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Longtime Mason County resident and Shelton-Mason County Journal outdoors columnist Mark Woytowich died Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 65. Woytowich wrote the Journal's popular column "On The Trail" - which became "On The Go" in January - beginning in 2015, providing colorful tales of hiking and adventure around the county and Olympic Peninsula. He wrote a book titled "Where The Waterfalls And Wild Things Are" that was published in 2019, detailing many locations throughout Mason,...
The Hood Canal School District announced Superintendent Nikki Grubbs has accepted a job as the assistant superintendent in the North Thurston School District. Grubbs was hired three years ago and she will remain in her position until the end of June. The Hood Canal School District states it hopes to have the position filled by that time. In a news release, the district announced, "The School Board is currently putting in place a search plan that will include opportunities for all key...
Mason County Superior Court Judge Amber Finlay has seen a lot in her legal career and will hang up her robe for the last time June 30. Finlay, 60, has been on the bench in superior court since starting the job in 2009. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, her family moved to Kent when she was 6 years old. "I was a truant kid," Finlay recalled to the Journal. "Because of life issues, I didn't go to school. I would go to band, I would go to debate. I was one of those types of skippers. I really...
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Matlock Old-Timers Historical Fair returned Saturday and Sunday at Mary M. Knight School....
“I hope my hand is guided right.” Those were the final words of Mark Woytowich’s “On The Go” column in last week’s Shelton-Mason County Journal. They were the final printed words of his life. On Friday, Woytowich suffered a heart attack and died at Mason General Hospital in Shelton. The loss for our community is immeasurable, most of all for his wife, Linda. When he sent in his column last week, he told me it was “a bit of a love letter to my wife, as you will see. And some of the hardest-culle...
Togo is a long, rectangular-ish country with a 31-mile-long coastline in western Africa along the Gulf of Guinea. Its economy relies on commercial and subsistence agriculture. I learned that from typing “Togo” into Google. I also learned Togo isn’t the least fortunate nation on Earth, nor is it the most. Afghanistan and Denmark are in the running for those two spots. According to our own Central Intelligence Agency, Togo’s estimated per capita gross domestic product in 2020 was $2,100, putting it at No. 213 out of 229 countries. The life ex...
League responds Editor, the Journal, For more than a century, The League of Women Voters has been an organization in which members have had the opportunity to learn, communicate and provide community leadership. The League takes pride in being nonpartisan, neither supporting nor opposing candidates. It does, however, undertake in-depth studies of the issues of the day and then ultimately takes a public position. The U.S. League of Women Voters has taken a position on climate change. Based on that study and stance, the local League initiated a...
Fjordin Crossing event Sunday in Hoodsport The Fjordin Crossin, an event that celebrates the practice of sending a barrel of Aquavit in a ship from Norway across the equator and back again, is Sunday in Hoodsport. The event begins at 11 a.m. with food vendors. At 12:30 p.m., a small parade begins at the Hardware Distillery and travels to the Hoodsport dock. Hood Canal Events sponsors a Paddle the Canal Challenge, with a cost $19. Kayaks can be rented. A shuttle bus will run from 9:30 a.m. to...
What happens when a magic hourglass causes a bickering teenage girl and her mother to switch bodies? That's the premise of "Freaky Friday: The Musical," staged by the Shelton High School Drama Club at 7 p.m. Friday and 2:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday in the school's Performing Arts Center. The doors open a half hour before the shows. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10 for adults, $5 for students. More than 50 students are involved in the production. The show combines the talents of...
Public invited to academy opening The Shelton School District is having its official opening of the Manufacturing Engineering and Technology (MET) Academy building at Shelton High School from 4 to 6 p.m. May 25. Staff will offer tours of the building and the Shelton-Mason Chamber of Commerce will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Students will demonstrate the equipment at 5:10 and 5:35 p.m. Translation services are available. The Shelton High School Band will perform. While supplies last, free books and swag are available. Refreshments will be...
Visitors to the Mason County Landfill, after learning how much it will cost to deposit their TVs and refrigerators, sometimes continue driving northwest on Eells Hill Road, and dump their load down a steep, wooded embankment on Green Diamond Resources land. On Saturday, 36 members of Shelton Dirt Riders LLC and three others pulled 7 tons of items out of the canyon, including 1,400 pounds of garbage, 3,000 pounds of metal and 28 tires, said John Eton, the owner of Shelton Dirt Riders. The bank...
Fundraiser aims to honor victims of large 1907 fire Shelton Memorial Park is planning a May 28 fundraiser to raise money to go toward a memorial wall at the cemetary in tribute to the unmarked graves for unidentified people killed in a 1907 fire in Shelton. The fundraiser will be from noon to 6 p.m. May 28 at Shelton Memorial Park and will include lunch featuring Mount Moriah's Masonic Lodge's shrimp gumbo, which is served at OysterFest. Those interested in donations can do so at the Memorial...
Commissioners approve list of county projects Mason County commissioners approved a resolution to adopt the 2022-23 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Project list as recommended by the Mason County Economic Development Council. According to the information packet, the projects are a public infrastructure priority list, assessed annually by the EDC. Projects are considered based on community need, project readiness, probability of being funded and number of jobs created. The projects must be sponsored by a government entity to...
A proposed community dog park was put before the Port of Hoodsport for consideration on April 13. Resident Bill Long, who moved to the area several years ago from University Place in Pierce County, is the founding member and president of SUN (Safe, Unleashed, Natural) Dogs of Pierce County, a nonprofit organization that developed and paid for an off-leash area at Chambers Bay starting in 2005. It operates in partnership with University Place and Pierce County. The group raised more than $40,000 to fence and develop that park, and Long said he...
Humphrey "Hump" Nelson was one of the premier oyster growers in early Mason County. His family moved from Michigan to Tacoma in 1888, when he was about 2 years old. Not long after they arrived, Hump's father went to work for the Blakely Logging Co. and moved his family to the Kamilche area, where as a young man he got his start in the oyster business. Around 1965, he wrote his autobiography, "The Little Man and the Little Oyster," published by the Mason County Historical Society in 1990. This ex...
As I'd anticipated, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" was well exceeded by "Everything Everywhere All at Once" as a free-for-all romp across multiple universes, but what I suspect surprised a lot of moviegoers over the weekend is the "Multiverse of Madness" pales even in comparison to "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which benefited from focusing more on fan service than on fan homework. While I'd still defend the "Doctor Strange" sequel as a solidly entertaining and well-made Marvel...
The Belfair Self-Storage art wall is devoting May to showcasing Allyn resident Michael Osborn's "Kustom Laser Art by Oz" lasear-cut wood artwork, complete with an artist reception featuring Osborn at 5 p.m. on May 20 at the business, 23270 NE state Route 3. Osborn's roots as an artist are in Euless, Texas, with a job at Fegan Fine Art & Restoration to restore several truckloads of antiques from homes flooded by Hurricane Katrina. Osborn discovered he enjoyed "working with my hands to restore...
The North Mason girls track and field team earned third place at the Olympic League Championships in Belfair on May 6 and 8. Addilyn Varick won the javelin for the Bulldogs with a toss of 114 feet, 10 inches and finished fifth in the shot put. Tanza Tupolo placed second in the shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 3.25 inches and fourth in the discus. Adrianne Tupolo finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 30 feet, 9.25 inches and placed third in the long jump and fourth in the high jump....
North Mason soccer The North Mason boys soccer team wrapped up its season with a 2-1 loss to North Kitsap on May 5 in Poulsbo. The Bulldogs ended the season 2-13 overall and 1-13 in league games. Softball The Bulldog softball team dropped two games last week in Olympic League softball action. North Mason fell to Sequim 8-7 on the road May 3 before hosting Olympic on May 4 and falling 3-0. The Bulldogs bounced back Monday with a 10-1 win against Kingston on the road. North Mason (10-6, 7-4) wraps up the regular season with three games this week....
Lake Limerick Ladies Golf April 11, 2022 9-Holes (Substitute Par for Worst Hole) 1st: Elen Gaschet DeL’Isle (33) 2nd: Robbi Alberts (34) Birdies: Robbi Alberts #7; Elen G. #1 Pars: Robbi Alberts #5, Elen G. #2, 4 & 8 Chip in: Elen G. #1 Low Gross/Net/Putts: Elen G. (45/36/13) April 22, 2022 9-Holes (Team 2 Low Net) 1st Place: Susan Darling, Sue Hearron, Karen Herr, Teresa Pearcy (67) Pars: Robbi Alberts #4; Susan Darling #7; Elaine Ducken #4 Chip in: Sue Hearron #9 Low Gross: Karen Herr (55) Low Net: Elaine Ducken (40) Low Putts (tie): Robbi A...
When the Port of Allyn followed up on Sweetwater Park during the port commissioners' May 2 meeting, Port Executive Director Lary Coppola said Kathleen Barrantes, the grant writer the Salmon Center hired, had come up with a plan for a series of grants from various agencies to fund the project. "Because of the delays in moving this project forward, the cost has more than doubled, which is why a professional grant writer was brought in," Coppola said. He added that the local arborist, qualified und...
The Port of Allyn reviewed several technical matters during the port commissioners’ May 2 meeting. Port Executive Director Lary Coppola said he sent a letter to Mason County commissioners to say the port was reducing its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy request for its water system project from $500,000 to $100,000. “However, there is a new set of hoops we have to jump through for the federal government, and we are just now navigating that maze,” Coppola said. “We should have the bid...
James D. Thomas passed away on Thursday, April 28, 2022, at his home on Harstine Island. He was born in Ryderwood, Washington on June 8, 1933. He grew up in Longview, Washington and graduated from R. A. Long High School in 1952 where he played football and was on the 1950 championship team. He then joined the Marine Corps and was stationed in Japan. Upon returning home, he enrolled in college where he met and married the love of his life, Carol. He graduated from the University of Washington... Full story
Laura Ann Pinter, 59, passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her husband, Frank, and daughters, Madison and Ella on March 6th, 2022. On December 26th, 2019, Laura was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. For a little over two years, she tirelessly and valiantly battled this monster of cancer. Laura was born on November 30th, 1962 to the late Charles Edwin (Ed) and Cynthia (Cindy) Marie Roberts in Taft, California. She moved to Shelton with her soon-to-be husband, Frank, and their... Full story
Robert "Bob" Stevens, 96, passed away peacefully at his home on Oakland Bay on April 24, 2022 with family by his side. Bob was born at home May 21, 1925 to Martin and Linda (Charlson) Stevens on Oakland Bay. He graduated from Irene S. Reed High School in 1943. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force. After the war ended, he returned to Shelton to work for ITT Rayonier. During this time he met his future wife Norene. They were married June 4, 1948. In 1949 they bought their home on Mt. View and... Full story