Thank you Mason County, welcome to '23

Justin Johnson | Dec 29, 20220

In a few days time, the calendar will again flip forward to usher in a new year.

Ready or not, 2023 is here.

To our faithful readers, those of us here at the Shelton-Mason County Journal would like to say thank you for your support during the past year.

While layoffs and closures have wreaked havoc on journalism across the state and country, the Journal has continued to thrive because of you.

And that's why our staff is committed to bringing you the best possible newspaper every week.

Whether it's covering a mundane public meeting, an exciting sports contest or telling the story of one of our residents or businesses, our goal remains the same: to inform and entertain you.

If there is something you'd like to see the newspaper cover, please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know. Likewise, if you see news happening.

Our staff routinely monitors happenings in the county, but we can't be everywhere at once because Mason County is a pretty big place and sometimes we rely on our readers to let us know about things they see and hear.

A great example of that is in this very issue on page 8.

The torrential rains and rising tide caused widespread flooding around the county, especially around Hood Canal and Oakland Bay, and several of you reached out with photos and information that allowed us to paint a more complete picture of just what was happening.

We truly appreciate that.

The Journal is a community newspaper and we want your news, especially the good stuff. Did you or a relative get an award? Let us know. Are you hosting a community event? Let us know. We can't promise that we'll use every photo or release, but every time you pick up the paper, we want it to be relevant to you.

In the coming weeks, the Journal will undergo some design changes. Some small, some larger. If there is something you'd like to see added, please reach out and let us know.

If you've sensed a recurring theme in this column, it's because we want to emphasize that we aren't just the official newspaper of record for Mason County. We are YOUR community newspaper. We produce the paper from scratch every week, 52 weeks a year. We don't use cookie-cutter templates and far-away designers. It's all done right here in Mason County.

As we close the book on 2022, we'd like to take a final moment to remember two of our contributors that died this year: Mark Woytowich and Alex Fethiere. Both were exceptional people first and great writers, and we deeply miss bringing their words to you each week.

Thank you again Mason County.

Happy New Year.