April 9, 2020 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 1 (1 of 48 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
April 9, 2020 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
J
Thursday, April 9, 2020
SHELTON-MASON COUNTY '
ourna
84 10 3-24
The ,Voice of MasOn County Since 1886 Vol. 134, No. 15
Kolleen Winquist, a truck driver for Sierra Pacific Industries, removes
chains from her load of lumber on
its way to processing at the downtown Shelton mill. For
photo
more photos, see pages A-12 and A-13. Journal
BusineSs as usual?
Some industries have seen big shakeups,
others have not during (0 VID- l9 crisis
Dy Adam Rudniclt
adam@masoncounty, com
Mason County’s largest employer,
Little Creek Casino Resort, is tempo-
rarily closed. Shellfish growers, still
needing to plant and harvest their
product, are doing so with fewer work-
ers. Swaths of workers in nearly every
local industry have been laid off,'or
their job descriptions have changed in
the‘past month.
But some industries, including gro-
cery store chains and transportation
companies, are seeing huge demands
for workers. In other industries, it’s
business as usual.
Those changes are among the new normal in Mason
County and surrounding areas.
INSIDE
The changing
But that’s not the whole story — industries that
were already weakened or shipped their products over-
seas have been hit especially hard, said Cheryl Fam—
Council.
. bles, CEO of Pacific Mountain Workforce Development
“Those industries were already shook up,” Fambles
said. “Then COVID comes in and slams them. Early
"i
shape of
business in Mason County: How
employers, job
seekers must
navigate obstacles to keep
business, life going —— Page A-8
on it was the shellfish industry that
started making calls that they’re go-
ing to have to do some layoffs. That
has just snowballed. We’re in the front
end of this and it’s just going to con-
tinue.”
While “nonessential” businesses
are slated to remain closed until at
least May 4, when Gov. Jay Inslee’s
order to stay home could end, some
essential businesses are changing to
adapt to a changing economy.
Grocery stores in MaSon County
have continued to see some items sell
quickly. Commodities, including toilet paper and paper
iiiiii see BUSINESS, page
l‘l?
SHELTON WA, 98584-3847
31.50
17 cases
now in
county
Coronuvirus diagnoses
more than double in days
éyld'ain Rudnick
adam@masoncounty.com
The number of Mason County resi—
dents to test positive for the coronavi-
rus is up to 17 as of Wednesday mom-
ing.
A man in his 503 was the latest con—
firmed case, according to Mason Coun-
ty Public Health. So far, the county has
had eight residents between ages 40
and 59 test positive — the most of any
age group Public Health uses to clas—
sify cases.
Seven residents between the ages of
60 and 79 have tested positive for the
coronavirus. One man 80 or older, and
one woman between ages 20 and 39
have also tested positive. Eleven men
and six women have positive tests.
Mason County Public Health said it
does not provide location data for posi-
tive coronavirus cases.
N 0 deaths related to the coronavirus
have been reported in Mason County.
Patients who test positive have been
--isolating at home, according to Public
Health.
As of Tuesday, Mason County Public
Health reported that 502 coronavirus
tests had been performed, citing state
Department of Health data that was
updated Monday.
MaSon County Public Health stated
in a news release Tuesday that it is
conducting “contact interviews.”
As of Monday, Washington has 8,682
confirmed cases, including 394 deaths,
according to the state Department of
Health. The department reports that
8.6% of residents who have taken the
test have tested positive for the corona-
virus.
Nearly 88,000 tests have been con-
ducted in Washington as of Monday.
see—CASES, page A—ii
i; Pandemic creating more first-time clients for food banks
SMALL TOWN PAPERS
927 W RAlLROAD AVE
New/y unemployed seek help from nonprofits '
ByOGordon Weeks
gordon@masoncounty. com
Residents recently laid off
by Seattle Shellfish, Little
Creek Casino Resort and 10-
IN SID E T0 DAY V
County auditor to lnslee: m
Ease state election statutes 1
Page A—34
00111
iii!!!
1-8
ca] restaurants in the wake of
the coronavirus outbreak are
among the first-time clients at
The Saints’ Pantry Food Bank
in downtown Shelton.
“You can always tell who
Mason County schools will
remain closed until fall
Page A—2
the first-timers are — they
are nervous,” said Rebecca
Boynton, executive director of
the nonprofit at 214 S. 2nd St.
“It’s humbling for some folks
to come in for help.”
She added, “There’s no
shame — that’s what we’re
here for.”
About 30 new families usu-
ally sign up for assistance
in a month, Boynton said.
In March, 140 new families
sought help.
“A lot of families are hurt-
ing because of it,” she saidof
the temporary closure of “non-
essential” businesses.
. Jfi’fifilal
Along with the new clients,
“We have some who have not
been with us for four or five
years, and they’ve come back
to us,” Boynton'said. ‘
The food bank distributes
food to Shelton-area residents
see FOOD BANKS, page A-9
Targets
Starts on page A—l 7
we
...~x..,-..s.~;»...~ .