Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Ninety-one percent of Shelton School District employees have received COVID vaccinations as the deadline for state’s mandate approaches on Monday. That’s the figure Superintendent Wyeth Jessee announced Tuesday evening at the Shelton School Board meeting. Fifty-two employees have applied for medical or religious exemptions, and 32 of them have been accommodated through exemptions or plans to get vaccinated, he said. Like all the other school districts in the state, the Shelton School District is obligated to follow Gov. Jay Inslee’s manda...
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office released its annual report for 2020. According to the report, the traffic enforcement division made 5,370 traffic stops and contacts compared to 5,458 in 2019. There were more citations issued in 2020, with 649 compared to 646 in 2019. DUI arrests were down in 2020 to 16 compared to 23 in 2019. Mason County Sheriff’s Office Chief Ryan Spurling attributes the 2020 traffic numbers to COVID-19. There was a decrease in collision investigations, property damage and...
The Oct. 18 deadline for Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is fast approaching, but Central Mason Fire and EMS and the North Mason Regional Fire Authority are prepared. CMFEMS Chief Mike Patti said that no one is planning on leaving and the department is in full compliance with the mandate. He reported the fire district has had no occupational related exposures to COVID in the last 20 months, attributing the PPE the team has and sanitizing equipment after each use. NMRFA Chief Beau Bakk...
The Nov. 5 general election ballot pits incumbent Joe Schmit against challenger Tyler “Mad Dog” Elliott for a four-year term as member No. 6 on the Shelton City Council. Schmit, the technical service and operations officer for construction for the state Department of Transportation, was elected in 2018. He is the MACECOM 911 dispatch centerboard chairman, vice chair for the Mason County Economic Development Council, a member of the grants committee for the Community Foundation, and an advisory board member for the Shelton YMCA. Elliott’s famil...
On the Nov. 5 general election ballot, George Blush and Miguel Gutierrez are competing for an open seat on the Shelton City Council. Blush, Gutierrez and Trenton Powers faced off her a four-year term on the council as member No. 7 in the August primary election. Incumbent Megan Fiess, who was selected by the council to complete Bob Roger’s unfinished term, is not seeking a new term. In the final ballot count, Blush received 446 votes for 38.65%, Gutierrez 425 votes for 38.65% and Powers 273 votes for 23.66%. Blush owns Nita’s Koffee Shop in...
“We should stay,” I told Mrs. Ericson and our friend Martha after the lights came up in the theater. “How often do we get to hear from the director of a movie we’ve just seen?” A person at Olympia’s Capitol Theater was busy moving two matching armchairs and a small coffee table onto center stage. The three of us sat in the balcony, our tears either wiped or still drying on our faces. We had just finished watching “East of the Mountains,” a movie filled with Washington connections. Th...
The real reason Editor, the Journal, A recent letter writer cited 24 “reasons” they believed people remained unvaccinated. I submit that there is really only one reason: selfishness. At some point those who choose to be unvaccinated decided that an inconvenience to themselves was more important than a moral commitment to their community. I think ignorance is also a factor. And I do not mean that as an insult. I have had a long career as a scientist, and I know from decades of experience that scientists often fail at effectively com...
It’s that time of the year — and I don’t mean Halloween or Thanksgiving. It’s time for a general election to select the people that will guide the city council, and school, port, hospital, water, and fire boards, that have a very big impact on our lives. Local elections matter! This year, you have a new tool to help you make your choices: a local voters’ pamphlet. I am thrilled that we offer this tool to help voters make good choices about the candidates and the measures on the ballot. The local pamphlet is something that my predecess...
A fortuitous coincidence of video and book gave me a notion to stack some functions: producing biomass above and below ground, holding slopes and making fertilizer in situ. While watching Michael "Skeeter" Pilarski talk about alfalfa on YouTube, I recalled some advice from Patrick Whitefield's "How to Make a Forest Garden." Whitefield advised establishing "fertility plots" throughout your gardens and forest plantings. These need only two deep-rooting, perennial plants to produce copious amounts...
A shooting in downtown Shelton last Thursday closed off a portion of downtown for an investigation. According to the Shelton Police Department, dispatch received a call at 6:15 a.m. last Thursday morning of a gunshot wound in the 500 block of North 4th Street. Police responded to the scene and the victim was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect was not found and the police suspended the search on Thursday to focus on investigating the scene, according to Shelton Police Public Information Officer Chris...
Only one name appears on the Nov. 2 general election ballot for two Shelton City Council seats. Eric Onisko is seeking a second four-year term as position No. 2 on the seven-member council. Sharon Schirman is the only listed candidate running for a four-year term as position No. 3. Onisko owns two Shell stations, at Bayshore and on Angleside. He is president of the Shelton Metropolitan Park District. Schirman is the owner/operator of ISH PNW in downtown Shelton. She is a member of the board of directors for Crossroads Housing of Mason County....
Christine Rose Massey, 72, of Matlock, passed away peacefully on October 2nd, 2021, at home surrounded by family and loved ones. She was born in Bremerton, Washington on July 15th, 1949 to the late Bill and Georgia Massey, and was a lifelong resident of the Matlock community. Christine attended South Puget Sound Community College, receiving her associates of Technical Arts in Horticultural Technology. Her hobbies included sewing, crocheting, gardening, canning, playing piano, cake decorating,... Full story
Sarah Irene (Schroeder) Morgan, 42, beloved wife of James and cherished daughter of Rona & David Schroeder died on September 20, 2021, after a valiant fight with metastatic breast cancer. Sarah was born February 18, 1979, in Shelton, WA. She moved to Belfair when she was four years old and attended school in the North Mason School District from kindergarten to graduation in 1997. Sarah and James Morgan were married on April 8, 2006, at Belfair Community Baptist Church. Sarah is survived by her... Full story
