July 31: A father and son were killed last Thursday afternoon when their floatplane crashed into the woods shortly after taking off from Lake Nahwatzel. Killed were Mark Storer, 51, the pilot and a Burien businessman, and his son, Brian Storer, 24, Witnesses said they observed the single-engine floatplane take off from the lake, then crash in the densely wooded area just east of the lake. Mason County ranks fifth in the state when it comes to the relative number of people killed by fire, according to information gathered by the Office of Washington Fire Marshal Michael Matlick. Five fatalities for the years 2004-07 put Mason behind Adams, Pacific, Cowlitz and Jefferson counties when measured by a rating system that relates the number of deaths to the number of people living in a given area. Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna appeared in Shelton last Friday morning to address a gathering of local law enforcement officers and officials. He said methamphetamines has been

his top priority as attorney general. Compared to 2001, the number of meth labs was down by more than 90 percent in 2007, he said. Hoping to take advantage of bus prices before they increase, Sandi Thompson, director of the Mason County Transportation Co-op, is recommending Shelton School District purchase three buses. She told school board members last week that bus prices are slated to increase 10 percent over the coming year, but the district can still obtain the buses at current prices. Salmon will soon return to the waters of South Puget Sound. In honor of that annual rite, the Squaxin Island Tribe invited the public to join in celebrating the salmon’s return in a sacred ceremony this Friday at the Arcadia Boat Launch Beach.

Deaths: Jessica Catherine Perry, 84; Jane Elaine Rowan, 60; Janice Zina Bunting, 84; Gerald L. Sievanen, 76; James H. Sims, 78; Donna Marie Keirn, 52.