Editing Morton, Washington (section)

===21st century===
The city of Morton voted to leave the Timberland Regional Library district by way of proposition in 2022, leaving the city with no library or supporting library system.<ref>{{cite news |title=Morton Voters Favor Leaving Timberland Regional Library System |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/morton-voters-favor-leaving-timberland-regional-library-system,303421 |access-date=December 18, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date= November 9, 2022}}</ref>

As part of a single-evening act of vandalism towards [[LGBT people in the United States#Hate crimes|LGBTQ]] symbols in June 2023 that also affected [[Chehalis, Washington]], a window and a rainbow bench outside of a business in the city were damaged.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vander Stoep |first1=Isabel |title=Four Lewis County LGBTQ+ Advocate Sites Vandalized in One Night |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/four-lewis-county-lgbtqplus-advocate-sites-vandalized-in-one-night,321415 |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=June 26, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Girgis |first1=Lauren |title=Flags stolen, vandalized throughout Washington during Pride month |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/flags-stolen-vandalized-throughout-washington-during-pride-month/ |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=The Seattle Times |date=July 7, 2023}}</ref>

A [[Washington State Auditor|state audit]] of Morton's government accounts were undertaken into 2024 and revealed a loss of over $937,000. Further investigations produced evidence the loss was misappropriated by the city's clerk-treasurer starting in 2013 and continuing into 2021. The city official, Tamara Clevenger, who during that time had sole oversight of the city's accounts, was suspected of siphoning the money for personal use. The clerk resigned after the city instituted a separation of the combined clerk-treasurer position in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lucia |first1=Bill |title=Former city official accused of stealing $937K from tiny Morton, WA |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/former-city-official-accused-of-stealing-937k-from-tiny-morton-wa/ |access-date=August 29, 2024 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |publisher=[[The Washington State Standard]] |date=August 27, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle staff |title=State auditor: City of Morton lost nearly $1 million over a decade |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/state-auditor-city-of-morton-lost-nearly-1-million-over-a-decade,360597 |access-date=August 29, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=August 26, 2024}}</ref> Clevenger was officially charged with wire fraud in federal court in April 2025;<ref>{{cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=Caitlyn |title=Tiny WA city’s clerk embezzled almost $1M, federal charges say |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/tiny-wa-citys-clerk-embezzled-almost-1m-federal-charges-say/ |access-date=May 1, 2025 |work=The Seattle Times |date=April 24, 2025}}</ref> she pled guilty the following month.<ref>{{cite news |author1=MyNorthwest.com staff |title=Morton city clerk admits to embezzling nearly $1 million over years |url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/morton-city-clerk-admits-embezzling-nearly-1-million-over-years/NY6GZNLLURD2REROT5HMQXME7Q/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=[[KIRO-TV|KIRO 7 News]] |publisher=[[MyNorthwest.com]] |date=May 8, 2025}}</ref>