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 former Shelton High School freshman counselor was arrested Friday at his Shelton-area residence by Mason County Sheriff’s Office deputies after a two-month investigation. Samuel Martin Caffey, 29, faces charges of child rape, child molestation, sexual misconduct with a minor, delivery of a controlled substance and possession of child pornography. Caffey was booked into Mason County Jail on Friday afternoon and made his initial court appearance Monday in Mason County Superior Court, where Superior Court Judge Monty Cobb set bail at $...
An 18-year-old Shelton man was killed in a one-car rollover accident Sunday morning on U.S. Highway 101 just south of Shelton. According to a news release, Irving U. Bautista died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was driving north on U.S. 101 at a high speed when he attempted to pass another car using the left-turn lane at Ryan Road. The car swerved and struck the cable barriers in the median, which caused the vehicle to roll. The car stopped rolling and the northbound lanes and one...
Commissioners sign Pride Month proclamation Mason County commissioners signed a National LGBTQ+ Pride month proclamation at the Tuesday meeting. According to the proclamation, the county has a diverse LGBTQ+ community and is committed to supporting visibility, dignity, equality and freedom from discrimination for all people in the community. The commissioners observe June as a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, raise awareness of quality services, and foster a dialogue to promote healthy, safe and prosperous communities for all. “The M...
Mason County Fire District 11, known as Island Lake Fire, officially consolidated and merged into Central Mason Fire & EMS on Thursday. According to a CMFE news release, the merger will help the district to better serve the community. Combining both departments allows CMFE to better manage future training, required training classes, one-on-one training needs and management of training records. Another benefit includes large supply purchases, including daily-use medical supplies, consolidated...
Central Mason Fire & EMS extinguished a residential fire May 31 on Meyer Lake Road in Shelton. According to a news release, the fire was reported at 1:23 a.m., and crews arrived to a fire on an outside deck that had extended into an exterior wall, filling the home with smoke. The main body of the fire was extinguished, and based on construction and location of the fire, crews spent a lot of time on scene performing overhaul, removing smoldering material and ensuring the fire didn’t extend f...
A 36-year-old Belfair man died in a two-car accident Friday evening on state Route 3 near Grapeview. According to a Washington State Patrol news release, Richard T. Falk, 36, of Belfair, died at Harborview Medical Center after being injured in his Jeep Wrangler in the accident. According to the release, the Jeep was northbound and crossed over the centerline, and striking a southbound Nissan Murano driven by a 37-year-old Shelton woman. The woman was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in...
Mason County Fire District 12 commissioners John Pais, Albert Wilder and Brian Jutson hired Bryan Walsworth, the husband of the ex-chief, as pro-tem fire chief starting today. Kelli Walsworth was relieved of her duties Wednesday. The hiring comes a year after the department said it began searching for a new fire chief. “Bryan is the most qualified of any applicant,” Pais said during the May 23 meeting at the district’s station in Matlock. “He’s been through fire academy, he’s an EMT. He’s a...
Singing Christmas carols as a second-grader at a Mason County Forest Festival Christmas event, Brooke Sheetz' gaze fell on the teenage girl in the glittery gown waving to the crowd. "I remember seeing the queen in her cape, and it was cool," she recalled. Sheetz now sports a cape and the title of Queen of the Forest. On Saturday, she and the rest of the court - Princess of Douglas Fir Madilyne Nelsen, Princess of Hemlock Madeline Allred, Timber Nevaeh Haskins and Paul Bunyan Zachary Peach -...
On a sunny day in late April, the Duckabush River glistened as it neared the end of its journey from its Olympic Mountain headwaters to the breezy tide flats on the edge of Hood Canal. Flowing clear over cobbly stones in the shallows, steel blue in deeper parts, the current moved swiftly, fed by warm-weather snow melt on peaks up the river valley, some of which could be glimpsed on the horizon. Between 50 and 100 feet wide in places, the river was not roaring but was moving fast enough to maybe...
Girls Who Click workshop on June 10 Girls Who Click, an event for girls age 13-18 who want to learn the basics of wildlife filming and photography, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 10 at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. The event will be led by Erin Ranney, a wildlife cinematographer who has worked on many projects. For more information about the workshop, go to www.girlswhoclick.com. Wildfire Ready Neighbors Saturday The state Department of Natural Resources will be a part of the Mason County Forest Festival to talk to...
The City of Shelton staff is recommending the city remove or replace up to nine trees, permanently remove three more, and add five missing trees to the downtown corridor, mostly on West Railroad Avenue. The Shelton City Council discussed the trees May 23 at a study session. In September 2021, Sound Urban Forestry of Olympia completed an assessment of Shelton's downtown street trees. The assessment recommended the city develop a removal and replacement plan, because root cutting and sidewalk...
The first Mason County Forest Festival was staged in May 1945 to celebrate timber and the future of second growth, the same month World War II ended. Thousands of locals and tourists will descend on Shelton starting today for the 79th annual festival, which continues through Sunday. "Tall Timbers" is this year's theme. The festival kicks off at noon today with the carnival at the corner of First and Grove streets, and continues through Sunday. Saturday's lineup includes the Goldsborough Creek...
The Mason County Forest Festival is hosting the Men's Open Super Six and the Women's Featured Four logging competitions at 1 p.m. Saturday at Loop Field in Shelton. According to Forest Festival board president Mick Sprouffske, the opening ceremony is at 12:45 p.m. The men's competition will feature six events, including three chopping events - the springboard chop, standing block chop and the underhand chop, and three sawing events - the single buck, stocksaw and hotsaw competitions. The women's...
Runners, walkers and "senior stretchers" can sign up for the annual Goldsborough Creek Run/Walk, staged Saturday as part of the Mason County Forest Festival. To register, go to www.runsignup.com. Participants can also sign up the day of the event starting at 6:30 a.m. The Centennial Guild of Mason General Hospital Foundation stages the event, with proceeds going to scholarships. The event includes a 7-mile walk, a 7-mile run, a 2-mile walk or run, a quarter-mile junior jog, and a quarter-mile ev...
A 33-year-old Snohomish County man died in a solo skydiving accident Saturday afternoon in the 11000 block of U.S. Highway 101 near Sanderson Field. According to Mason County coroner Jaime Taylor, the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest. Taylor said the parachute clipped a tree, causing the person to hit the tree. “We don’t get skydivers all of the time,” Taylor told the Journal. “We’ve had a few but it’s not unusual.” Taylor identified the victim as Kapil Dinani. According to...
Seven candidates have applied for three positions on the Shelton City Council on the Aug. 2 primary ballot. Friday was the deadline to register for the election, with 85 people applying for 63 offices. The primary will whittle the candidates down to two finalists per race for the Nov. 7 general election. Three of the seven positions on the Shelton City Council are up for grabs. The winners have four-year terms. Mary Eagleson, Tristen Smith and George Blush will compete to replace James Boad for council position 1. Boad, the owner of Wilde...
State reps vote ‘yes’ on drug bill State Republican Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture, both from Allyn, voted ‘yes’ on a law on drug possession and use May 16 during a 2023 special legislative session. According to a news release, the state Supreme Court invalidated the state’s felony drug possession law in 2021 in a case known as the Blake decision. “If you do compromise correctly, not everyone gets what they want — no one is totally happy. That is what we have here,” Griffey said in a news release. “This bill is miles ahead of the very...
Shellfish hearing moved to June 14 The Taylor Shellfish proposed floating oyster bag proposal in Oakland Bay has been moved to 1 p.m. June 14 at Mason County Building 1. According to the agenda on the hearing examiner’s website, Taylor Shellfish is applying for a shoreline substantial development and shoreline conditional use permit to grow Pacific oysters and install a floating oyster bag system in Oakland Bay. The system will use an estimated 9.1 acres of surface water within a 50-acre area for the floating oyster gear. Also seeking public c...
Runners and walkers can sign up for the annual Goldsborough Creek Run/Walk, staged June 2 as part of the Mason County Forest Festival. The Centennial Guild of Mason General Hospital Foundation stages the event, with the proceeds helping purchasing hospital equipment and providing scholarships in the memory of longtime nurse and Guild member Kristi Armstrong. To register, go to www.runsignup.com. Participants can also sign up the day of the event starting at 6:30 a.m. The event includes a 7-mile walk, a 7-mile run, a 2-mile walk or run, a...
Mason County Fire District 12 commissioners John Pais, Albert Wilder and Brian Jutson could lose their positions after the county auditor certified recall petitions filed against them. The recall measure will be on the Aug. 1 ballot. Matlock resident Kristin Masteller, who is one of the leaders of the recall effort along with Matlock resident Amanda Gonzales, told the Journal she was given papers for the recall effort for all three commissioners, dated May 9. "I am very pleased that we were able...
The Port of Hoodsport’s efforts to satisfy the conditions of renewing the lease on the port’s dock from the state Department of Natural Resources have yielded mixed results. Port Commissioner Cody Morris reported May 10 that he had found more than one engineering firm to receive bids on the dock pilings. He expressed optimism that this would enable the port to strive for “the best price possible.” Morris has reached out to state Sen. Drew MacEwen, and state Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture....
