Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Editor’s note: The Journal does not identify minor victims of sexual crimes or their families. The parents of a 5-year-old kindergartner have sued North Mason School District after video footage showed the child being “sexually and physically abused” by a fifth grade student during a bus ride home, according to the complaint filed April 1 in Mason County Superior Court. The complaint states the child has developmental and speech delays and attended kindergarten in the North Mason School District. The district provided door-to-door trans...
Mason County Chief Public Defender Peter Jones told commissioners his office is about to be “hit by a train” thanks to updated Washington State Bar standards that “drastically” change attorney caseloads, which will affect how the county prosecutes and defends criminal cases. At a March 24 briefing, Jones requested commissioners immediately form a committee to study the problem and begin implementing changes to the county’s criminal justice system. “I think we need to start putting together a committee right now that figures out how to minimize...
Evergreen Elementary and Shelton High School students will soon have a safer path walking and biking to school. Crews on March 27 began construction on three Safe to School projects. The city is creating crosswalks and other improvements on Shelton Springs Road at Shelton High School and the Huff'n'Puff Trail; Seventh and Franklin streets, across the street from Evergreen Elementary School; and two blocks away near Safeway, at Ninth and Franklin streets. Construction is expected to continue...
Shelton Deputy Mayor Joe Schmit announced he is resigning from the Shelton City Council. His resignation was announced Tuesday evening at the council’s regular meeting. Schmit did not attend the meeting. Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko told the Journal the city has 90 days to pick a replacement for Schmit. Schmit did not give a reason for his resignation, Onikso said. The city is accepting applications for the position. Schmit’s term expires Dec. 31, 2025, so the seat will up for grabs in the November 2025 election. Schmit did not immediately res...
Better water pressure and storage in the Angleside area is on its way after the Shelton City Council on Tuesday accepted a $1.8 million grant from the state Department of Commerce. The council voted to give preliminary approval at its March 19 meeting. The money will be used to design and construct water infrastructure improvements in the Angleside pressure zone. According to the city report, the city last year became aware of some potential deficiencies in water pressure and storage issues...
If you met your spouse at an orgy, you’d probably tell your kids you met at a big party and leave it at that. “Lisp” is a cruel word. That word describes a condition that seems designed to invite mockery of lispers when they try to pronounce their affliction. Many Americans have no desire to be rich. It seems sacrilegious, even heretical, to live in the United States and not want to be rich. Overheard at the gym I go to, involving two high-volume men in the locker room: One was compl...
Fire support Editor, the Journal, I am a Matlock Fire District 12 resident and I am asking Mason County residents to please support the West Mason Fire District 16 levy. I have heard that there is a lot of confusion over the district boundaries and also that the recent corruption in Matlock Fire 12 has negatively impacted West Mason Fire 16’s levy. We in the Matlock district are dealing with our issues as best we can but we do not want our problems to negatively affect West Mason Fire 16. West Mason Fire 16 is professional and fiscally r...
The national anthem was playing and on my right, the silver medal had just been awarded. I bowed my head to receive my gold medal ... Well, if there had been an Olympic competition for door slamming, I would have won gold as a 15-year-old. I recall hearing my parents tell me, "Don't slam the door! How you shut the door to your home makes a difference." ■ ■ ■ I was 16 years old doing 40 mph down a gravel road. I had been with my dad before when he had made his 1966 Ford pickup fishtail down...
Kids can venture aboard The Jolly Reader, a pirate ship in the downstairs children's area of the Shelton Timberland Library, to tie ropes, work the ship's wheel or curl up with a book inside a porthole. About 200 people attended the ship's debut March 9 that included live music, face painting, rope tying, a mermaid and a pirate. Timberland Regional Library's facilities staff build the ship, which measures 26 feet long and 17 feet wide. The features include a crow's nest with a parrot, floating j...
The new Marmo Caffé & Gallery at 217 W. Cota St. in downtown Shelton offers an eclectic mix of visual arts, books, coffee, jewelry, baked goods and performances. The business drew a large crowd for a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 28 hosted by the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce. The current exhibition, "New Seasons Fantasy," is on display through May 4. The group exhibition features works by Greg Bartol and Carol Orr, Carrie Brennan, Maria Bressler, Arrington Dionyso, Lauren Kim,...
Hood Canal Lions Club The Hood Canal Lions Club is offering two $1,000 scholarships to Shelton High School seniors, with a preference for students who attended Hood Canal Schools. The scholarships can be used for enrollment at any accredited college, university, or vocational-technical school, in or out of state. The recipient must enroll in the institution during the school year following graduation and be enrolled full time. The scholarship money will be paid to the educational institution registrar upon proof of registration. Application...
A Port Orchard man has been arrested for stealing a car in Mason County and leading deputies on a high-speed chase down state Route 106. Joseph Hubbard, 22, of Port Orchard, was arrested on felony charges of eluding police and possession of a stolen vehicle March 26. A Mason County Transit employee called MACECOM on March 11 to report a man trying to break into parked cars at Northeast Log Yard Road in Belfair, according to a Mason County Sheriff incident report. While the caller was on the phone, he said the suspect had entered a gray Nissan...
A Seattle attorney suing Mason County District Court and Judge George Steele for appointing him to defend a local man charged with DUI wants the suit to proceed even though he’s been removed as the man’s counsel. Jonathan Lewis, who has a legal practice in Seattle, filed a writ of mandamus in Mason County Superior Court on Feb. 27. The writ is used when government officials have allegedly taken a legally prohibited action. Lewis says Steele improperly appointed him to defend Martin Andres Alonzo, who is being charged with DUI for the third tim...
A Mason County resident who contacted the Journal about his uncounted March 12 presidential primary ballot says its now been tabulated. Scott Gordon said the delay was because he mistakenly signed his wife’s return envelope. “I appreciate everybody looking into it,” Gordon said in a voice message. Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel’s investigation showed the ballot arrived at the elections department Feb. 21 and was counted in the results for the March 12 presidential primary. When Gordon checked the status of his ballot through the Mason C...
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Harstine Island theater play opens Friday The Harstine Island Theatre Club stages "Crossing Delancey" at 7:30 p.m. Friday and April 13, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and April 14 at the Harstine Island Community Hall, 3371 E. Harstine Island Road N. Tickets are $10 and are available at Olympic Bakery on Pickering Road, Williams Flowers in downtown Shelton and at the door starting 45 minutes before the show. To get to the hall, take a left off the Harstine Island bridge and drive about 3 miles....
Edee Loleta (Lauber) Larson was born January 8, 1929 in Portland, Oregon, and died March 15, 2024 in Shelton, Washington. She attended Washington State College (University) where she met her husband Doug Larson. They married September 4, 1948. Upon Doug's graduation from Veterinary School they moved to Olympia, then to Enumclaw before settling in Shelton in 1956, where they established Shelton Veterinary Hospital. Edee was involved in the community as a Mason County Forest Festival Board member... Full story
Bernard A. "Gus" Hoag passed away March 28, 2024. Gus was born April 9, 1942 to Bernard M. Hoag and Dorothy Dehart Hoag in McCleary, Washington. Gus graduated from Elma High School in 1960 and attended Seattle University before enlisting in the U.S. Army and serving in Vietnam specializing as a military intelligence analyst. After he left the military, he worked in several timber related industries then began a career in credit unions, first with Mason County Federal Credit Union in Shelton and... Full story
Steve Hansen passed away peacefully in his sleep at St. Michael's Hospital in Silverdale, Washington on March 8, 2024. Steve was born in Bremerton on November 22, 1943, to Les and Jeanette (Wideen) Hansen. The family moved to Shelton in 1958 when Les bought Boone's Plumbing and Heating. Steve followed his dad into the plumbing business, eventually buying it and renaming it Hansen's Plumbing and Heating. Steve graduated from Irene S. Reed High School in 1962. His first marriage to Judy Renecker g... Full story
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Gregory Allen Steensen on December 30, 2023. Greg was born November 30, 1949, in Portland, Oregon, and was raised in Shelton by his parents, William Paul Steensen Kramer and Shirley Delores Steensen Kramer (both deceased). Greg graduated from Shelton High School in 1968. Not long after, he met Cindy Wokojance and they were married in 1975, although divorced several years later. Greg's lifelong love, however, was the great outdoors and he was mo... Full story
Freda Spangler, 60, died March 25th, 2024 at home with her family by her side. She was born December 16, 1963, in Eureka, CA to Donald and Jeannette Spangler (Walton). Freda was a tough and brazen woman. Often stubborn, likely loud but always passionate - she lived her life with an exuberant spirit. Never one to back down from a fight, she was fierce and rowdy down to her bones. She will be missed deeply, as a mother, as a grandma, as a little sister, as an aunty, as a cousin, and a friend. Her... Full story
A Celebration of Jerry's life will take place on Saturday, April 13th, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Springs Road Chapel 1113 E. Shelton Springs Rd., Shelton, WA Please join us in sharing memories and celebrating his life. You also can leave condolences at Funeral Alternatives of Washington... Full story
Donald Kenneth Anderson, 85, died March 24, 2024, with family by his side at his home in Shelton, Washington. Donald was born May 31, 1938 in Seattle, Washington, to Kenneth Adolph and Dorthy Marilla Mays Anderson. He graduated from Edmonds High School 1956. Donald enlisted into the United State Marine Corps in April 1958, where he went to boot camp in San Diego, CA. While in the Marine Corps, Lance Cpl Donald K. Anderson completed a 20-day deployment to Yuma, AZ with the Marine All Weather... Full story
Larry Taylor, 85, a resident of Aberdeen, WA passed away March 23, 2024, at home. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Ronny Eugene Manwiller, 56, a resident of Olympia, passed away March 24, 2024, at Providence St. Peter’s Hospital in Olympia, WA. Arrangements are by Funeral Alternatives, Tumwater, WA. Freda Mae Spangler, 60, a resident of Elma, passed away March 25, 2024, at home. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. Gary Vig, 85, a resident of Shelton, passed away March 25, 2024, at h...
