Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Mason PUD 3 received $3 million in federal funding for its Belfair Electrical Capacity Infrastructure Project, while the Skokomish Tribe received $2.2 million for its T3ba'das Infrastructure Project to create housing. The funding was announced last week by the office of U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, who voted to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act government funding legislation. In a news release, Kilmer states he led the efforts to secure funding for the projects through the House...
Mason County Fire District 12 is under investigation by the FBI, according to the Mason County Sheriff's Office. In an email to the Journal, Detective Corporal Michael Sargent wrote, that the Sheriff's Office has suspended its investigation into the case and "it has been adopted for investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Fire District 12 hosted its monthly meeting Tuesday in Matlock. When asked about the investigation being handed over to the FBI, Commissioner Albert Wilder said,...
Community Resource Fair in Hoodsport Jan. 18 A Rural Community Resource Fair will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 18 at 331 N. Finch Creek Road, Hoodsport. General support services are available, including health, vaccinations, rental and utility assistance, veterans’ assistance, food benefits and meals, transportation assistance, insurance navigation, housing assistance, educational support, financial fitness and free civil law aid. Trio of bluegrass bands at Shelton High The SteelHead Bluegrass Band, Borrowed Time and the local Runaway T...
A woman injured in a Christmas Eve apartment fire at 1100 North 12th St. at the Saratoga Springs Apartments died two days later at a Seattle hospital. According to a news release from Central Mason Fire and EMS, CMFE responded to the fire around 6:30 p.m, arriving to find a resident attempting to put the fire out with a garden hose. An elderly woman living in the residence collapsed and became unresponsive as the fire began, and paramedics immediately administered CPR. The woman was revived and...
In a few days time, the calendar will again flip forward to usher in a new year. Ready or not, 2023 is here. To our faithful readers, those of us here at the Shelton-Mason County Journal would like to say thank you for your support during the past year. While layoffs and closures have wreaked havoc on journalism across the state and country, the Journal has continued to thrive because of you. And that's why our staff is committed to bringing you the best possible newspaper every week. Whether...
Chickens could make a compelling argument that the War on Chickens is real. Last week’s ice storm made it clear that for civilization to function, traction is essential. The carrot-and-stick style of persuasion doesn’t work with everyone, especially masochists who hate carrots. All lyrics in country music can be reduced to this: “Love ain’t what I thought it would be.” The best way to find the inspiration required to complete a creative endeavor is to have just three hours to get it done. Now th...
As the Legislature prepares to begin the 2023 session, there are many issues before us. How those will impact Mason County, the 35th District, and our state will be top of mind as I approach each issue. First and foremost, we begin the work on our biennium budget. The budget is our two-year spending plan for the state and is largely driven by policy decisions. I have had the honor to serve as one of the senior Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee for the past eight years. In...
The real war on Christmas Editor, the Journal, Every year we are treated to the war on Christmas silliness of right-wing media. I shrug it off because the whole “Happy Holidays” [not the hit song by Irving Berlin released in 1942] seems not to be worth mentioning. But an incident today made me write about the real war on Christmas. I was taking a walk when I passed two gentlemen talking. They said hello, and I responded with “Merry Christmas.” The response from one was “that was yesterday.” Even as I write, Christmas trees are being throw...
PUDs deal with power outages Mason County PUD 3 and 1 dealt with power outages throughout the Christmas weekend. According to PUD 3’s Facebook page, the power was out Dec. 22 at Fawn Lake, but was restored in the evening. There was an outage affecting 300 customers in Belfair on Dec. 23 and an outage in the Matlock area affecting 145 customers in the morning before crews came out and restored power. A tree fell near the Collins Lake Substation on the Tahuya Peninsula and knocked out power p...
What made Rian Johnson's 2019 "Knives Out" so much fun is also present in his 2022 "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" sequel on Netflix, in that it can be appreciated on more than one level. Both films, whose sole shared character is Daniel Craig's master detective Benoit Blanc, are metafictionally unabashed celebrations of the murder-mystery subgenre within murder-mystery stories. Whereas the petty, feuding family of "Knives Out" was bound together by their common interest in the fortune of...
I looked back on the year that was for Seattle sports teams in my previous column, but this time, I want to focus on one team: the Seahawks. What a year it has been for the Seahawks. From winning their final regular season game in January against the Arizona Cardinals, to one of the craziest and most controversial off seasons in my lifetime. If you were living under a rock or aren't a huge sports fan, in March, the Seahawks traded quarterback Russell Wilson, who was the quarterback since he was...
Shelton girls basketball Shelton earned its second-straight win with a 57-29 nonleague victory against River Ridge on Dec. 23 in Lacey. The Highclimbers will try to extend their winning streak at the Lady Trapper Invite at Heritage High School in Vancouver Wednesday through Friday. Shelton faced Ashland, Oregon, Wednesday. The Highclimbers face Fort Vancouver at 3 p.m. today and wrap up the tournament tomorrow at 5 p.m. against Evergreen. North Mason girls wrestling Sadie Evans won and Sarah...
The Dewatto River Campground has been closed since September, but it has not lain fallow. The Port of Dewatto Commission recently reviewed how the campground has been worked on while it’s been closed to campers. Port of Dewatto Commissioner David Haugen said he bought and installed two new gates, replacing the existing gates at the front of the campground, due to their continued damage and poor condition. Haugen brought the existing gates to the Port of Dewatto building, where the port might be...
Hunting on Christmas. Go figure. I get a kick when Mary writes how they had to put chains on, dig out snow and a rock. I think we know it was Sam doing that. I always get a kick when Mary says he has done nothing. I am always amazed when she writes of him doing laundry, dishes and cooks a meal. Let's not forget he had the two rear tires fixed and probably does all the driving when they are on a trip. Just saying. Friday, Dec. 24, 1948 Arose early and cleaned cabin and cooler. Took all stuff out...
January More than 50 people fired up their computers, tablets or phones to join a Zoom room for a public hearing about the Belfair sewer project Monday evening. The hearing lasted more than four hours, with staff presenting information to the public, followed by community questions, public testimony and commissioners voting to continue the public hearing at 9:15 a.m. on March 1 before making a decision on what to do next. February Mason County commissioners took several actions involving the Bel...
Shelton's Alauna Carstens ended her senior year with an exclamation point, winning the State 2A 1,600- and 3,200-meter races Thursday and Saturday at the state 2A, 3A and 4A track and field meets at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma. Carstens competed in the 1,600-meter race Thursday and pulled ahead in the third lap and was able to narrowly edge Ellensburg's Kate Laurent at the finish line with a time of 4:58.34 to Laurent's 4:58.48. The time was a personal record and school record. "It feels...
What a difference a year makes. The Shelton Highclimbers football team was back in a Kansas tiebreaker once again on Monday at Tumwater District Stadium with Black Hills and Aberdeen, with two spots in the district crossover playoff games on the line. Shelton defeated Black Hills in the first matchup, and then took down Aberdeen to secure the No. 4 seed out of the Evergreen Conference into the District crossover games. The Highclimbers will travel to Washougal to take on the Panthers at 7 p.m....
North Mason senior Addilyn Varick saved her best for last to earn second place in the state 2A girls javelin throw Thursday at Mount Tahoma High School. Varick's final throw of her high school career measured 116 feet, 4 inches, a personal best and good enough to take second place. Tumwater's Natalie Sumrok won the state title with a toss of 126 feet, 2 inches. "It felt really nice because I've been dealing with really bad rib issues all season and that one was probably my best because I was abl...
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...
JANUARY On Jan. 4, four members of the Shelton City Council were sworn in for new terms. Eric Onisko and Joe Schmit are beginning their second four-year terms. Onisko ran unopposed as council member No. 4 in the Nov. 2 general election, while Schmit defeated Tyler "Mad Dog" Elliott to return as member No. 6. Onisko owns two local gas stations and is on the emergency food and shelter committee, the emergency planning committee, and the Mason County Housing and Behavioral Health Advisory Board. He is also chairman of the city's Shelton...
Maryln Jerue was born to Ardell and Lester Edens on July 10, 1937, in Centralia, WA. She went to be with our Father in Heaven on December 15, 2022. Maryln was 85. Maryln was a graduate of South Kitsap High in 1955. She married Bill Carlson shortly after they both graduated from South Kitsap High. Bill and Maryln had four children, Mike Carlson (Julia), Howard Carlson (Dawn), Judi Mc Ferron (Pat) and Susan Carlson Fisher. Maryln later married Larry Jerue and has four step-children, Vicki Jerue, Mark Jerue (Debra), Paul Jerue (Tricia), and...
