Shelton

JANUARY

On Jan. 4, four members of the Shelton City Council were sworn in for new terms.

Eric Onisko and Joe Schmit are beginning their second four-year terms. Onisko ran unopposed as council member No. 4 in the Nov. 2 general election, while Schmit defeated Tyler "Mad Dog" Elliott to return as member No. 6.

Onisko owns two local gas stations and is on the emergency food and shelter committee, the emergency planning committee, and the Mason County Housing and Behavioral Health Advisory Board. He is also chairman of the city's Shelton Metropolitan Park District.

Schmit, the technical service and operations officer for construction for the state Department of Transportation, is the MACECOM 911 dispatch centerboard chairman, vice chair for the Mason County Economic Development Council, a member of the grants committee for the Community Foundation, and an advisory board member for the Shelton YMCA.

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Extreme weather wreaked havoc throughout Mason County the first week of January.

Freezing temperatures, snow, ice and rain contributed to power

outages, road and school closures, delayed garbage pickups and other maladies.

The most disruptive effect was the closure of a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 from Hoodsport to state Route 104 due to downed trees and power lines. The road closed at 9:20 Sunday night and had yet to fully reopen as of Tuesday afternoon.

State Route 119 from Hoodsport to Lake Cushman also was closed most of Monday.

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The only hospital in Mason County has been handling the responsibility of COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic.

With the omicron wave, Mason Health and Mason General Hospital is seeing more patients than ever. Dr. Dean Gushee, Mason Health chief medical officer, in January said the hospital was bursting at the seams.

"Early in the pandemic, we were seeing very occasional COVID-positive patients in our facility, but even then that had an impact because we had to begin cutting back some services like elective surgical procedures, for example, elective in-patient surgical procedures," Gushee said. "Over time, what has happened, and I think the biggest impact for us is as the cases have climbed everywhere, COVID patients are occupying hospital beds. What that means is there are no hospital beds available for other patients who need things like elective surgical procedures. ... we're now in double digits almost every day with COVID patients.

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On Jan. 11, Pioneer Elementary and Middle School students and teachers were given about 20 minutes notice to evacuate the schools due to an outbreak of COVID.

For seven school days, instructors taught remotely, which was a challenge for the three teachers who don't have internet access at their homes. Some teachers gave lessons while sitting in their cars in the middle school parking lot.

Teachers shared their challenges and concerns Jan. 25 at the Pioneer School Board meeting conducted via Google. They also asked about the absence of Superintendent Jill Diehl, a month after the members of the Pioneer Education Association gave Diehl a vote of no confidence and asked her to resign. Diehl did not attend Tuesday's meeting.

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Members of the Shelton City Council, the Mason County Board of Commissioners and the Port of Shelton Commission gathered together to discuss annexation, economic development opportunities and sewer capacity expansion at a special meeting Jan. 28 at the Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton.

The two-hour gathering of the three governmental entities didn't lead to specific proposals, but allowed a free-flowing conversation.

"It's important to get together and talk," said City Manager Jeff Niten, who organized the gathering. A goal was "to discuss our shared vision for the community," he said.

A theme is "How do we work as partners with shared interests?" said Mason County Commissioner Kevin Shutty.

"The concept of working together is not new," said Port of Shelton Commissioner Dick Taylor, a former member of the then-Shelton City Commission. He added, "I don't know if we'll be successful, but we'll keep trying."

The talks focused on four topics: annexation, economic development opportunities, sewer capacity expansion and land exchanges.

FEBRUARY

Voters approved replacement levies for the Hood Canal and Mary M. Knight school districts, while a Hood Canal building bond short of a 60% super majority.

In the initial ballot results released Feb. 8, the Mary M. Knight levy had received 57.19% of the vote, and the Hood Canal levy 59.61%. Hood Canal's proposed bond to expand and renovate was at 56.16%.

Turnout for the initial count was 33.87%. The county is set to certify the election results Feb. 18.

The Mary M. Knight District's new two-year levy will collect $586,187 for the 2023 tax year and $639,632 for the 2024 tax year. The levy replaces a two-year levy passed by voters in February 2020 by 53.33%.

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The Pioneer School Board on Feb. 4 placed Superintendent Jill Diehl on paid administrative leave, and named former Southside Schools Superintendent Doris Bolender as the acting superintendent.

The move came almost two months after the Pioneer Education Association presented a vote of no confidence on Diehl to the board. Four members of the board voted for the actions, with Dwayne Kipple abstaining.

"The board is pleased to have Ms. Bolender available to assume this important appointed role," Pioneer School Board President Susan Day wrote in an email to the Shelton-Mason County Journal.

MARCH

Starting March 12, students and employees in Mason County's seven school districts will no longer be required to wear face masks in school buildings or on buses.

Everyone has the option to continue to wear masks, which will remain available.

Gov. Jay Inslee made the announcement Monday. Schools in Oregon and California passed identical measures.

In a post March 1, the North Mason School District stated, "Students and staff will have the choice to wear a mask at school, with the expectation that others' choices will be respected. One should not make assumptions regarding someone's beliefs or health status, nor should they comment on them. Our district will not tolerate bullying of any kind for those who choose to continue wearing masks."

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Erika Edgin, Tryssa Robertson and Hailey Lohman were Mary M. Knight ninth-graders when they donned face masks to ward off the COVID virus.

On March 14, they took them off as high school juniors.

"It feels like we're supposed to go back to normal, but it's not our normal," Edgin said as the trio stood together outside during a class project. She added, "I go to pull up my mask, and it's not there."

Monday was the first day students, teachers and other school staff were allowed by Gov. Jay Inslee's decree the option to not wear masks in schools. The seven school districts in Mason County report a range of student mask use on Monday and Tuesday, from 5% to 10% in the Grapeview School District to about 50% in the Hood Canal School District.

None of the districts report a noticeable initial divide between the masked and unmasked.

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New members of the Mason County Forest Festival court were crowned March 21.

Gabriela Lepe is the new Queen of the Forest, and Joshua Brennan is Paul Bunyan. Shawna Lacy is Princess of Cedar, Nevaeh Haskins is Princess of Hemlock, and Bradley Haskins Jr. is Timber the Axe Man.

The court members will represent the community while riding on a float in the parades of regional festivals, such as Fathoms O'Fun in Port Orchard. They will make their hometown debut during Forest Festival activities June 2 to 5.

APRIL

The Shelton City Council tweaked its proposed animal ordinances, allowing residents to own five hens - but no roosters - regardless of the size of their property.

The council members also discussed the proposed changes to ordinances regarding cats and dogs April 12 at a study session.

The council gave preliminary approval to new animal ordinances at its Feb. 15 meeting. At its March 1 meeting, the council postponed voting to make the new laws official after debating some of the details.

Under the initial proposed ordinance, residents in neighborhoods in land between 5,000 and 43,559 square feet - one foot shy of an acre -would be allowed a maximum of five hens, and no roosters. Chicken coops and other structures intended to house chickens would have to be set back from any property by at least 10 feet, and not be closer than 30 feet from any residential structure on an adjacent or adjoining parcel lot.

At the April 12 work session, the council members decided to eliminate all proposed requirements regarding the size of the property.

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At the Crazy Love Ministries warming center in downtown Shelton, 66-year-old Kevin Hendrickson was known as a gentleman who held doors for others, cracked jokes and offered encouraging words to others who lived on the streets.

In 2003, a motorcycle accident put the Kent resident in a coma. He emerged from the hospital a year later a changed man, said his son, Eric. He had to learn to walk and talk again, and he drifted away from his family.

By about 2015, Hendrickson was living on the streets in Shelton. After part of his toe was amputated a year ago, Hendrickson told Crazy Love Ministries Executive Director Wendy Petty he needed housing.

But he was still homeless when he died March 19 at Mason General Hospital. Petty said his last text to her read, "I'm checking out of the hospital again. I need a home." He left behind three sons and three grandchildren.

A rainbow appeared as about 40 people were gathering for a memorial service April 22 in the parking lot next to the Mason Transit Center.

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The Shelton City Council gave preliminary agreement April 26 to selling 10.5 acres of leased land to the Shelton YMCA for $123,200.

The council made the move official May 3.

The city declared the property at the intersection of Shelton Springs Road and East Wallace Kneeland Boulevard surplus. In July 2017, the Shelton City Council approved leasing the site to YMCA for $1 a year, for 100 years. The facility opened in March 2021.

At the council's April 19 meeting, City Manager Jeff Niten said the lease agreement required that the property be sold as bare land at the time of the purchase. South Sound YMCA in late 2021 sent the city a letter of intent to buy the property, he said.

The sale price was determined by Mason County taxable values, Niten said. The $123,200 will go to the city's water department because it owns the land, he said.

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After four months of being closed, the Shelton Timberland Library reopened its doors on April 25.

While the building was closed, the library operated out of the Shelton Civic Center and the Shelton YMCA.

"As chaotic as it's been, I think having a good team to work with has helped out a lot," Library assistant Joe Alessi told the Journal. "I would say that it's gone as good as it could have. As far as being able to pack up a van and move it to another building, I think that actually worked much better than we had anticipated it working."

MAY

The Hood Canal School District announced Superintendent Nikki Grubbs has accepted a job as the assistant superintendent in the North Thurston School District.

Grubbs was hired three years ago. She will remain in her position until the end of June. The Hood Canal School District states it hopes to have the position filled by that time.

In a news release, the district announced,"The School Board is currently putting in place a search plan that will include opportunities for all key stakeholders (parents, staff, taxpayers, voters) to provide input to the Board about the characteristics they believe are essential to best serve the children of the community."

Before she came to Hood Canal, Grubbs was the executive director of teaching and learning in Educational Service District 105 in

Yakima and principal at Harbour Pointe Middle School in Mukilteo. In March, she was named one of two finalists for the position of superintendent of the Aberdeen School District before that district selected Jeff Thake, who was a superintendent in Illinois and South Dakota.

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Longtime Mason County resident and Shelton-Mason County Journal outdoors columnist Mark Woytowich died May 6 at Mason General Hospital in Shelton after suffering a heart attack. He was 65.

Woytowich wrote the Journal's popular column "On The Trail" - which became "On The Go" in January - beginning in 2015, providing colorful tales of hiking and adventure around the county and Olympic Peninsula. He wrote a book titled "Where The Waterfalls And Wild Things Are" that was published in 2019, detailing many locations throughout Mason, Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties that he'd come across during 25 years of exploration around the Olympics.

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Mason County Commissioner Sharon Trask faces two challengers in the Aug. 2 primary election: Miguel Gutierrez, a first-term member of the Shelton City Council, and Mark Carlson.

The top two vote-getters will face off in the general election Nov. 8. Trask and Carlson are Republicans, and Gutierrez a Democrat.

Mason County auditor and assessor, and seats representing the 35th Legislative District, are also up for grabs in the primary. May 19 was the deadline for candidates to apply for election at the Mason County Auditor's Office.

Incumbent Mason County Assessor Patti McLean, who states no party preference, will face George Blush, a Republican. Last year, Blush lost by five votes to Gutierrez in his bid for a seat in on the Shelton City Council.

Incumbent Mason County Auditor Paddy McGuire, a Democrat, faces Republican Steve Duenkel. Mason

County Clerk Sharon K. Moore-Fogo, a Democrat, will face Republican challenger Charles G. Rhodes.

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Grapeview School District Superintendent Kurt Hilyard is retiring, with his last day at the post June 30.

The district's board of directors have hired as his replacement Jerry Grubbs. Grubbs is the part-time superintendent of the Starbuck School District in Eastern Washington, and he will perform both jobs. Grubbs is also the husband of Nikki Grubbs, who is leaving as superintendent of the Hood Canal School District to be assistant superintendent of the North Thurston School District.

In an interview with the Shelton-Mason County Journal, the 64-year-old Hilyard said the death of his wife last year from cancer prompted his decision to step down.

"That changed a lot of things," he said.

The Montana native has spent 36 of his 41 years in education as a superintendent in Montana and Washington. He was hired to be part-time superintendent of the Grapeview School District in 2019, and officially works two days a week. He also works at home on his days off, saying his Mondays usually include two or three Zoom meetings.

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The City of Shelton is considering amending its codes on camping on private property that could grant community groups permits to accommodate up to 30 people, but with many proposed rules and regulations.

The proposed requirements would include an around-the-clock host, visual screening from the neighbors, exterior lighting pointed downward, and a posted code of conduct. People with police warrants would not be allowed.

The Shelton City Council talked about the proposed code amendment changes at a work session on May 24. The council can expect to address a proposed ordinance in early July, said City Manager Jeff Niten.

JUNE

Rain drops and downpours, and the threatening black clouds in between, didn't prevent thousands of people from flocking to downtown Shelton the first week of June for the return of the Mason County Forest Festival following a two-year hiatus.

Residents and visitors clearly welcomed the chance to get out and have fun, said Amy Cooper, vice president of the Mason County Forest Festival Board of Directors.

"I feel like the rain didn't keep anyone away," she said.

The crowds that lined West Railroad Avenue Saturday morning for the family and pet parade and the Paul Bunyan Grand Parade were sparred rainfall.

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A City of Shelton hearings examiner rejected Community Lifeline's request to increase the number of beds at its homeless shelter from 35 to 50, saying the expansion would "add gasoline to a fire."

In his June 13 ruling, Terrence McCarthy said the Shelton-based nonprofit can apply again for an amendment to a conditional use permit to add beds at the two-story brick building at 218 N. Third St. "once they reduce their negative impact upon their neighbors and the surrounding area."

At public hearings on Dec. 6, 2021 and May 16, neighbors complained about the noise, garbage, vandalism, trespassing, intimidation and in the case of a nextdoor neighbor, assault.

"Once the applicant regains the support of their neighbors and has reduced their negative impact upon the surrounding neighbors, they may come back for another hearing to consider adding additional beds," McCarthy wrote in his June 13 ruling. "However, the current impact of 35 residents has too much of a negative impact on the neighbors and surrounding area."

In an interview with the Shelton-Mason County Journal, Community Lifeline homeless shelter manager Athena Ayres said the nonprofit's administration anticipated such a decision because of the "quality of life" concerns. She pointed out that that the homeless population has increased by 129% in the past two years.

"Our capacity of 35 people is not enough," she said.

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Three school principals resigned in June from the Shelton School District.

June 13 was the last day for Mario Juves, the principal at Oakland Bay Junior High School for two years. Today is the last day in the district for Stacey Anderson, the principal at CHOICE High School for 14 years, and Amber Argus, the principal at Evergreen Elementary School for two years.

All three resignations were approved as part of the consent agenda at the Shelton School Board's meeting Tuesday evening.

JULY

Improving the city's Western Gateway on West Railroad Avenue and building two roundabouts on Wallace Kneeland Boulevard, are the top three priorities on the City of Shelton's proposed Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan.

The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening hosted its first public hearing on the proposed plan. The council is scheduled to vote on the document at its July 19 meeting.

No one from the public offered comments Tuesday.

The city's code states that the plan is designed "to assure that each city and town shall perpetually have available advanced plans looking to the future for not less than six years as a guide in carrying out a coordinated transportation."

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Growing up in a small village in central Mexico, Jose de Jesus Melendez picked corn, beans and sweet potatoes to help support his subsistence-farming family. He attended a one-room schoolhouse, at least when a teacher was available.

When Melendez was in the fourth grade, his father told him, "You're an educated man now" and pulled him out of school to pick sugar cane full time. His formal schooling days in Mexico were over.

A remarkable educational journey that began in his 20s has led Melendez to a career as a teacher, principal, program director and superintendent in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. On July 1, his latest adventure began as superintendent of the Hood Canal School District. He replaces Nikki Grubbs, who was hired as assistant superintendent in the North Thurston School District.

Teachers and tutors who recognized his potential helped transform him from a 27-year-old immigrant who knew little English to a school administrator with two master's degrees.

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The Shelton City Council on Tuesday began paving the way for community organizations to host temporary homeless encampments of up to 30 people, with a long list of rules and regulations.

In a 6-1 vote, the council moved the proposed code amendments to its action agenda at its meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 2. Council member James Boad cast the dissenting vote. The council members talked about the code amendment changes at a work session March 22.

Under the proposed amendments, a community group could be permitted for an encampment on private property of up to 30 people for seven months, and after that could apply for a second seven months. A permit also would be available for a homeless encampments of six people or less, with most of the same rules and regulations.

The proposed rules include prohibiting firearms, illegal drugs, flames inside tents and minors without parents; bathrooms must be available around the clock, and a kitchen available at least three hours a day; and visual screening from the neighbors is required.

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Three new principals will helm Shelton schools in September.

The Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening approved the hiring of Vernon Bruni as principal at CHOICE High School, Paula Canady at Evergreen Elementary School and Teresa Mayr at Oakland Bay Junior High School. The hirings were part of the school board's common consent agenda.

The trio replaces three principals who resigned in June: Mario Juves at Oakland Bay Junior High, Stacey Anderson at CHOICE High School and Amber Argus at Evergreen Elementary.

AUGUST

Central Mason Fire Chief Mike Patti is hanging up his coat Aug. 19.

Patti, 68, joined Central Mason Fire in July 2011 as the assistant chief and fire marshal. He worked in that position until 2015 when he was promoted to deputy chief of operations while continuing his fire marshal duties. He was promoted again in January 2020 to fire chief.

"I think once I retire, I'm going to take a couple months to breathe and we'll just see what the future holds," Patti told the Journal. "I want to do some traveling and just chill for a while."

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Drivers in downtown Shelton on West Railroad Avenue face delays and one-way traffic as the city launches its ambitious Western Gateway construction project.

On Tuesday, crews began installing a new water main, water service improvements and storm drain improvements on the West Railroad Avenue corridor between Eighth Street and Pacific Court, the city's western border. After the underground utilities are installed, new pavement, curbs, gutters and sidewalks will be laid. A new bus pullout with a bus shelter will be created near Pacific Court.

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Up in the mountains in Olympic National Forest during August, the noise of huge machines digging up dirt and moving trees can be heard.

It's part of the Skokomish River restoration project, and the work underway now is being done near the confluence of the Upper South Fork Skokomish River and Church Creek.

The project, near U.S. Forest Service Road 2361, involves crews taking trees that were brought in and placed in locations along a stretch of the Skokomish River to try to connect the two flood plains on either side of the river.

According to U.S. Forest Service Fish Biologist Brian Bair, the flood plains experience degrees of flooding. Bair said Q2 floods occur every other year, in November and December. Q100 floods are damaging floods that occur once every 100 years, and are much larger than Q2 floods. He said a Q100 flood occurred in the 1990s.

When old-growth trees were abundant, they would naturally mitigate flooding.

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Are the men and women living on the streets of downtown Shelton natives of Mason County or transients bused in from Thurston County to take advantage of homeless services? And do those services "enable" homeless people, or help them move on to more stable lives and housing?

Downtown business owners, service providers and others shared their thoughts during the public comment period Aug. 16 at the Shelton City Council meeting. The comments came two weeks after the council voted 6-1 to approve code amendment changes that allow community organizations to host temporary homeless encampments of up to 30 people, with a long list of rules and requirements.

Nine people stepped up to the microphone, or spoke remotely, at the meeting. All of them focused on homelessness in downtown Shelton.

Shelton resident Tommy Stearns implied council members somehow received money for their vote.

"My problem with you, besides Jim Boad, man of the people, are one, two, three, four, five, six of you cowards voted for the homeless encampments in this city," he said. "In what form? Compassion? Is that what it was? Was it a kickback to the city? Who knows? We'll dig, we'll find out."

SEPTEMBER

Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Heidi McCutcheon is leaving for new employment after being with the chamber for 14 years.

According to a Tuesday news release, McCutcheon was the president and CEO for 12 of her 14 years. She's taken a new job at the Thurston County Economic Development Council and Center for Business & Innovation.

During her time at the chamber, she helped coordinate the Shelton Downtown Visioning Plan, produced the Business Matters publication, implemented an annual survey, promoted workforce development, expanded tourism efforts and launched a website.

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The Mason Conservation District updated the public on federal regulations and the Skokomish Valley Road project at its Aug. 30 meeting at the Skokomish Community Church. 

Senior Conservation Manager Keith Underwood led the meeting and talked to the 20 people in attendance. He said the Federal Emergency Management Act states that if a rise is created for the 100-year flood event by making changes in the floodway, as some of the projects Mason Conservation District might do, the public must be informed of the

changes. A new flood map must be created and go through a public process to update the map. Habitat projects are exempted from that because they are given a couple of inches of rise capability before they affect the regulation. 

"That decision was made in Region 10. ... When the national FEMA found out this was decided, they rolled it back and said that the region was out of step with the national regulations," Underwood said during the meeting. "The reason was the ESA, Endangered Species Act, was going so strongly in this area trying to improve the habitat that they're working with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others to try to speed up the habitat improvement process."

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Workers broke ground last week for the Shelton Veterans Village, designed to house 30 homeless Mason County veterans on North 13th Street near Olympic College Shelton.

The village, which will be operated by the nonprofit organization Quixote Communities, is expected to open in summer. Quixote Communities also has tiny home villages in Olympia and Orting.

All three communities will benefit from the Tiny Homes Big Future fundraiser from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hands On Children's Museum, 414 Jefferson St., Olympia. Admission to the outdoor event is a $20 donation. The event includes live music, food, drinks and raffles.

The village will feature seven four-plexes, one duplex and a community building on 3 acres leased from the City of Shelton. The community building will include a double kitchen, dining area, multipurpose room, staff offices and laundry facilities.

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Mason County Fire District 12 officials misappropriated public money and broke state laws, according to an accountability audit and fraud investigation report by the state Auditor's Office released Tuesday.

According to the fraud investigation report, the district misappropriated almost $70,000 in public money and $95,000 in unsupported expenses. State Auditor Pat McCarthy, along with other members of the state Auditor's Office, attended the district's regular monthly commissioners meeting Tuesday through Zoom to share the results.

"I am here to emphasize my own concerns about the issues we have found over the course of our audit and special investigations," McCarthy said during the meeting. "I know it can be challenging to manage local government, but the issues we raised are all intended to serve your community. Our role in the state Auditor's Office is to provide an independent, objective review of every local government in the state of Washington."

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Children who are victims of or have witnessed domestic violence have more space to play, learn social-emotional skills, and connect with their peers at the Turning Pointe Survivor Advocacy Center shelter in Shelton.

On Friday, the nonprofit organization celebrated with employees, board members, donors and public officials the completion of a 400-square-foot addition to accommodate its growing youth programs. The two new offices will be the focal point for youth advocacy and prevention.

The building addition is phase two of a proposed three-phase plan to help youths, said Gina Finley, the organization's executive director. At one point before the COVID pandemic, a record 27 children were staying at the shelter, she said.

Finley said the process began three years ago when she told local architect and consultant Len Williams she was having a difficult time creating a youth program with no space. Williams lent his services free of charge developing phase one, the conversion of an existing office space into a designated youth activities room, with the help of Green Diamond Resources, in 2019-2020. The proposed third phase is the creation of a building for child care for clients, Finley said.

OCTOBER

Sunny skies and temperatures that pushed 80 degrees greeted thousands of seafood, music and beer enthusiasts who descended on Shelton's Sanderson Field on Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 for the return of OysterFest after a two-year hiatus due to COVID.

The Shelton Skookum Rotary Club, which has staged the event since 1982, was tabulating attendance numbers as the Journal was going to press. The group estimates about 11,000 patrons passed through the main gate, which does not include 450 people who camped in RVs at the site or the thousands of vendors and volunteers, Jerry Obendorf, the group's president, wrote in an email to the Journal.

"The spirit of the community was definitely present this weekend," Obendorf wrote. "It was quite meaningful to see old acquaintances renewed over an oyster and a beer."

Bob Miller, this year's Grand Old Oyster, said this year's festival offered more activities for children, including offerings inside the Shelton YMCA tent that proved popular.

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The City of Shelton's homelessness task force recommends the city create a mitigation site for homeless people for one year, support grant applications for current shelters and for rapid re-housing, provide storage lockers at a mitigation site and support affordable housing.

Those recommendations were announced at a "Shelton Spotlight" community forum Tuesday evening at the Shelton Civic Center. The City Council will vote on the recommendations in November, City Manager Jeff Niten told the crowd of about 75 people.

The city established the homelessness task force in June amid complaints by downtown residents, visitors and business owners about trash, vandalism, open drug use, and public urination and defecation by people living on downtown streets.

The homelessness task force presented seven recommendations to the council. One of the short-term goals is to establish a mitigation site, a legal tent encampment for homeless people, for one year. Niten said a site has been identified.

Another short-term goal is for the city to support grant applications for current shelter options, and support grant applications for community partners to provide rapid re-housing.

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Members of the group Multilingual Shelton are asking the Shelton School District to hire an administrator to coordinate the English Learner and Dual Language programs, hire more dual language-certified teachers, and "restore quality and integrity" to Evergreen Elementary School's program.

On Oct. 20, about 100 people packed the gym at Evergreen Elementary School in downtown Shelton to hear updates and concerns about the Shelton School District's dual language program. The group Multiligual Shelton, parents of children in the school's program and those who have graduated, requested the district-sponsored event.

In an email to the Journal, Multiligual Shelton member Erica Marbet expressed concerns about the program.

"The program has been on the rocks in recent years as the district has not recruited trained staff, not sent their staff to appropriate dual language training, cut off the fifth-grade year of the program - actually dropped every class the program had all the way to the seventh grade - and cut enrollment for kindergartners by over half," she wrote. "Many families support the program and have attended school board meetings to say so this last spring and summer."

Multilingual Shelton's nine recommendations to the district also include offering ongoing education to dual language and English Learner teachers and staff; regularly informing English Learner families of their opportunity to choose transitional bilingual education; and expanding a dual language strand to all its elementary and secondary schools.

NOVEMBER

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer say they want the City of Shelton and Mason County to benefit from a new $1 billion federal grant program to help bring businessses to the county.

On Friday, Cantwell and Kilmer met with city, county and economic leaders at the Shelton Civic Center for a roundtable discussion on economic development opportunities. They then boarded a bus to tour local development and infrastructure sites, including the Port of Shelton's industrial parks.

The two touted the RECOMPETE (Rebuilding Economies and Creating Opportunities for More People Everywhere to Excel) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Kilmer and championed by Cantwell, which was signed into law as part of the Chips & Science Act. The pilot program of the RECOMPETE Act will establish a new

$1 billion federal grant program, that according to Kilmer's office, will "invest in communities that have faced long-term economic challenges."

"We want to help small communities ... we want you to compete too," Cantwell said.

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The Mason County Jail has space for 93 inmate beds and a current target population of 60, but staffing shortages mean only people arrested on felony charges are being booked into the facility in downtown Shelton.

The City of Shelton has reserved seven of those inmate beds, but is looking at booking up to 20 beds per month with the Nisqually Tribe for a year, which would be a temporary solution.

Mason County and City of Shelton administrators talked about staffing shortages at the county jail and possible future options at a joint leadership breakfast Nov. 4 at the Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton.

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A wave of post-election day ballot counts catapulted Steve Duenkel to a narrow victory in the Mason County auditor's race.

Duenkel, the Republican challenger, trailed incumbent Democrat Paddy McGuire by 547 votes in results released election night. By Wednesday's second ballot count, which occurred after the Journal went to press last week, Duenkel had erased McGuire's lead and gained a seven-vote advantage.

Duenkel led by 272 votes after Thursday's count, which was the final before Veterans Day weekend, and was ahead by 281 votes after Monday's count.

The totals announced Monday were 14,515 (50.46%) votes for Duenkel, 14,234 votes for McGuire (49.48%) and 17 write-in votes (0.06%). Additionally, 481 voters did not choose a candidate in the race.

The 2022 General Election saw 29,248 ballots cast out of 44,045 registered voters in the county, a 66.4% turnout.

DECEMBER

Establishing a mitigation site for a year where homeless people could erect tents would cost the City of Shelton about $35,000, while employing staff to oversee the encampment at night would cost about $100,000.

The Shelton City Council discussed and ranked seven recommendations by its homelessness task force Nov. 22 at a study session at the Shelton Civic Center.

"I'm hearing the mitigation site is the number one thing we should be working on," said City Manager Jeff Niten.

"I think a mitigation site is the most important start," Mayor Eric Onisko said. He added, "I think we should start a mitigation site as soon as possible and see how many people actually move from the parks to the mitigation site."

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The City of Shelton has contracted with the Nisqually Correctional Facility on Yelm Highway to provide jail beds for detainees.

The Shelton City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed the contract, which calls for the Nisqually Correctional Facility to receive $130 per day per inmate, with no guaranteed beds. Shelton Police Department employees will drive the inmates to the facility.

The city has been contracting with the Mason County Sheriff's Office for jail services, and currently pays for seven guaranteed beds per day. Five of the beds are reserved for detainees who are only being charged with violations that would be adjudicated in Municipal Court.

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Mason County general election results were certified Nov. 29 by the county's canvassing board.

A new auditor will be handling elections in 2023. Republican challenger Steve Duenkel will begin his term in January after receiving 14,739 votes for 50.58% of the total. Democratic incumbent Paddy McGuire received 14,379 votes for 49.35%.

Mason County will also have a new clerk in Republican Charles Rhodes, who received 14,727 votes for 50.82% of the total. Democratic incumbent Sharon Moore-Fogo received 14,223 votes for 49.08%. 

One incumbent who will be serving another term is Mason County Assessor Patti McLean, who received 15,990 votes for 55.44% of the total. Republican challenger George Blush received 12,804 votes for 44.4%. Also earning reelection was county Commissioner Sharon Trask. The Republican will represent District No. 3 for another four years after receiving 16,207 votes for 55.95% of the total. Democratic challenger Miguel Gutierrez received 12,680 votes for 43.78%.

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After about five years of discussions and planning, the Shelton Veterans Village is taking shape on North 13th Street near Olympic College Shelton, with a planned opening for 30 homeless veterans next summer.

A crew from Forma Construction this week is erecting the framework for the village's community building on 3 acres leased from the City of Shelton. The village will feature seven four-plexes and one duplex.

The nonprofit organization Quixote Communities also has tiny home villages in Olympia and Orting.

Local homeless veterans can likely begin to apply for residency this spring through Crossroads Housing at 360-490-6510, the local "coordinated entry system," Colleen Carmichael, executive director of Quixote Communities, said in an interview with the Journal. That agency will oversee the waiting list and contact Quixote about potential residents, she said.