Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Members of the Shelton City Council, the Mason County Board of Commissioners and the Port of Shelton Commission gathered to discuss annexation, economic opportunities, sewer-capacity expansion and land exchanges at a special meeting Jan. 28 at the Ridge Motorsports Park near the airport. The two-hour gathering of three governmental entities didn't lead to specific proposals, but allowed a free-flowing conversation. "It's important to get together and talk," said City Manager Jeff Niten, who...
More than 50 people fired up their computers, tablets or phones to join a Zoom room for a public hearing about the Belfair sewer project Monday evening. The hearing lasted more than four hours, with staff presenting information to the public, followed by community questions, public testimony and commissioners voting to continue the public hearing at 9:15 a.m. on March 1 before making a decision on what to do next. Belfair sewer information County Administrator Mark Neary started the hearing and...
Voters in the Mary M. Knight School District have until Tuesday to cast their ballots for the district's proposed replacement levy. The district is asking for the passage of a two-year school education levy - formerly known as a maintenance and operations levy - that would collect $586,187 for the 2023 tax year and $639,632 for the 2024 tax year. The levy would replace a two-year levy passed by voters in February 2020 by 53.33%. If the levy passes on the Feb. 8 ballot, district homeowners will...
Quilters, seamstresses and garment makers who adore the offerings at Annie's Quilt Shoppe in Shelton can share their love by voting for the business in an annual international contest. Last year, the business at 2505 Olympic Highway North finished among the top 100 stores in the fourth ByAnnie Local Quilt Shop Contest. According to a news release from ByAnnie.com, the contest is "dedicated to supporting local economies and the timeless tradition of sewing." ByAnnie states that 4,100 quilt shops...
The Olympics opening ceremony starts Friday at 3:30 a.m. That’s the middle of the night for most of us, including me. Still, I’m getting up to watch this one so I can see members of a particular team walk into Beijing’s Olympic stadium. I was once a sports-spectating fan. I had favorite college and pro teams. I had a favorite AAA baseball team, the Spokane Indians; a favorite boxer, Muhammad Ali; a favorite play-by-play announcer, Kevin “Achtung Baby!” Calabro of the SuperSonics; and a favorite...
Christmas kudos Editor, the Journal, I’m a first-time writer to you. I’ve been living here off and on since 1992. I go away for a while, but always come back. Folks vacation in this area and I have the privilege of living in this beautiful place. I live in the woods on 5 acres and am within a few minutes of the hospital and downtown. It’s a short, but beautiful drive to Olympia (the big city), and 90 minutes to many beautiful ocean beaches to explore and rest up. We have the Olympics and Mount Rainier a few miles away and many lakes and hikin...
Turn on the news, open a newspaper or scroll through social media and you are likely to encounter some form of outrage involving Congress. Polarization in Congress feels like it’s at an all-time high, because it is. But beneath all the bickering that generates viewers and clicks, there is a strong desire by most representatives to find consensus and produce results. Most members of Congress want to get things done for the American people. Unfortunately, collaboration is not as exciting as conflict. And for members looking for talk-show i...
Science has a way of validating the obvious. Consider how often psychologists are quoted in the news to prove something everyone knows. In the case of "shinrin-yoku," translated as "forest bathing," it has been established that people can "restore balance and health by immersing themselves in a forest environment and absorbing its atmosphere." Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries coined the term years ago, and quite a bit of research has been done on the phenomenon. Before...
The City of Shelton is considering removing and replacing 38 downtown trees whose expanding roots are lifting and breaking sidewalks and pushing up grates. The Shelton City Council talked about the trees and possible solutions at a work session Jan. 25. Most of the downtown street trees are chanticleer pears planted in 1995, said Public Works Director Jay Harris. During the past nine years, the trees have more than doubled in size and the roots are lifting the sidewalk and street improvements ne...
The Port of Hoodsport welcomed its newest commissioner at its Jan. 26 meeting, and OK'd the trimming of "hazard trees" and other trees to ensure its trail park and disc golf course are cleared and safe before spring starts. Cody Morris was welcomed to his first meeting as the port's Position 3 commissioner, repeating his oath of office, though he'd already been sworn in with a notary. Morris' term is set to end in 2027. The port district's 1,851 registered voters cast 793 ballots in the...
Sen. Tim Shelton, D-Potlatch, has proposed a bill that would allow target shooting on state Department of Natural Resources land. According to a news release, Senate Bill 5865 bill would clear up liability issues for recreational target shooting on public land. The hearing for the bill was Jan. 27 and the bill would establish that the state would not be held liable for unintentional injuries. “The liability issue has been the major obstacle in designating areas for target shooting,” Sheldon sai...
Washington’s highly touted and highly contentious long-term care program will be delayed by at least 18 months while lawmakers work amend the program. Gov. Jay Inslee signed bills last week to delay the WA Cares payroll tax on Washington workers just days after the Senate voted 46-3 in favor of delaying the collection of premiums and WA Cares Fund’s implementation. The House of Representatives voted 91-6 in favor of the same bill. Inslee’s action pauses the collection of premiums. The collection is scheduled to begin July 1, 2023, inste...
This is part two of a two-part story on the recollections of Shelton-area resident Roberta Wilcox Welch. The first installment ran in the Shelton-Mason County Journal on Jan. 20. At Christmas season, 1943, J.C. Penney at Second and Cota had a window display with the most beautiful doll I had ever seen. Her name was Miss Babette. She had blond, rolled hair and wore an evening gown and cape of pink sheer fabric with silver sparkles. Her cape was edged in marabou feathers. Now our family did not...
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Belfair student excelling at Seton Hall Amber Johnson of Belfair earned a spot on the dean’s list for the fall semester at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. To be eligible, an undergraduate student must complete all courses with a GPA of 3.4 or better, with no grades lower than a C....
Activities aplenty at Shelton senior center Activities at the Mason County Senior Activities Center at the Pavilion, 190 W. Sentry Drive in Shelton include tai chi, yoga, line dancing, quilting, machine knitting, crafters, Monday art workshops, pool, bridge, pinochle, hand and foot care, cribbage, Mexican train dominoes, mahjong, bingo, and movies on Tuesdays. Proof of vaccination is required to enter the building. Polar Bear Plunge for emergency services The Hood Canal Lions Club hosts the 12th annual Polar Bear Plunge fundraiser from 11 a.m....
Kathy McDowell is a survivor. The 68-year-old McDowell is the last active member from the three-member Shelton City Commission, and hence the longest serving member of the seven-member Shelton City Council. "My heart is in the community," the Shelton native said. "I love this community, and I want to see it thrive." McDowell's council term is up at the end of 2023, and she's considering running for another term even while living with Parkinson's disease. She said she has projects she wants to he...
From 1897 until recent years, the structure at the corner of West Railroad Avenue and Seventh Street in downtown Shelton has been home to mortuaries. Frank Willey established Mason County's first undertaking business in a plain wood building before replacing it with the current brick building in 1926. According to the Mason County Historical Society, three or four owners used it as a funeral parlor/mortuary until it became available for lease by other businesses. Skokomish Valley-based Gravity...
Four appointed to MTA board Mason County commissioners appointed four new Mason Transit Authority Board members at the Feb. 1 commissioners meeting. According to the information packet, John Sheridan, Sandy Tarzwell, Wes Martin and John Campbell were appointed to the MTA board. Sheridan lives in Belfair and is on the Port of Allyn commission. Tarzwell lives in Shelton and is on the Shelton School Board. Martin lives in Grapeview and is on the Grapeview School Board. John Campbell is on the North Mason School Board. The commissioners received...
The Mason County Board of Health met on Jan. 24 to provide updates on COVID-19, environmental health and social service programs. Mason County Health Officer Dr. Keri Gardner provided her report about the COVID-19 omicron variant, stating she has only hospitalized one person out of the hundreds that she’s seen that have omicron, which she said is good news even though omicron is spreading like wildfire. Gardner said the unfortunate news is because infections are widespread, even a small p...
Next week is National Burn Awareness Week, an event sponsored by the American Burn Association that’s designed to educate people about the dangers of burn injuries. This year’s theme is cooking burns. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, cooking-related fires are the No. 1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries. By following a few safety tips, you can prevent these type of fires. The best time to cook is when you are wide awake. If you’re tired or have consumed alcohol or m...
The Mason Transit Authority has officially reopened the Shelton Matlock Park and Ride (shown at right) following expansion and improvements. Shelton Matlock serves bus Route 7, which is the Shelton North Loop and Route 63. The improvements to the park and ride include parking for 65 vehicles, a shelter, security cameras and lights. The money for improvements was provided through state grants to improve transit safety. "With the opening of Shelton Matlock, we are nearing completion of our...
Maybe it's Valentine's Day and you're looking to get into the spirit of the occasion. Maybe it's date night, whether it's with someone new, with whom you're looking to take things further, or with a longtime love with whom you're looking to keep that romantic spark going. The problem is, so many of us have seen so many of the same familiar favorites, from more modern popcorn crowd-pleasers like "Love Actually," "When Harry Met Sally" and "Say Anything" to cinema classics like "West Side Story,"...
Belfair Self-Storage doesn’t have shows scheduled for February, but manager Barbara Treick hopes area artists will think ahead to her March fundraiser for “Keep Music in Schools” month. She wants artists to create and display their works at her business’ art space for the occasion. “I’d like to get the word out for this as soon as possible so artists can start working on their pieces during February,” Treick said. “Especially since the subject for all the pieces — artists’ interpretations of...
