Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Tahuya and North Belfair residents suffered phone and internet outages Tuesday, after thieves removed copper wiring in the area, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Two pedestals and one vault were broken into about one-fourth mile north of Dewatto Hills Road, Deputy Matt Colbenson told the Herald. The theft caused about $25,000 worth of damage to the phone lines according to the phone company, Colbenson said. Budget update at tonight’s school board meeting The North Mason School Board meets at 6:30 tonight in the board room of the...
Between mid-August and mid-October, 3,912 adult chum salmon returned to spawn on the Union River in Belfair. That's the count at the adult fish trap operated by the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group in Belfair on state Route 300. That's the fourth highest total counted in years when the fish were not supplemented on the river, said Josh O'Hara, the salmon and steelhead biologist for the group. "It was definitely a good year," he said. The annual counts have been conducted since 2000. The highe...
The HUB Center in Belfair hosts its fourth annual Haunted HUB Drive Thru starting at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at 111 N.E. Old Belfair Highway. The event is billed as kid friendly. Family fun packs will be handed to patrons in the first 150 vehicles that complete the drive, which will feature strange and spooky characters. Admission is the suggested donation of $5. The HUB (which stands for Hospitality, Unity and Belonging) is also seeking businesses, organizations and families who love Halloween to...
LeAnn Dennis will act as Port of Allyn interim director until a new executive director can be hired to replace Lary Coppola, who died Sept. 30. The Port board voted unanimously to appoint Dennis at an Oct. 9 special meeting. Coppola was the executive director of the port since 2015. Coppola died only a few weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to a statement by the Washington Public Ports Association. “Anyone who met Lary could see he was an honest and genuine person and a true professional, not to mention an avid s...
North Mason High School counselor Kim Walters shared information on the new YouScience program with the school board at the district school board meeting Sept. 21. North Mason High School will be implementing YouScience in order to support each student in completing their "High School and Beyond" plan. Hawkins Middle School will implement the first phases of YouScience for exploration beginning in the seventh grade. Walters said students would be tasked with completing the following courses in...
Sept. 13 marked the date when the Port of Dewatto’s remaining two commissioners were able to conduct their first regularly scheduled meeting since July 12. Port of Dewatto Manager Jeana Crosby told the Herald the port has found a “person of interest” to fill the port’s District 2 commissioner position, which was left vacant by the death of commissioner Ray Mow on April 8. Crosby said the potential commissioner has not been sworn in, but she did say Sept. 15 she expects that Wilson Sapp, a lieut...
Port of Grapeview Commissioner Art Whitson said several matters worthy of public interest were raised at the port’s special meeting Aug. 22. Under the port’s maintenance plan, landscaping, irrigation and septic systems were addressed, its trees have been trimmed, and its restrooms and gutters have been cleaned, although replacing the women’s restroom toilet requires some work. Whitson praised AAA Septic in Shelton, which had to deal with hundreds of pounds of invasive roots infiltrating the p...
The Port of Allyn’s special meeting Aug. 24 saw port officials and port district residents comment on the port’s comprehensive plan for harbor improvements, with Port Commissioner Ted Jackson suggesting that broadband expansion be added to the community survey regarding the plan. Jackson recommended a specific grant writer for his fellow commissioners to meet, and Port Executive Director Lary Coppola agreed a lot of unclaimed grant money is available that could help the port’s work on its infra...
Ralph Pulsifer came to art relatively late in life, in the wake of surgery three years ago that left him with a lot of time on his hands. "My children have always been artists, so it was also a way to connect with them," said Pulsifer, a Shelton resident and member of the Skokomish Indian Tribe. Indeed, Pulsifer credits "plenty of coaching from my kids" with helping him develop as an artist, along with what he referred to as "the University of YouTube." Pulsifer renders his pictures in a...
Port of Grapeview Commissioner Art Whitson has found several outlets at the port for his talents — particularly in the field of environmental issues — over the course of his decades spent working in commercial and government sectors. So it’s not surprising the port will be sending him to a statewide discussion of environmental concerns with fellow Washington port officials. On Sept. 21-22, Whitson will join the Washington Public Ports Association’s 2023 environmental seminar in Ruston, just no...
The North Mason Regional Fire Authority is having a busy summer, and it doesn't include just fighting fires. Old Station 21 has a new tenant as Mason County agreed to a lease agreement that went into effect Aug. 1. "They're having a discussion as to ultimately what will be in that building from a county perspective," NMRFA chief Beau Bakken told the Herald. "About a year ago, I said this date was going to come upon us quickly and here we are. It sounds like the county is to vacate the building...
During the North Mason School Board’s Aug. 17 meeting, summer school principal Laura Pugh and teacher Rachel Mayo were joined by Hawkins Middle School students Tora Kawai-Seguin, Zevin King and Rukan Bruemmer as they presented a film the students made during summer school. Pugh reported the summer school program had ended the previous week, with literacy support for students in grades four through eight, and “credit recovery” for students in grades 10 through 12. Over three weeks, break...
The Port of Grapeview’s Aug. 15 meeting saw commissioners consider renovations and spending, and as the port’s 100th anniversary approaches, celebrations. Port commissioners Jean Farmer and Mike Blaisdell agreed the anniversary in November isn’t the best time to mark the centennial because they prefer an outdoor open house that could take advantage of pleasant weather and draw “big names” to the festivities. Farmer and commissioner Art Whitson agreed such an occasion should also use the marin...
The Port of Dewatto canceled its scheduled Aug. 9 commissioners meeting because a personal emergency arose that would have left the board without a quorum, according to Port Manager Jeana Crosby. The port did have a special meeting Aug. 11, both remotely and in-person at the port office building in Tahuya, to sign vouchers that would allow the port to pay its bills and salaries. However, according to Crosby, the rest of the business that had been scheduled for the port’s August meeting will l...
On Monday morning, volunteers for the North Mason Coalition of Churches and Community were assembling boxes with nonperishable foods such as bread, cereal, beans, potatoes, carrots, onions and eggs at the Lodge next to Christ Lutheran Church between Belfair and Tahuya. The next day, they added perishable items such as milk and chicken to be picked up by families in need as part of the nonprofit group's Food for Kids Vacation Break Nutrition Boxes program. The summer boxes end Aug. 29, with...
The Port of Allyn’s Aug. 7 meeting saw its executive director and commissioners address replacing its pier, updating the port’s comprehensive plan and what to do with the sea lions. Port of Allyn Executive Director Lary Coppola said the port had $515,000 in its capital budget for a pier replacement project. “Our options are to replace the entire pier with a completely new structure, to sleeve the existing pilings — which effectively gets the creosote out of the water, as well as stops the det...
A common perception of summer school is deskbound students trapped in a classroom hunched over a book while their classmates frolic outside. But that's not the reality inside Hawkins Middle School in Belfair, where summer school students are writing, animating and voicing characters as they create computer-animated shorts. Everyone is invited to view the results at the district's first Summer School Film Festival at 5 tonight at Hawkins Middle School. To make a reservation, contact Laura Pugh at...
The Port of Grapeview reviewed updates for the port’s maintenance plan and comprehensive scheme of harbor improvement at its July 18 meeting. Port Commissioner Art Whitson said he contacted the maintenance department at Mason County Public Works for catch-basin maintenance in June, but hadn’t heard back on when they’d be able to do it. He said he’d follow up. Whitson said he needs to develop a tailored maintenance plan for each item of equipment or infrastructure under the port’s purview,...
Superintendent Dana Rosenbach talked about North Mason’s summer school program, the upcoming renaming ceremony for the east addition of the community gym, and the wrap-up of the Theler property transition, at the school board’s most recent meeting. “We’re very excited for the students who are registered,” Rosenbach said of the summer school at the July 20 meeting. “Our rising fourth-through-seventh-graders will be engaging in their developing video work. On the last day, we’ll get to see what t...
Mason County Climate Justice, the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and the state Department of Natural Resources will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday in Mason County Superior Court. According to Jennifer Calkins, a lawyer who represents the local environmental activist groups, MCCJ filed a notice to withdraw its motion to dismiss and filed a second motion for a preliminary injunction with the intervenor corporation Tacoma-based Stella-Jones Corp., which came in with the highest bid for the 94 acres...
As of Wednesday, the Port of Dewatto has not filled the vacancy on its three-member board of commissioners, left open by the April 8 death of Ray Mow. The port is still running ads in the Shelton-Mason County Journal to solicit applicants for the port’s District 2 Commissioner position. Acting Port Commission Chair Dave Haugen has asked Kris Tompkins, the port’s volunteer who lives in the Haven Lake area, to provide any updates she on anyone who might be interested in filling the position. Tom...
Port of Allyn officials have reached a consensus on dealing with sea lions. During a special meeting of the port commissioners July 10, Port Executive Director Lary Coppola reviewed how the port had been invaded by sea lions on its dock. Coppola met with representatives from port insurer Enduris, which sent a team out to inspect the damage. "We are getting bids on the repair work now, and hopefully work will get underway shortly," Coppola said July 10. "We've been told there may be a supply...
When the Allyn Community Association was started in 1986, it was inaugurated with the first Allyn Days celebration, which grew to include the Salmon Bake and Geoduck Festival as it evolved into a summer tradition. “It was a community party, and the salmon was grilled over alderwood, then smoked and served,” said current community member Jason Ilarraza. “From there, it evolved into all of this.” When Ilarraza became involved with Allyn Days, he was a vendor coordinator for the event, before...
