Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Two of the three Shelton City Council members whose four-year terms expire at the end of the year say they will not run for re-election. In response to a question from the Journal, Deidre Peterson and James Boad said they don’t plan to seek new terms on the Nov. 7 ballot. Kathy McDowell, the longest serving member whose tenure stretches back to the three-member Shelton City Commission, said she plans to run for another term. “I have two projects to finish and want to get those done,” McDowell wrote to the Journal. “We finished the largest...
Thomas Eugene Nelson, 102, of Shelton, peacefully passed away on Saturday, January 28, 2023. He was a lifelong Shelton resident born to Arthur & Gladys (Booth) Nelson in Shelton and raised in Kamilche. Tom was the oldest of three children. Tom's love of fishing and the water began early. His family lived on a float house in Little Skookum Bay. Tom told stories about watching fish swim in the bay as he lay on the floor watching through a knot hole. He attended Shelton Schools, graduating from... Full story
The Shelton Police Department issued a statement regarding an incident at Oakland Bay Junior High School on Jan. 26. According to the statement, a picture of a gun circulated on social media warning Oakland Bay students to “watch their backs” at the school Jan. 27. The person who posted said at 1:30 p.m., they planned to “shoot it up.” Shelton police started working with the Shelton School District to determine the origin of the image and credibility of the threat. The investigation continu...
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The annual Point in Time homeless census count conducted in Mason County on Jan. 27 tallied 477 individuals, nearly double last year's number. Of those 477 homeless people, 21 slept the night of Jan. 26 in RVs and boats; eight in abandoned buildings; 106 in vehicles; 158 outdoors; and 184 in shelters and transitional housing, said Tanya Frazier, the executive director of the nonprofit Crossroads Housing in Shelton. Last year's February count, which included the shelter numbers, noted 186...
A kitchen fire at Smoking Mo's on Feb. 2 caused damage to the downtown Shelton restaurant. According to a news release from Central Mason Fire & EMS, crews found a kitchen fire. The incident was considered a commercial building fire, which added additional units to respond. The sprinkler system in the building activated, keeping the fire small and limiting damage. Fire damage was mostly contained to the kitchen area, but the rest of the restaurant sustained some smoke and water damage. The...
City moves on public works yard design The Shelton City Council on Tuesday voted to award a $145,410 contract to Williams Architecture of Shelton to further design a new public works maintenance yard across the street from Olympic College Shelton to replace its overcrowded site behind Evergreen Elementary School. Williams Architecture completed a planning study that was presented to the City Council in June. The planning study concluded that the facility should have a minimum lifespan of 50...
On Feb. 1, about 100 people joined the nonprofit Community Lifeline in celebrating the grand opening of the Recovery Café at its shelter in downtown Shelton. The Recovery Cafe is committed to being a safe, drug-free and alcohol-free space and is designed to "help people maintain recovery, reduce relapse and fulfill potential," the agency states. The program offers weekly recovery circles, fun activities, health clinics, support meetings, job readiness training and classes, and peer support and...
Stephanie Ann Johnson of Lacey, WA passed away on December 10th, 2022, at age 63 due to natural causes. She was born in Hastings, Nebraska to Richard Allen Hottle, and Vivian Lavon Hottle (Roeder) on August 1, 1959, into a United States Air Force family. Some of her fondest memories were of her time in Germany, which was evident in her love of German food and culture. Stephanie attended schools in Nebraska, California, Virginia, Germany, and Louisiana before graduating from Central High School... Full story
Juan Pablo Alamillo Martinez, a resident of Santa Cruz, CA, passed away January 24, 2023, at home. There is going to be a viewing at St. Edward’s Catholic Church on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., and Mass at 1:30 p.m. A Graveside Service will be on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Shelton Memorial Park. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. Christine M. Allen, 68, a resident of Olympia, passed away January 30, 2023, at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. Arrangements are by McComb & W... Full story
The scene: A member of Congress caught in a scandal appears on a television outlet that he hopes will treat him with sympathy. Congressman: I’d like to take this opportunity at this time to express my acknowledgment for a recent situation where I didn’t exercise the sound judgment that the people of America deserve from their elected officials. I regret the events that transpired on the night of Oct. 22, and if anyone should take offense at my behavior, I humbly apologize to them, but I thi...
Fire tax rates Editor, the Journal, Hi, Mason County Dist 17 residents, I just wanted to provide some information on your tax rates and Brinnon Fire District 4 tax rates. These can be found by going to the assessors’ websites for Mason County and Jefferson counties. These are rates per $1,000 of assessed value: Mason County District 17 EMS: $0.3670 Fire: $0.2499; Brinnon Jefferson County District 4 EMS: $0.3633 Fire: $0.9391 Fire bond (2019): $0.3384. That is a difference of $1.03 per thousand dollars assessed. Just thought you should have t...
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Polar Bear Plunge fundraiser Saturday The Hood Canal Lions Club hosts its 13th annual Polar Bear Plunge from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Alderbrook Resort and Spa. Plungers collect donations to help the club provide money for the Mason County Sheriff's Department's chaplain fund, K-Team and Marine Patrol, and the Mason County volunteer fire departments in Union and Hoodsport/Lake Cushman. The 2022 Polar Bear Plunge raised more than $10,000 for local emergency services. Businesses that donate...
Mason County commissioners approved a letter opposing the Board of Natural Resources trust lands Carbon Project, including 400 acres near Elk Lake. Elk Lake is just south of the Jefferson County line. According to the state Department of Natural Resources Carbon Project website, the project is to protect some of the most ecologically and culturally valuable forests while generating revenue for schools and services that state trust lands support. DNR is trying to move an estimated 10,000 new...
Nurse rate increased Mason County commissioners amended the contract with Healthcare Delivery Services for Jail Registered Nursing to $85 an hour from $60. According to the information packet, the vendor requested to modify the contract prior to the expiration of the contract at the end of the year due to nursing market competition and being unable to recruit qualified applicants. The commissioner’s briefing July 18, 2022, asked for a wholesale increase of $472,000, and the commissioners were not in favor of the contract adjustment. The c...
OCCU offers scholarships to 2023 graduates April 30 is the deadline for local graduating high school seniors to apply for seven $1,000 scholarships offered by Our Community Credit Union. The scholarships are open to graduating 2023 high school seniors who attend school in Mason, Grays Harbor and Thurston counties, and on Vashon Island. The students must be a member of OCCU to be eligible. Applications and guidelines for the scholarship are available for download at www.ourcu.com/scholarship-program. The winners will be announced in May. For...
State awards grant Mason County received $150,000 in a state grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office as part of more than $2 million in grants to help communities plan for outdoor recreation facilities. According to a news release, Capitol Land Trust received the grant for planning for recreational uses at Bayshore Preserve. The preserve is a former golf course restored to a wildlife habitat. The land trust has not been able to afford the costs of building infrastructure needed to support the level of interest and use on the...
The last week of January and first week of February saw intriguing variations in the formulae of some weekly TV shows I've recommended in this space before, so I thought I'd touch upon each of them briefly. 'The Last of Us,' Sundays on HBO Season 1, Episode 3, "Long, Long Time" on Jan. 29 began with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) making their way west from Boston, before it detoured into a 20-year-long, nearly episode-length flashback, fully encompassing the relationship of...
The Shelton boys basketball team concluded the regular season on Monday with a 66-47 win against Rochester on the road. The Highclimbers earned a 54-53 win on Feb. 2 in Centralia against the Tigers and earned a win on senior night against Aberdeen 87-55 on Jan. 31. Shelton has won five in a row to end the regular season and finish 11-8 overall and 6-6 in Evergreen Conference games. After losing the entire starting lineup last season, coach Sam Krieger said the Highclimbers had a pretty good seas...
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 again and I was pretty happy to achieve that,” Pruitt said in a text message. “I feel like I did decent; definitely could have gone better, but that’s bowling though.” Priutt, who was the Shelton-Mason County Journal’s All-County Most Valuable Bowler as a junior in 2022, bowled games of 163, 147, 1...
The Shelton High School boys wrestling team finished third at the subregional wrestling tournament Feb. 4 at Black Hills High School in Tumwater. The only Highclimber earning a league title was Logan Peach at 132 pounds. Peach won the championship match by a 6-3 decision against Black Hills’ Khristian Brant. Shelton’s Ty Fleshman at 120 pounds, Cole Borden at 126 pounds, Mario Boxley at 170 pounds and Daniel Tausa at 285 pounds each earned second place in their respective tournaments. Ric...
Mary M. Knight girls basketball The Owls lost the final three games of the regular season last week. Mary M. Knight lost to Naselle 79-32 on senior night Feb. 1. The Owls traveled to Taholah on Feb. 3 and lost 66-20 to wrap up the regular season Mary M. Knight boys basketball Mary M. Knight finished the regular season last week with two losses to Coastal League opponents. The Owls lost 48-26 on Feb. 1 at home, and traveled to Taholah on Feb. 3 and fell 80-10. MMK ends the season 0-18. North Mason girls basketball The Bulldogs dropped the final...
The Port of Allyn is considering surplussing a park it owns along North Bay, port Executive Director Lary Coppola told representatives of the state Recreation and Conservation Office at a Jan. 23 special meeting. RCO Compliance Specialist Myra Barker asked why the port wants to dispose of Kayak Park, a property a quarter of a mile south of the Port of Allyn offices that covers less than an acre. Barker said the goal of the state office is to keep such property open and available for outdoor...
Port of Grapeview commissioners voted in Mike Blaisdell as president, and Art Whitson as secretary and public records officer at their meeting Jan. 17. Brad Pomroy, with the Case Inlet Fisheries Task Force, said members met that morning for their first meeting of 2023. Pomroy noted that over the preceding three weeks, Coulter Creek is up and running, and is raising fry salmon for release this coming year. He added that the Department of Fish and Wildlife has been funding work at Coulter Creek....
