Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Replacing brass water meters with an advanced drive-by system that eliminates monthly manual meter readings and reconstructing an aging water line from Well 1 to the high school water tank are among the City of Shelton's biggest capital projects this year. Public Works Director Jay Harris and Capital Projects Manager Aaron Nix gave the members of the Shelton City Council updates on those projects Jan. 9 at a work session in the Shelton Civic Center. City officials, including Mayor Eric Onisko, a...
Editor’s Note: A story in the Jan. 11 issue of local legislators and the current session stated that the Journal did not receive questionnaire responses from Rep. Dan Griffey, and his responses came after the Journal went to press. Here they are: 1. Are you introducing any bills? We want to do something right and real about sexually violent predators (SVPs) that are being released into our communities with virtually no notice to less restrictive alternatives (LRAs) that in many cases are not operated by or overseen by the state. These are j...
Portillo is Shelton's Officer of the Year Gary Portillo, who Tuesday night evening was sworn in as a corporal for the Shelton Police Department, is the department's Officer of the Year. Portillo received the award at the Shelton City Council meeting. Portillo is an 11-year law enforcement veteran who was hired by the Shelton Police Department in 2021. Before coming to Shelton, he was a law enforcement officer for the Nevada Department of Public Safety and the Clark County School District. With...
An initiative that will amend Washington’s police pursuit law and allow officers to “engage in a pursuit when there is a reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law” has been certified and presented to the Legislature, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said Jan. 12. Currently, a police officer can pursue a vehicle if there is reasonable suspicion that the person in the vehicle is committing or has committed a violent offense, a sex offense, a vehicular assault, domestic violence, has escaped or is driving under the influence. The pursu...
Alleged shoplifter returns to confront store employee A convenience store clerk obtained a temporary protection order against an alleged shoplifter after he was released from jail and returned to harass her, according to court documents. Police arrested James Elmlund, 19, at the Airport Grocery in Shelton on Oct. 15, for allegedly stealing candy and soda and assaulting employee Kimberly Espinoza, who tried to stop him. “Kimberly told me that she had witnessed the suspect in the store place items into his sweatshirt pocket. Kimberly, who was d...
A hardy group of community and AmeriCorps members performed restoration work in subfreezing temperatures at the Belfair Salmon Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 15., a federal holiday that encourages Americans to volunteer in honor of King. Local AmeriCorps members with the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Association organized the “Day of Service” event. AmeriCorps is a national service program that provides stipends for volunteers, who typically work full time for one year. AmeriCorps Environmental Educator Brett Larson originally pla...
The state Legislature launched its 2024 short session Monday, with the 35th District that includes all of Mason County represented by Reps. Travis Couture and Dan Griffey, both Republicans from Allyn, and state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton. The state's 98 representatives and 49 senators are scheduled to be in session through March 7. Couture is the assistant ranking minority member of the Appropriations Committee, the assistant ranking member of the Human Services, Youth and Early Learning...
Mason County cannabis retailers don't have the near-daily stolen vehicle smash-and-grab burglaries that the Seattle area does, but local pot shop owners struggle with security concerns that a proposed state bill aims to address. State Sen. Karen Kaiser's, D-Des Moines, substitute Senate bill 5259 will provide a tax break for retail cannabis store owners who install security upgrades. The bill requires stores to spend at least $3,000 on "physical security improvements" such as bollards, security...
Voters in the Mary M. Knight School District (on the Feb. 13 ballot) will be asked to replace an expiring educational programs and operations levy approved by voters in 2022. Passage of the levy by a simple majority could raise more than $2.5 million. The replacement levy would collect $730,500 in 2025 and $818,200 in 2026. The district would also be eligible for more than $1 million in state-funded levy equalization money. The current levy rate for 2022 through 2024 is $2.33 per $1,000 of...
Public safety should be a top priority for this year's legislative session, Gov. Jay Inslee and bipartisan state legislators said on the eve of the 2024 legislative session. "We need additional officers on the street," Inslee told reporters. "And to help local police forces find their additional officers, I'm proposing a $10 million grant program." At the annual legislative preview with reporters, Republican and Democratic lawmakers and Inslee agreed they must work together to address...
State Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, has filed a bill to protect kids from parents abusing illicit drugs. In a news release Monday, Couture noted that an increasing number of children in Washington are dying from exposure to fentanyl and other drugs in the home. “Our children are our future and must be protected at all costs,” Couture stated in the news release. “The fact that children already under the care of the state with parents referred to the Department of Children Youth and Families are dying from fentanyl exposure is abhorrent and I...
Karpf sentenced to time served Kennedy Karpf, 25, pleaded guilty Jan. 5 to first-degree rendering criminal assistance in connection to helping William Williams, 41, who fled after allegedly shooting and killing Janus Afo on Sept. 28 in Shelton. Judge Daniel Goodell followed state’s recommendations and sentenced Karpf to time served in Mason County, 79 days, with no restitution or probation. Karpf’s attorney Rose Boughton said Karpf had “no criminal history whatsoever,” and that Karpf was “quite afraid” of Williams. “She knows this is a ser...
Residents in the Tahuya and Dewatto area who rely on land lines to call 911 had their service restored Jan. 3, almost two weeks after the initial disruption, according to Inland Telephone Company. Thieves who vandalized phone equipment, causing the outage, were likely attempting to sell copper wire stripped from equipment, Inland representative Amy Wait told the Journal. “Over the last two years we have experienced several damaged cables and vaults from vandalism, and we are working on a plan to help eliminate this by installing underground vau...
ICU nurse named Mason Health employee of month Intensive Care Unit nurse Tina Lohmeyer, RN, has been selected by her Mason Health coworkers as January's employee of the month. Lohmeyer is known for her "excellent patient care" while working in the ICU, according to a news release by Mason Health. "When I was a kid, my sister was at Harborview Medical Center, and I was really impressed and intrigued by the nurses I saw," Lohmeyer said. "I started at Mason General Hospital in 2006, after I...
Melissa Stearns, George Blush and Tom Gilmore were sworn in Tuesday evening as new members of the Shelton City Council, followed by the seven-member council unanimously re-electing Eric Onisko as mayor. Joe Schmit was re-elected deputy mayor. Stearns, a local Realtor and lifelong Shelton resident, defeated eight-year incumbent Kathy McDowell with 60.63% for a four-year term as council member 2. Blush, the owner of Nita's Koffee Shop and the nonprofit 5XL Shelton Food Bank that provides pet food...
More money for Safe Routes to School The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening gave preliminary approval to adding almost $20,000 to a design contract for sign improvements on the streets outside Evergreen Elementary School and Shelton High School. The council can make the move official with a second vote at its Jan. 16 meeting. The council is working to help students at Shelton High School and Evergreen Elementary School with three projects through a state program called Safe Routes to...
WIC contract extended At the regular Jan. 2 meeting, commissioners extended the performance period of a Women, Infants and Children contract through Feb. 29. The additional time is for continued staff training. The WIC program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk, according to the federal website. WIC will be a three-way partnership with Mason County...
Driver hits pole to avoid deer A driver suffered injuries when his car rolled over and struck a pole on state Route 3 near mile post 18 in the early morning of New Year’s Day as he swerved to avoid a deer, according to the Washington State Patrol. Grapeview resident Caleb Tobin, 22, was taken to Mason General Hospital for treatment. Tobin’s Kia Forte was totaled, police said. Arson suspect pleads not guilty Mason County Judge Daniel Goodell entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Jacob Rivera,44, at Rivera’s initial appearance Jan. 2. River...
Nathan Beck spent nights sleeping in a tent next to the Shelton Walmart for six months, then two years inside the Community Lifeline shelter in downtown Shelton before moving into the new Shelton Veterans Village about six weeks ago. Instead of contending with rats, rain and eviction threats, the U.S Navy veteran has a warm room with a bed, desk, chair, a small refrigerator and a bathroom. In the community building, he can cook food and has a storage space in a refrigerator. "I haven't had any...
Northwestern Mason County received a small jolt early Christmas Eve. A light earthquake registering 4.1 on the Richter scale struck at 7:15 a.m. Dec. 24. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake’s epicenter was 3.8 miles west of Quilcene at a depth of 31 miles. It was the second 4.0 or greater quake to hit the Olympic Peninsula this year after a 4.3 quake was felt in Port Townsend on Oct. 9. No damage was reported....
The Mason County Historical Society received a $3,000 grant from the Washington Trust to help restore the windows on its museum at 427 West Railroad Ave., formerly the home of Shelton City Hall and the Shelton Library. The windows are the originals from the building's construction in 1914. The Valerie Sivinksi Grant is a start, with more money and perhaps volunteer help needed to finish the project, Executive Director Liz Arbaugh said in an interview with the Journal. "They're in pretty bad...
Jacob Rivera, 44, will be arraigned Jan. 2 in Mason County Superior Court on charges of first-degree arson in connection with an explosion and house fire in Hoodsport on Dec. 13 and attempting to elude police Dec. 11. Witnesses identified Rivera leaving the scene of the fire, which started at 6:23 a.m., according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were called to the home in the 200 block of North Mount Washington Drive in Hoodsport by the fire marshal. Deputy J. Cozad said he viewed a neighbor’s video surveillance of the exp...
All seven puppies found abandoned in a Walmart bag at the Matlock logging gate Oct. 17 have been adopted. "All of them found great homes," The Humane Society of Mason County Executive Director Katherine Johnson told the Journal. The puppies were less than 2 days old when they were found and taken to HSMC for around-the-clock care. The puppies were spayed and neutered before going to new homes Dec. 13, Johnson said. One of the puppies, Pickles, was the 3000th spay and neuter surgery the group's...
Health department closes shellfish areas Several areas in Mason County have been closed for shellfish harvesting due to high levels of biotoxins that cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, according to the state Health Department. Pickering Passage, Peale Passage and Squaxin Passage are closed for all harvesting. Beaches closed for all harvesting are West Dougall Point, Jarrell Cove State Park and Jarrell Cove State Park East, Hope Island State Park and DNR areas 33 and 34 on Harstine Island. Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning causes nausea, vomitin...
