Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020 - Week 7
FINAL ROLL
Clockwise from left, Shelton High School senior bowlers Abby Slone, Alyssia Paz, Dreann Merriman and Morgan Holling embrace after wrapping up their participation in the WIAA 3A state bowling championship Saturday at Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place. The Highclimbers finished sixth at the state competition for the second consecutive year. See more on pages B-1, B-4 and B-5. Journal photo by Justin Johnson
Fiess is new member of city council
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncounty.com Megan Fiess, workforce division project manager for the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce and a Shelton resident for 15 years, was selected Tuesday to fill a vacant seat on the Shelton City Council. Fiess was one of six candidates who applied for the seat that opened up last month with the resignation of Mayor Bob Rogers. All six candidates were interviewed at a special meeting that lasted almost four hours Tuesday at the Shelton Civic Center. Fiess will be sworn in at the council’s regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. “I’m excited, stunned and ready to get to work,” Fiess said in a brief interview with the Shelton-Mason County Journal. Council members interviewed Fiess, George Blush, Dean Jewett, Trenton Powers, Tanya M. Strozyk-Frazier and Marilyn Vogler for 30 minutes each before heading behind closed doors for an executive session; they emerged 30 minutes later to vote. The winning candidate needed four votes from the six council members, and Fiess won on the third ballot. Fiess replaces Rogers, who was mayor for a year and a half. He resigned last month to spend more time with his family following a traffic accident that injured his son. At the Jan. 7 regular meeting, the council voted 4-2 to make Kevin Dorcy the city’s mayor. Fiess describes her day job in Thurston County as providing strategic planning, organizational development, professional development of workforce navigators and capacity building. For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition. |
4 school levies passing
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncounty.com Replacement school levies on Tuesday’s special election ballot are passing in the Shelton, Grapeview and Pioneer school districts by comfortable margins, while the Mary M. Knight School District levy is ahead by a mere nine votes. On the first ballot count released at 8 p.m. Tuesday by the Mason County Auditor’s Office, North Mason School District’s levy is failing with 45% of the vote. The levies need a simple majority of 50% plus one vote to pass. A second tally was to be released Wednesday afternoon, after the Shelton-Mason County Journal went to press. The Mason County Canvassing Board will review the ballots Feb. 20, and certify election results Feb. 21. On the initial count, the Shelton School District’s levy has 2,235 “yes” votes, and 1,981 votes 53.01%. Grapeview’s levy had 602 “yes” votes and 443 “no” votes for 57.61%. Mary M. Knight’s levy has 160 “yes” votes and 153 “no” votes for 51.12% in Mason County, and 18 “yes” votes and 16 “no” votes in Grays Harbor County. Pioneer has 1,670 “yes” votes and 1,508 “no” votes for 52.55%. North Mason has 2,040 “yes” votes and 2,493 “no” votes for 45%. The Shelton School District’s levy replaces a levy that expires Dec. 31 The levy will collect a maximum of $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That is expected to raise $5.5 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The district reports that the replacement levy provides about 8.5% of the district’s budget. Superintendent Alex Apostle said he wants to see the final count before he comments on the election results. For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition. |
Shelton High School senior bowlers Abby Slone, left, and Morgan Holling, being embraced by Alyssia Paz, share a moment following the 3A state bowling championship Saturday at Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place. Journal photo by Justin Johnson
Seniors lead Shelton High School to third straight top-six finish at 3A state bowling championship
By JUSTIN JOHNSON
justin@masoncounty.com
“This is my last roll ever.”
The words flowed from senior Dreann Merriman’s lips, her face a torrent of barely concealed emotion, toward her teammates gathered tightly together near the ball return of lane seven late Saturday morning at Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place.
Merriman quickly gathered herself, turning her attention to this one final task of the 14th Baker game, the last moment of two days of grueling determination that composes the WIAA 3A state bowling championship.
She strode forward and let the ball go.
It knocked down two of three remaining pins, resulting in a score of 177 for the game and a sixth-place finish for the Highclimbers.
It was over and the emotion soon followed.
Shelton’s four seniors embraced, tears flowed quickly, as did the laughs — a storm of mixed emotions at the end of a long journey.
“Going to state three years in a row was an amazing experience for me,” Merriman said. “I didn’t place my senior year, but I enjoyed my team so much. My team has made the experience so much better. I’m not satisfied with this performance, but I just had an off day. I couldn’t change anything but my attitude, and that’s OK.”
Shelton finished the two-day tournament, which spanned a six-game series Friday and a 14-game Baker series Saturday, with a team score of 6,631.
Merriman finished Friday with a score of 1030 to place 19th among individuals.
“The tournament pushes you to the limits and makes you work and be determined,” Shelton senior Alyssia Paz said. “It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been a fun and wild ride over the years.”
This was Shelton’s third consecutive appearance at the 3A tournament, and its seniors have been the driving force behind that success. They shared the South Sound Conference’s regular season title with Capital as sophomores before winning the conference’s postseason tournament and finishing fifth at the state championships.
A year later, as juniors, they won the league title outright and eventually finished sixth at the 3A championships.
“Going to state means the absolute world to me,” senior Abby Slone said. “I have worked so hard and have dedicated most of my life to this sport. Nothing really matters at the end of the day besides knowing that I gave it my all for the sport I love.”
For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition.
justin@masoncounty.com
“This is my last roll ever.”
The words flowed from senior Dreann Merriman’s lips, her face a torrent of barely concealed emotion, toward her teammates gathered tightly together near the ball return of lane seven late Saturday morning at Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place.
Merriman quickly gathered herself, turning her attention to this one final task of the 14th Baker game, the last moment of two days of grueling determination that composes the WIAA 3A state bowling championship.
She strode forward and let the ball go.
It knocked down two of three remaining pins, resulting in a score of 177 for the game and a sixth-place finish for the Highclimbers.
It was over and the emotion soon followed.
Shelton’s four seniors embraced, tears flowed quickly, as did the laughs — a storm of mixed emotions at the end of a long journey.
“Going to state three years in a row was an amazing experience for me,” Merriman said. “I didn’t place my senior year, but I enjoyed my team so much. My team has made the experience so much better. I’m not satisfied with this performance, but I just had an off day. I couldn’t change anything but my attitude, and that’s OK.”
Shelton finished the two-day tournament, which spanned a six-game series Friday and a 14-game Baker series Saturday, with a team score of 6,631.
Merriman finished Friday with a score of 1030 to place 19th among individuals.
“The tournament pushes you to the limits and makes you work and be determined,” Shelton senior Alyssia Paz said. “It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been a fun and wild ride over the years.”
This was Shelton’s third consecutive appearance at the 3A tournament, and its seniors have been the driving force behind that success. They shared the South Sound Conference’s regular season title with Capital as sophomores before winning the conference’s postseason tournament and finishing fifth at the state championships.
A year later, as juniors, they won the league title outright and eventually finished sixth at the 3A championships.
“Going to state means the absolute world to me,” senior Abby Slone said. “I have worked so hard and have dedicated most of my life to this sport. Nothing really matters at the end of the day besides knowing that I gave it my all for the sport I love.”
For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition.
