Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 201
The former office manager of Shelton Memorial Park cemetery is facing a civil lawsuit in addition to criminal charges for theft and money-laundering. The Shelton Cemetery Association sued Dustee Munro in Mason County Superior Court June 6, seeking recovery of $265,700 she allegedly stole. “The Shelton Police Department’s declaration of probable cause recommends that plaintiff should seek recovery of $265,702.47 from defendant, including for misappropriated funds of $118,957.40, undocumented charges of cost to customers of $126,945.07, unp...
Fatal crash on state Route 108 A 19-year-old died June 9 on state Route 108 near milepost 7 when his Lexis R33 left the road on a curve and went down a creek embankment, according to the Washington State Patrol. South Mason Fire stabilized the vehicle and “rapidly worked to extricate the sole occupant,” Casey Dickerson of Poulsbo, a SMF Facebook post states. Dickerson was removed from the car within 8 minutes of firefighters arriving at the scene and airlifted to an unidentified medical facility, but died “despite extensive resuscitation effor...
Belfair Clinic’s primary care clients knew when Dr. Raul Dominguiano unexpectedly left his practice there in January something was amiss. Former patients told the Herald their beloved “Dr. D” would never walk out on them without notice unless Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, who operates the clinic in collaboration with Mason County Public Hospital District No. 2, was involved. Belfair resident Monna Haugen told the Herald in March that her partner had an appointment with Dominguiano on Jan. 6, but received a call the morning of the visit...
The majority of 64 dogs seized from a Grapeview property in April have been placed in permanent homes, Humane Society of Mason County President Katherine Johnson told the Journal. Skittles, a rat terrier, is the last dog remaining at HSMC from the confiscation and is available for adoption through the group's website at hsmcwa.org. Other rescue partners, including Joint Animal Services of Thurston County, Seattle Humane Society, Kitsap Humane Society, Smidget Rescue, Pasado's Safe Haven, and...
Travelers around Lake Cushman should be prepared for extra traffic and temporary trail closures while the U.S. Forest Service harvests timber in the Big Stewardship area near the lake and in Olympic National Forest. The logging operations started June 3 and are expected to last until October, according to a Forest Service news release. “Travelers should anticipate encountering traffic control measures on North Lake Cushman Road between the junction of state Route 119 and Forest Service Road 24 until a quarter mile past the entrance to North M...
Fire 12 continues to clean house, with new commissioners suspending district secretary Rachel Noga indefinitely at the May 29 special meeting and terminating 15 volunteers, including former commissioners Cinda Compton and Kelli Walsworth and former fire chief Bryan Walsworth at the May 31 special meeting. The dismissed volunteers were all hired by the previous board prior to the May 17 disaster declaration, Commissioner Trina Young said in an email to the Journal. On May 17, Fire 12 lost its insurance coverage due to mismanagement, according to...
he port’s water system satellite management company at the June 3 meeting. Northwest Water Systems in Port Orchard will be dropped for the smaller H2O Water Management Services in Mason County. Interim Executive Director Travis Merrill recommended the change due to dubious Northwest Water charges, he said. “Northwest Water has been billing us for tests that aren’t required for the last two years,” Merrill said. He also found several “errors in billing,” he told commissioners. Some tests done in 2023 and 2024 include gross alpha and radium test...
Mason County emergency responders rescued a teenager who fell by the High Steel Bridge on Saturday, May 25. The 19-year-old man was apparently hiking in the closed area underneath the bridge and fell 400 feet down the side of the canyon, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s office. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Special Operations Rescue Team, he was rescued and sustained only minimal injuries,” MCSO said in a Facebook post. MCSO, West Mason Fire and Fire District 6 assisted in the rescue. The post shows a rescuer pulling himse...
Mason County commissioners appointed Trina Young and Dave Persell as commissioners for Fire District 12, positions 1 and 3 respectively, on May 24. In their first action, Young and Persell quickly called an emergency meeting May 25 to suspend District 12 Fire Chief Bryan Walsworth and appoint Mike Brown as acting chief. They also approved hiring attorney Eric Quinn as the district’s legal representative for $500 a month. Young will serve as the commission’s chair and Persell will act as secretary. Last week, Fire District 12 lost insurance cov...
Mason County Chief Public Defender Peter Jones advised commissioners on a huge budget increase his office will be seeking in 2025 and got preliminary approval to pursue contract attorneys at the May 20 briefing. Jones said “to continue to operate” at current levels, the public defender’s office will seek over a half a million dollar increase in its budget next year. “That has a total budget impact of almost $580,000. I figured before we got to the budget I would present that to you and let you know,” Jones said. The commissioners signed of...
Airbnb guests find banana thief A couple staying at an Airbnb rental in Union awoke May 13 to find a thief stealing a banana. The suspect later told police he was looking for a house his friend had rented, “but was unable to provide any information about the residence or his friend,” Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy S. Fischer wrote in a probable cause document. Clay McKennell was staying at the rental on state Route 106 when the “unknown subject broke in and took a banana and started going through the bedrooms,” according to the document....
Belfair resident Letricia Macomber, 50, died in a single-car crash May 22 on state Route 106 when her Tesla left the road and hit multiple trees and a power box, according to the Washington State Patrol. Macomber was driving west in a red Tesla at 7:30 p.m. near Alderwood Road when she veered off the canal-side of the highway. Macomber’s vehicle caught on fire after the crash and she died at the scene, according to Katherine Weatherwax, State Patrol spokesperson for WSP’s District 8. Detectives will not be investigating because there are no...
Some of the top logging sport athletes will compete this weekend at the Forest Festival Logging Show at Loop Field. While the competition is no longer a STIHL Timbersports qualifier event, the company still supports the contest and athletes will use results to "build their resume," Branden Sirguy, an organizer and former competitor, told the Journal. The event will have up to 16 men competing in the "Super Six" championship and 12 women in the "Featured 4" championship. The Super Six events are...
The Forest Festival carnival is open early this year at 1st and Grove streets in downtown Shelton. The company that runs the carnival had a cancellation, so it set up May 24 and will continue operating through Sunday, according to Forest Festival organizers. The carnival has a mini-Ferris wheel, rides "that make your head spin," games with stuffed animal prizes, and food booths offering cotton candy, candy apples and churros. Hours are 5-9 p.m. tonight, 4-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday...
County officials say the Stretch Island Bridge is in better shape than a group of island property owners claim. Mason County Public Works deputy director and county engineer Michael Collins told the Herald Stretch Island Bridge is not "structurally deficient" and that term is no longer used in describing structures. "Bridges are rated as Good, Fair, or Poor. Stretch Island Bridge is rated Good," Collins said in an email. The Stretch Island Property Owners wrote a letter lamenting the state of...
In the past week, Fire District 12 has lost insurance coverage, been declared a disaster area and saw all three of its commissioners resign. Mason County Administrator Mark Neary said the May 17 disaster declaration was "unprecedented" for a fire district. "I've done a lot of research and I've been unable to find this happening anywhere else," Neary told commissioners. "We are in uncharted territory," he said. Residents of the district, which covers western Mason County, including Matlock and...
A group of Stretch Island property owners is hoping Mason County Public Works makes replacement of the Stretch Island bridge a priority. The bridge has been declared "structurally deficient" according to the department's 2024 Annual Bridge Report. The bridge is the only way on and off the island and now has a posted load limit. "The Stretch Island Property Owners (SIPO) is in receipt of Mason County's Public Works Department's 2024 Annual Bridge Report. Accordingly, we have formed the SIPO, an...
Fire District 12 is set to lose its insurance Friday and can’t provide EMS services until new coverage is found, Commissioner Nick Jones told community members Monday at a meeting in the Matlock Grange. Jones said Fire 12’s insurer, VFIS, canceled the policy due to “serious failure” to comply with financial reporting and accounting, among other things. The insurer sent a certified letter to Fire 12 “but no one ever received it. It got returned back to VFIS,” Jones said. Jones then read a portion of the letter. “The reasons for this policy c...
The Mason County Planning Advisory Commission presented draft short-term rental regulations to Mason County commissioners in a workshop May 7. Commissioner Randy Neatherlin said the briefing was “only a work study” and nothing had been finalized yet regarding potential new rules. “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 renta...
A man recovering from hip replacement surgery alleges that his Mason General Hospital nurse improperly asked him to walk on his own, causing him to fall and break his leg. Bryan Palmer claims his 2021 surgery “was uneventful and went as planned,” in a suit against Mason Public Hospital District No. 1 dba Mason General Hospital filed May 10 in Mason County Superior Court. Palmer says his injuries happened after a nurse failed to help him walk while he was on medication, still recovering from the surgery. “Following surgery, the plaintiff was m...
Three men convicted of killing a Seabeck family, including the father whose body was discovered on a tree farm in Mason County, were sentenced to life in prison May 7. Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Kevin Hull handed down a life sentence without the possibility of parole to Danie Kelly Jr. and brothers Robert and Johnny Watson for the murders. John Careaga, 43, his wife Christale Careaga, 37, and her 16-year-old son Johnathon Higgins and 16-year-old stepson Hunter Schapp were all killed in January 2017. The mother and sons were found...
North Mason Regional Fire Authority will have a levy restoration proposal on the Aug. 6 ballot that will allow the district to add two firefighters, according to the department’s statement about the levy. NMRFA saw a 53% increase in call volume in 2023 compared with 2009, when voters approved the last levy. In 2009, the levy rate passed was $1.49 per $1,000 of assessed property value. State law now limits an increase of 1% per year for the fire levy collection, meaning NMRFA currently collects $0.81 per $1,000 of assessed property value. T...
After 26 weeks of training and 10 weeks of coaching, Mason County has two new Washington State Patrol troopers. A.J. Gomez and C.B. Zimmerman are now patrolling county roads from busy U.S. Highway 101 to remote Forest Service Road 23. Both troopers spoke to the Journal about the job from the Shelton detachment office on the grounds of the WSP Academy. The 190-acre academy, at 631 W Dayton Airport Road, has been a training facility since 1969. The campus has dorms, classrooms, a gym, water...
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...
Port of Allyn commissioners continued to discuss ways to get sea lions, who have taken up residence on the port's dock, to leave. At the May 7 regular meeting, Commissioner Michael Curtin, who was also elected secretary, suggested purchasing a float to be moored away from the dock, so the sea lions would have an alternate perch. "It's not going to work," Commissioner John Sheridan said. "If you give them more platforms, they'll just take it up." Sheridan said he's spent decades working on...
