Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Beverly Leah Weston, 87, passed away on November 9, 2022 at Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon, WA. She was born on February 20, 1935 in South Bend, WA, the daughter of Leland and Bernice Hunt. A long time resident of Grapeview, Washington, Beverly is known for her many hours of volunteer service to the North Mason Food Bank and Belfair Faith in Action. She is also a beloved lifetime member of the Belfair TOPS Chapter. In her younger years she was an avid Volksmarch participant all over the...
Debra "Deb" Gayle Hart passed away suddenly on November 30, 2022 at her home in Fawn Lake. Deb had lived in the Shelton area for nearly 25 years and was well known in the local art community. She participated in many craft and art events as well as being a long-time member of the Peninsula Art Association. She had also been involved in the Shelton business community and was associated with her long-time friend, Shelly Barnett's "Off-The-Walls" gallery. Professionally, she was a career licensed o...
Dorothy Powter 88, passed away Nov. l4, 2022 at Kindred Hospital in Seattle. She was born in Chehalis in 1934 and grew up in Bremerton. Her parents were Edith and Theodore Luebke, and her brother Theodore (Teddy) Luebke. She shared 3 children with Ron Patnoe, since passed. She was a homemaker when the children were young, and then entered the workforce in retail sales (interior design, jewelry, tennis facility) in Seattle. She moved from the families' home on 42nd Ave. NE. in Lake City to...
On Sunday, November 20, 2022, Martin Ernest Best, loving husband, father, and Grandfather passed away at the age of sixty-seven. He was born on November 23, 1954 to Lorn and Betty Best. Martin loved education; he received his Bachelor of Science degree from University of Maryland while in the Air Force. He served in the Air Force for thirteen years. Upon his departure from the service, he brought his family to Shelton, Washington in 1988. Martin then went on to earn his Master's in Public...
Morley "Prepp" Preppernau Jr. passed away peacefully at home in the presence of his beloved wife, Jane, on November 30, 2022 after a long standing illness. Prepp was born on January 11, 1943 to Morley and Audrey Preppernau, in Tacoma, WA. He graduated from Shelton High School in 1961 and later attended Olympic Junior College and Saint Martin's College. Prepp served in the United States Army, serving in Darmstadt Germany. Prepp was an active member of the Mason County community, spending much of...
Gloria J. Ragsdale, 81, a resident of Shelton, passed away December 6, 2022 at home. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. James S. Hedges, 78, a resident of Shelton, passed away December 4, 2022, at home. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. Kenneth Yanez, 64, a resident of Shelton, passed away December, 2, 2022, at home. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Charles D. Keith, Jr., 60, a resident of Aberdeen, WA passed away December 6, 2022, at Grays Harbor Regional Hospital...
Mason County commissioners adopted the 2023 budget at $177,976,694 following a public hearing Dec. 5. According to the information packet, the general fund is $68,492,402, and the other funds total $109,484,292. The beginning balance for the general fund is $26 million and revenues are $42,492,402. Salaries and benefits total $31,916,861, operating expenditures are $15,256,512 and the ending fund balance is $21,319,029. The county has budgeted for 281.55 full-time employees. The total for other...
After about five years of discussions and planning, the Shelton Veterans Village is taking shape on North 13th Street near Olympic College Shelton, with a planned opening for 30 homeless veterans next summer. A crew from Forma Construction this week is erecting the framework for the village's community building on 3 acres leased from the City of Shelton. The village will feature seven four-plexes and one duplex. The nonprofit organization Quixote Communities also has tiny home villages in Olympi...
The Shelton School District developed a five-year strategic plan relying on comments from more than 1,000 people, and students are benefitting from earlier recruiting and hiring of quality teachers. At the same time, student test scores in math and language arts are low compared with students statewide. Those are some of the takeaways from Superintendent Wyatt Jessee's state-of-the-district presentation Tuesday evening at the Shelton School Board meeting in the Mountain View Elementary School...
The Shelton School District next month will accept applications to replace Marty Best, who represent District 2 on the Shelton School Board. Best, the board’s vice chairman, died Nov. 20. He was 67. Best was appointed to the five-member board in September 2021 to replace Lynn Eaton, who resigned that June after moving out of the director district. Best won a new term in the November 2021 general election, garnering 93.55% of the vote as the only candidate on the ballot. The district will accept applications during January. The candidates m...
Have you ever thought about which senses are necessary to do your job? Sound? Sight? Smell? Touch? Taste? Those are the Big Five, the big receptors. They are our connections to the material world. Newspaper journalists rely on sight, mostly. We have to read what’s happening and we have to see what’s happening. If you can’t see, our jobs would be difficult, kind of like making bread without yeast. Our stories would turn out flat. You’ll occasionally read a story in which a reporter shares...
On economics Editor, the Journal, I have been reading letters commenting on the state of the economy over the last couple of months. It has gotten to the point that one must respond. The letters go on about how we need pipelines to solve our economic woes. They also criticize those who disagree with their right-wing talking points. They have everything except economic analysis. First, let’s get rid of the parroting of Reagan, or worse, Ayn Rand. Citing them for conclusory opinions is not analysis. It just being a parrot. Let us look at a s...
It has been an amazing year here in the City of Shelton. Looking back on this year and the accomplishments of the city, I want to highlight a few items that will have a direct impact on the quality of life for the community members and businesses that we do our best to support. Everything we work on at the city, ideally, ties back into at least one of your City Council’s strategic goals. The City Council met in March of this year to review and update these goals through 2025, and you can find t...
Respiratory illnesses are surging in Mason County, according to the last Mason County Board of Health meeting of the year Nov. 29. According to Public Health Officer Dr. Keri Gardner, the county is seeing high rates of influenza A, RSV and COVID-19. “Unfortunately, this is coming at a time when for reasons that we don’t really understand, hospital occupancy rates are quite high,” Gardner said during the meeting. “So we’re asking people to continue to practice all of the things we’ve been doing...
Ziply Fiber acquires iFIBER Communications Ziply Fiber has agreed to acquire iFIBER Communications, a provider of high-speed fiber internet services, in partnership with local public utility districts in the state. According to a news release, iFIBER offers fiber internet and phones for residential customers in Mason County. “From our start, Ziply Fiber has been dedicated to elevating the connected lives of our neighbors in the Northwest,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber. “We continue to look for new ways to bring high-speed fiber connect...
Community Lifeline cold weather shelter approved Mason County commissioners approved a Community Lifeline request for funding a 24/7 cold weather shelter for 35 people from December to May at the Dec. 6 meeting. According to the information packet, Community Lifeline has been working with Public Health staff on the request for additional money to provide the shelter resources to open 24/7 to house up to 35 people. The request will help fund six existing employees and add two additional staff to cover nights. The original request was for...
On Dec 3, the Mason County Republicans had their biannual reorganizational meeting. In spite of the weather conditions, 27 precinct committee officers and many guests gathered at the meeting. Mason County Prosecutor Michael Dorcy asked the newly elected PCOs to raise their hands as he swore them into office. Sen.-elect Drew MacEwen served as the temporary chairman and led the precinct committee officers in electing the executive board that will serve for the upcoming two-year term. Elected to the executive board were chairman Melissa Upson,...
"She Said" is a solidly competent, impeccably well-acted true-crime journalistic procedural film, essentially serving as an entirely deserved paean to how the efforts of New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey helped expose the serial sexual predation of film producer Harvey Weinstein, but one might be forgiven for thinking they've seen this film before. The first impulse of a lazy reviewer is to compare such films to 1976's "All the President's Men," but closer comparisons are...
Mary M. Knight boys basketball The Owls lost their opening two games of the season to Quilcene and Three Rivers Christian. Mary M. Knight lost 60-19 to Quilcene on Dec. 6 in Matlock. The Owls hit the road and fell 57-7 to Three Rivers Christian on Monday in Longview. MMK (0-2, 0-1) traveled to Poulsbo to take on Chief Kitsap Academy on Tuesday for a nonleague game. The Owls will face the Cardinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Winlock. Mary M. Knight girls basketball Mary M. Knight defeated Quilcene but lost to Three Rivers Christian last week in...
The Port of Allyn’s Dec. 5 public hearing, to address adjusting its water system’s residential and commercial connection fees, ended with commissioners unanimously adopting a three-tiered commercial connection fee scale, without adopting the proposed increase to residential connection fees. Port Executive Director Lary Coppola said the port’s rates adjust annually on a scale adopted in 2019, running through the end of 2024, which needs to be reviewed and re-evaluated before the beginning of 20...
One month after the works of her wife and "muse" made a second appearance at Belfair Self-Storage, multimedia artist Alice Durrie has followed suit, with her artwork returning to manager Barbara Treick's art wall in December. Durrie's pursuit of Asian art techniques has continued - her fascination with bonsai miniature tree cultivation has evolved into a new form of self-expression. "I live alongside the Tahuya River, which provides an ever-changing beach canvas of sand, gravel and rock,"...
This week’s diary was a fun read for me. Mary is in the Christmas spirit helping everywhere she can to prepare for gatherings etc. It made me want to put up Christmas light on the boat. Enjoy! Friday, Dec. 10, 1948 The day of the big party. Sam and I loaded the big truck and went to town. I picked up Eunice D. and we went to Alma Brelson’s, got their organ, stove, etc., and to the Temple where we unloaded it all with the help of Bill, Alma’s nephew. I helped set tables and then went to help...
