Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Schafer State Park celebrated its centennial Saturday, July 20, with food, games, storytelling and discussions about the past and future of the park. Around 700 people attended the event, according to Shafer Park Ranger Angela Galli, who told the Journal it was "a great turnout." Galli said officials originally planned for 300 attendees. Trina Young, president of the Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia State Parks (FOSLS), put attendance at around 800, and said more than 50 Schafer family...
Drunk driver crashes, thinks he’s home Police say an intoxicated Seabeck man drove into a ditch near Allyn and thought he was in his driveway. Shawn Ferguson, 29, drove off state Route 302 near the intersection of East Coulter Creek Road around 10 p.m. July 9 and his car landed “with its nose within the south bound ditch and the rear bumper of the vehicle was just outside of the southbound fog line,” Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy J. Ogden wrote in a probable cause document. Ferguson allegedly exited the crashed vehicle with a bottle in his han...
Mason County has miles of hiking paths for feet and hooves. Horse riders have many options for a day on the trail or a night in the backcountry. Local Backcountry Horsemen of Washington member Traci Koch told the Journal camping with a horse is a great experience if you "do your homework." It's important to know your needs and your horse's needs as well, she said. The U.S. Forest Service recommends you get your animal used to highlines, rope stretched between two trees used for tying stock,...
Twanoh State Park and Belfair State Park beaches have posted swimming warnings after Mason County Public Health and Human Services found high levels of enterococci bacteria. J.J. Stepan, with Mason County Environmental Health, told the Journal he is optimistic the warnings will be lifted before the weekend. "Most likely" the bacteria level will come down, Stepan said. A second sample of the water was tested yesterday or will be tested today, he said. The bacteria indicate the presence of fecal...
Green Diamond Resource Co. forest lands in Mason and Grays Harbor counties see 20 to 30 tons of garbage dumped illegally each year, and that amount keeps rising, Policy and Communications Manager Jason Callahan told the Journal. Cleanup costs for the company have also increased fivefold in the past few years, he said. Disposing of just one RV can cost $1,300, “and we get a number of those every year,” Callahan said. Green Diamond has cleaned up all types of garbage dumped on their property, including household garbage, old boats, cars, app...
Hot, dry weather has descended on Western Washington, causing a variety of burn bans for Mason County. The Department of Natural Resources has issued a statewide burn ban through Sept. 30. The DNR can extend or shorten the date depending on fire conditions, according to a news release. The Mason County Fire Marshal also implemented restrictions through that date, subject to changing conditions. All outdoor burning, including campfires in firepits, charcoal briquettes and any other equipment that creates ash is prohibited on all lands in the cou...
State Route 106 blocked after crash A suspected drunken driver allegedly caused a head-on collision on state Route 106 north of Twanoh State Park Sunday, injuring three people. Bremerton woman Katharine Cuyle, 40, was driving westbound near Twanoh Tides Drive at 7:25 p.m. when she crossed the center line and struck a vehicle driven by Sergey Bezzabara, 44, of Federal Way, according to the Washington State Patrol. The accident blocked both lanes. Cuyle was taken to St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale and Bezzabara and two of his three...
A $14-million state Department of Ecology loan will help Harstene Point Water and Sewer District, on Harstine Island, update 50-year-old lines and reduce operating costs, according to General Manager Jeff Palmer. “We are very excited to receive this loan, which is $14 million, but $5 million of it is forgivable principle, bringing it down to $9 million in repayable,” Palmer told the Journal. DOE provided the money from its clean water fund at 1.2% interest. “Washington’s clean water funding is a mix of state and federal funds dedicated toward...
Fire District 12 commissioners agreed to change regular business meeting days to 6 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month at a meeting July 3. Meetings are currently at the Matlock Grange, 61 West Beeville Road in Matlock. The district is also getting a new website at mason12.org, which should be up and running soon, acting Chief Mike Brown said. Brown gave an update on maintenance happening on apparatus and emergency equipment at Station 1 during the meeting. “We’re making headway,” he said. Oil filters on the vehicles haven’t be...
The three-day Allyn Days Salmon Bake and Geoduck Festival begins Friday with Music in the Park, a free event on the main stage at Port of Allyn Waterfront Park, where all the events take place. The Allyn Community Association will have a hamburger and hot dog stand and Bent Bine Brewery will be serving “new, fresh summer beers,” according to the association. The lineup: 4 to 4:30 p.m.: Samuel and the Band Who Knows, a local country-rock band. 5 to 6 p.m.: Jason Rogers, a Grapeview guitar player/singer performing classic rock. 7 to 8 p.m.: King...
Fire crews are monitoring the area underneath the High Steel Bridge after a wildfire started there July 4, according to the U.S. Forest Service. No active suppression is happening now because the terrain is too dangerous for firefighters, but the Vincent Creek fire appears to be out, Keith Alholm, public affairs specialist with Olympic National Forest, told the Journal. “There are no active flames or smoke,” Alholm said. A helicopter dumped water on the fire and engines sprayed water down at the flames from the bridge, according to the For...
Central Mason Fire & EMS Chief Jeff Snyder joined state Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz on July 2 at the site of last year's McEwan Fire to talk about fire safety on forest lands. Snyder gave a brief history of the McEwan Fire that started on the Fourth of July last year around 2 p.m. Central Mason was dispatched to a possible brush fire behind Rainbow Lake and units arrived within minutes, he said. The fire was about one-fourth of an acre but there was "rapid fire growth," Snyder...
Police have arrested an Elma man in connection with the death of a woman whose decomposing body was found in a ravine near Schafer State Park. Joshua Morris, 43, was seen on video surveillance May 22 leaving the Lucky Dog Casino with Joanna Ruth Saunders, 29, according to court documents. Saunders was later identified as the body found June 11 on West Beerbower Road in Elma, about 1 mile away from the state park. Mason County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Morris on July 3 for manslaughter. Deputies discovered Saunders June 11, after gravel pit em...
Mason PUD 1 customers went longer than expected without power after overnight maintenance on the Potlatch substation June 27. Residents of Union, Lilliwaup and Hoodsport were scheduled to have electricity cut from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. so Bonneville Power Administration could service the substation. Power was restored by 8 a.m. Mason PUD 1 General Manager Kristin Masteller told the Journal in an email that BPA didn’t give a reason for the delay but sometimes work takes longer than anticipated. “After BPA restored power to their sub that feeds our...
Port of Allyn commissioners agreed to drop “interim” from Executive Director Travis Merrill’s title at the July 1 regular meeting. Merrill has been the interim director since January, after former Interim Executive Director LeAnn Dennis died in December 2023. Dennis was serving in the position after Executive Director Lary Coppola died in October. “You’ve earned your title.” Commissioner Judy Scott said. Port discusses $25K refund Port of Allyn Commissioners tabled discussion on a $25,000 refund for connection hookup fees paid last year by Rona...
Changes coming to the North Mason School District’s Highly Capable Program should see more students qualify for the program, Savannah Elliott, district assessment coordinator highly capable services coordinator, told the North Mason School Board on June 24. Starting in the fall, a new ability test for students in kindergarten through 12th grade will use nonverbal methods that are good for use with a diverse student population, Elliott said. She told the board how the hiCap program has evolved. In previous years, a single data point could d...
Mason County Sheriff Deputies arrested Dale Red Hawk LaClair, 40, for murder Tuesday after finding LaClair “shirtless and covered in blood” and Paul William Peterson, Jr., 35, apparently beaten to death on the front lawn of a home on the Skokomish Indian Reservation, according to court documents. MACECOM began receiving calls about a man crying for help around 5 a.m. June 25 and dispatched deputies to North Salish Court on the reservation, according to a probable cause document. “When the initial responding deputies arrived, they conta...
Fire District 12 commissioners filled the vacant seat 2 position at the June 19 meeting, appointing Matlock resident Steven Ingram. Earlier in the meeting, Commissioners Trina Young and Dave Persell interviewed Ingram and Kenneth Smith, asking the candidates about their experience and how they would approach the commissioner job. Smith, who volunteered with District 12 from 2011 to 2018, said he also worked in fire districts in Spokane and California. Persell asked Smith when he first learned about the “fraud situation” at the district. “Wh...
Mason County Chief Public Defender Peter Jones briefed commissioners June 17 on how preparations are going for presumed changes to his office. The Washington Supreme Court is accepting comments on updated standards through October, Jones said. It’s the first step in passing the standards and making them mandatory, according to Jones. The new proposed rules have been alarming for Mason and other smaller counties that will have to dramatically increase their budgets for indigent defense. Potentially updated Washington State Bar standards will d...
Jackson resigns from United Way United Way of Mason County Executive Director Ted Jackson resigned June 6, the organization said in a news release. "Mr. Jackson has served UWMC with dedication, and the Board of Directors extends its gratitude for his service," according to the statement. UWMC Board President Dani Cook told the Journal in an email the group is "taking time to evaluate the program," and will not currently be seeking a replacement executive director. Jackson was a Port of Allyn commissioner until his resignation Jan. 19. He is...
Fight outside CHOICE graduation ends with arrests Shelton police arrested three men fighting outside the June 6 CHOICE High School graduation at the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center, according to court documents. Damien Castellane, 21, James Elmund, 19, and Malique Ekstein, 20, were arrested for assault and obstructing a law enforcement officer, according to a probable cause document. Shelton Police Officer M. Mullins got called for a “verbal disturbance” at the center at 6:10 p.m. and en route, MACECOM told him it escalated to a “ph...
A bit of old Norway is coming to Hoodsport this weekend with the Fjordin Crossin festival. The event celebrates a Nordic tradition of “sending a barrel of aquavit in a ship from Norway across the equator and back again,” according to the event’s website. The local version will send a barrel of the Hardware Distillery’s dill aquavit across the Hood Canal and back to Hoodsport. It happens Saturday at the Hoodsport Dock and is sponsored by the Hardware Distillery and Be the Traveler/Hood Canal Events. Starting at 11 a.m., food booths and other v...
Port of Allyn commissioners approved a contract with WestSound Engineering to redesign a plan to incorporate the Allyn Carey Water System into the port’s system at a special meeting June 10. Commissioner Judy Scott said she’d worked with WestSound Engineering before. “I’ve been pleased with their work,” Scott said. Scott and Commissioner Michael Curtain approved the $14,922 contract. Commissioner John Sheridan did not attend the meeting. Interim Executive Director Travis Merrill said that he and Jeff Carey met with WestSound engineer Michael J...
Fire District 12 commissioners held a regular meeting June 5 in the Matlock Grange, discussing steps they are taking to reinstate insurance coverage and other district business. “There’s a lot to do,” District 12 Acting Chief Mike Brown said. Brown was appointed acting chief by Commissioners Trina Young and Dave Persell following their suspension of Bryan Walsworth. Brown said he and Young are working to get insurance back for the district. In May, it lost insurance coverage due to years of mismanagement, was declared a disaster area by the c...
The former office manager of Shelton Memorial Park cemetery is facing a civil lawsuit in addition to criminal charges for theft and money-laundering. The Shelton Cemetery Association sued Dustee Munro in Mason County Superior Court June 6, seeking recovery of $265,700 she allegedly stole. “The Shelton Police Department’s declaration of probable cause recommends that plaintiff should seek recovery of $265,702.47 from defendant, including for misappropriated funds of $118,957.40, undocumented charges of cost to customers of $126,945.07, unp...
