Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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With increasing disruptive student behavior in its secondary schools, including vandalizing bathrooms, the Shelton School District has revised its disciplinary policy to better define procedures aimed at keeping students in the classroom. The Shelton School Board unanimously passed June 27 the revised policy, which calls for “ensuring fairness, equity and due process in the administration of discipline.” The board gave the revisions preliminary approval at its June 13 meeting. The revised policy states the district will administer dis...
Mason County implemented a burn ban July 7 to prohibit all recreational fires in the county. According to the state Department of Natural Resources website, the fire danger rating in the county is "very high," which is the second highest rating possible. Campfires, recreational fires and charcoal briquettes are prohibited in the county, but cooking stoves, barbeques and recreational fire pits fueled by propane or gas with a shutoff valve are authorized. Mason County Fire Marshal Randy Collins...
Mason County Fire District 12 commissioners Albert Wilder and Cinda Compton appointed Kelli Walsworth, Wilder’s daughter, to a vacant commission position at a special meeting Tuesday in Matlock. Walsworth is the district’s former fire chief who was dismissed and subsequently rehired as chief pro tempore prior to the state Auditor’s Office audit release in September. The audit found several fiscal problems in the district, and stated nepotism as a possible reason. Commissioner Brian Jutson resign...
Mason County Fire District 4 has named itself South Mason Fire and Rescue. South Mason Fire and Rescue Chief Greg Rudolph said this was something that was on the staffs' radar to refresh the department with new leadership coming in. Rudolph said he has done renamings at previous departments and it gets people to "buy in a bit more when they have some say in what the logo and name say or represent about us." "It feels good. The crews are excited about it, everybody had input with the new...
The McEwan Fire that began July 4 is now 85% contained, according to a Wednesday update from Central Mason Fire and EMS. According to the news release, 232 acres have burned and the fire has slowly been contained by crews. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the fire had been turned over to a state Department of Natural Resources team that will continue to manage the burned area, which continues to show heat pockets with some smoke and potential for...
Hecidora Temisqueño was washing dishes in the early afternoon of July 4 when she saw a boiling column of smoke out the window. It was rolling toward her home. “It seemed like just seconds later, firefighters were at the door telling us to leave,” she said through her son, who interpreted for her. “I was scared.” And it wasn’t much later on that Tuesday afternoon that residents around the county started seeing firefighting aircraft sucking water from area bodies of water, including Oakland Bay an...
Pride and pub Editor, the Journal, Cathy Gallagher wrote that she didn’t like City Councilman Jim Boad’s vote on the Pride proclamations so would boycott the Wilde Irish Pub. Her letter had three errors. The first said Jim Boad voted against the proclamation. There was no vote. Two other board members confirmed this. There was a discussion; Mr. Boad simply stated his opinion. The second error was calling the proclamation “simple.” The last few years Pride parades have become very close to pornographic with children present and aggressive with a...
With certification of the April 2023 special election, voters passed measures that merged Fire Protection District 11 with District 5 and renewed the property tax levy for Fire Protection District 3. The Aug. 1 primary is next, and your dedicated elections team is ready. We moved the Vote Center to the second floor of the County Administration Building next to the Licensing & Recording counter where voters will continue to receive terrific customer service. We reorganized the ballot processing...
The Mason General Hospital Gift Shop, operated by the hospital's auxiliary to raise money for scholarships, has reopened after being closed for three years due to the COVID pandemic. The shop reopened June 30, and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Most of the volunteers are seniors, which factored in how long the shop was closed following the worst of the pandemic, said volunteer Monica Bates. "They didn't allow volunteers in ... They wanted to protect...
Alyson Louise Ruff-Roberts nee Ruff died at home of natural causes Sunday, June 18, 2023 at the age of 58. She was born on October 6, 1964 in Bremerton to Patrick Edward Ruff and Bonnie Baker Ruff. She grew up in Belfair and attended North Mason schools, was active in music and theater, was ASB Treasurer, and graduated as Valedictorian of the Class of 1982. She continued her education at the University of Puget Sound (UPS) where she graduated with a double major in Biology and Music. She was a... Full story
Motorcyclist, 71, hurt in accident near Triton A motorcyclist was injured Saturday on U.S. Highway 101 near Triton. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, a 71-year-old Quilcene man was northbound near Triton when the motorcyclist pulled over to the soft right shoulder, but the man lost control, causing him to lay the motorcycle down. The rider was unable to get out from underneath the motorcycle. The man was transported to Mason General and charges are pending an investigation. Skydiver hospitalized A skydiver became stuck in a...
Carolyn M. Ragan passed away June 26, 2023. Carolyn is a long-time resident of Shelton, married to John C Ragan,Sr. until his death in 1978. Carolyn is survived by her three children; John C Ragan, Jr., Debbie Habelt, and Alex Ragan; three grand-daughters Sarah, Sydney, and MacKenzie. Carolyn was active in local real estate, the First Baptist Church of Shelton and the Hospital Guild.... Full story
Gregory Michael "Greg" Hillman, age 47, passed away unexpectedly in Chewelah, Washington on June 24, 2023. Greg was born on April 16, 1976, in Olympia, Washington to Dan and Bev (Trotzer) Hillman. Raised in Shelton, Greg began attending school at Bordeaux Elementary, before going on to graduate from Shelton High School with the class of 1994. Following his graduation, Greg would begin working towards his bachelor's in Recreation Management at Eastern Washington University. In 1995, he met...
Our Beloved Helen Elizabeth Schumpert Gerhold passed away gracefully and peacefully on March 10, 2023, at the age of 94 years and five days. Helen Gerhold was a hardworking, faithful Christian who put God first and served the Lord Jesus Christ with all her time and strength. She loved her family and prayed daily for her kids and grandkids, her greatest desire was that they know and follow the Lord Jesus. Helen and her family attended the First Baptist Church in Shelton, WA. The Gerhold family mo... Full story
John Lee Goetsch passed on April 13th, 2023. He was born to Martin and Ester Goetsch on December 24, 1936. John graduated from Bainbridge High School. After that he joined the Army. He worked for Seattle Ship and Lockheed as a welder. John was a very gifted mechanic. John lived in many placed during his life such as Ballard and Seattle, Washington, and also spent some time in Hanes, Alaska. John spent most of his life on Harstine Island in Shelton Washington. John was well known for working on c... Full story
Melba Jean (Perry) O'Neill went peacefully to meet Jesus on June 22, 2023. She anticipated a heavenly reunion with many, but most importantly, she is reunited once again with Bill, the love of her life. Melba was born on August 14,1925 in Shelby, Montana. When she was 14 the family relocated to Olympia where Melba graduated from Olympia High School in 1943. While working for the State of Washington Melba met the charming and newly discharged sailor, Bill O'Neill. It didn't take long for the... Full story
Carolyn M. Ragan, (no age listed) a longtime resident of Shelton, passed away June 26, 2023. Arrangements are by Woodlawn Funeral Home of Olympia, WA. Donna Kruize, 73, a resident of Yelm, passed away July 3, 2023, at The Dada’s Adult Family Home IV, in Olympia. Arrangements are by Funeral Alternatives of Washington. John McGoldrick, 82, a resident of Shelton, passed away July 4, 2023, at home. Arrangements are by McComb and Wagner Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Judy Lee Groezinger, 69, a resident of Elma, passed away July 5, 2023, at home.... Full story
Andrew "Andy" William Nacht, 49, passed away May 27, 2023. Andy was born January 22, 1974 in Chehalis, WA to William Nacht and Christine Judah. Andy's family moved to Shelton where he attended elementary school and high school. He later furthered his education and became a State Certified Millwright. Andy met his wife Heather through some mutual friends and after dating for a few years, they were married on June 8, 1995. Any worked in the timber industry. He worked for Simpson Timber Co. for... Full story
Harstine speaker on 'Roaring '20s' Sunday William Woodward, a professor of U.S. and Pacific Northwest history at Seattle Pacific University, will talk about "Will the 2020's Roar Like the 1920s?" at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Harstine Island Community Hall. The free presentation is part of the Harstine Island Community Club's partnership with the Humanities Washington's Speaker's Bureau for the Inquiring Minds series. The annual series has been presented in the winter. This is the first program...
Shelton is running its Movies in the Park series this summer, showing free-admission films every Friday from July 14 through Aug. 18 in Kneeland Park, so I'm running six weeks of reviews of each week's featured films, starting with the 1995 safari fantasy "Jumanji," starring Robin Williams. "Jumanji" kicks off the city's movie series this Friday. Among my fellow film nerds, director Joe Johnston gets a bad rap for being a solid yet unambitious meat-and-potatoes filmmaker, who's responsible for...
This week raspberries are the main job. Picked them and made 27 pints of jam. Watering the lawn and gardens are becoming a regular task. The weather seems to be getting warmer. Just a regular week in Belfair. Sunday, July 3, 1949 We arose late and Sam slept real late so ate alone. Bill Hyde and Evelyn were down and borrowed the ladder as they are going to paint the house. I picked some raspberries, and we took a bowlful down to Fischler's and met all his family. Stayed just a minute as they...
