Are we there yet?

What the heck is "Satsop Center"?

If you're like me you've seen the signs for showers, laundry, camping and lodging in what seems to be the middle of nowwhere off the 23/22 line, and wondered what it was all about.  This week I decided to find out.  It's a loggers hostel and for just $35 you can have a cozy room with two twin beds and a curtian instead of a door.  You will share the kitchen, bathroom and living area with about 10 strangers.  Did I mention it's in the middle of nowhere?  At least the artwork is original.

Does anyone wear caulk (pronounced "cork") boots anymore?

Entryway

Seems like a good place for a bigfoot sighting

Women's restroom

Now that's some fine art!

Satsop Guard Station and Satsop center seem to be the same thing
It's just 32 miles from the bustling town of Montesano

RE-SKILLING events

Calling All Do-ers and Makers!!


Transition Olympia is sponsoring RE-SKILLING events at the Love Our
Local (LOL) Fest as well as the Olympia Village Building Convergence
(OlyVBC). We seek local folks who have a skill they'd be willing to
share.


At LOL on August 19th from 1-9pm, near the San Francisco Bakery:  Offer
a brief (30-60minute) presentation one or more times during the day.
This could also be a prelude to a more extensive workshop during the VBC
or later in the year as part of a Re-Skilling Fair.

At VBC the week of August 19th-25th:  Offer a more in-depth workshop,
where folks get hands-on practice learning the skill.  These workshops
would need to be free-of-charge, in the spirit of VBC.

Re-Skilling Fair: We are in the beginning stages of planning a more
extensive program for later in the year.  More to come…
Skills run the gamut, from drop-spindle wool spinning, to cob
construction, to darning socks, weaving baskets, making a mason-bee
house, filtering water, buying and using hand tools, making soap,
etc… anything that contributes to our resilience and interdependence, as individuals and as a community.

If you or anyone you know would like to participate and help build our
local community, please complete the attached survey

For more information contact Gita
Moulton at gitamoulton@earthlink.net
Look forward to hearing from you!!

Port Of Shelton Prepares to Destroy Public Lands

6 trees were cut here, 3 were replanted

Port Of Shelton Goes Out For Timber BidThe Port of Shelton voted 2 to1 to go forward and seek bids on the timber
stands on Port Property at John's Prairie. Commissioner Dick Taylor said
the Port has a ...
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/32927-port-of-shelton-goes-out-for-timber-bid>

"Northwest Saudi Arabia of Biomass"

Sen. Johnson speaks at EDC banquet;
 Tillamook Headlight Herald
“When you think about it, the Northwest is like the Saudi Arabia of
biomass,” Biggs said after the banquet. “We (in Tillamook County)
generate 160000 tons of ...
http://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/article_4d4520c2-be6b-11e1-ad9d-0019bb2963f4.html

Proposal in Congress to add 126,000 acres to Olympic National Forest

A bill introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House would create 126,000 acres of new wilderness in Washington's Olympic National Forest, according to The Associated Press.

Pictures of some of the unprotected areas that will be protected is this passes:

Upper Skokomish

Church Creek

Church Creek

Satsop Lakes

Upper Skokomish

Upper Skokomish

Dry Creek

Dry Creek South with view of Lake Cushman

Who was this woman?  Kristin Delanay died on the dry creek trail on
9-13-86, she was probably just 17 years old

Hydro dam on the North Fork Snoqualmie?

Over the objections of the recreation and conservation community, including The Mountaineers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a preliminary permit last fall for the proposed Black Canyon Hydroelectric Project that would construct a new dam  on the North Fork Snoqualmie River.  

The river forms the border for the Department of Natural Resources Mt. Si Natural Resources Conservation Area that includes some of the best remaining intact old-growth riparian forest at low elevation in the western Cascades.

Want to help keep the North Fork Snoqualmie free-flowing? FERC needs to hear from you during the current public comment period.  Mark your calendars & tell your friends – you can attend either the daytime or evening scoping meeting on Tuesday, June 19 to learn more and raise issues and concerns. The virtual site review will provide an opportunity to get a more in-depth overview of the project.

 All meetings will be held at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center Auditorium, 19901 Cedar Falls Road SE, North Bend, WA 98045.
Daytime scoping  meeting, Tuesday, June 19, 11:00 a.m.
Virtual site review, Tuesday, June 19, 2:00 p.m.
Evening scoping  meeting, Tuesday, June 19,  6:00 p.m.

A public comment period is now open with comments due by July 24, 2pm (PDT).  For more background and information about how to weigh in this proposal, visit American Whitewater’s web page on the proposed North Fork Snoqualmie hydro developments. ( http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/31412 )

Oyster Shuckers

Exhaust Fumes (from logging trucks) Cause Lung Cancer

Exhaust Fumes Cause Lung
Cancer, WHO Says Date: 13-Jun-12
 Country: LONDON
 Author: Kate Kelland

 Diesel engine fumes  can cause lung cancer and belong in the same potentially deadly
category as asbestos, arsenic and mustard gas, World Health  Organisation (WHO) experts said on Tuesday.  http://planetark.org/wen/65642

Lost Green Black Diamond Trekking Pole

Lost Black Diamond brand trekking pole.  Switchback model.  They don't make this model anymore and I took this pole up Mount Adams; I'd really like to have it back.  It was last seen in my hands near the bridge over Lake Cushman out by Staircase.  It is missing a handle and it's pretty worthless without the handle (and it's matching pole).  I have the handle and would like to reunite it with the pole.  email sheltonprogressive@gmail.com

Fuzzy Free Kittens

It's springtime and that means that the feral cats are having kittens under our sheds.  We have roughly 10.5 kittens to give away.  Here are just three of them.

Fuzzy Free Kittens

Pamelia Denise Valentine has been selected as Shelton School District’s Teacher of the Year

Pamelia Denise Valentine has been selected as Shelton School District’s Teacher of the Year
https://www.sheltonschools.org/OBJH/default.aspx

Pamelia Denise Valentine has been selected as Shelton School District’s Teacher of the Year for 2013. This marks the start of the 2013 National Teacher of the Year selection. She will represent Shelton School District in the regional ESD 113 Teacher of the Year this fall and if selected could move onto the Washington State Teacher of the Year and the National Teacher of the Year for 2013.

Pamelia Denise Valentine’s contributions to Oakland Bay Junior High School continue to be irreplaceable as she is always ready to lend her teacher-leadership in support of increased student academic achievement. Her free thinking and new age conceptualization have made her an agent of change on the School Improvement Plan committee (SIP). Her work on the School Improvement Plan team has been instrumental in helping to change the professional climate and Teaching and Learning environment at Oakland Bay by fostering and adopting a School Wide Vision & Mission and energizing all staff trainings and staff development days. Denise makes a positive difference in our building. She is highly involved in SIP, Renaissance, PRIDE, Drama, PTSA and the Arts. Regularly, Ms. Valentine stands before the entire staff giving instruction and guidance on assessment concerns and issues as she helps faculty make the state assessment targets more transparent to students.

Ms. Valentine has National Board Certification in Art. Her assessments expose her students to rubrics and make them use higher level thinking skills. While planning lessons and delivering instruction, Ms. Valentine differentiates instruction to address the learning levels and Multiple Intelligences of all her students. Over the school years, Ms. Valentine volunteered with a ninth grade English teacher to lend her artistic expertise in producing three separate dramatic evening performances held in the school’s commons. She also fosters Shelton High School students as they create their own productions in support of Senior Projects. Ms. Valentine took a role in promoting a new look at classroom discipline called Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) now known as the Pride Committee. She is a catalyst on the electives team at Oakland Bay Junior High School. She is an active member of the Renaissance Committee which has invigorated student recognition for all students and she fosters and supervises Oakland Bay Junior High School’s Timberwolf News Broadcasts during her planning period. Ms. Valentine hosts the annual Arts Night where industrial arts, drama, and choir as well as the arts are highlighted and recognized.

Just this year, Denise was invited to present at The National Art Education Association’s National Convention in New York City. Denise Valentine provided substantive professional development services that included the advancement of knowledge in sessions, events, and activities for the purpose of improving visual arts instruction in American schools. She is Shelton School District’s Teacher of the Year for 2013.

Deforestation Festival

Was it raining during the Deforestation Festival Parade?  The parade did not register on the air pollution monitor at all. 

Breaking News: Federal Agency Rules Against Use of Border Patrol Agents as Interpreters

May 31, 2012 by

Exciting news. In the first-ever decision of its kind, a federal agency today ruled that the U.S. Forest Service discriminated against Latinos on the Olympic Peninsula by using Border Patrol agents as interpreters and as law-enforcement support in routine matters. The USDA’s civil rights office ordered the U.S. Forest Service to make significant policy changes at the national level and to take additional steps locally

 

http://www.stopthecheckpoints.com/2012/05/breaking-news-federal-agency-rules-against-use-of-border-patrol-agents-as-interpreters/