Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020 - Week 43
Smooth start to voting in Mason County
Jim Sipprell of Lilliwuap returns his ballot Monday to a drop box in Hoodsport. More then 5,400 ballots had been received by the county election office as of Monday night. Journal photo by Lloyd Mullen
County creates diversion program
By KIRK BOXLEITNER
kboxleitner@masoncounty.com Like many regions across the country, Shelton and Mason County’s law enforcement and legal systems have faced an ever-increasing number of incidents affected by substance abuse, mental health disorders and extreme poverty, so several elements of the county and city government have teamed up to craft a more effective systemic response. “This community has already worked together for the past several years to create more opportunities to deal with these problems as they continue to affect individuals who intersect with our law enforcement,” said Abe Gardner, program coordinator for Mason County Public Health. “As our officers in the field encounter these individuals, simply not dealing with these issues is not an option.” House Bill 1767, passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor last year, established a law enforcement grant program to expand alternatives to arrest and jail, and the Washington Health Care Authority awarded nearly $900,000 to the Mason County Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (MCLEAD) program. For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition. |
Shelton community leader battling COVIDBy GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncounty.com Shelton resident Ricardo De Bosque is known throughout Mason County’s Spanish-speaking community as “The Don,” an honorary nickname for a man esteemed as a longtime leader and the leader of a household. The Mexican immigrant is the bilingual family and student support coordinator for the Shelton School District. When he was named the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s 2010-2011 Regional Classified Employee of the Year, the award noted, “His colleagues describe Ricardo as the person the entire Spanish-speaking community turns to with their questions about health care, schooling, housing, employment, immigration, guidance for errant teenagers and so much more.” “He’s an amazing man,” said his son, Ricardo Del Bosque Jr. “People look up to him very much.” For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition. |
Fishermen cast for chum salmon Friday where Johns Creek meets Oakland Bay at the Bayshore Preserve near of Shelton. Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
Savoring the distraction that sport brings
By JUSTIN JOHNSON
justin@masoncounty.com
I’ll admit it.
Back in in the early days of the summer, when college and professional sports were shut down due to the pandemic, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about their return.
What’s that blasphemy you write? A sports writer who didn’t want to see sports?
It’s true.
With the novel coronavirus slowly spreading across the country, it just didn’t feel like the time or place to be worried about playing games.
When Major League Soccer became the first professional sport to return to action in its MLS is Back tournament playing in a controlled bubble in Florida, two teams were knocked out within days due to outbreaks of the virus.
It was confirmation bias of just what I expected to happen.
The thing is, though, that was about the end of it.
The rest of that tournament came off without any further confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The WNBA and NBA returned to action shortly thereafter, with the former playing a complete 22-game regular season and playoffs with next to no virus-related problems, except for the league champion Seattle Storm’s opening playoff game being pushed back by three days by what proved to be a false positive test.
The NBA completed its season, which had paused with just weeks remaining, and culminated with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their 17th NBA title.
Major League Baseball played a 60-game season at home stadiums and, aside from a few rocky weeks at the start, also has successfully pulled off a year, with the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays underway now.
Even the National Football League, which, truth be told I didn’t expect to see start until at least early 2021, is underway and managing to keep its teams on the field. The league has seen a handful of outbreaks that have postponed games and canceled practices, but it’s been reasonably handled through the first third of the season.
The start of the college football season has been a little rockier, with a number of games postponed or canceled.
While I wasn’t initially enthusiastic about the return of sports, I’ve thawed out a bit. I haven’t watched as many games as I normally would, but I find myself drawn back to the welcome distraction that the world of sports provide.
As the pandemic has worn on, those distractions are proving valuable to my mental health. It allows me to disengage from everything else going and just watch — although with the way some of the games have gone, I’m not sure if they’ve been totally stress-free.
I’m sure fans of the Seattle
Seahawks can understand that given the finishes of the past few weeks.
It’s nice to have a distraction again.
For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition.
justin@masoncounty.com
I’ll admit it.
Back in in the early days of the summer, when college and professional sports were shut down due to the pandemic, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about their return.
What’s that blasphemy you write? A sports writer who didn’t want to see sports?
It’s true.
With the novel coronavirus slowly spreading across the country, it just didn’t feel like the time or place to be worried about playing games.
When Major League Soccer became the first professional sport to return to action in its MLS is Back tournament playing in a controlled bubble in Florida, two teams were knocked out within days due to outbreaks of the virus.
It was confirmation bias of just what I expected to happen.
The thing is, though, that was about the end of it.
The rest of that tournament came off without any further confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The WNBA and NBA returned to action shortly thereafter, with the former playing a complete 22-game regular season and playoffs with next to no virus-related problems, except for the league champion Seattle Storm’s opening playoff game being pushed back by three days by what proved to be a false positive test.
The NBA completed its season, which had paused with just weeks remaining, and culminated with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their 17th NBA title.
Major League Baseball played a 60-game season at home stadiums and, aside from a few rocky weeks at the start, also has successfully pulled off a year, with the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays underway now.
Even the National Football League, which, truth be told I didn’t expect to see start until at least early 2021, is underway and managing to keep its teams on the field. The league has seen a handful of outbreaks that have postponed games and canceled practices, but it’s been reasonably handled through the first third of the season.
The start of the college football season has been a little rockier, with a number of games postponed or canceled.
While I wasn’t initially enthusiastic about the return of sports, I’ve thawed out a bit. I haven’t watched as many games as I normally would, but I find myself drawn back to the welcome distraction that the world of sports provide.
As the pandemic has worn on, those distractions are proving valuable to my mental health. It allows me to disengage from everything else going and just watch — although with the way some of the games have gone, I’m not sure if they’ve been totally stress-free.
I’m sure fans of the Seattle
Seahawks can understand that given the finishes of the past few weeks.
It’s nice to have a distraction again.
For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition.
Lobby Hours Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-12:00pm
With Social Distancing. 6’ and mask requested please. Be safe. We care.
With Social Distancing. 6’ and mask requested please. Be safe. We care.