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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
April 9, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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April 9, 2020
 
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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.~;»...~ .