News Briefs

Shelton man headed to prison for crash

A former Shelton resident will be spending up to 12 years in prison for driving drunk and killing a pregnant woman and her son in Olympia.

Draedon James Jorgenson, 28, pleaded guilty in Thurston County Superior Court on May 3 to two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault.

Jorgenson caused the wrong-way collision that killed Samantha Denney, 31, and Adonis Denney, 2, on Interstate 5 north of U.S. Highway 101 on Nov. 10, 2023.

Prosecutors said Jorgenson had a blood alcohol content of 0.23 at the time of the crash, which is almost three times Washington’s legal limit of 0.08.

Judge Mary Sue Wilson gave Jorgenson a 12-year sentence for the deaths and for injuring Samantha Denney’s 8-year-old daughter Scarlett, who survived.

Auditor’s office seeks volunteers

The Mason County Auditor’s Office is seeking volunteers to write an argument against a local measure that will appear on the Aug. 6 primary election ballot. The Mason County voters’ pamphlet will have the ballot title, an explanatory statement of each ballot measure, an argument for and the argument against the measure. The written argument is not to exceed 250 words and conform to the Mason County Local Voters’ Pamphlet Administrative Rules for Measures.

The following measure currently does not have an argument against committee: North Mason Regional Fire Authority – Property Tax Levy for Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services.

The Mason County Auditor shall make appointments for the against committee to residents within the district boundaries on a first come, first serve basis. The deadline to volunteer for an against committee is 4 p.m. Friday.

To volunteer or for more information, contact the Mason County Election Department at 360-427-9670 ext. 470 or [email protected].