Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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City buys truck to patch potholes and camera van The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening approved spending up to $280,000 for a new truck to patch potholes, and $257,000 out of the city's sewer and storm fund for a new camera van to better document the condition of sewer and storm lines. The council gave preliminary approval to both purchases at its Feb. 21 meeting. The city's current patch truck is more than 26 years old and maintenance costs are increasing, Brent Armstrong of the city's...
Public comment on SR 302 corridor The public is invited to comment on the future of the state Route 302 corridor in Mason and Pierce counties. According to a news release, the state Department of Transportation has begun a study of Route 302 in the Victor area to identify potential transportation system improvements. This portion of Route 302 has experienced road settlement and sloughing and can be triggered by heavy rain, and it has led to temporary closures and rough roads. WSDOT is hosting...
Griffey, Couture telephone town hall scheduled Friday Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture, R-Allyn, are hosting a telephone town hall from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday. According to a news release, the town hall is an opportunity for constituents to ask questions related to the 2023 legislative session over the phone. The call-in number is 360-335-2741. “I am always excited to connect with my community in the 35th District. Like I said at the close of last session we had more work to do — especially on public safety,” Griffey said in a news rel...
Historic Preservation Commission announces program The Mason County Historic Preservation Commission announced the Historical Building, Structure or Place Plaque Program. According to a news release, the program acknowledges the value of buildings, structures or places in Mason County that should be considered historically important, possess distinct architectural or have other characteristics associated with important events in Mason County’s history. The plaque program acknowledges and recognizes the county’s historical places through a sim...
Solo photographer show at civic center The Rotating Art Gallery in the Shelton Civic Center usually features works by two or three local artists, but the new exhibit spotlights the works of one, photographer Deborah Chava Singer. The Shelton City Council approved the exhibit at its Feb. 21 meeting. Her five nature photos were installed Tuesday and will remain on display through May 31 on the first floor of the Civic Center. Singer was the only artist to submit works for consideration by the...
One hurt in Route 106 crash A Port Orchard man was hospitalized Sunday afternoon after a two-car accident on state Route 106. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, the 61-year-old Port Orchard man was stopped while eastbound on Route 106 trying to make a left turn at milepost 17. A 45-year-old eastbound Port Orchard man rear-ended the other car as he was waiting to turn left. The 61-year-old man was injured and transported to St. Michael’s Medical Center in Silverdale. The 45-year-old was not injured in the accident and was c...
Legislation by Mason County legislators to restrict sex offender housing failed to pass out of committee Friday, the final day for policy bills to advance. According to a news release, Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, and seatmate Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, introduced House Bill 1813, which would only allow the Department of Social and Health Services to house sex offenders in facilities on McNeil Island or a facility in South Seattle. The bill would also restrict the state from using any new...
Sheriff purchases pistol upgrades County commissioners approved the Mason County Sheriff’s Office purchase of new pistol systems from Oregon Rifleworks, LLC. According to the information packet, money was requested for the upgrades in 2022 with American Rescue Plan Act money, but it was declined. County commissioners approved the project in the Sheriff’s Office 2023 budget. The amount funded was $90,928, and Oregon Rifleworks provided the best quote at $96,321.96 with tax. The budget effect to the county is $5,394. A budget transfer from the...
City moves on public works yard design The Shelton City Council on Tuesday voted to award a $145,410 contract to Williams Architecture of Shelton to further design a new public works maintenance yard across the street from Olympic College Shelton to replace its overcrowded site behind Evergreen Elementary School. Williams Architecture completed a planning study that was presented to the City Council in June. The planning study concluded that the facility should have a minimum lifespan of 50...
Nurse rate increased Mason County commissioners amended the contract with Healthcare Delivery Services for Jail Registered Nursing to $85 an hour from $60. According to the information packet, the vendor requested to modify the contract prior to the expiration of the contract at the end of the year due to nursing market competition and being unable to recruit qualified applicants. The commissioner’s briefing July 18, 2022, asked for a wholesale increase of $472,000, and the commissioners were not in favor of the contract adjustment. The c...
State awards grant Mason County received $150,000 in a state grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office as part of more than $2 million in grants to help communities plan for outdoor recreation facilities. According to a news release, Capitol Land Trust received the grant for planning for recreational uses at Bayshore Preserve. The preserve is a former golf course restored to a wildlife habitat. The land trust has not been able to afford the costs of building infrastructure needed to support the level of interest and use on the...
A proposed sex-offender home in Tenino, which is in the 35th Legislative District has drawn the attention and action of Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture and Sen. Drew MacEwen after outrage from the community. According to a news release, MacEwen introduced Senate bill 5544, which closes a loophole in state law by imposing public notice requirements for the state Department of Social and Health Services when it puts former sex offenders into low-security adult group homes operated by private...
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Belfair man dies in motorcycle accident Belfair resident Erik D. Vaubel, 52, was killed in a motorcycle accident on state Route 16 on Sunday evening near Port Orchard. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, Vaubel was traveling west on Route 16 near milepost 17. He was on a curve when his motorcycle struck the concrete barrier and then hit a guardrail. He fell off his motorcycle and ended up in the road. Man arrested after standoff with Sheriff’s Office The Mason County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ronald Matthew Stromberg over the...
City awards contract to resurface Brockdale The Shelton City Council on Tuesday awarded a $267,322 contract to Miles Resources to resurface the pavement and separate lanes on Brockdale Road from Wallace Kneeland Boulevard to Batstone Cutoff Road. The city received six bids for the project, ranging from Miles Resource's low bid to the highest bid of $546,285 from Central Paving. The project is funded by $278,000 in federal funding from the Surface Transportation Block Grant program allocated to...
On Monday, Union resident Drew MacEwen arrived at the 105-day legislative session in Olympia as a state senator, while Allyn resident Travis Couture took a seat as his replacement as a state representative representing District 35, Position 2. Along with fellow 35th District Rep. Dan Griffey of Allyn (Position 1), the trio of Republicans are members of the minority party in both the state House and Senate. "This delegation is not going to be able to make policy changes in the makeup of this...
Mason County receives block grant Mason County applied for and received a Public Services Community Development Block Grant through the state Department of Commerce. According to the information packet, the county joined with the Community Action Council to provide referrals or direct client services for eligible participants who are residents of Lewis or Mason counties. The contract is for $102,000 with a performance period from July 2022 to June 2023. This is a formula grant that can be applied annually. The county has agreed to serve as the...
PUDs deal with power outages Mason County PUD 3 and 1 dealt with power outages throughout the Christmas weekend. According to PUD 3’s Facebook page, the power was out Dec. 22 at Fawn Lake, but was restored in the evening. There was an outage affecting 300 customers in Belfair on Dec. 23 and an outage in the Matlock area affecting 145 customers in the morning before crews came out and restored power. A tree fell near the Collins Lake Substation on the Tahuya Peninsula and knocked out power p...
County purchases building for coroner, facilities Mason County commissioners gave preliminary approval to purchase the property at 126 Kneeland St. in Shelton as the new location for the Mason County coroner and facilities at the Tuesday meeting. According to the information packet, Mason County facilities and coroner's offices need more space, with the lease on the current building set to expire in March. The coroner's office has office space, but needs more operational space and cold storage...
Car accident knocks out power lines A car ran into a pole on state Route 3 in Belfair near North Mason High School, knocking down a power line Friday night. According to Mason County PUD 3 social media posts, the incident was reported around 8:15 p.m. and PUD 3 sent out a lineman to investigate. In order to make repairs, the lineman had to cut power for customers in Allyn, LakeLand Village and Victor. The power was only out in Allyn and LakeLand Village for an hour before PUD 3 was able to reroute power from a different substation. Power was...
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...
Belfair man killed in SR 300 accident An 86-year-old Belfair man was killed in a two-car collision on state Route 300 on Monday afternoon. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, Karl E. McNeill, 86, of Belfair died in the wreck. He was traveling west and a 36-year-old Shelton man was driving east. McNeill’s car crossed the centerline and struck the Shelton man’s vehicle head-on. McNeill died on his way to the hospital. The Shelton driver was not injured. County records cases of tuberculosis Mason County has five active cases of...
Commission OKs budget public hearing County commissioners approved a public hearing for 9:15 a.m. Dec. 20 to consider approving the supplemental budget requests and budget transfers to the 2022 budget. According to the information packet, this is the first draft and final planned budget amendments for 2022. Field-use rates increase Mason County commissioners approved a 2023 rate increase for Parks & Trails field-use fees at their Nov. 22 meeting. According to the information packet, fees will be adjusted annually by using the Seattle Consumer...
Shelton gets grant for crisis responder The City of Shelton is implementing a pilot program for a crisis responder for Shelton and Mason County. According to a news release, the city was awarded a grant from the Association of Washington Cities and Washington State Healthcare Authority. The grant will allow a crisis responder to work with the Shelton Police Department to receive and respond to referrals from community members, service providers and law enforcement. The position was recommended by the city’s Homelessness Task Force, which met s...
