Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886

Articles from the September 23, 2021 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 61

  • Good morning, Shelton

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 23, 2021

  • Daniel Gregory

    Sep 23, 2021

    Daniel Curtis Gregory passed away at his home on September 11, 2021, with his loving wife at his side. Daniel was born on March 6, 1963, in Everett, WA, and his parents were Patricia (Weeks) Gregory and Sidney P. Gregory. He is survived by the "love of his life" Lisa Gregory of Shelton, WA, his father, Sid Gregory of El Paso, TX, as well as his children Curtis Gregory of St Joseph, MO, Brianne Heslop, of Moses Lake, WA, Shawna Sloane, of Moses Lake, Brenon Miller of Shelton, WA, his sister's... Full story

  • Russell Dean Harper

    Sep 23, 2021

    Russell Dean Harper, born on April 12, 1961 in Olympia, WA, passed away at a Tribal clam dig in Kamilche, WA, on September 9, 2021, at the young age of 61, in the arms of his beloved community, the Squaxin Island Tribe. Russell was a Business Administrator, a traveler, a student of cultures, an activist for the members of the Tribe, a great cook, an unparalleled communicator and a wonderful husband and family member. He is survived by his beloved husband, Brad Henry, his siblings: Rick Harper,... Full story

  • Betty Jean Sample

    Sep 23, 2021

    Betty Jean Sample, born on October 19th, 1928, in Seattle, WA, to Chester and Alta Dawley, passed away on Saturday, September 18, 2021. She was preceded in death by her two brothers, a sister, and her husband of 68 years Leo D. Sample. Betty is survived by her three daughters Linda L. Schonewald, Donna M. Crump, Debra L. Bailey and seven grand children, twelve great-grand children, and one great, great-grand child and many nieces and nephews. She was a very much loved, mother, grandmother and... Full story

  • Stabbing puts student in hospital

    Matt Baide|Sep 23, 2021

    An altercation between two students at Shelton High School on Monday afternoon resulted in one student being hospitalized with stab wounds, according to Shelton Police. A news release from Shelton Police said the department is conducting a criminal investigation into the incident. The victim is in stable condition at the hospital while the other student was arrested and booked into Mason County Juvenile Detention Center. The case is in preliminary stages and the department is working with...

  • Sports betting coming soon

    Matt Baide|Sep 23, 2021

    You will soon be able to place a wager on professional and NCAA sports at Little Creek Casino. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a sports betting bill into law in March 2020 that permits sports wagering at Class III tribal casinos in the state. The Washington State Gambling Commission approved the sports wagering licensing rules July 28. "The goal was to get sports wagering in place for the tribal casinos in time for kickoff for the 2021 NFL season and that goal was accomplished," Washington State...

  • Plotting a garden in Callanan Park

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 23, 2021

    A triangle of land in the City of Shelton's Callanan Park could bloom into a community garden that produces food for local people in need. The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening gave preliminary agreement to allow Hands on Personal Empowerment (HOPE) Garden and the Mason Conservation District to establish a community garden of about 10,000 square feet in the park's southeast corner at the junction of West E Street and Van Buren Street, across the street from Shelton Memorial Park. The counc...

  • City seeks comments on dump cleanup plan

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 23, 2021

    The public has one month to comment on a proposed cleanup plan for the city's toxic former C Street dump after the Shelton City Council on Tuesday approved a new agreed order with the state Department of Ecology. The proposed plan, created by the city and Aspect Consulting, calls for laying down liner on the site, covering it with a low permeable cap of clay-like soil, installing fencing and signage and creating a monitoring plan. The council gave preliminary approval for the plan at its Sept....

  • Kilmer visits county, hears business concerns

    Matt Baide|Sep 23, 2021

    U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, paid a visit to Mason County last Thursday to check-in on his constituents. Kilmer, who represents Washington's sixth congressional district that includes Mason County, started the day by touring Big Creek Campground at Lake Cushman. According to a news release, he visited the area to talk to state and regional leaders. He hit the road to Hoodsport to visit Hardware Distillery and Hoodsport Winery. While at the distillery, he spoke with owners Jan and Chuck...

  • Thursday afternoon football

    Kirk Ericson|Sep 23, 2021

    Someone on Mary M. Knight's six-man football team must have missed a block because his teammate yelled at him after the play was whistled dead. "Jiminy Christmas!" the teammate hollered. "Are you scared of him?" I laughed. "Jiminy Christmas!" That's a weird oath for a teen to use in the year 2021. What else lives in that boy's vocabulary? "Ye gods?" "By crikey?" That comment carried easily across to the sidelines and across Mary M. Knight's football field, a field bordered on three sides by fore...

  • Letters to the Editor

    Sep 23, 2021

    A great letter Editor, the Journal, Just read the Shelton-Mason County Journal and loved the letter about baby boomer grandparents. She wrote a wonderful letter and covered everything I believe in also. Having the same problems with younger people never saying thank you. So now I stopped sending cards with money in them. Great letter. Diane Allen Belfair Longer letters Editor, the Journal I disagree with shorter letters. Writers need words to discuss issues and define support or resistance of policy. Discussing issues takes more words than...

  • A look at the life and times of Agate School

    Jan Parker|Sep 23, 2021

    In June 1912, parents of children attending Chapman's Cove, Miller, and Cape Horn Schools (all located in an area between Hammersley Inlet and Oakland Bay) met at the local grange hall and voted unanimously to consolidate the three districts. Two weeks later, County School Superintendent Ada Myers filed a certificate of formation for consolidated school district number 300, and in October, Mr. C. H. Nelson began building a new four-room schoolhouse at Hoballa. The school building was completed...

  • Helping homeless stay warm

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 23, 2021

    Nighttime temperatures are dropping into the 40's, leaving homeless people and others in need in the cold. Two Shelton-based nonprofit groups are trying to help. The Mason County Warming Center, operated by Crazy Love Ministries, is accepting the donation of new and gently sleeping bags, with the hope of collecting at least 80 to be distributed in mid-October. Donations of sleeping bags can be dropped off at the center at 110 S. First St. in downtown Shelton between 9 a.m. and noon Tuesdays, Wed...

  • Hoodsport retains commissioner

    Kirk Boxleitner|Sep 23, 2021

    Port of Hoodsport voters might notice some peculiarities on their ballot for commissioner elections this fall. Port Operations Manager Kathleen Wyatt explained during the commissioners’ Sept. 15 meeting that no one filed for Commissioner Karen Booth’s position during the open filing period in May, nor had anyone filed for Commissioner Port Commissioner Lori Kincannon’s position, which Wyatt had not realized at the time was open. “We haven’t had this situation before in the 11 years I’ve been...

  • Sucker born every minute

    Alex Fethiere|Sep 23, 2021

    An obsession with air drainage led me to inadvertently create soil drainage. A hillside was covered with evergreen huckleberry, and the shrubs had been struggling beneath a bigleaf maple canopy for years. Fallen huckleberry leaves had piled up beneath dead undergrowth and grown moldy. I wanted to take advantage of the hillside's excellent drainage and thought little about sun exposure. Reasoning that moldy mats were an unhealthy circumstance for any kind of fruit tree I might plant, I thinned...

  • Recreational fire ban lifted

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    Mason County Community Development director in partnership with the Mason County Fire-Chief’s Association, lifted the burn ban on recreational fires Tuesday. According to a news release, Director of Community Development Dave Windom said recent rainfall allows a relaxation on recreational fires. The restriction allows recreational fires in conforming fire pits. Charcoal briquettes, gas and propane barbeques will be allowed under the restrictions. Lands protected by the state Department of Natural Resources have different restrictions, a...

  • Missing backpacker found

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    A weeklong search for backpacker Jerren Fisher came to an end Sunday when National Park Service search and rescue teams found him. According to a news release, the park requested assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard to locate Fisher and a helicopter from Port Angeles spotted him at 7:16 p.m. on a hillside in the Seven Stream drainage. A Coast Guard helicopter from Astoria, Oregon, transported Fisher to Olympia Regional Airport to be taken to the hospital for medical care. The search and rescue operation began Sept. 16 when Fisher was reported...

  • WDFW asks for public input

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public comments on a draft management plan for South Puget Sound Wildlife Area. The plan includes 5,790 acres spread across Mason, Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston counties. The plan will guide management and budgeting decisions for the area, which is a habitat for wildlife and has recreational options for people, according to Lauri Vigue, environmental planner for WDFW. The plan is in a 30-day State Environmental Policy Act public comment period. The plan is at https://wd...

  • Volunteers needed for fair

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    The Bite of Reality is looking for volunteers for an event Nov. 2 and 3 at Shelton High School. The Financial Reality Fair is sponsored by Peninsula Credit Union with assistance from Our Community Credit Union, the Economic Development Council of Mason County and the Shelton-Mason Chamber of Commerce. According to a news release, the fair provides students with education on how to live within a budget. Students will use a mobile app and be assigned a career and salary and will be asked to budget their money wisely by making real-life...

  • Shelton driver injured

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    A 50-year-old Shelton woman driver was injured in a two-car accident on state Route 109 in Grays Harbor County Sept. 15. According to a news release, the Shelton driver rear-ended another vehicle after failing to notice the car in front of it slowing down for turning traffic. The woman was transported to Harbor Regional Hospital in Aberdeen....

  • Mason PUD 3 honored

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    Mason PUD 3 was awarded the Paul J Raver community service award from the Northwest Public Power Association at its annual meeting in Kennewick. According to a news release, the award was in recognition of its community service efforts in response to the pandemic. The PUD was honored for providing free high-speed Wi-Fi hotspots at the beginning of the pandemic to allow students access to classwork and assignments. The project involved PUD 3 teaming up with fire districts, port districts, community halls and others to setup wireless hotspots at...

  • Bat-killing fungus detected

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    An invasive fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats continues to spread in Washington and has been detected in Mason County. According to a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife news release, the fungus is often fatal in hibernating bats. During spring and summer field work this year, scientists detected the fungus or disease in Chelan, Yakima and Mason counties. Three recent confirmed cases of white-nose syndrome and the causative fungus in new areas of the state is concerning, according to WDFW white-nose syndrome coordinator...

  • Port of Shelton, PUD 1 awarded state grants

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    The Port of Shelton has received a $50,000 grant and Mason PUD 1 was awarded a $797,040 grant from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board. According to a news release, the money is a planning grant that will be used to help define needs and development potential for current and future tenants at Sanderson Field. “We are extremely excited and thankful to the CERB Board for providing this funding opportunity,” Port of Shelton Executive Director Wendy Smith said in a news release. “Our hope is to spur the future econo...

  • National forests launch free use firewood program

    Staff report|Sep 23, 2021

    The national forests of Washington in Region 6 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service are transitioning their firewood program to become a free-use program to the public. According to a news release, those who receive free-use firewood permits can use firewood for cutting, manufacturing, handling or other processing, but not for resale. Charge permits are available for individuals who want to resell firewood. Minimum rates for firewood charge permits is $5 per cord. Free firewood permits are only valid during the current firewood...

  • Hunting killdeer

    Sep 23, 2021

Page Down