Brianna loper writer of the year

Journal SHELTON-MASON COUNTY

Evergreen students learn in the garden PAGE A-8

Thursday, May 19, 2016

The Voice of Mason County Since 1886 - Vol. 130, No. 20

$1.50

the role of SUPPORT GROUPS

‘The six-letter dirty word’ As cancer rates grow, county residents find strength in numbers

By BRIANNA LOPER brianna@masoncounty.com

J

ust four months after her annual mammogram in 2014, Carol Goodburn found a lump in her breast.

“I kept telling myself it was nothing, but it didn’t go away,” the Shelton resident said.

Finally, she went to her local doctor, who sent her to a specialist in Olympia for testing.

Still sure it was anything but cancer, Goodburn attended the appointment alone, where a doctor she’d never met before delivered some of the most devastating news she’d ever received — the lump was breast cancer.

“I was so confused, because I’d had my annual mammogram in April, and this was August,” she said. “It was that fast.”

Goodburn recalls she made it to her car before she broke down crying as the full weight of the diagnosis hit her. As she drove home, emotions took over. Goodburn lost control of her car and it ran into the concrete lane divider.

On top of everything else, she now had to wait for a tow truck to get her car fixed and back home.

It’s been nearly two years since that day, and during the past year, Goodburn has attended the cancer support group at Mason General Hospital & Family of Clinics on a monthly basis.

Earlier this year, she received a second cancer diagnosis — skin cancer on her nose.

However, this time, Goodburn took the diagnosis in stride.

“They’re removing it soon,” Goodburn said casually, a stark contrast from her reaction to the first diagnosis. “I’m handling the new diagnosis better now.”

Goodburn said that calm is in part because of the support group.

“The word ‘cancer’ itself is frightening,” she said. “But talking with other people who’ve been through it, it teaches you there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It doesn’t feel like it,

FINDING SUPPORT Goodburn said during her first diagnosis, her two adult daughters attended appointments with her and helped care for her during six weeks of chemotherapy and eight weeks of radiation.

In April 2015, after she finished with treatment, Goodburn said even though the cancer

470

541

New cases of cancer diagnosed each year between 2008 and 2012 in Mason County

Photo courtesy of Harmony Hill

Cancer support groups provide a place of support for people whose lives have been affected by cancer, whether the attendees have had cancer themselves or have had someone else in their life with the diagnosis. but there is.”

New cases of cancer diagnosed each year after 2012 in Mason County

was in remission, she felt like the disease still affected her.

“Cancer is a lifetime thing,” she said.

On average, there were about 470 new cases of cancer diagnosed each year between 2008 and 2012 in Mason County alone, according to the Washington State Cancer Registry.

In 2012, the last time the statistics were see SUPPORT, page A-16

522

Average number of new cases of cancer diagnosed in each county in 2012 statewide

2 commissioners ignore water shortage warnings The City of Shelton’s well No. 1 on Shelton Springs Road is about 75 years old.

Journal photo by Gordon Weeks

Mayor, McDowell oppose paying for new well

By GORDON WEEKS gordon@masoncounty.com Two members of the Shelton City Commission say they are willing to ignore warnings by water supply experts and risk a water shortage instead of borrowing $1.3 million to re-

place a failing well.

At the commission’s meeting on Monday evening, Mayor Gary Cronce and Commissioner Kathy McDowell said they want to hear from the next city manager and finance director before they act on the advice of Public Works Director Greg

Clark to replace well No. 1 in the Mountain View area.

Clark told the Shelton City Commission on May 2 and 9 that the well located in the Upper Mountain View Pressure Zone failed last summer and is not a dependable source of water.

If the well fails again, the see WELL, page A-22

Inside today City names finalists for administrator position Page A-2

Residents say goodbye to local author Page A-2

2 high school coaches will not return next year Page B-1

Page A-16 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 19, 2016

Thursday, May 19, 2016 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-17

the role of support groups

The mental impact: How group facilitators deal with leading

By BRIANNA LOPER brianna@masoncounty.com

patients with cancer.

Trout is a patient navigator for people with cancer, specifically breast cancer, so from the day they Every weekend, the team at the Harmony Hill are diagnosed, Trout is available to help people retreat center in Union sees 24 new people; at least work through their options and decide on the best course. half of those have some form of cancer.

“It’s not at all depressing; it’s not hard for me,” During each three-day retreat, a team of facilitators help the cancer patients and their caregiver — she said.

Trout said because she knows that she’s working usually a spouse or family member — unpack their emotional baggage and come to terms with the di- to the best of her ability to make people feel better agnosis. The organizers work with the people, both or make the right choices, she’s proud of the help she can provide. as a team and individually, The support group is one way to change their mental narshe does that. rative to have a positive “It’s just kind of an honor to outlook, regardless of the be with the group and be part of diagnosis. a group that feels safe to share,” The facilitators learn she said. about the patients’ history, Ronnie Hacken, who facilitates their hopes and their fears. both the Mason General support They work with the caregroup and workshops at Harmogivers to understand what ny Hill, agreed. the patient is feeling and “I end up caring about people; foster communication beI’m touched and moved all the tween the two parties. time,” she said. “But I can’t be a They care about the peotherapist without being comfortple who come to the camp. able with them coming and goAt the end of the weeking.” end, the campers pack up Hacken, who owns a private and leave; five days later, Ronnie Hacken, cancer support therapy practice in Olympia, said the facilitators do it all group facilitator and private therapist part of her job is accepting the inagain. evitable — “In reality, people die How do they do it? and we have to deal with that.”

“For our facilitators, it’s Her first experience with a support group came not like they’re not impacted, because they are,” said Pam Toal, program director for Harmony Hill. in the mid-1908s when she and a friend started a “But many of our facilitators are trained not to take weekly support group for people with AIDS. Because there was no cure at the time, death on that pain. They’re MDs or nurses, so they underwas a very real topic for the group, and one Hacken stand how.”

During the past decade, part of the treatment needed to be comfortable with.

One of the most difficult things Hacken said she’s process for patients diagnosed with cancer has grown to involve caring for their mental state. Sup- had to overcome is what she calls the “tyranny of port groups and retreat centers like Harmony Hill positivity.”

“We struggle to make room for people’s strugwere started to help cancer patients and their caregivers speak openly about the diagnosis and their gles,” she said. “As a culture, we need to support these struggles.” fears.

Hacken said she hears people with cancer are ofIn addition to medical treatment, these support ten encouraged to continually be positive and look groups help people address their mental state.

“We’re looking at the entire process, living with, on the bright side. However, that’s rarely a human through and beyond cancer,” said Eric Blegen, ex- — or healthy — response.

Instead of looking at not being positive as a perecutive director at Harmony Hill.

But with these increased support groups comes sonal failing, Hacken said, people need to learn to increased training for the people who facilitate accept it as part of the human experience.

“How we feel changes moment to moment; these groups.

Karry Trout, who runs the cancer support group there’s not a right and a wrong way to feel,” she at Mason General Hospital & Family of Clinics, said said. “We have to give people permission to have part of her job involves training on how to work with experiences.”

“I end up caring about people; I’m touched and moved all the time. But I can’t be a therapist without being comfortable with them coming and going.”

Journal photo by Brianna Loper

In 2014, Carol Goodburn was diagnosed with breast cancer. After undergoing cancer treatment and going into remission, she still felt the need for support, so she attends a monthly support group at Mason General Hospital & Family of Clinics.

Support: Groups give cancer patients a chance to exchange ideas, support continued from page A-1 updated, that number jumped to 541 new cases of cancer; the state average for that year was 522.

Goodburn heard about the Mason General Hospital & Family of Clinics’ support group, which is put on through a partnership with the Union cancer retreat center Harmony Hill, while undergoing treatment at the hospital. She began attending the group after her cancer went into remission, and said the support was important, not only to her, but to others.

“When other people come to the group with breast cancer, I know how I felt, so I can help them,” she said.

Mason General isn’t the only support group in the county; Faith Lutheran Church in Shelton also hosts a monthly group.

On the second Sunday of the month, a group of people files unceremoniously into Pastor Steve Olson’s office.

Some come with spouses, helped through the door, while others come alone, but all are chattering, full of life and questions for each other.

Everyone finds their seats, pulling chairs out to line the walls of the cramped office while

Photo courtesy of Harmony Hill

Cancer patients and their caregivers — usually a family member — introduce themselves during a cancer support weekend retreat at Harmony Hill in Union.

37,770

The estimated number of new cases of cancer diagnosed in Washington in 2016

discussing the upcoming Easter service or how questions to answering them after his father-intheir kids’ soccer game went. law died from complications due to cancer.

However, when the door closes and the pas“It was very healing to be a part of your own tor takes his seat, support group,” Olson rethe room grows eerily called. “It’s a good thing, quiet. Immediately, the very powerful.” mood sobers.

In addition to the support They’re all there to groups, Mason County is talk about — as Olson also home to Harmony Hill, refers to it — the sixa weekend retreat facility letter dirty word that for cancer patients and their connects them all: caregivers, usually a spouse cancer. or family member.

Olson runs the The pairs spend a weekcancer support group end “on the Hill” in Union out of his office at with a team of trained facilithe church as a way tators to unpack emotional for those whose lives baggage related to cancer have been affected by and help both the patient Debra Dozier, a patient with cancer to grieve, heal and the caregiver change non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and learn about the the outlook on the diagnosis. disease.

The weekend usually However, as its modincludes yoga, crafts and erator, Olson said the healthful, organic food, in group has played an addition to breakout sesimportant role in his life as well. sions where facilitators talk with attendees In November, Olson went from asking the about their fears or hopes regarding cancer.

“It’s devastating to all of a sudden have an expiration date. You don’t know what it is, but you know it’s there.”

1.6 million The estimated number of new cases of cancer diagnosed in the United States in 2016

1,630

The number of cancer-related deaths each day in the United States, on average

The retreat is free to people with cancer and their caregivers.

For hundreds of people like Olson and Goodburn across Mason County, a support group has been an oasis during trying times — even after the cancer treatment is over and they’ve been discharged from the hospital.

Karry Trout, patient navigator for Mason General, who helps run the hospital’s support group, said that having support groups available locally is vital for the thousands of people living with cancer in Mason County.

“Being in a rural community where often cancer care is a little disjointed in the sense of we don’t provide all the services for cancer care, it’s one more thing they can do locally,” she said, pointing out that otherwise, patients would need to drive to Olympia or Bremerton for support.

“It’s nice we can kind of offer that support for them here at home.”

AFTER THE CANCER It may seem as though the hard part is over for patients who are in remission from their cancer. However, that’s rarely the case, Trout said. see SUPPORT, page A-18

12,770

The estimated number of cancer-related deaths in Washington in 2016 Facts provided by the American Cancer Society

Page A-18 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 19, 2016

the role of support groups

Support: Group differs from support of family or friends continued from page A-17 “When you get a diagnosis, you operate on adrenaline,” she said.

“It’s one thing after another and everybody comes together when you get a diagnosis. And then, you’re in remission and it’s been three months, six months, and everyone goes on their merry way.

But you still have a cancer diagnosis. That doesn’t go away.”

Trout said several of the people who utilize the support group are in remission. However, the cancer is still a constant fear in their lives, which can be hard for friends and loved ones to understand.

In addition to running the support group at Mason General, Trout has had experience on the other side — nearly two decades ago, her daughter was diagnosed with tumors in her brain.

Trout described her daughter’s last day of chemotherapy as terrifying, because the fighting was over. While her daughter was under physicians’ care, Trout said she felt like they were moving forward. But once that ended, she didn’t know what to do.

“Nobody brings meals anymore, nobody helps anymore because they feel like — most people think you’ve gotten through it,” she said.

“But that’s when that person, they really start to let go.”

Even though her daughter has been tumor-free for more than 15 years, Trout still tears up as she talks about the diagnosis and treatment.

Debra Dozier understands living with that constant knowledge that cancer is inside her.

Fourteen years ago, Dozier was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a condition where the body produces too many of a certain type of abnormal white blood cells.

Instead of immediate treatment, doctors told Dozier they wanted to monitor her condition, because it wasn’t at a detrimental level.

For 11 years, doctors observed her progress, until, out of the blue, the cancer metastasized.

“It was very fast and dramatic,” Dozier said. “Within six months, it had really spread.”

The following year was full of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Dozier is now in remission, but she said that doesn’t mean she has stopped thinking about the cancer.

“It’s devastating to all of a sudden have an expiration date,” she

said. “You don’t know what it is, but you know it’s there.”

Dozier said she attended a three-day retreat at Harmony Hill while undergoing treatment, where she learned about survivorship and altering her mentality about cancer.

“These days, people don’t die of cancer,” she said. “You have to learn to honor that part of yourself.”

Dozier said the retreat helped her learn to love and care for herself during the cancer treatment.

However, after she finished her chemotherapy treatment and the cancer was declared in remission, she said she felt she still needed support.

She saw an advertisement for the support group at Mason General last year, and decided to attend a meeting.

Even though the group is small, Dozier said the outpouring of support is enormous.

“Cancer is a part of you, and it will never stop,” Dozier said, adding that even if she’s not actively fighting cancer, someone else in the group might be. “Hopefully, I can support others.”

Goodburn said the type of support she received from the support group is different from the support family or friends can give.

“My daughters are wonderful, but they don’t really know what it’s like,” she said. “Anyone can say, ‘I feel badly,’ but you don’t even know until you get a diagnosis.”

Ronnie Hacken, who facilitates support groups at Harmony Hill and Mason General, said she sees this mentality with cancer patients often. Because friends or family want to feel like the crisis is over and dealt with, they often don’t understand why the person with cancer doesn’t put the cancer in the past as soon as they’re in remission.

“People with cancer know it’s never in the past; you always have an awareness of having cancer,” Hacken said.

The support groups aren’t just for people with cancer though, as all of the facilitators mention. Anyone whose life has been affected by cancer can attend the meeting and share their thoughts.

“We’re kind of all in it together,” Trout said. “Most of us are going to end up with cancer in our body at some point, or with somebody who has had cancer.

So as much as we can, we should have those coping skills to move forward in life with it.”

FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH The Faith Lutheran Church support group started more than seven years ago when members of the congregation decided it was a necessity.

“I wish I could take credit for starting it, but someone came to me and asked if we could all get together,” said Pastor Steve Olson, who runs the monthly support group.

The group arranged to meet the second Sunday of the month and that day, more than 15 people were waiting in the pastor’s office.

“I remember being surprised at how many people were there,” Olson said.

People from all walks of life attended the group, from people who were newly diagnosed, to people who hadn’t tested positive for cancer in years, to spouses of those diagnosed.

Since that day, Olson said the need for the group has been obvious.

“It was so overwhelming and moving, they decided to keep doing it,” Olson said.

Second Sunday Support has been a staple at the church for years. It is open to anyone whose life has been affected by cancer and is not limited to congregation members.

The support group takes place at 10 a.m. on the second Sunday of the month at Faith Lutheran Church, located at 1212 Connection St. in Shelton. For more information, call the church at 426-8611.

HARMONY HILL On a hill rising high above Hood Canal sits a tiny cluster of cottages and an overflowing greenhouse. Looking across the water on a clear day, the Olympic Mountains rise majestically above the landscape.

During the week, the setting is serene and quiet, but 21 weekends out of the year, cancer patients arrive with a caregiver for a three-day retreat.

“It’s all about helping people change their narrative to a more positive outlook and get the most out of life, no matter what the prognosis may be,”said executive director Eric Blegen. “It’s not about medical treatment, but actually about changing the narrative, because when you get a diagnosis, it can be very traumatic.”

Harmony Hill’s cancer program was created in 1994, after founder Gretchen Schodde learned how people find healing by changing their mindset surrounding their cancer diagnosis.

The retreat center is a nonprofit, and its services are free to people with cancer and their caregiver, usually a spouse or loved one.

“Often, along with the diagnosis comes a big financial impact,” Blegen said. “We don’t really want to charge while they’re dealing with that.”

The three-day retreat hosts workshops for both the patient and their caregiver to learn about “survivorship,” the process of living with, through and beyond cancer.

Pam Toal, Harmony Hill’s program director, said the retreat serves people not only from Mason County, but from all over the country and the world.

For more information on specific retreats, call the center at 898-2363.

MASON GENERAL For the past year, Mason General Hospital & Family of Clinics has hosted its own support group.

“I just feel like this is a much-needed service in the community,” said Karry Trout, patient navigator for the hospital. “I’d like to see more people use it.”

Trout, who helps patients with breast cancer navigate their options after the diagnosis, said the group started because she felt like people with all kinds of cancer needed support during and after their treatment.

“I sometimes feel that it’s really unfair that other cancers don’t have the level of exposure and support that breast cancer has,” Trout said.

She reached out to Ronnie Hacken, a therapist with a private practice in Olympia who has many years of experience with support groups, to facilitate the group.

“During the first meeting, Ronnie brought a book with her in case no one showed up,” Trout recalled. “But we had 10 or 11 people show for that first meeting, and she was shocked.”

Since then, the numbers have fluctuated. However, Trout said a core group of about four or five people attend the session each month.

Similar to the Faith Lutheran group, Hacken has attendees go around the room, update the group on how they’re feeling and talk about anything that is important to them that month.

During the meeting, the facilitator said she tries to understand what’s important to people as a discussion topic for the month.

“I try to listen and figure out what’s in their hearts, what’s important tonight,” Hacken said.

The group meets from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of the month in the Pershing Room at Mason General Hospital & Family of Clinics, located at 901 Mountain View Drive in Shelton. For more information, call Trout at 432-7706.

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Students learn how to be green PAGE A-27

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Journal SHELTON-MASON COUNTY

The Voice of Mason County Since 1886 - Vol. 130, No. 23

Staying cool during Forest Festival

$1.50

Olympic Panel closure to begin Manufacturer will start to shut down in July

By BRIANNA LOPER brianna@masoncounty.com

ABOVE: Jenny Wallace sprays water to cool down the members of the 4th and 5th Grade North Mason Elementary Band on Saturday as they wait to march in the Paul Bunyan Grand Parade in downtown Shelton.

AT LEFT: The members of the Mason County Forest Festival court greet the hometown crowd as they travel down Railroad Avenue. For parade winners and more photos, see pages A-20 and A-21.

Journal photos by Gordon Weeks

The Olympic Panel Products shut down will come to fruition within the next few weeks.

The Shelton-based plywood manufacturer is scheduled to begin closing parts of its operation July 22, according to Lynn Longan, director of the Economic Development Council of Mason County.

“They have unions and that sort of thing, so they’re going to do a ‘phased approach,’ ” Longan told the Journal. “They have contracts, unions, salaried employees, IAM (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) …

So all of those will be phased out, but I don’t know the order.”

IAM representatives could not be reached for comment.

According to a news release provided to the Journal by Olympic Panel, the 25-acre Shelton location will remain operational until August.

Longan said she expects the shut down to take three to four weeks.

Officially, the manufacturer said see OLYMPIC, page A-15

‘Cockroach’ crushes cancer again and again Reconfiguration

By BRIANNA LOPER brianna@masoncounty.com Harold Parks was given a 6 percent survival rate the day he entered surgery.

Colon cancer wrapped around a vein in his liver and needed to be removed if Harold was going to live.

Many doctors told the Hoodsport resident his best bet was to go home, make himself comfortable and wait to die.

“What choice did I have?”

Harold said when asked why he entered the surgery. “I’m not going to just wait around to die.”

Now, nearly 15 years later, doctors call him “Cock-

roach,” a nickname Harold is proud he’s earned.

“He’s a cockroach; no one can kill him,” his wife, Kathleen said. “People say ‘ew,’ but Harold has embraced it.

In spite of him(self) … he’s still thriving.”

It was no small feat to earn the nickname; Harold has beaten three types of cancer, survived 10 cancerrelated surgeries and gone through six bouts of chemotherapy.

In March, Harold celebrated his 80th birthday; last week, he celebrated being officially small-cell lung cancer free for the see COCKROACH, page A-13

could solve elementary overcrowding

By GORDON WEEKS gordon@masoncounty.com

Journal photo by Brianna Loper

Harold Parks, 80, flexes on the porch of his Hoodsport home last week. Parks has survived three types of cancer during the past 16 years. His wife says his zest for life and attitude have helped him survive and prosper.

If the Shelton School District changes its grade configuration, overcrowding at the elementary schools immediately will be solved by moving the fifth-graders to middle school. Simultaneously, Shelton High School will need extensive renovations to add the ninth-grade students.

Those are among the scenarios see SCHOOLS, page A-14

Inside today U.S. Rep. Kilmer visits Olympic College Shelton Page A-2

City bill for building fire?

More than $20K Page A-6

Spring football season kicks off Page B-1

Thursday, June 9, 2016 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-13

Cockroach: Family threw man a ‘cockroach-themed’ party continued from page A-1

“The thing about Harold is that he’s a participant in life, and he’s not going to give up. He has a tremendous drive of wanting to stay here.”

first time since he was diagnosed.

BUILT TOUGH Harold was born in Tacoma in 1936. He joined the Navy at 17 years old, and later worked for Boeing and Weyerhaeuser.

Harold spent his weekends racing motorcycles and cars, and piloting planes.

“Back in the old days, we’d crash and burn on the weekends,” he said with a smile. “That was the fun stuff.”

Harold married Kathleen when he was 53; the two had known each other since they were kids.

The two eventually moved to a home in Hoodsport. They spent their spare time traveling the country in a renovated bus, visiting a network of friends and family.

In 2000, Harold went to a doctor who told him he had colon cancer. He was treated for that cancer, but less than a year later, doctors found the cancer metastasized.

The colon cancer had moved to his liver and wrapped itself around the hepatic vein. His doctor told Harold the cancer was fatal — the tumor was inoperable because it was tightly wrapped around a vital vein.

So Harold sought a second opinion. That doctor agreed that Harold was a lost cause.

“Two quacks told me to go home and die,” he recalls. “So I fired them.”

Harold had lived his life at 100 mph, racing cars and finding adventures. He decided he wasn’t done living yet.

The Parks eventually found Ken Feucht, an oncologist in Puyallup.

Feucht gave it to the Parks straight — getting rid of the cancer was going to be risky, difficult and painful, but he was willing to try if Harold was up for the challenge.

“The thing that really got us was that he prayed with us on the first visit,” Harold said, adding that the prayer, along with the

Kathleen Parks, husband of Harold Parks, who has repeatedly defeated cancer

Journal photo by Brianna Loper

Family and friends threw Harold Parks a cockroach-themed 80th birthday party in March as a tribute to his nickname, “Cockroach,” which included a cake in the shape of the seemingly immortal bug. doctor’s honesty, made the Parks trust him.

Feucht created a unique blend of chemotherapy for Harold, which loosened the tumor enough that Feucht believed doctors could operate. That day, Harold was given a 6 percent chance of survival.

“As you can see, he was successful,” Harold said proudly, gesturing to himself. “I was very famous that day at the hospital. Of course, I was asleep for most of it.”

AN ANNUAL BATTLE That wasn’t the end of the story for Harold; in fact, it was the beginning of a long road.

A year later, during a regular three-month check up, doctors found the colon cancer was back in the bed of his liver. Doctors burned the cancer out.

“Gives a different meaning to the idea of liver and onions, doesn’t it?” Harold laughed.

For years, doctors would find a new type of cancer. Harold fought off colon cancer in his lungs.

Then prostate cancer.

Then colon cancer in his lungs again.

Doctors operated to remove the cancer, and, at one point, had to take a part of his lung and a rib.

Then, three years passed in which Harold tested clean. He still went in every three months for check-ups, but his numbers leveled out and it appeared the Cockroach was finally cancer-free.

“It’s easy livin’ when you don’t have it,” he smiled.

Doctors were about to allow Harold to go longer between check-ups when, in October 2015, tests came back abnormal.

Quickly, doctors determined the worst: Harold had small-cell lung cancer.

“You have never seen doctors move so fast in your life,” he said. “(Small-cell lung cancer) is not nice and it’s quick.”

Kathleen agreed.

“With all of his other cancers, it was, ‘Oh, we’ll get you in for this appointment in two weeks,’ ” she said. “But with this, I think within four days, he was in chemo and radiation.”

Harold says doctors “cooked his brain” to fight the cancer. For about five minutes at a time, they shot radiation into his head.

Within two weeks, Harold had 16 appointments. He had the maximum amount of radiation and chemotherapy. The Cockroach lost all his hair and his strength.

But a cockroach just can’t be killed.

After nearly eight months of fighting, Harold was once again deemed cancer-free on May 31.

“Voila, they’re good,” Harold said. “We whipped the cancer.”

Kathleen smiled.

“We’re jumping for joy,” she agreed.

HOW DOES HE DO IT? Harold never allowed cancer to take over his life. It was just an inconvenience he had to deal with from time to time.

“When the fight was over, we’d go play,” Kath-

leen said as she reminisced about one of three cross-country road trips the couple has taken together.

During one of his bouts against cancer, the Parks visited Hawaii. The vacation was already scheduled when Harold found out about the latest cancer, so he completed part of his chemotherapy while on vacation with his family.

“The thing about Harold is that he’s a participant in life, and he’s not going to give up,” Kathleen said. “He has a tremendous drive of wanting to stay here.”

She added that a lot of people have called Harold to ask about his journey and his fight against cancer.

Harold said he tells most people his success have come from wanting to continue living.

“Most of us want to live, but we don’t want to go through the trials of getting well,” Harold said.

He often blocks out

the negative parts about the cancer, but remembers the good times with friends, family and even doctors.

For his 80th birthday last month, family and friends threw Harold a “cockroach-themed” party, which included ice frozen with plastic roaches inside, bug-shaped balloons and even a cockroach-shaped cake.

Fittingly, Feucht, the first doctor to dub Harold as “Cockroach,” cut the ceremonial first piece.

As the doctor approached the cake, he wondered aloud how to cut it.

“Someone yelled, ‘Just cut off the head,’ ” Kathleen recalled. “So he did, and all this red filling came out. It made it look even more gruesome than it was.”

Harold has hung on to one piece of advice that he’ll dole out whenever the moment calls for it: “Don’t be afraid to fire a quack,” he said seriously.

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Changes at the top for Mary M. Knight schools PAGE A-3

Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016

Journal SHELTON-MASON COUNTY

The Voice of Mason County Since 1886 - Vol. 130, No. 33

Heaven Sent

$1.50

Streets, projects among city earmarks Commission decides how to spend transportation tax money

By GORDON WEEKS gordon@masoncounty.com

Photo by Jon Devore, courtesy of Luke Aikins

Luke Aikins aims for a green target, which is situated below a net. The skydiver jumped from 25,000 feet July 30 without a parachute or wing suit, landing on the net.

Skydiver with local ties makes record-breaking jump

By BRIANNA LOPER brianna@masoncounty.com

see TRANSPORTATION, page A-17

A

s the plane took off, Luke Aikins had second thoughts about his stunt.

The lifelong skydiver planned to jump from a plane 25,000 feet in the air without a wing suit or parachute, and land on a net on the ground.

He knew how crazy it sounded.

“I started thinking, ‘I have a wife and a son. Why am I doing this?’ ” Aikins said in an interview with the Journal.

During his life, Aikins had completed thousands of successful jumps, but nothing like this stunt. No person had ever jumped from so high with so little equipment. But when the Shelton-based skydiver was approached about the stunt, he knew he wanted to be the one to complete the jump.

As the plane neared the proper altitude moments before the stunt on July 30, Aikins removed his parachute and readied himself as friends and fellow skydivers opened the door of the plane.

Aikins looked down at the Simi Valley, California, landscape through the pristine morning to see the 100-foot-by-100-foot net he had to land on to survive. At that moment, he felt his mind clear.

“When they opened that door, it was just all business, no fear, no anxiety,” Aikins said.

And he leapt from 25,000 feet in the air.

GETTING TO 25,000 FEET Aikins, 42, is not new to skydiving; after more than 18,000 jumps, he’s almost more at home in the air than on the ground.

He started regularly skydiving at the age of 16, and is on staff at Skydive Kapowsin in Shelton. He says he “grew up” with the staff at Kapowsin, which was founded by his grandfather and is owned by his

The Shelton City Commission on Monday decided how to spend the first Transportation Benefit District funds approved by Shelton voters in November 2015.

The commissioners voted unanimously to direct 65 percent of the funds to local matches and capital projects, 30 percent to local street paving and 5 percent to non-motorized transportation.

The measure, which received more than 60 percent of the vote, raised sales and use tax by two-tenths of a cent for transportation improvements through the city’s new Transportation Benefit District.

The taxes collected can only be used for transportation improvements in the city. The tax increase will last 10

Undersheriff recommends jail proposal

By MICHAEL HEINBACH michael@masoncounty.com

Photo by Christian Pondella, courtesy of Luke Aikins

Luke Aikins embraces his 4-year-old son Logan after landing his stunt.

uncle and aunt, Geoff and Jessie Farrington.

In addition to skydiving, Aikins is an accomplished BASE jumper and airplane pilot, both of which play a role in his career in the air.

He’s worked on projects in the past that include filming scenes and training jumpers for “Iron Man see JUMP, page A-22

What was originally scheduled as a 30-minute discussion about potential alternative solutions to issues facing Mason County Jail lasted nearly twice as long Monday morning at commission chambers in Shelton.

County Undersheriff Jim Barrett Barrett came to the county commissioners recommending they move forward with a program that reduces overcrowding and cuts costs at the jail. Barrett said the proposal would send some offenders to other facilities for incarceration see JAIL, page A-16

Inside today Marijuana cooperatives the focus of commission Page A-2

New administrators at Hawkins Middle School Page A-28

Jiujitsu fighter hones skills, takes on challenges Page B-1

Page A-22 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016

Photo by Christian Pondella, courtesy of Luke Aikins

Luke Aikins lands in a 100-foot-by-100-foot net lifted about 20 stories off the ground after free-falling 25,000 feet without a parachute or wing suit.

Jump: Diver has been practicing stunt for two years continued from page A-1 3.”

Aikins is also a part of the Red Bull Stratos team, which in 2012 trained skydiver Felix Baumgartner to jump to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere, setting the record for longest free-fall and highest speed.

Aikins said he regularly gets offered nondisclosure agreements, which he signs before companies ask him to participate in a variety of stunts. Some he accepts and some he turns down.

So it was no surprise to Aikins when, about two years ago, he received another secret proposal.

“They called to tell me, ‘We want you to jump out of a plane without a parachute,’ ” Aikins recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, with a wing suit.’

And they said, ‘No, with nothing.’ ” Aikins thought the stunt was crazy. The company, Amusement Park Entertainment, wanted Aikins to land on a giant slide, something he was sure could never work.

But for two weeks following the proposal, Aikins said he would lie awake at night thinking about the stunt, mulling over how it could be done.

He knew that if anyone was going to do it, he wanted to be that guy.

So after talking with his wife, Monica, Aikins called the company back to accept their offer.

But he had one stipulation.

“It wasn’t just going to be a leap of faith thing; I’m not about the leap of faith,” he said.

“I told them we had to treat this like a real test jump.”

So for the past two years, Aikins and the team, sponsored by Stride Gum, trained, planned and researched.

Aikins nixed the idea of a giant slide, but thought a big net might do the trick. The net, a 100-foot-by-100-foot square, would be set about 20 stories up, with a bold target underneath that could be seen from the air.

Aikins also thought to add lights surrounding the target, similar to those on an airplane runway signaling pilots where to land.

The crew practiced dropping dead-weight dummies about Aikins’ size from 1,000 feet up into similar nets to test the best material, height and size. The team measured the dummies’ speed with accelerometers, instruments used to measure acceleration, to figure out how

fast Aikins would be going when he hit the net.

“We did it over and over to find out what happens if it hits the edges, what happens with different materials for the net,” Aikins said.

To practice, he painted a target on the ground outside Kapowsin. For the past year, Aikins worked on landing in the center of the mark after each jump with a parachute.

His goal was to hit the target perfectly for 75 jumps in a row. Including his final jump, he hit the target 83 consecutive times.

The day of the jump, Aikins was told that due to safety regulations, he had to wear a parachute during the stunt. Aikins said this would both have taken away some of the excitement and could potentially be dangerous, as he had to land on his back and had not prepared to wear equipment.

The ruling was later revoked as Aikins’ plane took off, allowing Aikins to jump without the chute.

As he began boarding the plane for his jump, Aikins’ 4-year-old son, Logan, had just one qualm with the stunt.

“He said, ‘Dad, I thought you weren’t going to wear a parachute,’ ” Aikins recalls.

HITTING HIS MARK Aikins had a specific clause written into his contract — for any reason, at any time, he could call off the stunt.

“If I don’t feel safe, I don’t have to do it,” Aikins said. “Wind conditions, if visibility isn’t perfect, if I get a weird feeling.”

As he boarded the plane and headed skyward, Aikins said his mind raced. But he had trained with Michael Gervais, sports psychologist for the Seattle Seahawks, to visualize the best outcome. Aikins put those tactics to use in the plane, and began to calm down.

When he jumped from the plane — sans parachute — it was business as usual.

He hit speeds of more than 150 mph shortly after jumping; when he reached altitudes closer to Earth, thicker air slowed his speed to about 120 mph.

Aikins said it felt most real as those jumping with him to record the stunt pulled their ripcords to release their chutes half way through the stunt.

Aikins continued his jump, free falling for more than two minutes total.

As he neared the net, seconds before impact, he flipped to his back, the soft net breaking his fall.

The first thing Aikins did was pump his arms and legs in the air.

“That was kind of our signal that everything was alright,” he said.

Then, Aikins laid his head back down on the net and looked up at the sky to soak in what he’d just accomplished.

Aikins is the first — and only — person to ever jump from 25,000 feet with no parachute or wing suit.

His support team lowered the net to bring Aikins back to the ground.

“I felt a ‘plink’ and my back touched the ground, and that was kind of the moment that was like, ‘It’s all over.’ ” Aikins’ wife ran over to hug him, followed by his father and siblings, as well as the support team.

Logan was also on-site to welcome his father back to Earth.

“I asked him if he was nervous, and he said, ‘No, Dad, I knew you were going to land in the net,’ all matter of fact,” Aikins said with a laugh. “I think he didn’t quite understand it.”

The stunt was televised live — with a tape delay — on FOX, and had more than 1.5 million viewers. The YouTube video of the jump had more than 2.7 million views last week.

Aikins said his final jump was actually his worst of his 83. He was about 20 feet off center of the target, landing to one side.

“It was a conscious decision, but I knew I wanted to hit it going straight,” Aikins said, adding that instead of using the time to maneuver to the center of the net, he flipped to his back, tucked his chin and closed his hands to soften the impact and minimize damage.

Aikins said the biggest surprise was how much the world paid attention.

“I knew it would be big for the skydiving community, but I didn’t realize it would be big for the rest of the world,” Aikins said.

However, his one goal is to make people understand that he’s not a crazy person jumping out of a plane; he took a calculated risk that was well-planned and researched.

For now, Aikins said he’s happy to bask in the glory of his latest accomplishment.

“I don’t think that’s something you try to top,” Aikins said. “I have some other ideas, but for now, I’m just going to sit back and enjoy it.”

Locals explore soonto-be state park on Fudge Point PAGE A-6

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016

Journal SHELTON-MASON COUNTY

The Voice of Mason County Since 1886 - Vol. 130, No. 36

Bringing ‘Difficult subject’ into conversation

$1.50

15 years after 9/11

‘It was an absolutely helpless feeling’ Locals remember where they were on Sept. 11, 2001

By JOURNAL STAFF news@masoncounty.com

Journal photo by Brianna Loper

Shelton High School students leave school Tuesday. In a 2014 survey, 24.3 percent of Mason County senior students reported they seriously considered suicide in the past year, compared with about 18 percent across the state.

Experts: Resources available to help students with thoughts of suicide

By BRIANNA LOPER brianna@masoncounty.com

S

ome kids eagerly pick out their first day of school outfit. They plan for weeks, choosing the right shoes, the right backpack, the right binders for classes. They eagerly shop for supplies while they await the day they get to hop on the big yellow bus and head back to school.

Some kids don’t.

As classes get underway — yesterday for North Mason students and last week for Shelton — teachers, parents and kids are reminded that the school year might not always bring excitement and new beginnings.

This week is Suicide Prevention Week, which aims to raise awareness of the nearly 43,000 people who commit suicide nationally each year, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The idea is to help students understand that it is always acceptable and they are always encouraged to seek help for thoughts of suicide and depression.

“Even though it is becoming commonplace, suicide is still taboo,” said Diana Yu, local health officer for Mason County.

Washington has a higher rate of teenage depression than most other states according to a federal study,

with 11.96 percent to 14.62 percent of teens having had a major depressive episode in the past year. The national average is about 11 percent.

That number is magnified close to home; in a 2014 Healthy Youth Survey, 24.3 percent of Mason County high school seniors said they seriously considered suicide in the past year, compared with about 18 percent across the state.

The survey is conducted every two years; in 2014, about 80 percent of Mason County teenagers participated in the survey.

However, the statistics are no reason to despair, according to Susie Honaker Wirzbicki, counselor at Shelton High School. Instead, it’s a reason to keep working to destigmatize the idea of suicide and depression.

“Lots of teens have come through this,” she said.

“And those who have far outweigh those who haven’t.”

A PARENT’S STORY Phil Wolff wishes he would have seen the signs.

Four years ago, his 15-year-old son, Garrett, began exhibiting the signs of depression and suicidal tendencies.

“Garrett deleted his Facebook page — he was see TEENS, page A-27

“Lots of teens have come through this. And those who have far outweigh those who haven’t.”

Susie Honaker Wirzbicki, Shelton High School counselor

Fifteen years have passed since the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City.

Sunday marks the 15-year anniversary of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and injured more than 6,000 others.

The world — and Mason County — have changed since that fateful day, but most Americans will forever remember where they were when they heard the news that terrorists had hijacked four airplanes and crashed them on American soil.

The following are snapshots of the memories, feelings and comments from local residents who recounted what they were doing when 9/11 changed the world. nnn Beau Bakken will probably never forget the number 343.

The number comes easily to the tip of his tongue when he thinks about Sept. 11, 2001: It’s the number of firefighters killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

Bakken is the fire chief at North Mason Regional Fire Authority. Fifteen years ago, he was on shift at the fire station in Belfair when his superior shook him awake at 6 a.m.

Bakken “I normally didn’t get up until 6:30, but I woke up to my lieutenant telling me to get out of bed,” Bakken recalls. “He was in a complete panic.”

Bakken raced out to the common area to see on television that the first tower had already been hit; the on-duty North Mason firefighters watched in shock as another plane came on screen and struck the second tower.

“It was an absolutely helpless feeling,” Bakken said. see 9/11, page A-20

Inside today Commissioner candidates square off at event Page A-2

‘Foodball’ aims to give back at North Mason Page A-28

Highclimbers victorious in Mason County Cup Page B-1

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-27

Teens: How can Mason County prevent teenage suicide? continued from page A-1 laughing about it,” Phil recalls. “He killed himself a week afterward.”

In the weeks leading up to his death on June 4, 2012, Phil said Garrett began giving away possessions, such as his iPod, and withdrawing from social activities. He begged his father to enroll in online classes instead of continuing to attend public high school.

Garrett, a gifted guitarist, even began trying to sell his speakers.

Phil said his biggest fear used to be that his sons would die in a car wreck, because of how often driver safety, including not texting while driving or driving under the influence, is talked about.

However, he said after Garrett’s death, he learned more people die from suicide than in car wrecks each year.

“I didn’t realize that statistic,” Phil said. “I didn’t know how bad it was.”

Phil said that when he was a child in school, he suffered from anxiety and depression. However, because depression was rarely discussed, he didn’t understand why or how to get help.

He also didn’t understand how to talk with his son about those topics when Garrett began exhibiting the signs of depression and anxiety.

“It’s one of the most difficult subjects to talk about,” Phil said. “But why? Are we afraid it will lead to more (suicidal thoughts)?”

He added that both suicide and death is talked about on television and in video games, but is less often a serious conversation between parents and their children.

That’s what Phil — and many other health professionals — are seeking to change.

STARTING THE CONVERSATION Wirzbicki believes that depression and suicidal thoughts are the same as any physical ailment.

“This is no different than any other health issue,” the counselor said. “When you have an injury, you go to the doctor. This is a health issue first.”

Sue Eastguard said the higher number of suicides and depression in Washington teens may be partially due to culture.

Eastguard is the interim director of training and school programs at ForeFront at University of Washington, a nonprofit organization working on suicide prevention.

“We have this idea that Western men should be strong, and when something happens, there’s this idea that we should just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and move on,” she said. “It’s seen as a weakness to get help.”

Eastguard said this idea might be in part because as a society, there is minimal conversation surrounding suicide, and a stigma that depression and suicide shouldn’t be talked about.

“Those variables are set in adolescence by family, community and schools,” Eastguard said. “If there’s no discussion, if I have that (depression), but I don’t know about it, we’re not talking about it, how would I know?”

Yu added that a rural, isolated areas might be a factor for why suicide and depression are heightened in Mason County.

She said that when students don’t take part in after-school activities, they may be alone most of the afternoon at home until parents come home from school.

The school aims to change the narrative regarding suicide. Two years ago, Shelton School District received the Project Aware grant from the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, which gave teachers and counselors access to resources, such as partnerships with local mental health professionals.

Wirzbicki said counselors “know the bounds of our certificates,” and generally refer people to the proper resources instead of acting as mental health professionals themselves. Because of that role, additional partnerships in the community are even more important.

The grant also provided school staff members with Youth Mental Health First Aid, a national training class that teaches how to help adolescents experiencing mental health challenges.

Schools also added mental health courses to health classes in eighth and 10th grades to help bring conversations about mental health to the forefront, and destigmatize the conversation.

Wirzbicki said the burden doesn’t fall on schools alone; parents and other students can also help those with depression.

She said anyone who notices a change in a student can contact the student’s school counselor to figure out the next step.

Possible signs of depression or suicidal thoughts include talk of suicide, giving away prized possessions, moodiness, hopelessness, withdrawal, increased drug or alcohol use, or a previous suicide attempt. Wirzbicki added that any big change in behavior, including sleeping or eating patterns, could also be a sign.

Eastguard added that those working in other community organizations can help recognize the signs and reach out to those who seem to be struggling as well.

“It’s not just the school district’s job,” she said.

“Churches, community organizations, food banks — who is trained there? Who knows what to say or to do for that family or those people who come in with the signs and symptoms?”

Yu said the cause for suicidal feelings and depression can vary drastically from person to person. Experts have pointed to social media, violence on television, bullying or even the weather as causes, but Yu said it’s not as easy to pin down.

“Some people think bullying is a reason, but honestly, it could be anything,” Yu said.

She added that the one thing that can be addressed is to give teens a support system, such as a trusted adult to talk to.

Eastguard was instrumental in helping to create Gov. Jay Inslee’s Suicide Prevention Plan for the state, which was rolled out at the beginning of 2016, and aims to address the high numbers of both youth and adult suicide and depression in the state.

She said historically, Washington had a plan for addressing high numbers of youth suicide, and the national government tackles adult suicide. The new plan aims to bring the best aspects of both plans together to remove the stigma surrounding suicide, and make treatment affordable and accessible.

Now that the plan is in place, Eastguard said the state is working on figuring out details, such as funding.

Doctors are also paying more attention to suicide prevention, Yu said. The Legislature mandated that all doctors should regularly receive suicide prevention training, starting in 2017.

“We want to make suicide prevention education a precedent, the same way we made HIV prevention

Living in Comfort and Tranquility

SIGNS OF POSSIBLE DEPRESSION OR SUICIDAL THOUGHTS n Previous suicide attempt n Current talk of suicide or making a plan n Strong wish to die or a preoccupation with death n Giving away prized possessions n Signs of depression, such as moodiness, hopelessness, withdrawal n Increased alcohol or other drug use n Hinting at not being around in the future or saying goodbye Provided by the Washington State Department of Health

HOW TO GET HELP n Contact your school counselor — they can point you in the direction of the proper resources and work through the issue together n Contact Mason General Hospital to receive an evaluation or talk with a mental health professional — visit www. masongeneral.com. n Behavior Health Resources Mason County — call 426-1696, or visit www.bhr.org. n Washington state Department of Health website, which has resources regarding suicide prevention and training — www. doh.wa.gov. n Youth Help Line — A 24-hour crisis line for anyone, including family or friends of those exhibiting signs of depression; 5862777 n Crisis Clinic of Thurston/Mason County — Call 586-2800, or visit www.crisis-clinic.org. n Crisis text line: Text trained counselors about anything; text “GO” to 741741. All texts are free and confidential n National Suicide Prevention Lifeline — 1-800-273-8255

education a precedent,” Yu said. “We know it’s an issue.”

For Phil, the biggest preventative measure would have been to know the signs and talking to his son.

To help other parents, he advocates removing the stigma that talking about suicide is taboo. Instead of just having a conversation about suicide after the fact, Phil said the conversation should be ongoing.

“We can’t just talk about it for a week, then move on,” he said. “This has to be something we pay attention to continually.”

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Ecology weighs in on Belfair sewer issues PAGE A-7

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Journal SHELTON-MASON COUNTY

The Voice of Mason County Since 1886 - Vol. 131, No. 10

“I’m not going to be around forever.”

Norma Webber, known as ‘Granny Kat,’ operator of Kitten Rescue in Shelton

$1.50

Sheriff: County jail is full

Jail puts indefinite cap on jail population

By MICHAEL HEINBACH michael@masoncounty.com

Journal photos by Brianna Loper

Norma Webber, who owns and operates Kitten Rescue in Shelton, cuddles a kitten last month after putting medicinal drops in his remaining eye. The future of Kitten Rescue is uncertain.

Uncertainty for felines Granny Kat: Future of Shelton’s only cat rescue, adoption center, unclear

see JAIL, page A-20

By BRIANNA LOPER brianna@masoncounty.com

W

hen the call comes in at 10:30 on a Sunday morning, Granny Kat doesn’t hesitate.

“Bring them here,” she tells the caller and her mind starts firing, mentally snapping from room to room in the shelter.

“We have this one here, we have that one there,” she thinks, visualizing each kennel. “This one’s leaving; we can put them there.”

As long as there’s a kennel, cage, closet or attic room available, Granny Kat won’t leave a cat out in the cold. She’ll take in whatever kitten or cat she has space for. This morning, it’s a pair of Siamese-Manx mix cats found in a duffle bag along U.S. Highway 101. A car stopped to move the bag away from the road, and found the pair zipped inside, intertwined and blinking in the rain.

“You make that decision, so long as you’ve got room, any room, to put them,” she said.

Norma Webber — or “Granny Kat,” according to

Mason County Jail is over capacity, and it’s a problem that’s in dire need of a solution in the eyes of Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury.

In a letter dated March 3 and obtained by the Journal on Tuesday, Salisbury stated that due to the transfer of Mason County female inmates from Nisqually Jail and the Lewis County Jail to Salisbury Mason County Jail, the Mason County detention facility is beyond its means when it comes to housing inmates.

The letter states that the only inmates who will be booked into the jail are “those mandated by statute.”

City might save money on sewer design Webber last month prepares medication for one of more than 50 cats at Kitten Rescue. Most of Webber’s day is spent administering medication to the cats at the shelter. “You have to be faithful, and not forget it,” Webber said. “Make it important, no matter what else is going on.” her nametag — runs Kitten Rescue cat shelter in Shelton.

At any given time, the shelter, located at 420 state Route 3 in Shelton, houses about 50 to more than 120 cats and kittens. The felines rotate through — many get adopted as quickly as they come in, and kittens are a hot commodity. However, some cats, such as the feral or abused felines, are destined to live their whole lives in Webber’s makeshift shelter.

Webber has operated the facility since the late 1990s, after the operation started organically as she started helping stray and abandoned cats throughout the county out of her home. see KITTENS, page A-23

By GORDON WEEKS gordon@masoncounty.com The City of Shelton might save $52,000 on the final designs on its Basin 3 sewer project.

After five years of delays, the Shelton City Commission in January officially agreed to direct staff to proceed with the $7.7 million project to rehabilitate and replace deteriorated and obstructed sanitary sewer collection lines in the 99-acre drainage zone near downtown Shelton.

At the commission’s regular meeting Monday evening, public works director Craig Gregory said the engineering firm Parametrix originally stated it would cost the city $114,000 to complete its design for the project.

But Gregory told the city see CITY, page A-18

Inside today Locals opine on public record proposals Page A-8

MTA narrows down options for park and ride Page A-24

New baseball field a school-wide effort Page B-1

Thursday, March 9, 2017 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-23

Kittens: ‘I couldn’t do my job without them,’ officer says

county for most animal-related problems, and encourages people to always spay and neuter their pets.

In addition to the normal household pets, Brewer said she’s also had to deal with bizarre animals, such as a rabbit — which now lives at her home — a chinchilla, a bearded dragon and even a cockatoo that was rescued from a methamphetamine lab.

“What do you do with something like that?” Brewer said.

“That’s why we rely on those rescue facilities. I couldn’t do my job without them.”

continued from page A-1 “There were just dead cats laying alongside the road all over the place,” Webber recalled.

She fixed up a rental house on her property to accommodate cages and began taking in cats.

Now, Webber is 76 years old. She has multiple sclerosis.

“I’m not going to be around forever,” she said.

The shelter, a privately run nonprofit with no leader besides Webber, is in jeopardy.

Every day, Webber and the shelter’s volunteers wonder what the future of Kitten Rescue will be after Webber is gone.

CARING FOR THE KITTIES Webber carries a tiny black-and-white striped kitten, no bigger than a hot dog bun, to a scale in the center room of the Kitten Rescue house. At first glance, he looks identical to any other kitten, but when the tiny feline turns its head to look up at Webber, it blinks with only one eye.

The other was sealed shut, the skin growing over the socket where the eye used to be. The vets removed it three weeks prior due to an upper respiratory infection.

The kitten emits fiercesounding squeaks as Webber administers medicine.

“We just put a tiny bit in the remaining eye — doop — and then kisses afterward,” Webber said as she lifts the kitten to her face and cuddles him to her bright, floral pattered nurses smock.

Webber credits veterinarian Gary Olson and the staff at Shelton Veterinary Hospital with helping her learn to care for cats — Webber has a background in accounting.

When she got started in the 1990s, Webber would send a list of questions to the veterinary technicians at Shelton Veterinary Hospital, and they would send back answers.

Kitten Rescue also partners with the vet clinic for inexpensive spaying and neutering.

On a normal day — which is every day except the five days of the year Webber and her husband take a vacation to see family — Webber is up at 4 a.m.

She showers, eats break-

Journal photo by Gordon Weeks

Kitten Rescue often cares for as many as 120 cats at a time. The nonprofit cat shelter does not turn cats away. fast, and does a short Bible study for strength to get through the day.

At 5 a.m., she sits down at her computer to craft emails and replies to people inquiring about cats, and posts on social media. Webber said people come from as far away as Portland and Seattle to adopt cats. Social media helps spread the felines’ stories.

By 6 a.m., she’s at the Kitten Rescue facility, a rental house on the Webber’s property she transformed into the no-kill cat shelter.

Each room has a different purpose, but all are filled with cats. Some are stacked with large cages that house the rotating kitten population.

Other rooms are home to shy older cats that volunteers are working with to get the felines used to humans in hopes they can some day be adopted.

A closet with a clear plastic door is home to kittens with communicable diseases until they are healthy enough to rejoin their brothers and sisters.

A slew of injured feral cats live in an outdoor travel trailer until they can be spayed or neutered and released again.

Ideally, these cats would become “working cats,” and live in barns or warehouses to control rodent populations.

Even with nearly 100 cats, the house-turned-shelter smells like laundry soap. Each room is cleaned daily, includ-

ing mopping the floor, and the litter boxes appear empty due to frequent changing.

Barbara Harrold is one of many shelter volunteers.

“This is just really, I think, a good thing to do,” Harrold said as she scrapes litter boxes clean. She has only been volunteering for a few months, but the Belfair resident said she wants to try to help out more because she thinks the shelter is a worthy cause.

Harrold said even in her short time with Kitten Rescue, she understands the need for a cat shelter. Cats are often brought to the facility after people abandon them, thinking because they’re cats, they can survive anywhere.

“The thought is, ‘Oh, it can catch mice. It’s a cat.’ Well no, it’s 20 degrees outside,” Harrold said. “I don’t think it’s right to leave them to fend for themselves, because eventually something happens to them, or a coyote gets them.

It’s not a very happy ending.”

CATS IN THE COUNTY Mason County’s only animal control officer Cindy Brewer said she relies on facilities such as Kitten Rescue every day.

“It’s a great organization, because we don’t have a county-run shelter,” she said. “All the rescue facilities are vital and important.”

Brewer said the county

has two dog-friendly shelters: Adopt-A-Pet at 940 E. Jensen Road in Shelton and the Shelton Animal Shelter at 902 W. Pine St. There is no other cat shelter in the county.

If Brewer needs to take a cat somewhere, she goes to Kitten Rescue or Feline Friends at 6515 Sexton Drive in the Steamboat Island area, near Olympia.

Feline Friends cannot take all cats due to space constraints, and is only open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays, or by appointment, which means Kitten Rescue is the only option for all other times.

There is a Humane Society office in Allyn, but it does not have a building to take animals, Brewer said. The office helps pet owners find affordable ways to spay and neuter their pets.

The county doesn’t have an animal shelter due to money and space constraints, Brewer said. Building a shelter hasn’t been a priority for commissioners in her 17 years working for Mason County.

Brewer said because she is the only animal control officer, which is also due to money constraints, she can only attend to the most vital calls, and much of her time is spent following up with those who file complaints, making rescue facilities all the more vital.

Brewer said overpopulation is the biggest problem for the

A FAST-APPROACHING FUTURE Webber said her multiple sclerosis, a disease in which the immune system eats away at the nerve coverings, doesn’t hinder her when her mind is busy with the rescue facility.

However, when she sits down to take a break: “Bang! It’s not real comfortable.”

The shelter is a nonprofit that runs on donations and fundraisers. It hosts a garage sale five times a year to raise money — the next sale is Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at its facility.

The two Siamese-Manx mix cats found that Sunday morning in the duffle bag were lucky, Webber said — the family that found the two adopted one of the felines.

Webber posted information about the other cat, Siam, on social media. Within hours, four families had inquired about her. The first family on the waiting list adopted Siam.

Other cats aren’t always so lucky. Those who have been abused or have physical deformities are less appealing to many potential homes. Those cats are never adopted, and many find permanent residence at the shelter.

Webber said she doesn’t know what will happen to Kitten Rescue after she dies.

There is no plan, and Webber said she expects the county’s only cat rescue facility will close.

Volunteers are also unsure about the future of the shelter.

“Boy, I’d sure like Mason County to do something. They don’t even have a Humane Society (that takes animals),” Harrold said. “They need something. Norma can’t do it forever.”

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