. They were employed and they were keeping the streets clean with their bamboo brooms.

 But back in Shelton the unemployed and the exceptional, sit and stand in piles of garbage that no one has been hired to pick up.  State disability benefits do not actually pay enough money for people to both eat and pay rent. Would these same people be able to eat if they were hired to pick up litter? We will never know, because here in Shelton picking up litter is a form slave labor reserved for prisoners and law breakers.

The Pho noodle place and the route 66 diner have shut down due to financial problems. The only surprise is that they lasted as long as they did. We ate at the Pho place three times, each time the quality went down and the price went up. The owner promised to start selling bubble tea but he never did. Darn it, that was the best chance we had for getting bubble tea in Shelton. I like Pho, but I’m not going to pay gourmet prices for it, noodles are cheap food for the masses in both America and China.

Route 66 diner and pho noodle place shuts down

Gourmet food store moves into the former home of the scrap booking store and old
Italian restaurant that served over priced frozen lasagna

We don't need more beer and wine, we need bubble tea!

The mobster pizza place formerly known as “Big E’s” and then Ahbadabing, is getting a face lift, I wonder who the next tenet will be. Our other out of business Italian restaurant (the one on Franklin) turned into a scrapbooking store that lasted about six months and is now about to re-open as a health food store. Good luck to them, there just might be enough baby boomers left in Shelton to support a health food store. My husband is convinced that they won’t last though.

Ahbadahbomb



These bricks have lost their color


The new Italian place downtown is still open in spite of its high prices and small serving sizes and limited operating hours. We might eat there one more time before they go down. The pizza is a good value, but the rest of it is way out of reach for folks who are trying to feed a family. Perhaps there are enough baby boomers left in Shelton to support it.

Nifty Thrifty is going to move into the senior center on Railroad Avenue, I’m looking forward to that.  I miss the dollar store that used to be in what is now a state liquor store next to what used to be the Big E tavern and Ahbadahbing.  Maybe nifty thrifty will make a good replacement for the dollar store.

The rock shop has turned into a sports uniform store. I have no idea how viable a business model that is, so I won’t comment. I sure will miss the rock shop though. The rock shop closed due to the owner getting ill, if you recall it was in the same space that used to be occupied by the hobby store. I’m still waiting for the uniform shop take down the old sign for the rock shop so I can take a before and after picture.

No one bought my dream Jeep while I was gone; I'm tempted to buy it, but it seems way too frivolous of a purchase at the moment. 

My dream machine is still for sale for cheap, but I'm not going to buy it in this economy.

 All of the signs at the cornerstone building have been painted over and replaced with a sign for an accounting service. Endeavour resources is gone for good.

Gone

A new form of graffiti has emerged over the summer, this example is on the Cornerstone
Building:

Anarchy?

Slow down, this is what passes for a city around here!

The city is speed trapping on 10th and Railroad again, so be sure to to down shift when you hit the city limits. 

Kentucky Fried Chicken has left Shelton, but KFC serves bubble tea
at American prices, all over Shanghai.  This cup of tea was enjoyed
at the Shanghai Pu Dong airport.

The thrift store on front street has moved out and a new tenet is about to move in. The old Mel Chevrolet building is still sitting empty. The city did not use their new machine to repave my street while I was away. I still have 4 kittens to give away and I am still trying to stay awake.





 Shanghai



 Shelton



 

Forest Defenders Lock Themselves Inside Oregon Forestry Office

FOREST DEFENDERS LOCK THEMSELVES INSIDE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY OFFICE IN PROTEST OF NEW CLEAR CUT PLAN

August 1, 2011

Mollala, OR:
As a culmination of the annual Trans and Women’s Action Camp,
activists occupied the regional Oregon Department of Forestry office.
Three members of the camp have locked themselves together inside the
office using modified pipes. Currently the trio is refusing to leave
until the Oregon Department of Forestry revoke their support for the
2011 Elliott State Forest Management Plan.

Today is the last opportunity for citizens to comment on the plan.
Activists involved in the action criticized the plan for opening up
areas to logging which were previously off limits. They also
criticized the plan for increasing clear cutting to boost local
timber jobs while not making any decisive moves to regulate or even
monitor the large timber export industry which ships logs and jobs
overseas.

The Trans and Women’s Action Camp, or TWAC was formed out of a need to
make space for marginalized identities that otherwise may not be
represented within the broader push for environmental justice. This
action is organized and carried out by women and trans identified
people. “As a trans person, my affinity with forests stems from the
harsh reality that both of us are targets of oppression for merely
existing. Systems of oppression such as patriarchy, homophobia, and
transphobia are inherently linked to the violence towards forests
such as the Elliott. I am in solidarity with all forms of resistance
against the destruction of marginalized identities, human and
non-human.” says Samuel Morrissey

Meredith Cocks of Portland, OR said, “It’s absolutely devastating to walk
into the middle of a clearcut in the Elliott and know that after
decades of fighting for forest protection this sort of logging is
still accepted on public lands. This is some of our last intact
coastal rainforest, a precious place that deserves our respect, not
to be decimated by the ODF.”
Onsite: Press Contact: Maya Andrews (413)695-2249
Offsite: Press Contact: Timothy Swenson (703)994-6359
Timothy.Swenson@yahoo.com

Port of Shelton Commissioners Meeting August 2, 2011

  Shelton Mayoral candidate Dawn Pannell was in attendance, is she for or against the health of our children?  We don't know much about the mayoral candidates, but we do know that Shelton's infrastructure has collapsed under the current leadership.   Out with the old an in with the new! With our proximity to liberal Olympia, Shelton can not continue to be a bastion of rednecks, white supremacists and teabaggers.  The times, they are a changing... Will Shelton's current leaders see the shift and react accordingly, or will they all get flushed out?






An analogy to the above, or just a random vacation picture?  You decide...

Al was not happy about Hupp and Wallet's latest shenanigans related to hours of operations

Flush the Port clean with your vote for Jack Miles