Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Shelton High School Girls swimming Shelton won its opening swim meet of the season on the road against Tumwater on Sept. 20 and followed it up with a victory on the road against Black Hills on Sept. 22 in Evergreen Conference meets. The Highclimbers defeated the Thunderbirds 96-83. Shelton’s Lelia Ollenburg won the 200-yard freestyle race with a time of 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Kaylin Mutoli won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:37. Madeline Allred won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle w...
Garbage truck tips on state Route 3 A garbage truck tipped over due to a flat tire Sept. 12 on state Route 3 in Bremerton. According to a Washington State Patrol report, the garbage truck was driving south and had a flat right-front tire that blew and caused the driver to lose control and tipped on its side. The road was closed at milepost 35 just south of state Route 304 and the road was closed for more than three hours. Recreational burn ban lifted Mason County has lifted the recreational burn...
Shelton Football Shelton lost 48-6 against W.F. West in its opening EvCo game of the season Sept. 16 in Chehalis. The lone touchdown for the Highclimbers was a Mason Goos’ 55-yard pass to Weetly Cordova. The Bearcats scored 13 in the first quarter and 14 in the second quarter to build a 27-6 lead at halftime and cruised to victory in the second half. Goos was 16 of 32 for 187 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Bradley Eleton led the rushing attack with six carries for 22 yards. Dante Trikoff was the leading receiver with nine c...
Visitor information money set to be allocated Mason County commissioners approved the allocation of money to three organizations from 2023 visitor information services funding at Tuesday’s meeting. According to the information packet, the amount allocated was $173,972 by the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, who met July 20 and recommended how the money should be allocated. The North Mason Chamber of Commerce received $48,712 for 2023, the Mason County Historical Society received $19,137 and the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce r...
Youth ride free on Mason Transit Mason Transit riders under 18 now can ride for free on all routes, including routes that leave Mason County. According to a news release, everyone rides fare-free within Mason County, but the new policy provides youths with free transit to Bremerton, Olympia and other destinations outside of Mason County. Youths used to pay $1.50 one-way for out of county trips. “The fare change encourages young people to use transit and improves their access to schools, jobs and other resources,” Mason Transit Authority Gen...
Salal permit sales Sept. 14-15 Permits for commercial-use salal in Olympic National Forest will go on sale Sept. 14 and 15 at the Quilcene, Quinault and Forks offices. According to a news release, Quilcene and Quinault offices will sell permits Sept. 14 and the Forks office will sell permits Sept. 15. Sales begin at 9 a.m. and anyone harvesting salal within the Olympic National Forest for the purpose of selling must carry a commercial use permit while picking. Fifty permits will be offered for $150 from the Quilcene office for harvest areas in...
County to receive USDA money Mason County commissioners approved allocating U.S. Department of Agriculture Secure Rural Schools and Roads money at the Aug. 30 meeting. According to the information packet, the USDA requiries counties to choose an allocation of USDA money from three categories. Title I money is for roads and schools, Title II is for projects on federal lands and Title III is for county projects, depending on the size of the county’s share of money. The allocation was set by Resolution 49-13, which is 80% to Title I, 13% to T...
Pacific marten recorded in Olympic National Forest A Pacific marten was recorded by motion-triggered wildlife cameras, marking the first time it has been recorded by a camera survey in Olympic National Forest. According to a news release, Woodland Park Zoo joined with Olympic National Forest to install six motion-triggered cameras and scent dispenser stations in the forest to try and detect martens, a rare native carnivore thought to be living there in sparse numbers. In July, the survey team...
Transportation panel vote prompts tense exchange Tim Lincoln, Phil Wolff and Don Pogreba were reappointed to the seven-member Transportation Improvement Program Citizen Advisory Panel at Tuesday’s Mason County commissioners meeting. According to the information packet, six members had terms that expired Aug. 1, and all six members submitted applications for another term. Recruitment for new members has not received any other applications and Public Works continues to seek two more volunteers to serve on the panel. Lincoln and Wolff represent Ma...
Commissioners honor Tim Sheldon Mason County commissioners honored state Sen. Tim Sheldon at the Aug. 16 regular meeting. Commissioners signed a proclamation to declare the day ‘Tim Sheldon Day” in Mason County. Commissioner Kevin Shutty thanked Sheldon for his years of service and said it was a pleasure to work with Sheldon while he was a staff member in the Legislature. “You were very gracious to me as I considered running for this seat in 2016 as you retired from the county and I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the conversation yo...
Sheriff’s Office purchasing boat The Mason County Sheriff’s Office bought a patrol vessel from the Lakewood Police Department. According to the information packet, the Sheriff’s Office had an opportunity to buy an additional patrol vessel for a discounted price from Lakewood. The vessel is reportedly better equipped to handle conditions encountered on Puget Sound. The purchase will allow the Sheriff’s Office to put a vessel on Lake Cushman. The budget effect is up to $65,000 from the restricted reserve in the boating fund to purchase the ves...
Assessor’s notice of value mailed The Mason County Assessor’s annual notice of value has been mailed out to taxpayers to notify them of any change in the true and fair market value of their property. In a news release, the county states it is saving money by printing notices of value in postcard format. Property owners can sign up to receive their annual property valuation notice via email instead of through the United State Postal Service. People can sign up for the paperless option at www.enoticesonline.com. If you do not agree with the value...
Mason County awarded $2 million for bridge projects Mason County Public Works was awarded $2.027 million by the Federal Local Bridge Program. According to a news release for the Mason County commissioners, the federal bridge program provides funding under the National Highway Performance Program used to improve the condition of city or county-owned bridges. Public Works was awarded $167,000 to replace the south timber pile on the North Fork Goldsborough Bridge on Little Egypt Road with concrete pile cap. The Toonerville Bridge on Bear Creek...
Woman dies while diving in Hood Canal A 57-year-old Oregon woman died July 24 while diving in Hood Canal. According to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, the woman experienced a medical problem while diving and died when she came back to the surface. There was no information on what medical problem occurred. Monkeypox case in Mason County The state Department of Health notified Mason County Public Health of a positive test for monkeypox in Mason County on Monday. According to a news release, Mason County Public Health is conducting a case a...
A 91-year-old Hoodsport woman died in a two-car crash at the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and state Route 102 on July 16. According to a news release, a 25-year-old Shelton man was driving south and a car with four Hoodsport residents was traveling north on 101 near the intersection of state Route 102. The 25-year-old's car crossed the center line and hit the second vehicle head-on. The 25-year-old Shelton man fled the scene upon the arrival of law enforcement but was later apprehended. He...
WSDOT striping roads this weekend The state Department of Transportation crews from Tacoma will be striping roads this weekend. According to a Twitter post, the striping takes place annually and usually takes a day and a half to complete. Crews will begin striping Friday with an expected completion by Monday afternoon. Shelton has 36 miles of yellow and white road striping. Seven county vehicles replaced Mason County will receive seven new vehicles as part of replacement vehicle order requests from Enterprise in 2022 and 2023. According to the...
Mason County included in settlement Mason County commissioners approved a proposed settlement between multiple parties, including Mason County, and the state Department of Natural Resources regarding DNR-managed forest lands. According to the information packet, Mason County along with other counties, school districts, fire districts and government entities, challenged the Sustainable Harvest Calculation for the 2015-2024 planning decade adopted by DNR and the proposed settlement. The settlement is intended to improve the forest inventory data...
State Parks urge Fourth of July responsibility The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission encourages safe gatherings in state parks during the Fourth of July weekend. According to a news release, the commission urges visitors to check for closures and alerts before heading out and leave no trace by packing out trash and anything they have brought with them, and all fireworks must be extinguished. Parks asks people to practice fire safety by keeping them small and contained and respect beach closures to protect wildlife and marine habi...
Preliminary county budget guidelines approved Mason County 2023 and 2024 preliminary budget guidelines were approved by county commissioners at the June 21 meeting. According to the information packet, the calls for budget from county departments goes out by the second Monday in July. The board sends out budget instructions on or before the date the auditor sends out the call for budgets. The Congressional Budget Office has projected elevated inflation will continue through 2022 because of a combination of strong demand and restrained supply...
National LGBTQ+ Pride Month proclamation Mason County commissioners signed a National LGBTQ+ Pride Month proclamation at their June 7 meeting. According to the information packet, the proclamation recognizes the diverse LGBTQ+ community in Mason County and is committed to supporting visibility, dignity and equity for all people in the community. The proclamation states the commissioners observe June as a time to celebrate the dynamic LGBTQ+ community, raise awareness of quality services and foster a dialogue to promote healthy, safe and...
East Agate Loop Road closure starts June 27 Mason County commissioners approved a county road closure of East Agate Loop Road to replace the upper Uncle Johns Creek culvert on East Agate Loop Road. According to the information packet, the culvert will be replaced in July by Redside Construction and the road will be closed at 7 a.m. June 27 and reopen at 4 p.m. July 25 from milepost 1.0120 to 1.140. The road will be closed so in-water work can begin the first day of the “fish-window” July 1. Closure information will be posted on the Mason Cou...
U.S. 101 bridge repairs scheduled for June 17-20 U.S. Highway 101 over Shelton-Matlock Road will be repaired June 17 to 20 in both directions. According to a state Department of Transportation news release, the repairs will begin at 8 p.m. June 17 and last until 6 a.m. June 20. Both directions of 101 will detour to the city center and Matlock exits and drivers will return to the highway via exit ramps. Flaggers will keep drivers moving and it will add travel time to people traveling the Olympic Peninsula. From 7 p.m. June 20 to 6 a.m. June 21,...
County administrator approved to sign services agreement County Administrator Mark Neary has been approved by Mason County commissioners to sign a professional services agreement with Cabot Dow Associates for labor employment services. According to the information packet, the services will not exceed $50,000. The request for proposals for labor employment services closed April 29, with the only response from Cabot Dow Associates. Cabot Dow is a small sole-proprietor that has extensive experience specializing in representing public sector...
Tahuya Peninsula outage will affect 2,300 customers Mason PUD 3 announced an outage on June 14 that will affect about 2,300 customers on the Tahuya Peninsula for 10 hours. According to a news release, the outage is for a maintenance project to replace transmission poles in the area and requires two substations to be offline. The outage will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will require all of PUD 3's line crews working on the project and a mutual-aid crew from Grays Harbor PUD. The work is...
Central Mason Fire & EMS graduates five members Central Mason Fire & EMS celebrated the graduation of five members from its annual Firefighter Recruit Academy. According to a news release, the training burn May 14 marked a successful end to its recruit training. Each member participated in more than 300 hours of training in six months. All graduating members are now certified by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress as Firefighter I. Training also included HazMat Awareness and...
