Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Sam Valdez confirmed on Tuesday that he was out of the race for Wahkiakum County Assessor, leaving a sole candidate, incumbent Bill Coons. Valdez garnered enough write-in votes in the primary election to qualify as a candidate for the general election, but he decided not to seek the job. "Another business venture showed up at the eleventh hour," Valdez said this week. "I didn't feel like I could give the assessor's job the time it required. "I'm really kind of disappointed. Bill Coons needs...
There will be a food drive to address the continuing issues of hunger and food insecurity in Wahkiakum County on September 20. September is a tough month, according to volunteer Sue Garn, who has been working alongside volunteers from the Hunger Relief Task Force, the WSU Extension Office, Health and Human Services and several representatives from local churches to make this event happen. “There is less food on the shelves in food banks than any other time of year,” she said. “The shelves need...
Abbie Eaton of Naselle was crowned Queen at the 2014 Wahkiakum County Fair. The six princesses who competed for the crown raised more than $8,000 this year, much to Fair Manager, Patty Dursteler's delight. Several local musicians took the stage and entertained locals and other visitors at the three-day event. There was salmon and ice cream and elephant ears. Teens chatted and tried to look cool while the younger kids raced around, playing in the inflatable castles, or walking on water in...
The Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors made quick work of the agenda at their August meeting on Tuesday. School Board Director Tina Schubert was not present, and Michelle Budd had to step out for a football meeting next door. With board members Tim Hanigan and Shawn Merz on hand and Sue O’Connor on the phone, the school board approved several items, beginning with an increase in the adult school lunch price from $3.50 to $4. A class on wildlife and a class on forestry will be combined...
Wahkiakum PUD Customer Service Representative Lia Sealund updated the board of commissioners on the rebate program for energy efficiency and made suggestions for future projects at Tuesday’s PUD meeting. “The intention of the rebate funding is to reduce electrical consumption for our district,” Sealund said. “I thought it would be helpful to highlight the return on the investment. Where are we capturing the biggest savings? For every dollar that we’ve invested in rebate funds for the ductless...
Commissioners of Port District 1 discussed the concession stand, plans for the RV sewer dump and other issues at their August meeting last Thursday. Commissioner Bob Kizziar’s grant writing efforts were rewarded with a grant from the Wahkiakum County Marine Resources Committee in the amount of $7,000. The money will go toward safety ladders and fire extinguishers at the Elochoman Slough Marina. With input from the local fire department, the Cathlamet Yacht Club has offered to install the new e...
The views at Skamokawa Vista Park and the charm of the Wahkiakum County Fair have fixed Bob and Jane Hays' travel plans for the past 15 years. Bob, 83, a retired electrical engineer and his wife Jane, 82, came to the northwest to visit one of their three children. Their middle boy lives in Woodinville and works for Microsoft as an electrical engineer. Towing a fifth wheel gave them the freedom to travel without any particular plan and on a fateful day about 15 years ago they found themselves on...
Skateboarders from the Pacific Northwest and different points in the US, a European and a South American traveled to Cathlamet to compete and socialize at the sixth annual Downhill Corral during one of the hotter weekends in memory. Rising temperatures, a touch of humidity and an unforgiving sun made the hours on the asphalt a trial, unless you were riding. There were rumors of Germans and Australians as well. Tibault Parise came all the way from France. "I'm from Nice, which is nice," he said....
Two said no, one said yes, and one said one way or another when asked this week if they would be write in candidates for county offices this fall. Four Wahkiakum County incumbent office holders entered the August 5 primary election with no apparent opposition and emerged with write-in opponents. Saying yes: Westend resident Sam Valdez said he would enter the race for county assessor. Incumbent Bill Coons has filed for re-election. Saying no: Deputy Sheriff Mike Balch said Tuesday he wouldn't campaign for sheriff against incumbent Mark Howie....
As the light shifted and cast shade on the verdant and lush acreage at Erickson Park in Cathlamet, Master Gardeners and volunteers met late Monday afternoon in the Community Garden to begin harvest. The temperature had dropped nearly 20 degrees that afternoon, but it was still humid. Marian Green was picking beans, and Joyce Orr was looking for containers to carry the squash she would soon begin to tackle. Craig Brown was tracking down the hay used for the Downhill Corral last weekend. It would...
With federal funds, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is one of several agencies able to hire high school students to work through the Youth Conservation Corps each summer. Students from South Bend, Naselle and Ilwaco have traditionally been offered positions at Willapa Wildlife Refuge, according to Wahkiakum High School teacher Jeff Rooklidge, but four years ago, the service opened up a branch at Julia Butler Hansen Refuge. "There have probably been 25-30 applications each year for four...
At a special meeting of the Wahkiakum School District Board of Director’s on Monday, the board voted unanimously to place a technology and security driven levy on the November ballot. They will be asking for $125,000 for four years, a total of $500,000. For property owners, the tax will be $0.29 per $1,000 of the assessed value of their property. The school district has been involved in emergency management planning with the sheriff’s office, the fire department and EMS in order to be pre...
Fair Manager Patty Dursteler and her crew of volunteers have already put in a lot of hours at the fairgrounds in Skamokawa to get ready for the Wahkiakum County Fair next weekend and they still have a lot of work to do before Monday when county residents begin to bring in their entries. Ken Gomes and his crew have been painting the T building and the stage and volunteers are papering tables and walls. The goat and sheep building has been pressure washed and a couple volunteers are frantically wo...
Georgene "George" Scott's husband, Bob, had the foresight to plant trees when they purchased the house, barn and land in Rosburg on the Grays River. Bob's keen vision transformed the harshly lit pasture into a shaded, lush and serene grove. They bought the house despite their early misgivings. An unwelcome odor had permeated the walls, and the mess of rooms weakened the flow in the home. After a flood, they gutted the whole house, and like the property, it, too, was transformed. They created a...
On July 28, Elochoman Valley resident Bud Wickland found his mailbox vandalized for what he said was the sixth or seventh time in the last 18 months. He had lovingly crafted the mailbox by hand out of cedar and had already repaired it five or six times. "Whoever is doing this," Wickland said," is too cowardly to do this in the day time." That same day another resident on Beaver Creek reported a vandalized mailbox. This one was metal and had a big enough dent it was no longer functional. The...
Wahkiakum School District will have a tighter budget to work with this year, with a reserve of $200,000, a number that is approximately $455,000 less than two years ago. “With every budget I try to include a $60,000 contingency item for the unknown,” Superintendent Bob Garrett said. “Because we are hiring a new teacher, that money is spent. That means our budget will be very tight.” It also means smaller class sizes. “We’re going to try to cut some costs,” Garrett continued. “If we are successf...
It was a few minutes before one in the morning on Thursday, July 24, when Darcy Tischer awoke to a smoke alert sounding its alarm. A light sleeper, she sprinted to her boyfriend's side. Tayler Stornetta was in a deep sleep and hadn't heard a thing. Their small house on Puget Island was on fire and filling up fast with smoke. They moved quickly to get their niece, Mari, five, and their two kids, Louis, almost two and Leanndra, nine, out of the house. The little ones weren't fully awake when they...
There was a palpable sense of camaraderie and joy of the dog amongst the group of enthusiasts who joined Howard and Judy Brawn at their home, Misty River Plantation, on Puget Island last weekend for a lure coursing event. A couple stopped by while looking for a home on Puget Island. The young woman mentioned that they had owned a whippet and quickly made friends. The group teased each other and laughed easily, immediately welcoming to any new face. The event was not unlike a greyhound race. The...
It was a few minutes before one in the morning on Thursday, July 24, when Darcy Tischer awoke to a smoke alert sounding its alarm. A light sleeper, she sprinted to her boyfriend’s side. Tayler Stornetta was in a deep sleep and hadn’t heard a thing. Their small house on Puget Island was on fire and filling up fast with smoke. They moved quickly to get their niece, Mari, five, and their two kids, Louis, almost two and Leanndra, nine, out of the house. The little ones weren’t fully awake when...
The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, July 29 for regular business. The meeting was originally scheduled for August 5 but was moved to this Tuesday in order to accommodate everyone’s summer calendar. Commissioner Robert Jungers suggested that General Manager David Tramblie call the general manager of Okanogan PUD, which is in the region of Washington that has been hard hit by fires this summer, to offer support as a show of solidarity. His fellow commissioners a...
Mike McGuire, who oversees all the post offices in the 986-- zip code area for the United States Postal Service, spoke to residents this week in Rosburg and Skamokawa about the USPS plan to keep their local post offices open by reducing the number of hours the window at each post office will remain open. It's about money, he said. “We get no taxes,” McGuire said of USPS. “We are self-supported just like any other business. We make our money off of any products we sell. Since we are losing money...
There was a palpable sense of camaraderie and joy of the dog amongst the group of enthusiasts who joined Howard and Judy Brawn at their home, Misty River Plantation, on Puget Island last weekend for a lure coursing event. A couple stopped by while looking for a home on Puget Island. The young woman mentioned that they had owned a whippet and quickly made friends. The group teased each other and laughed easily, immediately welcoming to any new face. The event was not unlike a greyhound race. The...
The budget for the 2014-2015 school year was approved at July’s Wahkiakum School District’s Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday. The reserve in the general fund will be $200,000, approximately $455,000 less than two years ago, and staff will be tightening their belts. “The game has changed,” Superintendent Bob Garrett said. “Everyone is going to have a budget to live with.” Two big worries have the school district wondering how to generate more revenue. The first issue was aging technology....
Another Bald Eagle Day is in the books. By midday on Saturday, it was a bright warm humid one. That didn’t stop a few thousand people from coming into town to take in a parade and join in the fun. Local firefighters, deputies and search and rescue volunteers were well represented in the parade as they showed off their freshly washed fire engines and fast cars. Children sat on curbs waiting for the continual shower of candy coming their way as parade entrants passed. There were clowns and c...
On July 9, a little before 4 a.m. Fred Cantrell was asleep in his fiancée’s home on Altoona Pillar Rock Road when he heard a loud explosion. Startled, he jumped out of bed and hurried into the kitchen. He found a wall of fire. He ran to his future wife’s room and shouted. “There’s a fire in the house! Get up!” “I was deep in sleep,” Kathy Hamilton said. “But I heard the word ‘fire’ and I just ran.” In their bare feet and pajamas, they ran for the door. Hamilton grabbed her purse, ce...
