County Briefs

Belfair man dies in motorcycle accident

Belfair resident Erik D. Vaubel, 52, was killed in a motorcycle accident on state Route 16 on Sunday evening near Port Orchard.

According to a Washington State Patrol news release, Vaubel was traveling west on Route 16 near milepost 17. He was on a curve when his motorcycle struck the concrete barrier and then hit a guardrail. He fell off his motorcycle and ended up in the road.

Man arrested after standoff with Sheriff’s Office

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ronald Matthew Stromberg over the weekend after a standoff with the Mason County Regional SWAT Team and Washington State Patrol Troopers on Thursday night.

According to court documents, the court found probable cause for charges second-degree assault for domestic violence, unlawful imprisonment and fourth-degree assault for domestic violence.

Chief Deputy of Operations Jason Dracobly told the Journal the complaining party called from Japan, and it was a family member messaging with the mother who was at the house who reported it to the Sheriff’s Office.

“Officers got up there and were able to contact a female and male youth and we were able to determine crimes occurred,” Dracobly said. “The gentleman barricaded himself in his house for six-plus hours. They tried to get him to come out, we had a negotiator on site to negotiate with him. We used pepper balls and dumped some CS and he finally came out and was arrested without any other incident.”

Stromberg, who is in his 50s, made his first appearance in Mason County Superior Court on Jan. 20.

Officer injured in Shelton collision

A Washington State Patrol officer was injured in a two-car accident on Olympic Highway North and East C Street on Jan. 20 in Shelton.

According to a news release, the fully marked Washington State Patrol vehicle was stopped for a dog in the road. A car driven by a 43-year-old Shelton man failed to stop and hit the patrol vehicle. The officer had injuries and drove himself to Mason General Hospital.

The Shelton man was not injured in the accident and was charged with following too closely.

Motorcyclist crashes near Lake Cushman

A 21-year-old Bremerton man was injured in a two-vehicle accident on state Route 119 on Sunday afternoon near Hoodsport.

According to a Washington State Patrol news release, the Bremerton man, driving a motorcycle, was driving north. A 2015 GMC Yukon, driven by a 28-year-old Porterville, California, man, was southbound. The motorcycle lost control and struck the Yukon.

The Bremerton man was airlifted to Tacoma General Hospital and was charged with speed too fast for conditions. The California man was not injured.

New landmark names approved

The state committee on Geographic Names approved two proposals to rename features in Mason County for early black settlers at the committee’s Jan. 19 meeting.

According to a news release, the 10.5-acre lake 2 miles north of Tahuya could be named Nathaniel Sargent Lake in honor of a Black man born into slavery who homesteaded in Seabeck and became a fixture in the community before his death in 1954. The lake was named Grass Lake after being renamed in the 1990s. That name replaced the previous name, which was a racial slur for Black people.

An unnamed 18-acre wetland 2 miles north of Tahuya could be named Rodney White Slough. White was born into slavery in Missouri, moved to Mason County in 1890 and homesteaded, with some of the roads he built then still in use today. After White’s death in 1913, the slough where his orchard was given a name that was a racial slur to Black people.

The naming history is convoluted because of the multiple prior changes to the names of the features.

The committee also approved final review for name changes for a saltwater passage in Jefferson County and a ditch in Thurston County. The geographic features could be approved for the name change by the Board of Natural Resources at a future meeting.

Nelson is Mason Health employee of the month

Mason Clinic’s Jennifer Nelson was selected as the January employee of the month.

Nelson, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, grew up in Vancouver, Washington. She became a nurse practitioner after graduating Seattle University’s program in 2014. She started working in Shelton at the Olympic Physicians clinic and has been with Mason Health ever since.

“I just want to care for people,” Nelson said in a news release. “I wanted to do community health medicine, get out of the city and work with more rural populations that are underserved. I want to be an advocate and a support person for people.”