Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Since the first edition of the Shelton-Mason County Journal rolled off the press in 1886, three years before the state of Washington joined the union, the Journal has been dedicated to covering the news and events that affect the City of Shelton and Mason County at large. From cover to cover, the newspaper our readers pick up is written by people who live in the area about things that happen here. Whether it's the Shelton City Council, the Board of Mason County Commissioners, one of our...
“In 1858, three days after the first Atlantic [telegraph] Cable connected New York and London, The New York Times asked if the news would become ‘too fast for the truth.’ ” — From the book “Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington” “Too fast for the truth.” That phrase should be stamped on every cellphone, tablet and laptop sold in this country. It could read like this: “Warning: This product is too fast for the truth. Wait before forming an opinion on information presented.” Before...
What is nice? Editor, The Journal, I must wonder, does the Journal’s editorial cartoon artist even read your paper or research his chosen topic? Based on last week’s cartoon, I would have to say no. The cartoon depicted a citizen complaining to the school board about free speech. That has happened recently; however, the cartoonist’s point was that the complaint was about being asked to be “be nice” while the citizen wanted to “name call, insult.” I assume the cartoonist was referring to recent public comments at the Shelton School Distri...
The Shelton-Mason County Journal encourages original letters to the editor of local interest. Diverse and varied opinions are welcome. We will not publish letters that are deemed libelous or scurrilous in nature. We reserve the right to reject any letter for any reason. When submitting a letter, please observe the following guidelines: Writers are limited to one original letter plus one rebuttal or counter-rebuttal per calendar month; Letters should be no more than 300 words; Letters will be edited for grammar, spelling, style, clarity and...
“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” — Abraham Lincoln The grand unified theory in physics is the belief that there is a single explanation that can predict all the behaviors of all the forces in the universe. Theoretical physicists are searching for that elegant explanation of why forces behave the way they do, from the subatomic to the outer bands of the universe. Could there be a grand unified theory for the world’s religions? Could there be a thread t...
It seems as if 2024 is running at "fast forward" speed. Your elections team certified two of the five elections scheduled for the year, including the March 12 presidential primary. Many voters expressed concerns with having to identify a political party affiliation on their ballot return envelope. Presidential primaries are conducted for major political parties as part of their respective candidate nomination processes and the parties want to know who voted in their primary. From an elections...
Property tax Editor, the Journal, The assessor took an oath to support the U.S. Constitution, especially the first article in the Bill of Rights not to prohibit the free exercise of religion which has been done when children are being exposed to comprehensive sex-ed K-12th grade against the Holy Bible. Two-thirds of property tax funds public schools and the remainder also is illegal because the property tax is against our original state Constitution according to appellant, David Darby. At 91...
If you met your spouse at an orgy, you’d probably tell your kids you met at a big party and leave it at that. “Lisp” is a cruel word. That word describes a condition that seems designed to invite mockery of lispers when they try to pronounce their affliction. Many Americans have no desire to be rich. It seems sacrilegious, even heretical, to live in the United States and not want to be rich. Overheard at the gym I go to, involving two high-volume men in the locker room: One was compl...
Fire support Editor, the Journal, I am a Matlock Fire District 12 resident and I am asking Mason County residents to please support the West Mason Fire District 16 levy. I have heard that there is a lot of confusion over the district boundaries and also that the recent corruption in Matlock Fire 12 has negatively impacted West Mason Fire 16’s levy. We in the Matlock district are dealing with our issues as best we can but we do not want our problems to negatively affect West Mason Fire 16. West Mason Fire 16 is professional and fiscally r...
The national anthem was playing and on my right, the silver medal had just been awarded. I bowed my head to receive my gold medal ... Well, if there had been an Olympic competition for door slamming, I would have won gold as a 15-year-old. I recall hearing my parents tell me, "Don't slam the door! How you shut the door to your home makes a difference." ■ ■ ■ I was 16 years old doing 40 mph down a gravel road. I had been with my dad before when he had made his 1966 Ford pickup fishtail down...
If you could have been present at an event that occurred sometime, somewhere in your life, what event would you choose? What would I choose? Thanks for asking. ■ I would have liked to be in the South Pacific on April 12, 1970, when the Apollo 13 astronauts put their feet on the flight deck of the USS Iwo Jima. Much of the world had been riveted by the struggle to return the crippled ship to Earth after a malfunction aborted its mission to the moon. Imagine witnessing those men who had spent the...
Sunshine act Editor, the Journal, In response to Ed Reiter "Vote on the clock." I totally agree a vote of the people would have been a great way to find out the "will of the people" regarding staying Pacific Standard Time or switching the clocks to Daylight Saving Thief. As it stands now, in 2019 a group of our legislators changed the RCWs and gave the decision to switch to Daylight Stealing Time permanently to Congress. Thank goodness they took forever to select a speaker of the House and the...
Each year, approximately 500,000 people in the United States take the adventure of a lifetime and try skydiving. Washington is home to five drop zones, each hosting thousands of these tandem skydives per year. Tandem skydiving - where you're attached to an experienced skydiving instructor for your jump - has maintained an excellent safety rate. In fact, 2023 was the safest year ever for U.S. skydiving. Yet, local skydiving centers are under attack. Legislation that is unnecessary and...
Our spring, our vernal equinox, arrived Tuesday at 8:06 p.m. “Vernal” means “of or relating to spring.” “Equinox” means “the time when the sun crosses the plane of earth’s equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth.” So says Merriam-Webster. “Oh, the storm and its fury broke today Crushing hopes that we cherish so dear Clouds and storms will in time pass away The sun again will shine bright and clear.” So sings the Carter Family. The precise time, in thes...
Thank you, Gary Burleson Editor, the Journal, I was pleased to see that the District Court building was going to be named in honor of Gary Burleson. I knew Gary going back into the late '70s. During the '80s, we did battle many times and he and I developed a good working relationship. His was a thankless job. Even though it was in the days before social media, there were still many avenues for people to inappropriately react, jump to conclusions, or otherwise interject themselves into...
Standing alone in front of the mirror, seeing my brown eyes looking back at me, I replay what I've just said to my dad. I grip the bathroom counter and bite my lower lip. I've heard those words as a son countless times and have said them as a dad just as many, but this was a first. Dad said he wanted to take care of himself and Mom. I told my dad, "No, you can't do that." ■ ■ ■ I got to my parents' house in Sequim in February 2023, following a two-hour drive, and asked Dad what stores we need...
I didn’t vote in the March 12 presidential primary. It’s the first time in years I’ve intentionally not voted. I’ve voted in 56 elections since the general election of 1992, according to my voting record at votewa.gov. The site doesn’t show you how you voted, just that you voted. For comparison, Mrs. Ericson has voted 68 times since 1992. In matters of citizenship, and civility, she is better than I am. The way Washington’s presidential primary ballot is arranged, if you voted for a Republican...
A student's view on homelessness Editor, the Journal, I am Summer and I am a senior at Shelton High School. I am writing to you about the homeless issue in Mason County to further spread awareness, if this sees print. The issue we face as a community is considerable in size and many are uneducated about the topic. Currently, there are not enough shelters to accommodate the number of unhoused individuals, forcing those without housing to find camp elsewhere and trespass on private or public...
Two months ago, a plastic freezer bag appeared on our front porch. Inside was a 100% Merino wool, long-sleeve black undershirt, with the tags still attached. All that was written on the freezer bag was "KIRK" (with the last "K" turned backward), with no hint who it was from. It had to be from someone who knows me well, well enough to know I have an affection for Merino wool, long-sleeve shirts, possessions that come free, the color black, and that I wear a size large. And perhaps the person was...
How many more need to die on 101? Editor, the Journal, How many more of our citizens are going to die in head-on crashes on the U.S. Highway 101 bypass around Shelton? For years and years, I begged the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Legislature to simply install jersey barriers on the centerline. Impaired drivers easily cross the centerline with tragic results. The bypass has adequate width for centerline barriers, even crossing Goldsborough Creek. I have lost track of how many of our community have died because of...
The world is not going to hell. It’s not going to heaven, either. It’s going to where it’s always been going and where it’s always been: Planet Earth. This world of ours is a mix, a kind of impure puree. Sometimes, the heaven part coagulates at the top, and sometimes, the hell part’s at the top. That’s the ebb and recharge of the universe’s experiment with Homo sapiens. Many of us humans have worked hard to learn how to exist amid other Homo sapiens, and many of us have worked hard to destr...
Editor's note: In a recent letter to the editor, Mr. Graham questioned a letter writer's use of TinyURL links. TinyURL is a link-shortening website that allows for more user-friendly entry into an internet browser than typing out a full web address - some of which can be hundreds of characters long. The shortened links in question came from the Journal staff during the editing process. This note was intended to be included in last week's edition to clarify the process but was inadvertently left...
I've lately been asking people how many people in the United States have died of COVID. Their answers are generally way low - before I checked the stat, my answer was way low, too. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,176,639 people died of COVID in the United States from January 2020 to February 2024. More than 1 million Americans dead. Imagine. That's almost double the deaths from the Civil War. "So, again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days i...
A message to a candidate Editor, the Journal, My response to Richard Beckman's announcement that he is running for the District 2 commissioner seat. First, Kevin Shutty has been present at many of our Mason County Fire District 12 meetings and Matlock community meetings. As one of the leaders of our community, I invite you to attend the next community meeting. I am not sure that Kevin did everything that he could do, but he did more than most of the elected officials. Thank you, Kevin, for...
“But if Christ hadn’t delivered his Sermon on the Mount, with its message of mercy and pity, I wouldn’t want to be a human being. I’d just as soon be a rattlesnake.” — Kurt Vonnegut, “A Man Without a Country” Imagine, if you will … It’s circa 30 A.D. and Jesus Christ is in his late 20s and starting to make a name for himself. He’s on a hilltop near the Sea of Galilee and a crowd has gathered to hear the carpenter deliver a major speech. Among the assembled is an old man named Strange. He’s t...
