Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Three convicted in murder cases with Mason County ties After a five-month trial, a jury in Kitsap County on Friday convicted three men of murdering a Seabeck family, including the father whose body was discovered on a tree farm on Northeast Dewatto-Holly Road, south of Forest Springs Road, in Mason County. The family, John Careaga, 43, his wife Christale Careaga, 37, and her 16-year-old son Johnathon Higgins and 16-year-old stepson Hunter Schapp were all killed in January 2017. The mother and sons were found inside their burned-out home near...
Terry Mehl is this year's Shelton Yacht Club commodore. Mehl chose the theme for this year's cruise schedule: "Doing More in 24." He and his wife, Donna, cruise in a Bayliner 3688 motor yacht, named Weather Wizard in homage to Mehl's Marine Corps career. They travel with a Shih Tzu, Rocky, and an African grey, Merlin. After graduating from Redmond High School in 1972, Mehl joined the Marine Corps and married Donna after boot camp. The couple moved to Lakehurst, New Jersey, for Mehl's schooling....
Installation of Jersey barriers along U.S. Highway 101 from the intersection of Wallace Kneeland Boulevard to state Route 3 in Shelton is one step closer after $2 million in legislative funding was approved March 7 for engineering. Additional funding will be needed for construction, according to Doug Adamson with the state Department of Transportation. A WSDOT project document shows the design has been funded but work hasn’t started. “Barriers are not placed with the assumption that the system will restrain or redirect all vehicles in all con...
Bigfoot protection on agenda At a briefing April 8, Mason County commissioners unanimously agreed to put a resolution on the next meeting’s agenda “declaring Mason County a sasquatch protection and refuge area” after Grays Harbor County elementary school students wrote in asking for protection of the cryptid. “We are the students of Miss Andrews class in 5th grade at Lincoln Elementary school in Hoquiam, Washington. The reason we are writing this letter to you is because we believe that Mason County should have laws to protect Bigfoot...
Around 12:30 a.m. April 5, Central Mason Fire & EMS responded a house fire in the Shorecrest area. Crews arrived to find a fire in the attic. During firefighting efforts, a section of the home's ceiling collapsed striking firefighters and one firefighter was transported by ambulance to Mason General Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. The homeowner along with firefighters were able to rescue a mother cat and several kittens from the home. Crews remained on scene for several hours...
Yesteryear Car Club The Yesteryear Car Club is offering a scholarship to any Mason County high school senior graduating in 2024 who plans to pursue a vocational/technical school education in automotive trades. May 1 is the deadline to apply. Selection will not be based on grade point average. Applicants are required to write a statement about themselves, their choice of vocation or trade, activities in school and the community, volunteer work, hobbies, work experience and plans. They must also include two letters of recommendations, and the...
Editor’s note: The Journal does not identify minor victims of sexual crimes or their families. The parents of a 5-year-old kindergartner have sued North Mason School District after video footage showed the child being “sexually and physically abused” by a fifth grade student during a bus ride home, according to the complaint filed April 1 in Mason County Superior Court. The complaint states the child has developmental and speech delays and attended kindergarten in the North Mason School District. The district provided door-to-door trans...
Mason County Chief Public Defender Peter Jones told commissioners his office is about to be “hit by a train” thanks to updated Washington State Bar standards that “drastically” change attorney caseloads, which will affect how the county prosecutes and defends criminal cases. At a March 24 briefing, Jones requested commissioners immediately form a committee to study the problem and begin implementing changes to the county’s criminal justice system. “I think we need to start putting together a committee right now that figures out how to minimize...
Evergreen Elementary and Shelton High School students will soon have a safer path walking and biking to school. Crews on March 27 began construction on three Safe to School projects. The city is creating crosswalks and other improvements on Shelton Springs Road at Shelton High School and the Huff'n'Puff Trail; Seventh and Franklin streets, across the street from Evergreen Elementary School; and two blocks away near Safeway, at Ninth and Franklin streets. Construction is expected to continue...
Shelton Deputy Mayor Joe Schmit announced he is resigning from the Shelton City Council. His resignation was announced Tuesday evening at the council’s regular meeting. Schmit did not attend the meeting. Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko told the Journal the city has 90 days to pick a replacement for Schmit. Schmit did not give a reason for his resignation, Onikso said. The city is accepting applications for the position. Schmit’s term expires Dec. 31, 2025, so the seat will up for grabs in the November 2025 election. Schmit did not immediately res...
Better water pressure and storage in the Angleside area is on its way after the Shelton City Council on Tuesday accepted a $1.8 million grant from the state Department of Commerce. The council voted to give preliminary approval at its March 19 meeting. The money will be used to design and construct water infrastructure improvements in the Angleside pressure zone. According to the city report, the city last year became aware of some potential deficiencies in water pressure and storage issues...
The new Marmo Caffé & Gallery at 217 W. Cota St. in downtown Shelton offers an eclectic mix of visual arts, books, coffee, jewelry, baked goods and performances. The business drew a large crowd for a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 28 hosted by the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce. The current exhibition, "New Seasons Fantasy," is on display through May 4. The group exhibition features works by Greg Bartol and Carol Orr, Carrie Brennan, Maria Bressler, Arrington Dionyso, Lauren Kim,...
A Port Orchard man has been arrested for stealing a car in Mason County and leading deputies on a high-speed chase down state Route 106. Joseph Hubbard, 22, of Port Orchard, was arrested on felony charges of eluding police and possession of a stolen vehicle March 26. A Mason County Transit employee called MACECOM on March 11 to report a man trying to break into parked cars at Northeast Log Yard Road in Belfair, according to a Mason County Sheriff incident report. While the caller was on the phone, he said the suspect had entered a gray Nissan...
A Seattle attorney suing Mason County District Court and Judge George Steele for appointing him to defend a local man charged with DUI wants the suit to proceed even though he’s been removed as the man’s counsel. Jonathan Lewis, who has a legal practice in Seattle, filed a writ of mandamus in Mason County Superior Court on Feb. 27. The writ is used when government officials have allegedly taken a legally prohibited action. Lewis says Steele improperly appointed him to defend Martin Andres Alonzo, who is being charged with DUI for the third tim...
The Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening accepted the resignation of Mark Smith, the Shelton High School head football coach, who is also the district’s K-8 athletic and activities director. Smith, a 1987 Shelton High School graduate, coached the team for four seasons. His resignation was effective March 13. Smith did not immediately reply to a request for comments from the Journal. The Shelton School District is investigating the injuries that five Shelton High School students sustained Jan. 31 during a weight training class. Smith and a...
Union property owner Philip Bayley is challenging $250,000 in fines and $33,492 in mitigation fees assessed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for an illegal bulkhead. Bayley told the Journal the EPA’s news release about the judgment is “slanderous” because he still has motions before U.S. District Judge David Estudillo, who ruled on the case. The EPA sued Bayley, his mother, Joan, and their business Big D’s Beach Cabin LLC in 2020 for Clean Water Act violations related to a bulkhead that he says had all required permits. “Althou...
Fire District 12 Commissioner Nick Jones requested at the March 19 commission meeting that any “members or commissioners” in the district who are under investigation be immediately suspended until the inquiry is complete. Fire 12 covers western Mason County, including Matlock and some areas of eastern Grays Harbor County. “It was stated at the last meeting by Mason County Sheriff’s Office that members of the district are under investigation. We should work with the sheriff’s office to determine the names of the members or commissio...
Tom Beben, owner the High Steel Beer Co. in downtown Shelton, this week announced he will seek a seat on the Mason County Commission. Commissioner Kevin Shutty last month announced he will not seek another term in the fall representing District 2. Richard Beckman, owner of Richard Beckman Realty Group in downtown Shelton, has also announced he is running for the seat as a Republican. Commissioner Randy Neatherlin hasn't responded to the Journal's inquiries about whether he's tossing his hat...
The City of Shelton last week made a move to help preserve its past. The Shelton City Council assured the Mason County Historical Society it will help the nonprofit group pursue a state historical grant to add storage space to its museum at 427 W. Railroad Ave. The structure was first the city hall, then the city library, and it's owned by the city. "It's a perfect location, I think, for the museum," Liz Arbaugh, the group's executive director, told the Shelton City Council at its March 19 meeti...
Shelton and Skookum Rotary clubs April 5 is the deadline to apply for scholarships from the Shelton and Skookum Rotary clubs. Scholarships are available in the categories of academic education, continuing education and vocational/trades education. The Robert Burns scholarship is awarded to applicants going into the performing arts, the Janis Byrd scholarship for business art, the Mary Penny scholarship for the medical arts and the Bryson Finlay scholarship for the computer arts. The scholarship amounts range from $1,500 to $3,000. Information,...
Mason County resident Scott Gordon says he dropped off his March 12 presidential primary ballot at the Belfair post office drive-thru mailbox in February and was “shocked” to see it wasn’t counted. Gordon contacted the Journal after he checked on his ballot through the Mason County elections website. If you are a registered Washington voter, you can sign in and learn when your ballot was mailed, when it was received by Mason County and when it was accepted. “With all this talk about mail-in voting I decided to check on my ballot through...
The 2024 legislative session ended with passage of budgets that bring in millions for Mason County and the 35th District. The state Legislature passed supplemental capital, operating and transportation budgets March 7 that include $16 million for local projects. "The millions we were able to get in this capital budget will make a significant difference in our community. I am proud to be a member of this 35th District team and what we have been able to accomplish together," state Sen. Drew...
People making public comments at a Shelton School Board meeting will no longer be verbally warned specifically not to defame anyone or to illegally invade someone’s privacy. A cover letter for the meeting agenda still cautions speakers not to be “libelous or slanderous under a legal standard.” The Shelton School Board on March 11 voted unanimously to change the language regarding public comments at the meeting, which are read aloud by Board Chair Matt Welander before speakers have three minutes to comment. The following sentence was elimi...
Parents of a 4-month-old girl have been arrested for manslaughter after the infant was found unresponsive and could not be revived at the couple’s home in Shelton on March 6. Stevie Kadoun, 30, the child’s mother, was arrested at the scene. The father, Damion Giacchino, 31, fled, according to police, and was apprehended March 14. According to the probable cause document, Kadoun called 911 to report her child wasn’t breathing and her husband was attempting CPR. “I recalled going to this address several times in the past. I knew the property to b...
Drivers know they’re in for a bumpy ride on Olympic Highway North in Shelton. A smoother road is closer to reality after the Shelton City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to accept a $3.7-million state grant to reconstruct the highway between C Street to Wallace Kneeland Boulevard. The council can make the grant acceptance official with a vote at its April 2 meeting. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2025. The city plans to pay for it with the $3,688,752 state Transportation Improvement Grant, a previous safety i...
