Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 1042
Library deck improvements move ahead The Shelton City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to accepting a $67,000 state grant to improve the deck at the Shelton Timberland Library. The council can make the move official with a vote at its April 2 meeting. According to the city report, the city in April 2022 applied for a state Department of Commerce Library Capital Improvement Program grant. The city asked for $70,000 for the deck project and received $67,900. The city has budgeted...
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:...
Local animal shelters at capacity The Shelton Animal Shelter announced March 7 it was at capacity and no longer accepting strays or surrendered pets. A technician working at the shelter, who did not wish to be identified, said it was unusual to have so many pets at the facility and the shelter doesn’t know when it will be able to accept new animals. “I’ve never seen it this crowded,” the employee told the Journal. Adoptable pets from the Shelton facility are available on Petfinder.com. People who have safety concerns about animals can call 91...
Two Shelton High School female students claim the school allowed a guidance counselor to “systematically groom and sexually prey” on them, according to a complaint originally filed March 6 in Mason County Superior Court and withdrawn March 8 due to a captioning error. Lesley O’Neill, one of the attorneys representing the defendants, told the Journal on Monday her firm, Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala in Seattle, plans to refile the complaint as soon as possible. The girls and their parents are identified by their initials in the complaint. The J...
Two Union family members and their business must pay $250,000 in fines and $33,492 for mitigation after their illegal bulkhead caused the death of Chinook salmon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in January that Joan and Phillip Bayley, mother and son, and their business Big D’s Beach Cabin LLC would pay penalties for killing the endangered fish. The EPA sued the Bayleys and the LLC, which is on the Hood Canal in Union, in 2020 for Clean Water Act violations. Philip Bayley planned to build a bulkhead and a house 10 feet l...
The building that houses Mason County District Court in downtown Shelton was dedicated Monday in the name of Gary Paul Burleson, the county's prosecuting attorney for 28 years. About 50 people attended the dedication ceremony at the building that formerly housed Olsen Furniture at 414 W. Franklin St. Burleson died in July 2017. "Gary would be so honored," said his wife, Kathy. She added, "He spent his whole career in Mason County." Burleson was Mason County's deputy prosecuting attorney before...
Grapeview Community Tomorrow is the deadline for high school seniors to apply for scholarships offered by the Grapeview Community Association. All seniors can apply, but special consideration will be given to students who attended Grapeview School or performed community service in the Grapeview community. For more information, go to grapeviewwa.com. Harstine Women’s Club The Harstine Island Women’s Club, through its Charles and Judy Chase Scholarship Fund, is offering scholarships to full-time residents of Harstine Island entering or con...
A Seattle attorney who says he was unlawfully “conscripted” into being a Mason County public defender has sued Mason County District Court and Judge George Steele to reverse the appointment. 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. Steele assigned Lewis to defend a man charged in district court with DUI whose primary language is Kanjobal. Lewis immediately “re...
Deadline Friday to submit names for memorial The names of 23 local students who died between the sixth and 12th grade will be added to a student memorial at the head of the Huff’n’Puff Trail across the street from Shelton High School, and tomorrow is the deadline to submit names for the update. The Shelton Rotary Club — in cooperation with the City of Shelton, the Shelton School District and project founder Abe Gardner — are planning to complete an initial update to the memorial. No names of local students who died before high school graduat...
Alleged drunken driver causes 3-car collision A woman who allegedly caused a three-car collision March 3 on state Route 3 has been arrested for vehicular assault. Charges are pending for Shelton resident Suzan Rolland, 57, after a trooper at the scene found Rolland “smelled heavily of alcohol,” according to a probable cause document. Rolland was traveling north in a Ford Explorer of milepost 5 just north of Shelton when she crossed over the center line and sideswiped a Toyota Tacoma driven by Mario Lucas, 57, of Shelton. She then hit a Hon...
Owners can opt out of spraying Herbicide spraying will start in April, the Mason County Department of Public Works announced. Property owners who want to opt out can enroll in Public Work’s Owner Will Maintain program by calling 360-427-9670 Ext. 450. Property owners who have already enrolled and designated their land “no spray” do not need to contact Public Works. A detailed list of roads being sprayed is available on the Public Works Herbicide Spray Program webpage at www.masoncountywa.gov. Harstine timber sale postponed The state Depar...
The Washington Legislature passed three citizen initiatives in the waning days of the session — I-2111, which prohibits the state, counties, cities and other local jurisdictions from imposing or collecting income taxes, I-2081, a parental bill of rights relating to their children’s public school education and I-2113, which lifts restrictions on police pursuits. Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, celebrated the “historic victories,” in a post on the social media site X. While he was happy about the outcome, Couture was frustrated about the limited...
A proposal to increase the maximum allowable size of temporary signs, including political campaign signs, from 16 to 32 square feet failed to move beyond a Shelton City Council study session. At the council's session Feb. 27, the council debated the proposal by council member George Blush, who introduced the subject at its Feb. 20 meeting. The council doesn't vote on any resolutions at its study sessions. The proposal required four of the seven council votes to move forward to the business...
Belfair Clinic’s primary care patients are struggling with the loss of their doctor while the clinic’s future is being debated by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Belfair resident Monna Haugen told the Journal her partner had an appointment with Dr. Raul Dominguiano on Jan. 6, but received a call the morning of the visit saying “Dr. D was gone,” Haugen said. They had no notice Dominguiano was leaving. Now the only option for primary care at the clinic is Dawn Galvez, ARNP, according to the clinic’s website. Haugen said her and her partner w...
A 52-year-old woman from Oroville is dead after a two-car collision on U.S. Highway 101 near the Cloquallum Road overpass in Shelton. According to a news release from the Washington State Patrol, Brandy E. Johnson died at Mason General Hospital from injuries sustained in the crash. According to the release, while driving a 2002 Kia Spectra, Johnson was traveling south in the northbound lane near milepost 347 when she struck a 2003 Subaru Forester driven by Ismael C. Castano, 22, of Tepoztlan, Mexico, head-on just after 10 p.m. Friday. The...
The Shelton School District is investigating the injuries of five Shelton High School students sustained Jan. 31 during a weight training class, when two football coaches substituting for the regular teacher ordered the students to perform football tackling drills without pads or helmets. Four students reportedly suffered concussions, and one a dislocated finger when they were slammed to the mat and against padded walls in the wrestling room. On Tuesday evening, four of the students told the Shelton School Board that the football coaches told...
A 40-acre subdivision south of Island Lake known as Meadows Edge is closer to becoming a reality. The Shelton City Council on Feb. 20 gave preliminary approval to the final plat for the subdivision, which will host 36 residential lots. The council can vote for final approval at its regular meeting Tuesday evening. MTT Development of Seattle is the owner of the development, a square, wooded property that borders a corner of the city’s Huff’n’Puff Trail and is north of the Shelton Springs Subdivision and south of Frog Acres. The land was in th...
State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, had a telephone town hall Feb. 22 for 35th District constituents. MacEwen was eager to have a live community conversation and said the town hall calls were “an effective way” to communicate. He told callers the short legislative session, which ends March 7, “is down to the wire,” but should end on time. MacEwen was eager to talk about the six public initiatives that garnered enough signatures to be certified by the Secretary of State. The six initiatives are: ■ I-2109 Repeals the state’s capital gains tax. ...
Reps. Travis Couture and Dan Griffey, both Republicans from Allyn, had a telephone town hall Feb. 20 for 35th District residents to discuss the legislative session. The state Legislature’s short session ends March 7. “It’s a mixed bag for me this year,” Griffey said. He was disappointed that criminals’ rights continue to be prioritized over victims’ rights, but happy to see a bill he introduced allowing 10 Washington counties a six-month extension on the state-required comprehensive plan deadline passed by the House. Couture said a lot was goi...
After a two-year absence, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, will be providing services to the community through a three-way partnership with Mason County Public Health, Mason General Hospital and the Shelton Family YMCA, Mason County Public Health Director Dave Windom said. A ribbon-cutting was Feb. 23 at the Shelton Family YMCA, where the clinic will operate. The WIC program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition...
Museum director gives update to council From October through December, 1,352 people visited the Mason County Historical Museum in downtown Shelton, 1,187 of them local residents. That’s the word from Executive Director Liz Arbaugh, who gave a report on the museum’s fourth quarter of 2023 on Feb. 20 at the Shelton City Council meeting. Many visitors came to see the exhibit of 24 photos by Shelton native Dennis Meurer of the town and residents in the 1960s, she said. The photos were selected from thousands of Meurer’s photo negatives, and the m...
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...
Commissioners lower gambling tax Commissioners approved 2-1 lowering the county gambling tax rate from 5% to 3% at the Feb. 26 meeting, with Commissioners Sharon Trask and Randy Neatherlin voting “yes” and Commissioner Kevin Shutty voting “no.” The change will mean about $35,000 less annually for the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, according to Mason County Treasurer Lisa Frazier. The sheriff’s office gets the revenue collected from the tax, Frazier said. Mason County’s gambling tax rate will now match Kitsap’s at 3%. Three businesses in B...
Science grant pays for Pioneer's 3-D printer Pioneer Middle School is one of 41 schools nationwide to receive a STEM research grant from the Society for Science. The school used the $2,000 grant to buy a 3-D printer. "Congratulations to the 41 recipients of this year's STEM Research Grants," Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science and executive publisher of Science News, said in a news release. "These grants serve as a catalyst in classrooms across the country, igniting student...
