Articles written by Stevan Morgain
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 128
New principal at work at WHS
Dan Casler, 35, has just finished his first month as Wahkiakum High School’s interim principal. Casler is from Olympia and, for the present, commutes to work several days a week. He has taught for the past eight years in the Olympia school d...
Conservation district under state audit scrutiny
The Washington State Auditors Office recently released the results of an independent accountability audit for the Wahkiakum Conservation District (WCD) for January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2008. The auditor’s office looked at the district’s inte...
Burglary dents Islander's helpful spirit
“He’s just the nicest guy,” were the first words Lynn Wilson said when she was asked about Rodney Prestegard of Little Island. Prestegard has lived and worked on Puget Island for 69 years. He isn’t sure when his family first moved to the Island....
Political candidates speak at forum
Over 60 voters gathered at the Johnson Park Community Center last Thursday to meet the new candidates and hear again from the incumbents. Krist Noveselic lowered the gavel to begin the forum, which was sponsored by the Grays River Grange. County...
Fire destroys Westend house
Fire departments from Cathlamet to Naselle were called to fight a three alarm fire on South Satterlund Road around noon last Thursday in Grays River. They were called to the home of Trudy and Delvin Fredrickson. Grays River Fire District 3 and...
Denny Heck runs for Congress
Wahkiakum voters can be proud. They’re a hard headed lot in Washington’s Third Congressional District. They ask the politicians who want to represent them – to prove their worth. Denny Heck, a Democrat, running to replace Brian Baird this fall in th...
Takko: A proactive approach to lawmaking
State Representative Dean Takko represents the 19th district position 1 which includes Wahkiakum, Pacific and parts of Grays Harbor and Cowlitz counties. During a forum last Friday in Long Beach, he told the audience he is a lifelong citizen of...
Swanson: They're spending our money
Kurt Swanson is challenging incumbent Dean Takko for State Representative Pos. 1, Legislative District 19. Swanson says he prefers the Republican Party. His website says “I am a first-time candidate. I have never run for or held public office b...
School board OKs budget for 2010-11 year
The Wahkiakum School District board of directors met last Wednesday and approved budgets for the 2010-11 school year. Mike Quigley, vice-chair, called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. No members of the public were in attendance. Superintendent Bob Garr...
Port District 2 works on business
The Port District No. 2 board of commissioners had a light agenda they met July 20. Commissioners Brian O’Connor and Kayrene Gilbertsen--Commissioner Carlton Appelo was absent--approved and signed off on last month’s minutes, then opened the flo...
Blake: Connected with constituents
In an interview with The Eagle, Brian Blake, Democratic Rep. for the 19th District, including Wahkiakum County, said he enjoyed the Bald Eagle Days festivities. Events also remind him of the importance of community and connections with the community....
County assessor: Coons challenges Zerr
Puget Island resident Bill Coons is running to be Wahkiakum County’s new assessor. Coons said people around the county started encouraging him to run for the assessor’s position early on and he feels his background in selling real-estate in Wah...
Disappearing bees mystery no closer to being solved
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) – that’s the name given to the latest threat to the survival of the European honey bee. CCD is characterized by the unexpected die-off of entire bee colonies. For unknown reasons commercially managed hives are sud...
New sales tax hits gum, candy and more
June ended with Wahkiakum shoppers paying a higher sales tax on candy, gum, bottled water and some snack foods and non-micro beers. Labeled “candy tax” by the media, the tax is part of $800 million tax package Washington Democrats approved early thi...
Love of rocks brings man to new career
Steve Anderson has rocks on the brain. He’s collected rocks since he was a child. As a woodsman he collected stones while hiking, hunting and fishing along the quiet trails and streams that wend their ways through the forests of Washington and O...
High school graduation will get tougher by 2013
More than 90 percent of the state’s high school seniors passed the reading and writing portions of Washington State’s new High School Proficiency Exam this year but the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) says scores in mat...
Ecology issues biosolids DNS
Last week, the Department of Ecology (DOE) issued its final Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) in the application of Evergreen Septic of Seaview for the permit it needs to apply Class B biosolids on 80 acres of Philip and Sulema Zerr’s ranch i...
Candidate wants to reduce state spending
The free-for-all of Washington’s top-two primary creates a place holder for would-be politicians, including Tim Sutinen who says he is aligned with the “Lower Taxes Party.” A Longview businessman, Sutinen said he’s running for office as an independen...
US Supreme Court rules on Washington initiative signatures
People who sign initiative and referendum petitions may no longer expect their names to stay secret. The US Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that signing a petition is a public act. The case in the Supreme Court came from last year’s Referendum 71 o...
School board hires new WHS principal
The Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors called itself to order last Wednesday to deal with a short agenda. The board approved agenda items and then called for public comment and suggestions about improvements for the next school year. No...
Development's evolution leads to confusion
"It’s a mess! Everything is confused. It’s Balkanized." These are just a few terms used by residents and those familiar with the controversy to describe the problems at the Columbia Ridge Estates (CRE) in the Town of Cathlamet. The development, jus...
Port 1 backs out of incubator park plan
The Lower Columbia Economic Development Council’s (LCEDC) plan for a new incubator business park in Wahkiakum County is on hold. During his report to county commissioners last Tuesday LCEDC Director David Goodroe said Port District No. 1 had informed...
Wahkiakum GOP endorses Herrera
On Tuesday State Republican Representative Jamie Herrera notified The Eagle by email she had received the endorsement of the Wahkiakum County Republican party. Herrera is running to replace retiring Congressman Brian Baird in Southwest...
Volunteers make Wahkiakum go
Wahkiakum is filled with amazing and innovative people. Local reaction to the winter snow on Christmas day 2008 proves it. It only took Mother Nature a few minutes and tons of snow to turn the Wahkiakum Fairgrounds Arena into a twisted heap of steel...
NHS 2010 graduates earn awards, scholarships
It was hard to tell if it was sun or the ceremony making everyone smile during the Naselle High School graduation. The graduating Class of 2010 had a total of 31 students. Alan Erickson was valedictorian and Karli Nelson salutatorian. Erickson,...