Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 226 - 245 of 245
Challenger David Stevens appears to be the new Mason County Superior Court Judge, if early election results hold. Stevens, Mason County senior deputy felony prosecutor, is beating his opponent, Judge Cadine Ferguson-Brown, in the first ballot count after polls closed Tuesday with 6,194 votes for 57.24% to Ferguson-Brown's 4,595 votes for 42.46%. There were also 33 write-in votes for 0.3% and 10,822 total votes in the first tabulation. "I feel bad for her. I wish her the best," Stevens told the...
Shelton resident Brandon L. Adams, 34, remains missing, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Search operations were suspended Oct. 25 for Adams, who was last seen Oct. 20. Ground and air units “exhaustively searched” the last known location of Adams’ cellphone in the Browns Creek area in Mason County, Deputy Matt Colbenson told the Journal in an email. The Sheriff’s Office is monitoring Adams’ phone and bank accounts for any activity and asks the public to call police if they have any information about Adams’ whereabouts o...
Suspects in Afo homicide case back in Washington Homicide suspects William Williams, 40, and Kennedy Karpf, 24, are back in Shelton in sheriff’s custody. The pair were sought in connection with the shooting death of Janus Afo on Sept. 28 and apprehended in Oregon Oct. 11. Williams’ arraignment on second-degree murder and felony possession of a firearm Monday was at Mason County Superior Court before Judge Monty Cobb. Williams is being held on $1 million bail. Karpf pleaded not guilty to first-degree rendering criminal assistance at her ini...
Speed limits lowered on three county roads Lower speed limits were approved for three county roads. Sunnyslope Road from milepost 0.0000-0.5510 will change to 25 mph, Kelly Hall Road from milepost 0.0000-1.9460 will change to 25 mph and Brockdale Road from milepost 1.9730-2.0800 will change to 30 mph. Community Lifeline funding reduced Mason County commissioners reduced funding by $40,860 for Community Lifeline, an organization that provides emergency shelter and homeless services, for noncompliance with its contract. “Community Lifeline is n...
Belfair Sheriff’s Office moving this month The Belfair office of the Mason County Sheriff’s Office is make its long-planned move to the former North Mason Regional Fire Authority headquarter sbuilding, 460 NE Old Belfair Highway, Nov. 22. The move should be completed by Dec. 5, officials said. During this time, the Belfair office will be closed for walk-ins and people needing assistance should call the main office at 360-427-9670, ext. 313, according to the sheriff’s department. Recovery court gets grant The Mason County Family Recovery Court r...
A rundown of all other races in Mason County: Fire Protection Dist. 3 Fire Commissioner Position No. 2 Nancy A. Montgomery has 424 votes for 97.25% and write-in candidates have 12 votes for 2.75% with a total of 436 votes. Fire Protection Dist. 4 Fire Commissioner Position No. 1 Dean Hirschi has 961 votes for 98.06% and write-in candidates have 19 votes for 1.94% with a total of 980 votes. Fire Protection Dist. 4 Fire Commissioner Position No. 3 Greg Sypnicki has 982 votes for 98.5% and write-in candidates have 15 votes for 1.5% with a total...
Shelton resident Jerry T. Upson, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Kenneth D. Simmons, 68, after Upson was seen on surveillance video with a handgun entering and leaving the victim’s home numerous times Oct. 27, according to the probable cause document filed by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Simmons’ brother Martin called police Oct. 28 after driving to Simmons’ house at 990 E. Mikkelsen Road and finding him on the couch “cold to the touch, with an apparent gun shot wound to the head,” the document states. Simmon...
Shelton hunter Roger Norris, 55, has new respect for the rugged Hamma Hamma area in Olympic National Forest and the rescuers who helped bring him out of the wilderness alive. Search teams found Norris on Oct. 7, almost a week after he lost his way back to camp and suffered injuries in a fall. "We thought it was going to be a recovery," Mason County Search and Rescue President Keenan Kealy said. "They just don't know me very well," Norris laughed, while recounting his ordeal. The outdoorsman...
Mason County Public Works Department “immediately strengthened internal controls” and implemented new procedures to deal with cash after the state Auditor’s Office found almost $50,000 went missing in 2021, according to an investigation report released Oct. 19. In September 2021, the county discovered money in a deposit bag from one of the landfill stations was not properly deposited after a customer called to ask why a check payment made a month earlier hadn’t cleared. When the county investigated, it found money from several deposit bags we...
Unemployment rate in county drops The Mason County unemployment rate dropped in September to 4.6%, according to the Washington Employment Security Department. That’s lower than the 5.1% rate in August, but higher than June’s 3.9% and July’s 4.3%. The county’s highest unemployment this year was 8.1% in February. The county numbers are not seasonally adjusted because the sample size is too small, according to the state website. One dead in U.S. 101 collision Shelton resident Elliott Madea, 32, died in a car accident Oct. 26 after attempt...
Cannabis license granted Amazinggardens LLC doing business as The Dab Lab, applied with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board for a cannabis license to operate at 160 W. Westfield Court Unit F, Shelton. Deep Well Farms had a cannabis license approved for operation at 340 E. Millwright Road Bldg A, Shelton, according to Mason County commissioners. Green light for veterans Residents and businesses are encouraged by Mason County commissioners to display a green light for veterans Nov. 6-12. At the regular meeting Oct. 24, commissioners...
The Mason County hearing examiner will reconsider the approval of a controversial Taylor Shellfish floating oyster bag farm in Oakland Bay after the seafood company objected to requirements that the black color of the oyster bags be replaced with blue or green and that it pay for a monitoring plan prepared by a third-party expert to check for environmental impacts. These were the only two significant conditions added by the examiner before approving Taylor’s permit in its entirety and filing it on Oct. 9, according to a report by Hearing E...
Police arrested Shelton homicide suspects William Williams, 40, and Kennedy Karpf, 24, “without incident,” on Oct. 11 in Medford, Oregon, according to the Medford Police Department. The pair were sought in connection with the shooting death of Janus Afo on Sept. 28 in downtown Shelton. Police say they used a SWAT team, drones and crisis negotiators to surround a residence in Medford where Williams was staying. Williams surrendered within 15 minutes. Karpf was at a nearby business and was also arrested without incident, according to police. Pros...
A Shelton motorcyclist died after being struck by a suspected drunken driver on state Route 16 near Gig Harbor on Oct. 7. Shelton resident Alicia Perrin, 30, died at the scene after her motorcycle was struck by Mecca Kay Berkin, 54, of Federal Way. Berkin was speeding on the wrong side of the road when she struck Perrin, according to the Washington State Patrol. Perrin's boyfriend was riding another motorcycle and managed to dodge Berkin's 2014 Honda Civic, according to charging documents....
The Mason County Assessor’s Office asks residents to report anyone claiming to be assessor “volunteers” after a constituent called about a suspicious encounter that happened Oct. 8. The landowner said someone claimed to be a volunteer with the Assessor’s Office, but refused to answer questions. The man was about 40 years old, slender, about 185 pounds and riding a KTM-like motorcycle, according to the landowner. The Assessor’s Office does not have volunteers and only sends out field appraisers who travel in marked county vehicles and wear visi...
Police are still searching for Shelton residents William Williams, 40, and Kennedy Karpf, 24 in connection with the shooting death of Janus Afo on Sept. 28 in downtown Shelton. A 1999 beige Toyota Camry allegedly belonging to the couple was found abandoned at 390 E. Batstone Cutoff Road in Shelton by police after they received an anonymous tip. The car is being processed for evidence. Prosecutors have charged Williams with second-degree murder and felony possession of a firearm. Karpf is charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance....
Board OKs money for Coroner’s Office Mason County commissioners approved $10,640.64 for the purchase of a new body lift, storage rack and walk-in cooler storage boards for the Mason County Coroner. County inmates to be housed at Nisqually center Mason County commissioners approved a jail services agreement at Tuesday’s meeting that will pay $130 per inmate per day to house inmates of Mason County in the Nisqually Detention and Corrections Center operated by the Nisqually tribe. Chief Deputy of Corrections Kevin Hanson said jail staffing “ha...
League schedules speed dating event for candidates The League of Women Voters of Mason County hosts “Speed Dating with the Candidates” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the PUD3 meeting room at 2621 E. Johns Prairie Road, Shelton. Candidates for Mason County Superior Court judge, Shelton School Board and Shelton City Council have been invited to participate. At this event, the public sits at tables around the room and the candidates rotate from table to table to answer questions directly from the voters. Contact [email protected] for more inf...
LeAnn Dennis will act as Port of Allyn interim director until a new executive director can be hired to replace Lary Coppola, who died Sept. 30. The Port board voted unanimously to appoint Dennis at an Oct. 9 special meeting. Coppola was the executive director of the port since 2015. Coppola died only a few weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to a statement by the Washington Public Ports Association. “Anyone who met Lary could see he was an honest and genuine person and a true professional, not to mention an avid s...
Police were searching Wednesday afternoon for two suspects allegedly involved in the shooting death Sept. 28 of a man in downtown Shelton. Shelton residents William Charles “Brother” Williams, 40, and Kennedy Marie Karpf, 24, are wanted for questioning in the death of Janus Afo, who was shot early Thursday morning in front of a house in the 700 block of Cedar Street in Shelton. Williams was inside a vehicle when Afo began kicking the side of the car, according to court documents. Williams opened the passenger door and shot Afo in the neck, acc...
