Thursday, January 17, 2019  - Week 3

Cutting through the storm

Journal photo by Dana Kampa

Blaine Gunkel of Belfair carves a birdhouse from timber downed by a Dec. 18 tornado in Port Orchard. Gunkel was one of nearly a dozen local wood carvers who volunteered their talents Jan. 12 to support residents whose homes were damaged in the storm.

Former senior living employee charged

By MICHAEL HEINBACH
michael@masoncounty.com

Natasha Nicole Rogers remained behind bars Wednesday morning in Mason County Jail in Shelton two days after prosecutors charged the 28-year-old Belfair woman with six felony charges in relation to alleged thefts from a resident at a local senior living community.

Tyler Bickerton, deputy Mason County prosecutor, charged Rogers with two counts each of second-degree identity theft, second-degree possession of stolen property and forgery on Monday in Mason County Superior Court.After Rogers pleaded not guilty to the charges through court-appointed public defense attorney Pat Lewis, Judge Monty Cobb set the woman’s bond at $2,500 and the remainder of her court schedule. Cobb slated Rogers for a Feb. 4 omnibus hearing, a pretrial management hearing on Feb. 19 and a jury trial beginning the week of March 5 on her most recent charges.

Prosecutors also charged Rogers with first-degree criminal impersonation and unlawful possession of a controlled substance stemming from a Jan. 2 arrest in Shelton. Cobb retained her initial $500 bail amount on the latter two charges.

According to a Shelton Police Department probable cause declaration, officers responded Nov. 5 to a theft complaint made by a 73-year-old resident of Alpine Way Senior Living in Shelton. The report states the complainant told law enforcement she’d left her purse in a living room area the night before and noticed the next morning the purse, containing credit/debit cards, was missing.

When the alleged victim reportedly called her banking institutions to cancel her cards, the alleged victim learned multiple charges were made to the cards in North Mason and Kitsap counties. 


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Local chainsaw artists donate talent to help tornado victims laugh again

By DANA KAMPA
dana@masoncounty.com

A young man played fetch in his yard with his dog, surrounded by a chain-link fence bent like tinfoil; children played basketball in the driveway as a small forklift continued to move debris from the property on the corner; and a little girl sat on the ground by her mom with pink earmuffs protecting her head and a large woodchip held tightly in her right hand. She watched as world-class chainsaw artists crafted a personalized gift for her family and neighbors as they carried on the work of rebuilding after experiencing a natural disaster.

Port Orchard saw the effects of wind speeds estimated in excess of 150 mph as an EF-2 tornado touched down Dec. 18 near the Melody Village neighborhood, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado was one of the worst on record in state history, and several homes were rendered uninhabitable. More than 20 were seriously damaged. Residents toured the neighborhood, pointing out the worst of the destruction, but always repeated what mattered most to them: no one was seriously injured by the storm.

​Local chainsaw artists joined forces Saturday and put their skills to use in the wake of the disaster. Nearly a dozen professionals visited the neighborhood to turn the felled timber into works of art for the homeowners.


​For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition.

Journal photo by Justin Johnson
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Shelton High School’s Taya Gouley passes the ball down the court against Central Kitsap Jan. 9 in the Mini-Dome.





 

Exploring the PNW

By JUSTIN JOHNSON
justin@masoncounty.com

“On a clear day, you can see forever.”

I’ve found that’s certainly true in this part of the country.

When I’m not working, I like to get out of my apartment and explore, and the Pacific Northwest is a paradise for exploration.

Taking advantage of last weekend’s beautiful weather, I spent a lot of time traversing the lower Olympic Peninsula. I took in the sights and scenes to which many of you have probably just grown accustomed.

On Sunday afternoon, I checked out the High Steel Bridge, located on Forest Service Road No. 2340 in the Olympic National Forest.
What an amazing sight.

​I stood on the bridge, which spans the south fork of the Skokomish River at the height of 375 feet, just mesmerized by what I saw. 

​For more of the Shelton-Mason County Journal, subscribe to our weekly edition.