Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Tim Sheldon joined the state Legislature during the year Bryan Adams' "I Do It for You" was the No. 1 song, the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" was the top grossing movie. That year was 1991, and now 31 years later, Sheldon has decided it's time to retire. "It came along during this term. It's been 32 years in Olympia and before that I had six years as a port commissioner, so it overlapped two years so 32 and four, that's 36 years...
Taggers have vandalized Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko's Texaco station with paint three times in the past month. "The graffiti's gotten pretty crazy lately, all over town," Onisko said during the Shelton City Council's work session March 8. Other council members agreed. "I've definitely seen an uptick of this in the community, not just downtown," said Joe Schmit. "You drive by an alley and 'boom,' and it wasn't there yesterday," said Kathy McDowell. "When did they do it?" City Manager Jeff Niten...
Erika Edgin, Tryssa Robertson and Hailey Lohman were Mary M. Knight ninth-graders when they donned face masks to ward off the COVID-19 virus. On Monday, as high school juniors, they took off their masks. "It feels like we're supposed to go back to normal, but it's not our normal," Edgin said as the trio stood together outside during a class project Tuesday. She added, "I go to pull up my mask, and it's not there." Monday was the first day students, teachers and other school staff were allowed...
In June, Shelton High School anticipates that 331 of its 363 seniors will graduate, a 91% rate. That would exceed the school's goal to increase the percentage of seniors graduating in four years from 78.1% - the rate from 2016 to 2020 - to 90% at the end of the school year. Shelton High School Principal Bruce Kipper on March 8 presented the school's improvement plan to the Shelton School Board. He also talked about the efforts to return a sense of "normalcy" to the campus two years into the...
Four junk removal companies last week hauled away 50 tons of cars, sofas, wooden pallets, doors, toys and other debris from Evergreen Mobile Estates near Shelton's Sanderson Field. The Evergreen Mobile Homeowners Cooperative that oversees about 50 manufactured homes on East Blevins Road North received a grant for the pickup. The cooperative hired Mason County Clean Outs & Junk Removal, WashingTone's Junk Removal, R&K Recycle and Transport, and Dirt & Stuff Mason County Clean Outs to haul away...
Several years ago, I often played racquetball with a fellow who would attack himself. When this fellow would make a bad shot, he’d yell something like “Nate, you idiot!” or “You’re stupid!” He’d dive for shots and run into the walls and work up a powerful fever all while criticizing his misplays. He was a good racquetball player, and he was a smart and talented person. As far as what was obvious to me, he had plenty to like about himself, but he had this voice inside that needed to berate himsel...
Editor’s Note: The Journal will begin running letters to the editor endorsing or opposing local political candidates in the June 9 edition (eight weeks prior to the Aug. 2 primary election). Youth and COVID-19 Editor, the Journal, There are many reasons people (young and old) haven’t gotten vaccinated. Distrust of the government. Instead of trying to educate and encourage people to get the shot, bullying tactics are used (No shot? No job, no restaurant, no gym, etc.). Heck, the sitting president and vice president were against the shot whe...
Mason County covers slightly more than 1,000 square miles and medical services aren't a short drive away for most people. That's where the Behavioral Health Transportation program is stepping in to provide a ride to those who need it. After being approved at the Feb. 1 Mason County commissioners meeting, the program is new, having started officially about two weeks ago. According to the information packet, the program is set up to transport people to services such as inpatient, detox, medical...
The $17 billion transportation package dubbed “Move Ahead Washington,” is on its way to the Governor’s Office for final signature. House legislators passed the 16-year plan on a pair of votes of 54-44 and 57-41 on the final day of the 2022 legislative session. Senators voted an hour later, passing the package 29-20 and 30-19. One of the package’s sponsors, Sen. Marko Liias, D-Everett, said in a news release: “We’re investing in projects from rural to urban areas across our state, letting kids ride free on buses, ferries and trains, and so much...
Nettles are a welcome sign of spring in my gardens and woods. Do those who curse their sting know all the wondrous uses of this vegetal gift? I don't profess to know all they offer - as with most topics I am continually learning. I have been eating nettles for years (they make a great pesto) and prefer them to most greens for their taste and nutrition, and only in reading for this column did I find that yarn is made from certain nettle species' fibers. That's not surprising, considering the...
Electronic home monitoring contract approved Mason County commissioners approved a contract for electronic home monitoring services for Mason County Juvenile Court Services at its March 15 meeting. According to the information packet, Juvenile Court Services receives grants to provide staff support and create alternate programming instead of detention. The court received additional money and decided to add electronic home monitoring as another option that can be used instead of detention. The contract is between Mason County Juvenile Probation...
Shelton Music has moved to Olympic Highway North in the Mountain View district after conducting business for seven years in downtown Shelton. The business's lease expired at 415 West Railroad Ave., said store manager Jimmy Garrod. The new site at 2337 Olympic Highway North, Suite 100, is immediately south of McDonald's. The windows were broken three times at the downtown location, and no suspects were ever found, Garrod said. The business purchases instruments from five or six companies, Garrod...
The Port of Hoodsport is still dealing with the fallout of its hazard trees and is considering upcoming waste disposal needs. The port’s vouchers for February totaled $14,797.30, which port Operations Manager Kathleen Wyatt said is higher than the usual total of about $8,000. Wyatt said the port’s vouchers included $7,000 for Hoodsport-based Northwest Land and Tree to have hazardous trees removed, plus $900 for the port’s annual IT, domain and web tech fees, and attorney fees of $225 from when Wyatt consulted with legal counsel about the Fjord...
State Route 302 near Victor reopens The state Department of Transportation has reopened state Route 302 east of Victor after it was closed March 1. According to a news release, heavy rainfall triggered roadway settlement and sloughing. An 80-foot section of highway settled more than 6 inches. WSDOT crews ground off and replaced damaged asphalt, according to WSDOT spokesman Doug Adamson and shown in the picture above. “SR 302 passes over a slow-moving landslide that is occasionally retriggered by rain,” Adamson said in an email to the Jou...
Mason Health reveals new patient access center A patient access center officially opened at Mason Clinic with a ribbon-cutting event for staff March 8. According to a news release, plans to remodel the former clinic and office space was delayed in 2020 due to COVID-19. Construction began in August 2021 and was completed in February. Public Hospital District No. 1 commissioners Darrin Moody and Gayle Weston, patient access center staff and Mason Health Senior leadership attended the ribbon cutting. “The outstanding work of leaders and f...
This story is taken from the Aug. 23, 1907, edition of the Mason County Journal. On Aug. 19, 1907, about 40 people from Shelton, hosted by Mark E. Reed, Arthur Govey and Thomas O'Neill, traveled to the Crawford and Reid boatyard in Tacoma to participate in launching the hull of the new Shelton Transportation Co. steamship S. G. Simpson. The party boarded the steamship Shelton at 7 a.m. and spent the next four hours on a pleasant run to Tacoma. Upon arrival, they traveled uptown for luncheon and...
So much of the 10-episode first season of "Star Trek: Picard" in 2020, on what's now Paramount+, was devoted to cleaning up the collateral damage of 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis" and J.J. Abrams' 2009 "Star Trek" reboot that it left me wondering what a second season of "Picard" might look like. I shouldn't have been surprised, because even without those loose ends that were demanding to be addressed, the second season of "Picard" (which premiered March 3) is still much like the first. It offers a...
The calendar said it was Saturday, but at Highclimber Field, it was undoubtedly Tuesday. Senior right-hander Tuesday Palmer had a first-inning home run and five RBI, and threw a complete game two-hitter while fanning nine to lead the North Mason High School softball team to a 7-1 road win against Mason County Cup rival Shelton in both teams' season opener. "I was super-excited to start the season and play Shelton for the first time," Palmer wrote in a text message. "I've been looking forward to...
The Seattle Seahawks made a big move and traded quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and defensive lineman Shelby Harris. I know a lot of fans are upset about this move, and rightfully so, but I’m here to tell fans that everything is going to be fine. Wilson has been the quarterback in Seattle since he was drafted in the third round out of Wisconsin in 2012. He helped the Seahawks r...
Track & Field The Owls kicked off the track season with a jamboree at Montesano on March 10. Mary M. Knight’s Danny Goeders finished eighth in the 400-meter dash and he placed ninth in the discus. Junior Drake Jenkins finished 10th in the shot put and 12th in the discus. Mary M. Knight returns to Montesano today for a league meet. Baseball The North Mason baseball team fell in its opening game 13-1 at home against Klahowya in a nonleague game. The Bulldogs (0-1) host Port Angeles today in the first Olympic League game of the season before t...
The Port of Dewatto closed out its regular meetings for the winter with an update from port campground coordinator Joe Newman, who said he visited the campground several times during the winter to clean up debris. Newman told port commissioners Feb. 9 that a "large amount of debris" remains scattered through the campground and predicted it would take "quite some time" to get it removed. Newman pledged to do as much cleaning as he could before the March 26 cleanup of the campground. The...
Port of Allyn commissioners initially agreed last month that they were ready to move forward with a comprehensive scheme update before two of the three commissioners reacted favorably to a suggestion on how to solicit more public comment before taking action. But in spite of posting the community survey for its comprehensive scheme update on its website and Facebook page, plus adding links to it on every Facebook group covering Mason County and contacting local media, Port Executive Director Lary Coppola said only “a small number” of sur...
Dad is a private contractor, a builder and an improver of things, who lives along Hood Canal. He constructs decks and roofs, garages, does kitchen and bath remodels, flooring, painting, plus a little excavating, tree trimming, and septic work on the side. He has done a bit of everything, and a lot of everything too! While business slows down periodically, he himself rarely does. In fact, I have never known Dad to be without some sort of project in progress — even if it has to do simply with home or vehicle maintenance, or lending a hand to a n...
