Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Shelton contractor Stephen Ates, who operated Family Class Homes, pleaded not guilty Nov. 28 in Mason County Superior Court to charges he stole almost 1 million dollars from clients who paid him to build their dream homes. Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office charged Ates with nine counts of theft in the first degree and eight counts of filing a false tax return. Ates ran his contracting business out of Tahuya from 2012 until 2021, when he declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to charging documents. Family Class Homes specialized in ...
A Lacey woman arrested for first-degree rendering criminal assistance for helping two suspects sought for the Shelton shooting death of Janus Afo pleaded not guilty at her initial arraignment Nov. 13 before Judge Monty Cobb in Mason County Superior Court. Katherine Taylor, 42, was arrested Oct. 27 for allegedly helping William Williams, 40, and Kennedy Karpf, 25, evade police and hide in Oregon, according to Mason County Sheriff’s charging documents. Williams has been charged with second-degree murder and felony possession of a firearm and Karp...
The Mason County Planning Department wants public input regarding future regulations for short-term vacation rentals. The Planning Advisory Committee and Mason County commissioners are working on drafting regulations, according to the information packet. The department sent postcards to shoreline lot owners requesting their input on the issue through a survey accessed by QR code or a link provided on the county’s website. “The department has received an increasing number of reports from Mason County residents expressing concern over sho...
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office has suspended the search for Brandon Adams, 34, who was last seen in the Brown Creek area in Mason County Oct. 20. His Jeep was found abandoned Nov. 12 on the Simpson 800 line in the Olympic National Forest approximately 4 miles northwest of Dry Bed Lakes and Haven Lake, according to sheriff’s deputies. “MCSO has informed Brandon’s family that they have suspended conventional search efforts as no new leads have arisen and all areas of probability and interest thus far have been checked with negative results. If...
PUD 3 rate increase coming Mason PUD 3 is increasing rates starting March 1, 2024. Residential customers will see a 6% energy rate hike. This will mean about $14 more per month, using 2,000 kWh as the average, according to PUD. Small commercial rates will go up 3%, large commercial 1.5%, industrial 3% and cannabis will see a 3% rise in demand rates. All customers will pay an additional 10 cents for daily system charges. PUD said the increase was needed to replace aging infrastructure, and costs for all equipment “have dramatically i...
City’s Parks and Recreation Citizen Board opening The City of Shelton seeks a new member for its Parks and Recreation Citizen Advisory Board. The group provides the Shelton City Council with feedback on parks and recreation planning. The committee meets monthly to assist the city in delivering parks and recreation programs to residents and visitors. Applicants must live in Mason County. The committee has one vacancy. To apply, submit a letter of interest to Parks and Recreation Supervisor Jordanne Krumpols at [email protected] o...
Holiday events hosted countywide Burger Claim and More hosts photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus from 5 to 8 p.m. today at 24171 NE state Route 3 in Belfair. Candy canes and hot chocolate will be served. Local artists will also offer their goods for sale, including Sheds and Slabs Handcrafted Woodworks, Heather Reese Photography, Knotty Pine Apothecary, and Twilight Minerals Crystals & More. The second annual Christmas Market is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Oakland Bay Junior High...
The Shelton City Council passed a $44-million budget for 2024. The council voted unanimously for the budget at its Nov. 21 meeting. The state requires the city’s budget to be complete by the end of the year. The budget is an increase of $3.1 million, 8%, from the revised 2023 budget. The budget also includes a general fund allocation of $15.5 million, a $326,349 increase from the 2023 general fund budget. The expenditures in the 2024 budget include $15,565 in the general fund, $1,886,758 in the street fund, $832,000 for the Transportation Benef...
Taylor Shellfish will not have to use costly blue or green oyster bags but will still need third-party monitoring for environmental impacts of its proposed floating oyster bag farm in Oakland Bay, the Mason County hearing examiner ruled Nov. 21, revising an original decision. The seafood company objected to requirements that the black color of the oyster bags be replaced with blue or green and that it pay for a monitoring plan prepared by a third-party expert and filed a motion for reconsideration after the project was approved Oct. 9. “The c...
Family and friends packed the Shelton Civic Center meeting chamber Nov. 21 to watch the promotion of the Shelton Police Department's new captain and chief. Mayor Eric Onisko, left, swore in newly promoted Captain Dan Patton, center, and Chief Chris Kostad. Kostad replaces Carole Beason, who was the town's chief for three years until she retired in October. "It's an exciting night for the city, the chief and the captain, as they have spent a number of years with the City of Shelton Police...
Holiday events begin in earnest this weekend in downtown Shelton, Union and Belfair, and continue throughout December throughout Mason County. Dowtown Shelton The organization Christmastown hosts the Mason County Festival of the Firs events countywide during December. Shelton Cinemas screens the film "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," starring Jim Carrey, at 3:45 p.m. Friday at 517 W. Franklin St. The Shelton Merchants Cookie Stroll is from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday. The lighting of the Christmas tree...
Commissioners place sales tax on ballot Commissioners approved a resolution placing a proposition on the Feb. 13 special election ballot authorizing a sales & use tax rate of 2/10 of 1% sales and use tax for 911 emergency communications operations at a special meeting Nov. 28. MACECOM governance board recommended the tax, saying “additional funding is needed to fund necessary critical infrastructure, increased staffing and operations of the emergency communications center in order to provide vital public safety services to the public,” acc...
The Mason County hearing examiner was set to decide on a motion for reconsideration of the approval of Taylor Shellfish’s floating oyster bag farm in Oakland Bay at a meeting Wednesday at the Mason County Commission chambers in Shelton. The meeting occured after the Journal’s holiday deadline. The seafood company welcomed the approval, but objected to requirements that the black color of the oyster bags be replaced with blue or green and that it pay for a monitoring plan prepared by a third-party expert to check for environmental impacts. Taylo...
Xinh Dwelley, a renowned chef who fused Vietnamese flavors with Pacific Northwest ingredients at her downtown Shelton restaurant, died on Friday. She was 72. Born in 1951, Dwelley, a master oyster shucker who gave generously to the community, developed her culinary skills growing up in South Vietnam, where she learned to cook using food produced and harvested on her family's rice farm. She was hired to cook for officers in an American mess tent and soon was renowned for her fried chicken and ham...
Still no sign of missing man There is still no sign of Brandon Adams after authorities found his Jeep and some personal belongings off a logging road Nov. 12. The Shelton man was last seen Oct. 20. Several rescue groups combed the steep terrain Saturday, including Mason County Search and Rescue and Washington Explorer Search and Rescue – Kitsap Unit. Police blocked off the area around Camp Govey, close to where Adams’ vehicle was recovered, to use as a staging area and only admitted certified search and rescue personnel, according to a Fri...
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, announced Nov. 9 that he won’t see reelection to Washington’s 6th Congressional District in 2024. The Port Angeles native, who was a member of the state Legislature before being elected to Congress in 2012, said, “I’m excited to start a new chapter when my term is complete.” He also cited a desire to spend more time with his children. The announcement by Kilmer, 49, set off ripples across Washington’s political landscape, most notably Hilary Franz, the...
It's been a long time coming. Construction of the Belfair Bypass, officially known as the Highway 3 Freight Corridor, is set to start in 2026 and should be finished by 2028, state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, told a standing-room-only crowd at a town hall meeting in Belfair on Nov. 9. The 6-mile corridor will provide an alternative for highway users to travel around, and not through, Belfair. More than 300 people packed into The HUB's auditorium to hear an update and ask questions about the...
Dr. Dean Gushee, the chief medical officer at Mason Health, is retiring after 30 years with the organization. Gushee's retirement is effective at the end of the year. He'll be replaced by Dr. Darren Cuevas, a doctor of osteopathic medicine. "We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Gushee, our retiring chief medical officer," Mason Health Chief Executive Officer Eric Moll said in a news release. "Dr. Gushee's remarkable 30-plus career with Mason Health has been marked by transformative...
August car show in downtown Shelton drew 151 entrants Despite being rescheduled and staged on short notice, the Cruisin' Through Time car show Aug. 27 in downtown Shelton drew 151 entrants. That's the word from Mason County Historical Museum Executive Director Liz Arbaugh, who gave a report on the event Nov. 7 at the Shelton City Council's regular meeting. Her organization and the Shelton Downtown Merchants Association co-sponsored the event on West Railroad Avenue. "Amy Cooper really...
Missing man’s Jeep found off forest road Authorities found Brandon Adams’ Jeep, including some of his personal items inside the vehicle, but have not located Adams after an extensive search, according to a Tuesday statement by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Someone found the Jeep “deep within the Olympic National Forest” Sunday, and called police, officials said. Deputies couldn’t reach the car that night because of difficult road and weather conditions. Law enforcement teams were able to retrieve the vehicle Tuesday. “This morning, a sp...
Mason PUD 1 and Hood Canal Communications have partnered to provide broadband service to customers on the west side of the Hood Canal from near the Hamma Hamma River to Brinnon. The Hood Canal-101 Broadband Project affects 117 residents and businesses who have not had access to broadband services, even with cellular devices. The only options have been satellite or Verizon. The Hood Canal-101 Broadband Project was made possible when the Community Economic Revitalization Board in September 2021...
Shelton resident Brandon L. Adams, 34, remains missing, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Search operations were suspended Oct. 25 for Adams, who was last seen Oct. 20. Ground and air units “exhaustively searched” the last known location of Adams’ cellphone in the Browns Creek area in Mason County, Deputy Matt Colbenson told the Journal in an email. The Sheriff’s Office is monitoring Adams’ phone and bank accounts for any activity and asks the public to call police if they have any information about Adams’ whereabouts o...
Suspects in Afo homicide case back in Washington Homicide suspects William Williams, 40, and Kennedy Karpf, 24, are back in Shelton in sheriff’s custody. The pair were sought in connection with the shooting death of Janus Afo on Sept. 28 and apprehended in Oregon Oct. 11. Williams’ arraignment on second-degree murder and felony possession of a firearm Monday was at Mason County Superior Court before Judge Monty Cobb. Williams is being held on $1 million bail. Karpf pleaded not guilty to first-degree rendering criminal assistance at her ini...
Speed limits lowered on three county roads Lower speed limits were approved for three county roads. Sunnyslope Road from milepost 0.0000-0.5510 will change to 25 mph, Kelly Hall Road from milepost 0.0000-1.9460 will change to 25 mph and Brockdale Road from milepost 1.9730-2.0800 will change to 30 mph. Community Lifeline funding reduced Mason County commissioners reduced funding by $40,860 for Community Lifeline, an organization that provides emergency shelter and homeless services, for noncompliance with its contract. “Community Lifeline is n...
