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  • City takes down height limits

    Gordon Weeks|Nov 28, 2024

    The Shelton City Council on Nov. 19 eliminated building height limits in almost all zones, to hopefully encourage affordable and multifamily housing and other development. No one spoke at the public hearing on the proposal. The council gave preliminary approval to the changes at its Sept. 3 meeting. The change required a 60-day review by the state Department of Commerce. Applicable building codes will still regulate the materials and safety of buildings based on height and method of...

  • OURCU donates to law enforcement, nonprofits

    Nov 28, 2024

    Shelton-based Our Community Credit Union (OURCU) partnered with Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Iowa to award more than $1 million in combined funds to seven nonprofit and law enforcement agencies in Mason and Grays Harbor counties. The matching grant program, which was introduced in 2023, will provide almost $12 million to eligible Washington organizations to strengthen communities. In a news release, the company states, "Community is in the Credit Union name, and OURCU is proud to...

  • Otter views

    Nov 28, 2024

  • A little American history never hurt anyone...

    Scotty Ray, Scotty Ray lives in Allyn|Nov 28, 2024

    Thanksgiving - since when? While it seems as though Thanksgiving, our greatest family get-together holiday, has been here forever, it only became our lawful national tradition recently, and not without some bickering, the efforts of a citizen activist and congressional backroom compromises. The version of Thanksgiving being traditionally associated with a 1621 Pilgrim end-of-harvest feast, which included a guest list of neighboring first-citizen Indians, is the common assumption. While that is...

  • MACECOM lease for new location is approved

    June Williams|Nov 28, 2024

    The Port of Shelton approved a lease with MACECOM at the Nov. 19 meeting, allowing the 911 center to almost double its operating space. MACECOM's current location at the Shelton Civic center has about 1,300 square feet, Executive Director Joe Schmit said at the meeting. The new building on West Rose Nye Way in the port's Peste Business Park will have 5,000 square feet. The lease is for 25 years with a 25-year option. "We've been squeezed for space, stretched thin. I think we were down to six...

  • Holiday festivities kicking off this weekend

    Nov 28, 2024

    Christmas parades, holiday markets, a tree lighting, concerts and a Yule log celebration are among the holiday offerings in Mason County. Schafer State Park hosts a Yule Log Celebration from 1-3 p.m. Sunday at 1365 W. Schafer Park Road in Elma. Attendees can join the hunt for the yule log, enter the gingerbread and holiday baking contest, sing Christmas carols and enjoy food. The Belfair Christmas Parade begins at 5 p.m. Sunday at 111 NE Old Belfair Highway. The KMAS Holiday Christmas Party at...

  • Visiting author pushes 'meals into the realm of ideas'

    Nov 28, 2024

    Ame Gilbert - an artist, author and cook -presents "Cooking Memories" at 4 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Shelton Timberland Library at 710 W. Alder St. The resident of Brooklyn, New York - who is an artist-in-residence at Hypatia-in-the-Woods in Mason County - will read from the culinary memoir she is writing. She will also take questions from the audience. Gilbert is an independent food consultant and author. She is co-founder of Communal Table in New York City, where she developed and implemented themed...

  • Final election turnout almost 79%, results certified

    Gordon Weeks|Nov 28, 2024

    Almost 79% of registered Mason County voters cast ballots in the Nov. 5 general election. That’s the updated numbers from the Mason County Auditor’s Office on Nov. 18. The results were certified Tuesday. In the ballot count, President elect Donald Trump received 17,922 votes in Mason County for 49.35%, and Democrat Kamala Harris 17,064 votes for 47.07%. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received 663 votes for 1.83%. In the races for the Mason County Commission, Independent Randy Neatherlin got 18,811 votes for 55.08% and Republican William Harris 15,...

  • Community briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Nov 28, 2024

    Celebrate Harstine Island Community Hall birthday The Harstine Island Community Club hosts a 110th Birthday Bash and Silent Auction Fundraiser from 3 to 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Community Hall, 3371 E. Harstine Island Road North. The event celebrates the hall’s 110th year. Attendees can bid on silent auction items, shop for gifts and purchase beer, wine and sparkling wine. Tickets are $15 for attendees ages 13 and older, $10 for ages 2-12. Tickets are available at the door and online at www.harstineCC.org. To get to the hall, take a left off the H...

  • Port of Grapeview presents its 2025 budget

    June Williams|Nov 28, 2024

    The Port of Grapeview’s 2025 Operating & Capital Constriction Budgets were finalized at the Nov. 19 meeting, minus $40,000 in county funding. Commissioner Jean Farmer said the port didn’t get requested $40,000 in .09 money from the county commissioners, which comes from county sales tax. “We will have to ask for a levy increase,” she said. The money is needed to maintain the port’s facilities. Farmer said she would continue to look for grants. The port’s draft budget included the proposed $40,000 in estimated 2025 operating revenue of $236,788...

  • Artist's work on display in Belfair

    Nov 28, 2024

  • Holiday glow

    Nov 21, 2024

  • Fatal crash

    June Williams|Nov 21, 2024

    A Belfair man suspected of DUI died in a head-on collision Thursday night, according to the Washington State Patrol. Juan F. Lopez Bautista, 41, was northbound in a Toyota Corolla on state Route 3 around 9:30 p.m. when he veered into the southbound lane just past East Island View Road. Bautista struck Port Orchard resident Tarah Yeary, 36, who was driving a GMC Yukon. The Corolla came to rest on its top on the northbound shoulder while the Yukon blocked the southbound lane. Bautista was deceased at the scene and his passenger, Felipe Mateo...

  • City passes $46M budget

    Gordon Weeks|Nov 21, 2024

    The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening approved a budget of $46.1 million for 2025 at its regular meeting. No one from the public commented on the budget. The council gave preliminary approval to it at its Nov. 5 meeting. Mike Githens, the city’s director of financial services, told the council of changes to the general fund from the preliminary budget. In an email to the Journal, Githens explained the city increased the revenue by $150,000 and increased expenditures $212,500 for a net increase over the first budget hearing of $62,500. W...

  • Belfair shooting

    June Williams|Nov 21, 2024

    A man shot in the head near the Belfair QFC around 2:30 a.m. Friday survived his injuries and was treated and released from the hospital the same day, Mason County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matt Colbenson told the Journal in an email. Police arrested the suspect in Silverdale Monday, according to MCSO. “On Monday the 18th, MCSO detectives located the suspect vehicle in Silverdale and requested assistance from Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) detectives and patrol units. The suspect was observed leaving a local business and entering the v...

  • School improvement plans

    Gordon Weeks|Nov 21, 2024

    Improved student attendance, fewer expulsions and suspensions, improved English language arts test scores, and heightened critical thinking and analytical writing skills are among the goals of two schools in the Shelton School District. Each of the eight schools in the district annually produce improvement plans. On Nov. 12, the Shelton School Board heard the plans from Oakland Bay Junior High School and Olympic Middle School for the 2024-25 school year. Oakland Bay Junior High School Principal Maryann Marshall presented the improvement plan...

  • City Briefs

    Staff report|Nov 21, 2024

    Mayor earns leadership certification Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko recently earned an Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities. The program recognizes city and town elected officials for accomplishing training in five core areas: roles, responsibilities and legal requirements; public sector resource management; community planning and development; effective local leadership; and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. "Being a city leader in Washingto...

  • History at a Glance

    Jan Parker, Mason County Historical Museum|Nov 21, 2024

    In 1932, Norman Westfall, acting as publisher, editor and chief printer, established a newspaper he called The Hood Canal Courier in Hoodsport. The weekly paper offered local residents the opportunity to keep up with "who, what, where, when, and how" along the canal. In 1986, the Shelton-Mason County Journal interviewed Ralph Smith, who had gone to work at the Courier after graduating from college. As with all small papers at the time, the type for the paper was all set by hand. Smith related...

  • Community Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Nov 21, 2024

    Heartwarming play staged on Harstine The Harstine Island Theatre Club stages the dramedy "The Curious Savage" at 7 tonight and Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Harstine Island Community Hall, 3371 E. Harstine Island Road N. Admission is free, with donations accepted. To get to the hall, take a left off the Harstine Island bridge and drive about 3 miles. Marmo Cafe & Gallery hosts poet Poet Nina Burokas reads her work from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Marmo Cafe & Gallery, 217 W. Cota...

  • Education Briefs

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Nov 21, 2024

    Free online workshops to prepare preschoolers The Shelton School District is offering free online workshops to the parents and caregivers of preschoolers to help prepare them for kindergarten. The workshops are open to parents and caregivers in the Shelton School District of children ages birth to 5 years old. The format is online and self-paced — you can pause any time. Each workshop lasts about an hour. After registering, an email will arrive with approval to begin. Participants who complete the workshop can receive a free tool kit while t...

  • Transportation Benefit District taxes set to expire

    Gordon Weeks|Nov 21, 2024

    Since being approved by Shelton voters in 2016, sales tax for the city's Transportation Benefit District has collected $5 million dedicated for transportation maintenance projects. The sales tax increase of 0.2% for 10 years has funded 10.2 miles of paving and chip sealing. Along with state and federal money, the TBD money has also helped pay for ambitious capital projects such as the Safe to Schools traffic improvements in front of Evergreen Elementary School and Shelton High School, and the...

  • Vandal strikes at Mason County Sheriff's Office

    June Williams|Nov 21, 2024

    A man who allegedly thought aliens were attacking him was arrested for vandalizing the Mason County Sheriff's Office in downtown Shelton on Nov. 14, according to court documents. A deputy driving by the office around 6:45 p.m. saw Alexander Ivory, 21, inside the parking lot by the automatic gate, the MCSO probable cause document states. "As I pulled into the lot, I could hear Alexander yelling, followed by a throwing motion towards the records office window. I immediately heard the crash of...

  • Master Gardeners

    Erika Stewart|Nov 21, 2024

    What is a weed? Plants such as dandelion, horsetail, cat’s ear, fireweed, Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberry all come to mind. Some of these, like dandelion, horsetail, cat’s ear and fireweed, are just “a plant out of place.” They are growing where we don’t want them, but they often aren’t causing harm. Some of the others listed, however, are plants that Washington has deemed noxious weeds because they are invasive, nonnative plants that threaten agricultural crops, local ecosystems,...

  • Port of Allyn, housing developer negotiate contract

    June Williams|Nov 21, 2024

    Port of Allyn commissioners are taking a “time out” on signing a water connection agreement with MTT Construction, Commissioner John Sheridan said at Monday’s special meeting to discuss the contract. “We are not going to make any decisions today” Commissioner Judy Scott said. MTT plans on buying lots in the Allyn plat from Batjack Holdings, J & J Development and Cedarland Homes, all governed by Joseph Cedarland, according to state corporate filings. Cedarland called the contract “burdensome” at the meeting. “There’s no way as a builder I would...

  • Grapeview School boil water advisory in effect

    June Williams|Nov 21, 2024

    A boil water advisory for the Grapeview School District, issued Nov. 8 due to E. coli, is still in effect, according to the state Department of Health. Pumps recently installed in a well that supplies water for the school may have allowed the contamination, Superintendent Gerald Grubbs told the Herald in an email. Students are receiving sack lunches from the kitchen until the advisory is lifted, he said. The school’s kitchen has been closed by Mason County Public Health due to the advisory, Environmental Health Manager Ian Tracy told the H...

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