Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Keeping state Route 3 Freight Corridor construction on track and securing $1.5 million for Turning Pointe Survivor Advocacy Center in Shelton are among the gains for the 35th District in the state's $70-billion budget, the district's three legislators said Friday. State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton and state Republican Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture, both of Allyn, offered their thoughts on the recently completed legislative session at an event sponsored by the Economic Development...
Mason Health awarded full-ride medical pathways scholarships to nine students from Shelton High School's Health Sciences Academy. The students were honored at a presentation May 10 at Mason General Hospital. The number of scholarships increased from the six presented last year in the first year of the program. Mason Health and the Shelton School District have partnered to increase the number of health care workers in Mason County, and help students continue their education. The scholarship...
The state Department of Natural Resources is scheduled to sell timber in the Sherwood Forest at 10 a.m. May 23 at the South Puget Sound Region Office in Enumclaw. Mason County commissioners addressed the topic at their Monday briefing. Commissioners were asked by people attending the regular commission meeting May 9 to write a letter to the state DNR asking them to cancel or postpone the sale, known as the "Sure Wood Timber Sale." It appears unlikely the commission will write such a letter. At...
When John and Katherine Yackel founded the YSS Dive Shop in Hoodsport in 2020, they saw it as their responsibility to protect and advocate for Hood Canal. Hood Canal - technically a fjord - includes what John said is "a very special underwater world," with its own diverse selection of life. Educating divers and nondivers about the need to shrink their carbon output became a priority for the Yackels. "Most people had no idea how much debris was at the Port of Hoodsport, until we started hosting...
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office arrested Tyler John Lagasa, 28, and Hope Bates, 21, for assault in the first degree with domestic violence on Thursday evening on East Sleaford Road near Shelton. According to MCSO Chief Deputy of Operations Jason Dracobly, neighbors reported hearing screaming, yelling and shots fired. When deputies arrived, Lagasa and Bates went into the house and barricaded themselves inside. According to the probable cause affidavit, after they went into the house, MCSO spoke...
Central Mason fire has busy weekend Central Mason Fire and EMS responded to 62 calls last weekend. According to a news release, CMFE fought a brushfire Sunday morning off Ritz Road on Harstine Island. The fire was 100-by-20 feet burning in clear-cut, and crews were able to contain the fire and hand it to state Department of Resources crews for mop-up. On Sunday afternoon, CMFE responded to a separate brush fire off of Pickering Road that featured burning powerlines overhead. Crews arrived to find a 66-by-33 foot brush fire with flames up to 20...
Mason County Climate Justice and the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition are suing the state Department of Natural Resources over two timber sales in Mason County. The lawsuit alleges that DNR, agency director Hilary Franz and the Board of Natural Resources failed to comply with the State Environmental Policy Act. According to attorney Jennifer Calkins, who is representing the parties pro bono, the lawsuit was filed May 3 in Mason County Superior Court. The two timber sales include Sherwood Forest,...
Residents can make their voices heard about Taylor Shellfish’s proposal for an oyster-growing operation in Oakland Bay at a public hearing at 1 p.m. May 24. The meeting is with Mason County hearing examiner at the Commission Chambers at 411 North 5th St. in Shelton. Commissioner Sharon Trask, who represents the area where the proposed oyster bag farm would be sited, has directed people to make their voices heard by attending the public hearing or by emailing the county and Taylor Shellfish. Jeff...
Central Mason Fire and EMS received an "all call" dispatch May 3 after a commercial structure fire broke out at All West Coast Auto Wrecking north of Shelton on state Route 3. According to a news release from CMFE, crews arrived within minutes to a 60-by-150 foot automotive warehouse with heavy fire and black smoke. The fire burned about 40 vehicles and several hundred tires, and was fueled by 3,500 gallons of waste fuel including gas, diesel and oil. "I've been in the business for 36 years....
Shelton High School was put into lockdown on Thursday due to a swatting call. According to a City of Shelton Facebook post, Shelton Police along with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Squaxin Island Police and Skokomish Police responded to an apparent swatting call Thursday morning at the high school. The original call that was received was a student in the parking lot had an AR-15. After a search of the campus by authorities, there was nothing found and no signs of a shooting. There were s...
Hurricane Ridge Lodge fire Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge went up in flames Sunday afternoon. According to a National Park Service news release, nobody was in the structure at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. Clallam County Fire District 2 and Port Angeles Fire Department responded to the fire. The lodge was being renovated since March 27 and was closed to visitors. The 17-mile mountain road leading up to the building was closed since construction began. Park officials say the structure appears to be a complete loss. The building...
A public hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 24 by the Mason County Hearing Examiner for Taylor Shellfish’s application for a permit to grow Pacific oysters and install a floating oyster bag array in Oakland Bay. According to a notice of application and public hearing document from Mason County Community Development, the permit would allow Taylor Shellfish to use an estimated 9.1 acres of surface water. The 9.1 acres would be part of 50 acres of land on two underwater parcels in Oakland Bay. T...
Lance Gibbon, a former superintendent of the Oak Harbor and Snoqualmie Valley school districts, will be the superintendent of the Hood Canal School District, pending a contract agreement. On Monday evening, the Hood Canal School Board voted unanimously to hire Gibbon. He replaces Jose-de-Jesus Melendez, who resigned in February after seven months on the job to return to his family in Oregon. According to the district at the time, he was to complete the remainder of his contract on...
So, you want to serve on the Shelton City Council? May 15 to 19 is the time to file for one of the three council positions open on the November election ballot. On April 25, about two dozen potential candidates attended a "City Government 101" presentation at the Shelton Civic Center to get a better understanding about the position, and how the city departments function. Seven city officials gave presentations on their duties. Interim City Manager Mark Ziegler began by outlining some basics...
Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel made some changes after taking office in January, including moving the Auditor's offices upstairs in Building 1 of the county downtown campus. "Everybody has their workstation and office upstairs, allowed us to reorganize and redesign the ballot processing center to really make things more efficient and to accommodate more election observers," Duenkel told the Journal. "(Upstairs), we just wanted to get everyone more integrated with an eye toward better...
Free trash disposal for city residents City of Shelton residents can dispose of household garbage and trash for free between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 13 and 20 at the intersection of First and Grove streets, the former Mell’s lot in downtown Shelton. Dumpers must show identification with home address or a utility bill to prove they live in the city limits. Prohibited items include construction materials, mattresses, box springs, tires, medication, hazardous waste, and such bulky appliances as refrigerators, air conditioners, washers and driers. Ci...
State Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture, Republicans from Allyn, and Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, wrapped up the regular legislative session April 23. On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee said he intends to call a special session on May 16 to address the state’s drug possession law. Child malnutrition Couture’s bill, House Bill 1274, to help prevent child malnutrition was signed into law by Inslee on April 13. The bill is the first from Couture, in his first year as a representative, to pass bot...
The Port of Hoodsport commission invites people to join a reopening ceremony for the 80-acre Hoodsport Trail Park at the end of the month and join other volunteers to help clean the park two weeks before its opening. The park’s yearlong project to remove all of its diseased, dying and fallen hazardous trees should be completed by the end of May. The grand reopening is scheduled at 10 a.m. on May 27. The volunteer work party has been scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 13, rain or shine. The p...
Central Mason has training exercise Central Mason Fire and EMS participated in a training burn Saturday at 920 Dearborn Ave. in Shelton. According to a news release, the burn occurred at an old building that belonged to Harvest Foursquare Church. It was an opportunity for CMFE staff and volunteers to train on a live fire and learn how unpredictable fire in a building can be. To have a training burn, guidelines set by the state include permitting through the City of Shelton and the Olympic...
Grants rejected for two area ballfields Mason County commissioners approved withdrawing from two Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program grant requests for Union and Sandhill Park multipurpose field and to not accept the Youth Athletic Facilities program grant request at the April 25 meeting. According to the information packet, county parks and trails applied for a Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office grant May 1, 2022, to assist with adding a synthetic ball field to Sandhill...
Shelton police are asking for help identifying three suspects in the fatal April 15 shooting at the intersection of Fir and Otter streets in Shelton’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. According to a social media post by the City of Shelton, camera footage was used to capture a still image of three people walking away from the scene of the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective James Belleville at 360-426-4441 or email at james.belleville@ sheltonwa.gov. When reached by phone Wednesday, Belleville said he was unable to give f...
Initial results of Tuesday's special election show voters approving the merger of Mason County Fire Protection District 11 based at Island Lake with Central Mason Fire & EMS based in downtown Shelton. The proposal to renew of a property tax levy for Mason County Fire Protection District 3 in Grapeview is also passing. The merger was passing with 283 "yes" votes for 65.66%, with 148 "no" votes for 34.34%. Grapeview's renewal levy had 573 "yes" votes for 73.56%, and 206 "no" votes for 26.44%. Both...
The unemployment rate in Mason County continued to fall in March, according to a report released Tuesday morning by the state Economic Security Department. Mason County’s resident civilian labor force employment rate was 6.4% in March, down nearly 2% from February’s rate of 8.1%. The data in the report is not seasonally adjusted at the county level. Statewide, the rate was 4.5% and the national rate was 3.5% Both of those numbers, however, are seasonally adjusted and aren’t directly comparable to the county-by-county rate, which the depar...
The Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual awards gala on Friday at Little Creek Casino Resort. Winners of each category were announced, including Bradley Air Co. winning Business of the Year. Boss of the Year went to Gina Finley of Turning Pointe Survivor Advocacy Center and Citizen of the Year was awarded to Justin Baze and Rookie of the Year went to O'Connell Archery. Nonprofit of the Year was awarded to Shelton Family YMCA and Volunteer of the Year went to John Lester of...
