County Briefs

Olympic National Forest gets money to repair damage

Olympic National Forest received $1.7 million in disaster relief money to help access along Forest Service Road 29.

According to a news release, the road has been closed since November due to debris flow and washouts caused by extreme weather. As a vital emergency route, the money will allow for installation of temporary structures that will allow access through the northwest portion of the Olympic Peninsula. Preliminary work, including design and planning, is underway by staff to prepare sites for pending structure installation and to ensure critical natural resources are protected.

Forest Service Road 29 remains closed. Work is projected to start in late spring and the road is expected to be open by late summer.

For updates on the project, go to the Olympic National Forest website at tinyurl.com/yckr9b9e.

Norton named Mason Health employee of month

Mason Clinic Hannah Norton is the February Mason Health employee of the month.

According to a news release, Norton grew up in Shelton and graduated from Shelton High School in 2008. She attended South Puget Sound Community College to become a medical assistant. She completed a five-week externship program at Mason General Hospital Olympic Physicians. During the second week of the program, Mason Health offered her a job. Norton accepted and started in 2016.

Norton worked as a medical assistant at Olympic Physicians and Mountain View Women’s Health Clinic before moving to Mason Clinic with the Olympic Physicians team in June 2021. She was a major help in the summer rollout of Mason Health’s new electronic medical records domain, Domain Northwest.

“I like helping people and I like working here because it’s like a family,” she said. “It’s awesome getting to know patients and their families and them getting to know you or being with a woman throughout her whole pregnancy and then seeing the baby. Being the medical assistant, you set the tone for the whole appointment, so I try to make it as positive as possible.”

County Auditor’s Office seeks committee members

The Mason County Auditor’s Office is looking for residents to write arguments against two measures on the April 26 special election ballot.

According to a news release, the voters’ pamphlet contains a

summary, an argument for and an argument against each ballot measure. Committee members will provide a written argument against the measure that does not exceed 250 words.

The measures that do not have an argument against are Fire Protection District No. 18 Emergency Medical Services Property Tax Levy and Southside School District No. 042 Replacement of Educational Programs and Operations Levy.

The Mason County auditor will make appointments for the against committees first-come, first-serve. The deadline to volunteer is Mondayand written arguments are due by 4 p.m. on March 10.

For more information, contact the Mason County Election Department at 360-427-9670 ext. 470 or elections@masoncountywa.gov.