Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Commissioners honor Tim Sheldon Mason County commissioners honored state Sen. Tim Sheldon at the Aug. 16 regular meeting. Commissioners signed a proclamation to declare the day ‘Tim Sheldon Day” in Mason County. Commissioner Kevin Shutty thanked Sheldon for his years of service and said it was a pleasure to work with Sheldon while he was a staff member in the Legislature. “You were very gracious to me as I considered running for this seat in 2016 as you retired from the county and I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the conversation yo...
New display showcases photographer, painter Photography by Deborah Chava Singer and acrylic-on-canvas paintings by Heather Rosborough will be on display Aug. 30 through Nov. 30 in the Shelton Civic Center Rotating Art Gallery. The Shelton City Council on Tuesday approved five photos by Singer and five paintings by Rosborough, which were recommended by the Shelton Arts Commission. Local artists are invited to submit works for the displays. City moves to purchase new half-ton pickup truck The...
Sheriff’s Office purchasing boat The Mason County Sheriff’s Office bought a patrol vessel from the Lakewood Police Department. According to the information packet, the Sheriff’s Office had an opportunity to buy an additional patrol vessel for a discounted price from Lakewood. The vessel is reportedly better equipped to handle conditions encountered on Puget Sound. The purchase will allow the Sheriff’s Office to put a vessel on Lake Cushman. The budget effect is up to $65,000 from the restricted reserve in the boating fund to purchase the ves...
Mason County awarded $2 million for bridge projects Mason County Public Works was awarded $2.027 million by the Federal Local Bridge Program. According to a news release for the Mason County commissioners, the federal bridge program provides funding under the National Highway Performance Program used to improve the condition of city or county-owned bridges. Public Works was awarded $167,000 to replace the south timber pile on the North Fork Goldsborough Bridge on Little Egypt Road with concrete pile cap. The Toonerville Bridge on Bear Creek...
Woman dies while diving in Hood Canal A 57-year-old Oregon woman died July 24 while diving in Hood Canal. According to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, the woman experienced a medical problem while diving and died when she came back to the surface. There was no information on what medical problem occurred. Monkeypox case in Mason County The state Department of Health notified Mason County Public Health of a positive test for monkeypox in Mason County on Monday. According to a news release, Mason County Public Health is conducting a case a...
Mason County issues burn ban Mason County Fire Marshal Randy Collins has issued a burn ban for permitted land clearing activities until further notice. According to a news release, the ban is in concert with the state Department of Natural Resources burn ban. Recreational fires can continue as long as they meet the guidelines for outdoor burning in the county. Those guidelinesare at tinyurl.com/5c5bwrp6. For more information, contact the Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-427-9670, ext. 352. Hammer the Inlet race July 24 Hammer the Inlet short and l...
Mason County included in settlement Mason County commissioners approved a proposed settlement between multiple parties, including Mason County, and the state Department of Natural Resources regarding DNR-managed forest lands. According to the information packet, Mason County along with other counties, school districts, fire districts and government entities, challenged the Sustainable Harvest Calculation for the 2015-2024 planning decade adopted by DNR and the proposed settlement. The settlement is intended to improve the forest inventory data...
State Parks urge Fourth of July responsibility The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission encourages safe gatherings in state parks during the Fourth of July weekend. According to a news release, the commission urges visitors to check for closures and alerts before heading out and leave no trace by packing out trash and anything they have brought with them, and all fireworks must be extinguished. Parks asks people to practice fire safety by keeping them small and contained and respect beach closures to protect wildlife and marine habi...
East Agate Loop Road closure starts June 27 Mason County commissioners approved a county road closure of East Agate Loop Road to replace the upper Uncle Johns Creek culvert on East Agate Loop Road. According to the information packet, the culvert will be replaced in July by Redside Construction and the road will be closed at 7 a.m. June 27 and reopen at 4 p.m. July 25 from milepost 1.0120 to 1.140. The road will be closed so in-water work can begin the first day of the “fish-window” July 1. Closure information will be posted on the Mason Cou...
U.S. 101 bridge repairs scheduled for June 17-20 U.S. Highway 101 over Shelton-Matlock Road will be repaired June 17 to 20 in both directions. According to a state Department of Transportation news release, the repairs will begin at 8 p.m. June 17 and last until 6 a.m. June 20. Both directions of 101 will detour to the city center and Matlock exits and drivers will return to the highway via exit ramps. Flaggers will keep drivers moving and it will add travel time to people traveling the Olympic Peninsula. From 7 p.m. June 20 to 6 a.m. June 21,...
County administrator approved to sign services agreement County Administrator Mark Neary has been approved by Mason County commissioners to sign a professional services agreement with Cabot Dow Associates for labor employment services. According to the information packet, the services will not exceed $50,000. The request for proposals for labor employment services closed April 29, with the only response from Cabot Dow Associates. Cabot Dow is a small sole-proprietor that has extensive experience specializing in representing public sector...
Tahuya Peninsula outage will affect 2,300 customers Mason PUD 3 announced an outage on June 14 that will affect about 2,300 customers on the Tahuya Peninsula for 10 hours. According to a news release, the outage is for a maintenance project to replace transmission poles in the area and requires two substations to be offline. The outage will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will require all of PUD 3's line crews working on the project and a mutual-aid crew from Grays Harbor PUD. The work is...
Central Mason Fire & EMS graduates five members Central Mason Fire & EMS celebrated the graduation of five members from its annual Firefighter Recruit Academy. According to a news release, the training burn May 14 marked a successful end to its recruit training. Each member participated in more than 300 hours of training in six months. All graduating members are now certified by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress as Firefighter I. Training also included HazMat Awareness and...
Career incentive pay policy approved Mason County commissioners approved the adoption of a new pay and benefit policy and added it into the Mason County Personnel Policy. According to the information packet, the budget will be affected for Public Works with a $35,000 increase prorated for the remainder of 2022, $40,000 per year for eligible positions that could achieve the incentive and the auditor and financial services $10,000 increase prorated for the remainder of 2022. The reason for the pay policy is to recognize and encourage staff to...
Commissioners approve list of county projects Mason County commissioners approved a resolution to adopt the 2022-23 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Project list as recommended by the Mason County Economic Development Council. According to the information packet, the projects are a public infrastructure priority list, assessed annually by the EDC. Projects are considered based on community need, project readiness, probability of being funded and number of jobs created. The projects must be sponsored by a government entity to...
City finalizes land sale to YMCA The Shelton City Council on Tuesday unanimously finalized the sale of 10.5 acres of leased land to the Shelton YMCA for $123,200. The council gave preliminary approval at its April 27 meeting. The city declared the property at the intersection of Shelton Springs Road and East Wallace Kneeland Boulevard surplus. In July 2017, the Shelton City Council approved leasing the site to YMCA for $1 a year, for 100 years. The facility opened in March 2021. At the council’s April 19 meeting, City Manager Jeff Niten said t...
Deadline nears for SBA disaster loans The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds private nonprofit organizations in the state that May 30 is the deadline to apply for SBA federal disaster loans for property damage caused by severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred Jan. 1 to 15. According to a news release, private nonprofits that provide essential services of governmental nature are eligible. Eligible nonprofits can apply for SBA loans of up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or...
Commissioners sign deal with PUD 3 on internet program An interlocal agreement with Mason County PUD 3’s Internet Redundancy Program was approved by Mason County commissioners. According to the information packet, PUD 3 presented Mason County with the option of providing a backup internet connection to the downtown and public works locations. Implementing these redundant connections, the county would have a secondary way to access the internet in the event of a failure and it would allow IT to optimize some network traffic flow and reduce l...
County records 2 COVID-19 deaths Mason County recorded two COVID-19 deaths last week. According to the Division of Emergency Management the deaths were a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s. The county recorded 17 cases on April 20 and 21. The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is 28.9 and the 14-day case rate is 62.5. The county is 58.8% vaccinated and no one is hospitalized with COVID. Kilmer issues statement on Biden’s Executive Order U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, attended President Joe Biden’s signing of an executive order at Se...
County requests architectural professional services Mason County commissioners approved allowing the county to issue a request for qualifications for architectural engineering professional services at their April 26 meeting. According to the information packet, the county seeks services for design and construction management, including all civil engineering and permitting requirements for county owned property in Mason County. The professional services contract is not budgeted. Public hearing for community development grant County...
Council OKs new laws on graffiti, signs The Shelton City Council on Tuesday approved new ordinances on graffiti and signs. The council gave preliminary approval at its April 5 meeting. In both cases, the city states it is seeking to make the rules more concise. The new ordinances go into effect Sunday. Under the vandalism ordinances, the owner of the vandalized property is responsible for the cleanup, but the city will provide paint or the labor for the task. The ordinance defines graffiti as “any unauthorized inscription, letter, words, n...
Solid waste utility fee rates will rise Mason County commissioners approved a change in the solid waste utility fee rates at the April 12 meeting. According to the information packet, the fee rates increase each year by the amount of the October-to-October Consumer Price Index for the Olympia area. This change would update the fee rates for the county to increase each year based on the amount of August-to-August CPI for the Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue areas. The county is required to provide 75 days notice to collection companies and 45 days...
Belfair man dies in state Route 3 crash A two-car crash Monday in Belfair on state Route 3 killed a 74-year-old man. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, William M. Cundiff of Belfair was declared dead at the scene. His next of kin was notified. The release states Cundiff was driving west on Cokelet Lane to turn left onto Route 3 while the other vehicle, driven by a 17-year-old Tahuya male, was driving north on Route 3. Cundiff failed to stop at a stop sign and was struck by vehicle two. The road was closed for about two hours....
Rep. Kilmer tests positive for COVID-19 U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, tested positive for COVID-19 on April 6. “Late this afternoon I tested positive for COVID-19 after testing negative as recently as yesterday,” Kilmer said in a news release. “I am currently asymptomatic — and I am grateful to be fully vaccinated and boosted. I will follow CDC guidance and isolate for the next several days. My office will remain fully operational and I will continue working virtually on behalf of the folks I represent.” Belfair marijuana store rob...
DNR plans public hearing on proposed boundary expansion The state Department of Natural Resources is having a public hearing April 20 at Mason County Fire Hall District No. 4 about a proposed expansion of the boundary of the Skookum Inlet Natural Area Preserve. According to a DNR letter addressed to county commissioners, the proposed expansion area is adjacent to the 165 acres Skookum Inlet NAP (Natural Area Preserve) boundary. The preserve was appointed to the Natural Heritage Advisory Council in 1985 to protect three salt-marsh ecosystems,...
