County Briefs

Central Mason Fire & EMS graduates five members

Central Mason Fire & EMS celebrated the graduation of five members from its annual Firefighter Recruit Academy.

According to a news release, the training burn May 14 marked a successful end to its recruit training. Each member participated in more than 300 hours of training in six months.

All graduating members are now certified by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress as Firefighter I. Training also included HazMat Awareness and HazMat Operations IFSAC certifications. For all members of CMFE participating in the recruit academy, the training and equipment were provided for free.

For information about volunteer opportunities, email [email protected] or call 360-426-5533.

U.S. 101 bridges receiving repairs

The U.S. Highway 101 bridge over Shelton-Matlock Road in Shelton is set to receive repairs in June.

According to a social media post by Mason County commissioners, Shelton-Matlock Road will be fully closed at the U.S. 101 interchange from 8 p.m. June 17 to 6 a.m. on June 20.

Traffic will be reduced to a single lane in each direction from 7 p.m. June 20 until 5:45 a.m. June 21.

According to a news release, the state Department of Transportation will repair five bridges in Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason counties with warmer conditions beginning in Western Washington. The project will repair driving surfaces that show signs of wear.

Crews will address one bridge at a time and the contractor is Massana Construction Co. from Gig Harbor.

The cost for the work is $1.5 million. Crews will start with the U.S. Highway 12 bridge over State Route 8 in Elma and the U.S. Highway 12 Satsop River Bridge in Grays Harbor County as soon as June 6.

Other projects include U.S. 101 Big Quilcene River Bridge in Quilcene at milepost 296.7 and both directions of the Warren Avenue Bridge on state Route 303 in Bremerton.

Crews will need daylight hours to do some portions of the work and the type of construction can be noisy and some work might occur at night. It might appear little work is occurring sometimes because extra time is needed for concrete to harden.

For more information, go to wsdot.wa.gov.

Ferguson-Brown appointed to Superior Court

Cadine Ferguson-Brown was appointed to the Mason County Superior Court on May 17 by Gov. Jay Inslee.

According to a news release, she will replace Judge Amber Finlay, who is retiring June 30. Ferguson-Brown is the Mason County Superior Court Commissioner, a role she's had since 2021. She presides over hearings in matters involving family law, mental health, guardianship, probate and four treatment courts.

Ferguson-Brown volunteers with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and mentored girls through Big Brothers Big Sisters in Oak Harbor. She has been a board member for Agape Unlimited since 2017, a Bremerton-based nonprofit outpatient substance-use treatment program, and is a member of the NAACP and Dream Jamaica, a mentorship program for Jamaican high school students.

Ferguson-Brown earned a Bachelor of Laws at the School of Legal Studies at the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. She has a masters degree in education from American Intercontinental University.

Democrats hosting dinner fundraiser

The Mason County Democratic Party is hosting its Kennedy Dinner and fundraiser Sunday, June 5. The featured speakers will be state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.

The dinner will be at the Lucky Dog Casino in the event center on U.S. Highway 101 north of Shelton. A no-host social hour will begin at 3 p.m., followed by the buffet dinner. Tickets are $75 or $125 and payment can be made at masoncountywademocrats.org. More information is available by calling Roslynne Reed at 360-877-0651 or [email protected].

Take Back Mason County meets

The group Take Back Mason County is hosting informational meetings at 6 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of the month. The group meets at The Beginning Church 123 West C St. in Shelton. Contact Rebecca Bechtolt at 360-490-3239 for more information.