YEAR IN REVIEW 2023 - NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER 2023

In three Shelton City Council races on Nov. 7's ballot, the longest-serving member was handily defeated by a fellow lifelong Shelton resident, a downtown businessman was elected after losing a council race two years ago by five votes, and a third contest was too close to call on the initial count.

Melissa Stearns, a local Realtor and lifelong resident Shelton, defeated eight-year incumbent Kathy McDowell for a four-year term as council member 2. On the first ballot count, Stearns had 549 votes for 58.10%, and McDowell 392 votes for 41.48%. Four write-in candidates received votes.

McDowell was the last remaining member of the three-person Shelton City Commission. Voters in November 2017 expanded the governing body to a seven-member council.

George Blush, the owner of Nita's Koffee Shop in downtown Shelton and the nonprofit 5XL Shelton Pet Food Bank that provide pet food to people in need, won a four-year term as council member 1 with 557 votes for 57.30%. Tristen Smith, who moved with her family from Olympia to Shelton six years ago, garnered 410 votes for 42.18%. Five write-in candidates received votes.

"I want to thank God, my amazing and supportive wife and kids, the people who supported me and the city of Shelton for your vote of confidence," Blush wrote to the Journal. "I look forward to working with the other council members to make Shelton a cleaner, safer place for us all to be proud to call home."

On the initial ballot count, only 28 votes separated Mark Frazier and Tom Gilmore for a four-year term as council member 5.

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Dr. Dean Gushee, the chief medical officer at Mason Health, is retiring after 30 years with the organization.

Gushee's retirement is effective at the end of the year. He'll be replaced by Dr. Darren Cuevas, a doctor of osteopathic medicine.

"We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Gushee, our retiring Chief Medical Officer," Mason Health Chief Medical Officer Eric Moll said in a news release. "Dr. Gushee's remarkable 30-plus career with Mason Health has been marked by transformative achievements and a steadfast commitment to excellence. Under his leadership, our institution has evolved and flourished, witnessing incredible improvements and innovations that have significantly impacted patient care and our community's well-being."

Gushee, 65, joined Mason Health in August 1993 and was the medical director for the emergency department for 22 years. In February 2015, he became the chief medical officer.

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Xinh Dwelley, a renowned chef who fused Vietnamese flavors with Pacific Northwest ingredients at her downtown Shelton restaurant and a master oyster shucker who gave generously to the community, died on Friday. She was 72.

Born in 1951, Dwelley developed her culinary skills growing up in South Vietnam, where she learned to cook using food produced and harvested on her family's rice farm. She was hired to cook for officers in an American mess tent and soon was renowned for her fried chicken and hamburgers.

When she was 19, Dwelley married an American soldier and moved to Olympia in 1970. She picked blueberries and mushrooms, dug clams and sold egg rolls at the farmers market. She started shucking oysters at a company that became Taylor Shellfish. The company recognized her cooking talents and employed her to cook for management and VIP guests.

In 1996, Taylor Shellfish opened Xinh's Clam and Oyster House in downtown Shelton. Dwelley cooked for, and befriended, such chefs as Julia Child, Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman.

Dwelley was also known for her devotion and generosity supporting community causes.