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Articles from the April 7, 2022 edition


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  • Pre-race focus

    Apr 7, 2022

  • Sewer goes to bid

    Matt Baide|Apr 7, 2022

    Mason County commissioners made a potential Belfair sewer extension possible Tuesday night by allowing the project to be advertised for bidding on the next phase. Commissioners Kevin Shutty and Sharon Trask voted in favor of the project’s next phase going out to bid while commissioner Randy Neatherlin voted against. Shutty, the commission chair, said he appreciated all the comments he received from the public about the project and that everyone is better off when people are participating in t...

  • City awards Gateway contract

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 7, 2022

    The Shelton City Council on Tuesday awarded a $2.6 million contract to a Puyallup company to construct the city's Western Gateway project on West Railroad Avenue. Miles Resources offered the lowest responsible bid of the four companies that vied for the contract at $2,552,993. The project includes new pavement, storm drain improvements, new water main and water services, a new bus pullout and bus shelter, and new curb, gutter and sidewalks. City of Shelton crews last week began pulling up...

  • Fatal crash on U.S. 101

    Matt Baide|Apr 7, 2022

    A Shelton woman died in a single-car crash on U.S. Highway 101 early Tuesday morning just south of the Jefferson County border. According to a news release from Washington State Patrol, Cindy M. Edwards, 53, was driving north on U.S. 101 and lost control. The car crossed the center line and left the road, striking an embankment and rolled, coming to rest upside down. Edwards was pronounced dead at the scene. The report states drugs or alcohol might have been involved in the crash. WSP...

  • Shelton moves on graffiti, sign ordinances

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 7, 2022

    The Shelton City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to new ordinances on graffiti and signs. The council can make the changes official at its April 19 meeting. If passed, the ordinances would go into effect on April 24. The council discussed both proposed ordinances March 8 at a study session. In both cases, the city states it is seeking to make the rules more concise. Under the proposed vandalism ordinances, the owner of the vandalized property would be responsible for the cleanup, but the city would provide either the paint or the...

  • City Briefs

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 7, 2022

    City plans program to collect plastic film The City of Shelton, in partnership with Mason County and SC Johnson, is launching a six-month pilot program to offer curbside collection of plastic film to residents. SC Johnson is a manufacturer of household consumer brands. The company has already partnered with the towns of Point Roberts and Friday Harbor on curbside plastic film recycling programs. With the program, residents can recycle clean and dry plastic bags, plastic storage bags such as Ziploc brand bags, dry cleaning bags, and other...

  • Finding a place in this world to be happy

    Kirk Ericson|Apr 7, 2022

    I got an email a couple of weeks ago from a Journal reader inviting me to join some people who play pingpong Wednesday nights at Little Skookum Hall Community Club. This is one of the fringe benefits of being a newspaper columnist. I went, and for one of the few times during this plague, I recognized that the activity I was engaged in, which required being indoors sharing air with maskless and hard-breathing people, was worth increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19. We’ve all had to make d...

  • Letters to the Editor

    Apr 7, 2022

    Climate progress Editor, the Journal, We celebrate Earth Day as a reminder that we must protect this planet not just for us now but for future generations. Fifty-two years ago on April 22, we recognized the importance of caring for the environment and accepting stewardship of this magnificent planet. But what does a young person of 14 who is a climate activist think about how far we've come in protecting her home? How do we respond to the heightened awareness that time is running out? The...

  • Between two ferns

    Alex Fethiere|Apr 7, 2022

    Over a recent lunch of shrimp curry, kicharee and pasta with nettle pesto, our friend asked whether we had eaten fiddleheads before. I said sure, in the northeast, but not in Washington. Unsurprisingly, these are two different ferns. In the interest of nipping confusion in the bud, I once again must resort to scientific names: the fern I knew from Massachusetts is the ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, and the fern to which our friend was referring is the bracken fern, Pteridium...

  • Humane Society offers mobile sterilizations

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 7, 2022

    Twenty-nine groggy cats lay in cages and carriers Monday afternoon inside the Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown Shelton. The cats were awaiting the return of their owners after being either spayed or neutered by members of the Humane Society of Mason County’s new Mobile Animal Sterilization Hospital (MASH). The services are offered to low-income residents, with spaying and neutering cats $50 and dogs $100, vaccines and flea treatments for $10, and microchipping $20. On Wednesday, the team spaye...

  • Nonprofit Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Apr 7, 2022

    Pioneer Kiwanis Club clam/crab dinner returns The Pioneer Kiwanis Club hosts a crab and clam dinner, with a live and silent auction, May 21 at Pioneer Elementary School. Proceeds from the event go to scholarships for Pioneer School District students and for programs that benefit Mason County children. Tickets are $40 for adults, and $20 for children ages 2 to 12; kids under 2 are admitted free. The meal also includes spaghetti and coleslaw. Tickets are available from any Pioneer Kiwanis member. For questions or to donate an auction item, call L...

  • Bonnie Jean Anderson

    Apr 7, 2022

    Bonnie Jean Anderson, born July 30, 1955, at Madigan General Hospital in Fort Lewis, WA, to Claudie and William Boelk. An honorary mention to Monroe and Libby Michaeils, who raised Bonnie in Shelton, WA. Bonnie passed away on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at St. Peters Hospital in Olympia. She was 66. She is preceded in death by her husband Steve Brian Anderson, Sr., and survived by their son, Steve B. Anderson, Jr. (Lynette) of Shelton, grandson, Steven B. Anderson, III, of Shelton. Sisters; Carri... Full story

  • Donald H. Blanchard

    Apr 7, 2022

    Donald H. Blanchard, age 89, died peacefully at home on March 29th, 2022, with family by his side. He was born April 6, 1932, and was raised in Edmonds, WA. At the age of fourteen, he spent the summer with his uncle in Oregon and took a job where he led a fire fighter team in the Douglas County Fire, then became a logging truck driver. He had an aptitude for math and electricity and joined the USAF during the Korean War as a flight technician. After the war, he worked for McDonnel Douglas... Full story

  • Death Notices

    Apr 7, 2022

    Jeannine Stocking, 65, a resident of Shelton, passed away March 30, 2022, at Allenmore Medical Center in Tacoma. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Bryce Smith, 73, a resident of Shelton, passed away March 30, 2022, at home. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Jeffrey Osborn, 51, a resident of Hoquiam, passed away at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Carole Weyerts, 84, a resident of Montesano, passed away... Full story

  • County Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 7, 2022

    Special election set for April 26 A special election for Mason County Fire Protection District No. 18 and Southside School District is set for April 26. According to a news release, the emergency medical services property tax levy for Fire Protection District No. 18 and a replacement educational programs and operations levy for Southside School District will be on the ballot. Ballots and voters’ pamphlets will be mailed out this week. Voter registration and applications must be received by April 18 to be effective for the special election. A...

  • Commission Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 7, 2022

    Sheriff’s Office contract with Monarch Children’s Advocacy Center approved Mason County commissioners approved a contract extension between the Sheriff’s Office Detectives Division with Monarch Children’s Advocacy Center. According to the information packet, the advocacy center conducts forensic interviews when the Mason County Sheriff’s Office is investigating abuse. The contract for services expired in August 2021 and the Sheriff’s Office wants to continue services currently conducted and extend the contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The S...

  • School Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Apr 7, 2022

    Scholarships available to Pioneer students The Pioneer Kiwanis Club is offering scholarships to high school graduates and GED earners who live in, or have lived in, the Pioneer School District, and are continuing their education at college or a trade school. Applications are available at the office of school counselors. For more information, call Pamela Harrell at 360-426-2344. Scholarships available to Harstine residents The Harstine Island Women's Club and the Judy and Charles Chase Memorial...

  • 'Moon Knight' shines brightly, 'The Bubble' deflates

    Kirk Boxleitner|Apr 7, 2022

    I did not attend the premiere of Marvel/Sony's "Morbius," because however long or convoluted my reviews are, I actually don't believe in wasting your time or mine. Check out the other reviews online, and you'll see you're not missing much. "Morbius" is no "Venom." 'MOON KNIGHT' Instead, I took in a mixed bag of streaming selections, starting with the surreal first episode of "Moon Knight" on Disney+. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe owes its existence to the Wesley Snipes "Blade" films,...

  • Flying high

    Apr 7, 2022

  • When trees fall in the forest, plenty land upon the roads

    Mark Woytowich|Apr 7, 2022

    Here comes the seasonal thaw: when winter unlocks and pours into spring. For some of us house dwellers, spring is reduced to words in poems you once read as a kid; "Flower, bloom, warmth, sun," all those English sonnets on heather and yore, sweet Canterbury flavored words. Sadly, these same house dwellers satisfy themselves when Channel 5 shows them two minutes of tulips. Rarely will they go outside to see what spring really is. Too bad for them. For spring will slap your face like a flying...

  • Shelton girls swing into spring golf

    Apr 7, 2022

  • Prep Roundup

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 7, 2022

    Shelton Baseball The Highclimber boys split a pair of games against Tumwater last week in EvCo action. Shelton defeated Tumwater 5-1 on March 29 at home. The Highclimbers traveled to Tumwater March 30 and fell 4-0. Shelton (5-3, 1-3) faced Olympic on Tuesday in a nonleague game. The Highclimbers hit the road to take on Rochester today before returning home Friday to play the Warriors again. Track The Shelton girls had several winners in an Evergreen Conference track meet with Tumwater, Rochester and Centralia on March 29 in Shelton. Shelton’s K...

  • Meet the new Forest Festival court

    Apr 7, 2022

    Journal reporter Gordon Weeks sent questions to each of the five members of the royalty court for the 78th Mason County Forest Festival. Shawna Lacy Princess of Cedar Age 17, Shelton High School senior Why did you apply to be on the court? I applied to be on court because it had been my dream for as long as I can remember. Being able to strike inspiration into the hearts of other girls young and old alike is always something I've wanted to do and this is an amazing avenue to do that. What do...

  • Kicking it

    Apr 7, 2022

  • Climbers doing work

    Apr 7, 2022