Members of the Washington Pilots Association & friends flew into attend the 4/11/11 City Public Hearing on rezoning Hall Equities
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Katherine PricePhoto by Christine
Mason County Progressive
The City of Shelton Commission meeting on April 11th was pretty pleasant, well, except when Jack Krause and John Dobson spoke, but what you gonna do...
Not to go off on a complete tangent, and not to pick on old white men, but when they all sit together in the last two rows at a meeting, it's hard not to notice what they all have in common: they are all old, they are all men, and they are all white. Also, by the arrogance with which they communicate, their cocky defensiveness, these old white men are scared.
These fellows know their time is coming to an end...running their own private airport, for themselves and their friends, forever, ON THE TAXPAYER DIME, was just an old man's dream. The push-back by the citizens of Shelton and Mason County in the last twelve months have made it clear, and they cannot miss the writing on the wall. Their days are entirely numbered, both the days of their lives, and their days of running things.
The City of Shelton wants jobs. The City of Shelton could have jobs.
But the old white pilots from the Port of Shelton don't want the City of Shelton to have jobs; they want to expand THEIR airport. They think they can make their little airport a regional airport...a regional airport, 25 minutes off the I-5 corridor. What do these men inhale in their little planes?
A regional airport 25 minutes off the I-5 corridor is never, ever, going to happen Mr. Hupp, Mr. Dobson, Mr. Wallitner. Let it go.
The Port Commissioners, Hupp and Wallitner, and their navigator Port Director Dobson talk about jobs, and bringing jobs and businesses to our community. Well, right now, they are standing in the way of the City of Shelton having jobs. Don't let them do it!
We have one more chance to speak to the City Commission on this issue.
The Mayor will not be at next City Commission meeting, but the two Commissioners will be, and the Mayor will be briefed. If you want jobs in Mason County, if you want jobs in the City of Shelton, if you want increased revenue and renewed prosperity in our county, come to the City of Shelton Commission Meeting on Monday, April 18th, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. This will be the last time for the public to weigh in on this.
Come tell the Port of Shelton Commissioners they could not be more out of step with the citizens of Shelton and Mason County. Come tell them that we want jobs, and we want them now, and we want the City Council to zone those 160 acres for residential development. I have two twenty-something sons who would love to have work. One is an apprentice electrician. They both need work. Do your children need work? Do you know anyone who needs work?
Let's help the City defend its previous decision to zone this property in a manner that would be environmentally friendly, that would help build infrastructure, and that would mean JOBS, lots of JOBS, for Shelton and Mason County.
SHELTON BLOG NOTE:
City of Shelton Commission Meeting
Monday, April 18th, at 6:00 PM
Shelton Civic Center
Let's crowd the room in support of rezoning & jobs!!!
Which just shows to go ya' that wisdom does not automatically come with age...or being white...or male...or fat...
ReplyDeleteBut when you're all of the above, and still haven't learned that the welfare of your community is more important than your idle hobbies, well that's just plain sad, grandpa.
Thanks for the picture Christine, it is a lovely representation of who is running things at OUR Port. It also confirms my suspicion that their days are indeed numbered; not really a healthy looking bunch!
ReplyDeleteOne Shelton Blog reader complained that Katherine referring to the old white men at the City meeting as "old white men" was sexist.
ReplyDeleteBeing a feminist my entire life, I've certainly had my share of sexism. Sexism usually refers to the belief that one sex (usually male) is naturally superior to the other (usually female) & therefore, should dominate the most important areas of social, political, & economic life.
However, even if one missed Katherine's "tongue-in-cheek-humor" in this post, it nevertheless stands as an accurate visual description of who was sitting in the back 2 rows of the City Commission meeting last week. There weren't any women there; there weren't any people of color there; & there weren't any young people sitting there in those 2 back rows either.
It was just a band of old white men, members in good standing of the Good Ole Boys Club, Shelton Chapter, who have been dominating the social, political, & economic life in Shelton for far too long.
I am an "old white man" too, but take no offense with Katherine's use of the phrase.
ReplyDeleteI am one of Katherine's fans. I like the way she writes and I do love a good metaphor, which is how I see the phrase being used.
When a good writer writes, the words have a way of just walking on to the page...perfectly.
Katherine -- add Dick and me to your reading fans! A little humor helps the "bitter pills" go down easier.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the letter to the Mason County Journal submitted by Dennis E. Frost, my first inclination is to congratulate him on the snappy acronym: CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). I love it. Unfortunately it is not true, as many of us are up to our armpits in volunteer programs, Commissioner Meetings, Citizen Committees and supporting job creating projects like the 160 acre rezone south of Sanderson Field. But, never mind, facts should never stand in the way of snappy retorts. Still, I would like to correct a couple of Mr. Frost’s assumptions.
ReplyDeleteFirst, no one is advocating for the closure of Sanderson Field; that’s just a bit of poof Port Director John Dobson keeps spouting to keep local pilots up in arms. Trust me, Dennis, it ain’t gonna happen; not now, not later. And NO ONE wants it to happen because the airport is a key component of any credible economic recovery plan. I’ve told Mr. Dobson this in no uncertain terms. But, hey, it appears he doesn’t like the movie so he keeps yelling something about there being a fire in the theatre.
Fact is, the worse enemy of uninterrupted airport operations may be John Dobson, himself: by persistently alienating the public and fighting against jobs and using “cry wolf” scare tactics, it’s only a matter of time before he’s up there in the wild blue yonder all alone, and then you have a real problem.
The second assumption is that the use of the phrase “old, white men” is somehow disrespectful; that seems to have struck a chord with Mr. Frost. But at 65 years of age, male, and white, I wasn’t offended, and neither were any of my old, white, male friends. Fact is we all had a pretty good laugh about it. So toughen up, Dennis, haven’t you ever been in the Service? I’m sure you’ve heard worse. This here is Timber country, not Disney Land; so hike up your skirt and stop searching under rocks for something that offends you.
Otherwise, not a bad letter; I liked it. Give me a call (Dobson has my phone number) and I’ll buy you a beer.