Journal Mason County
Get ready — it’s time for OysterFest SPECIAL SECTION WITH COMMEMORATIVE MAP INSIDE
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015
The Voice of Mason County Since 1886 - Vol. 129, No. 39
PUD 3 OKs rate increase
$1
Fire claims home on Lake Cushman
Customers will see higher bills starting Oct. 1 By ANDREW DAVIS andrew@masoncounty.com
The county’s largest power supplier made a potential rate increase a reality at Tuesday’s regular commission meeting. The Public Utility District 3 Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a 4 percent increase and a 10-cents-per-day system charge increase, effective Oct. 1. The increase is in response to a 7.1 percent wholesale energy and 4.4 percent transmission rate increase from the Bonneville Power Administration. “These external pressures are causing great harm in our rural economy,” Board President Thomas Farmer said. Linda Gott, PUD 3 District 1 commissioner, agreed. “It is a difficult decision with the mill closures in our community,” she said. The BPA rate increases had an Photo courtesy of George Stenberg
Firefighters spray water on a structure fire on Lake Cushman on Sept. 16. The house burned to the ground.
see INCREASE, page A-21
‘Bullets’ fired during mock hostage situation in Shelton Authorities use active-shooter simulation to hone their skills By ANDREW DAVIS andrew@masoncounty.com The threat of an “active shooter” situation looms large in today’s society. That is why last Friday, the Shelton Police Department, Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Azure Security participated in an active-shooter simulation at the old Simpson Lumber Co.’s headquarters — now owned by Sierra Pacific — in downtown Shelton. Calls to 911, scanner chatter and the authorities’ tactics were real, as Shelton SWAT members approached the building located off of Front Street. But the situation was all planned and the bullets were just small paintballs that only stung a little, authorities said. The mission was simple: treat this situation as real as possible — and get it right. Radio chatter such as, “one shooter inside, two civilians down,” crackled over the airwaves throughout the day as the simulation ramped up around 11:30 a.m. Dave Aykens, principal of Azure who
Journal photo by Andrew Davis
A first responder and a Shelton police officer communicate over a wounded civilian and officer during an active-shooter training exercise. was dressed in military-style clothing and outfitted with the firearms that shot paintballs, barricaded himself and three hostages inside the Sierra Pacific headquarters after he shot the first two officers who arrived on the scene. Staff treated wounds to the officers as if they
had actually been shot. Stranded in the parking lot behind a car, wounded civilians and officers waited for backup to arrive. Once other staff responded, the simulation continued. The response team first tended to
the victims then turned its attention to the shooter inside the building. Aykens didn’t let the cops apprehend him easily. About 15 minutes after the simulation started, he emerged from the building using a hostage as a human shield and fired multiple rounds at officers. “If you (expletive) with me, I will kill him,” he said before going back into the building. After carefully working the scene for possible escape routes and potential entry points to the building, the SWAT team made its move. Team members moved through the building with stealth, clearing each room before moving on to the next. Then in a hail of bullet fire, they subdued Aykens and secured the remaining hostages. The whole simulation lasted about an hour start to finish. It was the first time the three entities participated together in an exercise of this nature. After the simulation, Shelton Police Department Detective Calvin Moran, who organized the exercise, said he was pleased with the exercise. “It went great,” he said. “It was like see SIMULATION, page A-22
Inside today School Board approves revised contract for chief Page A-3
Mason Lake residents want more enforcement Page A-6
Port of Allyn changes course on Theler Center Page A-28