Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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In Mason County, as in many rural areas, economic development is more than just a catchphrase-it's the lifeline to a more prosperous and sustainable future. While cities and urban hubs often dominate headlines with tales of growth and advancement, rural communities face an equally pressing but less-publicized need: the revitalization of their local economies to ensure the sustained well-being of their residents. Economic development isn't just about improving the bottom line of local...
Remember in spring 2020 when we started hearing the phrase “a novel coronavirus?” We don’t hear that phrase much now. This particular coronavirus has lost all its novelty. COVID-19 infection rates, and hospitalizations and deaths, have been rising around the country for the past couple of months. Some of the symptoms have evolved, but the disease remains. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest dose to treat the current strain that’s going around, and those doses could b...
How trust works Editor, the Journal, Trust. Trust is everywhere in our lives. Look at the trust we have of the stuff we put in our mouths. Toothpaste, mouthwash, licking the glue on the envelope, the food we eat, the drugs (legal and illegal) we take and so on. Even our money says, "In God We Trust." Trust is also like a rubber band; sometimes it stretches. Take a relationship where one person beats the hell out of the other partner and they say, "I am sorry and I won't do it again." Well, "agai...
A woman in our neighborhood many years ago was getting treatment for lung cancer. I saw her walking along the sidewalk in front of the house one day – she was getting chemotherapy or radiation, I can’t remember which – and she looked weary. We talked for five minutes in front of the driveway. She was a wonderful woman, full of that rare combination of optimism and contrarianism that’s hard to maintain over a life. At the end of our chat, she had a question. “Could you say a prayer for me?” Um....
An excellent judge Editor, the Journal, Judge Cadine Ferguson-Brown is running for election to the Superior Court. Over 40 years, I practiced in front of more than 15 local superior court and district court judges, as well as many court commissioners, and have been a commissioner myself in both juvenile court and probate-domestic court. We have been extremely fortunate here because of the really high quality of almost all of these judges. I have spoken at length to Judge Ferguson-Brown, and she...
I have a friend who grew up rich, but through hard work, grit and some lucky breaks, she overcame it. When people were losing their senses of taste and smell during the worst of COVID, did their senses of hearing and sight improve? At weddings in Olympia, if the guests wear Birkenstocks, they make a point of wearing their best pair. I’m reluctant to get into the whole Jan. 6 insurrection thing here, but I do believe that flag poles should not be used to pummel someone. There’s a mental switch yo...
Boys and girls Editor, the Journal, I am just so dismayed at the Shelton School District latest notification in the Community Link mailing that everyone in Mason County received last week. In the section on gender-inclusive schools, I just can't fathom what these people are thinking. The Shelton School District has acquiesced to the liberal mob logic now affecting and destroying many communities. They have made it a policy now to allow persons of one sex to identify as a person of another sex...
A one-scene play It’s late afternoon in a principal’s office at an expensive private middle school. In attendance are the principal, an 11-year-old boy, and the boy’s mother and father. The boy faces possible expulsion for several alleged offenses. PRINCIPAL: Let’s get to it, shall we? We’re all here to figure out what will be most helpful … SON: I didn’t do it! Whatever they say I did, I didn’t do it. They’re liars. You can’t prove I did anything wrong! MOTHER (patting her son’s knee): Now, n...
In our current election system, your signature on your ballot return envelope is of utmost importance. Your signature affirms the declaration printed on the envelope that under penalty of perjury you meet the qualifications to vote and you have not voted in any other jurisdiction in that election. The declaration also informs voters that it is illegal to vote if they are not a United States citizen; are incarcerated for a felony conviction; and that it is illegal to cast a ballot or sign a...
Bay at risk Editor, the Journal, I am a newer resident to Mason County and live nearby Oakland Bay. Part two of the hearing continued this last week and I must say, of all the information Taylor Shellfish Co. has either presented in its application for their proposed 50-acre industrial aquaculture and now production site in Oakland Bay, to me, is shocking in the abundance of misinformation and half-truths, unknowns and incomplete or minimized information. In my opinion, the lack of facts...
I’ve wasted enough time watching sports to know how they could be improved. Here, for your consideration, are some ways sporting events could become more entertaining … and violent. BASEBALL: I’d like to see a pitcher, just once, admit he hit a batter on purpose. Now they’re cagey about it, saying stuff like, “I didn’t mean to hit him, but you know, you’ve got to back up your teammates. You’ve got to send a message.” Sports announcers and reporters then repeat it and let the obvious lie go be...
Apparently qualified Editor, the Journal, I have recently read letters in your paper expressing support for our superior court judicial candidate David Stevens. I admit a lack of knowledge on a personal basis for the judicial qualifications of Mr. Stevens, as I also admit a similar lack of my personal knowledge of qualifications for the current serving superior court judge, Cadine Ferguson-Brown. As members of the Mason County electorate, it is difficult for us to obtain adequate personal qualification information for judicial candidates. In...
Ours is to question. Ink-stained wretches at weekly newspapers like this one were at one time content to put out the best newspaper they could muster, once a week. If something really big happened, like downtown burning to the ground, they’d put out a special edition, usually called an “Extra.” Our big-city cousins, often faced with a cross-town rival, would do the same but for the most part, people who wanted to know the latest news turned to their favorite radio station at the top of the hour....
"We don't have to get fat, We don't have to get old. We don't have information that we have to withhold." -The Pretenders, "Let the Sun Come In" Mrs. Ericson and I are doing fine money-wise, but we definitely don't have helicopter rescue money. That thought arose as I looked up at Aasgard Pass, a muscle-bound stretch of slope that rises from the tourmaline-green shores of Colchuck Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the central Cascades, just outside of Leavenworth. That incline of nearly...
Editor's note: This letter is in response to a letter from Craig Anderson in the Aug. 3 edition of the Journal. Auditor response Editor, the Journal, Thank you for visiting the Auditor's Office earlier this week. I truly appreciated the opportunity to get to know you and share with you some of the work we've been doing to "shore up" the elections system. As we discussed, state law (RCW 29A.60.170 (3)) requires investigation of any discrepancy found during an audit no later than 48 hours after el...
We got a letter from the IRS last month. I nervously opened it, but it only sought our participation in a survey on what the IRS calls “taxpayer burden” – the amount of money and time taxpayers spend on preparing their taxes. That’s fine, but it should have said this, in large letters, on the outside of the envelope: “It’s OK! You’re not in trouble!” A woman out bicycling the other day was wearing a mask, but not a helmet, and it reminded me of what I adore about human beings. When I was smal...
Editor’s note: David Stevens is a candidate for Mason County Superior Court judge. The Journal does not allow original letters from candidates for public office during election season. This letter is being allowed because it’s a direct rebuttal to several previous letters to the editor. Legal experience Editor, the Journal, No judge is an expert on every area of law. What you look for in a judge is discernment, judgment and experience. Supporters of my opponent have written to the Journal that they believe that I only know criminal law, so the...
I've bought 10 cars in life, starting at age 17. All were used, save one, and only two had any dollar value when I finished with them. All, however, have story value. No. 1, 1977: A 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle, which I bought for $1,200 from a used car lot in the Spokane Valley called Christian Brothers Automotive. At some point in the transaction, one of the brothers asked whether I was a Christian. Yes, I replied. "Good," he said, "we like to keep sales in the family." I asked what the car's...
Good Samaritans Editor, the Journal, Perhaps the city authorities – particularly those who attend church – could speak to their church pastor asking them to accommodate the homeless just like Jesus said to do. I might surmise that a few church pastors and priests are aware of Shelton’s park “tent city.” I suspect Shelton pastors have sometime in their long list of religious sermons preached about the good Samaritan story where it’s recommended to stop and help a man in trouble when others wouldn’t. Have not these Shelton pastors read the scri...
Thank you, Shelton. Thank you for this opportunity to serve my hometown and the place I call home. There are many people who have had a role in why I am here today serving as the next city manager. Teachers and coaches like Dann Gagnon, Terry Gregg, Harlan Buitenveld, Brian Brickert, Dave Niehl, Mark Jensen (all basketball junkies like me) and many more, instilled work ethic and teamwork principles that carry over from the gym to the office. Community leaders like Mike Byrne, who hired me for...
WE’RE NO. 51! In 2022, the number of (police) officers decreased by 70 to around 10,600 officers in Washington. The 4.4% drop brought the staffing rate to 1.35 officers per 1,000 people, putting Washington at the 51st lowest rate among all U.S. states and Washington, D.C., for the 13th year in a row, according to Steven Strachan, with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. Nationally, the rate is around 2.31 officers per 1,000 people. — The Seattle Times, July 10, 2023 ATTEMPT...
Journal letters policy regarding election season The Journal does not publish letters to the editor from candidates for public office - including those running unopposed - or their immediate family members, including spouse/partner, parents or children during election season. Election season is defined as from the moment a candidate declares for public office through the conclusion of the fall general election. This includes letters endorsing or opposing candidates in other races and endorsing o...
Hecidora Temisqueño was washing dishes in the early afternoon of July 4 when she saw a boiling column of smoke out the window. It was rolling toward her home. “It seemed like just seconds later, firefighters were at the door telling us to leave,” she said through her son, who interpreted for her. “I was scared.” And it wasn’t much later on that Tuesday afternoon that residents around the county started seeing firefighting aircraft sucking water from area bodies of water, including Oakland Bay an...
Pride and pub Editor, the Journal, Cathy Gallagher wrote that she didn’t like City Councilman Jim Boad’s vote on the Pride proclamations so would boycott the Wilde Irish Pub. Her letter had three errors. The first said Jim Boad voted against the proclamation. There was no vote. Two other board members confirmed this. There was a discussion; Mr. Boad simply stated his opinion. The second error was calling the proclamation “simple.” The last few years Pride parades have become very close to pornographic with children present and aggressive with a...
I hate know-it-alls, but I really hate mass murderers. We need to get to the point in our nation where we can dislike people solely for the content of their character, not the color of their skin. My 95-year-old mother-in-law recently asked what I thought of her grandson’s girlfriend’s hairdo. “Actually,” she corrected herself, “her head is shaved, so it’s more like a head-do.” Do you ever say something to your child that you could never have imagined coming out of your mouth? It happened to m...
