Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Northwestern Mason County received a small jolt early Christmas Eve. A light earthquake registering 4.1 on the Richter scale struck at 7:15 a.m. Dec. 24. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake’s epicenter was 3.8 miles west of Quilcene at a depth of 31 miles. It was the second 4.0 or greater quake to hit the Olympic Peninsula this year after a 4.3 quake was felt in Port Townsend on Oct. 9. No damage was reported....
The Mason County Historical Society received a $3,000 grant from the Washington Trust to help restore the windows on its museum at 427 West Railroad Ave., formerly the home of Shelton City Hall and the Shelton Library. The windows are the originals from the building's construction in 1914. The Valerie Sivinksi Grant is a start, with more money and perhaps volunteer help needed to finish the project, Executive Director Liz Arbaugh said in an interview with the Journal. "They're in pretty bad...
Jacob Rivera, 44, will be arraigned Jan. 2 in Mason County Superior Court on charges of first-degree arson in connection with an explosion and house fire in Hoodsport on Dec. 13 and attempting to elude police Dec. 11. Witnesses identified Rivera leaving the scene of the fire, which started at 6:23 a.m., according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were called to the home in the 200 block of North Mount Washington Drive in Hoodsport by the fire marshal. Deputy J. Cozad said he viewed a neighbor’s video surveillance of the exp...
All seven puppies found abandoned in a Walmart bag at the Matlock logging gate Oct. 17 have been adopted. "All of them found great homes," The Humane Society of Mason County Executive Director Katherine Johnson told the Journal. The puppies were less than 2 days old when they were found and taken to HSMC for around-the-clock care. The puppies were spayed and neutered before going to new homes Dec. 13, Johnson said. One of the puppies, Pickles, was the 3000th spay and neuter surgery the group's...
Health department closes shellfish areas Several areas in Mason County have been closed for shellfish harvesting due to high levels of biotoxins that cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, according to the state Health Department. Pickering Passage, Peale Passage and Squaxin Passage are closed for all harvesting. Beaches closed for all harvesting are West Dougall Point, Jarrell Cove State Park and Jarrell Cove State Park East, Hope Island State Park and DNR areas 33 and 34 on Harstine Island. Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning causes nausea, vomitin...
The flagpole outside the PUD 3 building on Cota Street in Shelton is catty-corner (or is it kitty-corner?) to the Journal’s office, and our view from the newsroom gives us a wide view of that skinny pole. Several months ago, the flag went away. But that’s not what this is about. When the flag was at half-staff, we’d often wonder why that was so, and sometimes I’d go to the Governor’s Office website to dispel our wonder. If you type in “Washington Governor’s Office flag display,” then scroll to ...
Democratic answer Editor, the Journal, Mr. Anvik recently posed questions to Democrats regarding abortion. One caused me to seriously ponder. He asked that since half of aborted fetuses are female, if not aborted by law and grown to womanhood, how would they feel about abortion? Interesting question. If they knew they were unwanted, it would likely have an undesirable impact on the relationship with the birth mother and increased likelihood of other emotional issues throughout life. Child psychologists suspect children born to a women forced...
Trio of bluegrass bands at Shelton High on Friday The groups Runaway Train Bluegrass Band, the Union City Council Bluegrass Band and The Rank Strangers perform at the ninth annual Bluegrass from the Forest Midwinter Celebration from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday in the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center, 3737 N. Shelton Springs Road. Tickets are $20 and are available at the door and at www.bluegrassfromtheforest.com. Children ages 15 and younger are admitted for free. Kristmas Town Kiwanis hosts the concert. The group also presents the 19th...
JANUARY 2023 The Shelton City Council on Jan. 3 made a preliminary move to buy land on Olympic Highway North for a new sewer lift station. The council voted unanimously to purchase parcels by two landowners at Olympic Highway North and A Street for $405,000. The council can make the move official at its Jan. 17 meeting. The North Division Sewer Life Station would redirect most of the wastewater flow in the northwest sections of the city and pump to the membrane treatment plant near Sanderson Field. According to the report from the city’s p...
FEBRUARY 2023 A profile on an anti-government and law enforcement extremist set to air on NBC's "Dateline" on Feb. 4 featured the recollections of his former wife, a longtime Shelton resident, and his son, a 2002 Shelton High School graduate. Lloyd Barrus is serving three concurrent life sentences without parole in a Billings, Montana prison. He was in the driver's seat when he and his now deceased son Marshall Barrus lured Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore into chasing them, and Marshall...
MARCH 2023 Shelton City Manager Jeff Niten will leave his position to be the new city manager of Mountlake Terrace. Niten made the announcement March 7 at the Shelton City Council meeting. His last day is March 31. Niten prefaced his remarks by saying his departure was in "the rumor mill." "It's bittersweet," he said. "I really enjoyed my time here and I can't tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity to work with council to address the issues we wanted to address." Niten said he will set...
APRIL 2023 The Shelton City Council gave final approval for the annexation of 40-acres of land, known as “Meadows Edge,” into the city at the April 4 meeting. According to the background information, the city of Shelton received notice in February of intent to petition for annexation. The property being annexed is in the Shelton urban growth area and is north of the Shelton Springs subdivision and south of Island Lake. The property is owned by one person and is the subject of a 36-lot subdivision, which is under review by Mason County staff. Th...
MAY 2023 Lance Gibbon, a former superintendent of the Oak Harbor and Snoqualmie Valley school districts, will be the new superintendent of the Hood Canal School District, pending a contract agreement. On May 1, the Hood Canal School Board voted unanimously to hire Gibbon. He replaces Jose-de-Jesus Melendez, who resigned in February after seven months on the job to return to his family in Oregon. According to the district at the time, he was to complete the remainder of his contract on...
JUNE 2023 A former Shelton High School freshman counselor was arrested June 2 at his Shelton residence by Mason County Sheriff's Office deputies after a two-month investigation. Samuel Martin Caffey, 29, faces charges of child rape, child molestation, sexual misconduct with a minor, delivery of a controlled substance and possession of child pornography. Caffey was booked into Mason County Jail on Friday afternoon and made his initial court appearance Monday in Mason County Superior Court, where...
JULY 2023 A brush fire about 4 miles northeast of Shelton forced the evacuation of 200 structures July 4. The fire, driven by wind, began at about 2 p.m., just west of the Rainbow Lake community near the intersection of East McEwan Prairie Road and East Mason Lake Road. According to a news release from Central Mason Fire & EMS, the fire is burning on industrial timberland and private land that is flat and accessible terrain. "The crews did an outstanding job of protecting life and structures,"...
AUGUST 2023 George Blush and Tristen Smith will compete for a seat on the Shelton City Council in the November general election, and voters solidly support increasing the size of the Mason County Fire District 5 board of commissioners from three to five. Those are among the preliminary results of the Aug. 1 primary election posted at 8 p.m. The initial voter turnout was 28.17%. The results are scheduled to be certified Aug. 15. In the contest to whittle the Shelton City Council member No. 1 seat race from three candidates to two, Blush...
SEPTEMBER 2023 Chris Kostad, who has worked for the Shelton Police Department since 2002, will be the city's new police chief starting in November. The city in early September announced that Kostad will replace Carole Beason, who recently announced her intention to retire. She has served in that position since January 2021. Kostad is currently serving as a captain, a position he has held since 2021. He has also served in the department as a corporal, sergeant and lieutenant. A news release from...
OCTOBER 2023 After more than 40 years of prodding and mandating by Mason County and the state, the City of Shelton signed off on the final cleanup of the toxic C Street landfill. The Shelton City Council on Oct. 3 voted unanimously to close out the contract on the construction part of the cleanup of the 17-acre landfill west of downtown Shelton and U.S. Highway 101, which was completed in June. "Staff does not expect any additional action on the City's part pertaining to this project and can be...
NOVEMBER 2023 In three Shelton City Council races on Nov. 7's ballot, the longest-serving member was handily defeated by a fellow lifelong Shelton resident, a downtown businessman was elected after losing a council race two years ago by five votes, and a third contest was too close to call on the initial count. Melissa Stearns, a local Realtor and lifelong resident Shelton, defeated eight-year incumbent Kathy McDowell for a four-year term as council member 2. On the first ballot count, Stearns...
DECEMBER 2023 An “atmospheric river” of torrential rain over several days caused the Skokomish River to crest at its second-highest recorded point Dec. 5 and flooded and closed roads throughout Mason County. The National Weather Service on Dec. 5 issued flood warnings in parts of western Washington, including much of the Olympic Peninsula. Flooding and hazardous conditions prompted the state Department of Transportation to close state Route 106 from U.S. Highway 101 to Alderbrook at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 5. Other roads closed that day included Skokom...
Hoodsport author Rebecca Holbrook will read from her debut novel "Omie's Well," and writer Melanie Jennings - the current writer-in-residence at Hypatia-in-the-Woods - will read essays from her work in progress, "Cake," at 2 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Shelton Timberland Library. Admission is free to the event at 710 W. Alder St. Holbrook will also play some of her compositions on banjo. Rebecca Holbrook Holbrook grew up in the South, where her maternal line went back to some of the earliest settlers aro...
I've shilled for this one before, but unlike "Die Hard" or "A Christmas Story," it has yet to make the jump from a holiday curio to a beloved Christmas classic, so here's hoping I can make it happen this time around ... It's that drowsy week between Christmas and New Year's, when you're still in a festive mood, but you've run out of options for holiday viewing that you haven't already seen. You've already watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's a Wonderful Life," you know the adaptations o...
Shelton boys basketball Shelton earned a 47-39 win against Olympic on Dec. 21 in a nonleague game at the Mini-Dome. The Highclimbers (2-5, 1-1) host Hockinson at 7 p.m. today in the Mini-Dome in a nonleague game. Shelton will play Elma at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Mini-Dome in a nonleague game. Shelton wrestling Shelton’s Ty Fleshman finished sixth in the 126-pound tournament at the Pac Coast Boys Championships wrestling tournament Dec. 21 and 22 at the Clark County Event Center in Ridgefield. Fleshman earned three wins to start the tournament ag...
