Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Melissa Stearns, George Blush and Tom Gilmore were sworn in Tuesday evening as new members of the Shelton City Council, followed by the seven-member council unanimously re-electing Eric Onisko as mayor. Joe Schmit was re-elected deputy mayor. Stearns, a local Realtor and lifelong Shelton resident, defeated eight-year incumbent Kathy McDowell with 60.63% for a four-year term as council member 2. Blush, the owner of Nita's Koffee Shop and the nonprofit 5XL Shelton Food Bank that provides pet food...
In the late 1960s and early '70s, Dennis Meurer wandered the streets of his hometown of Shelton capturing black-and-white images with his camera. A pair of young guys in blue jeans lean on a car inside the Mell Chevrolet sales room on First Street in the fall of 1970. Simpson employees work inside the mill's roundhouse, now gone. Shoppers stroll past the shops on West Railroad Avenue. "It was more or less for myself," Meurer said in an interview with the Journal. "It's a form of hoarding." His i...
More money for Safe Routes to School The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening gave preliminary approval to adding almost $20,000 to a design contract for sign improvements on the streets outside Evergreen Elementary School and Shelton High School. The council can make the move official with a second vote at its Jan. 16 meeting. The council is working to help students at Shelton High School and Evergreen Elementary School with three projects through a state program called Safe Routes to...
In 1928, the newly organized Tacoma-Oriental Steamship company purchased seven freighters and renamed each of them for a Pacific Northwest town or county. The SS Cuprum was renamed Shelton. The remaining six ships were named after Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bellingham, Olympia and Grays Harbor. Mason County Journal Editor Grant Angle wrote: "The budding City of Shelton ought to feel 'all puffed up' over the nice recognition of its present and prospective part in the shipping affairs of Puget...
WIC contract extended At the regular Jan. 2 meeting, commissioners extended the performance period of a Women, Infants and Children contract through Feb. 29. The additional time is for continued staff training. The WIC program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk, according to the federal website. WIC will be a three-way partnership with Mason County...
Driver hits pole to avoid deer A driver suffered injuries when his car rolled over and struck a pole on state Route 3 near mile post 18 in the early morning of New Year’s Day as he swerved to avoid a deer, according to the Washington State Patrol. Grapeview resident Caleb Tobin, 22, was taken to Mason General Hospital for treatment. Tobin’s Kia Forte was totaled, police said. Arson suspect pleads not guilty Mason County Judge Daniel Goodell entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Jacob Rivera,44, at Rivera’s initial appearance Jan. 2. River...
Treats at Civic Center to honor police Members of the Shelton Centennial Lions Club will hand out treats, homemade and from a local bakery, at 9 a.m. Friday at the front door of the Shelton Civic Center to say thank you to the Shelton Police Department. Actors wanted for mystery dinner Connection Street Theatre hosts auditions for “A Valentine’s Murder Mystery Dinner” at 5 p.m. today in the fellowship hall at Faith Lutheran Church, 1212 Connection St., Shelton. Performers ages 16 and older can audition for 10 to 12 roles: three male, four...
Nathan Beck spent nights sleeping in a tent next to the Shelton Walmart for six months, then two years inside the Community Lifeline shelter in downtown Shelton before moving into the new Shelton Veterans Village about six weeks ago. Instead of contending with rats, rain and eviction threats, the U.S Navy veteran has a warm room with a bed, desk, chair, a small refrigerator and a bathroom. In the community building, he can cook food and has a storage space in a refrigerator. "I haven't had any...
Port of Allyn commissioners observed a moment of silence at the regular meeting Jan. 1 for interim Executive Director LeAnn Dennis, age 55, who died Christmas Day. “LeAnn will be greatly missed. She left a big hole,” Commissioner Judy Scott said. Scott read a statement from Dennis’ daughter, Alena Dennis, at the meeting. “Anyone who ever met LeAnn would tell you that their lives changed forever after knowing her. She made everything brighter and gave her whole heart to anyone who showed her kindness and love. Her commitment to caring for her...
The end of the year has come. No birds to hunt, so Mary and Sam go to Los Angeles to see friends. Mary got embarrassed when their dog Queenie dug up a couple of bushes. I had the same experience when I was visiting my parents at their new home in California. My German shepherd was a puppy and she dug up several rose bushes my stepdad had just planted. Oh gosh! Sam's birthday Dec. 29. Happy New Year to all! Sunday, Dec. 25, 1949 The sun was warm and bright when we arose, so we ate breakfast and...
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...
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...
