Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Mason County commissioners took several actions involving the Belfair Urban Growth Area and the Mason County Comprehensive Plan after a public hearing about the UGA and amendments to the comprehensive plan. The commissioners approved amendments to the Belfair subarea plan and the comprehensive plan on a 2-1 vote. Commissioners Kevin Shutty and Sharon Trask voted in favor while Commissioner Randy Neatherlin voted against. The changes to the Belfair Subarea plan update growth and land-use...
City of Shelton residents would be allowed a maximum of five hens and no roosters in a proposed animal ordinance. The Shelton City Council gave preliminary approval to new animal ordinances at its Feb. 15 meeting. The council can vote for final approval at its meeting at 6 p.m. March 1. People are invited to share their comments during the Zoom meeting. The link can be found on the city's website. Under the proposed ordinance, residents in neighborhoods on land between 5,000 and 43,559 square...
New details have emerged from a fatal accident at Sierra Pacific Industries in Shelton on Feb. 14. According to Washington State Patrol District 8 spokeswoman Katherine Weatherwax, the wife of the driver said he was having “previous issues.” The driver seemed disoriented and didn’t know what happened after his truck hit the guard shack, according to Weatherwax. The driver drove through a red light on First Street and West Railroad Avenue, hit the 8-inch curb, launching the truck into the air a...
New display coming to Civic Center gallery Photographs by Deborah Chava Singer and pencil-on-paper pieces by Sara Dobbs will on display during March at the Shelton Civic Center’s Rotating Arts Gallery. The Shelton City Council on Feb. 15 voted unanimously to accept the displays. The Shelton Arts Commission recommended the pieces after soliciting submissions from local artists. City seeking civil service commissioner The City of Shelton is accepting applications to fill a voluntary vacancy on the Civil Service Commission. The applicants must b...
The City of Shelton has contracted with Adopt-A-Pet of Shelton to accept unclaimed shelter animals and care for them while they arrange for pet adoption. The Shelton City Council made the deal official with a unanimous vote at its Feb. 15 meeting. The city report states the agreement allows Shelton's animal shelter to be a short-term holding facility pending transfer to Adopt-A-Pet, a nonprofit with a shelter on East Jensen Road north of Shelton. The city will pay the organization $200 per dog....
What do you remember of the news from the last week of February and the first day of March 2020? If you’re normal, not much. So let’s leave 2022 for a moment and refresh our memories. Let’s fall back into early 2020 and remember the way we were: Monday, Feb. 24, 2020: “Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch is exacting in his diction, even for an epidemiologist. Twice in our conversation he started to say something, then paused and said, ‘Actually, let me start again.’ So it’s striking whe...
Mouth did the deed Editor, the Journal, It was the mouth of ex-President Donald Trump that caused the consternation and inadequate responses to our pandemic, his mouth that set-in motion the riotous insurrection against our house of government, his mouth that has put party politics as a power struggle rather than a negotiated means of governmental administration, his mouth that has made the art of lying, backbiting, character assassination and unsophisticated leadership talk the stuff of today’s unhinged politicians. Federal judge Amit Mehta l...
The title of this column doesn't refer to spring. That's still a month off, and this week's night freezes remind us that winter didn't drop its whole payload in December. I'm talking about compost becoming hotter and more active. That's been happening to an unprecedented degree - only to lose its momentum at a critical time. It was thrilling when Pile A, the construction of which I documented in the Journal's Real Estate Guide published last week, reached 160 degrees. But the directions I had gi...
Gov. Jay Inslee announced at a news conference Feb. 17 the indoor mask requirement will be lifted March 21 in schools and certain indoor spaces. Masks will no longer be required in schools, child care facilities, libraries, restaurants, bars, churches, gyms, recreation centers, indoor athletic facilities, grocery stores, businesses and retail establishments. Masks still will be required in health care and medical facilities, long-term care settings, correctional facilities, and private...
Crime was up in 2021 compared to 2020, according to data from the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Calls for service were 23,836, which is about the level expected, according to Patrol Division Chief Ryan Spurling. In 2019, calls increased about 2,000 from 2018r and have been steady in recent years. “We were around anywhere from 20,000 to 22,000 and then we jumped all the way up to 24,000 and we’ve been pretty consistent,” Spurling said. He said the rise might stem from having more people here now because a lot of the people who had cabins...
The Pioneer School District is beginning its search for a new superintendent after parting ways with Jill Diehl after 1½ years. The Pioneer School Board on Tuesday swore in Doris Bolender after changing her title from acting superintendent to interim superintendent. Bolender, the former superintendent of the Southside School District, is the principal of the Pioneer Middle School. The board announced it will begin the search for a new superintendent at its retreat on March 5. The board will decide whether to hire a firm to find candidates,...
Mason Health Superintendent and CEO Eric Moll gave the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce a look at how COVID-19 affected the hospital. Moll told the gathering Feb. 17 that Mason Health's inpatient numbers are "still high by historical standards," but not as high as it was last month. Moll estimated the hospital averaged about 13 patients pre-pandemic, whereas the five months prior to February were trending around 30, more than double the preceding (and current) numbers. According to...
What a pleasant surprise to arrive at Lake Isabella State Park the other day and see that the main trail system was 99% litter-free. I also noted several cars at the trailhead parking lot - I was expecting none - and soon realized that good ol' Lake Isabella was embracing the first waves of spring 2022 as a most healthy and welcoming park. From the surprising sample of visitors I saw, I estimated the park playing host daily to dozens of hikers and dedicated dog walkers. I hadn't visited the park...
The saga of fake German heiress Anna Delvey (Anna Sorokin), whose larcenous misdeeds were first made famous by articles in Vanity Fair and New York magazines in 2018, seems almost tailor-made for a TV miniseries adaptation, so I couldn't help but check out the nine-part "Inventing Anna" on Netflix. With Shonda Rhimes at the helm as executive producer, it's no surprise that this adaptation of Jessica Pressler's "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People" for New York is well-cast and...
Shelton senior Ryan Mackiewicz placed sixth at 170 pounds at the 2A Mat Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. Mackiewicz earned two wins Friday to reach the semifinals. He defeated Burlington-Edison's Nathan Keith in a 13-4 major decision. He earned a sudden victory in the quarterfinals against Ellensburg's Breck Hammond. Mackiewicz lost in the semifinals on Saturday in the final six seconds of the match to North Kitsap's Zakaria Hammou in a 6-3 decision. He lost to Othello's Ethan...
The best pro basketball team in the state is gearing up for its version of The Last Dance. For those who don’t know, “The Last Dance” is in reference to Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls and the team that won five championships. The Last Dance season culminated with the Bulls’ sixth championship, defeating the Utah Jazz in the NBA finals on Jordan’s infamous shot in Game 6 in Salt Lake City (sorry, editor Justin). My parents were Utah Jazz fans — my dad is from Salt Lake Cit...
The North Mason School Board hosted a public hearing Feb. 17 to discuss the proposed transfer of surplus Theler Wetlands property to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Board member Leanna Krotzer read an opening statement for the public hearing, stating that any land transfer, the district will retain the right to use the classroom space and use the exhibit center for school-related purposes. It would also be subject to the public's continued use of the trails and property. There was no...
Friday, Feb. 27, 1948 Today the Light Co. sent some men out and they took down the trees without damaging fences or anything. We were so glad. Went over to Skene’s for the saw and John’s for the pee-vee. They were away over at John’s for over a year. Charlie Gilman came down and dug some clams. Sam went to Seattle and Tacoma to get stuff for Emmett. Rec’d a letter and one card from Bisbee post matron Pearl Bickle. Edith Skene came over and we drove to Bremerton. We shopped at an antique shop an...
Her welcoming smile lit up a room. Her laugh was infectious and genuine, her love and warmth made you feel like you were the most important person there. She had an unshakable faith in Jehovah God's promises written in the Bible, including the resurrection that in the near future will awaken her and the love of her life, Mike Johnson, her husband of 27 years. Cloie fell asleep in death on February 3rd, 2022. She was 84 years old. She spent her life telling others about this future hope and...
Jerry Nelson passed away peacefully on January 7, 2022, at the age of 93 at St. Anne Hospital in Burien, Washington. Jerry was born to Harold and Olive (Seaburg) Nelson in Seattle in 1928. The family eventually moved to Olympia where he graduated from Olympia High School in 1947. Jerry moved to Seattle to work for a hardware store and then transferred to Alaska for the same company. He was a member of the National Guard for three years, and in 1950 he returned to Olympia and enlisted in the...
Margaret "Peggy" Adsero was an amazing, beautiful and beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, sister and friend. She left this world suddenly on February 4, 2022, at the age 80. Peggy was born to Raymond and Margaret Kealy on December 31st, 1941, and was one of seven children. Although she was born in Washington State, she was 100 percent Irish. A fact she was very proud of. She attended Holy Names Catholic School through her junior year of high school and then graduated from...
Yasmine Beulah Littleraven-LaClair, 16, a resident of Skokomish Nation in Mason County, passed away February 3, 2022, at Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. George Warren Cavanaugh, Jr., 63, a resident of Grapeview, passed away February 11, 2022, at Mason General Hospital. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. Kyle Joseph Ford, 33, a resident of Shelton, passed away February 14, 2022, in Shelton. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. Virginia Valley, 94, a...
