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  • Remembering youths who died young

    Gordon Weeks|Oct 3, 2024

    Twenty-three names of Shelton youths who died while in grades six through 12 will be recognized at a rededication ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 18 at the student memorial at the City of Shelton's Huff'n'Puff Trail across the street from Shelton High School. The ceremony will also note the installation of two granite benches. The event will be presented rain or shine. Parking is limited at the Huff'n'Puff trailhead and attendees are invited to park nearby at the Shelton YMCA....

  • Local Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Oct 3, 2024

    Hoodsport dock celebration Port of Hoodsport commissioners host a celebration for the dock and pier at 1 p.m. Friday. Commissioners Lori Kincannon, Cody Morris, Terry Braziland and state legislators will attend and refreshments at Potlatch Brewing Co. will follow the event. “Thanks to your ongoing support and signatures on the Capital Funding Letter of Support urging our state Legislature to invest in this community asset, the Port received funding to make emergency repairs and reopen the dock for use,” the port wrote in a news release. Ham...

  • Trash, encampments proliferate along railroad tracks

    June Williams|Oct 3, 2024

    Dean Jewett, who owns Radio Fryer with his wife, Jackie, told Mason County commissioners illegal homeless camping is increasing in Shelton's woods. "I want to talk about the railroad camps," Jewett said at the Sept. 24 regular commission meeting. The camps sprawl on either side of the tracks that wind by Sierra Pacific Industries' lumber mill up behind the Shelton Yacht Club and beyond. Jewett said the county manager told him a 5-gallon bucket of human feces can contaminate 13 acres of...

  • Potlatch morning

    Oct 3, 2024

    A gaggle of Canada geese watch the sun rise Monday at Potlatch State Park....

  • The great green outdoors

    Oct 3, 2024

  • Hallman's Voices

    Carla Kelley|Oct 3, 2024

    In an effort to further our role as a community voice and teacher, the Shelton-Mason County Journal is partnering with Tom Hallman Jr., a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who writes for The Oregonian in Portland, with a series of community voice stories that will occasionally appear in the Journal. Our first few stories will be from Hallman’s students, but it it’s our hope that as your read these stories, it will inspire our readers to write about their own life and submit those stories to the paper that we might print them and give...

  • Port of Allyn discusses problem vessel, dock repair, pay

    June Williams|Oct 3, 2024

    A derelict vessel has been at the Port of Allyn and the owner owes $816 in moorage fees as of Sept. 20, according to Executive Director Travis Merrill's report presented at a special meeting Sept. 25. Since then, the owner has made "small payments," but has not paid off the debt, Merrill told the Herald. Vessel WN 1504 SA has phone numbers and email addresses "clearly listed on the vessel," Merrill wrote in his report, so the port was able to make contact. Merrill said he left messages throughou...

  • North Mason focuses on freshman success

    June Williams|Oct 3, 2024

    If freshmen start the school year with good grades and regular attendance, success will follow, North Mason High School Assistant Principal Steve Hackett said at the Sept. 23 monthly board meeting. “We all know the data for freshmen. It’s the biggest year. If that year can be successful, the rest of their high school — everything is set up really well,” Hackett said. North Mason wants to “get kids on the right track early,” he said. Last September, 24% of freshmen were failing one class. By June, the number dropped to 14%, according t...

  • PAPER DELAYED

    Sep 26, 2024

    Full story

  • County may buy camp

    June Williams|Sep 26, 2024

    A private camp once used exclusively by timber workers could become a county park. Mason County commissioners approved a feasibility study at Tuesday's regular meeting for the purchase of Mason Lake Camp from Green Diamond Resource Co. The detailed analysis will "assess the viability of purchasing and operating the property," according to the Request for Qualifications. Commissioner Randy Neatherlin said the county would investigate how to keep the camp, located on Mason Lake at 1052 East Mason...

  • Record summer chum return

    June Williams|Sep 26, 2024

    Hood Canal summer chum have returned to the Union River in record-breaking numbers, with 12,021 as of Monday morning. There are still three weeks left in the count. "It is amazing," Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group Executive Director Mendy Harlow told the Journal. The previous record of 11,916 in 2003 was due to hatchery supplementation, which ended that year, according to HCSEG. Harlow credited this year's healthy run to improving ocean conditions and HCSEG's 2013 habitat restoration...

  • Water storage tops city list

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 26, 2024

    At a special meeting of the Shelton City Council on Tuesday morning, state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, asked council members and staff to name the city's top two funding priorities as the Legislature's session approaches in January. "Water storage is number one, one-hundred percent," City Manager Mark Ziegler replied. He added, "That's probably one, two and three, to be honest." Public Works Director Jay Harris echoed that thought. "We're going to need bigger tanks to spur development," he sai...

  • Matlock fire association hosts community BBQ

    June Williams|Sep 26, 2024

    Mason County Fire District 12 Fire Association 7.0 has a few things to celebrate. On Saturday, the association hosted a free barbecue at the Matlock Grange that was "one of the largest events ever held in our community, other than the Old Timers [Fair]," Association President Dave Persell told the Journal, with more than 250 people attending. Then on Tuesday, Mason County commissioners ended the State of Disaster for the district, which had been in effect since May 17. "The disaster is...

  • William Williams murder trial underway in Shelton

    June Williams|Sep 26, 2024

    The trial for accused murderer William Williams, 41, continued this week with the prosecution calling witnesses. Williams has claimed self-defense in the death of Janus Afo on Sept. 28 in downtown Shelton, according to court filings from Williams’ attorney Justus Kandoll. “The defendant is asserting Self Defense-justifiable homicide and will likely testify to his knowledge about specific acts committed by Mr. Afo that created a reasonable apprehension of danger for Mr. Williams. Several officers are familiar with Mr. Afo and his reputation in...

  • History at a Glance

    Jan Parker|Sep 26, 2024

    The town of Hoodsport was officially created Aug. 1, 1890, when Vincent and Ida Finch went to Shelton and signed a certificate naming their property Hoodsport and dedicating the streets and alleys to the public forever, except for the right to grant right of way to the railroads. By 1892, the combined population of the Hoodsport and Lake Cushman area was 145. The United States government sent a surveyor to the Cushman District, who changed survey lines from the north and west. The results were...

  • Expert rock talk, sale tonight at Shelton church

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 26, 2024

    Former Shelton resident Brittany Burkhardt, a mineral and fossil dealer for more than 20 years, will talk about her most spectacular digs at a meeting of the Shelton Rock and Mineral Society at 7 tonight at Shelton Christian Church, 115 Arcadia Ave., Shelton. Everyone is welcome to attend, and admission is free. After the presentation, Burkhardt’s business, Elemental Endeavors, hosts a sale of minerals, fossils and meteorite specimens from around the world, including many pieces collected by her. Burkhardt makes her living presenting mineral s...

  • Community Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Sep 26, 2024

    Shelton cemetery seeks removal of broken objects The management at Shelton Memorial Park Cemetery is asking patrons to remove all broken glass, clay and ceramic decorations from graves and niche walls by Oct. 1. In a Facebook post, management wrote, "Any items that are broken and removed will be disposed of; we will not be saving these items. It is the responsibility of plot owners and families to remove any broken items that you wish to keep ... With the changing weather, these figurines can deteriorate and become unsightly, and we want to...

  • PUD 1 applies for grants for 2 projects on Hood Canal

    June Williams|Sep 26, 2024

    PUD 1 hopes to partially fund a new substation at Lilliwaup and bury overhead lines at Seal Rock in Brinnon using grants from the state Department of Commerce. Both projects are eligible for up to $3 million each under the Grid Resilience Program. Awards are given to “efforts that generate the greatest community benefit by providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy, and reducing the frequency and duration of power outages,” according to the DOC. The Jorstad substation, planned for Lilliwaup, will let PUD switch power feeds between Hoo...

  • New art gallery opens up in Hoodsport

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 26, 2024

    The Hamma Hamma River, Potlatch State Park and Union are among the spectacular sites that inspire Jan Morris' vibrant watercolor paintings. The flowers come from her imagination. At her new art gallery in Hoodsport, she and her mostly local friends and acquaintances showcase and sell their art. And the drinks are also local, produced a couple doors down at the Hardware Distillery owned by her and her husband, Chuck, since 2012. Flywheel Fine Art & Strong Waters, 24180 U.S. Highway 101, is named...

  • Education Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Sep 26, 2024

    Shelton schools offer free cooking classes The Shelton School District and Washington State University’s Mason Extension host a free three-part series of cooking and nutrition classes. The classes are from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 15 and 29 and Nov. 5 at Oakland Bay Junior High School, 3301 N. Shelton Springs Road. Participants must be able to attend all three classes as the content and skills build on upon one another. To register, go to sheltonschools.org and click “HEAT cooking classes.” The classes are open to anyone 16 and older who lives in th...

  • Blind competitor wins five medals

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 19, 2024

    Timberlakes resident Bill Scholl has something in common with U.S. diver Greg Louganis, U.S. tennis player Venus Williams, New Zealand canoer Ian Ferguson and Norway speed skater Johann Olgu Koss. Each won four gold medals and one silver medal in athletic competition. Four of them earned their medals at Olympic competition. Scholl, a former minister who lost most of his sight, won his medals in four days last month at the National Veteran Golden Age Games in Salt Lake City. Scholl competed in...

  • Creating safer turns

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 19, 2024

    Drivers approaching the intersection of Wallace Kneeland Boulevard and Shelton Springs Road hoping to make a left-hand turn know they face a challenge, especially when school is about to begin or has just ended at Shelton High School and Oakland Bay Junior High. The City of Shelton has been proposing building a roundabout there for years and has about $1.6 million in grants earmarked for it. At a work session on Sept. 10, the Shelton City Council and staff members discussed a quicker and less...

  • City insurer urges caution with homeless

    June Williams|Sep 19, 2024

    Shelton can’t use the courts to solve its homeless problem. At least not now. That’s the opinion of city officials and the city’s insurer, Washington Cities Insurance Authority. Shelton City Manager Mark Ziegler, speaking with the Journal in August, said while some may see a solution in a recent Supreme Court decision overturning Martin v. Boise and allowing camping bans on public land, he is wary. “It’s not necessarily the fix,” he said. Ziegler and other municipal officials throughout the state rely on WCIA’s advice and right now the insur...

  • Contract awarded to repair library deck

    Gordon Weeks|Sep 19, 2024

    The Shelton City Council on Tuesday awarded a $231,526 contract to United Home Builders to complete a project on the Shelton Timberland Library deck. In June, the city advertised the project for bid, but received no offers. The second solicitation received two offers, with United Home Builders offering the lowest responsible bid. The project will remove the existing waterproof membrane that covers the wood-framed deck and safety railings to expose the deck sheeting and structure. The sheeting...

  • City shopping cart laws pass

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Sep 19, 2024

    The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening gave final approval to shopping cart ordinances designed to help prevent their theft and abandonment on streets, in the woods and in ravines. The council gave preliminary approval at its Sept. 3 meeting. The laws goes in effect Jan. 1, 2025. An estimated 300 shopping carts are stolen from Shelton stores each year. The new requirements do not apply to any business that has 15 or fewer shopping carts or contain less than 3,000 square feet of retail space. The ordinance requires the bigger stores to...

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