Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Some downtown Shelton business owners say street people are urinating and defecating outside their shops, leaving trash, stealing and sleeping in their doorways. Businesses in a two-block radius of Post Office Park are seeing the most negative aspects. But most of the business owners say it's only a few individuals causing the trouble, with an average of three to five homeless people causing them problems during a month. Those are some of the takeaways from a survey Mason County Public Health...
Mason County Commissioner Sharon Trask faces two challengers in the Aug. 2 primary election: Miguel Gutierrez, a first-term member of the Shelton City Council, and Mark Carlson. The two top vote-getters will face off in the general election Nov. 8. Trask and Carlson are Republicans, and Gutierrez is a Democrat. Mason County auditor and assessor, and seats representing the 35th Legislative District, are also up for grabs in the primary. Friday was the deadline for candidates to apply for election at the Mason County Auditor’s Office. I...
Pandemic restrictions might be mostly gone, but COVID-19 is still prominent throughout Mason County. Director of Community Services Dave Windom updated the Board of Health during Tuesday’s meeting. Mason County Division of Emergency Management reported a seven-day case rate per 100,000 people of 161.5 as of May 22, and a 14-day case rate of 292.5. The county reported 38 cases from May 20 to 22. Windom said that is an undercount because it only accounts for PCR tests, not the at-home tests t...
Grapeview School District Superintendent Kurt Hilyard is retiring, with his last day at the post June 30. The district's board of directors on Tuesday hired Jerry Grubbs as his replacement. Grubbs is the part-time superintendent of the Starbuck School District in Eastern Washington, and he will perform both jobs. Grubbs is the husband of Nikki Grubbs, who is leaving as superintendent of the Hood Canal School District to be assistant superintendent of the North Thurston School District. In an...
"Summer, summer, summer, It's like a merry-go-round - Magic." -The Cars Summer is the season we residents west of the Cascades have earned. Winter is the slog. Summer is the song. The sun shines and we are better. In summer, we take the crooked path to where we're going. It's the season of youth, the season that makes us forget we'll die someday. Summer begs us to leave the house and pretend we can sing and dance well. Work might wait, but the sun can't, not on this side of the mountains....
Editor’s Note: The following letter was co-authored by three Cedar High School students. To protect student privacy, only their first name is being used for publication. Immigrants deserve health care Editor, the Journal, We believe undocumented immigrants should qualify for insurance and health care because they make up 17% of our labor force and within three households they make a combined $36,000 a year (Pew Research Center). Medical care costs an average of $12,530 yearly per person (CMS.gov). This doesn’t even cover an emergency. In Was...
Church’s rummage sale Saturday on Lake Cushman road St. Germain Church hosts its annual rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 600 Lake Cushman Road in Hoodsport. Make appointment to give blood today, Friday in Shelton People can donate blood today and Friday, and June 2 and 3 at the Church of Nazarene, 12331 E. Shelton Springs Road. To make an appointment, go to Schedule.BloodworksNW.org or call 1-800-398-7888. Love INC offers free life skills workshops The Shelton-based nonprofit Love In the Name of Christ (INC) and its 25 partner c...
Mary M. Knight offers free meals to summer attendees The Mary M. Knight School District offers free meals to people 18 or younger enrolled at its summer school or Owl Camp 2022. For more information, call 360-426-6767, ext. 101. New Hampshire college honors three Shelton students Devin Allan of Shelton earned a spot on the President’s List for the winter quarter at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. To be eligible, a full-time undergraduate student must earn a GPA of 3.7 or better while taking at least 12 credit hours. Misty O...
Central Mason Fire & EMS graduates five members Central Mason Fire & EMS celebrated the graduation of five members from its annual Firefighter Recruit Academy. According to a news release, the training burn May 14 marked a successful end to its recruit training. Each member participated in more than 300 hours of training in six months. All graduating members are now certified by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress as Firefighter I. Training also included HazMat Awareness and...
In 1872, 9-year-old Ida Robbins traveled by ship with her parents from Maine to California to reunite with family members. Her father was ship Captain George Robbins, who hauled cargo up and down the West Coast. Robbins became particularly impressed with Hood Canal, and around 1878 he gave up the seafaring life and moved his family to the west side of the canal, where they became the first white settlers in the area. About that same time, Vincent Finch came from New York to the Washington...
Career incentive pay policy approved Mason County commissioners approved the adoption of a new pay and benefit policy and added it into the Mason County Personnel Policy. According to the information packet, the budget will be affected for Public Works with a $35,000 increase prorated for the remainder of 2022, $40,000 per year for eligible positions that could achieve the incentive and the auditor and financial services $10,000 increase prorated for the remainder of 2022. The reason for the pay policy is to recognize and encourage staff to...
Mason County Fire District 12 decided to keep on fire chief Kelli Walsworth pro tem in order to help the district transition to a new fire chief. At the May 17 fire commissioners meeting, commissioner Albert Wilder said after talking as a board and with the attorney, they decided to retain Walsworth as the pro tem chief “to help the community and help the district in finding a new fire chief and doing a proper pass down to a new fire chief.” “It is a nonsalaried position she will be assum...
After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, the Shelton nonprofit Sound Learning will stage its popular fundraiser Spell-E-Bration June 17 at the Shelton Civic Center. About 10 teams of three spellers, some in colorful outfits, will showcase their skills during the spelling bee. Each team is sponsored by a business or group. The event features a silent and live auction, loads of desserts and other food, some light-hearted banter between the teams and the judges - sometimes "bribes" are...
So, after reprioritizing my entertainment expenses, I'm subscribed to Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+ and Peacock. Remember when streaming was supposed to be simpler than cable? I'd been tempted by Apple TV+ before, as it premiered "Ted Lasso" in 2020, followed by series adaptations of "The Mosquito Coast" and "Foundation" in 2021, but it took the hauntingly gothic atmosphere promised by trailers for "The Essex Serpent" to fully sell me on my seventh streaming subscription...
The summer and fall series of art and music fairs at the Rest-A-While RV Park in Hoodsport kicks off from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It will include a memorial to recently deceased Journal columnist and writer Mark Woytowich at 2 p.m. “Mark was such a treasure in our community, and is very missed,” said Rest-A-While Operational Manager Elizabeth Bennett, who recalled Woytowich as being warmly received by his fellow vendors and attendees at her seasonal fairs, where he sold his book “Where Waterfalls and Wild Things Are.” “Being the Shelton-M...
Shelton's Alauna Carstens continued her record-breaking senior season, winning the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter race at the District 4 2A track and field meet Friday at Highclimber Stadium in Shelton. Carstens won the 1,600-meter race in 5:08.57 and the 3,200-meter race in 11:13.35. Ali Clifton was the other Shelton girls athlete to qualify for state, finishing fourth in the 3,200-meter race with a time of 12:08.95. On the boys side, Kaden Pearson qualified for the 100- and 200-meter races....
Shelton baseball falls to Ellensburg to end season The Highclimbers had a lead against Ellensburg on May 21, but were unable to hang on as Ellensburg won 6-5 to end Shelton’s season in the State 2A baseball tournament at Davis High School in Yakima. The Highclimbers were down 2-0 until the fifth inning, rallying with five runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-2 lead. Ellensburg tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Ellensburg walked off with the win with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Shelton baseball finished the s...
The North Mason High School softball team earned the No. 10 seed in the District 2/3 2A Bi-District tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey. The Bulldogs defeated Tyee 15-0 in three innings to open the tournament and then cruised past White River 15-2 in five innings. North Mason's season ended in heartbreaking fashion Saturday with a 3-2 loss to Olympic League rival North Kitsap, which went on to finish fifth in the tournament and advance to the 2A state...
Hawkins Middle School eighth-graders Bradley Williams, Dylan Prideaux, Sophia Mairs, Owen Oblizalo and Yariel Barajas presented their "Project Citizen" to the North Mason School Board on May 19. Williams described Project Citizen as teaching students to work with government to create public policies to help solve community problems. "Our class voted from a long list of problems," Williams said. "The majority picked school shootings, so we came up with policies to prepare for and prevent these...
I think Mary’s favorite adjective this week is “lovely.” Everything was lovely this week. Weather sounds a lot like what we are having too. Are you having a lovely week? Friday, May 21, 1948 This was a clear windy day and not a bit warm like yesterday, so it was not so nice for the school picnic. Today Sam hung the old eight-day clock we always had in the store. Seems strange to hear it again. Then he mowed the entire lawn and oh it looks so nice. I finished weeding the strawberry patch and it w...
Donna L. Fugere was born in Seattle on June 7th, 1938, and went to be with Lord on May 21st, 2022. Donna's life was colored with beauty and lived with love. She is survived by her devoted husband Curtis Fugere, her daughter Kellie Heisler, her son Brett Olson, and her precious grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters Judy, Brenda, and Lana. When Donna married Curt, she acquired seven sisters-in-law and three brothers-in-law. Her smile was always genuine; her words were sweet and kind.... Full story
Bruce T. McLain, 67, lost his short battle with Cancer on March 16th, 2022, at St Peter's Hospital. Bruce was born in Ketchikan Alaska on June 18th, 1954 to Cecil and Betty McLain. Bruce attended Shelton schools from the 6th grade through his senior year. Bruce lived most of his adult life in around the Puget Sound area. Bruce was a talented sheet metal worker and member of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 66 before his retirement. Bruce also worked with copper, stained glass and later in life he... Full story
DeeDee (Bailey) Horton passed away peacefully at home on May 18, 2022, in Olympia, WA at the age of 52, after battling with an aggressive brain cancer. She was born and raised in Olympia, where she was a standout athlete at Olympia High School. She went on to play volleyball at the University of Idaho before returning to Olympia to join David in forming a lifelong union based on mutual support, respect, and deep love throughout their 32 years together. DeeDee completed a degree in education at... Full story
James Philip Sifferman, 70, went home to God on May 11, 2022, in Gaffney, SC, after several years of declining health. Born June 20, 1951, he was the son of Earl and Betty Sifferman of West Seattle, WA. He attended Seattle Prep where he graduated Valedictorian of the Class of 1969. He attended Seattle University before entering the University of Washington (Seattle) where, in 1975, he received a Bachelor of Music (BM) in Piano Performance (Phi Beta Kappa). He earned a Master of Music (MM -... Full story
The Rev. Steven Gerald Brill was born on January 15, 1957, in Murray, UT, and died on May 5, 2022, at the age of 65 at his home in rural Montesano, WA. Steve was an avid fly fisherman, ceramic potter, and chef. Steeped in the magic and wonder of nature, Steve enjoyed the creek, woods, and wildlife. He had an easy smile, a deeply thoughtful mind, a fascination with geography, and was a natural at Trivial Pursuit. Steve started a career in business after he earned his bachelor's degree. In 1991,... Full story
