Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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A suspected arsonist who authorities believe started two structure fires in the county last week was arrested after a standoff with police Friday at the Shelton Inn in downtown Shelton. The suspect, Alexander Hoyle, 37, allegedly started fires at Gethsemane Ministries properties on West Pine Street in Shelton and East Misty Acres Road near Union. The fires occurred in the early morning on Feb. 15 and Friday, respectively. Hoyle was taken into custody and booked into Mason County Jail. He is...
The City of Shelton is offering to trade 3 or 4 acres of wooded land north of the Huff'n'Puff Trail to the Port of Shelton for 25 acres on the south end of Sanderson Field to expand its satellite wastewater treatment system. The city also expressed interest in annexing the Sanderson Field area from Mason County into the city limits during a joint session with the Port of Shelton Commission on Friday morning at the Ridge Motorsports. That land is part of the Shelton urban growth area. The...
Voters approved replacement levies in the Shelton and Pioneer school districts on the Valentine’s Day ballot. The Shelton levy received 2,539 “yes” votes for 51.87%, and 2,356 “no” votes for 48.13%. The Pioneer levy received 1,810 “yes” votes for 54.9%, and 1,487 “no” votes for 45.1%. Both needed a simple majority to pass. The final ballot count is set for 4 p.m. today, with an estimated five ballots to add to the total. The count is scheduled to be certified Friday. Voter turnout was 36.56%. Ninety Mason County residents also cast ballots...
Born and raised in Tacoma, WA, Tony graduated from Lincoln High School in 1953 and married Betty Robey April 27, 1957, and transferred from Army reserves to enlist as a Civil Engineer and Radio Operator until his honorable discharge July 3, 1963. Tony and Betty raised two wonderful sons, Kevin (Gail) of Edmonds, WA, and Dean (Cindi) of Surprise, AZ. Blessed with grandchildren, Judson (Alex) of Ventura, CA. Kelsie (Adam) Phoenix, AZ. Nolan of Edmonds, WA and Dillon of Edmonds, WA, also... Full story
Dave was born January 7, 1943, in Chelan, WA to Arthur and Faye Eichhorn. He attended Chelan High School, graduating in 1961 and married Jackie Edmunds, also of Chelan, in 1962. After Dave's graduation from Central Washington University, they moved to Shelton where he took a job teaching Physical Education at Garrett Heyns HS within the Washington Correctional Facility. A short time later, he took a job at the local Shelton Safeway where he worked for 35 years. During that time, Dave and Jackie... Full story
Shirley Smith passed away peacefully at her home in Christmas Village in Shelton, WA on February 13, 2023 at the age of 89. She was born January 29, 1934 in Fresno, CA, the only child of Kenneth Taylor and Mildred (Benson) Rick. Shirley graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School in 1952, and had one year of junior college in Fresno. She worked as a draftsman for the County Assessor's office in Fresno and met Ralph A. Smith, a policeman for the City of Fresno. They married in 1955 in Nevada... Full story
Ruth A. Nickell, 87, a resident of Shelton, passed away February 15, 2023, at Mason General Hospital. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Robert Dooley, 81, a resident Hoodsport, passed away February 16, 2023, at Mason General Hospital. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Betty Richardson, 86, a resident of Olympia, passed away February 16, 2023, at Brookdale Olympia West in Olympia. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Bernice Rimestad, 92,... Full story
Less than a year after he was hired, the Hood Canal School Board has accepted the resignation of Superintendent Jose-de-Jesus Melendez. The district announced the decision Monday in a news release and legal notice. "He will complete the remainder of his contract on administrative leave," Susan Vining, the district's executive assistant wrote in the news release. "We appreciate his service to the district and wish him well." Vining added, "There is still work to be done, children to teach and...
School choirs perform March 7 The Shelton High School and Oakland Bay Junior High School choirs perform the concert “Women of Word and Song” at 7 p.m. March 7 at the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center. Paul Nakhla directs all the choirs, and Anne-Marie Nakhla is the accompanist. The high school groups performing are the Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Shades and Illusions. Donations will be accepted at the door. Welding, construction programs at Olympic College Shelton Olympic College Shelton offers information sessions March 9 on con...
U.S. Congressman Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, lauded the achievements of President Joe Biden's administration, called Medicare and Social Security "the most successful public policy programs of all time," and called for increased high-speed internet connection at a town hall meeting Tuesday evening at the Mason PUD 3 building. About 100 people attended the presentation by Kilmer, whose district includes Mason, Clallam, Kitsap, Jefferson and part of Pierce counties. They applauded when he said he...
It’s hard to watch humans without judging, but it can be a liberating activity. Be the observer. Drop your ego, shut up, turn off the sensors that require you to criticize. Let a scene play out in front of you. Watch. Listen. Here’s a scene I witnessed some summers ago: A woman who looked to be in her mid-20s was standing at the entrance to a crosswalk on a downtown street around dusk. I was in my car, stopped at a red light, when the woman caught my attention to my right. The woman bore a ful...
Marxist Democrats Editor, the Journal, Democrats and politics are different today. Democrats embrace woke politics and critical race theory social issues. Their textbook is “Rules for Radicals” from America’s leading Marxist, Saul Alinsky (1909-1972). Alinsky’s 13 rules were meant to change politics. Democrats believe America has social issues so use Alinsky’s rules to fix these problems. Marxists use these rules to cancel our Constitution. Defund the police is an heir to the violent 1960s Marxist movement when anti-war protesters threw bag...
Legislation by Mason County legislators to restrict sex offender housing failed to pass out of committee Friday, the final day for policy bills to advance. According to a news release, Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, and seatmate Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, introduced House Bill 1813, which would only allow the Department of Social and Health Services to house sex offenders in facilities on McNeil Island or a facility in South Seattle. The bill would also restrict the state from using any new...
Forest McCullough of Northwest Land & Tree told the Port of Hoodsport Commission on Feb. 8 that tree and debris removal at the port’s parklands was almost done, despite “Mother Nature giving us headaches.” As soon as a stretch of dry weather arrives, McCullough predicted the parking lot would be “all cleaned up, fixed up,” and ready to receive treatments such as beauty bark. He assured Port Commissioner Lori Kincannon they were “still on target” for the parking lot grading to be finished and rea...
Presentation on atomic Washington Steve Olson will talk about “Atomic Washington: Our Nuclear Past, Present and Future” at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Harstine Island Community Club as part of the Inquiring Minds/Humanities Washington program. This is the 14th year the Harstine Island Community Club and Inquiring Minds/Humanities Washington have presented the programs, which are staged at 1:30 p.m. on the last Sunday in January, February and March at the Community Club, 3371 E. Harstine Island Road North. Donations will be accepted to support Inq...
Cadine Ferguson-Brown began her tenure as Mason County Superior Court judge in May, filling the shoes of Amber Finlay. Ferguson-Brown's road to Shelton was long, but she said she enjoyed it. "I don't have any intentions of leaving Mason County," Ferguson-Brown told the Journal. "I do appreciate the people that I work with. I love being in a small community, smaller than King County. In Jamaica, I grew up in the rural parts of Jamaica, I grew up in a small, close-knit community and that's what I'...
The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening postponed a vote on annexing 370 acres of Peacock Ridge into the city because about a dozen nearby residences hadn’t received notices from the city on the proposal. The council voted unanimously to move the vote to the meeting at 7 p.m. March 7. Jae Hill, the city’s community and economic development director, speaking in place of an ill Senior Planner Jason Dose, said about 12 residences within a 300-yard radius of the proposed annexation did not receive mailings from the city. He recommended mov...
The third and ostensibly final season of "Star Trek: Picard" premiered on Paramount+ on Feb. 16, but with only one episode released as of press time, I'm waiting for another episode or two to drop because the luxury of a streaming series is that you, the home viewer, can catch up on the episodes that already aired, anytime you want. Fortunately, when "Hello Tomorrow!" premiered on Apple TV+ on Feb. 17, it did so with three of its projected 10 half-hour episodes at once, which is a big part of...
There's a good chance you can soon see Allyn photographer Brent McCallister's work displayed on Belfair Self-Storage's art wall. McCallister and Barbara Treick, manager of the self-storage business, were put in touch with each other by a friend of McCallister's who, like many who know him, has more confidence in McCallister's photographic skills than he does. McCallister told the Shelton-Mason County Journal that his self-confidence and his photographic skills are areas he needs to work on....
It was a good day to be odd. Six of the 12 wrestlers representing Mason County high schools at Mat Classic XXXIV on Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome earned odd-number state placings, signifying they won their final match of the tournament. Shelton High School's EliBeth Cervantes and North Mason High School's Sadie Evans bounced back from singular defeats to finish with the bronze medal. The Bulldogs' Jake Mathews and Pedro Salvador finished fifth and Shelton's Logan Peach and Mario Boxley...
Shelton freshman Tawan Benedict made his first appearance at state a memorable one, placing sixth in the 100-yard butterfly at the State 2A swimming championships on Saturday at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. Benedict finished the butterfly in 55.98 seconds. Quincy's Trenten Calloway won the race in 49.25 seconds, setting a meet record. He finished 14th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.08. "I was a lot happier with the prelims. The finals weren't bad per se, but I...
At North Mason School Board’s Feb. 16 meeting, Hawkins Middle School Principal Robert Kalahan and Vice Principal Kevin Pattison introduced the robotics club and teacher Sommer Landers, who presented the robotics project that will compete at the Washington Technology Student Association State Championship in Seattle from March 22-25. The school’s robotics team includes seventh-grader Alan Strange and eighth-graders Jackson Keller, Zanual King, Gavin McKee, Elizabeth Ordway and Yadira Solis, who...