Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1526 - 1550 of 2699
Most of us could really get used to this beautiful weather, but I for one, miss the rain. I’m sure the farmers making hay don’t though. A few clouds seem to be rolling in this Tuesday morning, but the weather says it will stay dry and muggy. News from Naselle: There will be a special budget hearing held by the Naselle-Grays River Valley School Board on Tuesday, July 23 at 5:30 p.m. The community is invited to attend. I had a note from Becky Erickson, who has been teaching preschool at the Naselle ECEAP Preschool now for five years and she is...
We mourn the death of Cathlamet resident George Hanigan. A fourth generation Wahkiakum County resident, George holds a place in the county's history. I was a kid back in 1966 when my father came home and told us about the new attorney who had grown up in Cathlamet, gone to college in Spokane and moved back to Cathlamet, to a house just down the street from us. My father had made a new friend, a friendship that lasted to his death. George soon won election as prosecuting attorney and began playing a guiding role in county government. In the...
I hope everyone’s Fourth of July was as wonderful as ours was. We had about 36 people here (even though we were missing half of our kids and grandkids this year) and 13 dogs, and would you believe it, no dog fights. The little ones fell asleep early so the fireworks were postponed until Saturday night, which was just as well as I had to rescue my daughter and son-in-law after they suffered a breakdown in Ridgefield. We didn’t get back until about 10 p.m. that night. There was lots of food (which I didn’t have to prepare), a little rally racin...
The Columbia Land Trust will start work this month to re-align drainage of its Kandoll Farm property on Kandoll Road near Rosburg. The project is designed to improve habitat for juvenile salmonids, but a major benefit will be to reduce erosion of land on Seal River Slough. As part of another habitat enhancement project several years ago, engineers from Ducks Unlimited helped the land trust replace tidegates on a channel leading into the slough with two large culverts. That resulted in increased flow in Seal Slough which is now eroding dikes...
Wahkiakum County's Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a new call for bids to build a new county ferry. Bids will be opened August 6. Public Works Director Pete Ringen said bonding requirements had been changed for the second call for bids. The board rejected the only bid it received in its first round of bidding; it was over twice the estimated construction costs. "I've had a learning curve on bonding," Ringen said. Ringen said he investigated and learned that state law allows a less costly form of bonding for marine construction project...
I just visited with Bob and Bev Paul at the Rosburg Store and they asked me to let everyone know how much their experience at the Grays River Café has meant to them. They said that the past 10 years here has been the best, they have made so many dear friends, enjoyed the ups and downs of our area (flooding, etc.), and the willingness of everyone to help out when it was needed and appreciate the opportunity they have had to be here in our beautiful, loving community. The people here are very special to them, and they wanted to say a big t...
I pause this week of Independence Day to remember the sacrifices that have been made and that continue to be made for the benefit of our country. This week especially we mourn the loss of 19 firefighters in Arizona. They're not the only ones who've given their lives for our country. We've lost soldiers in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, good people who dared greatly and put their lives on the line for the interests of our country. This is a tradition that goes back to the days of the revolution. Of course, there are wounded survivors of our...
The potential of a shutdown of governmental services and employee layoffs because of the state legislature's failure to pass a budget for the biennium beginning July 1 is affecting county services as well. On Tuesday, Wahkiakum County commissioners agreed to suspend state contracts if there's no budget bill by July 1. A suspension of the contracts allows them to restart once there is a state funding appropriation. Department of Health and Human Services (H&HS)programs will be curtailed, Director Sue Cameron said Tuesday. In a background report...
Commissioners of Port District No. 2 of Wahkiakum County turned down a CenturyLink telephone company request for a new land lease agreement and acted on other business in a brief meeting June 18. CenturyLink leases a small parcel of port district land at the intersection of SR4 and Vista Park Road for an equipment cabinet and vault. The firm, said Port Attorney Tim Hanigan, renewed in 2012 a long term lease with an annual payment of $283.90. Now, Hanigan said, the firm asked that the port consider taking a lump sum payment for use of the...
We have had an almost wonderful visit with our nephew and niece from Yucca Valley, California this past week. I say “almost” because our well decided to give us some problems. Fortunately, my nephew Mark is a plumber, so hopefully we will have no more issues when he returns home at the end of the week. Actually, by giving him a hand, I have learned a few things as well. “Storytime” at the Grays River Valley Library will continue on June 28 at 10 a.m. for your tots. Age appropriate stories will be read with your child. I’m told we will have...
The Daily Olympian's June 18 editorial headline read, "State caught in test of political power." It has almost been six months since the beginning of the session, and legislators have been unable to compromise on a budget that should take effect next Monday. One might blame the situation on party politics. The Democratic party controls the House of Representatives and did have a majority in the Senate until two Democrats aligned themselves with the Republicans to create a split legislature. This Republican controlled Senate has shown itself to...
The Cathlamet Town Council is offering Port District 1 the opportunity to take the lead in redeveloping its sewer lagoons adjacent to the Elochoman Slough Marina. The town is nearing the end of construction of a new treatment plant, and the town's current treatment site will become surplus property. Council members voted to offer the lead role to Port 1 after an executive session at the end of their meeting Monday. The council also voted after executive session to create a new line item with $5,000 in their budget to cover professional...
Proponents of Wahkiakum County sponsored housing development project have begun presenting their plans in meetings across the county. Officials from Wahkiakum County's Department of Health and Human Services described the project to the Cathlamet Town Council on Monday. Project leader Chris Holmes said more meetings will be scheduled in the Westend and in the Cathlamet area to present the project to the community. The project got going in 2002 with passage of the state Affordable Housing Bill, which created a way for entities to collect fees...
There was lots of lawn mowing and haymaking during that dry spell and with the recent rain soak I’m sure the grass will be growing twice as fast so we can do it all over again. Many in our community took the opportunity to stop in and visit with Bob and Bev Paul during the last few days that the Grays River Café was open, and to wish them well in their new ventures. They have served our community well (literally) with the delicious food that was prepared and served at our local café, and they will be missed. You always felt l...
Shoaling of side channels and harbor entrances along the lower Columbia River continues to concern local officials. Boaters and officials from Wahkiakum County and Port Districts 1 and 2 are concerned that their waters are getting more and more shallow, that they can't afford dredging, and that they can't get help from the US Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the deep water shipping channel in the river. In a Tuesday forum for community leaders sponsored by the Cowlitz/Wahkiakum Council of Governments (COG), Jackie Lea, manager of Port...
It looks like we will get a few raindrops in the next couple of days, but it certainly has been nice weather for the past week. After breaking a belt on my lawnmower a couple of weeks ago, and only completing half of the yard at that time, it looked like I would need to bring in the hay equipment to cut the rest of it. Finally the new belt arrived (I bought an extra to have on hand) and thanks to neighbor, Dirk Heitsch it was replaced in a matter of minutes. Several hours later, I had a mowed yard again and a cold brew to celebrate. Now if the...
In a special meeting last Friday, the Cathlamet Town Council voted to replace the roof on the old town hall building and to authorize Mayor George Wehrfritz to negotiate a possible lease of the Broadway Dock to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Public Works Superintendent Duncan Cruickshank brought the roof issue to the council. Contractor Pacific Tech Construction is remodeling the building, and some of the work will require patching of the roof. This will leave mis-matched, old and new roofing, and leave the roof looking...
Wahkiakum County's Health and Human Services Department is proceeding with a planned purchase of land in Cathlamet's Rosedale area for a housing program. Human Services Manager Chris Holmes reported Tuesday that the department and land owner had signed a contract for the sale. The county has a 60-day period to evaluate the property and decide if it wants to proceed with the purchase. In other business at Tuesday's meeting of the board of county commissioners, --The board authorized Clerk of the Board Marsha LaFarge and Assessor Bill Coons to...
It is looking a lot more like summer, with the warmer days and more sunshine. I see more lawns being mowed and many farmers cutting the hay fields. Dirk Heitsch has brought his herd of cows back to our pasture and it is a joy to watch the babies romp and play in the tall grass. Dirk spoils “his girls” every day when he comes by. Each one needs to have some individual attention from him and they follow him around like puppy dogs. Maybe that’s why his beef tastes so good. News from Naselle: Congratulations to the Naselle-Grays River Valley Class...
Wahkiakum County Undersheriff Steve Marshall thought he had an understanding with commissioners of Port District No. 2 about the use of an old office building and equipment garage at Skamokawa Vista Park. Port officials had used the office building for their office for years but this winter moved into a park model cabin in Vista Park, leaving the office vacant. The office sits on land owned by the non-functioning Skamokawa Park and Recreation District. County commissioners recently declared the district defunct and disbanded it. The county...
Wahkiakum County commissioners have outlined their next steps in development of a junk and nuisance ordinance. Coming off two public meetings in which audiences show overwhelming support for development of an ordinance to address collections of junked vehicles and similar items, commissioners will work with the prosecuting attorney's office to create their own draft. They'll also consult with the county planning commission and the property rights advisory board, sheriff's office, public works department and health department. "Let's look at...
Wahkiakum County commissioners appointed Patty Dursteler as manager of the Wahkiakum County Fair. The Wahkiakum Fair Board recommended she be hired. The fair board held a special meeting Monday night to review applications for the position. Commissioner Mike Backman, the commission's representative on the fair baord, said Dursteler was the only applicant. Dursteler is a long-time fair volunteer. She is also a member of the fund-raising Wahkiakum Fair Foundation, and she agreed to take a sabbatical from that board while she serves as fair...
Wahkiakum County's Department of Health and Human Services continues to advance on two possible building projects. Department staff have been working on a housing project, and they have also been evaluating their facilities to see if they could be used to consolidate their offices, which are split between the courthouse annex and their complex on the Elochoman Valley Road. Department Administrator Sue Cameron said staff have been studying their space needs, and they have suggested remodeling a garage building at the Elochoman Campus to house...
The Wahkiakum County Auditor will hold a special filing period Wednesday through Friday for positions for which no candidates filed this past week. These positions include: Wahkiakum School District, Director positions 1, a 2-year unexpired term representing a Cathlamet district, and position 3, a 4-year term representing the Skamokawa area. Port District No. 2, Commissioner position 2, 6-year term. The position represents the Skamokawa and Westend areas. Skamokawa Water and Sewer Commission Position 3, a 6-year term. Cemetery District 1,...
Filing for elected offices that will appear on this year's primary and general election ballots wrapped up Friday with three contested positions and many positions unclaimed. Lamar Blix and Shawn Merz have filed for Wahkiakum School District (WSD) Director position 4, a 4-year term. Michelle Budd, incumbent, filed for re-election to Director position 5 on the WSD board of directors, a 4-year term. Art Hyland, the incumbent, and Joshua Holt have filed for Director position 2 in the Naselle/Grays River Valley School District (N/GRVSD) board of...
