Articles written by Justin Johnson
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'Lift as you climb'
From the moment she was born, Erin Ranney has been surrounded by the outdoors. Whether it was exploring her family's Mason County tree farm or tagging along on a fishing trip to Alaska before she coul...
Miracle on Montlake
The torrent of emotion on Sami Reynolds’ face was unmistakable. It didn’t matter if you were sitting under the light drizzle of rain at Husky Softball Stadium or, as I was, sitting comfortably at home watching on television. Reynolds stood...
Highclimber, Bulldog athletes battle at Shelton Invite
After a spring filled with cold, rainy days, organizers couldn’t have planned for a more picturesque afternoon for the 63rd annual Shelton Invitational track and field meet. The event, long considered one of the state’s most prestigious track...
How much government is too much, too little
How much government is too much? How much is too little? The answer to that probably depends on whom you ask. I’m of the mind that efficiency is much more important than size. A few weeks ago, Island Lake Fire — formally known as Mason County...
Opening dogfight
Wild doesn't quite cover it. After three hours, 10 minutes on a frigid, prespring Monday evening, the North Mason High School softball team defeated Mason County rival Shelton 15-14 in an offensive...
News Briefs
Shelton officers find 21-year-old man shot to death Shelton Police are investigating a homicide that occurred Tuesday evening on the 2300 block of Jefferson Street. According to a news release, a male had been reportedly shot and when police...
Mat Classic
It was a good day to be odd. Six of the 12 wrestlers representing Mason County high schools at Mat Classic XXXIV on Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome earned odd-number state placings, signifying...
Regional champion
She held it in as long as she could. In the seconds after EliBeth Cervantes became the first girls wrestler from Shelton High School to win a regional title in 14 years, she danced her way through...
Climbers bow out of districts
The Shelton High School boys basketball season saw its season end with a 65-49 loss to Columbia River on Feb. 9 in a 2A District IV Pigtail game at Terry Gregg Court in Shelton. Mason Goos led...
Owls fall at district tourney
The Mary M. Knight High School girls basketball team saw its season come to a close with a 42-32 loss to Three Rivers Christian during the 1B District IV touranment Feb. 7 in Matlock. Hailey Morris...
Pruitt finishes bowling career at state tournament
North Mason High School senior Sarah Pruitt capped her prep bowling career with a top-25 individual finish at the 1A/2A state bowling tournament Friday at Bowlero in Tukwila. “One of my goals at the beginning of this season was to make it to state...
Climbing to new heights
Gabi Munro admits having modest expectations for her senior year. "My goal was to win at least four games this season. That was my goal," Munro said. "Now, since we've made it this far as a team, we h...
Moving up
Danyka Squire is officially set to compete at the next level. Squire, a senior multisport athlete at Shelton High School, has signed a letter of intent to compete in softball at Clark College in...
On the rise
The stormy seas have settled and the Highclimbers are full sail ahead. Shaking off an 0-5 start to the season, the Shelton High School boys basketball team routed Centralia 68-40 Tuesday night at...
Thank you Mason County, welcome to '23
In a few days time, the calendar will again flip forward to usher in a new year. Ready or not, 2023 is here. To our faithful readers, those of us here at the Shelton-Mason County Journal would like to say thank you for your support during the past...
Climbers' Moore signs with Pierce College volleyball
Jaylin Moore is set to become a Raider next fall. The Shelton High School senior volleyball standout signed with Pierce College of the Northwest Athletic Conference to compete for the Raiders'...
A good day on the Washington coast
After a fall that included several months of lead-up to the midterm elections and a busy high school sports season, last week afforded me a chance to get away from the Journal's office for a few days...
Duenkel captures auditor race
A wave of post-election day ballot counts catapulted Steve Duenkel to a narrow victory in the Mason County auditor's race. Duenkel, the Republican challenger, trailed incumbent Democrat Paddy McGuire...
UPDATE: Duenkel surges into Auditor's race lead
WEB UPDATE: Steve Duenkel took a seven-vote lead in the Mason County auditor's race after Wednesday's second ballot count. Wednesday's tally saw 3,630 additional votes counted in the race, allowing...
Flying high
The mark of the best teams is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It's the philosophy that has guided the Mary M. Knight High School volleyball team to one of its best seasons in rece...
In defense of the truth - it does matter
Does the truth matter? Here at the Journal it does. During much of the campaign season, the newspaper has strived to stay above the fray of acrimony that has surrounded our political discourse. We have a long history of not endorsing candidates for...
North Mason's Thygesen keeping sights aimed high
Goals are powerful motivators. After a summer of intense training, Kezlie Thygesen is reaping the rewards. "I have had lots of progress and worked hard during the offseason and in-season training,"...
Bulldogs run wild
Trailing by a point in the final minutes of the first half, the Bulldogs had a choice: put their heads down or go to work. It was an easy decision. After an underthrown pass resulted in a...
State rebuts Duenkel claims
Election systems in Mason County and around the state are fully certified in accordance with Revised Code of Washington requirements. Citing increasing misinformation around the certification and technical aspects of voting systems in Washington,...
A memorable night for the Journal staff
The Washington Newspaper Publisher’s Association had its annual convention and awards gala this past weekend in Bellingham. The Journal captured 20 awards, including a second-place finish in General Excellence, which judges newspapers on their...
