Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886

Articles from the January 6, 2022 edition


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  • Storm snarls county

    Justin Johnson|Jan 6, 2022

    Extreme weather wreaked havoc throughout Mason County this week. Freezing temperatures, snow, ice and rain contributed to power outages, road and school closures, delayed garbage pickups and other maladies. The most disruptive effect was the closure of a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 from Hoodsport to state Route 104 due to downed trees and power lines. The road closed at 9:20 Sunday night and had yet to fully reopen as of Tuesday afternoon. State Route 119 from Hoodsport to Lake Cushman...

  • Jeffrey Araujo

    Jan 6, 2022

    Jeffrey Araujo, beloved father and grandfather, passed away December 17th, 2021, at his home in Union, Washington. He was preceded in death by his wife of 29 years, Janenne, in 2007. He is survived by his mother Joey; his siblings Laura and Steve; his daughters Jennifer, Jessica and Jillian; his grandchildren Ellise, Gavin, Fiona and Piper; and his partner Shannon. Jeff was born to Jay and Joey Araujo on March 7th, 1959 in Los Angeles, California. He met his future wife, Jan, at Hart High...

  • Sally Agee

    Jan 6, 2022

    Sally J. Agee, 73, a current resident of Fond du Lac, Wis., died Thursday, December 23, 2021, at her home. She was born in Shelton, Wash. on June 11, 1948, a daughter of Frank and Elizabeth (Hurst) Wolf. On July 11, 1971, Sally married John B. Agee in Shelton. He preceded her in death on December 30, 2013. Survivors include her two sons, Michael Agee, and Matthew (Jennifer) Agee, and their daughter, Jane; sister, Karen (Warren) Bergh; two nieces; cousins and other family. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband. A celebration of...

  • Terry Osterberg

    Jan 6, 2022

    Terry Alvin Osterberg passed away on December 9th, 2021, at the age of 78, in Olympia, Washington, with family by his side. His battle with serious medical issues in recent years showed his courage in facing life challenges with a smile and without a complaint. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, uncle, and friend who will be strongly missed. Terry was born to Wanda and Lennart Osterberg on August 2nd, 1943, in Tacoma, Washington. He grew up in Shelton, Washington where...

  • Four sworn in to council

    Gordon Weeks|Jan 6, 2022

    On Tuesday evening, four members of the Shelton City Council were sworn in for new terms. Eric Onisko and Joe Schmit are beginning their second four-year terms. Onisko ran unopposed as council member No. 4 in the Nov. 2 general election, while Schmit defeated Tyler "Mad Dog" Elliott to return as member No. 6. Onisko owns two local gas stations and serves on the emergency food and shelter committee, the emergency planning committee, and the Mason County Housing and Behavioral Health Advisory...

  • Xinh finds 'Flavors with Friends'

    Matt Baide|Jan 6, 2022

    If you have lived in Mason County for more than 20 years, chances are you've had some delicious food cooked by Xinh Dwelley at Xinh's Clam and Oyster House on Railroad Avenue. The restaurant closed in 2019 due to Xinh battling cancer, which she's still doing and has been for the last seven years. That hasn't stopped Xinh from contributing to the community through her food, as she just released her second cookbook, "Xinh's Flavors With Friends." Her first cookbook, "Xinh's Pacific Coastal...

  • City crews plowed snow 24/7 during storms

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Jan 6, 2022

    For more than a week, City of Shelton public works crews worked around the clock de-icing streets, plowing snow and dropping sand to help motorists navigate an extended snap of snow, freezing rain and ice. "They've been grinding it out," Mike Albaugh, the city public works department's maintenance supervisor, said Tuesday. "We've definitely been keeping up to the best of our abilities," he added. The city owns four snowplows, one road grader and one de-icer. Crews of four or five employees...

  • 'We're having a COVID outbreak right now'

    Kirk Ericson|Jan 6, 2022

    Imagine this: You’re expecting a lot of people for dinner. They show up around 5 p.m. and assemble beneath the covering over your front porch before entering your place. Now, imagine discovering that several of them are testing positive for COVID-19 and that you’ll need to separate the ill from the well before accepting all of them into your place. I witnessed such a scene Sunday. In the late afternoon Sunday, while the sky was issuing an ice-cold rain that felt like nature was being...

  • Letters to the Editor

    Jan 6, 2022

    All joking aside on sewers Editor, the Journal, This is the third letter I’ve written about the sewer situation. I’ve had a good time with the double entendres, but here I will be a bit more serious. There is a lot of money on the line for our county, so we need to ensure that we are not blundering into a situation where we enrich someone and have the bill sent to you and I. This hypothetical illustrates the potential danger. Let us suppose we have a landowner that has acquired a parcel with the intent to improve and sell it for profit. We...

  • What do you want the new year to be like?

    Drew MacEwen|Jan 6, 2022

    What kind of year do you want 2022 to be? That is the question each of us must ask ourselves as we embark on a New Year. The legislature will soon begin the 60-day session, and with it important policy debate. Debate is a normal course of any legislative body, but how we choose to engage in debate is just as important. I personally always strive to create relationships on both sides of the aisle. Doing so makes policy differences not be personal and drives a healthier debate. President Reagan...

  • Dammed if you do

    Alex Fethiere|Jan 6, 2022

    It's a good time of year for documentaries, if your electricity and internet can handle pounding rain and deep-freeze snowfalls. Stuck on unplowed Harstine Island with plenty of hearty soups and greens, I searched for free, online docs to spice my studies. The pun that titles 2019's "Artifishal" might be the only liberty the film takes. In the urgent question of salmon and trout habitat restoration, it's clear from the name which side the directors are on - but I appreciate the acknowledgment...

  • The story of George Clifton – Part two

    Jan Parker|Jan 6, 2022

    In January 1924, 17-year-old George Clifton began working for Simpson Logging Co. at a camp near Lake Nahwatzel. For the next two years, he kept a sporadic journal of his experiences. This story is taken from that journal. This is the second part of Clifton's story - the first part ran in the Dec. 23 edition of the Shelton-Mason County Journal. On Sept. 16, 1925, George was blowing whistles. Ed, the timekeeper, has not found it out yet, so I'm still getting choker's wages. We got 18 loads and pa...

  • Shelton man guilty of child molestation

    Matt Baide|Jan 6, 2022

    Andrew Wesley Bertrand was found guilty on two counts of first-degree child molestation on Dec. 14 in Mason County Superior Court. Bertrand will be sentenced at a hearing Feb. 1. According to the Mason County Sheriff’s Booking and Intake Report, Shelton Police took a report of two juvenile women stating Bertrand had touched them under their clothes. During a forensic interview with one of the juveniles, she disclosed that Bertrand was dating her mom and would stay late. After her mom would go...

  • Shelton High student guilty in September stabbing

    Matt Baide|Jan 6, 2022

    The Shelton High School student who stabbed another student six times during a fight on Sept. 20 was found guilty of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon in Mason County Juvenile Court. According to juvenile court documents, the student, 16, was sentenced to nine months in a juvenile rehabilitation administration facility, beginning after the sentencing hearing on Dec. 21 and had to pay fines and fees of $200. The student also had to complete DNA testing, to not contact the victim of the...

  • Nonprofit Briefs

    Compiled by Matt Baide and Gordon Weeks|Jan 6, 2022

    Parkinson’s support group in Shelton The Parkinson’s Support Group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Mason County Senior Activities Association Center at 190 W. Sentry Drive in Shelton, behind Gillis Motors. All attendees must be vaccinated and wear a face mask. You do not need to be a member to attend. For more information, call Carroll or Marilyn at 360-462-0230. Blood donations needed at Shelton church The winter weather conditions have caused canceled appointments to donate blood, and Bloodworks Northwest is accepting blood...

  • Snowy scenes

    Jan 6, 2022

  • 'Don't Look Up' manages to feel life-affirming

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jan 6, 2022

    I've seen a few folks review writer-director-producer Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up" under the assumption it was intended as a response to COVID-19, even though enough of its pre-production was finished COVID and its principal photography was originally slated to start in April 2020. More than a dozen years ago, I was rewatching an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" with one of my housemates at the time, in which Picard was captured and tortured by alien interrogators (Trek fans will...