Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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The energy was contagious at the first annual Warriors, Widows and Heroes event last Thursday at the Elochoman Slough Marina. The idea for this event has been simmering in the head of Puget Island resident Bud Mickelsen for seven years, ever since he saw a presentation given by Jeff Mason of Puyallup. Mason runs a program called Fish'n Trips for Heroes, providing an opportunity for Wounded Warriors to experience fishing. Normally, Mason takes out one or two at a time. Mickelsen wanted to try it...
Attorney Bruce Finlay was in Wahkiakum County Superior Court Tuesday with his client, Rosburg resident Sam Valdez, to petition the $10 million bail set in July. Valdez has been charged on three counts: solicitation to commit murder in the first degree, delivery of marijuana, and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver marijuana. Finlay argued that the bail had been set high in order to keep Valdez in jail because of “speculation that the defendent might do this or might do that i...
The Toutle Lake Ducks handed the Wahkiakum Mules a 32-6 defeat in their Central League football opener last Friday. The hosts scored on a 29-yard run in the first quarter and runs of 40, 87 and four yards in the second quarter, in which they gained 161 yards. The Mules stiffened in the second half, but Toutle scored on a 53-yard run in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Zach Brown put the Mules on the scoreboard with a 14-yard touchdown run at 6:32 of the fourth quarter. The conversion...
A busy week at the Elochoman Slough Marina was capped off on Saturday with the 2015 Wooden Boat Show. Without the coinciding Chili Cookoff, the event seemed a little quieter this year, but everyone who attended the classes, checked out the boats or heard the Skamokawa Swamp Opera seemed to be having a good time. Organizers focused on smaller boats this year and several were set up along the road. There were a few more tied up along B dock. "We've got a lot of smaller boats, a lot of static...
Last Wednesday was warm and gorgeous, perfect for an evening tour aboard the Lady Washington on the Columbia River. I don't know how the weather could have been any better. Really, I only had one complaint. The theme to Gilligan's Island had been stuck in my head for days, with only a minor modification. It had become a two hour tour. I joined 42 other passengers and the crew for a little trip on the river in the replica of the tall ship that sank off the coast of The Philippines in 1797. We wer...
Two votes were enough to pass the preliminary 2016 budget reflecting a 5 percent rate increase for all systems at Tuesday’s Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioner’s meeting. Commissioners Gene Healy and Bob Jungers voted to approve the budget while Commissioner Dennis Reid voted against it. “In four years time, we have a 20 percent increase on our water systems," Reid said. "It’s really hurting people. I’m just not in favor of raising water and electric at the same time because people ar...
Less than a year ago, Sharon Buennagel was celebrating a decade at her restaurant, Sharon's Pizza. Today, she, husband John and daughter, Sarah are beginning a new chapter in Honolulu, HI, while new owners hope to continue her vision and success. On August 10, Buennagel handed over the keys to Ginger Schmitz and her husband Jake Collins. "If I could handpick someone to take over, it would be Ginger," Buennagel said. "She wants to give back to the community like we did. That's important to me....
Kyleen Austin's second album, If You Were, came out quietly on August 18. She's been too distracted and busy with the abundance that comes from a productive, happy life. "I haven't had time to do any promoting," she said. She's making a little time now. Austin, who lives on Puget Island, is a kayak guide for Columbia River Kayaking, a consultant for a local dairy, and a singer/songwriter. She's working hard, building a home out of a shipping container. "I don't do anything that I don't want to...
Attendance was down a little this year at the Wahkiakum County Fair, though Fair Manager Patricia Dursteler did not know the exact numbers on Tuesday. Despite that, the people who did attend had a good time. "It was a blast," Dursteler said. "We had so much fun." Fear that the Downhill Corral in Cathlamet would keep people away seemed unfounded as local turnout for the skateboarding event seemed to be low as well. Dursteler wasn't sure if it was the detour or the annual kite festival in Long Bea...
On August 17, Judge Michael Sullivan sentenced Puget Island resident Donna L. Buck to 90 days in jail and ordered her to pay legal fees as well as restitution in the amount of $115,730.41, after she pled guilty to two counts, theft in the first degree and theft in the second degree. Buck, 55, had been a bookkeeper for Elochoman Valley Partners, LLC, a self sustaining company managed by Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services, according to court documents. EVP provides services around the...
Ginger Moonen and other volunteers, along with support from Wahkiakum County Fair Manager Patricia Dursteler, are bringing back a riding event, the Silver Buckle Series. There were three opportunities to compete this year and there are plans to have six competitions next year, three during the winter and three more in the summer. Several local sponsors stepped up to provide prizes. Sam Longtain donated eight loads of dirt for the arena. "We couldn't have put the show on without them," Moonen...
The Community Garden in Cathlamet's Erickson Park has grown robust thanks to hard work, long hours and the expertise of several local master gardeners, volunteers and even the occasional hand from local inmates on work release. It's so lush this year, it was added to the Cathlamet Woman's Club Tour of Homes and Gardens on August 8. The master gardeners have been trying to improve the soil since the garden was established in 2010 and it is finally starting to pay off. Towering sunflowers grow...
At August’s Port District 1 meeting August 13, port Commissioners Bob Kizziar and Gary Quigley conducted interviews, asking Scott Anderson, Richard Erickson and Terry Ostling a series of questions. At the end of the meeting, the commissioners, Port Manager Jackie Lea and port counsel Tim Hanigan met for a closed executive session to make a decision. Afterwards they announced that Anderson was selected to fill the vacant position on the board, created by Larry Bond’s recent resignation. Dav...
The crowds were lean, the weather was comfortable, and the competition was hot at the 2015 Downhill Corral this weekend. An easterly wind blew in a smoky haze from Washington fires to fill the skies and darken the sun from orange to red. And still young men and women from near and far traveled to compete in an event that is becoming known throughout the world. "How is it in Cathlamet?" skateboarders are asked when they travel to Australia, Europe and New Zealand. "There are several...
Several local officials attended a roundtable discussion with Senator Maria Cantwell last Wednesday in Cathlamet. The senator listened carefully, taking notes as each person at the table took a turn to speak about the issues confronting their departments, whether it was infrastructure, tourism, a housing shortage or mental health issues. Port 1 Commissioner Bob Kizziar mentioned the eroding beaches on Puget Island and the need for dredging in the marina and elsewhere. "I remember that the Corps...
A budget workshop was held at Tuesday’s Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioner’s meeting, as commissioners and managers tried to decide whether to move forward with or without a five percent rate increase in customer rates. General Manager Dave Tramblie continued to recommend a five percent increase across the board, for the electric system and both water systems. He itemized his reasons on paper. They were many and included, but were not limited to: • The BPA has increased their wholesale r...
Things are picking up at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds this week. Volunteers are setting up and participants have been coming in with their entries. Some judging is already done. "We are paying premium points," Fairground Manager Patty Dursteler wanted to stress after a recent conversation about the matter with someone who was misinformed and frustrated. The youth barn has been painted. Paint and supplies were paid for with money raised from flea markets and last year's haunted house. Local...
Gunnar Blix was one of 80 high school football players selected to play in the US All American Blue Gray game in Dallas, TX this December. Blix, a senior at RA Long, is the son of Puget Island residents Lamar and Wendy Blix. He will be a linebacker for the West team in an East vs. West game at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Recruiters from 225 colleges around the US are expected to be in attendance. Earlier this year, Blix was invited to participate in one of 10 combines held in...
Dan Wilson was approved to fill a vacant position on the School Board of Directors at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Wahkiakum School District. He will be on the ballot in November for another position, which is uncontested. “Dan Wilson has expressed a desire to join the board,” Superintendent Bob Garrett said. “Dan is willing to come on early and fill that role for a few months and after the election he would resign and take his new position.” At last month’s meeting, the board accepted a...
Elmer has a great big wonderful grin, but he's still too shy to talk very much. After three and a half years of frustrations and not knowing if it would actually happen, this 10 year old boy from the Pangasinan Province in the Philippines has finally come home. Rosburg residents Poul and Zenaida Toftemark were finally able to put a cap on the adoption process and bring Elmer to the states. "Every year we go home to the Philippines, where I am from," Zenaida Toftemark said. "The grandkids would...
The trumpet of steam engines could be heard at varying hours last weekend with several enthusiasts from the Northwest Steam Society in town for their annual steam meet."It was a good meet," Norm Davis, the event coordinator, said on Monday. "The water was good and the weather was great. The older participants and the new ones really seemed to enjoy their time here. The Wine and Cheese Soiree at Tsuga Gallery was a new twist and big hit." "The only negative is that we seemed to have less dock...
Grays River residents David Henderson and Colleen Haley appealed to the commissioners for a greater discount at the Wahkiakum County PUD board meeting on August 4 after a leak on their property generated a water loss that cost them $280.21. Their questions led to conversation about some of the issues that the PUD faces with the western Wahkiakum water system. The water had been shut off at their property for nearly two years, according to Henderson, and was recently turned on to prepare the...
Myrna Brown, née Fudge, who graduated from Wahkiakum High School in 1962, has written her first book, a romance, Of Unseen Things Above. Drawing from experience and imagination, Brown tells the story of a young woman named Thea from Cathlamet who feels called at a young age to mission work in Africa. Thea’s life and purpose is challenged by the people she meets, people whose struggles with health, poverty, and hunger become more immediate than her promise to her patrons at home to build a church...
Once upon a time the Anderson-Amundsen family would fill the Skamokawa Grange with their reunions, but with the event in its 60th year, family members have largely passed on or moved away and their numbers have dwindled. Still, what the Anderson-Amundsens lack in numbers, they make up for with energy and enthusiasm and laughter. Lois Bighill, this year's emcee, has been to all 60 reunions but one. She enjoyed the first from her mother's knee. She guesses that four generations are represented thi...
Two weeks ago a truck from the Washington State Patrol’s bomb squad sat in front of the Wahkiakum County Courthouse. It wasn’t until this weekend that the rumors exploded, and Sheriff Mark Howie found he had a little explaining and a lot of reassuring to do. On July 20, a resident from another county in Washington found a brick of plastic explosives in a storage area on her property. Believing it may have a connection with an ongoing case in Wahkiakum County, the individual brought it to How...
