Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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One by one, the men and women gathered inside Memorial Hall in downtown Shelton Monday were handed a microphone to talk about their service to the country. A 20-year Navy career brought one man to 31 countries. Another served on a mine sweeper during the Korean War. A woman participated in communications duties during Operation Desert Storm. A Vietnam veteran mentioned he took part in the United States’ evacuation in 1975. With their loved ones, they were gathered to celebrate Veterans Day. M...
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office announced a “triage” for increasing calls for service that mostly limits responses to in-progress crimes, according to a news release. Known as “Citizen Reporting,” the program started Nov. 1 and requires MACECOM to divert certain 911 callers to a new online form. “We understand due to historic increases in reported crimes and limitations on available Patrol Deputies to respond, we have had to triage what types of incidents we can respond in person. This has created long wait times for our community m...
For the third consecutive presidential election, Mason County was the only Washington county on Puget Sound to cast a majority of votes for Donald Trump. In fact, the results were solidly red: not a single Democrat at any level of government garnered a majority of votes in Mason County in the Nov. 5 general election. The election results are scheduled to be certified on Nov. 26. Voter turnout in Mason County was 77.37%, with 36,013 of 46,547 registered voters casting votes, according to the Mason County Auditor’s Office latest update at 4 p...
The Shelton City Council on Nov. 5 approved awarding $97,000 in tourism grant requests to local organizations for 2025 The council gave preliminary approval at its Oct. 15 meeting. The money comes from taxes collected from motels in the city. The city's Local Lodging Tax Advisory Committee met on Sept. 18 to review the tourism grant applications, with local groups requesting $164,426. The committee recommended Kristmas Town Kiwanis receive $9,000 for the annual Bluegrass from the Forest...
The Shelton City Council will vote to approve a budget of almost $46 million for 2025 at its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Shelton Civic Center. Everyone is welcome to comment on the proposed budget during a public hearing. The council gave preliminary approval to the budget at its Nov. 5 meeting. The proposed budget totals $45,902,596, with a general fund appropriation of $16,789,551. The state requires that the budget be approved by the end of the year. The proposed 2025 budget is a $1.9 million increase, or 4.3%, more than the...
Communications awards for Hood Canal schools The Hood Canal School District, which has about 330 students, recently earned statewide recognition for excellence in communications at the Washington School Public Relations Association conference in Spokane. Competing against districts with enrollments up to 10,000 students, Hood Canal earned top honors for its website, bond measure video, and annual report, showcasing its dedication to transparency and community engagement, according to a news rele...
Mounds of dirt and mud cover two adjoining lots in the Shorecrest neighborhood, but next year two families will have homes on the site courtesy of Habitat for Humanity of Mason County and their own hard work. On Nov. 7, the nonprofit organization hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its 39th and 40th houses, on Panorama Drive up the hill from Oakland Bay east of Shelton. House No, 39 will be home to Destiny Bosworth and her three children, 7-year-old Carter Felix, 10-year-old Allison Felix and...
Prevention Summit event targets Latinx people A Prevention Summit highlights health and prevention strategies in support of the Latinx community from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Shelton Faith Lutheran Church, 1212 Connection St., Shelton. The topics will include substance prevention, resources and how to be involved in community environmental and policy change; opioid overdose and Narcan training; and mental health and substance use addictions information data and resources. Lunch will be...
In John Patrick's stage dramedy "The Curious Savage," elderly widow Ethel Savage, whose husband left her $10 million, intends to give the entire fortune away to people who wish to pursue their "foolish dreams." Her three adults stepchildren strongly object. To prevent her from giving away their family's wealth, they have her committed to a sanatorium called The Cloisters. Among the gentle residents, Savage finds her true family. The Harstine Island Theatre Club stages "The Curious Savage" at 7...
The Journal encourages Announcements and News Releases of local, timely interest to our readers. Local photo submissions are also welcome. Include information on the who, what, when, where, why and how of your news lead. Deadline is each Monday by 5 PM. All submissions should include the sender's name, address and daytime phone number which will be used for verification purposes only. Submissions are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. To submit your Announcement or News Release: • Email [email protected] (preferred)...
Housing Kitsap's Phase 2 line extension and water availability agreement with the Port od Allyn is still in review with legal advisors, according to Executive Director Travis Merrill. "I will be inquiring about status this week as I intend to get this wrapped up before the end of the year," Merrill wrote in his report to commissioners. "I think it will be wrapped up in the next few weeks," he said at Tuesday's meeting. He said he would bring the contact before commissioners for approval. "It's f...
County and state officials celebrated the Belfair pump station in a ribbon cutting ceremony last week. The Washington State Department of Commerce commended Mason County on the completion and cited the project as an example for others. "I'm super excited," Mason County Commissioner Sharon Trask said at the Nov. 4 commission briefings. "This is the way we should do things." The Public Works Board, through the state Department of Commerce, provided a 0.54% interest loan to fund a portion of the co...
Washington got bluer, America got redder and Mason County didn't change much. That was the overall takeaway of the initial results from the Nov. 5 general election, released late Tuesday night. With more than 29,500 ballots counted in Tuesday's tally, Mason County's initial turnout was 63.6%, placing it in the top 10 by turnout of Washington's 39 counties. The next ballot count was scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, after the Journal went to press. The county has an estimated 5,000 ballots left to...
Pioneer School District closed Monday due to alleged online posts that said someone was coming to the middle school with a weapon, according to Superintendent Jeff Davis. Davis decided to shut down the school until police could investigate, he told the Journal in an email. “On Sunday evening, a student sent our middle school principal some social media threads that mentioned someone coming to the middle school on Monday with a weapon. Our principal contacted the Sheriff’s Department and provided the information. Based on the information tha...
The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening gave preliminary approval to a budget of almost $46 million for 2025. The budget can pass with a vote at the council’s meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Shelton Civic Center. No one stepped up to the microphone at the public hearing. The proposed budget totals $45,902,596, with a general fund appropriation of $16,789,551. The state requires that the budget be approved by the end of the year. The proposed 2025 budget is $1.9 million higher — a 4.3% increase — than the adopted 2024 general fund budge...
Commissioners continued to make progress on the 2025 county budget, with an estimated Jan. 1 beginning fund balance of $26.5 million, revenues at $43.9 million for a total beginning balance of $70.4 million for maintenance level, according to an Oct. 22 workshop. Department heads put in requests for funds and now it’s up to commissioners to decide what the county can afford. All three commissioners gave thumbs-down to creating new staff positions and nixed advanced requests for overtime. When commissioners see hundreds of thousands of d...
New Horizon Communities and South Sound Solar on Oct. 30 hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception marking the completion of the Shelton Veterans Village solar project in Shelton. "It takes a special dedication to come out in the rain," said Dave Redman, the program supervisor at the Shelton Veterans Village. Construction of the solar array on Shelton Veterans Village's 30 tiny homes and community center was completed in September. The Shelton Veterans Village has 156 solar panels, 102 of...
For the special Homecoming edition on Oct. 22, 1951, reporters from the Shelton High School newspaper, "The Saghalie," interviewed several SHS "students of yesteryear." This story is from those interviews. Mrs. Horace Crary (Geneva Sargison) was in the second class to graduate from Shelton High School, in 1911. The 50 high school students occupied the upper floor of the newly built Lincoln School and "were principally interested in education, since activities were few." Team sports offered...
The Veterans of Foreign Wars #1694 and its auxiliary host a breakfast and Veterans Day ceremony Monday morning at Memorial Hall, 210 W. Franklin St., downtown Shelton. The doors open at 9:30 a.m., and breakfast is served at 11 a.m. Members of the Shelton NJROTC will participate in the ceremony. The microphone will be passed around so veterans can share their stories....
Local author signs books at library Shelton author Mary May reads from her book “Sheltered by Hope: My Journey out of Homelessness” and also signs copies from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Shelton Timberland Library, 710 W. Alder St. Operation Christmas Child donations Operation Christmas Child, a project of the nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse, seeks donations of shoeboxes filled with gifts for children. In 2023, almost 11.3 million shoebox gifts were collected worldwide, more than 10 million from the United States. The shoebox gifts can b...
Monday's blustery weather met power lines in a head-to-head match. Numerous outages occurred throughout the day, but most customers in PUD1 had power back by the afternoon, according to General Manager Kristin Masteller. "These were all small tree and limb related outages due to the high winds today. All relatively quick fixes," she told the Journal in an email. Crews made repairs from Brinnon to Union, she said, logging driving hours between Bee Mill, Finch Creek, Galloway/Point Whitney and...
Mason County Public Health is monitoring a Halloween “trick” that could potentially sicken children with salmonella. The Panhandle Lake 4-H Camp Kids Haunted Halloween event Oct. 26 provided candy treats, but an individual at one cabin also gave away real chicken feet as a trick, according to MCPH. Many participants thought the chicken feet were rubber “so extensive handling by some of the recipients did take place,” MCPH said in a statement. No illnesses have been reported as of Oct. 28, according to the county. “The chicken feet were purc...
The Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce and Shelton Downtown Merchants Association put on its annual Halloween Spooktacular trick-or-treat event on West Railroad Avenue in Shelton on Oct. 31. The event was well attended despite rain showers and featured more than 60 local businesses and nonprofits....
The body of 24-year-old Haley Benjamin, of Elma, was recovered Oct. 29 by Thurston County Sheriff's Office Dive Rescue Team. Benjamin fell through a decommissioned train trestle near Kelley Road in the Schafer Grade area near Matlock while hunting Oct. 25. A police drone located Benjamin, who was deceased, but the steep terrain was inaccessible that night and by the next morning, her body had been swept away by the rising river. "Over the last four days several agencies assisted in the search...
Randy Neatherlin seems set to serve a fourth term on the Mason County Commission. Neatherlin, an independent, received 15,338 votes for 55.11% on the first ballot count in the general election Tuesday while William Harris, a Republican, received 12,329 for 44.30% in their bid to represent District 1 for four years on the three-member commission. In an interview Tuesday evening with the Journal, Neatherlin said he thought he was going to lose the race. He said his hours on his commission job kept him from campaigning by doorbelling, and he noted...
