Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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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...
Shelton High School student Madison McClanahan is preparing to compete in the National High School Rodeo Association's Reined Cow Horse Championships from July 16 to 22 in Gillette, Wyoming. In reined cow horse competition riders must control the horses' movements while in the ring. Midway through the allotted time, a cow is released into the rodeo ring and the rider must control the horse to control the cow. Riders are scored on the reining part, which is how well you know a pattern and how...
Samuel Martin Caffey pleaded not guilty to three charges at his arraignment hearing Tuesday in Mason County Superior Court. Caffey's lawyer asked Superior Court Judge Daniel Goodell if he would entertain an argument on bail reduction at the arraignment and a motion to reduce bail was heard Wednesday after the Journal's print deadline. The former Shelton High School freshmen counselor's omnibus hearing is scheduled for July 3, the pretrial hearing July 24, the trial term will begin Aug. 1 and...
After multiple delays, Fire District 12 commissioners have released a report on the results of an internal investigation. The investigation, posted last week on the district’s website, was conducted in response to an accountability audit and fraud investigation reports released by the state Auditor’s Office in September 2022. Attorney Thomas G. Burke compiled a 26-page report. The summary of the report says Fire 12’s “consistent failure to provide supporting data is an ‘unwilling or unable’ s...
Belfair woman injured in SR 3 crash A 63-year-old Belfair woman was injured in a state Route 3 crash Tuesday morning near Bremerton. According to a news release, a 20-year-old Bremerton woman driving a 2006 Dodge was entering Route 3 as the Belfair woman, driving a 2004 Saturn, was northbound in the right lane on Route 3. The Dodge left the road, crossed the onramp gore point and struck the Saturn. Both vehicles came to rest on the right shoulder. The Bremerton woman was not injured in the accident. The Belfair woman was transported to St....
North Mason High School senior Dakota Filer signed his letter of intent June 13 at the Belfair school to play college football at Montana State University-Northern in the fall. MSU-Northern is in Havre, Montana, less than an hour from the Canadian border. The NAIA school competes in the Frontier Athletic Conference, which includes Montana Western and Eastern Oregon. Filer, who was named to the Journal's All-County offense as a wide reciever and a first-team all-Olympic League selection at wide...
The annual Safety Days event took place June 5 and 6 at Sand Hill Elementary School and June 8 and 9 at Belfair Elementary, teaching kids safety skills that will serve them now and in the future. North Mason Regional Fire Authority Chief Beau Bakken has been conducting Safety Days for 26 years, and he said it is always his favorite week of the year. "Of the 365 days that I'm on duty per year, these are the best four I have throughout the entire year," Bakken told the Herald. "In most...
A 35-year-old Port Orchard motorcycle rider died Sunday in a head-on collision south of Allyn on state Route 3. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, Kenneth M. Speers died at the scene of the crash. His next of kin was notified. A 2002 Suzuki sport utility vehicle, driven by a 34-year-old Allyn man, was southbound on Route 3 while the motorcycle was northbound. The Suzuki crossed the centerline and struck the motorcyclist. The Suzuki rolled onto its top into the northbound...
City councils and county commissions routinely sign proclamations noting monthlong observances, which this month in the United States include African-American Music Appreciation Month, Caribbean-American Heritage Month and National Safety Month. The proclamations are usually noted briefly at a meeting and signed by council and commission members without a vote or comment. But when the Mason County Board of Commissioners and Shelton City Council both signed national LGBTQ+ Pride Month proclamations June 6, they were greeted with calls of support...
Mason County Fire District 12 commissioner John Pais resigned at a special meeting Friday in Matlock. Fire 12 called the special meeting to tell the community the internal investigation, conducted by an attorney retained by district commissioners, will be posted to the website this week. The attorney was paid with taxpayer money. Prior to the end of the meeting, Pais announced his resignation, effective immediately. “Now that the investigation is over, and it will be posted and it did what it w...
Missing backpacker in Olympic found A Stanford University professor who was backpacking and had been missing since June 7 was found near the Dosewallips River Trail with the assistance of other hikers. According to a news release, Hunter Fraser was driven to Quilcene where his family, park personnel and medical responders were waiting for him. Fraser had planned a 40-mile backpacking trip and intended to be back in Seattle on June 7. He was reported overdue by a family member and the search for...
Mason County will be returning “several hundred thousand dollars” of COVID-19 relief money to the state at the end of the month. Mason County Director of Community Services Dave Windom provided the information to the county Board of Health at their May 23 meeting. “It’s for COVID vaccine. We’re just not getting demands for COVID vaccine work so I talked to the hospital and they aren’t getting a big demand either,” Windom told the board. The Board of Health talked about ways to use the money befo...
Three week closure on state Route 106 Drivers will need to plan for closures on a segment of state Route 106 at Twanoh State Park to remove and replace an outdated culvert. According to a news release from the state Department of Transportation, between July 10 and 30, WSDOT will close state Route 106 at Twanoh State Park and a signed detour will direct traffic around the closure onto U.S. 101 and state Route 3 through Shelton. The total closure reduces the overall construction timeline and reduces the project’s effect on the environmental f...
The state of Mary M. Knight athletics is "projecting well," according to athletic director Tom Kerr. MMK had some trouble getting participation in some sports, including football and boys basketball. Kerr said that a lot of youth are in the varsity programs and participation numbers are expected to go on an upward trend after this year. "The majority of our athletes - both boys and girls - will be freshmen and sophomores next year so the future is bright for MMK," Kerr told the Journal in an...
North Mason's Kezlie Thygesen has signed her letter of intent to run at Whitworth University in Spokane next year. Thygesen wrapped up her senior year in cross country with a 41st-place finish in the 2A state race in November at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. Thygesen placed sixth in the 3,200-meter race and 11th in the 1,600-meter race at the state 2A track and field championships at the end of May at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma....
Shelton's Jaydon Blackburn signed his letter of intent to run at Saint Martin's University in Lacey next year. Blackburn finished his senior season in cross country with a 47th-place finish at the 2A state race in November at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. Blackburn finished 17th in the 3,200-meter race at the state 2A track and field champioinships at the end of May at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma. He finished third in the 3,200-meter race at districts....
The 79th Forest Festival saw sunny skies and lots of smiles after four days of activities in downtown Shelton. Forest Festival Board President Mick Sprouffske said the weekend was great. "I believe the crowds were real large and seemed to be happy with the event," Sprouffske said. "Unfortunately, I don't get down to the parade so just judging from what I've heard from others and the photos that come through Facebook and the photos that one of our sponsors, Cooper Studios, has supplied, I think...
A former Shelton High School freshman counselor was arrested Friday at his Shelton-area residence by Mason County Sheriff’s Office deputies after a two-month investigation. Samuel Martin Caffey, 29, faces charges of child rape, child molestation, sexual misconduct with a minor, delivery of a controlled substance and possession of child pornography. Caffey was booked into Mason County Jail on Friday afternoon and made his initial court appearance Monday in Mason County Superior Court, where Superior Court Judge Monty Cobb set bail at $...
An 18-year-old Shelton man was killed in a one-car rollover accident Sunday morning on U.S. Highway 101 just south of Shelton. According to a news release, Irving U. Bautista died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was driving north on U.S. 101 at a high speed when he attempted to pass another car using the left-turn lane at Ryan Road. The car swerved and struck the cable barriers in the median, which caused the vehicle to roll. The car stopped rolling and the northbound lanes and one...
Commissioners sign Pride Month proclamation Mason County commissioners signed a National LGBTQ+ Pride month proclamation at the Tuesday meeting. According to the proclamation, the county has a diverse LGBTQ+ community and is committed to supporting visibility, dignity, equality and freedom from discrimination for all people in the community. The commissioners observe June as a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, raise awareness of quality services, and foster a dialogue to promote healthy, safe and prosperous communities for all. “The M...
Mason County Fire District 11, known as Island Lake Fire, officially consolidated and merged into Central Mason Fire & EMS on Thursday. According to a CMFE news release, the merger will help the district to better serve the community. Combining both departments allows CMFE to better manage future training, required training classes, one-on-one training needs and management of training records. Another benefit includes large supply purchases, including daily-use medical supplies, consolidated...
Central Mason Fire & EMS extinguished a residential fire May 31 on Meyer Lake Road in Shelton. According to a news release, the fire was reported at 1:23 a.m., and crews arrived to a fire on an outside deck that had extended into an exterior wall, filling the home with smoke. The main body of the fire was extinguished, and based on construction and location of the fire, crews spent a lot of time on scene performing overhaul, removing smoldering material and ensuring the fire didn’t extend f...
A 36-year-old Belfair man died in a two-car accident Friday evening on state Route 3 near Grapeview. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, Richard T. Falk, 36, of Belfair, died at Harborview Medical Center after being injured in his Jeep Wrangler in the accident. According to the release, the Jeep was northbound and crossed over the centerline, and striking a southbound Nissan Murano driven by a 37-year-old Shelton woman. The woman was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in...
Derek Smith is the new North Mason boys basketball coach. He was hired May 18. Smith, 28, has been the JV basketball coach and head football coach at Muckleshoot Tribal School in Auburn for the past three years and was the head baseball coach for one year. While he attended Whitworth University, he was an assistant coach at a middle school for two years. He was a varsity and JV intern football assistant at Mead High School in Spokane County. He coached at Lakeside High School just outside of Spo...
Mason County Fire District 12 commissioners John Pais, Albert Wilder and Brian Jutson hired Bryan Walsworth, the husband of the ex-chief, as pro-tem fire chief starting today. Kelli Walsworth was relieved of her duties Wednesday. The hiring comes a year after the department said it began searching for a new fire chief. “Bryan is the most qualified of any applicant,” Pais said during the May 23 meeting at the district’s station in Matlock. “He’s been through fire academy, he’s an EMT. He’s a...
