Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 526 - 550 of 2376
Reps. Travis Couture and Dan Griffey, both Republicans from Allyn, had a telephone town hall Feb. 20 for 35th District residents to discuss the legislative session. The state Legislature’s short session ends March 7. “It’s a mixed bag for me this year,” Griffey said. He was disappointed that criminals’ rights continue to be prioritized over victims’ rights, but happy to see a bill he introduced allowing 10 Washington counties a six-month extension on the state-required comprehensive plan deadline passed by the House. Couture said a lot was goi...
After a two-year absence, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, will be providing services to the community through a three-way partnership with Mason County Public Health, Mason General Hospital and the Shelton Family YMCA, Mason County Public Health Director Dave Windom said. A ribbon-cutting was Feb. 23 at the Shelton Family YMCA, where the clinic will operate. The WIC program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition...
This story is from several editions of the Shelton-Mason County Journal published in 1923. In March 1923, the state of Washington appropriated more than half a million dollars to improve highways within Mason County, making way for the most extensive road operations in the history of the county. The biggest project was in Shelton and included an entirely new route for the Olympic Highway from Mill Creek into downtown. The county had built the existing route - which we now know as Pioneer Way -...
Museum director gives update to council From October through December, 1,352 people visited the Mason County Historical Museum in downtown Shelton, 1,187 of them local residents. That’s the word from Executive Director Liz Arbaugh, who gave a report on the museum’s fourth quarter of 2023 on Feb. 20 at the Shelton City Council meeting. Many visitors came to see the exhibit of 24 photos by Shelton native Dennis Meurer of the town and residents in the 1960s, she said. The photos were selected from thousands of Meurer’s photo negatives, and the m...
Higher gasoline prices prompted Mason County Garbage to seek approval from the City of Shelton to raise monthly collection bills. The Shelton City Council in a 6-1 vote gave preliminary approval to the increase at its Feb. 20 meeting. If given final approval Tuesday, residential customers will see a 20-cent increase on their monthly bills, and commercial customers an extra $1.63 through the end of the year. Council member George Blush cast the dissenting vote. He pointed out that the proposed in...
Veterans, others invited to join choir The Great Bend Chorale is collaborating with the nonprofit Quixote Communities and the residents of its Shelton and Orting Veterans Villages, and other local veterans, on a program that uses the healing power of music. The choir is open to veterans and nonveteran residents and will alternate music from Eric Whitacre, Eriks Esenvalds, Eric William Barnum, Frank Tichelli and Sean Kirchner with spoken anecdotes and stories from participating veterans about their healing. Rehearsals began Feb. 27 at Faith...
Commissioners lower gambling tax Commissioners approved 2-1 lowering the county gambling tax rate from 5% to 3% at the Feb. 26 meeting, with Commissioners Sharon Trask and Randy Neatherlin voting “yes” and Commissioner Kevin Shutty voting “no.” The change will mean about $35,000 less annually for the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, according to Mason County Treasurer Lisa Frazier. The sheriff’s office gets the revenue collected from the tax, Frazier said. Mason County’s gambling tax rate will now match Kitsap’s at 3%. Three businesses in B...
Science grant pays for Pioneer's 3-D printer Pioneer Middle School is one of 41 schools nationwide to receive a STEM research grant from the Society for Science. The school used the $2,000 grant to buy a 3-D printer. "Congratulations to the 41 recipients of this year's STEM Research Grants," Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science and executive publisher of Science News, said in a news release. "These grants serve as a catalyst in classrooms across the country, igniting student...
District students are making progress towards year-end academic goals, but most have a long way to go, according to midyear presentations given at the North Mason School Board Feb. 26. The district’s academic goals for 2023-2024 are to have 100% of third-graders reading on grade level, 100% of seventh-graders meeting state standard on ELA (English Language Arts) and math SBA (Smarter Balanced Assessment), 100% of ninth-graders on track (0% failures in core classes), 100% graduation rate (85% on time) and 100% of graduates complete CTE (...
Port of Grapeview commissioners announced webmaster Bob Pastore’s resignation at the regular meeting. “We greatly appreciate his time and effort,” Commissioner Mike Blaisdell said. Blaisdell and Managing Official Amanda Montgomery will take over the website duties. Commissioners also discussed forest fire protection assessments on seven parcels donated by Pastore to the port. The Department of Natural Resources “uncombined” the parcels after the donation and billed each separately, Blaisdell said. Commissioners voted to apply for a refund an...
This week 78 years ago, was very rainy. Kind of like it is now. Attended meetings and a little shopping in Seattle going on. Had to remove Queenie from the washroom. She was barking, wanting to get out. Other than that, not much was going on. Sunday, Feb. 19, 1950 Arose late and got breakfast. Sam went up to the gun club as Bill Cady had sent work down by Emmett to be sure to come up to the shoot. I raked about 45 minutes on the lawn and then drove to Bremerton. The White Shrine had a practice...
At a Shelton City Council work session Feb. 13, Mayor Eric Onisko asked Shelton Police Chief Chris Kostad the same question he asked his two predecessors: "What's your dream? How many officers would be in your world if it was perfect?" "Four per shift ... one sergeant, three officers per shift," Kostad replied. The Shelton Police Department has two officers for each 12-hour shift. Staffing, recruitment challenges, the K-9 program and future projects were among the subjects discussed during the...
“When you leave here in eight weeks, our hope is you will know the truth of how the criminal justice system works,” Shelton Police Captain Daniel Patton told members Feb. 15 at the first class of the Citizens Academy. The goal of the academy is to strengthen relationships with the community through education. “You live here, you work here, you own a business here,” Patton said. Understanding the department can help residents and police come together to find solutions to complex problems affecting our community, according to Patton. One of the...
Community members can find the latest information about the Belfair Bypass, officially known as the Highway 3 Freight Corridor, and leave comments about the project through Feb. 28 at engage.wsdot.wa.gov/sr-3-freight-corridor. The state Department of Transportation prepared the online open house to present information in the recently completed supplemental environmental assessment, WSDOT spokesperson Mark Krulish told the Journal. A Feb. 13 public drop-in at North Mason High School featured 24...
Voters in the Grapeview and Mary M. Knight school districts solidly passed two replacement levies in the Feb. 13 special election, and the Hood Canal School District's proposed $33.5-million building bond fell short of the 60% super majority. Of the 44,481 registered voters in Mason County, 15,315 cast ballots for a turnout of 34.43%. The ballot results are scheduled to be certified Friday. The proposition for Mason County to increase the sales and use tax by two-tenths of 1% to provide ongoing...
When a city hearing examiner last week gave Community Lifeline permission to increase the number of beds from 35 to 54 at its downtown Shelton shelter, the approval came with a slew of conditions. No one has filed an appeal of the hearing examiner's decision. Friday is the deadline. Community Lifeline is required to comply with city ordinances and codes, including building, plumbing and fire codes. Before receiving the certificate of occupancy for a 54-bed capacity, Community Lifeline must...
Police: Drunken driver rips up Shorecrest farmers’ hayfield James and Nancy Hancharik, who raise cattle in the Shorecrest area of Shelton, called police after seeing a pickup truck drive into their pasture, “ripping it up” and “doing donuts,” on Feb. 9, according to a Mason County Sheriff’s probable cause document. Deputies found John Gardenhire, 33, standing beside a Chevrolet pickup truck stuck in a muddy pasture waving his cellphone, the document says. “Initially I bypassed the truck and went straight to the residence where I was able to c...
Writer talks about BC land co-op Laura Busheikin, co-founder of a land cooperative on Denman Island in British Columbia, reads from works in progress from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Shelton Timberland Library. Busheikin, a writer in residence at Hypatia-in-the-Woods, will read a personal essay about the land-share community she’s part of and how the community deals with conflict. Afterward, she’ll take questions and open the event to discussion. “Many people are curious about life in a contemporary intentional community and there’s lots we can...
Shelton schools sets 2024-25 calendar The Shelton School District has set the calendar for the 2024-25 school year. The Shelton School Board on Feb. 13 approved a schedule that begins with the first day of school Sept. 4, and the last day June 13, 2025. Notable dates include early release days of 1½ hours Sept. 11, Sept. 25, Dec. 11, Jan. 15, Feb. 12, March 12, March 26, April 23 and May 14; and early release days of three hours for staff training or conferences Oct. 11. Oct. 21, Oct. 22-25, Nov. 27, Dec. 20, Jan. 31, March 14, March 31,...
Port of Allyn commissioners removed former Executive Director Lary Coppola and former Interim Executive Director LeAnn Dennis, who are deceased, and former commissioner Scott Cooper from the safe deposit box contract with Kitsap Bank at a special meeting Feb. 16. “So we can get this resolved soon, by the advice of the bank,” Commissioner Judy Scott said. Commissioner John Sheridan will inspect the contents of the box, accompanied by Mason County Commissioner Randy Neatherlin. Scott said they will “discover what’s in there,” make a record of...
Wet and icky for most of the week. Mary attended chapter meetings all week. Sam had to fix a pipe down at the tavern. I am wondering whether Mary and Sam owned what is now the Woodshed Tavern? Does anybody know? Sunday, Feb. 12, 1950 Today was very wet. It was dark all day. Simply poured down! Made ham waffles and we ate about 12 o'clock. Then I ironed and mended all the clothes. Sam went up to Belfair to see Emmett about the bread man who stole bread yesterday. There is still snow on the lawn...
Replacement levies in the Mary M. Knight and Grapeview school districts were passing on the first special election ballot count Tuesday evening, and the Hood Canal School District’s proposed $33.5-million building bond was falling short of the 60% super majority. The proposition for Mason County to increase sales and use tax of two-tenths of 1% to provide ongoing money to buy, design, equip, repair, operate and improve the 911 emergency communication services was passing with 67.13%. Initial voter turnout was 31.55%. The results of the s...
