Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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A Shelton city hearing examiner approved Community Lifeline’s request to expand the capacity of its downtown Shelton homeless shelter from 35 beds to 54. In a decision released Monday, city Hearing Examiner Charlotte Archer approved the nonprofit’s request for an amendment to an existing conditional-use permit to expand its number of beds at 218 N. Third St. The City of Shelton recommended approving the amendment, with eight conditions including having at least one trained staff member on site for every 15 patrons staying at the facility and...
On Feb. 7, Habitat for Humanity of Mason County broke ground for a new house, the third of a trio of structures in a row on Park Street on the edge of downtown Shelton near Kneeland Park. The house at 529 Park St. will be home to Christina Salt and her three children, 20-year-old Alonya Barnes, 14-year-old Trevor Johnson II and 7-year-old Larry Dee III. This is Habitat for Humanity of Mason County's 38th house. Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working with...
Higher gasoline prices prompted Mason County Garbage to seek approval from the City of Shelton to raise monthly collection bills. The Shelton City Council in a 6-1 vote gave preliminary approval to the increase at its Feb. 20 meeting. If given final approval Tuesday, residential customers will see a 20-cent increase on their monthly bills, and commercial customers an extra $1.63 through the end of the year. Council member George Blush cast the dissenting vote. He pointed out that the proposed in...
Someone unsuccessfully tried to steal a ballot drop box at the Belfair North Timberland Library parking lot late Thursday, Feb. 1 or early Friday, Feb. 2, Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel told the Journal. Vandals tried to dig up or pull out the box, which is fixed to a cement block. Library staff phoned Election Administrator Marie Stevenson about the incident "reporting that someone attempted to remove the ballot drop box located in the library parking lot," according to a news release....
Short-term rental regulations are coming to Mason County. The extent of new rules and fees for owners will be hammered out in the coming months by county commissioners and members of the Planning Department. “The Planning Department has been directed by the Mason County Board of Commissioners to review the short-term vacation rental (Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, etc.) situation in Mason County. The county has never regulated, nor does it currently regulate short-term rentals. The state, however, enacted certain statutes, RCW 64.37, regarding s...
A Shelton High girls basketball player was cited by Shelton Police for assault in the fourth degree, a gross misdemeanor, on Jan. 31 after a fight broke out during the Climbers game with Aberdeen at Terry Gregg Court at the Shelton Mini-Dome. With 3:35 remaining in the third quarter of the contest, Aberdeen’s Jaylynn Phimmasone — identified by the Bobcats’ roster — collected a rebound and under tight defense from Shelton’s Jasmine Rivera slipped on the floor near the baseline. Video of the in...
A required investigation following the March 24, 2020, fatal shooting of Kathryn Hale by Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Helser largely complied with state laws, but the investigating team failed to document certain communications and properly restrict access to the case file, according to a Feb. 1 report by the Washington State Auditor’s office. The report says the Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Region 3 Critical Investigation Team, led by investigators from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Grays Harbor...
The Mason County Sheriff's Office celebrated its new North Precinct location in Belfair with an open house that allowed community members to inspect a SWAT vehicle, tour a mobile command center and partake of free food and drinks while listening to folk duo The Angel and the Outlaw on Feb. 2. The building, at 460 NE Old Belfair Highway, is the former home of North Mason Regional Fire Authority. It moved to a new building next door with hopes of creating an emergency management campus, according...
The income threshold for Mason County’s property-tax exemption program for senior citizens and people with disabilies has increased. A news release from the Mason County Assessor’s Office states that effective for the 2024 tax year, income thresholds for Mason County have increased to $55,000 due to subsitute House bill 1355. Exemption recipients enrolled in the Senior Citizen & People with Disabilities exemption program received an automatic adjustment to their 2024 tax statement. Taxpayers who meet the qualifications are encouraged to app...
Apply for Shelton Police Citizens Academy The Shelton Police Department is accepting applications for its Citizens Academy, an eight-week program highlighting the department’s community-oriented policing mission, partnerships with local agencies and a judicial overview. Starting Feb. 15, classes will be hosted in person from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays in the Shelton Civic Center. The Citizens Academy will have a maximum of 30 people. City of Shelton residents and business owners will be given priority, followed by Mason County residents. The goal of...
Furever Love, a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Mason County and Kitten Rescue of Mason County is this Saturday at Bent Bine Brewery in Belfair. Adoptable pets will be at the event, and there will be raffles, a live auction and kissing booth, according to the organizers. “Last year, HSMC experienced significant growth in both capacity and animals served. We moved into our new Belfair office and Community Clinic! Our small-yet-mighty staff and team of dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly to promote responsible pet ownership, deliver l...
A proposal to make voting mandatory drew criticisms from 2,000 people in a legislative hearing Jan. 25. “We are already in a moment of extreme distrust in elections, so you should not be doing anything to further that perception,” said Sharon Damoff. Lawmakers mainly dismissed the large number of people signing on to testify, as they believe one organization was responsible. “The election deniers have ramped up this year,” Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, said. “Conservative Ladies of Washington, they’ve got these mass emails asking people to sign up.” H...
The City of Shelton started preliminary work on a new comprehensive plan for a city whose residents are younger, poorer, less educated and more likely to rent than surrounding communities. Demographics of the city's population was one of the topics when the Shelton City Council heard updates on the comprehensive plan development at a study session Jan. 23 at the Shelton Civic Center. In October, the city kicked off the process of developing the comprehensive plan, which isn't slated to be...
Mason County Coroner Jaime Taylor is getting comfortable in her new Shelton office at 126 Kneeland St. Taylor and her staff moved the last week of November. When Taylor started as coroner, she worked below the family court building in an area "basically just a cooling space," she told the Journal. "We love our new office," Taylor told Mason County commissioners at a recent meeting. After the move, Taylor hosted an open house for the commissioners and other officials, including former coroner...
Public defense attorneys get raise Mason County commissioners approved a pay raise for public defense attorneys at their Jan. 30 meeting. Attorneys providing indigent defense for misdemeanors, heard in district court, will get a pay raise from $75 an hour to $100 an hour. Attorneys providing indigent defense for felonies, heard in superior court, will see their pay increase from $100 an hour to $125 an hour. Hourly indigent defense investigators will now make $75 an hour. Chief Public Defender Peter Jones thanked the commissioners at a...
Adams Street car fire Central Mason Fire & EMS crews fought a car fire on Adams Street in Shelton Monday morning. The call was reported about 10:15 a.m. and fire crews arrived in minutes to find a passenger vehicle in the alley between Adams Street and Olympic Highway North on fire. Crews quickly extinguished the blaze. The driver of the vehicle was evaluated at the scene for minor burns and transported to Mason General Hospital for further evaluation and care. The cause of the fire is under...
Port of Allyn Commissioner Ted Jackson has resigned, the remaining port commissioners said at a special meeting Jan. 23. Commissioner Judy Scott read Jackson’s terse resignation letter at the meeting. “Please accept this as my resignation letter as Port of Allyn Commissioner District. I have returned the Port of Allyn computer, cellphone, office key, and credit card to Travis Merrill. I have also provided Travis Merrill with the computer and cell phone passwords. Sincerely, Ted Jackson,” the letter said. The port has seen recent upheaval with t...
The City of Shelton is considering creating a 2.5-mile paved path that connects the Shelton Marina to Kneeland Park to the city's western boundary on Railroad Avenue. Jae Hill, the city's community and economic development director, gave a presentation on the proposal to members of the Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening at a study session at the Shelton Civic Center. In his report, Hill said "desired amenities" in preliminary concept plans envision a 12-foot-wide paved path separated from...
On the Feb. 13 ballot, voters in the Grapeview School District are being asked to replace an expiring educational programs levy that would tax property owners 63 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, the same as the levy that is expiring. If passed, the levy would collect $946,724 in 2025, $990,095 in 2026, $1.024.570 in 2027 and $1.042,216 in 2028. The Grapeview levy is one of five education funding measures on the Feb. 13 ballot. Voters in the Mary M. Knight School District are also...
The Port of Hoodsport dock adjacent to Ingvald J. Gronvold Park on U.S. 101 in Hoodsport could be open by May if approved repairs are promptly completed, Commissioner Lori Kincannon told the Journal in an email. Port commissioners signed off on the work at the Jan. 17 meeting after receiving a favorable bid from Marine Floats in Tacoma. "We are hoping that permits can be received and that repairs can be made quickly so that the dock can be re-opened before the upcoming shrimping season in May,"...
Coroner needs space in Belfair Commissioners approved Mason County Coroner Jaime Taylor’s request for $45,875.02 for additional equipment, including a cooler, storage racks and a lift, at the Jan. 22 meeting with department heads. Taylor also asked for an additional cooler space in Belfair. “We have a lot of calls up there,” she said. Belfair is about 40 minutes from the Shelton office and Taylor said it would be “fantastic” to have a permanent storage space in the north end of the county. Commissioners discussed whether the additiona...
A citizen initiative aimed at Washington cities could soon be required to block off zones near public transit for multifamily housing, if new regulations are approved by the Legislature. Some regulation is necessary, backers say, if cities want to provide affordable housing and make it easy for people to get to work. "I ran for office because of the enormous challenges that people of my generation, people in their 30s and 40s, face in finding a home in this state," Rep. Julia Reed, D-Seattle,...
Some fear artificial intelligence might open a chapter to a dystopian future. Others say the progress it promises is unlimited. To find a balance among those concerns, Washington state is considering launching a task force to determine how it can best promote the most beneficial uses while mitigating potential problems. Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-White Center, has introduced SB 5838 that would establish the task force. The bill has 17 Democratic and two Republican co-sponsors and the support of Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “The Legislature is set u...
