Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Port of Allyn commissioners removed former Executive Director Lary Coppola and former Interim Executive Director LeAnn Dennis, who are deceased, and former commissioner Scott Cooper from the safe deposit box contract with Kitsap Bank at a special meeting Feb. 16. “So we can get this resolved soon, by the advice of the bank,” Commissioner Judy Scott said. Commissioner John Sheridan will inspect the contents of the box, accompanied by Mason County Commissioner Randy Neatherlin. Scott said they will “discover what’s in there,” make a record of...
Mason County Republicans elected 29 delegates and seven alternates at the county convention Feb 10 in the Shelton Civic Center. State Sen. Drew MacEwen served as chairman and Pastor Bill Baker from Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Shelton gave opening remarks and a prayer. "If I can quote a Democrat, Kennedy said, 'Ask what you can do for your country,' " Baker said. "What do we choose to do with this day?" he asked. Delegates will attend the Washington State Republican Convention in Spokane...
Someone unsuccessfully tried to steal a ballot drop box at the Belfair North Timberland Library parking lot late Thursday, Feb. 1 or early Friday, Feb. 2, Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel told the Journal. Vandals tried to dig up or pull out the box, which is fixed to a cement block. Library staff phoned Election Administrator Marie Stevenson about the incident "reporting that someone attempted to remove the ballot drop box located in the library parking lot," according to a news release....
Short-term rental regulations are coming to Mason County. The extent of new rules and fees for owners will be hammered out in the coming months by county commissioners and members of the Planning Department. “The Planning Department has been directed by the Mason County Board of Commissioners to review the short-term vacation rental (Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, etc.) situation in Mason County. The county has never regulated, nor does it currently regulate short-term rentals. The state, however, enacted certain statutes, RCW 64.37, regarding s...
A required investigation following the March 24, 2020, fatal shooting of Kathryn Hale by Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Helser largely complied with state laws, but the investigating team failed to document certain communications and properly restrict access to the case file, according to a Feb. 1 report by the Washington State Auditor’s office. The report says the Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Region 3 Critical Investigation Team, led by investigators from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Grays Harbor...
The Mason County Sheriff's Office celebrated its new North Precinct location in Belfair with an open house that allowed community members to inspect a SWAT vehicle, tour a mobile command center and partake of free food and drinks while listening to folk duo The Angel and the Outlaw on Feb. 2. The building, at 460 NE Old Belfair Highway, is the former home of North Mason Regional Fire Authority. It moved to a new building next door with hopes of creating an emergency management campus, according...
Furever Love, a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Mason County and Kitten Rescue of Mason County is this Saturday at Bent Bine Brewery in Belfair. Adoptable pets will be at the event, and there will be raffles, a live auction and kissing booth, according to the organizers. “Last year, HSMC experienced significant growth in both capacity and animals served. We moved into our new Belfair office and Community Clinic! Our small-yet-mighty staff and team of dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly to promote responsible pet ownership, deliver l...
The Port of Allyn will be posting applications on its website for the District 2 Commissioner position, current commissioners said at the Feb. 5 meeting. The post is open after Commissioner Ted Jackson’s sudden resignation Jan. 19. Jim Freeman, a prospective candidate, introduced himself at the meeting and said he “wanted to give back to the community.” Freeman grew up in Port Orchard and currently lives in LakeLand Village. He’s spent most of his career in the waterworks industry and works at the Belfair water district. “There’s certainly b...
StreamTeam is looking for Hood Canal-area interns to help with a variety of research projects that help protect wild salmon and restore their habitat. The organization is part of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group and based at the Pacific Northwest Salmon Center in Belfair. Interns can expect to hike in rugged areas, perform wading surveys, drive on remote logging roads (with company vehicles) and perform basic data entry using MS Excel and MS Word, according to the job description. Interns will gain skills in field work and research that...
Mason County Coroner Jaime Taylor is getting comfortable in her new Shelton office at 126 Kneeland St. Taylor and her staff moved the last week of November. When Taylor started as coroner, she worked below the family court building in an area "basically just a cooling space," she told the Journal. "We love our new office," Taylor told Mason County commissioners at a recent meeting. After the move, Taylor hosted an open house for the commissioners and other officials, including former coroner...
Public defense attorneys get raise Mason County commissioners approved a pay raise for public defense attorneys at their Jan. 30 meeting. Attorneys providing indigent defense for misdemeanors, heard in district court, will get a pay raise from $75 an hour to $100 an hour. Attorneys providing indigent defense for felonies, heard in superior court, will see their pay increase from $100 an hour to $125 an hour. Hourly indigent defense investigators will now make $75 an hour. Chief Public Defender Peter Jones thanked the commissioners at a...
Adams Street car fire Central Mason Fire & EMS crews fought a car fire on Adams Street in Shelton Monday morning. The call was reported about 10:15 a.m. and fire crews arrived in minutes to find a passenger vehicle in the alley between Adams Street and Olympic Highway North on fire. Crews quickly extinguished the blaze. The driver of the vehicle was evaluated at the scene for minor burns and transported to Mason General Hospital for further evaluation and care. The cause of the fire is under...
Port of Allyn Commissioner Ted Jackson has resigned, the remaining port commissioners said at a special meeting Jan. 23. Commissioner Judy Scott read Jackson’s terse resignation letter at the meeting. “Please accept this as my resignation letter as Port of Allyn Commissioner District. I have returned the Port of Allyn computer, cellphone, office key, and credit card to Travis Merrill. I have also provided Travis Merrill with the computer and cell phone passwords. Sincerely, Ted Jackson,” the letter said. The port has seen recent upheaval with t...
The Port of Hoodsport dock adjacent to Ingvald J. Gronvold Park on U.S. 101 in Hoodsport could be open by May if approved repairs are promptly completed, Commissioner Lori Kincannon told the Journal in an email. Port commissioners signed off on the work at the Jan. 17 meeting after receiving a favorable bid from Marine Floats in Tacoma. "We are hoping that permits can be received and that repairs can be made quickly so that the dock can be re-opened before the upcoming shrimping season in May,"...
Coroner needs space in Belfair Commissioners approved Mason County Coroner Jaime Taylor’s request for $45,875.02 for additional equipment, including a cooler, storage racks and a lift, at the Jan. 22 meeting with department heads. Taylor also asked for an additional cooler space in Belfair. “We have a lot of calls up there,” she said. Belfair is about 40 minutes from the Shelton office and Taylor said it would be “fantastic” to have a permanent storage space in the north end of the county. Commissioners discussed whether the additiona...
In 2022, fire killed 81 civilians in Washington, according to the most recent figures from the state Fire Marshal’s Office. More than 30,733 fire incidents resulting in $330 million in property damage happened that year. Most of these events are preventable, state officials say, by taking steps such as installing multiple smoke detectors, having fire extinguishers handy and having an escape route. Rural Mason County residents may face additional challenges with fires, including increased response times, limited driveway access and lack of a...
North Mason School Board members met the Sasquatch on Jan. 22. James A. Taylor High School's new mascot made its debut at the monthly board meeting. "I think it looks strong right before it gets scary," District 2 Director Leanna Krotzer said. The logo features a stern bigfoot face popping out of evergreen trees and holding "JTHS" with its claws. Superintendent Dana Rosenbach said staff used artificial intelligence to design the logo so that it's "totally original" and students approved it. "I...
The Evergreen State College hopes to offer free tuition through a new program for Shelton High School graduates starting with the Class of 2025, according to a presentation Evergreen President John Carmichael and Director of Government Relations Sandy Kaiser gave Mason County commissioners Jan. 8. Carmichael said the college is seeking legislative funding. Evergreen is asking for $285,000 to fund the program’s first year and estimates the total for four years will be $3.5 million. “If we get that legislative funding we would first make tha...
An initiative that will amend Washington’s police pursuit law and allow officers to “engage in a pursuit when there is a reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law” has been certified and presented to the Legislature, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said Jan. 12. Currently, a police officer can pursue a vehicle if there is reasonable suspicion that the person in the vehicle is committing or has committed a violent offense, a sex offense, a vehicular assault, domestic violence, has escaped or is driving under the influence. The pursu...
County Line Fire has been warming up the old State Bank of Shelton building on Railroad Avenue since it opened in October, when the restaurant specializing in wood-fired pizza moved into the airy space. Owner Tobi Robinson told the Journal he was overjoyed with the location. "To renovate an old bank building!" Robinson said he loves restaurants like the McMenamins brewpubs that rehabilitate historic properties. "This is my dream restaurant," he said. There's plenty of room for the most...
Alleged shoplifter returns to confront store employee A convenience store clerk obtained a temporary protection order against an alleged shoplifter after he was released from jail and returned to harass her, according to court documents. Police arrested James Elmlund, 19, at the Airport Grocery in Shelton on Oct. 15, for allegedly stealing candy and soda and assaulting employee Kimberly Espinoza, who tried to stop him. “Kimberly told me that she had witnessed the suspect in the store place items into his sweatshirt pocket. Kimberly, who was d...
A hardy group of community and AmeriCorps members performed restoration work in subfreezing temperatures at the Belfair Salmon Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 15., a federal holiday that encourages Americans to volunteer in honor of King. Local AmeriCorps members with the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Association organized the “Day of Service” event. AmeriCorps is a national service program that provides stipends for volunteers, who typically work full time for one year. AmeriCorps Environmental Educator Brett Larson originally pla...
Mason County cannabis retailers don't have the near-daily stolen vehicle smash-and-grab burglaries that the Seattle area does, but local pot shop owners struggle with security concerns that a proposed state bill aims to address. State Sen. Karen Kaiser's, D-Des Moines, substitute Senate bill 5259 will provide a tax break for retail cannabis store owners who install security upgrades. The bill requires stores to spend at least $3,000 on "physical security improvements" such as bollards, security...
Karpf sentenced to time served Kennedy Karpf, 25, pleaded guilty Jan. 5 to first-degree rendering criminal assistance in connection to helping William Williams, 41, who fled after allegedly shooting and killing Janus Afo on Sept. 28 in Shelton. Judge Daniel Goodell followed state’s recommendations and sentenced Karpf to time served in Mason County, 79 days, with no restitution or probation. Karpf’s attorney Rose Boughton said Karpf had “no criminal history whatsoever,” and that Karpf was “quite afraid” of Williams. “She knows this is a ser...
Residents in the Tahuya and Dewatto area who rely on land lines to call 911 had their service restored Jan. 3, almost two weeks after the initial disruption, according to Inland Telephone Company. Thieves who vandalized phone equipment, causing the outage, were likely attempting to sell copper wire stripped from equipment, Inland representative Amy Wait told the Journal. “Over the last two years we have experienced several damaged cables and vaults from vandalism, and we are working on a plan to help eliminate this by installing underground vau...
