Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 801 - 825 of 859
Miguel Gutierrez holds a five-vote lead over George W. Blush for a seat on the Shelton City Council following the final Nov. 2 general election ballot count released on Monday, triggering a recount by the Mason County Auditor’s Office. Gutierrez had 728 votes for 49.59% and Blush 723 votes for 49.25% in their race for a four-year seat as council member No. 7. Write-in candidates had received 17 votes. The results released on Nov. 4 had Gutierrez with a three-vote lead. A couple weeks ago, Mason County Auditor Paddy McGuire told the Journal t...
Daryl White was a teenage guitarist when he saw Elvis Presley play a ukulele in the movie "Blue Hawaii." He bought a cigar box ukulele for $90 at an outdoor bazaar in Olympia. "I learned the ukulele in about five minutes," he said. Barbara Gomez mastered her first three chords on a $26 soprano ukulele. Joel Myer grew frustrated with his first model, but became hooked with a better model and now owns 26. "It's an accessible instrument, but it's also an accessible sound ... It's not threatening...
The Shelton City Council on Tuesday approved a $41.1 million budget for 2022. No one spoke during a public hearing, nor did anyone at the first public hearing on Oct. 19. None of the council members commented on the budget. The city was required to adopt the budget before the end of the year. The $41,146,160 in expenditure includes $15,097,780 for the general fund, $1,872,280 for the street fund, $2,986,620 for the capital resources fund, $62.900 for the tourism fund, $177,300 for the bond...
The state legislative session that begins in January is not the ideal time for the City of Shelton to ask for money for big-ticket projects, said Troy Nichols, the city’s lobbyist. The short 60-session that begins Jan. 10 is generally reserved for minor tweaks in policy and the state budget, Nichols told the Shelton City Council Nov. 9 at a study session. The state “left very little as far as bonding capacity for the entire state,” he said. “In fact, in terms of general obligation bonds, they left about $82 million to spend for the entire...
For the first time in two years, Shelton High School choir, drama and stagecraft students blend their creative talents to produce a show, “Night of Musical Theater,” which debuts at 7 tonight in the school’s Performing Arts Center. The show is also staged at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Audience members are required to wear face masks. “Into the Wild” is the theme of the production, an annual showcase that skipped 2020 due to the pandemic. The multi-med...
In the most recent ballot count from the Nov. 2 election, Miguel Gutierrez held a three-vote lead over George W. Blush for a seat on the Shelton City Council. In the Mason County Auditor’s Office results released on Nov. 4, Gutierrez had 714 votes for 49.51% and Blush 711 votes for 49.31% in their race for a four-year seat as council member No. 7. Write-in candidates had received 17 votes. The votes are scheduled to be updated yesterday, after the Journal had gone to press. On Friday, Mason County Auditor Paddy McGuire told the Journal his o...
In a news release, the district said it is hiring regular substitute teachers for $175 a day, emergency substitute teachers for $140 a day, para educators for up to $21.59 an hour, substitute para educators for $13.69 an hour, and a starting wage of $21.73 for bus drivers. Applications are available on the district's website at www.sheltonschools.org/departments/human_resources/employment....
Mason County Public Works discovers loss of funds The Mason County Public Works and Utilities department discovered a loss of funds relating to refuse transfer stations. According to a news release from County Administrator Mark Neary, the county has notified the state Auditor’s Office and are working with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office on an investigation. Full details will be released when the investigation is complete. Mason County Sheriff’s Office tracks down truck responsible for damage The Mason County Sheriff’s Office tracked down a...
After 16 years of service to the Shelton-based nonprofit Community Lifeline, longtime Executive Director Barb Weza will serve as the group's development director. Instead of filling the executive position, Community Lifeline has instead hired Athena Ayes as the new shelter manager. Weza will be working from her home office. As development director, Weza said her duties include networking in the community, speaking to groups, writing grant proposals and overseeing fundraising. She is reaching...
Despite fears about mass layoffs, six of the seven school districts in Mason County did not fire any employees for not meeting the state mandate to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. In the Shelton School District, six teachers and 25 classified employees were dismissed effective Oct. 19. The Shelton School Board made that move official with a 3-2 vote at its meeting Tuesday evening following impassioned words from parents, district administrators, and former and current board members. According to Katie Diamond, the district’s communications s...
The City of Shelton will pay consultant an additional $100,000 to finish the design for the city's Western Gateway Project on Railroad Avenue from Eighth Street west to the city limits. The Shelton City Council on Oct. 19 voted unanimously to make its third supplemental change in its agreement with Gray & Osborne to complete the design. That brings the total to $306,500, and extends the contract to April 20, 2022. "Western Gateway is our big street project for 2022," Public Works Director Jay...
Two women intimate with the lives of homeless people in Shelton oppose a proposed city law to criminalize camping on city right of ways. Barb Weza, executive director of Community Lifeline in downtown Shelton, and Wendy Petty, the executive director of Crazy Love Ministries in downtown Shelton, both wrote letters to the Shelton City Council saying struggling homeless people will only suffer more from the proposed ordinance, which received preliminary approval with a 5-2 vote at the council's...
The Shelton City Council on Oct. 19 declared seven city properties surplus and make them available for purchase. The council gave preliminary approval at its Oct. 5 meeting. The council is required to hold a public hearing on the surplus of any property originally acquired for pubic utility purposes. No one spoke during the public hearing in the proposal. The properties include four adjoining 0.21-acre lots of West Harvard Avenue, with estimated values between $32,380 and $33,035. Two other...
No one spoke during a public hearing Oct. 19 on the City of Shelton’s proposed $41.1 million budget for 2022. The Shelton City Council will host a second public hearing on the proposed budget at its meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 16. The budget must be adopted before the end of the year. The $41,146,160 in proposed expenditures includes $15,097,780 for the general fund, $1,872,280 for the street fund, $2,986,620 for the capital resources fund, $62.900 for the tourism fund, $177,300 for the bond fund, $2,883,800 for the capital improvement fund, $...
A rising graduation rate is amongst the strengths of the Shelton School District, while the disproportionate discipline of Native American students is a weakness. Keeping the schools open during the pandemic, and approaching a month without a classroom closure, is an ongoing accomplishment. Those are among the findings in a report Superintendent Wyatt Jessee presented Tuesday to the Shelton School Board. The report was designed to look at the last five years in the district, and set goals. The district increased the graduation rate from 75.1%...
The City of Shelton is one step away from outlawing camping on city right-of-ways, a measure designed to persuade homeless people to either accept official shelter and other services and or move along. The Shelton City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to the ordinance, which would make it a misdemeanor to stay overnight in a tent, hut, lean-to or other temporary shelter or structure on city land "which is reserved for any public purpose, including city-owned rights-of-way, parks, pub...
The Shelton Police Department will receive $249,580 to purchase new body-worn and dash cameras for officers because its current cameras are no longer in production. The council gave Tuesday evening gave final approval to the purchase at its meeting. The council gave preliminary approval to the deal official at its Oct. 5 meeting. At the Oct. 5 meeting, Shelton Police Chief Carole Beason said the district’s body-worn and dash cameras were purchased in 2017. That company was purchased by another company, and “the model we have is no longer a via...
Seventeen candidates are running for school board positions on the Nov. 2 general election ballot, and only four of the races have more than one name on the ballot. Three positions are up for grabs on the Shelton School Board, with a single candidate on the ballot for each position. Marty Best, who was selected in September to complete Lynn Eaton’s unfinished term, is seeking to continue the two-year unexpired term representing District 2. Best works as the administrative services manager for Grays Harbor Transit. Matthew Welander is the o...
The new cat foster partnership with the Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women in Belfair benefits when the Humane Society of Mason County sells pet microchips for $20 from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdy at Casey’s Bar and Grille at 24090 state Route 3 in Belfair. The event includes a pet costume contest, food, raffles and the microchip clinic. In the program with Mission Creek Corrections for Women, the Human Society of Mason County provides the food, litter, medical care and transport, and Mission Creek pairs cars in need of foster care with t...
Games, classes at senior center in Shelton The Mason County Senior Activities Center hosts games, classes and other events at the Pavilion at 190 W. Sentry Drive in Shelton. The events on Oct. 18 are cribbage and tai chi at 8:15 a.m., line dance at 9 a.m., Mexican train dominoes at 10 a.m., lunch at noon, and pinochle at 12:30 p.m. The events on Oct. 19 are cribbage at 8:15 a.m., in-person and Zoom yoga at 8:30 a.m., the sewing/knitting circle at 9:30 a.m., the senior walkers at Kennedy Creek at 1-0 a.m. advanced line dance at 10 a.m., and...
The Mason County Genealogical Society meets via Zoom at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month. To get the Zoom link, call 360-437-3119 or email [email protected]....
Thirty women over the age of 50 will be transformed into “Cinderella at the ball” and photographed at a fundraising event Saturday at The Underground in Shelton. The “Cinderella of a Certain Age” event raises money for the nonprofit Shelton Youth Connection and the homeless youth program. Tickets are $150. The news release states “Women over 50 tend to be overlooked, thought of grandmotherly; old, soft in the middle with crinkled smiles and wrinkled hands; forgetting that they were young. It is time that gentrification come to an end where bea...
Ninety-one percent of Shelton School District employees have received COVID vaccinations as the deadline for state’s mandate approaches on Monday. That’s the figure Superintendent Wyeth Jessee announced Tuesday evening at the Shelton School Board meeting. Fifty-two employees have applied for medical or religious exemptions, and 32 of them have been accommodated through exemptions or plans to get vaccinated, he said. Like all the other school districts in the state, the Shelton School District is obligated to follow Gov. Jay Inslee’s manda...
