Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1026 - 1050 of 2699
Wahkiakum County commissioners set county levies for 2016 and acted on other business when they met Tuesday. Commissioners approved a 1 percent increase in levies, the maximum allowed by state law without a public vote and the county's first increase in years. The General Fund Levy will total $969,888.63. It includes four parts--Current Expense, $515,787.26; levy shift from County Road, $471,000, Mental Health, $8,000, and Veteran's Relief, $4,000. There is a $28,898.63 reduction to compensate for "amount over levied." The Emergency Medical Ser...
My apologies to the readers for not entering a column last week. My husband spent five days in the hospital for what we had originally thought was pneumonia and it turned out to be more complicated than that. He is on the mend now and we are a little better educated on what some symptoms can indicate. A word of advice to those of you with health issues: Keep a journal of everyday actions and always take it with you to a doctor visit. It makes answering questions much more simple and accurate. Sometimes the simplest entries can indicate a...
by Rick Nelson Wahkiakum County officials on Tuesday put off a decision about who should represent the county on the board of directors on the new regional mental health funding agency, Great Rivers Behavioral Health. Great Rivers is still getting organized and hiring staff. Suzanne Holmes has been representing Wahkiakum county and its mental health program on a temporary appointment, and county Health and Human Services administrators recommended she be appointed to complete the term. Holmes has done an excellent job, said county mental...
Wahkiakum County officials are re-examining a program for boarding horses at the fairgrounds in Skamokawa. The program was started with 4-H youth in mind, but other horse owners have questioned the propriety of the program. Under the program, participants could board horses at the fairgrounds horse barn for $100 per month and work off the fee by performing 20 hours of community service. The questions came to the board of county commissioners Tuesday. Commission Chair Mike Backman said the county fair board, of which he is a member, said the...
Wahkiakum County commissioners dealt with a variety of issues at their meeting Tuesday, including traffic tickets, health department fees and repairs to the county ferry. Health and Human Services Department administrators Sue Cameron and Chris Holmes explained that a former driver of Wahkiakum On the Move had accumulated four traffic tickets under the City of Longview's camera enforcement program. The tickets totaled $496, and Elochoman Valley Partners (EVP), who operate the transportation program, paid the tickets. The administrators asked th...
Last week's storms left Wahkiakum County dealing with several problems. Unstable slopes caused slides that have closed Shannon and Covered Bridge roads in the Grays River Valley, and debris clogged cooling system intakes on the ferry "Oscar B." and closed service for repairs. The ferry could be out of service for 3-4 weeks, Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said. While making a run early Friday morning, sticks and branches floating in the Columbia plugged the water intake to the engines' cooling system. The crew was able to...
Commissioners from three lightly populated, timber dependent counties are preparing to lobby for legislation that would increase their revenue from timber harvest. Wahkiakum, Pacific and Skamania counties all have portions of their state managed trust timberland tied up in habitat conservation areas for endangered species. The counties have been seeking compensation for the lost revenue and have had limited success. Now, they have a new plan and some unexpected allies among environmental preservation organizations. Columbia Land Trust, who has...
The Town of Cathlamet and Port District 1 have tentatively agreed to use the town's old sewer lagoons as a site for disposing of dredge spoils from the Elochoman Marina and Elochoman Slough. The town has switched its sewer disposal system to its new plant, and the sediment has been cleaned out of the three lagoons. Jim Maul and Josh Elliott, consulting engineers working with Port 1 to plan the dredging program, estimate there's enough material to completely fill one of the lagoons and much of...
Commissioners of Port District 2 boosted property taxes and went over issues regarding coming projects when they met Tuesday. Commissioners were split in their views over raising property taxes 1 percent, the maximum allowed by law without a vote of the public. Commission Chair Lori Scott opposed an increase, noting the district financial position is in the black. Commissioners Brian O'Connor and Lee Tischer, however, supported the increase. Both said the district will have unexpected expenses, and both didn't want the district to lose taxing...
It looks like this last storm has inconvenienced quite a few in our neck of the woods. I see that Covered Bridge Road has a pretty serious slide, with one lane collapsed and the other lane questionable near the Barr Road intersection and is closed. Also Shannon Road is closed due to a section of the road collapsing. Lots of other areas were seriously affected by the flooding and mud debris. We have about three inches of silt on our driveway after the 3 1/2 feet of water receded. Let’s hope this is about it, and we can have a calmer winter f...
by Rick Nelson Wahkiakum County commissioners worked through a variety of business Tuesday ranging from adopting their 2016 budgets to approving emergency road repair. No one from the public attended the board's budget hearing, held on Monday in accord with state law. According to meeting minutes, Auditor Diane Tischer and Sheriff Mark Howie asked the board to increase the 5 percent raise they'd budgeted for department heads, the first raise for them in nearly 10 years. There were a few other adjustments totaling $2,399. Commissioners...
Rain, rain, flood, flood. Here we go again. This has certainly been a wet beginning to the holiday season. We are once again house bound for a few days, not that I really mind as we are high and dry, well stocked and safe with our critters. It doesn’t look like the weather is going to get much better for a few days, so I hope other folks are prepared. There were trees down and even a wash out of one lane on Covered Bride Road near Barr Road on Tuesday. Be safe and check on your neighbors and their pets. News from Naselle: Here is the sports c...
Wahkiakum County commissioners approved transportation plans for 2016 and beyond and worked on other issues when they met Tuesday. Besides working on road construction and ferry improvement plans, the board discussed progress on placing dredged sand on eroding properties. The board approved a contract with Coast and Harbor Engineering for engineering design and permitting for several bank nourishment sites on Puget Island. Residents of certain areas along the shipping channel have sought county help in getting dredged sand placed along their...
by Rick Nelson Wahkiakum County officials are taking part in the reorganization of health services. Suzanne Holmes represents the county in the formation of the Great Rivers Behavior Health Organization (GRBHO), a new state mandated organization that is combining and replacing regional support networks, which have channeled state mental health programs to local services for a decade. The organization has established a steering committee, which includes Wahkiakum Mental Health Director Chris Holmes (no relation to Suzanne Holmes) as a member,...
News from Naselle: Sports calendar for the Naselle Comet teams this week: Thursday, high school girls basketball and high school boys basketball vs Taholah in Naselle at 4:15 p.m.; Saturday, high school boys basketball at Ilwaco at 5:45 p.m.; Monday, middle school girls basketball at South Bend at 5:45 p.m.; Wednesday, middle school girls basketball with North Beach in Naselle at 5:45 p.m., high school boys basketball at South Bend at 5:45 p.m. Go Comets! The Naselle Booster Club will meet on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Check out the Martha’s C...
I don't feel I can let slide some of the comments coming this past week from Republican politicians commenting on Syrian refugees wanting to come to the United States. The comments are completely foreign to the principles that form the moral backbone of our nation. A mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, suggested Syrian refugees be sent to internment camps, such as those created for Japanese Americans in World War II. That action has been acknowledged as a shameful, racist action. The mayor apologized for the remarks on Friday. Actor George Takei, who...
News from Naselle Sports calendar for this week includes: Monday, high school girls basketball with Three Rivers Christian in Naselle at 5:30 p.m.; Tuesday, high school boys basketball at Wahkiakum at 5:45 p.m. and high school girls basketball at Ocosta in Westport at 5:45 p.m.; Wednesday, middle school girls basketball with Ocosta in Naselle at 5:45 p.m. Go Comet teams! If you are into antiques, vintage items, repurposed items, jewelry, candles and lots of other fun items, there’s a new shop in Naselle. It’s called the Rusty Chandelier and...
Members of the Cathlamet Town Council heard reports and discussed a variety of issues when they met Monday. During the public comment time, Tom Merz raised concerns about the health of the Cathlamet Fire Department and its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division. Merz, an emergency medical technician and former member of the department, said the number of EMT's has declined, and there are no paramedics in the department even though some reside in the area. This means there are often times when few or no department members respond to calls,...
Commissioners of Wahkiakum Port District 2 took care of some business Tuesday and postponed other items to their December meeting. The commission has issued a request for proposals from architects to design and assist in construction of a laundromat at the entrance to Skamokawa Vista Park. Commissioners Lori Scott and Brian O'Connor (Commissioner Lee Tischer was absent while attending a training conference) authorized Manager Janet Bryan to review the proposals and present a recommendation for hiring a firm at the commission's December meeting....
Wahkiakum County commissioners approved a contract with Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce and handled other business at their meeting Tuesday. The contract calls for the Chamber to provide a variety of services ranging from putting on community festivals and marketing county tourist sites to assisting and encouraging county businesses. Chamber Executive Director Shannon Gildea presented a report of her activities in her first year in office. She said she had provided information and guidance for new and existing business; she has acted as an...
Oh my goodness, what a weekend and wild beginning to the week. We have had more than 11 inches of rain in our rain gauge so far, flooded in since Friday afternoon with a huge lake full of ducks and sea gulls. The dogs are loving it, as the hunting for mice and other rodents is really easy. Our 8-month old, 80-pound, white, long-hair puppy is learning the ropes on how to pick the critters from the low branches of the trees and also how to come home covered in mud. We have been prepared for this rain event, and I hope everyone else was as well....
The next steps in developing a state habitat conservation plan aren't filling Wahkiakum County commissioners with optimism. The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has tied, or encumbered, over 3,000 of the county's 12,000 acres of trust timberland as potential habitat for the marbled murrelet, an endangered sea bird that nests on big limbs of old trees. The agency, which also manages timber harvests off the trust lands, has had little or no logging on them in recent years, and that has hurt revenue for county government. At its regular...
Wahkiakum County commissioners set up hearings for budgets and transportation plans in an abbreviated, recessed meeting Tuesday. Commissioners set their annual public hearing on the 2016 budgets for 9:30 a.m. on December 7. Copies for the budget will be available at the auditor's office November 23. Commissioners also set public hearings on the Annual Road Construction Program, the Six Year Transportation Plan and the 14 Year Ferry Program. Those hearings will be held in the morning of the board's December 1 meeting. Projects listed on the...
Winners in the early count of 2015 Wahkiakum County general election ballots easily maintained their leads when election officials made their second count last Thursday. Voters continued to favor an advisory ballot asking if the county should enact an ordinance defining and regulating junk, junk vehicles, and solid waste visible on private property from a public right of way. The latest count gave the measure 69 percent approval with a 968-432 vote. On election day, the vote was 816-327, 71 percent approval. Early winners maintained their...
News from Naselle: Congratulations to the District 1B champion girls volleyball Comette team as they go on to the Yakima Sun Dome for the state tournament. Their first game is versus Oakesdale on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Let’s give a big shout out for victory in all their games. Go Comettes! The Naselle Comet football team has also done an outstanding job this season and they head into the first round state playoff versus Seattle Lutheran at home on Friday at 7 p.m. Go Comets! Don’t forget the Naselle Lutheran Church will be holding their Chr...
