Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Apology accepted Editor, the Journal and Mr. Gordon Weeks, I accept your multiple apologies via email, voicemail and personal phone call. Not only did I read the tone of your words, but also I discerned your sincerity with the tone of your voice. Additionally, I forgive you for any anguish your misquote has caused me. Finally, I expect the Shelton-Mason County Journal to keep its promise: a front-page correction and a “most sincere” apology along with admitting, “It is 100% our mistake.” When your paper has used my words or quoted me in the...
I spent three hours the other day scouring the internet for some jokes and quotes. My only criteria for judging the jokes’ worth, aside from being suitable for the newspaper, was whether they made me laugh loud enough to make the cat raise his head from his indentation on the couch. I couldn’t find any attribution for the following jokes, which shows the value we put on masterpiece jokes. I mean, Vincent Van Gogh gets credit for his paintings … ■■■ “An 8-year-old boy who had never spoken a word...
Fireworks, opinions Editor, the Journal, I have two unrelated issues I’d like to address. First, 4th of July celebrations. We fought a war to win our independence. We have a national anthem that celebrates “The red glare of bombs bursting in air.” Every year, I see the looks of fear, no terror, in the eyes of my horses as they run around unable to get away from the terrible sounds coming from behind us and then from across the road. I’ve seen the trembling of a small dog as he cowers in a ball in the bathroom. When I had cats they too had fea...
Our five-day heat siege made me worry about Ron, a friend who’s in his mid-60s and lives without several 21st-century conveniences, like electricity. He has a residence, but barely. Maybe you, too, had someone you worried about during our sweat dome. It was that kind of hot. Ron lives alone in the sticks in Thurston County, and he makes money by manual labor, and by selling the art he makes and the treasures he finds. He fishes most of his food from dumpsters and his winter heat comes from w...
Independence Day 2024 in Shelton Editor, the Journal, Pyrotechnics have become quite prevalent in my home town. The day’s first explosion was heard at 0535 hours. Then occasional detonations until evening when the frequency increased, then nightfall and the explosions were unceasing. Yes, few lulls, they served as a suggestion and a hopeful but unrewarded tease. There was nolet up until midnight when the detonations became less frequent and then toward dawn, then ceased for the day just after sunrise. Do I need to repeat the “why not to do thi...
I was in the grocery store last weekend when I stepped and slipped on a strawberry on the floor next to the checkout counter. I went down in an instant, landing on my right knee. As I took a moment to gather myself before rising, I came eye to eye with a youngster, maybe 2 years old, standing a couple of feet in front of me. Her shirt, face and hands were smeared with strawberry goo, and she had a full strawberry in her hand. I looked into her eyes, she into mine, and I suspected the following...
Bad headline Editor, the Journal, Your sensational banner headline in the June 27 Journal did great disrespect to the facts. A more accurate headline would have read "Incalculable Grief and Sorrow on the Skokomish Reservation" and would have better served. Andrea Love, Union Good policy Editor, the Journal, Congratulations on the success of your new policy concerning what you will print in connection with letters to the editor. I have been riveted by the many positive responses concerning local...
I've been filling this space in the Shelton-Mason County Journal for almost seven years, and one of the difficult parts of this enterprise is convincing people to talk to me, especially for column ideas that could be considered odd. A good approach has been to enlist someone close to me, someone who knows the person I want to interview, and have that person make the pitch for me. It's worked several times, including for a column about an anonymous kidney donor and one about a Swedish fellow who...
Article I, Section 1 of the Washington state Constitution affirms that all political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. It's been uplifting to see the citizens of Fire Protection District 12 exercise their political power and turn things around in their community. Frustrations around alleged fraud and gross mismanagement reached a point where the people no longer gave their consent to the previous commissioners or their...
Note: I’m taking three weeks off of paid labor, so this space will be filled with reruns of some favorite columns. The following ran in the Jan. 14, 2021, edition. Fresh, unfocused-group content returns June 27. “It’s coming to America first, The cradle of the best and of the worst.” — “Democracy,” Leonard Cohen OLYMPIA — In the midafternoon of Jan. 6, a day that will live in infamy — and reverence — across our schizoid nation, I was in the parking lot on the south side of the state Capitol h...
Wrong message Editor, the Journal, I read Theresa Murray's Kid's Message each week. This week I'm wondering why she sent our kids the wrong message. In America there is a plethora of Christian churches across these fruited plains, especially in Shelton and surrounding Mason County there's a church on nearly every corner. Shelton has a variety of 27 Christian churches catering to as many different denominations. Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Foursquare, Lutheran, Jehovah Witness,...
“Ya know, Nietzsche says, ‘Out of chaos comes order.’ ” — Howard Johnson “Oh, blow it out your alpaca, Howard.” —Olson Johnson Note: I’m taking three weeks off of paid labor, so this space will be filled with reruns of some favorite columns. The following ran in the March 23, 2023, edition. Fresh, unfocused-group content returns June 27. This is a newspaper. It should remain free of profanity inside and outside of quotation marks, so we’ll substitute words when talking about the movie “Blazing...
It's 6 a.m. and I'm on the road. Approximately 30 minutes from home I was preparing to visit one of the five restaurants I oversaw when I got the call. "I think my water broke." Shifting into race car driver mode, flashers on, 68-mph in a 45-mph zone, no problem. Barely getting my work van into park, I am running into the house. Expecting to find Kelly, in a chair in the kitchen doing those breathing techniques. Nope, she's in the bedroom ironing her clothes to wear when she comes home from the...
Assessor responds Editor, the Journal, In response to Mr. Gripp's letter to the editor, "Assessor's Math." In accordance with Washington State law, all property must be valued and assessed at one hundred percent of true and fair value, unless otherwise provided by law. "True and fair value" means market value and is the amount of money a buyer of property willing but not obligated to buy would pay a seller of property willing but not obligated to sell (WAC 458-07-030). There are three...
Note: I’m taking three weeks off of paid labor, so this space will be filled with reruns of some favorite columns. The following ran in the Dec. 23, 2021, edition. Fresh, unfocused-group content returns June 27. This is a story about a gift my father gave me when I was 5 years old. This memory is as true as any memory can be that’s summoned from a long-gone Christmas. I’m child No. 4 in a four-child family, and when we were wee our family was the type that put Christmas presents under a Chris...
A thank you to groundskeepers Editor, the Journal, The Shelton Memorial Park is nice all year but it was especially nice this Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to the groundskeepers and everyone who keeps it up. Florence Wood, Shelton Informative article Editor, the Journal, I finished reading Jan Parker’s great historical article about “Professor Loop” in the April 25th Journal. As a kid growing up in Shelton, we knew little about him except that he was some kind of early Shelton legend and t...
Carrie Brownstein, a singer and the guitarist for the punk group Sleater-Kinney, and the co-creator and co-star of the off-kilter TV series “Portlandia,” lived four homes down from us for a few years in Olympia. You know how hard it can be to find a movie or show that anyone of any age in your house will watch on TV? Mrs. Ericson and I discovered, when our youngest son was about 14, that we all liked “Portlandia.” For a couple of years on New Year’s Eve, we watched “Portlandia” episodes all...
Thanks for aiding Fire District 12 Editor, the Journal, I commend our elected Mason County commissioners Randy Neatherlin, Kevin Shutty, Sharon Trask, Sheriff Ryan Spurling and Auditor Steve Duenkel and staff at Mason County for their actions to stabilize Fire District 12. I was impressed seeing the auditor, sheriff and our county commissioners at community meetings regarding the fire district where they offered support and answered questions from the public. Our state Reps. Dan Griffey and...
Kathryn Hamilton Wang remembers the dinner parties in their Shelton home on Grant Avenue. The plates were of fine china, bracketed by sterling silver, and their guests’ lips cusped the elegant rims of Waterford Crystal. “Appetizers and drinks were served ahead of time,” Kathryn, now an Olympia resident, wrote me in an email. “We girls [Kathryn is the oldest of four sisters] helped pass the hors d’oeuvres which might include stuffed mushrooms or ham and egg balls. We’d fill trays with these...
Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor was submitted by Shelton High School student teacher Shalisa Smith on behalf of Lily Bennett, a student and athlete for the Highclimbers. A letter to female athletes Editor, the Journal, Dear athletes, Nobody warns you about how different things are once you are in high school sports. It is often overlooked how much things change from the time we are preteens to the time we are teens. We used to be on an even playing field with all the boys, now biology limits how much we can grow. The most i...
Mason County's annual Forest Festival is a celebration of the abundant forests that surround us. This year, as our community gathers for the 80th annual fete, the future of our working forests gives even more cause for celebration. Washington Gov. Clarence Martin issued a proclamation in 1940 creating the Keep Washington Green Association to promote prevention of human-caused wildfires in Washington. Four years later, Forest Festival was born under the banner of Keep Washington Green. Mason...
I received a text Thursday morning from our youngest son, Ryan, a 19-year-old almost junior at the University of Washington in Seattle. His text included a photograph of the Quad, a pastoral rectangle of stone and flora on the campus that’s hemmed in by Gothic academic buildings. The rectangle is filled with cherry trees, finely tended grass, and it’s segmented by several brick walkways, all precisely considered and precisely placed. You feel smarter just walking through it. But the pho...
Advice for Shelton graduates Editor, the Journal, Subject: Advice for SSD graduating seniors Managing your money and planning for the future are such a big part of being an adult. In life you will find that not all people or organizations are good at managing their money. Don't follow the example the Shelton School District has set for you regarding money management. Do set aside a reasonable reserve for those rainy days that will surely come. You see, SSD has been borrowing from the Mason...
“Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.” — Clive James, author When I was a youngster growing up among the sticks and hicks of Eastern Washington, an adult volunteered some of his precious time to tell me I didn’t have any common sense. I can’t remember what behavior prompted the comment, but I do remember wondering what “common sense” could mean. I wondered for so long that I finally decided that...
Editor's note: The following letter appeared in last week's Journal with an incorrect headline. The Journal regrets the error and is re-running the letter with the correct headline. Belfair Masons say thanks Editor, the Journal, The Belfair Masons who meet at the hall of Hood Canal Lodge hosted the 71st annual Easter dinner on Sunday, March 31. They have held this annual dinner every year since 1951 and it's open to the public. The only years this dinner has not been held were the periods not...
