Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886

Articles from the April 20, 2023 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 31

  • Gunfire erupts during violent weekend

    Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    One person is dead and four others injured, including one critically, in a series of weekend shootings across Mason County. On Saturday, Shelton Police responded to three shootings within four hours, according to a Shelton PD news release. The first occurred at 7:38 p.m. near East Fir and Otter streets in Shelton’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and was determined to be a homicide. Officers arrived to find two victims, one dead and another critically injured with multiple gunshot wounds. The i...

  • Marilyn Leigh Johnson (Dittman)

    Apr 20, 2023

    Marilyn Leigh Johnson (Dittman) passed away peacefully of natural causes on April 6, 2023, at the age of 92, while in the wonderful care of the staff at Shelton Health and Rehab. Marilyn was born on October 23, 1930, to Harry and Magdalene Dittman in Shelton, WA where she remained a resident for 92 years. Marilyn attended Irene S. Reed High School, where she met the love of her life, Bill Johnson. They married as seniors and both graduated in 1948. Immediately following graduation, Bill and Mari...

  • William "Bill" Freeman

    Apr 20, 2023

    William "Bill" Freeman, 61 of Shelton, WA passed away unexpectedly on March 5, 2023. He was born December, 1961, in Chicago, IL. He graduated in 1980 from Apple Valley High School in CA. He moved his family to WA in 2004 for a simpler lifestyle. Bill was a Petroleum Manager and Consultant in CA, WA, OR from 1987-2019. He is survived by his wife Evelyn of 41 years, and their six children, one son-in-law, two daughter-in-laws, five grandchildren, and many other relatives. A celebration of life...

  • In Memoriam

    Apr 20, 2023

    Clinton Reynolds Willour, 79, a resident of Houston, TX, passed away February 4, 2021, in Houston. No funeral home information is available. Karla Marlene Weber Anderson, 53, a resident of Billings, MT, passed away April 11, 2023, at Capital Medical Center in Olympia. Arrangements are by McComb & Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Floyd Myron Kregenow, 87, a resident of Olympia, passed away April 12, 2023, at Olympia Adult Family Home, LLC. Arrangements are by Forest Funeral Home and Crematory. Sandra A. Deyette, 74, a resident of...

  • 'Two peas in a pod'

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 20, 2023

    Ginny Swarts and Betty Olson were born in 1921 and 1922, when Warren G. Harding was president, radio was new, and the movies were silent except for live musical accompaniment. This month, the two best friends at Alpine Way Continuing Care Community in Shelton celebrated their 101st and 102nd birthdays. They also celebrated a friendship born over a mutual love of music, bingo and bus trips. "We do everything together," said Swarts. She added, "We really fit like two peas in a pod." Swarts was...

  • School board seats on ballot

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 20, 2023

    Four of the five seats on the Shelton School Board are on the fall ballot. The terms of board members Keri Davidson, Sandy Tarzwell, Karla Knudsen-Johnston and Lauren Gilmore all expire at the end of the year. Matt Welander’s term representing director District 3 doesn’t expire until the end of 2025. Davidson, the board’s chair, has been on the board since 2016. In an email to the Journal, she said she plans to run for another term as the at-large position No. 2. “I first ran for the school board when my daughters were in kindergarten and fir...

  • Fire 12 recall petitions begin

    Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    Community members met at the Matlock Grange last Saturday as recall petitions for Mason County Fire District 12 commissioners began collecting signatures. According to minutes from the meeting written by Trina Young and provided to the Journal, recall backers have two weeks to gather signatures. Once the petition signatures have been validated by early May, the community will know whether the special election can proceed and be on the ballot in August. If Fire District 12 commissioners Albert...

  • City Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Apr 20, 2023

    City sells land to hospital district The Shelton City Council on Tuesday voted to sell two surplus properties on North 13th Street for $800,000 to Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County. According to the city report, the parcels "are an important opportunity for the district's long-range planning to provide critical health care facilities for the community." The parcels total 1.83 acres of steeply sloped land adjacent to Mason General Hospital. The $800,000 will go into the city's Water...

  • Happy meetings on the Huff 'n' Puff Trail

    Kirk Ericson|Apr 20, 2023

    I ran into Journal reporter Gordon Weeks last Saturday on one of the segments of the Huff 'n' Puff Trail, that 1.8-mile-long collection of loops that meander through a stand of slender firs on several acres across the road from Shelton High School. A drawing of the trail on a handout I was given last weekend makes the loops look like a lopsided, five-lobed shamrock. The trail, owned by the City of Shelton, is covered in wood chips, and it's flat. The rise in elevation can't be more than a foot...

  • Letters to the Editor

    Apr 20, 2023

    Manager Ziegler Editor, the Journal, Mark Ziegler for city manager. First, he's local; he knows Shelton and has lived here his entire life. Also, Mark has worked for the City of Shelton for 30-plus years. His experience and work ethic speaks volumes and will undoubtedly make him a great city manager. Dave Putvin, Shelton No evidence Editor, the Journal, Katherine Price has been an assiduous detective for the last two weeks, sniffing out hate crimes in the Journal's letters section. (Shame on...

  • Filling Empty Bowls

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Apr 20, 2023

    On April 12, more than 100 people molded clay to create about 260 pieces of art - mostly bowls ­- to benefit patrons of the Saints' Pantry Food Bank in downtown Shelton at the first of the three-night Empty Bowls fundraiser in the Shelton Civic Center. Some participants returned Wednesday to glaze the bowls. The fundraiser culminates with the purchase of soup and bread with a bowl for $10 from 5 to 7 p.m. April 26. The participating restaurants are Wilde Irish Pub, Olympic Bakery & Deli,...

  • County Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    Assessor’s Office renewal applications The Mason County’s Assessor’s Office mailed renewal applications this week to exempt recipients on the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Exemption from Real Property Taxes program. According to a news release, the intended recipients live in Union, Hoodsport, Lake Cushman, Colony Surf, Lilliwaup, Harstine Island, Pickering, Spencer Lake, Phillips Lake, Timberlake, Agate, Shorecrest and surrounding areas. Applications need to be submitted by June 30. For more information, contact the Assessor’s Office...

  • Commission Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    Old Belfair Highway project Mason County commissioners approved an update to the project limits of the Old Belfair Highway county road project at the April 11 meeting. According to the information packet, commissioners approved a resolution May 21, 2019, for Old Belfair Highway to widen and realign a portion of the road. The project includes an extension of an existing structural plate aluminum arch culvert as well as improving the road geometrics to a 50 mph design standard. Public Works received Rural Arterial Trust Account money from the Cou...

  • Port of Hoodsport prepares to renew its dock lease

    Kirk Boxleitner|Apr 20, 2023

    Port of Hoodsport officials agreed they need to address some matters as they work to renew the lease on its dock. Cailan Neeler, ports program manager for the state Department of Natural Resources, contacted the Port of Hoodsport in July about the impending expiration of the port’s 30-year lease of the dock from DNR. Port of Hoodsport Commission Chair Lori Kincannon said current port officials had been unaware of the upcoming need for a dock lease renewal from DNR, given that the original lease...

  • Education Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Apr 20, 2023

    Scholarships for Harstine residents The Harstine Island Women’s Club and the Judy and Charles Chase Scholarship Fund Management Committee are offering scholarships to full-time residents of Harstine Island who are entering or continuing their post high school education. Applicants must have obtained a diploma with an accredited high school program or earned a GED. Applications will be accepted through May 15. Winners will be announced by May 31. The number and amount of the scholarships will be determined at the time the scholarship r...

  • Pitch in to help on Earth Day Saturday

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 20, 2023

    Celebrate Earth Day Saturday by helping remove trash from a Tahuya forest or plant trees and shrubs at the new site of the Shelton Farmers Market. Volunteers can help plant native plants, fruit trees and shrubs from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday next to the Shelton Civic Center, 425 W. Cota St. The Mason Conservation District, the Shelton Skookum Rotary Club, Shelton Youth Connection, the Shelton Farmers Market and the City of Shelton are sponsoring the event. In collaboration with the state...

  • Bob Ross movie, documentary offer true-life takes

    Kirk Boxleitner|Apr 20, 2023

    I had intended to see "Renfield" last weekend, with Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult, but since it's not screening at a theater near me yet, I decided to take advantage of this "happy little accident" by seeing "Paint" instead, starring Owen Wilson as fictional pastoral painter Carl Nargle, who is very obviously based on legendary real-life artist Bob Ross, who died in 1995. More than a quarter-century after his death from cancer, it's a testament to Bob Ross' artistic legacy and his aesthetic...

  • 'We Speak for the Forests' screens for free today

    Kirk Boxleitner|Apr 20, 2023

    The Skyline Drive-In Theater is presenting a free screening at 8 tonight of a locally made documentary film, "We Speak for the Forests." The film's director, Mason County Climate Justice co-founder and CEO Zephyr Elise, talked to the Shelton-Mason County Journal about the filmmaking process, which began when Union resident and fellow MCCJ member James Bell spent four months documenting the clear-cut logging near his home. Two years after Elise took over the film that Bell started, "We Speak for...

  • Moving up

    Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    Shelton's Mason Goos, Bradley Eleton and Blaze Andrews all signed to play college football at a signing ceremony at the Student Union Building at Shelton High School on Monday. Goos signed to play at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Goos was a three-year starting quarterback for the Highclimbers and is the all-time Shelton leader in career passing yards. "It's been crazy. I didn't think I was going to play football in high school and then sophomore year, Andy Conklin reached out to...

  • Climber track shines in home meet with Wolves

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    Shelton won both the boys and girls team titles in an Evergreen Conference dual meet at Highclimber Stadium last Thursday. In girls action, Kennadi Ward won the 100-meter dash in 14.14 seconds and Maddie Allred won the 200-meter dash in 30.48 seconds. Magdalena Vondrousova won the 800-meter dash in 2 minutes, 40 seconds and Lily Bennett won the 1,600-meter race in 5:45.44. Maryjane Hageman won the 100-meter hurdles in 18.11 seconds and the 300-meter hurdles in 58.30 seconds. The 4x100 relay team...

  • Prep Roundup

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    North Mason girls golf The North Mason girls golf team lost to Bainbridge 250-179 in an Olympic League match April 12 at Wing Point Country Club on Bainbridge Island. The Bulldogs hosted Olympic at LakeLand Village on Tuesday and host Sequim today at LakeLand Village in a league match. North Mason boys golf North Mason boys golf lost to Bainbridge 253-169 in an Olympic League match April 12 at Wing Point Country Club on Bainbridge Island. The Bulldogs host Sequim today in a league match at LakeLand Village. North Mason boys soccer The Bulldogs...

  • Shelton edges Bremerton

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    The Shelton High School baseball team earned a walk-off nonleague win against Bremerton in extra innings after dropping two Evergreen Conference games against W.F. West last week. The Highclimbers lost 10-0 and 9-8 in an EvCo doubleheader April 12 in Shelton. Shelton hosted Bremerton on Friday and won on a walk-off in the eighth inning 5-4. Mason Goos scored the winning run. Shelton (8-6, 4-4) hosted Rochester in an EvCo doubleheader Wednesday. The Highclimbers host Tumwater on Friday in an...

  • Shelton High Roundup

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    Girls golf Shelton dropped two Evergreen Conference matches last week to Centralia and Black Hills. The Highclimbers lost to Centralia 73-40 on April 12 at Alderbrook Golf Course. Gabby Stevens led Shelton with 13 points, Alena Hall added 11 points and Gwen Smith tallied eight points. Ali Sorley and Bri Sanders each recorded four points and Morgen Shrum rounded out the Highclimbers with one point. Shelton traveled to Tumwater Valley Golf Course on Monday and lost 73-22 to Black Hills. Hall led the Highclimbers with 13 points and Shrum totaled...

  • Climbers split two

    Compiled by reporter Matt Baide|Apr 20, 2023

    The Shelton High School softball team split two games last week. The Highclimbers lost to Black Hills, but bounced back with a win against Centralia in Evergreen Conference softball last week. Shelton lost 8-5 to Black Hills at home April 12 but recovered and won 8-7 against Centralia at home last Friday. The Highclimbers traveled to Chehalis on Monday and lost 19-2 to the Bearcats. Shelton (3-9, 1-6) hosted Bremerton on Wednesday and is back in action in Shelton on Monday against Centralia....

  • Shelton tops Black Hills

    Apr 20, 2023

Page Down