Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 206
The North Mason School Board's May 18 meeting saw Transportation Director Maurine Simons present data on ridership, maintenance and the costs of running her department. The district bought four new buses, getting rid of four buses that were 20 years old. Prior to that, 62% of those buses were off the depreciation schedule. That went down to 46%. Big buses run on a 13-year depreciation schedule. Small buses are on an eight-year schedule. The average age of the district's small buses is 9.1 years,...
North Mason High School Theatre presents "Grease" at 7 p.m. on the Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays of May 18, 19 and 20, and June 1, 2 and 3, at the school in Belfair. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for ASB members and children aged 12 years and younger. North Mason High School Drama Club adviser Hilary Gennaro said "Grease" is "a rather expensive and large production, so it is often difficult for smaller schools like North Mason to produce," but fortunately, this year saw "a wonderful...
Port of Dewatto Manager Jeana Crosby talked about the search to replace Port Commission Chair Ray Mow, a port commissioner since 2017. Mow died April 8. “We have not had anyone apply as of yet,” Crosby told the Herald on May 12. “We do have a few people whom we are going to ask.” Crosby was not able to release those people’s names, she did note the replacement needs to be from Mow’s district. Mow represented Port of Dewatto District No. 2, which includes Haven Lake, Wooten Lake and the surroun...
Even as the Port of Dewatto opened up the Dewatto River Campground on April 1 after conducting a campground cleanup March 25, it faced another significant piece of maintenance. While Port Manager Jeana Crosby readied for the campground's opening by ordering "Danger" and "Keep off the Fence" signs, and four fire rings for the campground, she also supplied estimates from multiple businesses for the cost to replace all the existing sets of blinds at the port offices, which are overdue to be...
Colleen Harlow has painted landscapes for at least 50 years, but before she moved to Mason County half a dozen years ago, she hadn’t settled down in any one place long enough to connect with its artistic scene. “I came to Mason County to retire in the same place where my daughter lives,” said Harlow, whose artwork is being displayed throughout May on the Belfair Self-Storage’s art wall. “It’s such a great place to be, and Belfair is such a nice small town, especially when the weather get...
The Port of Grapeview commissioners received an update on the Case Inlet Fisheries Task Force on April 18. Brad Pomroy, the facilitator for the task force, touted its progress over the past months, while noting progress was closer to “a marathon than a sprint.” The task force has visited the Point Defiance net pen installation, provided testimony to state Department of Fish and Wildlife commissioners, and met with Will Henderson, manager of the Squaxin Island net pen program, Pomroy said. Pomroy...
The Port of Allyn had a special meeting April 14 to talk about its credit and its progress on the Sargent Oyster House. Port commissioners agreed to increase the port's credit line with Kitsap Bank after port Executive Director Lary Coppola said the port already had a credit line for $220,000, which it has used to pay lawyers and part of last month's vouchers. "What I wanted to to do was draw more off of that credit line - because we can't draw any more off of it after April 20 - and put it in...
The North Mason Food Bank recently won a year of free internet from Astound Broadband as part of the company’s effort to recognize small businesses for contributing to their communities. “We believe that smaller locally owned organizations like the North Mason Food Bank are integral to the success of the communities in which they reside,” said Patrick Knorr, chief commercial officer for Astound Business Solutions, a broadband service provider. “We wanted to help make a difference for small l...
Central Mason Fire and EMS joins with North Mason High School, Washington State Patrol and Mason County Sheriff’s Office to host the “Last Dance” event today and tomorrow, aiming to show students the dangers of driving under the influence. According to a news release, today will have emergency responders giving students a look at fatality collisions. It will include a mock accident on the football field where responders will extricate pre-selected students from vehicles. The public might see inc...
Train cabooses and lighthouses, a saying goes, are two things everyone likes. So it seems extra special when a caboose, even in a battered and weathered state, returns after four decades away to the site where it was instrumental in moving the area's greatest economical resource, trees. That was the case Thursday when two trucks delivered Caboose 1201 to its former home at the Simpson Lumber Co. former sorting yard in Dayton, 10 miles west of downtown Shelton. The nonprofit Peninsular Railway &...
The old North Mason Regional Fire Authority station is next door to the new station, and it is just waiting for a new tenant to move in. NMRFA vacated the building May 16, and hopes the county moves in sooner rather than later. The fire commissioners wrote a letter Feb. 27 to the Mason County Board of Commissioners asking to formally inquire about the county's intentions and timeline for moving into the old fire station. "We are approaching a year since we have vacated the building," the letter...
The Port of Allyn’s scheduled state audit for the period from 2019 through 2021 was “overall quite positive for us,” Port Executive Director Lary Coppola said. The auditor commended the port for scoring a “clean audit,” Coppola added. “There are no findings, no management letters issued, and the auditors found we fully complied with all state laws, rules and regulations, as well as our own policies and procedures,” Coppola said. “This is the third clean audit we’ve had in the eight years I’ve...
Port of Grapeview Commissioner Jean Farmer, citing her “long history of interest in broadband” for rural communities, will join Port of Allyn Commissioner Ted Jackson on the task force charged with expanding broadband in Mason County. “As a port commissioner and a business owner, I personally saw the lack of connection for many of us,” Farmer told the Herald. “I hope all of us coming together will have a positive impact on our communities.” As with Jackson, Farmer was invited by Dan Teuteberg, a...
Almost one year ago, after months of public hearings and commissioner debate, the Belfair sewer project was approved to go out to bid and move forward with construction. Since then, the project has been going great, according to Public Works Director Loretta Swanson. Harbor Custom Homes built the portion of the sewer line that runs next to the Belfair View apartments and the Olympic Ridge housing development up to the Navy rail. Swanson said that part is complete. The contract was awarded to...
Port of Allyn Commissioner Ted Jackson was appointed to the Rural Broadband Task Force on March 6. Jackson was invited by Dan Teuteberg to take part in the task force’s work in Mason County on behalf of the United Way and the Port of Allyn. Teuteberg is an associate professor and 4-H youth development regional specialist, and is the director of Washington State University Extension programs in Mason and Grays Harbor counties. Teuteberg told Jackson that WSU Extension is joining with the W...
A Belfair man was arrested and charged with malicious mischief and criminal trespass after an incident at a Kitsap PUD property Feb. 18 near Bremerton. Gene Ray Brown, 44, has an omnibus hearing scheduled March 21 and a trial scheduled April 17. According to the incident report, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office’s Justin Coronado was sent to a possible stolen vehicle on Puget Sound Energy property near Solid Lane in Bremerton. He met the person who called in the vehicle and said he was out at the...
The Port of Dewatto bid farewell to winter by reiterating that its campground cleanup is still scheduled for Saturday, March 25. Campground coordinator Joe Newman reported several inquiries from prospective participants this year. Port Manager Jeana Crosby estimated 25 to 30 volunteers will take part this year, which led Port Commissioner Ted Edwards to request that logs be removed from the water. Edwards said he believes the logs are a safety hazard, which he’d had removed years ago. Port C...
North Mason School District's CORE+ Maritime program recently received a $40,000 grant that will help pay for the program's supplies and equipment as it expands from woodworking into metalworking and body shop operations, using lumber, epoxy composites and molded fiberglass. The grant was provided through the Legislature's allocation for the CORE+ Maritime programs. Gavin Forseth teaches woodworking and CORE+ Maritime, and is the district's Career and Technical Education Department leader. Lexi...
The HUB Center for Seniors revival of what had traditionally been a semiannual runway show has settled on the theme for its Patio Party in May: Fashions inspired by the late 1960's through the 1970s. Barbara Treick, manager of Belfair Self-Storage and creator of its art wall, received emails of interest last year from people who wanted to participate, and then received their fashion designs by Feb. 28. Treick said the event would feature two runway shows, one before lunch and the other...
Port of Grapeview Commissioner Mike Blaisdell shared his findings on having the port use social media, one of several online matters commissioners addressed at their Feb. 21 meeting. A recent port workshop included a suggestion that the port create a Facebook page, but no action was taken on it. Blaisdell has since discovered the port must adopt policies on how it would administer and manage such social media accounts. Due to open public meeting laws that cover government entities such as...
Rae Van Fossen is relatively new to Mason County and acrylic painting, but she's been building toward developing as an artist while settling into home. Her work is on display at Belfair Self-Storage as artist of the month for March. A California native, Van Fossen moved to Washington in 2013 and then hopscotched through Renton, Lakewood and Elma before the currents of the housing market brought her to Shelton in 2021. Van Fossen credited a handful of paint-and-sit sessions, in which she was...
Forest McCullough of Northwest Land & Tree told the Port of Hoodsport Commission on Feb. 8 that tree and debris removal at the port’s parklands was almost done, despite “Mother Nature giving us headaches.” As soon as a stretch of dry weather arrives, McCullough predicted the parking lot would be “all cleaned up, fixed up,” and ready to receive treatments such as beauty bark. He assured Port Commissioner Lori Kincannon they were “still on target” for the parking lot grading to be finished and rea...
After the Port of Dewatto received $50 for a birthday party building rental in December, the port took stock of its campground’s cleanliness after the winter holidays. Port commissioners David Haugen and Ted Edwards went to the campground to check on its sites and river’s edge, and aside from some beer bottles, Haugen found the campground to be clean of trash, although enough debris remains to be picked up during the campground’s cleanup day March 25. Port Commission Chair Ray Mow sugge...
Dock damage, pier replacement, potential surplussing of property and some unexpected new developments on long-standing projects kept Port of Allyn commissioners busy during the Feb. 8 board meeting. After the port’s Hood Canal Marina dock was damaged between Christmas and New Year’s, port insurer Enduris hired a consultant and marine surveyor, with whom Port Executive Director Lary Coppola met while inspecting the dock. Of the port’s two bids to repair the dock, Coppola expected the port to sele...
