Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Last Friday at 8 a.m., the weather station at Sanderson Field outside of Shelton registered 28 degrees. At that precise moment at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, the temperature was “about 75 degrees,” according to a phone call I was having with Diane, a longtime friend who reported she was lying on a beach filled with people in sarongs. “The water’s a little cold, but you get used to it,” she said. Imagine the sympathy I was unable to summon. Diane was on Day 14 of a 15-day cruise with her mother...
Keep time constant Editor, the Journal, SB 5001 has been sent to the folks on the State Government and Tribal committee to implement Pacific Standard Time year-round. As a school bus driver for over 30 years, every winter the kids and I experience the sunrise being stolen away from us in the name of daylight stealing time. We go from enjoying the sunrise to suddenly being plunged back into the darkness when the clocks are switched. The funny thing is the evening will be getting longer without our interference. Then every fall I see the dirty...
The Shelton-Mason County Journal encourages original letters to the editor of local interest. Diverse and varied opinions are welcome. We will not publish letters that are deemed libelous or scurrilous in nature. We reserve the right to reject any letter for any reason. When submitting a letter, please observe the following guidelines: Writers are limited to one original letter plus one rebuttal or counter-rebuttal per calendar month; Letters should be no more than 300 words; Letters will be edited for grammar, spelling, style, clarity and...
Kathryn Frey, a resident of Portland, started her presentation at the Shelton library two weeks ago by laying about 20 stones on the table in front of her. The stones were small enough to hold in your palm. She asked the dozen or so people in the audience to come up and grab one. We fetched a rock and returned to our seats. Kathryn asked us to hold our stone, to feel its weight and dimensions, and a silence fell over the room. It's helpful to keep one's mind receptive during moments like this,...
A special tree Editor, the Journal, Every time I pass by on McEwan Prairie, I pause to look at the lovely decorated wild Christmas tree. It looked so nice; I added a Christmas ornament to it. I noticed also that other people added a Santa, and a snowman. Whoever thought of this idea should be credited for showing the Christmas spirit for a lucky little Christmas tree! Bill Dagle, Shelton Appalling Editor, the Journal, The Jan. 2 Journal reported Mason County Sheriff’s Office Deputy McCullough found a car and two people inside parked at Lake I...
“Freedom of choice is what you got Freedom from choice is what you want.” — “Freedom of Choice,” Devo Imagine being a prehistoric human, sitting around a communal firepit after the dark comes with your closest companion — you know, the person you love so much that you share a nook in the cave with him. It’s just the two of you, settling down after a hard day of milling grain, slaying prey and not getting killed. After you settle in around the fire stones, the conversation turns to what color-pr...
8 was a full and successful year. Much has already been said about the November 2024 general election. I do have a couple follow-up items to address. Apparently, one voter submitted two ballots, and we had a couple instances where someone might have signed a ballot for another voter, including a voter that might have passed away prior to the signature date on the ballot return envelope. Pending the results of an initial investigation, I will forward any pertinent information to the Mason...
Thank you Editor, the Journal, January is School Board Appreciation Month in Washington. Please join me in thanking the work of the Pioneer School District School Board. Ellory Rowe, Robert Clark, Rick Lee, Rebecca Bechtolt and Dr. Susan Day volunteer their time to represent and serve the constituents who elected them. School board work is challenging, but at the same time rewarding. The challenging part is dealing with financial constraints, new state and federal laws that impact school districts and turnover in employees. The rewarding part...
I was 7 or 8 when I first heard a person use the word “decapitate.” I asked what it meant, and the person said it means to have one’s head cut off. I was disturbed, because I didn’t know that level of barbarity could exist in this world. Once I absorbed that news, I wondered why the word “cap” was in “decapitate.” Maybe it was a way to say you’d lose your ability to wear a cap? But why not “dehatitate?” It seemed that all caps were hats, but not all hats were caps ... At that moment, if someo...
Bad news Editor, the Journal, Such bad news that the City Council rejected a tiny tax increase to allow at least a small degree of meaningful action to address the homeless problem in Shelton. The Journal article didn’t offer analysis of possible areas of agreement between the seven who voted that might enable them to move forward toward another plan. The problem isn’t going away, so the council needs to stay engaged. A more important reporting oversight was — with the exception of Schirman and Sapp — no reason was given for the other two “no...
I talked to Santa Claus on the telephone Sunday morning. After spending 40 minutes with Santa, I was left with a feeling of joy and optimism, which is always nice. You know what else is nice? Interviewing someone who gives you more usable quotes than you can use. It makes this job so much easier. Bob Partlow is a former newspaperman I worked with at The Olympian. He was the political reporter for the paper, stationed on the Capitol Campus, and I often copy-edited his stories. He quit the paper...
Judy and Rod Whittaker live at the corner of 2nd and Cedar streets in downtown Shelton. But for the past several weeks, they've been residing in Stinktown, USA. Shelton Creek cuts through their property, as it does through several residential properties downtown. More than a month ago, spawned-out summer chum started dying in the creek, raising a stink of such pungency, urgency and endurance that Judy said she would take a big inhale and hold her breath before walking out the door. "I take a...
A shoutout Editor, the Journal, I am the project coordinator for Bridges to Life For Washington Correction Center prison in Shelton. Bridges to Life is a faith-based restorative justice program based on victim impact. It’s a 14-week program. When the program is completed, we have a graduation ceremony and I would like to give a huge thank you and shoutout to Jaron Garza, general manager for Domino’s in Shelton for his generosity. I appreciate the support Jaron has given to the Bridges to Life program by helping out with pizza for our gra...
I lean into the aisle seeing the cockpit door from my seat 8D as the 737 enters the runway. The engines get loud, and I'm pushed back in my seat as we pick up speed. The nose comes up and then we are off the ground. I have done it too many times to even count. This time I keep looking at the cockpit door. I have an idea of what is going on in there but don't know all the details. I can't see the pilots, but I have faith in them. It grows into belief, and it becomes success as we leave the...
A good epitaph for a tombstone: “Sorry. I’m late.” ■■■ I was late to an appointment last week because my internet algorithm wasn’t right. It was promoting Grateful Dead songs and videos of people getting hurt on trampolines. I couldn’t let it go — if you don’t stay on top of your algorithm it can lead to worse developments, including songs from Metallica and clips of people being hit by commuter trains. I was late to my appointment, but the person completely understood once I explained why. ...
Building a trail Editor, the Journal, Years ago, the residents in Mason County asked the Park Board to build a trail between Shelton and Belfair. Our first problem is getting people off the side of state Route 3 between the Oakland Bay Marina and Bayshore. It would be hard and expensive to build a trail east of the railroad tracks, or next to Route 3. Then, after the state repaved Route 3 and put a 10-year moratorium on any work over it, we removed the people’s request from the County Comprehensive Plan because without crossing Route 3, i...
Although it is enjoyable and wholesome work in the great outdoors, growing Christmas trees is not as easy as you might think. My husband, Wes, and I worked as professional foresters. Now, we are Christmas tree growers which in many ways is more intense. However, you reap the benefits in six to eight years instead of 40 to 60! Hopefully after reading this article, you'll have a better understanding of what is involved and appreciate the knowledge and effort that it takes to provide families with...
Kirk Ericson, a columnist with the Shelton Mason-County Journal for the past seven years, has a new book out that contains more than 100 of his favorite columns. “Great Writing!” is his second book, after “Disappointment Awaits,” which came out in 2019. His work runs every week on page 4 of the Journal. Kirk sat down with Kirk earlier this week for a Q&A about his latest book and matters related to producing a weekly newspaper column. Kirk: First of all, Kirk, how tall are you? Kirk: That’s...
A better approach Editor, the Journal, As letter writer Ardean Anvik mentioned in the Nov. 21 Journal, the 6th Congressional District is once again represented by a Democrat. Just as Democrats feel they lack representation in the 35th Legislative District, Republicans in the 6th Congressional District face the same issue. The partisan split in the 6th Congressional District is 57% Democrat and 43% Republican, mirroring the statewide partisan split. Once again, a slight majority of voters receive 100% of the representation, while the rest receiv...
There was much apprehension and anticipation going into the 2024 general election based on the experience from 2020. Your elections team was determined to make the Nov. 5, 2024, general election the best ever. We began formal preparation and planning in December 2023. I attended two tabletop exercises and led two more local exercises to address possible threats and disruptions to the election and develop mitigation plans with input from our sheriff, the Office of Secretary of State, State...
It’s Thanksgiving, the day our republic has appointed for us to be thankful. So … I’m thankful this Thanksgiving for the people around me who don’t complain about their hardships or the deficits of others. This expression of thankfulness will require taking space to complain about complainers, which makes me guilty of the attribute I condemn, but extremism in the defense of thankfulness is no vice. I’m thankful for my mother-in-law, Mary. She’s 97 years old and she’s a real Mother Mary. Mother Mary had to go to the hospital a couple of nig...
Tempers flared last week, as Democrats sought to cast blame for the Republican landslide — I was particularly galled when a friend laid the blame on, “newspapers who are too chicken to …” Hold it right there. Losing my cool was a regular occurrence 30 years ago, but it takes a lot to get my Irish at age 64. Journalists, particularly the people in the newspaper business, are the most courageous people I know. Yes, soldiers and cops are brave but in my industry we don’t carry guns, at least not yet. When I started in this business, most of m...
“Boy, those French: they have a different word for everything!” — Steve Martin ■■■ What do you get when you cross a polar bear with a seal? A polar bear. ■■■ “When I was a kid, I got no respect. I had no friends. I remember the seesaw. I had to keep runnin’ from one end to the other.” — Rodney Dangerfield ■■■ One winter day in northern Minnesota, Ole asked Lena to walk across the lake and get him some cigarettes from the store. Lena said, “OK, give me some money.” “Charge it to my account,...
An election idea Editor, the Journal, In this election, as Journal reporter Gordon Weeks pointed out, Mason County voted solidly Republican, with all local partisan races being won by Republicans. However, the vote itself was not as one-sided as it might appear. Historically, Mason County has been roughly divided, with 45% of voters identifying as Democrat and 55% as Republican. This means Republicans hold just over half of the votes, but under our current system, the majority - about 55% - also holds 100% of the representation. This is a...
“What’s going on?” Nate asked when I entered the little grocery store he manages. The grocery’s just down the block from my house. It was early Monday morning, and Nate was in the vegetable section, tending to the broccoli and carrots. “I’m escaping,” I answered him. “From what?” he asked, broccoli in hand. I had just left the coffee shop two businesses down from the grocery store. “Loud talkers,” I told him. Nate laughed. In the coffee shop I often write my column in that Olympia coffee shop....
