Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1701 - 1725 of 2699
Washington's voters received their mail-in ballots this past weekend and have already started returning them well in advance of the November 6 election day. Like others, local candidates are continuing to present their messages to the voting public. This week, we asked candidates for Wahkiakum County commissioner if they had one last message to give to voters. Here are their responses: District 1 Both Mike Backman, Independent, and Greg Prestegard, Democrat, have been going door to door throughout the county and talking to residents. "There...
Wahkiakum County commissioners got the start of the 2012 budget season off to a start Tuesday with a review of the County Fair budget. Fair Manger Becky Ledtke and Fair Board President Philip Vik presented the fair's budget request. Ledtke asked that the county increase its appropriation to the fair to cover increasing costs in fuel, professional fees, communication and premiums. They proposed moving funds from the repair and maintenance lines to the premium payment line. Ledtke said the fair board wants to increase the premium payment from $7,...
Wahkiakum County commissioners handled a variety of business Tuesday ranging from a request for a variance to the no shooting regulations for the Elochoman Valley to the health of Wahkiakum 4H. Extension Agent Carrie Backman said the 4H program is healthy and growing. "When I started, enrollment was 44 kids," she said. "This year it's 98." The program involves middle and high school age youth in a variety of learning and leadership training activities. At a recent 4H youth conference, there were more youth from Wahkiakum County than from King...
What can people and local government do to lower the rates for Cathlamet's sewer and water utilities? That was the subject of a summit meeting hosted Tuesday afternoon by the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce. Chamber members said the town's utility rates are hurting businesses and people on fixed incomes. Schedule increases will just make the problems worse and threaten the survival of some businesses. Discussion focused on two areas: 1. How to encourage more residences to connect to the sewer and water systems and share in the costs of...
The Wahkiakum County Marine Resource Committee (MRC) has suggested an addition to Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber's proposal to move gillnetting into the side channels of the Columbia River. The MRC has drafted a proposal suggesting that the Cathlamet Channel be classified and used for mixed use fisheries, if the Kitzhaber plan is adopted. Besides limiting gillnetting to side channels and select areas, the Kitzhaber plan would give recreational fishing priority fishing times on the mainstem. Selective commercial gear, which are still in the deve...
Wahkiakum County's revenue from the harvest of time off state managed trust timberland will be better than anticipated this year, representatives of the state Department of Natural Resources reported Tuesday. The agency originally estimated the county's revenue off the Hayduke Sale on Bradley Mountain would generate $1.1 million for 2012. However, as the sale nears completion, the total will be closer to $1.375 million, said DNR District Manager Steve Ogden. Ogden attributed the increase to the DNR's new process for handling sales. The agency...
A Cowlitz County Superior Court judge last Friday ruled that Wahkiakum County's ordinance regulating the application of biosolids doesn't conflict with state law. Wahkiakum commissioners adopted the ordinance last year in response to a Seaview company's plan to spread Class B biosolids on a Grays River Valley ranch. Class B is the second of three grades of biosolids, or treated sewage. Valley residents opposed the project, saying it could lead to health problems. Under state law, the state Department of Ecology handles permitting of biosolids...
This week we note the passing of former Senator Sid Snyder. A story elsewhere in this edition chronicles his career. I didn't know him when he was appointed to a vacancy in the state Senate, but I soon came to appreciate him. As a representative, he was acutely in touch with his constituents and represented our area's particular points of view very well in the Senate. He was an extremely effective legislator and quickly rose to the top leadership post. He worked well with members of the Republican party and with the bureaucrats. And he never...
The Wahkiakum Mule defense provided the edge as the Mules defeated the Tigers 31-28 in a Central League football game at Napavine last Friday. The win gave the Mules a 6-0 season record; they host the 6-0 Morton/White Pass Timberwolves on Friday in a game that will decide the Central League championship. "Napavine is one of the best three-loss teams in the state," commented Mule Coach Eric Hansen. "They're solid. "We made our defensive plays when we had to." The Tigers led 14-13 at halftime and scored twice in the third quarter to lead 28-19 go...
Democrat candidate for Congress Jon T. Haugen thinks one person can make a difference in our nation's political system. A Portland native, Haugen grew up in Ashland, Ore. He wanted to become a pilot and won an appointment to the US Naval Academy where he entered flight training. He served active duty military 1981-88 and reserves until 2005. He is now a Delta Airlines pilot, based out of New York City, and flies routes from NY to Europe, Africa and South America. "I got into politics while stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey," he said in an...
Wahkiakum County commissioners addressed a variety of topics in a quick meeting Tuesday. The board approved steps that will increase funding for county services. First, the board approved an amended contract with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to add $93,750 to the Wahkiakum on the Move bus transportation program. Project manager Chris Holmes said the funds were federal dollars that hadn't been obligated when the county and state signed the original contract. Total federal support for the program will be $187,500, Holmes...
Local candidates for positions on the November 6 election ballot got their last chance to air their views at a forum Tuesday night at the Grays River Grange. Candidates described their goals and experience, and they answered questions from an audience that numbered close to 70. Here are some of the highlights: State Senator, District 19 Speaking were incumbent Sen. Brian Hatfield, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Rick Winsman. Hatfield chairs the Senate Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development Committee and serves on the Economic...
The Wahkiakum Mules boosted their 2012 football season record to 5-0 with a 49-27 win over the visiting Onalaska Loggers last Friday night. The Loggers fielded a big, bruising team, but they couldn't stop the Mules. Wahkiakum averaged 13 yards per play on offense. Wingback Peter Weiler led the attack with four touchdowns and 221 yards gained on six carries; one touchdown was a 49-yard punt return. Steven Doumit carried the ball three times and gained 94 yards with one touchdown; Austin Good gained 89 yards on five carries, and Lars Blix picked...
David Vik, Cathlamet's supervisor of public works and the sewer and water systems, retired last Friday after almost 26 years on the job. "The stats have made me the town's longest serving public works/sewer/water guy," he said in an interview on Monday. A 1968 Wahkiakum High School graduate, Vik did a stint in the Navy, took some college courses, and went to work for the town in 1974, That tour lasted into 1985; he left to work for an analytical laboratory and came back in 1999 and had been there since. Of course, things have changed in that...
Commissioners from Wahkiakum County, Washington, and Columbia and Clatsop counties, Oregon, have agreed to voice opposition to efforts in Oregon to move gillnets out of the mainstem of the Columbia River. A coalition of sport fishing interests started a petition drive last winter to put a measure on the Oregon ballot to end gillnetting in Oregon. And in August, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber ordered his Fish and Wildlife Department to prepare rules that would move gillnets to side channels and bays, called select areas, which have releases of p...
Will local governmental bodies get together to create a plan to extend Cathlamet's water and sewer systems to areas not yet connected? They may do so, but probably not at least until after the November 6 election. The Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce has raised the issue by asking the town council and board of county commissioners to hold a "sewer summit" to discuss what can be done to expand town sewer and water systems and thereby spread operating costs over a larger group of ratepayers. The Chamber's board of directors recently generated a...
Photo: Blocker Nathan Cothren (77) leads Mule ballcarrier Austin Good on a running play against Pe Ell. Photo courtesy of Wendy Blix. In the tale of two halves, the Wahkiakum Mules defeated the Pe Ell Trojans 28-18 last Friday. The 4-0 Mules led 28-6 at halftime; the Trojans came to life in the second half and made it a game. "It was a tale of two halves," said Mule Coach Eric Hansen. "We won the first; they won the second. We need to play better this week." The Mules got on the scoreboard first with a five-yard touchdown run by Lars Blix....
Normally under state law, when a candidate for superior court judge receives over 50 percent of the vote in the primary, that candidate advances unopposed to the general election ballot. However, rules are different when write in candidates are involved, and incumbent Judge Mike Sullivan faces a challenge from write in candidate Dennis Gordon. In the Wahkiakum County primary, Gordon drew 70 votes, while Sullivan drew 897. Under state law, Gordon had drawn enough votes to get on the general election ballot. Gordon, a retired professor of...
Commissioners of Port District No. 2 of Wahkiakum County took another step toward updating their comprehensive plan when they met September 18. Karen Bertroch, chair of the Columbia Pacific Resource Conservation and Economic Development District (RC&ED) and a former port employee, discussed the process her group would use for updating the plan. "It's a park and recreation plan," Bertroch said, not a comprehensive plan for port development. The board needs to develop public input; the RC&ED would develop that into a plan, and the draft plan...
Wahkiakum County commissioners handled varied business when they met Tuesday, with issues ranging from fair premiums to ferry channel shoaling. County fair officials have delayed mailing premium checks for the board of commissioners to discuss premium payments, said Commissioner Lisa Marsyla. Last year, as a cost cutting measure, commissioner agreed to end funding for premium payments for adults but not for youth. Because of the reduction in premium funding and an increase in the number of youth entries, the premium dropped from 32 cents per...
Wahkiakum County Commissioners and the Columbia Land Trust agreed on terms Tuesday for current and future projects. Commissioners approved a resolution closing Kandoll Road this week for paving and armoring of the road's shoulders. Grays River freshets have eroded the road, which crosses an old farm which the land trust is returning to wetland habitat. Public Works Director Pete Ringen said the land trust could meet the conditions he would place on the road work. Their engineer needed to put his professional stamp on both specifications and a...
The highlights came early and often last Friday as the Wahkiakum Mules beat the visiting Adna Pirates 54-20 in Central League football. The win boosted the Mules' record to 3-0; Adna fell to 0-3 for the first time in years and years. The Pirates opened the scoring, however, taking the opening kick off and marching 75-yards for a two-yard touchdown by David Young. The conversion try failed, leaving the Pirates ahead 6-0 at 8:40 of the first quarter. The Mules responded with their own scoring drive. Lars Blix completed passes to Austin Good and...
Business concerning construction of Cathlamet's new waste water treatment plant kept members of the Cathlamet Town Council busy on Monday. The council started off its meeting with a tour of the plant site. Engineer Ken Alexander of Gray and Osborne, Inc. explained the process the new plant will use to treat sewage. The plant is scheduled to come on line in December 2013 at a cost estimated around $7.4 million. The plant will be controlled from an onsite office; operations will be highly automated. Alexander presented a proposed contract for...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday agreed unanimously to use the latest design for a new county ferry. Commissioners have been studying whether to use the new, updated design capable of handling large trucks or go back to an original design that is less expensive but wouldn't handle the larger vehicles. Commissioners have been concerned that the extra cost of the new design, which includes modifications to the shape of the ferry's hull and loading ramps, would severely limit County Road Department funds for regular or emergency...
A balanced attack paved the way for the Wahkiakum Mules to overwhelm the host Winlock Cardinals 40-8 in a Central League football game last Friday. The Mules led 20-0 after one quarter, 27-0 at halftime, and the first string added two more touchdowns in the third quarter before giving way to the reserves. Winlock put its eight points on the board in the fourth quarter. Lars Blix completed eight of 10 passes for three touchdowns and 172 yards; he threw one interception. Steven Doumit caught four passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns; Kohl Bergs...
