Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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The McEwan Fire that ignited July 4 near East McEwan Prairie Road is still burning, but has been moved to "patrol status" by the state Department of Natural Resources as of Monday, according to Central Mason Fire & EMS. According to the CMFE Facebook page, DNR will continue to monitor the fire to ensure the fire remains inactive and within its footprint. People might continue to see fire crews coming and going from the fire area during that time. It will remain in patrol status until a "season-e...
Jail cameras replaced Mason County commissioners approved replacement of the Mason County jail camera system at the Tuesday meeting. According to the information packet, information technology was informed by the camera system vendor, Corrections Technology Group, that replacement parts for the existing system are no longer in production or available. If another hardware failure occurred, there would be no way to fix it. The county asked the vendor, CTG, to provide a quote for a full system replacement, which includes a non-proprietary...
Special filing period Aug. 8-10 The Mason County Auditor’s Elections Department announced a special three-day filing period Aug. 8 to 10 for any challengers to the incumbent. There’s no filing fee. According to a news release, candidates for the positions of Mason County Cemetery District Positions No. 1, 2 and 3; Fire Protection District 18 commissioner position 1 and 4; Public Hospital District No. 2 commissioner position No. 4; Port of Dewatto commissioner district 2; North Mason School District school board director district No. 4; and Tah...
Mason County Climate Justice, the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and the state Department of Natural Resources will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday in Mason County Superior Court. According to Jennifer Calkins, a lawyer who represents the local environmental activist groups, MCCJ filed a notice to withdraw its motion to dismiss and filed a second motion for a preliminary injunction with the intervenor corporation Tacoma-based Stella-Jones Corp., which came in with the highest bid for the 94 acres...
Central Mason Fire & EMS has a ballot measure Aug. 1 to expand its board of commissioners to five members. “We are a growing department and we are covering a lot of extra ground and having more representation across our entire district will better serve our community and our citizens,” CMFE executive secretary Norma Brock told the Journal. The board had six commissioners after the merger with Fire District 11 brought in the three commissioners from Island Lake Fire. By law, it has to be red...
Commissioner chair Albert Wilder resigned from Mason County Fire District 12 at Tuesday’s regular meeting at the fire station in Matlock. “At the conclusion of this day, I am resigning as a commissioner,” Wilder said right before the end of the meeting. “I will continue to serve the community as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, but as far as the commissioner, I am resigning at the end of this day.” Wilder joins two other Fire 12 commissioners, John Pais and Brian Jutson, who have resigned....
Special filing period Aug. 8-10 The Mason County auditor’s Election Department announced a special three-day filing period Aug. 8 to 10 for no filing fee. According to a news release, candidates for the positions of Mason County Cemetery District positions No. 1, 2 and 3, Fire Protection District 18 commissioner position 1 and 4, Public Hospital District No. 2 commissioner position No. 4, Port of Dewatto commissioner district 2, North Mason School District school board director district No. 4, and Tahuya River Water District commissioner p...
North Mason Fire, county sign lease North Mason Regional Fire Authority and Mason County have agreed to a lease agreement for the old fire authority building at 490 NE Old Belfair Highway in Belfair for certain county services. According to the information packet, the term of the lease is 10 years for $2,000 per month. The county will make improvements to accommodate county offices and during the period of initial construction, NMRFA will forgo monthly rental payments for a period not to exceed two years. Mason County Sheriff’s Office North P...
Three of the four people involved in a January shooting death in Tahuya were each sentenced to at least 12 years in prison July 7 in Mason County Superior Court. Judge Monty Cobb sentenced all three people, handing down a 15-year sentence to Jacob Elijah Joe Ualika. Ualika, 24, pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder in the killing of Alejandro Rodriguez, 28, who was killed by gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Brenda Maja Hudson-Culp,...
Shelton girls swim coach Rob Phelan is the Shelton-Mason County Journal's All-County Girls Coach of the Year. The Shelton girls swim team placed ninth at the state meet, the highest ever finish in school history. "It's great. It's a testament to how good the kids have been doing," Phelan told the Journal. "We've been really lucky with the kids doing so well, the boys and girls. The girls getting top 10 at state last year, that was really awesome." Phelan swam at Sumner High School before...
Mason County implemented a burn ban July 7 to prohibit all recreational fires in the county. According to the state Department of Natural Resources website, the fire danger rating in the county is "very high," which is the second highest rating possible. Campfires, recreational fires and charcoal briquettes are prohibited in the county, but cooking stoves, barbeques and recreational fire pits fueled by propane or gas with a shutoff valve are authorized. Mason County Fire Marshal Randy Collins...
Mason County Fire District 12 commissioners Albert Wilder and Cinda Compton appointed Kelli Walsworth, Wilder’s daughter, to a vacant commission position at a special meeting Tuesday in Matlock. Walsworth is the district’s former fire chief who was dismissed and subsequently rehired as chief pro tempore prior to the state Auditor’s Office audit release in September. The audit found several fiscal problems in the district, and stated nepotism as a possible reason. Commissioner Brian Jutson resign...
Mason County Fire District 4 has named itself South Mason Fire and Rescue. South Mason Fire and Rescue Chief Greg Rudolph said this was something that was on the staffs' radar to refresh the department with new leadership coming in. Rudolph said he has done renamings at previous departments and it gets people to "buy in a bit more when they have some say in what the logo and name say or represent about us." "It feels good. The crews are excited about it, everybody had input with the new...
The McEwan Fire that began July 4 is now 85% contained, according to a Wednesday update from Central Mason Fire and EMS. According to the news release, 232 acres have burned and the fire has slowly been contained by crews. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the fire had been turned over to a state Department of Natural Resources team that will continue to manage the burned area, which continues to show heat pockets with some smoke and potential for...
Motorcyclist, 71, hurt in accident near Triton A motorcyclist was injured Saturday on U.S. Highway 101 near Triton. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, a 71-year-old Quilcene man was northbound near Triton when the motorcyclist pulled over to the soft right shoulder, but the man lost control, causing him to lay the motorcycle down. The rider was unable to get out from underneath the motorcycle. The man was transported to Mason General and charges are pending an investigation. Skydiver hospitalized A skydiver became stuck in a...
State Route 106 between Belfair and Union will be closed beginning 7 a.m. Monday through 4 a.m. July 30. Route 106 will close, except for local access, for about 9 miles from Dalby Road to Trails Road, which includes access to Twanoh State Park. The full closure will have a detour to U.S. Highway 101 and state Route 3 through Shelton. Emergency responders will have access through the work zone. The closure will allow crews to work on removing and replacing a barrier to fish at Twanoh Creek. The...
The Shelton Police Department and Mason County Sheriff's Office had a 12-hour standoff Friday on Railroad Avenue in Shelton. According to a news release, David Thomas Sanchez, 27, is still at large and anyone who has information should contact Shelton Police. Sanchez was known by law enforcement prior to the incident. Law enforcement responded at 2:15 p.m. to a radio call in the 1400 block of West Railroad Avenue, according to the release. Officers contacted a domestic violence victim and...
The state Auditor’s Office released an accountability audit of the Housing Authority of Mason County, finding problems in the organization and offering recommendations on how to fix them. The accountability audit was released May 25, and examines the Housing Authority from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2021. In the areas examined, the audit states the Housing Authority operations did not comply in all material respects with state laws, regulations or its own policies. The Housing Authority also d...
Shelton customer hours change The second-floor customer service desk at the Shelton Civic Center has new and reduced operation hours that began Saturday. According to a news release, customer service will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays with appointment only availability 1 to 4:30 p.m. With the change in hours, customers will experience longer wait times. The new customer services operating hours will not affect police or municipal court. Death on Route 3 A one-car accident resulted in the...
Two county roads to be closed for bridge repairs Mason County commissioners approved Public Works closure of roads for two upcoming projects on Cloquallum Road and North Shore Road. According to the information packet, the Rock Creek Bridge Repair Project at milepost 5.85 will force the closure of Cloquallum Road from 7 a.m. Aug. 7 to 4 p.m. Aug. 11. The detour around the project will start at Highland Road and Schaefer Park Road. The Little Shoefly Culvert Replacement Project at milepost 8.18...
Fall can't come soon enough for Mason County football teams, with the season set to begin Sept. 1 with the Mason County Cup. Shelton will travel to Belfair this year to take on North Mason for the Battle of the Axe. Shelton won last year's game 39-18. The Highclimbers host Bremerton in the home opener Sept. 8 before its first Evergreen Conference game against W.F. West on Sept. 8. The other nonleague game on Shelton's schedule is Sept. 29 when Shelton travels to Montesano to take on the...
Former Shelton High School counselor Samuel Martin Caffey, 30, was denied a reduction in bail at a hearing June 21 in Mason County Superior Court. Caffey was arrested June 2 on charges of third-degree rape of a child, third-degree child molestation and distribution of a controlled substance to a minor. Judge Daniel Goodell presided over the hearing. Caffey’s lawyer, Joshua Bruner, argued to the court that Caffey’s family could not afford the $300,000 bail, but could afford $100,000 bail to get...
Mason County Fire District 12 in Matlock received community pushback after the release of a report on the results of an internal investigation and the appointment of Cinda Compton to the commission. During community comments at the Fire 12 regular meeting June 20, some residents spoke up against the findings of the investigation. “It appeared to me that it was more of a prosecution defense report, not really an investigation,” a resident said during the meeting. “I didn’t see any benefit...
City Council candidates debate at forum Mary Eagleson, Tristen Smith and George Blush, who are vying for a position on the Shelton City Council, took part in a candidate forum at the Shelton Civic Center on Monday. The forum, sponsored by the Mason County Republican Party, was moderated by Jeff Slakey. It can be viewed on www.MasonWebTV.com. The candidates answered prepared questions, as well as questions from the audience, on a range of topics including taxes, homelessness, business...
State Corrections housing contract renewed Mason County commissioners approved the state Department of Corrections contract renewal through 2025 at its June 20 meeting. According to the information packet, the current contract was set to expire Friday. The contract is a standardized state contract for prisoner housing, and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office has not housed state prisoners for years due to booking restrictions based on a lack of beds. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic a...
