Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Board members and staff said goodbye to Director Michelle Budd LoBue at her final Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday June 23. LoBue, who married recently, is relocating to Louisiana. “It’s been awesome and we always hate to lose quality school board members so we’re going to miss you a bunch,” Superintendent Bob Garrett said. “We love you, thank you very much for your service.” Before she left, Michelle approved several items along with the other board members. Th...
After 27 years, Lee Tischer is retiring from the County Road Department. For some, retirement means tee times or travel, television or gardening, and certainly too much time on their hands. Not Tischer. His last physical day on the job is today, Thursday, June 25. His last official day is July 6. He's already attending training to be a bus driver for the Wahkiakum School District and he's running for office. That's just for starters, as they say. Tischer graduated from Wahkiakum High School in...
The 2015 Bald Eagle Days festival will begin on Friday, July 17, with the eighth annual sidewalk chalk art contest on Main Street near the Bank of the Pacific. Members of the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce decided to rename the event this year in honor of the couple who created it, Ginny and Rolly Armstrong. Ginny passed away in 2013 and Rolly, who missed his beloved wife, passed away the next year. “From what I understand,” Chamber of Commerce Director Shannon Gildea said, “Ginny came up with...
The Puget Island Garage and Yard Sale or PIGYS, which begins on Friday, is in its 14th year. Sandie York has participated in the event six times, but this is the first year she has been involved in its organization, shooting all the way to the top when founders Dean and Mariallis Wesner decided to retire. York started planning in May but began to work in earnest on June 1. With flyers created by Wesner in hand, she has been posting them everywhere she can. York even had the good fortune to meet...
Last Friday, the Wahkiakum High School Class of 2015 joined all the alums who came before them. In a darkened gym, decorated by Natalya Barton, balloons awaited their release, and the class motto, "Nobody can do everything but everyone can do something," sparkled in silver on a black background. The Class of 2015 entered the gym with the "Pomp and Circumstance" and filed onto the stage in robes of black and white. Traditions shifted as the usual speech from the valedictorian and salutatorian...
Scott Wilson, a power services account executive from Bonneville Power Administration, spoke to the commissioners and answered their questions for the better part of an hour at Tuesday’s Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting. Wilson spoke on a variety of topics affecting the BPA from renewables, staffing, and future rate increases. “I want to compliment you on the day to day stuff,” Wilson said to General Manager Tramblie and Auditor Erin Wilson. “You are well ahead of the deadlin...
Bald Eagle Days is five weeks away, and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shannon Gildea is pretty excited and a little nervous about putting together an event she has never attended. There wasn’t much turnout for the planning meetings, so she’s had to put much of the event together on her own. Still, she had the outline of past events, as well as board and chamber members to go to when she had questions. This year's festival will look much the same as it has in the past, with a couple add...
Photo and story by Diana Zimmerman Erla Crouse first dreamed of making coffee, baking and assembling sandwiches in the very spot her coffee shop, Waterway Espresso, inhabits now. She was working for someone else back then, happily helping to fulfill their goals, but now she has the space to tend to her dreams and create her own space. "I'm a socialite," Crouse laughed. "I drive a school bus, but socializing with school children isn't the same as adults. My youngest graduated this year and my hus...
With the toss of a tassel, the Naselle Grays River Valley High School Class of 2015 put a cap on 13 years of education last Saturday. The ceremony began the usual way, with Pomp and Circumstance and a formal procession. Twenty seniors in blue robes took their seats in front of a supportive crowd. Emily Gjovik welcomed everyone and, Valedictorian Chloe Zimmerman stepped up to the podium. "Today is a day of gratitude for me," Zimmerman said. She encouraged her classmates to appreciate their...
Citizens attended a second town hall meeting to discuss the draft of the Solid Waste Nuisance Ordinance on Tuesday night in the Wahkiakum County Courthouse in Cathlamet. “We had two meetings from last year and overwhelmingly, people wanted something done,” Commissioner Dan Cothren said. “We formed a group with Lori Scott, Chuck Hendrickson, Gene Healy and Environmental Health Specialist Leonard Taylor. It was a diverse group and nobody agreed wholeheartedly all the time. We hashed this thing...
Jessica Thomas, Wahkiakum High School's Valedictorian for the Class of 2015 is a quiet and determined young woman with a lot on her mind the week before graduation. Thomas is in charge of decorations and the slide show for the graduation ceremony. Plus there is the senior trip and baccalaureate to think about. "It's just a jam packed week," Thomas said. "I'm not sure if the staff picked us or Morgan Elliott and I just volunteered." A classmate walked by and she sighed. "I think I'm feeling the...
Megan Thompson is the Salutatorian for Wahkiakum High School's Class of 2015. She is the daughter of Hope and Shane Skinner. Narwhals are her thing. "I love them," Thompson said. "They have an interesting history. People thought they were unicorns, which is fascinating to me." This fascination will lead her from LCC to Western Washington University where she plans to study marine biology, and eventually specialize in narwhals. "I think more studies need to be done on them," she said, "so I hope...
The Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors were called for a special meeting on Monday to address the purchase of 165 Chromebooks and to approve the hiring of new teachers. Superintendent Bob Garrett asked Paul Ireland, who provides tech support at the school, to give the school board an explanation of the Chromebook project. “We had discussed that smaller 11 inch Chromebooks are a bit on the small side for daily productivity in a few staff meetings,” Ireland said. “Everybody seems to li...
Last Tuesday, June 2, Puget Island resident Hollie McKay-Beach woke up to what she thought were gas pains at 5:50 a.m. It didn’t take her too long to realize she was having contractions and that they were already just four minutes apart. She tried to wake her husband, Patrick, but he wasn’t having any of it. Soon her contractions were two to three minutes apart, and Patrick was awake. Being groggy, his regard for the situation didn’t match hers, and he told her he needed 15 to 20 minutes to ge...
The gym lights stayed up and the bleachers were pulled out for Wahkiakum School District's 2015 Spring Concert, giving the event a different feel this year. Classes waited on each side of the gym with their teachers for their turn to take the stage. Energy was high and everything was in constant motion. A little girl, unselfconscious, danced alone in front of the bleachers until she was joined by one girl and then another, until they were called away, leaving her to once again dance alone....
Luckily, the sun came out for the 10th Annual Rods and Reels Rod Run at the fairgrounds in Skamokawa on Saturday as locals joined tourists in what was not only a showcase for cars and trucks and motorcycles, but a social event for enthusiasts. Shane Pfenniger and his son Colton brought their first project, a rat rod, to the event. It doesn't run yet, but Pfenniger has already derived a great deal of pleasure in this creative puzzle before him. Cody Olsen spent six years working on his 1978...
The electric crew was on hand as Tuesday’s Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioner’s meeting opened to join the commissioners in congratulating PUD employee Kevin Vik on his promotion to journeyman lineman. Vik rose to the position after four years of hard work and giving up many Saturdays for classes. “The journeyman lineman is probably the backbone of our industry,” said Commissioner Gene Healy. “We thank you for your hard work.” PUD Counsel Tim Hanigan reported that he would be attendin...
After receiving a tenth of the funds that United Way usually supplies each year, St. James Family Center has renewed their commitment to their core programs and are relying on donors while looking down alternative avenues for money to sustain the other work that they are doing. “Childcare and preschool have received priority with the generous donations that have been received thus far,” Beth Hansen, Executive Director of SJFC said. “Those programs will continue to be provided as planned.” With s...
Chloe Zimmerman is the valedictorian for Naselle Grays River Valley High School's Class of 2015. This young woman with a keen mind and a love for books will attend Yale in the fall. Eventually, she plans to return to Seattle to attend the University of Washington to study Library Science. She is thrilled to be attending Yale, which she proudly admits has a 7 percent admittance rate. It was while visiting the school in New Haven, Conn., and another school back east, that she finally knew. "It...
Amethyst Wirkkala, salutatorian. It has a nice ring to it. So does Dr. Amethyst Wirkkala, anesthesiologist. The degree on which the Naselle/Grays River High School senior has set her sights will take her nearly twice as long to achieve as the period of time that it has been since she decided her career path, six years ago in sixth grade. "I really love science and math," Wirkkala said. "The program really interested me. I know I have the leadership skills that you have to have to be an...
Luke Stacey, who recently moved to the midwest with his family, is a senior homeschool student who frequently took advantage of programs and opportunities offered at Wahkiakum High School. He approached Jeff Rooklidge, the science and engineering/robotics teacher for a final project, proposing to research and build a quadcopter. "This was an extremely challenging project for a high school student," Rooklidge said. "Luke has a strong curiosity which enables him to excel in all areas of his...
The 2015 track season ended for the Wahkiakum Mules on Friday in Cheney at the State 2B Track Meet at EWU. Despite competing in three events, the Mules did not qualify for finals. Cheyenne Barton placed 12th in the 400 meter prelims with a time of 1:04.34. The 4x100 meter relay team of Barton, Shelbie Abbot, Shona Heywood and Rory Heywood took 16th in prelims with a time of 55.06. Barton, S. Heywood, R. Heywood and Grace Peacock ran the 4x400 meter relay in 4:37.13 and placed 15th in the...
If you've seen the mural on the brewery at the marina, then you are familiar with artist Jade Lewis' work. Lewis, along with his wife Donna, who opened the music studio, are newcomers to Cathlamet and have quickly settled in, making friends and sharing their gifts. "We just fell in love with this place," Lewis said. "It's a sacrifice because I still have to drive back and forth to Portland each day. I think in three years when I retire, it will be well worth it." In the meantime they are making...
Monday morning's Memorial Day Service at Greenwood Cemetery in Cathlamet began with a welcome from the local VFW post's commander, Danny Eaton. The flag was ceremonially brought to half mast, and Vietnam veteran, Bob Roche took a few minutes to reflect on why the day is recognized: to honor those who have fallen while fighting for our freedom. Roche said, "G.K. Chesterton once wrote: 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.'...
Graduation season is here! The Naselle Grays River Valley High School Graduation ceremony begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at the high school. Baccalaureate will be held on Sunday, May 31 at 7 p.m. The top two seniors for NGRV’s Class of 2015 are Valedictorian Chloe Zimmerman and Salutatorian Amethyst Wirkkala. Zimmerman will give the Valedictorian address, Emily Gjovik was selected as the class speaker and Russ Hickman will be the faculty speaker. The senior class motto is borrowed from W...
