Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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The end of the year is upon us with the holiday season, and it’s a time to be positive as the rest of the year is perfect for wallowing in the pain that comes with being a sports fan. Looking at Seattle professional sports and the state as a whole, it has been a pretty solid year. Let’s go through the teams and talk about the positives. Storm: The Seattle Storm helped Sue Bird reach the WNBA semifinals in her final season. Bird is one of the greatest basketball players ever, and she has four WNB...
Shelton girls basketball The Shelton girls basketball team snapped a 22-game losing streak Dec. 16 with a 37-24 win against Olympic in Silverdale. The Highclimbers fell to Black Hills 49-43 at home Dec. 13 in an Evergreen Conference game. Shelton (1-4, 0-3) faces Kingston at 4:30 p.m. today at Terry Gregg Court in a doubleheader with the boys team and hits the road to face River Ridge at 6 p.m. Friday in Lacey. Shelton boys basketball Shelton dropped two games against Black Hills and Capital last week in nonleague and Evergreen Conference...
The Belfair View Apartments are now leasing. According to a news release, the apartment complex consisting of one- and two-bedroom apartments will rent with rates from $1,695 to $2,095 a month. The units range from 665 to 915 square feet. The project broke ground in March 2021 and the estimated completion for all three building is slated for the end of 2023. The 228-unit complex includes a carport and non-covered onsite parking, a recreational building, and an outdoor pool with views of Hood...
Mason County commissioners adopted the 2023 budget at $177,976,694 following a public hearing Dec. 5. According to the information packet, the general fund is $68,492,402, and the other funds total $109,484,292. The beginning balance for the general fund is $26 million and revenues are $42,492,402. Salaries and benefits total $31,916,861, operating expenditures are $15,256,512 and the ending fund balance is $21,319,029. The county has budgeted for 281.55 full-time employees. The total for other...
Respiratory illnesses are surging in Mason County, according to the last Mason County Board of Health meeting of the year Nov. 29. According to Public Health Officer Dr. Keri Gardner, the county is seeing high rates of influenza A, RSV and COVID-19. “Unfortunately, this is coming at a time when for reasons that we don’t really understand, hospital occupancy rates are quite high,” Gardner said during the meeting. “So we’re asking people to continue to practice all of the things we’ve been doing...
Ziply Fiber acquires iFIBER Communications Ziply Fiber has agreed to acquire iFIBER Communications, a provider of high-speed fiber internet services, in partnership with local public utility districts in the state. According to a news release, iFIBER offers fiber internet and phones for residential customers in Mason County. “From our start, Ziply Fiber has been dedicated to elevating the connected lives of our neighbors in the Northwest,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber. “We continue to look for new ways to bring high-speed fiber connect...
Community Lifeline cold weather shelter approved Mason County commissioners approved a Community Lifeline request for funding a 24/7 cold weather shelter for 35 people from December to May at the Dec. 6 meeting. According to the information packet, Community Lifeline has been working with Public Health staff on the request for additional money to provide the shelter resources to open 24/7 to house up to 35 people. The request will help fund six existing employees and add two additional staff to cover nights. The original request was for...
Mary M. Knight boys basketball The Owls lost their opening two games of the season to Quilcene and Three Rivers Christian. Mary M. Knight lost 60-19 to Quilcene on Dec. 6 in Matlock. The Owls hit the road and fell 57-7 to Three Rivers Christian on Monday in Longview. MMK (0-2, 0-1) traveled to Poulsbo to take on Chief Kitsap Academy on Tuesday for a nonleague game. The Owls will face the Cardinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Winlock. Mary M. Knight girls basketball Mary M. Knight defeated Quilcene but lost to Three Rivers Christian last week in...
Mason County general election results were certified Nov. 29 by the county’s canvassing board. A new auditor will be handling elections in 2023. Republican challenger Steve Duenkel will begin his term in January after receiving 14,739 votes for 50.58% of the total. Democratic incumbent Paddy McGuire received 14,379 votes for 49.35%. Mason County will also have a new clerk in Republican Charles Rhodes, who received 14,727 votes for 50.82% of the total. Democratic incumbent Sharon Moore-Fogo r...
It's autumn on the calendar but winter weather appeared with a week of steady snow and precipitation that knocked out power and forced school cancellations. According to weather.gov, Shelton received 3.21 inches of precipitation from Nov. 29 to Tuesday. Belfair received 2.76 inches of precipitation, according to weather.com. A Facebook post by a Union resident showed 24 inches of snow piled up. Two winter weather advisories were issued last week. The Mason County Sheriff's Office also reported...
Mason County Public Utility District 3 has increased its rates for 2023, which was included in adopting the 2023 budget in a vote on Nov. 22. According to a news release, PUD 3 commissioners adopted a 5% effective energy rate increase for various rate schedules and a monthly “low-income energy assistance surcharge” to comply with state legislation for low-income programs. The residential increase will take effect in April and raise the energy rate from $0.07710 per kilowatt-hour to $0.08160 per...
Belfair man killed in SR 300 accident An 86-year-old Belfair man was killed in a two-car collision on state Route 300 on Monday afternoon. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, Karl E. McNeill, 86, of Belfair died in the wreck. He was traveling west and a 36-year-old Shelton man was driving east. McNeill’s car crossed the centerline and struck the Shelton man’s vehicle head-on. McNeill died on his way to the hospital. The Shelton driver was not injured. County records cases of tuberculosis Mason County has five active cases of...
Shelton boys wrestling Shelton finished second in the Ramrock Invitational on Dec. 3 at North Thurston High School in Olympia. It was the highest finish ever for the Highclimbers at the invitational. Senior Daniel Tausa at 285 pounds and juniors Tyler Fleshman at 132 pounds and Phenix Oleachea 160 pounds each won their weight classes. Logan Peach placed second at 145 pounds and Drew Schirman finished third at 138 pounds. Mario Boxley at 220 pounds and Dante Coker at 106 pounds finished fourth....
The North Mason Regional Fire Authority is launching a physician’s assistant program in 2023, hoping to fill a need for medical services in the community. NMRFA Chief Beau Bakken said the authority was looking to start a similar program before COVID hit, but the logistics were too complicated at the time. The pandemic did allow time to plan on how to execute the program. The intention of the program is to fill a gray area in coverage. When NMRFA responds to a call for medical attention, it h...
Washington’s COVID state of emergency ended Oct. 31, but for Mason Health and General, not much has changed. “There’s a big health care exclusion. We have to continue masking … patients, visitors, staff — we all continue to mask,” Chief Nursing Officer Melissa Strong told the Journal. “That is a requirement. We have expanded our visitor hours, we went back to pretty much pre-pandemic visiting hours.” COVID is not over. Kimberly Cooper, program manager for infection prevention and employee health and safety, said Mason County is one of eight co...
Commission OKs budget public hearing County commissioners approved a public hearing for 9:15 a.m. Dec. 20 to consider approving the supplemental budget requests and budget transfers to the 2022 budget. According to the information packet, this is the first draft and final planned budget amendments for 2022. Field-use rates increase Mason County commissioners approved a 2023 rate increase for Parks & Trails field-use fees at their Nov. 22 meeting. According to the information packet, fees will be adjusted annually by using the Seattle Consumer...
Shelton gets grant for crisis responder The City of Shelton is implementing a pilot program for a crisis responder for Shelton and Mason County. According to a news release, the city was awarded a grant from the Association of Washington Cities and Washington State Healthcare Authority. The grant will allow a crisis responder to work with the Shelton Police Department to receive and respond to referrals from community members, service providers and law enforcement. The position was recommended by the city’s Homelessness Task Force, which met s...
After nearly a decade of planning, the Belfair Park & Ride opening was commemorated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony late last month. “It was great to have them there to thank them for their hard work over the last eight to 10 years that this project has been going on,” Mason Transit Authority General Manager Amy Asher told the Journal. “There’s a lot of folks that were there, including our previous general manager and it was good to have everyone there that has been working on it for a long ti...
Mason County Fire District 12 commissioners on Nov. 16 appealed a recall petition filed against them to the state Supreme Court. Mason County Superior Court Judge Monty Cobb ruled all three recall petitions can move forward after a hearing Nov. 3. Kristin Masteller and Amanda Gonzales were the plaintiffs moving the recall petition forward. They are hosting a community meeting at 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Matlock Grange to discuss the next steps for the recall petitions. “The community has e...
Professional services contract signed Mason County signed a professional services contract with Bridgeview Consulting to update the county’s multijurisdictional hazard mitigation plan. According to the information packet, counties are required to update their hazard mitigation plans every five years to stay compliant with the state and federal emergency management requirements. Current plans are required to access emergency management and disaster funding programs. Bridgeview Consulting will work with county staff and representatives from g...
The Shelton girls bowling team dropped two matches last week against Rochester and Aberdeen in Evergreen Conference matches at Westside Lanes in Olympia. Shelton hosted Rochester on Nov. 15 and lost 1,419 to 1,296. Summer Foreman led the Highclimbers with a high game of 149. On Nov. 17, Shelton lost to Aberdeen 1,552 to 1,384 in the Highclimbers' highest team total of the season. Marsybel Hernandez-Zacarias bowled above her average for both games and Audrey Knauf, Hernandez-Zacarias and Foreman...
One of my favorite holidays is today, one that always has similar moments every year, but are still special in their own distinct way. I’m sure many of you have stories of family coming over on Thanksgiving in the morning, everyone conversing and catching up, perhaps watching some football before everyone is called to the dinner table to partake in turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls and whatever dish your family has decided is tradition to make every year. I’m sure there are a few fam...
Climbers place nine on EvCo football all-league first team Shelton had nine football players crack the first team all-Evergreen Conference list. On offense, Shelton senior offensive lineman Logan West, senior quarterback Mason Goos, senior running back Bradley Eleton, senior tight end Brad Tiller, junior wide receiver Gabe Menefee and senior punter Brendon Keizur made the list. On defense, Shelton senior defensive lineman Blaze Andrews, sophomore linebacker Hunter Leth and Eleton at defensive...
Three Mason County residents were among 12 arrested in Lewis County last weekend as part of “Operation Net Nanny,” a multi-agency operation identifying people allegedly involved in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. According to a news release, Zachary Case, 21, of Belfair, Wayne A. Rigby, 72, of Shelton and Antonio T. Nolasco, 36, of Shelton, were all taken into custody. The primary crimes being investigated are rape of a child in the first degree, rape of a child in the second deg...
North Mason, Bremerton issue statement about incident The North Mason and Bremerton school districts issued a joint statement in regard to a Oct. 18 incident following a volleyball match at North Mason High School in Belfair. According to the statement, the incident involving athletes, students and parents violated the standards and expectations of civil conduct. “We believe that actions of a few are not representative of the values of our communities, nor do they define our school districts,” the statement reads. “However, we have the respo...
