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Thursday, June 30, 2016 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-3
NEWS BRIEFS
Man killed in
National Forest
MTA appoints
new general
A 20-year-old Port Orchard
man died last weekend after a
vehicle he was in tumbled more
than 500 feet down a cliff in
Olympic National Forest.
Mason County Coroner Wes
Stockwell identified the victim as
James A. Gregersen on Sunday
morning.
According to the Mason County
Sheriffs Office, three people
were ejected from a truck when
it rolled down a cliff Saturday
morning near Spider Lake. A
female passenger and the male
driver sustained minor injuries.
A group of three people -- two
males and a female -- left a group
campsite early Saturday morn-
ing, according to Mason County
Sheriff Chief Ryan Spurling.
After briefly stopping on a Forest
Service road, the driver quickly
accelerated on a portion of the
road about 9 1/2 feet wide.
The right tire of the truck left
the road and the vehicle tumbled
more than 1,000 feet into a ra-
vine.
The female passenger was
ejected first, then the driver, who
is 21 years old. Gregersen was
ejected last about half way down
the ravine.
The survivors said they
climbed down, saw Gregersen
was dead, and climbed out. They
hiked back along the road until
they had cellphone service and
called 911 at about 6 a.m., Spurl-
ing said.
Danette Brannin has been ap-
pointed general manager of Ma-
son Transit Authority.
The MTA Board of Commis-
sioners voted unanimously to
extend an offer for the position
during its regular board meeting
June 21.
Brannin will
make an an-
nual salary of
$90,000, along
with standard
management
benefits. The
probationary
period will be
waived for the Brannin
permanent posi-
tion.
The board decided to hire
Brannin rather than go through
a lengthy and costly recruitment
process, according to an MTA
news release.
Mason County Commissioner
Terri Jeffreys, MTA's board
chairwoman, said "After much
deliberation, the board decided an
external search was not necessary
as the skills and talents needed
to lead MTA are evident in
Danette's performance to date. In
her four months as acting general
manager, she has demonstrated
the skills and vision needed to
continue to grow MTA service
from a position of fiscal strength
and sustainability. Her focus on
building a strong team internally
while expanding the agency's
Local fire districts, Mason ..............and positive reputa-
Co~Jaty Search and Rescue, the t~on with our ridership and the
Mason County Sheriff's Office and community gives the board full
volunteer firefighters responded confidence in her leadership."
to the call. Brannin started working at
Because it had been dark MTA in June 2012. She began as
when they crashed, the survivors the staff accountant, then was
couldn't find the crash site again, promoted to finance manager
Volunteer pilot Rick Wiley tookin December 2012. She left the
Sheriffs Office officials up in his agency for a brief period, but was
private plane for about an hourstill providing contract work for
and a half in search of the crash MTA. She returned full-time in
site. 2015 as the finance and informa-
Sheriffs deputies on the tion technologies manger. Bran-
ground eventually found the site nin holds a Bachelor of Science
after noon on Sunday. degree in accounting.
Crews from Mason County "I am extremely excited for this
Search and Rescue and fire de- opportunity to serve MTA and
partments used a rope team to the community at large," Brannin
recover Gregersen around 5 p.m.said.
Spurling said the department
is certain alcohol is involved, but • Compiled by editor Adam Rud-
it is still under investigation, nick and reporter Brianna Loper
e
Journal photo by Shawna Whelan
Fire crews work to extinguish a garage fire Sunday afternoon in the 2000 block
of Stevens Street in Shelton. Nobody was injured in the fire, which officials esti-
mated did $30,000 in damage. Central Mason Fire & EMS and fire districts 4 and
11 dealt with 93-degree weather as they extinguished the fire.
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