Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Three Mason County residents were among 12 arrested in Lewis County last weekend as part of “Operation Net Nanny,” a multi-agency operation identifying people allegedly involved in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. According to a news release, Zachary Case, 21, of Belfair, Wayne A. Rigby, 72, of Shelton and Antonio T. Nolasco, 36, of Shelton, were all taken into custody. The primary crimes being investigated are rape of a child in the first degree, rape of a child in the second deg...
The Shelton City Council on Tuesday passed a $40.5-million budget for 2023. The $40,492,117 budget also has a General Fund appropriation of $15,949,791. The budget must be approved by the end of the year. Last November, the council approved a $41.1 million budget for 2022. The expenditures in the 2023 budget include $15,949,791 for the general fund, $2,066,825 for the street fund, $2,824,585 for the capital improvement fund, $7,030,664 for the sewer fund, $3,505,951 for the water fund, $1,906,410 for the solid waste fund, $1,617,991 for the...
A wave of post-election day ballot counts catapulted Steve Duenkel to a narrow victory in the Mason County auditor's race. Duenkel, the Republican challenger, trailed incumbent Democrat Paddy McGuire by 547 votes in results released election night. By Wednesday's second ballot count, which occurred after the Journal went to press last week, Duenkel had erased McGuire's lead and gained a seven-vote advantage. Duenkel led by 272 votes after Thursday's count, which was the final before Veterans...
The Port of Hoodsport’s budget hearing last week saw its port commissioners unanimously approve all three budget-related measures, which included a $40,000 transfer of money to the port’s parks and a $5,000-per-year increase in the annual contracted fee for Port of Allyn Executive Director Kathleen Wyatt. Wyatt outlined the specifics of next year’s port budget. Wyatt said the port’s ending balance for 2022 had originally been projected at $95,956, but its true ending balance for 2022, and the...
Seems we’ll have at least one more season of holiday gatherings where talk of politics and social behavior will be discouraged, so here are some jokes from three publications — Good Housekeeping, Esquire and Readers Digest — that you can use to derail any obnoxiously opinioned guests, or to entertain any 10-year-olds. ___________________ A guy spots a sign outside a house that reads “Talking Dog for Sale.” Intrigued, he walks in. “So what have you done with your life?” he asks the dog. “I’ve le...
Midterm offerings Editor, the Journal, Well, as I write this, a few midterm elections still drag on. The Republicans may still win the House, but the Democrats managed to gain a tie in the Senate. Our silver-tongued vice president will have to once again, for a couple of years anyway, cast the tie-breaking vote there. These elections show us to be a closely divided, if not tribal, people. Even so, the Dems are doing cartwheels and victory laps as if they won the whole enchilada. This is typical behavior of people in a party frequently...
North Mason, Bremerton issue statement about incident The North Mason and Bremerton school districts issued a joint statement in regard to a Oct. 18 incident following a volleyball match at North Mason High School in Belfair. According to the statement, the incident involving athletes, students and parents violated the standards and expectations of civil conduct. “We believe that actions of a few are not representative of the values of our communities, nor do they define our school districts,” the statement reads. “However, we have the respo...
Sheriff’s Office orders four vehicles The Mason County Sheriff’s Office was approved to place an order for four police interceptor utility vehicles to replace two canceled Interceptor Utility and Tahoe Canine vehicles for the 2023 Sheriff’s Office Motor Pool vehicles. According to the information packet, county commissioners approved the order of three police pursuit vehicles on July 5, which consisted of one police interceptor and two Tahoe Canine vehicles, and one more pursuit vehicle was approved on Oct. 11. Enterprise recently notif...
Almost two years after the crime, Jordan and Jareau Afo each pled guilty to criminal charges Nov. 8 in Mason County Superior Court. The Afos are scheduled for a sentencing hearing Dec. 20. According to court records, Jareau U. Afo, 28, pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder for killing Derrick Wily. Jordan T. Afo, 31, pled guilty to one count of criminal assistance in the first degree and unlawful disposal of human remains. According to a Shelton Police report, Jareau choked Wily to...
Don Wilson has retired after 33 years of service on the Public Hospital District commission of Mason County. According to a news release, Wilson announced his retirement at the November meeting. The Board of Hospital District Commissioners appointed Don Welander to fill Wilson’s seat as commissioner No. 1 and on the finance and facility committees. “It is with gratitude that I announce the retirement of Don Wilson from our public hospital district board,” Public Hospital District No. 1 Superintendent & Mason Health Chief Executive Offic...
Donate blood in Belfair today, Friday Bloodworks Northwest is accepting donations of blood today and Friday at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 1171 N.E. Sand Hill Road, Belfair. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-398-7888 or go to www.Schedule.BloodworksNW.org. Churches accept gift donations for children Calvary Fellowship of Shelton and The Bridge Church in Belfair are accepting donations of gifts packed in shoe boxes for the annual international Operation Christmas Child drive. Calvary Fellowship of Shelton is at 50 E. Island Lake Road....
The Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging’s Case Management and Information and Assistance programs connect adults with disabilities with social and health services to help them remain in their homes. Most clients have modest means and health conditions that limit their ability to care for their daily needs. Your donations will help them have a spark of joy and a small wish fulfilled during the holiday season! This year, much like last year, we will be doing things a little differently — we are asking for donations via PayPal or check by...
Mason County appears to be in line for a new clerk as Charles Rhodes leads in the race for clerk against incumbent Sharon Moore-Fogo on Monday’s updated vote count. Rhodes, a Republican challenger, has received 13,761 votes for 50.64% and leads by 377 votes. Moore-Fogo has received 13,384 votes for 49.25%. Moore-Fogo has been working for the Clerk’s Office since 1992 and was appointed clerk in 2017. Commissioner Sharon Trask has retained her spot on the Mason County Board of Commissioners wit...
Three Republicans will represent the 35th District in the state Legislature. The ballot count from the Nov. 8 general election released Monday gave Republican Drew MacEwen a lead over Democrat Julianne Gale in Mason County for a four-year term as state senator, with the Union resident in Mason County receiving 16,492 votes for 57.03%, and Gale receiving 12,383 votes for 42.82%. Districtwide, MacEwen had 37,600 votes for 55.67%, and Gale 29,876 votes for 44.24%. In Mason County, Republican...
The Southside School District’s replacement levy and Mason County Fire Protection District 17’s levy passed, and Mason County Fire Protection District 16’s levy failed on the Nov. 8 ballot. The Southside School District’s replacement levy was approved with 617 “yes” votes for 56.76%, with 470 “no” votes for 43.24%. It needed a simple majority to pass. The district, which has about 200 students in kindergarten through seventh grade, asked for the replacement of an expiring Educational Programs and Operations levy that will collect $1.97 per $1,0...
Shelton High School stages its annual "Night of Musical Theater" production at 7 p.m. tonight and Friday, and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday in the school's Performing Arts Center. Admission is the suggested donation of $15. The show is a collaboration between the school choirs, under the direction of Paul Nakhla; the school's Drama Club, under the direction of Wendy Burr; and the Entertainment Productions class, directed by Joey Seward. "For Forever: A Timeless Adventure" is the theme of the show. The...
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is a film tasked with multiple missions. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe expect it not only to pay tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer in 2020, but also to show how the concurrent death of Boseman's King T'Challa would affect his fictional African nation of Wakanda, all while introducing the long-awaited Marvel Comics character of Namor the Sub-Mariner to the MCU. Ryan Coogler co-wrote and directed both "Black Panther" films, and given...
After the final event of the state 2A girls swim meet in Federal Way, the Shelton relay team of Lelia Ollenburg, Madeline Allred, Kaylin Mutoli and Abbi Sachs jumped into the pool to celebrate their 2022 season accomplishments. As the team scores were revealed, Shelton celebrated again. The big readerboard showed Shelton taking ninth place, the highest finish in school history, at the state 2A swim meet Nov. 11 and 12 at the King County Aquatic Center. "That's awesome. That's the first time the...
North Mason volleyball North Mason’s season ended on Friday in a three-set loss to Orting in the West Central District III volleyball tournament at Franklin Pierce High School. Orting won with set scores of 25-21, 25-7 and 25-18. North Mason senior middle blocker Desarae Timmons had two aces, six kills and two blocks. Senior setter Ashlyn Stephens had one kill, 15 assists and five digs and senior outside hitter Teegan Skjonsby had three kills and two digs. “We had an exceptional end of our normal season and are grateful to have earned postseaso...
Port of Allyn commissioners’ discussion of its 2023 draft budget on Nov. 7 concluded with commissioners scheduling a public hearing later this month to finalize and approve the budget.Port Executive Director Lary Coppola said the budget’s only staff increases were for cost of living, at the same 8.7% rate as Social Security’s increase. The lack of revenue figures from Mason County as of Nov. 7 would mean refining those figures before the port’s budget is to be voted on on Nov. 21. “We used last...
Friday, Nov. 12, 1948 Today Bud and Squires came down and planted all day of the big stuff. Moved the roses and planted quite a lot in our new garden. Then Skenes came over and I fried smelt for lunch. In the afternoon everything was ready for the folks. About 6, Louie, Grace and the children came. We cooked dinner and then went over to the house. Mary Ruth and Jack came down with a lovely cake, so we all had cake and coffee. Then later in came Vera and Cole and we had quite a house full. They...
Our beloved daughter and sister went home to be with the Lord Jesus on Saturday, November 12, 2022, her day of eternal rest. She passed on peacefully, free from her pain into eternal peace and joy. She was born uniquely the first girl in our family after thirteen boys. Gena graduated from North Thurston High School after being home-schooled by her mother for some years. She was employed by Dollar Tree Store in Lacey, WA, where she made many friends. Gena was always very happy in spite of a...
