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  • Expo & Bite of Mason County

    Jul 25, 2024

    The Shelton-Mason Chamber of Commerce had its annual Expo & Bite of Mason County street fair Friday along West Railroad Avenue in downtown Shelton. The annual event drew over 1,000 people....

  • Inaugural Shelton Art Walk Saturday

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 25, 2024

    The inaugural Shelton Art Walk will feature more than 80 vendors and artists, live music and crafts from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday in downtown Shelton. The event hosted by the City of Shelton, the Creative District Committee and the Shelton Downtown Merchants is designed to commemorate the effort to establish the Downtown Shelton Creative District, and organizers hope to make it an annual event. An outdoor Evening Market on Cota Street will include artists, crafters and food trucks. The city has been sprucing up Cota Street as the event...

  • Shelton enacts complete burn ban

    Staff report|Jul 25, 2024

    On Monday, the City of Shelton enacted a complete burn ban in city limits, according to a news release. “All burning, including recreational fires and charcoal, will be banned in the City of Shelton until further notice. Propane-fueled equipment and pellet grills will remain legal during this time,” the release says. The National Fire Rating System changed to Very High Fire Danger, prompting the ban. The rating system uses current and preceding weather conditions, fuel types, and live and dead fuel moisture to decide the dangers. The Dep...

  • City looks at temporary sign rules

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 25, 2024

    The City of Shelton is considering changing its code on temporary signs, which now allow for a size of 16 square feet. At the Shelton City Council meeting July 16, the council voted 5-1 to re-examine the city’s code on temporary signs. Sharon Schirman cast the dissenting vote. The motion will now go before a city committee, then be explored at a council study session before a public hearing and a council vote. Council member George Blush introduced a motion to suspend the city’s code on temporary signs until Dec. 31. “The reason I am bring...

  • Correction

    Jul 25, 2024

    In an article in the July 18 issue of the Journal, a story on the July 16 Shelton City Council meeting incorrectly quoted Jackie Jewett saying City Council member Miguel Gutierrez “winked” at her when she actually said “waved.” Reporter Gordon Weeks misheard the quote. The Journal regrets the error and apologizes to all affected....

  • Credit union reps from Africa tour Shelton

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 25, 2024

    What led to 30 credit union representatives from eastern Africa dancing and creating letters with their arms to the Village People tune "YMCA" July 16 at the Shelton Family YMCA? The 30 people from Kenya and Malawi visited the Puget Sound region July 13-20, including stays in Olympia and Seattle, and a day in Shelton. The Learn and Share trip was organized by the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Association that supports Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations in 29 c...

  • Schafer State Park celebrates centennial

    June Williams|Jul 25, 2024

    Schafer State Park celebrated its centennial Saturday, July 20, with food, games, storytelling and discussions about the past and future of the park. Around 700 people attended the event, according to Shafer Park Ranger Angela Galli, who told the Journal it was "a great turnout." Galli said officials originally planned for 300 attendees. Trina Young, president of the Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia State Parks (FOSLS), put attendance at around 800, and said more than 50 Schafer family...

  • Two open doors at Recovery Cafe Mason County

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 25, 2024

    In February 2023, Recovery Cafe opened at the Community Lifeline shelter in downtown Shelton as a place to support people on their journey out of homelessness and addiction. In January, as the new nonprofit Recovery Cafe Mason County it reopened in side-by-side buildings at 208 and 210 S. 2nd St., formerly the home to The Saints' Pantry food bank, which moved across the street. Recovery Cafe Mason County is part of a network of 66 Recovery Cafes, the first one opened in Seattle. The guiding...

  • Cranberry Lake

    Jul 25, 2024

    Clouds reflect off the still waters of Cranberry Lake in central Mason County on Tuesday morning....

  • Crime & Courts

    Compiled by reporter June Williams|Jul 25, 2024

    Drunk driver crashes, thinks he’s home Police say an intoxicated Seabeck man drove into a ditch near Allyn and thought he was in his driveway. Shawn Ferguson, 29, drove off state Route 302 near the intersection of East Coulter Creek Road around 10 p.m. July 9 and his car landed “with its nose within the south bound ditch and the rear bumper of the vehicle was just outside of the southbound fog line,” Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy J. Ogden wrote in a probable cause document. Ferguson allegedly exited the crashed vehicle with a bottle in his han...

  • Community Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Jul 25, 2024

    Love INC golf tournament fundraiser Registration is open for the 13th annual Love INC (In the Name of Christ) charity golf tournament hosted Aug. 19 at the Alderbrook Golf and Yacht Club in Union, and tickets are also available for the golf ball drop from a helicopter following the tournament. This is the primary source of financial support for the mission of Love INC, a Shelton-based nonprofit whose 25 partner churches work together connecting people in need to Jesus Christ while providing goods and services such as clothing, blankets,...

  • Education Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Jul 25, 2024

    Donate supplies to Pioneer students The Pioneer School District hosts a “Stuff the Bus” event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 2, 3 and 4 at the Shelton Walmart. People can donate school supplies and place them on a bus. The supplies go directly to the district’s students for use in their classrooms. A list of suggested donation items is at www.psd402.org. Money donations for additional school supplies can be made through the Pioneer Community Kiwanis Foundation by contacting Pam Harrell at 360-490-0954 and [email protected]. Shelton stude...

  • Route 108 road closures

    Staff report|Jul 25, 2024

    Roadwork continues this week on state Route 108 west of Kamilche and travelers should expect periodic closures, according to the state Department of Transportation. Crews will be removing and replacing culverts to allow for fish passage. During each closure, drivers will be detoured to U.S. Highway 101 via Mud Bay and state Route 8 to McCleary. Times, dates and locations are: ■ 8 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Aug. 9: Just west of Eich Road. ■ 8 a.m. Aug. 14, to 8 a.m. Aug. 28: Just west of Eich Road. Travelers can sign up for email updates about maj...

  • Grapeview Water & Art Festival coming Saturday

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 25, 2024

    The Grapeview Community Association hosts the 29th annual Grapeview Water & Art Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Fair Harbor Marina on the Grapeview Loop Road off state Route 3. Fifty-one Northwest artists will display and sell their wares, including watercolor and oil paintings, jewelry, sculpture, wood, glass, photography, fabric arts, and more. Children can enjoy such free activities as boat building and decorating, crafts, face painting and the Kids Fishing Derby. The food inc...

  • Allyn Days

    Jul 25, 2024

    The annual three-day Allyn Days Salmon Bake & Geoduck Festival was Friday to Sunday at Allyn Waterfront Park. The event on the shores of North Bay features music, food, games and vendors....

  • Two state park beaches issue swim advisory

    June Williams|Jul 25, 2024

    Twanoh State Park and Belfair State Park beaches have posted swimming warnings after Mason County Public Health and Human Services found high levels of enterococci bacteria. J.J. Stepan, with Mason County Environmental Health, told the Journal he is optimistic the warnings will be lifted before the weekend. "Most likely" the bacteria level will come down, Stepan said. A second sample of the water was tested yesterday or will be tested today, he said. The bacteria indicate the presence of fecal...

  • Mary's Memoirs

    Clydene Hostetler|Jul 25, 2024

    It was pretty hot, and Mary and Sam concentrated on getting the pump house done. They made a trip to Long Beach and spent the night and attended a meeting. They took the dogs. Mary's mother has an incredible garden. Was a nice week. Monday, July 17, 1950 Today I went up to Ruth Small's a little after 9 a.m. and made a lot of phone calls. Ordered the fern for McCallum. Then I drove to town and delivered the fern but only the housekeeper was at home. To town and did some shopping. It was terribly...

  • Journal News Submissions

    Jul 25, 2024

    The Journal encourages Announcements and News Releases of local, timely interest to our readers. Local photo submissions are also welcome. Include information on the who, what, when, where, why and how of your news lead. Deadline is each Monday by 5 PM. All submissions should include the sender's name, address and daytime phone number which will be used for verification purposes only. Submissions are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. To submit your Announcement or News Release: • Email [email protected] (preferred)...

  • District eyes public facility use

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 18, 2024

    The Shelton School District is revising its policies on how the public uses school facilities, emphasizing that student use takes priority. The Shelton School Board discussed the proposed revisions at its regular meeting July 9. The board can make the revisions official with a vote at its next meeting Aug. 27. “It has not been touched, if the dates are correct, in 20 years,” Robert Herron, the district’s director of facilities management and construction, told the board. “And so the policy is probably outdated, as well as the procedu...

  • Testy council meeting

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 18, 2024

    Shelton City Council member Miguel Gutierrez on Tuesday evening moved to remove himself from the council meeting, and then walked out after four other council members voted for him to go following a testy exchange with two downtown business owners. His departure came 13 minutes into the meeting, following public comments by Jackie and Dean Jewett, who own Radio Fryer in downtown Shelton. Both said the city is failing to address problems caused by street people downtown, including urinating and defecating on their garbage cans. Dean suggested...

  • Law targets illegal dumping

    June Williams|Jul 18, 2024

    Green Diamond Resource Co. forest lands in Mason and Grays Harbor counties see 20 to 30 tons of garbage dumped illegally each year, and that amount keeps rising, Policy and Communications Manager Jason Callahan told the Journal. Cleanup costs for the company have also increased fivefold in the past few years, he said. Disposing of just one RV can cost $1,300, “and we get a number of those every year,” Callahan said. Green Diamond has cleaned up all types of garbage dumped on their property, including household garbage, old boats, cars, app...

  • Candidates in the Park

    Jul 18, 2024

  • History at a Glance

    Jan Parker|Jul 18, 2024

    In about 1905, a school was built in the Pickering area of Mason County. Because there was only one student at the time, the building may have been intended as a temporary structure. In June 1912, a new, more permanent Grant School was built on logged-off land overlooking Pickering Passage. By November 1917, 12 students attended the new school and by 1928, 28 students attended in grades one through eight. According to the Journal, on Nov. 26, 1915, "The greatest social event of the season was...

  • Burn bans in county

    June Williams|Jul 18, 2024

    Hot, dry weather has descended on Western Washington, causing a variety of burn bans for Mason County. The Department of Natural Resources has issued a statewide burn ban through Sept. 30. The DNR can extend or shorten the date depending on fire conditions, according to a news release. The Mason County Fire Marshal also implemented restrictions through that date, subject to changing conditions. All outdoor burning, including campfires in firepits, charcoal briquettes and any other equipment that creates ash is prohibited on all lands in the cou...

  • Accident Reports

    Compiled by reporter June Williams|Jul 18, 2024

    State Route 106 blocked after crash A suspected drunken driver allegedly caused a head-on collision on state Route 106 north of Twanoh State Park Sunday, injuring three people. Bremerton woman Katharine Cuyle, 40, was driving westbound near Twanoh Tides Drive at 7:25 p.m. when she crossed the center line and struck a vehicle driven by Sergey Bezzabara, 44, of Federal Way, according to the Washington State Patrol. The accident blocked both lanes. Cuyle was taken to St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale and Bezzabara and two of his three...

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