Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Mason Transit Authority has a lot to look forward to in 2022 after a big year in 2021. One of the accomplishments for MTA in 2021 was the opening of most of the Park & Rides in Mason County. All of the Park & Rides are open other than the Belfair Park & Ride, which is slated to open in early 2022 after the building receives it’s electrical panel. “It was ordered I think back in September or October and we’ve just been continually told it’s on order but we haven’t received anything,” MTA General...
Entering her senior year on the hardwood for North Mason High School, Rachel Youngman had a clear goal. "This year, I was hoping for a better year than last year," the 5-foot-9 guard/forward said. "I just wanted a better season because it's my senior year. It's going great. We have a good team. I'm just proud of how we're doing. We still have a few things to work on, but we're getting there." Despite a turbulent, COVID-delayed junior season in which the Bulldogs' girls basketball coach quit...
Charlotte Koepp was born on December 1,1936, she passed away on December 13, 2021. Charlotte Koep is preceded in death by her Mother Gladyas Cline, Father Charles Cline, brother Leon Cline, and her husband Marvin Koepp. She is survived by sister Lilly Woolsely of Elma, Washington, sister-in-law Bernie Cline of Olympia, Washington, daughter Teresa Emery of Amity, Oregon, daughter Shelette Mckague of Tucson, Arizona, and daughter Brenda Lorentzen also of Tucson, Arizona. Charlotte has seven... Full story
6 county residents contract COVID-19 Mason County recorded 141 COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to the Division of Emergency Management. Two people died in the past week, including a woman in her 40s and a man in his 60s. The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is 175.2 and the 14-day case rate per 100,000 is 300.1. Five people are hospitalized with COVID-19 and the county is 55% fully vaccinated. As of Dec. 20, 82.2% of eligible people in the state have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 75.6% are fully vaccinated....
Dolores "Doris" Julia Schultes Olson was born April, 1925, and passed away December 17, 2021, at home surrounded by her loving family. Doris had always been healthy and active until suffering a massive heart attack on November 19, 2021. She managed to stay with us for a month, fighting through the pain, just to be with us. Doris was preceded in death by her husband of almost 50 years, Vern, in 1994; her eldest son, Dan, who passed away in 2014; her granddaughter Erin and great granddaughter Audr... Full story
6 county residents contract COVID-19 Mason County recorded 141 COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to the Division of Emergency Management. Two people died in the past week, including a woman in her 40s and a man in his 60s. The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is 175.2 and the 14-day case rate per 100,000 is 300.1. Five people are hospitalized with COVID-19 and the county is 55% fully vaccinated. As of Dec. 20, 82.2% of eligible people in the state have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 75.6% are fully vaccinated....
Dolores "Doris" Julia Schultes Olson was born April, 1925, and passed away December 17, 2021, at home surrounded by her loving family. Doris had always been healthy and active until suffering a massive heart attack on November 19, 2021. She managed to stay with us for a month, fighting through the pain, just to be with us. Doris was preceded in death by her husband of almost 50 years, Vern, in 1994; her eldest son, Dan, who passed away in 2014; her granddaughter Erin and great granddaughter Audr... Full story
The difference between breakfast and brunch is you can order alcohol at brunch and not be considered an alcoholic. But if you order alcohol at breakfast, people will talk. We need more people who are into governance, not politics. It’s similar to being spiritual, not religious. Here’s something wonderful: unexpected sunshine. The one thought you don’t want to forget when you’re in the middle of setting rat traps is that you’re in the middle of setting rat traps. I bet some kids who are consi...
Troubled times Editor, the Journal We have had many, many, many bad times in the past. The Great Depression, two world wars, the (so-called) Cold War, to name a few, and we are now in the middle of two very bad situations that hang over us like a double whammy of a hurricane and tornado not in just one place, but everywhere. The virus spreads like a wildfire, completely out of control. As we fight it in one area, trying to mitigate it, it starts up somewhere else. The economy, if not completely failing, is in great jeopardy as people cannot...
Reusing waste materials is easier with a basic understanding of their composition. Readers of this column will recall my experiments in upcycling oyster shells into decorative, traction-enhancing calcium supplements and cardboard into weed suppressant that breaks down into carbon-rich soil enrichment. According to the soil science course I've been taking, we needn't concern ourselves with supplementing calcium in the soil. Inorganic supplementation (here, gypsum or lime) will only provide a temp...
The Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce’s Zoom meeting split into focus groups Dec. 16 to answer several questions designed to help the Shelton School District develop a five-year plan. When asked to describe what they saw as the school district’s reputation in the business community, Melissa Strong, chief nursing officer at Mason Health, credited the district with being “pretty involved” in the Health Science Academy rollout, which she deemed a “really great experience for us” and a “reall...
American Rescue Plan Act money items approved The Mason County commissioners authorized County Administrator Mark Neary to use Americans Rescue Plan Act money for two items. According to the information packet, $42,000 will be used for the Lakeland Pump Station and $4,000 will be used for the Washington State Association of Counties 2022 dues. County receives competitive grant from Department of Ecology Mason County commissioners approved the authorization to accept a 2021-23 Shoreline Master Plan competitive grant from the state Department of...
The Rev. Barbra Weza, development director of Community Lifeline, addressed the League of Women Voters of Mason County on Dec. 21 about how the pandemic has affected the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Community Lifeline's mission is to provide low-barrier shelter, meals, showers, case management, advocacy, education and resource connections as pathways to permanent housing. Weza said limits on crisis services have made it more difficult to serve people already in need, even with diverse...
The new year is almost upon us, and you are pretty much done with holiday spirit. You need a palate cleanser to wash the taste of holly-jolly cheer out of your mouth. Just as "Die Hard" is the seasonal 1980s action film that actually embodies the spirit of Christmas, "Less Than Zero" is the '80s drama that's also set during Christmas but runs absolutely counter to the spirit of the holiday. The 1987 film is based on Bret Easton Ellis' 1985 debut novel of the same name. It is practically the...
Exhibitors of area artists offered their thoughts on what the past year has meant for the local art scene and what the year ahead could bring. Elizabeth Bennett, operational manager of the Rest-A-While RV Park, saw her annual art and music fair expand into an entire series of one-weekend-per-month events, running from spring through fall, with a growth in the number and diversity of vendors. “It’s been a really special year, with a lot of new vendors,” Bennett said. “And the people who are alr...
JANUARY Sanderson Field in Shelton is one of six western Washington airports being considered to become a hub for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The state's Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) announced on Jan. 15 that Sanderson Field could be selected to help alleviate cargo and passenger traffic at Sea-Tac, the eighth busiest airport in the country with 24 million passengers in 2020. The other five finalists are Bremerton National Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport,...
5 is finally coming to an end, and even though all years are almost the same length, this year felt much longer than it was. The Seahawks lost a playoff game to a quarterback with a bad thumb before an abysmal 2021 regular season. The Sounders finished second in the MLS Western Conference before a first-round playoff exit and the Kraken began their NHL journey and are last in the Pacific Division entering 2022. There were some bright spots in 2021, with the Mariners exceeding all...
The Port of Grapeview’s final regular meeting of the year Dec. 21 was an evening of farewells. District 2 Commissioner Glenn Carlson read aloud from his letter of resignation, which takes effect Jan. 18, that referenced several accomplishments over the past nine years, from rebuilding the boat ramp to adding a dock, gangway and restroom, for which he credited “the help of able colleagues.” “I’ve got many wonderful memories of fine friends and working relationships developed over these past year...
I sure hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I have shared with you that the past three years of Mary’s diary have periods when she did not write. The last published column was at the end of 1946. Her next entry was not until mid-1947. So I went to 1948 and it starts Jan. 1. We can relate to the weather and are able to compare our time with Mary’s. Thursday, Jan. 1, 1948 Arose late at 11. Laurice knocked at the door and I had just got up. Sam came soon after and said he got one duck. The...