Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Tuesday is the deadline to cast votes for two fire district measures in Mason County on the special election ballot. Grapeview Fire District 3 is proposing to merge with Central Mason Fire District 5 to provide fire and emergency medical services to areas served by the two districts. West Mason Fire District 16 is proposing a property tax levy of 50 cents or less per $1,000 of assessed valuation for six years, beginning this year, for emergency medical services. Both need a simple majority to pass. Ballot drop boxes for the special election...
Mason County Commissioner Kevin Shutty will be the new executive director of the Economic Development Council of Mason County. Shutty replaces Jennifer Baria. He assumes his position May 1 and will continue in his role with the County Commission until his term expires at the end of this year. The Shelton-based organization provides consultation to businesses establishing or relocating in Mason County. The agency states that its mission is "to expand and diversify the economy throughout Mason...
Fire District 12 Commissioner Nick Jones accused Chief Brian Walsworth of “dereliction of duty” at the April 9 commission meeting after Jones saw the state of disrepair in fire station 12-3, on Beeville Loop Road, he said. Community members told him April 3 that the station was left open, so Jones went to take a look with three witnesses. Jones said they went inside the open building after notifying the sheriff. “All I could smell was mouse feces and urine,” he said. There was a dead mouse in a fire engine compartment, rodent nests, and “a...
City moves forward on new police car The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening gave preliminary approval to buying a new police patrol car for $86,000. The move can become official with a second vote at the council's May 7 meeting. The police department requested the vehicle in its 2024 budget to replace a 2013 Dodge Charger police vehicle with 117,000 miles on it. The new 2024 model Ford Interceptor SUV AWD vehicle is priced at $70,212, and it will be fitted to become a police vehicle. May 3...
Mason County Sheriff's Office deputies seized more than 60 dogs and one horse from a woman in Grapeview during an animal cruelty investigation, according to a MCSO news release. Deputies confiscated animals on the property Sunday, April 14, with support from the Humane Society of Mason County volunteers. "This incident occurred in the Grapeview area. We are currently serving a search warrant at the location and working with outside agencies, including the Humane Society, to ensure these animals...
Couple sue Harstine Island HOA over wheelchair modifications A Grays Harbor County couple is suing the Harstene Pointe Maintenance Association for improperly denying them a building permit that includes Americans with Disabilities Act modifications, according to a complaint filed in Mason County Superior Court April 9. Daniel and Jolene Tupper want to add wheelchair access features to their home on Harstine Island that’s subject to the nonprofit homeowners association covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). The Tuppers submitted t...
A horrific crash on U.S. Highway 101 at the intersection of Lynch Road 6 miles south of Shelton killed two Kitsap County residents and injured a Washington State Patrol trooper. Charles Ferree, 72, and Deolia Blandford, 49, both of Ollala, died at the scene of the accident when their vehicle collided with a southbound WSP patrol vehicle en route to an emergency April 6, according a WSP news release. The patrol vehicle was traveling south on U.S. 101 and had activated lights and siren at the time of the collision, Mason County Sheriff’s O...
Three suspects in a shooting at the Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton on April 3 led multiple law enforcement agency officers on a high-speed chase, ending with their arrest in Thurston County. Roberto Evans, 22, Austin McCord, 19, and a 17-year-old juvenile were arrested in connection with the shooting that happened in the casino’s parking garage, wounding Damien Castellane, 21, and Roger Allen Turner Ford, 27, according to a Mason County Sheriff’s Office probable cause document. A third person, Malique Eckstein, 20, was “scared but uninj...
Shelton Deputy Mayor Joe Schmit said he is resigning from the Shelton City Council halfway through his second term because he wanted to work on long-term city policies and plans while most of the other council members, and the community, do not. "Instead of trying to resist or get frustrated, I felt it was time to step aside," Schmit said Tuesday in an interview with the Journal. He said he feels he is "at the crossroads" after six years on the City Council. "It's not so much a frustration, but...
8th District Reps. Travis Couture and Dan Griffey, both Republicans from Allyn, and state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, discussed the legislative session that ended March 7 at a breakfast hosted by the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce. At the April 5 event, at the Shelton Civic Center, Chamber President and CEO Diedre Peterson thanked the representatives for being “cognizant of the needs of our businesses and our communities.” MacEwen opened the wrap-up, saying it was a “contentious” session. The passage of HB 1589 “will affect th...
A Shelton floral company will pay workers back wages and fines of $1.85 million after the U.S. Department of Labor sued on behalf of the workers March 21 in US District Court, Western Washington. Shelton business Continental Floral LLC, known as Continental Floral Greens, owner Jim Milgard, Jr. and Pacific Northwest General Manager Scott Schauer agreed to a consent judgment March 26 and will not contest claims they didn’t pay migrant workers overtime wages, failed to provide the workers safe transportation and safe housing, and did not d...
Three convicted in murder cases with Mason County ties After a five-month trial, a jury in Kitsap County on Friday convicted three men of murdering a Seabeck family, including the father whose body was discovered on a tree farm on Northeast Dewatto-Holly Road, south of Forest Springs Road, in Mason County. The family, John Careaga, 43, his wife Christale Careaga, 37, and her 16-year-old son Johnathon Higgins and 16-year-old stepson Hunter Schapp were all killed in January 2017. The mother and sons were found inside their burned-out home near...
Terry Mehl is this year's Shelton Yacht Club commodore. Mehl chose the theme for this year's cruise schedule: "Doing More in 24." He and his wife, Donna, cruise in a Bayliner 3688 motor yacht, named Weather Wizard in homage to Mehl's Marine Corps career. They travel with a Shih Tzu, Rocky, and an African grey, Merlin. After graduating from Redmond High School in 1972, Mehl joined the Marine Corps and married Donna after boot camp. The couple moved to Lakehurst, New Jersey, for Mehl's schooling....
Installation of Jersey barriers along U.S. Highway 101 from the intersection of Wallace Kneeland Boulevard to state Route 3 in Shelton is one step closer after $2 million in legislative funding was approved March 7 for engineering. Additional funding will be needed for construction, according to Doug Adamson with the state Department of Transportation. A WSDOT project document shows the design has been funded but work hasn’t started. “Barriers are not placed with the assumption that the system will restrain or redirect all vehicles in all con...
Bigfoot protection on agenda At a briefing April 8, Mason County commissioners unanimously agreed to put a resolution on the next meeting’s agenda “declaring Mason County a sasquatch protection and refuge area” after Grays Harbor County elementary school students wrote in asking for protection of the cryptid. “We are the students of Miss Andrews class in 5th grade at Lincoln Elementary school in Hoquiam, Washington. The reason we are writing this letter to you is because we believe that Mason County should have laws to protect Bigfoot...
Around 12:30 a.m. April 5, Central Mason Fire & EMS responded a house fire in the Shorecrest area. Crews arrived to find a fire in the attic. During firefighting efforts, a section of the home's ceiling collapsed striking firefighters and one firefighter was transported by ambulance to Mason General Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. The homeowner along with firefighters were able to rescue a mother cat and several kittens from the home. Crews remained on scene for several hours...
Yesteryear Car Club The Yesteryear Car Club is offering a scholarship to any Mason County high school senior graduating in 2024 who plans to pursue a vocational/technical school education in automotive trades. May 1 is the deadline to apply. Selection will not be based on grade point average. Applicants are required to write a statement about themselves, their choice of vocation or trade, activities in school and the community, volunteer work, hobbies, work experience and plans. They must also include two letters of recommendations, and the...
Editor’s note: The Journal does not identify minor victims of sexual crimes or their families. The parents of a 5-year-old kindergartner have sued North Mason School District after video footage showed the child being “sexually and physically abused” by a fifth grade student during a bus ride home, according to the complaint filed April 1 in Mason County Superior Court. The complaint states the child has developmental and speech delays and attended kindergarten in the North Mason School District. The district provided door-to-door trans...
Mason County Chief Public Defender Peter Jones told commissioners his office is about to be “hit by a train” thanks to updated Washington State Bar standards that “drastically” change attorney caseloads, which will affect how the county prosecutes and defends criminal cases. At a March 24 briefing, Jones requested commissioners immediately form a committee to study the problem and begin implementing changes to the county’s criminal justice system. “I think we need to start putting together a committee right now that figures out how to minimize...
Evergreen Elementary and Shelton High School students will soon have a safer path walking and biking to school. Crews on March 27 began construction on three Safe to School projects. The city is creating crosswalks and other improvements on Shelton Springs Road at Shelton High School and the Huff'n'Puff Trail; Seventh and Franklin streets, across the street from Evergreen Elementary School; and two blocks away near Safeway, at Ninth and Franklin streets. Construction is expected to continue...
Shelton Deputy Mayor Joe Schmit announced he is resigning from the Shelton City Council. His resignation was announced Tuesday evening at the council’s regular meeting. Schmit did not attend the meeting. Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko told the Journal the city has 90 days to pick a replacement for Schmit. Schmit did not give a reason for his resignation, Onikso said. The city is accepting applications for the position. Schmit’s term expires Dec. 31, 2025, so the seat will up for grabs in the November 2025 election. Schmit did not immediately res...
Better water pressure and storage in the Angleside area is on its way after the Shelton City Council on Tuesday accepted a $1.8 million grant from the state Department of Commerce. The council voted to give preliminary approval at its March 19 meeting. The money will be used to design and construct water infrastructure improvements in the Angleside pressure zone. According to the city report, the city last year became aware of some potential deficiencies in water pressure and storage issues...
The new Marmo Caffé & Gallery at 217 W. Cota St. in downtown Shelton offers an eclectic mix of visual arts, books, coffee, jewelry, baked goods and performances. The business drew a large crowd for a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 28 hosted by the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce. The current exhibition, "New Seasons Fantasy," is on display through May 4. The group exhibition features works by Greg Bartol and Carol Orr, Carrie Brennan, Maria Bressler, Arrington Dionyso, Lauren Kim,...
A Port Orchard man has been arrested for stealing a car in Mason County and leading deputies on a high-speed chase down state Route 106. Joseph Hubbard, 22, of Port Orchard, was arrested on felony charges of eluding police and possession of a stolen vehicle March 26. A Mason County Transit employee called MACECOM on March 11 to report a man trying to break into parked cars at Northeast Log Yard Road in Belfair, according to a Mason County Sheriff incident report. While the caller was on the phone, he said the suspect had entered a gray Nissan...
A Seattle attorney suing Mason County District Court and Judge George Steele for appointing him to defend a local man charged with DUI wants the suit to proceed even though he’s been removed as the man’s counsel. Jonathan Lewis, who has a legal practice in Seattle, filed a writ of mandamus in Mason County Superior Court on Feb. 27. The writ is used when government officials have allegedly taken a legally prohibited action. Lewis says Steele improperly appointed him to defend Martin Andres Alonzo, who is being charged with DUI for the third tim...
