Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 31
Connie Lynn Wilson, 73, passed away Tuesday, March 7th, 2023, at home in Shelton, WA. Connie and her twin brother, Curt Cheney, were born in Shelton on February 7th, 1950. Connie attended Bordeaux Elementary School where she met her friend for life, Karol (Mackey) Rogers in the 4th grade. She met her future husband, Duane Wilson, at Shelton High School. Connie and Duane began dating while in high school and resumed dating when Duane returned to Shelton after three years in the Army. They were... Full story
Timothy Bruce Crane passed away in Vancouver, Washington on March 6th, 2023, at the age of 62. After being born in Washington, Tim spent his youth and young adulthood in Sonora, California, before returning to the Pacific Northwest in 1989. Tim was employed for many years with the Simpson Timber Company, though he was best known in the area as the artist behind The Optimist, which he installed without permission, as a "random act of goofiness." Passersby of his Bellevue Avenue home would... Full story
Kristine Anne Brown (maiden name Krieger) Born October 25th, 1950, passed away on February 4th, 2023, at Mason General Hospital. Kris was a Shelton resident for over 30 years but was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was the eldest of her two siblings, Diane (Rachel) Krieger and Rex Krieger. Her Mother was Dawn Marie Krieger (Kotas) and her Father was Richard Krieger. She is survived by her husband David Striplin, daughter Nicole Norris and her two granddaughters Alaina and Raelynn Norris. She wa... Full story
Mickey D. Rioux passed away February 22, 2023, in Shelton, Washington, his home of 25 years. He was born July 30, 1946, to Darlene and Ralph Rioux. He also resided in Montana, and Raymond, Washington. Mickey served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Professionally, he worked for Northern Star and Simpson. He was funny, loving, caring, dependable, and was an outdoors man, fisherman, and craftsman. He loved fishing, hunting, picking blackberries and mushrooms, going to auctions and yard sale... Full story
Jil Hammond, also known as Mima, Mom, Auntie, Grammy Hammy and Busy Baker, of Shelton, passed away surrounded by her family on March 5, 2023, at the age of 55 after an eight week battle with a rare, aggressive cerebral fungal infection. Jil was born on April 4, 1967, to Robert and Leah Johnson. In 1984, Jil met her husband Chris Hammond in Shelton. They went on to have their daughter Toni in 1985, and son Tyler in 1989, both residents of Shelton, and subsequently owned and operated Hammond... Full story
Edwin Ricardo Ramos Pablo, 21, a resident of Shelton, passed away February 28, 2023, in Shelton. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. William Dale Freeman, Jr., 61, a resident of Shelton, passed away March 3, 2023, at Mason General Hospital. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. Deloris I. Thomas, 84, a resident of Olympia, passed away March 10, 2023, at home. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Janet L. Loren, 81, a resident of Shelton, passed away March 11, 2023, at... Full story
In the fall of 2018, Jeff Niten was working in community development and planning for the City of Ridgefield in southwestern Washington when he saw Shelton was seeking a new city manager. In an interview Tuesday with the Journal, Niten said two things attracted him to the post: the opportunity to work for a city that had recently adopted the council-manager form of government that makes the manager the city's top executive, and the chance to help spur housing and economic development. Four years...
Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, and Travis Couture, R-Allyn, hosted a telephone town hall for 35th District constituents Friday, talking about the legislative session and matters that have an effect on Mason County residents, including police pursuits and the Belfair Bypass. Couture shared his thoughts on his first legislative session, saying he’s been enjoying the “chaos of it all.” “I kind of thrive in that environment. It is fast-paced and before you know it, it’s already the end of the day and t...
Homeless veterans in Mason County can apply to live in one of the 30 units at the long-delayed Shelton Veterans Village, under construction on North 13th Street near Olympic College Shelton and projected to open in June. Local homeless veterans can apply for residency through Crossroads Housing by calling 360-490-6510, the local "coordinated entry system" for the nonprofit Quixote Communities. The village will feature seven four-plexes, one duplex and a community building. On Friday, a crew...
WSU Mason County Master Gardeners are starting the 2023 season at their Catalyst Park garden, at the corner of 8th Street and Harvard Avenue in Shelton. This multipurpose space serves as a demonstration garden and houses a community garden, a greenhouse and a food bank garden that donates 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of produce to The Saints’ Pantry Food Bank every year. This past winter, Master Gardeners worked hard to improve the community garden beds. The area now showcases a variety of r...
The City of Shelton amended its code to allow rooming houses in most zoning districts. The Shelton City Council on March 7 voted unanimously for the amendment. The amended code allows rooming houses as a permitted use or conditionally permitted use in almost all zoning districts in the city, except commercial and industrial zones. A report to the council by Jae Hill, the city’s director of economic development, states that “rooming houses have been a traditional form of rental housing in cities and towns throughout history. The City’s code defi...
Sypnicki appointed to Fire 4 commission Greg Sypnicki has been appointed to the Mason County Fire District 4 commission. According to Fire District 4, Commissioner Gary Plews stepped down at the end of 2022 after 36 years as a volunteer firefighter, EMT and commissioner. Commissioners Curt Bennett and Dean Hirschi appointed Sypnicki until the next general election in November. Semitruck overturns on state Route 3 A semitruck tipped over while northbound on state Route 3 near Lavender Lane on March 8. According to Central Mason Fire & EMS, the...
String quartet plays Friday at SHS The string quartet Sultans of String performs at 7 p.m. Friday at the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center as part of the Mason County Community Concert Association’s annual series. Tickets are $30 for adults, and people younger than 18 are admitted for free. Information: 360-426-1842. Pioneer Kiwanis seafood dinner/auction March 25 The Pioneer Kiwanis Foundation hosts its annual seafood dinner and auction at 4 p.m. March 25 to benefit the youths of the Pioneer School District and Mason County. T...
How much government is too much? How much is too little? The answer to that probably depends on whom you ask. I’m of the mind that efficiency is much more important than size. A few weeks ago, Island Lake Fire — formally known as Mason County Fire Protection District 11 — submitted a ballot measure that, if approved by the district’s voters, would see Island Lake merge with and be absorbed by Central Mason Fire & EMS. Personally, I really hope it passes. Why? Well for one, there are too many mi...
Here’s how your existence will unfold if you’re born a female mason bee in the state of Washington: You’ll grow from an egg into a larva, sealed inside a tubular chamber between two thin plugs of mud. The plugs keep your bee neighbors from taking your stuff. Your chamber will be about one-quarter inch in diameter and maybe one-quarter-inch long. The sex of your tube neighbors, from the front to the back of the tube, will be male, male, male, female, female, female, give or take a few males and f...
Opaque omission Editor, the Journal, Auditor Steven Duenkel's recent report detailing his efforts to secure our elections does conform with his pledge of transparency. But he has one big opaque omission. He campaigned that our elections were not only vulnerable to fraud but victim to it. After multiple audits of the last election, and multiple inquiries, he has not reported any fraud. And that conforms with the false Republican narrative claiming election fraud without evidence. If his...
On Feb. 7, 1940, Skokomish Valley neighbors of 70-year-old Billy Vincent feared the worst when they discovered that the cable on which he would have propelled his "basketlike contrivance" across the north fork of the rain-swollen Skokomish River was broken and Vincent could not be located. He had crossed the river in the morning, picked up a sack of feed at the John Garrison place, then started back home. Early in the afternoon, Garrison discovered the broken cable, and finding no trace of Vince...
Shelton credit union has scholarships for 2023 grads April 30 is the deadline for local graduating high school seniors to apply for 10 $5,000 scholarships offered by Our Community Credit Union. The scholarships are open to graduating 2023 high school seniors who attend school in Mason, Grays Harbor and Thurston counties, and on Vashon Island. The students must be a member of OCCU to be eligible. Applications and guidelines for the scholarship are available for download at ourcu.com/scholarship-program. The winners will be announced in May. For...
Mason County commissioners approved Title 15 and 17 amendments related to the Shelton urban growth area by a 2-1 vote following a continuation of a public hearing Tuesday. According to the information packet, the Title 17 amendments are related to the Shelton urban growth area to allow higher residential densities within the Shelton urban growth area by use of the City of Shelton's Planned Unit Development standards. Title 15 amendments include amending the development code to add to the...
Katherine and John Yackel, co-owners of the YSS Dive Shop in Hoodsport, addressed Port of Hoodsport commissioners March 8 about the shop’s third-annual scuba expo and “Dive Against Debris” event May 6. “The underwater world is so amazing, and it needs all the help it can get,” Katherine Yackel told the Shelton-Mason County Journal. Through a separate correspondence to port commissioners, she vowed YSS Dive’s returning cleanup event would also impart to the public “why people should not po...
Mason County Heritage grants approved The Mason County Historic Preservation Commission received approval from Mason County commissioners for Heritage Grant applications. According to the information packet, at the February meeting, the historic preservation commission voted to approve five heritage grants. The grants include Mason General Hospital Foundation’s Arts Commission chapter for $5,000 toward the showcasing of Mason County’s history through historic pictures within Mason Health’s Rehabilitation Services and Patient Connection Cente...
In the end, they pulled it off. The problem with measuring any sequel to Mel Brooks' "History of the World, Part I" against the film that inspired it is that Brooks' original film in 1981 somehow managed to feel like much more than the sum of its somewhat uneven parts. In one sense, Hulu's "History of the World, Part II" streaming miniseries, whose debut ran March 6 to 9, learned the best lesson possible from its predecessor's mistakes, because while it spans eight episodes, each one lasts less...
Wild doesn't quite cover it. After three hours, 10 minutes on a frigid, prespring Monday evening, the North Mason High School softball team defeated Mason County rival Shelton 15-14 in an offensive shootout at Bulldog Field in Belfair. It could have gone even longer. Shelton led 19-15 with two on and two outs in the top of the 7th inning before the game was called on account of darkness. Because North Mason was unable to bat in its half of the inning, by rule the final score reverted to the end...
