Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Among the Mason County school bus drivers, James L. McCallister was known as a joker and prankster who was great with kids and took new drivers under his wing. COVID claimed the life of the 58-year-old Elma resident on Dec. 4, leaving a hole at the Mason County Transportation Cooperative bus barn across the street from Shelton High School. On Friday, the bus drivers paid tribute to their fallen co-worker with a parade of buses that filed past the schools in the Shelton School District....
After a 16-year career as the Mason County Coroner, Wes Stockwell resigned from his position Nov. 29. Stockwell, 63, worked for the Washington State Patrol for 27 years before being appointed the Coroner in 2005 after coroner Martha Reed died of leukemia. Stockwell ran for office in 2006 unopposed and has ran four times unopposed for the position. He has a Master's degree in Public Administration and a bachelor's degree in public policy. His experience at WSP prepared him for what he would see...
Two students at Hawkins Middle School have been arrested after being overheard talking about plans to bring guns to school and kill people. According to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Hawkins Middle School staff investigated, and the two students involved were placed under emergency expulsion and released to their parents or guardians. Deputies and detectives were notified and interviewed witnesses to the conversation and established probable cause to arrest the two students for felony h...
Cooking doesn’t have to be a burden. It can be fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! You can never be too unmotivated or too unskilled to learn to prepare zesty and tasty meals that satisfy palates of all ages, including that grumbling Gus in your family. Me, I’m Mr. Ten Thumbs in the kitchen, but I was recently given a cookbook, “Cooking for People,” that has inspired me. The recipes in the book are easy to follow, even for the cooking challenged. Here’s a sampling of some of the recipes: Stuffed Brioche:...
Missing the point Editor, the Journal, I'd like to thank Mr. Anvik for his attempt to answer a previously posted question in the Journal and appreciate his truthful feelings expressed about ex-President Donald Trump’s personality. However, he fell short and missed the point of the question, which was about Mr. Trump’s part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. That part of the question still goes unanswered and was originally asked by John Vernon. Ardean could have left it there but used the opportunity to chastise me and another writer, Bil...
Composting is one of the mysteries that my soil science course is revealing. I've been making good enough compost for years without a bum batch. Still, my objective has been to eliminate kitchen scraps - and reduce garbage - as much as it's been to enrich the soil. That spirit of waste disposal, as opposed to soil enrichment, has degraded the compost industry. The compost produced by shredded woody material carelessly mixed with various biodegradable materials might visually resemble proper...
Mason County Fire Protection District 12 is going through an accountability audit from the state Auditor’s Office following the Nov. 18 meeting in Matlock. The meeting was in response to the public being upset with the lack of communication from the district, which prompted the state Auditor’s office to conduct an accountability audit. According to the 2019 financial data available on the state Auditor’s website, Mason County Fire District 12 had good financial health indicators in cash balan...
Nonprofits can apply for vans Nonprofit organizations can apply for a Mason Transit Authority grant for two used 12-passenger vans. Jan. 10 is the deadline to apply for the grant. The grant application, selection criteria and other information is at www.masontransit.org/vangrantprogram. Both vans are 2006 Ford Econolines with about 94,000 miles, automatic transmissions and no wheelchair lifts. The Van Grant program awards surplus transit vans to help solve transportation issues and benefit Mason County residents. The application process is...
The Shelton Robotics team has won the last two league matches in the FIRST FTC Robotics Competition. FIRST is an acronym for "For Inspiration, Recognition, Science and Technology" and it originated from New Hampshire, created by Dean Kamen and Professor Woodie Flowers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They decided to make robotics competitive, and the FIRST Robotics competition was born. Eric Stokely is the coach of the robotics team for Shelton High School, and he will gladly talk...
Intricately detailed creations in the third annual Christmastown Gingerbread Challenge are on display in businesses along West Railroad Avenue between South Second and South Third streets through Friday....
City of Shelton residents can prepare to say goodbye to monthly visits from water meter readers. The city is in the process of exchanging aging Sensus brass water meters, which are read manually monthly by city employees, for new Sensus Imperl meters with radio antennas that transmit water use information to city staff as they drive by. The city last summer approved the purchase of the new water meters and transmitters, and the purchase of new meter boxes and lids this fall. The Shelton City Council on Dec. 7 approved spending $451,815 on...
Mason County records 10 COVID-19 deaths Maso County reported 10 deaths from COVID-19 in the past week, according to Mason County Emergency Management. The deaths were a man and woman in their 50’s, a man and woman in their 60’s, two men and a woman in their 70’s and three men in their 90’s. In a daily update, the county noted that public health is dedicated to providing accurate data on deaths due to COVID and that means that each death is examined to see if it was truly related to COVID or not. Due to the lengthy process, the county is slow...
American Rescue Plan Act money appropriated Mason County commissioners approved County Administrator Mark Neary to use American Rescue Plan Act Money for county purposes at the Dec. 7 meeting. According to the information packet, Mason County received $12,949,242 in grant funding and the county received $6,484,451 on June 25. Neary was approved to allocate the money, including $92,078 for temporary county staff to address COVID, $200,000 for Rustlewood Water Well & Reservoir Electrical Control System, $100,000 for Beards Cove AC Mainline...
Hed: ‘Green Amendment’ proponent recaps history of environmental movement Word count: 964. By Kirk Boxleitner kboxleitner@masoncounty.com The League of Women Voters of Mason County’s Climate Change Committee meeting on Zoom opened the floor to Maya K. van Rossum, author of “The Green Amendment; Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment.” Van Rossum opened her remarks Nov. 18 by saying permitting is essential to environmental protections, because “environmental pollution and degradation...
Judith Mary (Webb) Lloyd, 83, of Shelton, Washington, passed away on December 11, 2021, surrounded by her eight children and husband, Loren. "Judy" was the eldest of three daughters, born on September 30, 1938, to Mildred Bebich (Webb) (Cundari) and Arden Ellsworth Webb in Salem, OR. Judy, and sister's Rachelle and Kathleen, were raised in Olympia, WA. Judy spoke fondly of their home in Butler Cove, nestled in the trees on a cliff overlooking the bay. She often recited a poem her father wrote...
Leslie Orme was born Leslie Kaye Patton, the youngest of four children, to Gloria and Lew Patton. She arrived on their 10th anniversary together; October 15, 1957. She passed peacefully in her home on November 20, 2021, surrounded by her loved ones. Leslie's passion was staying active, a trait she developed early in childhood. There was always adventure to be had outdoors growing up in Wapato, Wilbur, Toppenish, and Yakima. She loved horseback riding with her father, skiing with her friends,...
George Mark Johannessen passed away at 6:30 p.m. on December 6, 2021, while receiving Hospice Care at the Lacey Memory Care facility in Lacey, WA. "Mark" was born in Klo, Norway in 1929. He was the oldest child of seven born to Trygve & Haldis Johannessen. Mark immigrated to the US in 1948. In New Jersey he studied American History and English. Mark liked to travel and headed west to California where he became a Naturalized US Citizen in 1950. In California, Mark met Elizabeth "Betty" Kostiv...
Born March 4, 1972, at St Peter Hospital in Olympia, WA, journeyed on December 10, 2021. She began work at the KTP store, transferred to the original Bingo Hall as the assistant then became the Bingo Manager at 19. She continued to be the Bingo Manager when the Casino was built. She grew up listening to her Mom talk about Tribal Employment Rights Organization (TERO) and adopted that philosophy to hire tribal members and other tribal people whenever possible. She was always advocating for her people. Angie and her lifelong partner Derrick...