Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Sorted by date Results 826 - 850 of 1021
Andrew Bertrand is appealing his conviction in Mason County Superior Court to two counts of first-degree child molestation. Bertrand was sentenced to 83 months in prison April 6. According to Bertrand’s counsel Mick Woynarowski of Seattle, “Mr. Bertrand maintains his innocence, and he remains grateful for the continued support of his family and friends.” Bertrand’s motion for bail on appeal was denied by Mason County Superior Court on April 12. Woynarowski is the second lawyer for Bertran...
Hoodsport business owner Jan Morris offered an update on the May 15 Fjordin Crossin event to Port of Hoodsport commissioners April 13. Morris, owner of The Hardware Distillery, said event organizers are trying to enlist local and regional politicians. She’s landed a commitment from U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor. “He’s going to lead our little parade, and be on the boat,” Morris said. As of April 13, Morris was still searching for a bus to provide transportation from the school. She’s discussed it with Mason Transit Authority, but the M...
At the Crazy Love Ministries warming center in downtown Shelton, 66-year-old Kevin Hendrickson was known as a gentleman who held doors for others, cracked jokes and offered encouraging words to others who lived on the streets. In 2003, a motorcycle accident left the Kent resident in a coma. He emerged from the hospital a year later a changed man, said his son, Eric. He had to learn to walk and talk again, and he drifted away from his family. By about 2015, Hendrickson was living on the streets...
Two new roundabouts are coming to state Route 3 in the Shelton area in 2024. The roundabouts are planned for the intersections of state Route 3 and East Agate Road and East Pickering Road. They're part of the state Department of Transportation' Target Zero Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which has a goal to reduce the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries on state roads to zero by 2030. WSDOT planner Dennis Engel said the agency has a program to assess safety matters on smaller state high...
The Shelton City Council refined its proposed animal ordinances, allowing residents to own five hens - but no roosters - regardless of the size of their property. The council members also discussed the proposed changes to ordinances regarding cats and dogs April 12 at a study session. The council gave preliminary approval to new animal ordinances at its Feb. 15 meeting. At its March 1 meeting, the council postponed voting to make the new laws official after debating some of the details. Under...
Starting on Sunday, the owners of vandalized property in the City of Shelton are responsible for the cleanup, with the city providing either the paint or the labor for the task. With the new graffiti ordinance, Community Lifeline in downtown Shelton is offering help as well. The nonprofit that operates a homeless shelter on Third Street is offering to send an outreach team to homeless encampments to urge them to leave private property and then help them clean up any mess they created. Athena...
The three commissioners for Mason County Fire Distrcit 12 in Matlock voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to dismiss fire chief Kelli Walsworth without cause at the district’s monthly meeting. The vote took place after a 20-minute executive session. Commissioner Albert Wilder said after the vote that the community wants a new fire chief. “Is it the right choice? I highly doubt it,” Wilder said. “Is it the choice they wanted? Absolutely. As commissioners, it is our job to represent you, the con...
The Uncle John Creek lower culvert fish barrier correction project on Agate Loop Road was the subject of an open house April 7 at The Agate Grange No. 275. About 30 people attended, including Mason County Public Works employees, to explain the two options for the culvert. The first option is to replace the culvert with a bridge. Option two is to remove the bridge to allow salmon to swim through the culvert freely. According to a flier for the open house, alternative two is the preferred option...
Two companies have petitioned the City of Shelton to annex a combined 280 acres east of Olympic College Shelton into the city limits. Both properties are in unincorporated Mason County in the Peacock Ridge area, and are in the city's Urban Growth Area. Green Diamond Resources owns 240 of the acres, and JPS Properties owns almost 40 acres. The Shelton City Council accepted the proposed annexation at its April 5 meeting. In the city's Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map, the two properties are...
The Shelton City Council will vote Tuesday on placing an emergency medical services replacement levy on the Aug. 9 ballot. The council unanimously gave preliminary approval at its April 5 meeting. If passed, the replacement levy would collect 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value No one from the public spoke about the proposal at the April 5 meeting. Shelton voters approved similar levies for EMS in 1998, 2004, 2010 and 2016, City Manager Jeff Niten told the council members. The levy...
Andrew Wesley Bertrand was sentenced to 83 months April 6 after being found guilty of two counts of first-degree child molestation in Mason County Superior Court. According to court documents, Shelton Police took a report March 7, 2021, of two girls who had been touched under their clothes by Bertrand. Both girls had a forensic interview March 11. One girl said Bertrand was dating her mom in 2020. The girl and Bertrand would stay up to watch the television show “Umbrella Academy” after her mom went to sleep, and Bertrand would slide his han...
Mason County commissioners made a potential Belfair sewer extension possible Tuesday night by allowing the project to be advertised for bidding on the next phase. Commissioners Kevin Shutty and Sharon Trask voted in favor of the project’s next phase going out to bid while commissioner Randy Neatherlin voted against. Shutty, the commission chair, said he appreciated all the comments he received from the public about the project and that everyone is better off when people are participating in t...
The Shelton City Council on Tuesday awarded a $2.6 million contract to a Puyallup company to construct the city's Western Gateway project on West Railroad Avenue. Miles Resources offered the lowest responsible bid of the four companies that vied for the contract at $2,552,993. The project includes new pavement, storm drain improvements, new water main and water services, a new bus pullout and bus shelter, and new curb, gutter and sidewalks. City of Shelton crews last week began pulling up...
A Shelton woman died in a single-car crash on U.S. Highway 101 early Tuesday morning just south of the Jefferson County border. According to a news release from Washington State Patrol, Cindy M. Edwards, 53, was driving north on U.S. 101 and lost control. The car crossed the center line and left the road, striking an embankment and rolled, coming to rest upside down. Edwards was pronounced dead at the scene. The report states drugs or alcohol might have been involved in the crash. WSP...
The Shelton City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to new ordinances on graffiti and signs. The council can make the changes official at its April 19 meeting. If passed, the ordinances would go into effect on April 24. The council discussed both proposed ordinances March 8 at a study session. In both cases, the city states it is seeking to make the rules more concise. Under the proposed vandalism ordinances, the owner of the vandalized property would be responsible for the cleanup, but the city would provide either the paint or the...
City plans program to collect plastic film The City of Shelton, in partnership with Mason County and SC Johnson, is launching a six-month pilot program to offer curbside collection of plastic film to residents. SC Johnson is a manufacturer of household consumer brands. The company has already partnered with the towns of Point Roberts and Friday Harbor on curbside plastic film recycling programs. With the program, residents can recycle clean and dry plastic bags, plastic storage bags such as Ziploc brand bags, dry cleaning bags, and other...
Twenty-nine groggy cats lay in cages and carriers Monday afternoon inside the Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown Shelton. The cats were awaiting the return of their owners after being either spayed or neutered by members of the Humane Society of Mason County’s new Mobile Animal Sterilization Hospital (MASH). The services are offered to low-income residents, with spaying and neutering cats $50 and dogs $100, vaccines and flea treatments for $10, and microchipping $20. On Wednesday, the team spaye...
Homeless people who are camping on private property, sometimes without the knowledge of the property's owners, are dumping trash, defecating on the ground and starting dangerous fires to keep warm, Shelton Police Chief Carole Beason on March 22 told the Shelton City Council. Property owners would be responsible for the cleanup under a proposed ordinance the chief and council members discussed at the work session. Failing to clean up the messes would be a misdemeanor offense, and repeat...
On April 5, City of Shelton crews will begin removing the former Simpson Lumber Co. railway tracks crossing West Railroad Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. The track removal is scheduled to take three days. It's part of the city's Western Gateway Project, and will include a new sidewalk, curbing, pavement, a water main and a new bus shelter. The $2.6-million project is funded in part by the Transportation Improvement Board and the American Rescue Plan Act. Simpson stopped using the line in...
Mason County commissioners and staff will partake in a third Belfair Sewer public hearing at 6 p.m. April 5. This is the third Belfair sewer public hearing in three months. The first hearing was Jan. 31 and lasted more than four hours, with staff presenting, the public asking questions before providing comment and commissioners ultimately deciding to host another hearing in 30 days. The second hearing was March 1 and lasted about two hours with the same format of presentation and public comments, and commissioners once again decided to host a...
References to “normal” times before the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 are common these days, but with restrictions easing, Mason County begins “normal” life with the coronavirus. Mason County Director of Community Services Dave Windom said he thinks the county handled COVID-19 “really well.” “One of the things we did different is we set up area command right off the bat and got that integration, we realized this is bigger than public health,” Windom told the Journal. “We set up area command,...
The Mason Transit Authority Board monthly meeting provided an update on the Belfair Park and Ride’s potential opening date. At the meeting, MTA General Manager Amy Asher provided an update, with unanticipated delays to finalize the details of the Belfair Park and Ride building necessitating another location of the April board meeting, which was scheduled to be hosted at the Belfair building. “I just spoke with our project manager, Patrick Holmes, earlier today. We’re waiting to hear for final...
The Mason County Forest Festival court was crowned Saturday at Gateway Christian Fellowship in Shelton. Gabriela Lepe is the new Queen of the Forest, and Joshua Brennan is Paul Bunyan. Shawna Lacy is Princess of Cedar, Nevaeh Haskins is Princess of Hemlock and Bradley Haskins Jr. is Timber the Axe Man. The court members will represent the community while riding on a float in the parades of regional festivals, such as Fathoms O'Fun in Port Orchard. They will make their hometown debut during...
The 35th Legislative District trio of Rep. Drew MacEwen, Rep. Dan Griffey and Sen. Tim Sheldon spoke at a legislative wrap-up event hosted by the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Council of Mason County and the North Mason Chamber of Commerce on March 17 at the Mason County Public Works building just outside Shelton on U.S. Highway 101. Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko started the proceedings by thanking all three legislators for their support of the city and county....
