Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Travelers around Lake Cushman should be prepared for extra traffic and temporary trail closures while the U.S. Forest Service harvests timber in the Big Stewardship area near the lake and in Olympic National Forest. The logging operations started June 3 and are expected to last until October, according to a Forest Service news release. “Travelers should anticipate encountering traffic control measures on North Lake Cushman Road between the junction of state Route 119 and Forest Service Road 24 until a quarter mile past the entrance to North M...
Civil Service Commission now accepting applications The City of Shelton is accepting applications to fill a volunteer vacancy on the Civil Service Commission. Applicants must be citizens of the United States and reside within Shelton city limits. The Civil Service Commission, a three-member volunteer board, is responsible for the administration of rules and examinations for the Shelton Police Department. The commission also establishes and administers civil service rules and regulations in compliance with state law. Commissioners serve...
Fire 12 continues to clean house, with new commissioners suspending district secretary Rachel Noga indefinitely at the May 29 special meeting and terminating 15 volunteers, including former commissioners Cinda Compton and Kelli Walsworth and former fire chief Bryan Walsworth at the May 31 special meeting. The dismissed volunteers were all hired by the previous board prior to the May 17 disaster declaration, Commissioner Trina Young said in an email to the Journal. On May 17, Fire 12 lost its insurance coverage due to mismanagement, according to...
Mason County emergency responders rescued a teenager who fell by the High Steel Bridge on Saturday, May 25. The 19-year-old man was apparently hiking in the closed area underneath the bridge and fell 400 feet down the side of the canyon, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s office. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Special Operations Rescue Team, he was rescued and sustained only minimal injuries,” MCSO said in a Facebook post. MCSO, West Mason Fire and Fire District 6 assisted in the rescue. The post shows a rescuer pulling himse...
Mason County commissioners appointed Trina Young and Dave Persell as commissioners for Fire District 12, positions 1 and 3 respectively, on May 24. In their first action, Young and Persell quickly called an emergency meeting May 25 to suspend District 12 Fire Chief Bryan Walsworth and appoint Mike Brown as acting chief. They also approved hiring attorney Eric Quinn as the district’s legal representative for $500 a month. Young will serve as the commission’s chair and Persell will act as secretary. Last week, Fire District 12 lost insurance cov...
Mason County Chief Public Defender Peter Jones advised commissioners on a huge budget increase his office will be seeking in 2025 and got preliminary approval to pursue contract attorneys at the May 20 briefing. Jones said “to continue to operate” at current levels, the public defender’s office will seek over a half a million dollar increase in its budget next year. “That has a total budget impact of almost $580,000. I figured before we got to the budget I would present that to you and let you know,” Jones said. The commissioners signed of...
Shelton has a new deputy mayor Sharon Schirman is the new deputy mayor of Shelton. The Shelton City Council voted to award her the office at its regular meeting May 21. Schirman is the majority owner of ISW PNW in downtown Shelton and was elected to the council in 2022. Schirman replaces Joe Schmit as deputy mayor. Schmit resigned in April. In the election of the deputy mayor, council member George Blush nominated Schirman and Tom Gilmore nominated Miguel Gutierrez. Schirman won with four votes....
Airbnb guests find banana thief A couple staying at an Airbnb rental in Union awoke May 13 to find a thief stealing a banana. The suspect later told police he was looking for a house his friend had rented, “but was unable to provide any information about the residence or his friend,” Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy S. Fischer wrote in a probable cause document. Clay McKennell was staying at the rental on state Route 106 when the “unknown subject broke in and took a banana and started going through the bedrooms,” according to the document....
The names of 21 Shelton-area youths who died young will be added to memorials at the trailhead of the City of Shelton's Huff'n'Puff Trail across the street from Shelton High School. Abe Gardner, who led the campaign to create the memorial as his Eagle Scout project 25 years ago, and fellow Shelton Rotary Club member Kristin French gave an update on the student memorial to the Shelton City Council at its regular meeting May 21. The Shelton Rotary Club just signed up for a second year adopting...
Belfair resident Letricia Macomber, 50, died in a single-car crash May 22 on state Route 106 when her Tesla left the road and hit multiple trees and a power box, according to the Washington State Patrol. Macomber was driving west in a red Tesla at 7:30 p.m. near Alderwood Road when she veered off the canal-side of the highway. Macomber’s vehicle caught on fire after the crash and she died at the scene, according to Katherine Weatherwax, State Patrol spokesperson for WSP’s District 8. Detectives will not be investigating because there are no...
"Believe in Bunyan and Babe" is the theme of the 80th annual Mason County Forest Festival, which kicked off with the carnival at the intersection of First and Grove streets in downtown Shelton and concludes with fireworks Saturday night above Oakland Bay Junior High School. The carnival is open from 4 to 9 p.m. today, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. The Goldsborough Creek Fun Run/Walk on Saturday morning features a 7-mile walk, a 7-mile run and a 2-mile...
Some of the top logging sport athletes will compete this weekend at the Forest Festival Logging Show at Loop Field. While the competition is no longer a STIHL Timbersports qualifier event, the company still supports the contest and athletes will use results to "build their resume," Branden Sirguy, an organizer and former competitor, told the Journal. The event will have up to 16 men competing in the "Super Six" championship and 12 women in the "Featured 4" championship. The Super Six events are...
In the past week, Fire District 12 has lost insurance coverage, been declared a disaster area and saw all three of its commissioners resign. Mason County Administrator Mark Neary said the May 17 disaster declaration was "unprecedented" for a fire district. "I've done a lot of research and I've been unable to find this happening anywhere else," Neary told commissioners. "We are in uncharted territory," he said. Residents of the district, which covers western Mason County, including Matlock and...
Like other cities, Shelton is required every 10 years through the Growth Management Act to create a comprehensive plan that develops a vision for the community. Jae Hill, the city's community and economic development director, talked about the city's evolving comprehensive plan May 16 at a Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Mason County Public Works headquarters. The completed plan is due Dec. 31, 2025. The consulting group working with the city on the plan, SCJ Alliance,...
Lyndsey Sapp, a mother of five studying for a real estate license, on Tuesday evening was sworn in as the new member of the Shelton City Council. The council chose Sapp from four candidates following interviews at a work session May 14 at the Shelton Civic Center. The other candidates were Tiffany Anderson, Kathy McDowell and Dave Pierik. Schmit’s resignation was announced at the April 2 council meeting, giving the city 90 days to find a replacement. The term expires at the end of 2025, so the seat will be up for grabs in the November 2025 elec...
Goldsborough Creek Fun Run & Walk on June 1 The annual Goldsborough Creek Fun Run and Walk, a Mason County Forest Festival Event, takes place June 1. Day of race registration begins at 6 a.m. at South 2nd Street and West Railroad Avenue. All registered participants must pick up their competitor number 30 minutes before their scheduled event at the registration desk. Bus transport from downtown to the start line at Shelton Valley is provided. Scheduled events include: the 7-mile walk beginning at 7 a.m. The 7-mile run, 2-mile run and walk begin...
Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel talked about seeking security at the county's 13 ballot drop boxes, encouraged people to observe the election process, and said he believes his position should remain a partisan office Tuesday at a meeting of the League of Women Voters of Mason County in the Olympic College Shelton library meeting room. The League submitted eight questions in advance to Duenkel, who was elected in 2022. He presented his answers in a Powerpoint presentation and then elaborated...
Fire District 12 is set to lose its insurance Friday and can’t provide EMS services until new coverage is found, Commissioner Nick Jones told community members Monday at a meeting in the Matlock Grange. Jones said Fire 12’s insurer, VFIS, canceled the policy due to “serious failure” to comply with financial reporting and accounting, among other things. The insurer sent a certified letter to Fire 12 “but no one ever received it. It got returned back to VFIS,” Jones said. Jones then read a portion of the letter. “The reasons for this policy c...
In the City of Shelton in 2023, sexual and aggravated assaults increased from the previous year, while burglaries, thefts and larcenies, hit-and-run incidents and criminal traffic citations decreased. But no big trends emerged from the figures compiled in the Shelton Police Department’s annual report, Chief Chris Kostad told the Shelton City Council May 7 at its regular meeting. “Everything is pretty much consistent with the past couple years,” said Kostad, who replaced the retiring Carole Beason in November. The department’s call for service...
The Mason County Planning Advisory Commission presented draft short-term rental regulations to Mason County commissioners in a workshop May 7. Commissioner Randy Neatherlin said the briefing was “only a work study” and nothing had been finalized yet regarding potential new rules. “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 renta...
The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening selected Lyndsey Sapp to replace Joe Schmit on the seven-member council. The council chose Sapp from four candidates following interviews at the work session at the Shelton Civic Center. Sapp will be sworn in at the council’s regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Schmit’s resignation was announced at the April 2 council meeting, giving the city 90 days to find a replacement. The term expires at the end of 2025, so the seat will be up for grabs in the November 2025 election. In an interview with the Jou...
Six men are competing for two seats on the three-member Mason County Commission in the Aug. 6 primary election, with the two top vote- getters in each race facing off in the November general election. Mason County Commissioner Randy Neatherlin last week filed to run for another term representing District 1. Neatherlin, who is running as an independent, faces two Republican challengers, William Harris and Ted Jackson. Kevin Shutty declined to seek another term representing District 2. Seeking the seat are Republicans Richard Beckman and Pat...
Time is running short to people to register for the Goldsborough Creek Fun Run and Walk, a Mason County Forest Festival event, scheduled to kick off at 7 a.m. June 1, with the 7-mile walk event. The 7-mile run, 2-mile run and walk begin at 8 a.m. The quarter-mile Junior Jog will begin at 9:30 a.m. prior to the Kiddie Parade and Paul Bunyan Parade at 11 a.m. All participants must pick up their competitor number and Forest Festival button at the registration desk in front of the Shelton Post Office beginning at 6 a.m. before boarding the bus to...
StoryTrail event for kids at Bayshore The Shelton Timberland Library and the Capitol Land Trust host a StoryTrail event from Saturday through the end of August at the Bayshore Preserve, at 3800 state Route 3, 3 miles north of Shelton. StoryTrails combine a love of nature and reading. Pages from the children’s book “How to Find a Bird” by Jennifer Ward will be spaced out along the Johns Creek Trail in large signs. Birding concepts from the book will unfold and come to life as children progress through the pages along the trail. The book is de...
