Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Coronavirus surging through the students and staff at Pioneer Schools prompted the district on Monday to close its elementary and middle schools for five school days. As of Tuesday afternoon, 11 students and four staff members have tested positive for COVID, Superintendent Jill Diehl told the Journal in an email. The district announced the five-day closure to parents on Monday afternoon after reviewing the Washington State Department of Health’s guidelines for K-12 schools and consulting with Mason County Public Health, she wrote. The s...
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to learn how to adapt, and almost 18 months later, those pandemic changes keep coming and businesses are getting used to having to adjust at a moment’s notice. As of Sept. 28, the state has an indoor mask mandate regardless of vaccination status, unless you are eating or drinking at certain businesses. President Joe Biden announced in mid-September a vaccine requirement for all businesses with more than 100 employees. The Economic Development C...
Fish in Oakland Bay, the Skokomish River, Kennedy Creek and Hood Canal will benefit from more than $1 million in state grants. The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board last week announced the award of $21 million in grants across the state to aid in salmon recovery. The grants, awarded annually, went to 105 projects in 29 of the state's 39 counties. The grants will pay for work to restore salmon habitat, including repairing degraded habitat in rivers, removing barriers blocking salmon...
Some students in Mason County are arriving to school late or not at all due to the shortage of bus drivers in local districts. The shortage of drivers is forcing the Shelton School District to cancel four routes per day, finance director Brenda Trogstad told the Shelton School Board Tuesday at its meeting. She also announced that the district's transportation and lead mechanic have resigned. Some residents are receiving robocalls from the district at 5 a.m. to get the news their buses won't be...
The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction reports that 787 school buildings in the state receive “poor” ratings for their heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, including 11 buildings at Shelton High School. Those 11 buildings were last reviewed in January 2013, according to the state report. On a scale with 1.0 being “excellent,” nine of the buildings received a 0.45 mark and two buildings — the 100 administration building and the 200 building — received a mark of 0.30. Nevertheless, “The HVAC systems at Sh...
A new study published last week found that the number of studies issued in the United States in 2020 was up 13% from the previous year. The findings, published in the pseudo-scientific journal Studies, are based on a comprehensive study of all the studies that studied the studies that had been published in the previous five years. "We were very surprised," said the study's lead author, Albert Nobert of the Massachusetts Institute for the Advancement of Study Studies (MIASS). "I expected there...
If you love to hate people who drop names to try to impress you, the following story might make your day. But then again, dear friends and readers, after reading this bagatelle and taking whatever time you might require to consider the real reason I wrote it, maybe you will look more kindly upon my story and not hold it too much against me this merry go round. We'll see. Here goes: I now personally associate myself with Ernest Hemingway, Humphrey Bogart and Al Capone. I thought this surprising...
Mason County recorded 124 in the past week, a decrease of 11 cases from the previous week. The county recorded two more deaths, bringing the total in Mason County to 55. As of Tuesday, there are six people hospitalized in Mason County and one hospitalized outside of Mason County. Director of Community Services Dave Windom said at Tuesday’s Mason County Board of Health meeting that the hospital has more available beds now then they have had in the past couple of weeks. The county has had 259 c...
Max L. Dean passed away quietly Monday, September 13, 2021, in his home in Shelton, Washington. Born to Frank and Ocie Dean in Wichita, Kansas January 24, 1926, at five years old his family moved to a farm in Arkansas City, Kansas to be close to his grandparents. Farm life was not for Max though, at age 17 his parents granted permission for him to join the Navy. After boot camp, he graduated from Aviation Ordnance, Aerial Gunnery and Bombardier Schools. Joining a photo squadron, he spent hours i...
Robert was born August 29, 1961, in Tucson, Arizona and passed away September 12, 2021, in Puyallup, Washington. He grew up in East Los Angeles, California and lived most of his life in the greater Los Angeles area. He has been a resident of Shelton, Washington for the last 17 years. Robert loved God, his family, and his church family. He was extremely protective over those he loved. He was easy to talk to and made friends quickly. Robert had an effortless smile and a quick wit. His humor was...
On September 22nd 2021 Bonnie Bell Gosser went to be with her Lord and heavenly Father, peacefully in her home. Mom was born in Lisco, Nebraska on May 9th, 1940. She was the youngest of eight children, to Edward and Lucille Whinery. Mom married our Dad, Donald Leroy Gosser September 12th 1953. They resided in Washington State where they raised a daughter and five sons. In 1990, she moved with Dad to Douglas, Wyoming. They resided there until the death of our father in 2006. She then moved back...
Daniel James Porter, 64 of Shelton passed away in his home after a 4-year battle with cancer. Dan is survived by his new bride, Antoinette (Gomez) Porter, his mother Janet Porter, step daughters Regan (Rob) Weigel, Peggy (Gary) Owen, his sister Rita (Leslie) Roberts, brother Michael (Mary) Porter, grandchildren Roman Livingston, Isabella Livingston, Gage Weigel, Chastain Weigel, Alyvia Owen, Savannah Owen, and Gavin Owen, Nieces Emily Porter, Mariah (Tim) Bryant Adam Bryant, Shawna Rose...
Patricia A. Willey, 74, passed away at Shelton Health and Rehabilitation on Thursday, September 23rd, 2021, at 1:45 a.m. She was born in Eldorado, Kansas on October 6, 1946. Mrs. Willey had been a Shelton resident since 1951. She was a registered nurse and worked for Mason General Hospital and Fir Lane Convalescent Center for many years. She was a member of the United Methodist Church, she also helped with nurse training and Boy Scouts Pack 110. She is survived by her husband Joseph A. Willey...
Patrick Richard Brooks, born on December 28, 1948, in Lovelock, Nevada to Nadine (McDonald) and Richard Brooks, passed away on September 21, 2021, at home in Shelton. Patrick worked for Lumbermen's and Lumbermen's Homes of Shelton where he met and married Ginger Brooks in 1970. After many years with Lumbermen's he started his own construction company, Brookswood Construction. He retired from his business in 2010. Pat and Ginger divorced in 2003. Patrick enjoyed reading and traveling and for...
Betty McClanahan passed away at her home in Shelton, WA, September 20, 2021. She was 97. Betty was born on August 15, 1924, to Leonard E. "Lefty" Attwood and Ethel Victoria "Vickie" Neame in Tacoma, WA. She was the eldest of three daughters. The family spent a brief period of time in Steilacoom, WA, where her father was a pitcher for the semi-pro baseball team, the Tacoma Giants. Her family relocated to Shelton where she and her sisters were raised in their home on Eleanor Street. Betty attended...
Sherri Lombardy passed away September 18, 2021, surrounded by loved ones in her home in Shelton, Washington, at the age of 64. Sherri was born December 11, 1956 in Shelton, Washington to Kenneth Knight and Joan (Lyddon) Christensen. Her family and friends would describe her as caring, compassionate, and a kind woman. Sherri had a heart for animals like no other, caring for her own birds, her own cat, and local wild animals. She carried a fierce love for her grandchildren and family. Hobbies she...
John Brady "BJ" Whitener a Squaxin Island Tribal Member passed away September 2, 2021 at his home in Kamilche, WA, a stone's throw from where he grew up on Whitener Rd. He was 73 years old. BJ was born March 24, 1948 in Olympia, WA to Donald and Laura Lorine Whitener. He grew up in old Kamilche and graduated from Shelton High School in 1966. After graduating, he travelled while roofing until joining the Navy during the Vietnam War in 1968. During his tours he travelled the world over. After...
Rep. Kilmer encourages students to apply for military service academy nominations U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, encourages students in Washington’s 5th Congressional District to apply for the nation’s military service academies. According to a news release, Kilmer can nominate students to the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a nomination. “It’s an honor to consider students for service academy nominat...
Candi Hilyard named September 2021 Mason Health employee of the month Candi Hilyard has been named the Mason Health employee of the month for September 2021. Hilyard, a technician with environmental services at Mason Health, joined Mason Health in 2015. “I wanted to find the best place to work in my area and Mason Health sounded like a good place,” she said. “I love working here. It’s fantastic. Everyone is really friendly.” Hilyard grew up in Bremerton and graduated from Bremerton High School in 1988. She graduated from Olympic College i...
Washington State Patrol’s Eric Gunderson died of COVID-19 on Sunday morning in Olympia. According to a news release, Gunderson contracted COVID while in service to the state of Washington. He was 38 and had served the patrol for almost 16 years. He is survived by his wife and two sons. “Eric Gunderson was a respected trooper and public servant,” Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a news release. “His is the first line of duty death since we commemorated our first century of service to this state just a few weeks ago. How I h...
The Shelton Timberland Library closed Monday until Oct. 18 for remodeling. The library will be providing “takeout” during the closure, which means the library can bring you’re your books, movies and print jobs. Other “takeout” services include scanning and faxing, grab bags, returns, Wi-Fi, reference help, and more. The library asks that you park in one of the designated spaces and call 360-426-1362 for all of your takeout needs....
A permaculture convergence was my introduction to Cascadia. One of the best ways to hit the ground running is two to three days of immersion in a conference assembling many of the people and pursuits situated in a bioregion. The stated aim, according to the Northwest Permaculture Convergence, is to bring hundreds of diverse people together to share their approaches to "designing living environments, economic systems, and culture practices that thrive within ecologically sustainable limits."...
Hikers in the Olympic National Park use 92 "privies" to relieve their bodily functions, 72 of them pit toilets. The other 20 are eight vault toilets and 12 Romtech toilets, which are emptied once a year. On Thursday and Friday, a helicopter pilot transported 50-gallon drums of human waste from Romtech toilets and entire vault toilets from Olympic National Park trails to the causeway at Lake Cushman, where ONP personnel were waiting. The causeway was closed to traffic during the operation. The fa...
