Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1801 - 1825 of 2699
What a gorgeous week weather-wise. I’m sure we could all get used to this. Gardens are being planted, lawns mowed, and some of the farmers are even making hay. Hopefully it will continue for a few more days at least. News from Naselle: Naselle sports for this week includes Thursday- District track meet at Raymond at 4 p.m. Go Comets! Naselle Elementary has been raising money for children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by participating in a yearly Math-a-thon for about 15 years. Throughout the years, Naselle has raised a total of $22...
Just in time for the opening of steelhead angling season on Wednesday, the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners adjusted on Tuesday the closure boundaries of Steamboat Slough Road. Commissioners ordered the road closed earlier this spring to keep the public away from a spot where the Columbia is eroding the dike and threatening to create a landslide that would wash away the shoreline and flood the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the Columbia White-tailed Deer. The eastern closure is near the erosion site, but the western...
The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is looking for input on its plan to manage habitat for endangered marbled murrelets, a seabird that flies inland to nest in old, large conifers. Officials from the DNR and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) came to Cathlamet Tuesday to present their work to the public and begin gathering comments that will shape their actions. In 1997, the DNR entered into a habitat conservation plan (HCP) with USFWS over management of the forest lands it manages in order to protect environment and also...
Wahkiakum County commissioners Dan Cothren, Lisa Marsyla and Blair Brady handled a variety of business when they met Tuesday, including: --The board approved an updated Strategic Plan for Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services for 2012-2015. Interim department director Sherri McDonald said the plan will be helpful to staff in deciding "where we should put our effort." The plan's four goals are: 1. To improve accountability, efficiency and effectiveness through critical infrastructure enhancement; 2. To ensure internal readiness to...
Local officials are continuing their search to find funds to save the eroding shoreline and dike on Steamboat Slough Road. The Columbia River is eating into the bank of the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the White-tailed Deer, and the threat of a major slippage has led Wahkiakum County to close Steamboat Slough Road. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has said it doesn't have money in its budget to protect the shoreline. The dike is property of Diking District 4, of which the Fish and Wildlife Service is the largest landowner....
A proposal for the Town of Cathlamet to cut its sewer connection fee to $100 makes sense to me. The reasoning, say town officials, is lower fees will draw more connections and customers to the system, and that by having more customers of the sewer system, the financial load of operating the system and constructing a new wastewater treatment plant would be lower. The council is considering another proposal that would raise rates from $45 per month for town residents to $80 per month in June, 2014. Rates for out-of-town customers would increase f...
News from Naselle: Sports calendar for the Naselle Comets this week include today (Thursday)-high school track at Raymond at 3 p.m.; Monday-middle school track at South Bend at 3:30 p.m. Go Comets! It’s that time of year for signing up your kindergarten students. The Kindergarten Roundup will take place at Naselle on May 8 at 1 p.m. Your last chance to see the “Alice in Wonderland” production by the Naselle Drama Club is this weekend. I have heard rave revues from many of the attendees who saw it last weekend. You can enjoy one of two remaining...
The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is putting together a plan that will yield Wahkiakum County government just over $1 million per year for the next three years in revenue from state managed trust timber land. DNR officials reviewed the plans Tuesday with Wahkiakum commissioners Dan Cothren and Blair Brady (Commissioner Lisa Marsyla was absent because of family illness). The timber trust revenue is an important part of the revenue for the county's Current Expense Fund, which finances most county offices. St. Helens District...
Commissioners from Clatsop, Columbia and Wahkiakum counties on Tuesday discussed salmon fishery and other issues with representatives of the Fish and Wildlife Departments of Washington and Oregon. WDFW Regional Manager Guy Norman reported that officials have decided to close sport and commercial fishing for spring chinook at least until May when update return numbers may lead to more fishing. The fall chinook fishery will be limited on the lower portion of the Columbia he said, but managers think the overall fall return will be strong. WDFW...
Beautiful weekend with lots of hugs from grandkids, Emmett who is now two and his baby brother, Wyatt who is four months. Thank you, Shane and Delena for the baby fix. It was wonderful. It was good to see youngest son Carl as well. Also I must apologize to Shane for saying he was only 25 years old when he was 26. Old age memory setting in, I guess. In a few more years he would have thanked me for that mistake. News from Naselle: It’s a busy week at Naselle-Grays River Valley School. The sports calendar is as follows: Thursday-home track meet a...
The Wahkiakum School District campus will be filled with contractors working on a variety of projects this summer. One project will eliminate asbestos ceiling tiles from the high school buildings; another will replace the sewer line at Wendt Elementary School, and a third will replace old electrical fixtures and equipment with new, energy efficient models that will reduce the district's electricity bill. Members of the district's board of directors heard reports on these projects and other business when they held their monthly meeting April...
Officials from the Town of Cathlamet and Wahkiakum County agreed Tuesday to continue discussions of the town's request for support of a temporary relocation of the Bradley Library to the Cathlamet Food Mart Building in Rosedale. Commissioners Dan Cothren and Lisa Marsyla indicated they would consider contributing to rent payments, but they showed little support for the town's request to waive sewer connection fees for the mini-mall. "Those are two separate issues," Cothren commented. The town is looking for temporary quarters for the library,...
Commissioners of Wahkiakum County Port District No. 2 on Tuesday discussed improvements and new programs the port might pursue. Port Commissioners Kayrene Gilbertsen, Brian O'Connor and Lori Scott are holding public meetings to gather input for updating the port's comprehensive plan. O'Connor said he has already received a variety of suggestions, and he has at least one more meeting ahead. One suggestion receiving widespread support is a proposal to find a way to dredge the mouths of Columbia River tributaries such as Skamokawa Creek and Grays...
The Cathlamet town council on Monday gave initial approval to amendments to the town Public Utilities Ordinance which would raise monthly sewer rates and lower connection fees. Ordinances generally require three readings; the Monday vote was the first; second and third-and-final readings may come at the council's May meeting. In other business at Monday's council meeting, the council approved contracts for repaving 3rd Street and for an architect to develop plans for remodeling Town Hall. A major impact of the changes to the utilities...
Well, Mother Nature was pretty nice to us for a few days but topped off the weekend with a nice deluge of 1.3 inches of rain and wind, according to our weather station. Everything smells so nice with all the flowers blooming and trees budding out. The birds are picking up the dog hair off our lawn that we brush from the dogs. They actually fight each other in the air for the soft tufts. Fun to watch. News from Naselle: Naselle-Grays River Valley sports calendar for this week include: Thursday-track meet at Northwest Christian at 3:30 p.m., base...
Cathlamet town officials are looking for support from Wahkiakum County commissioners for a plan to assist temporary relocation of the Blanche Bradley Library and encourage connection to an unused sewer main. The town wants to relocate the library temporarily later this year while the old Town Hall is remodeled. A library advisory committee has recommended renting spaces in the Cathlamet Food Mart building in Rosedale. Septic sewer systems in that area, including that building's, have limitations, and town officials have proposed a plan to...
At their meeting Tuesday, Wahkiakum County commissioners handled a variety of business, including: --The board reappointed Mike Backman, Mike Clark, George Exum and Jeff Rooklidge to the county Marine Resources Committee. --The board approved an expenditure of $8,250 for replacement of old radios for the Public Works Department and the car used by the county assessor. The old radios won't be adaptable to the new narrowband radio communications to which the county is moving. Commissioners said they would approve the expenditure, but they would...
News from Naselle: Members of the Naselle Marimba Band spent part of their spring break at a world famous venue and did a mighty fine job of entertaining many while they were at Disneyland. This talented group is to be commended for their efforts in giving so much pleasure to those who hear them. It is pretty obvious when one sees and hears them that they are playing from the heart. What an enjoyable group. Keep up the good vibes. The community is very proud of all of you. Check out their photos on the school website. It looks like the group...
Cathlamet's new ordinance governing management of the Cathlamet Fire Department took effect last week, and on Wednesday, Mayor George Wehrfritz exercized his new authority to appoint officers. In a March 28 letter to council members, he announced that he and Chief Jerry DeBriae had agreed on a set of officers: --DeBriae would continue to be chief; --Retired Assistant Chief Fred Johnson would become Executive Assistant Chief, subject to his acceptance of the position; --Assistant Chief Duncan Cruikshank would become Battalion Commander,...
Wahkiakum County commissioners handled a variety of business ranging from discussion of vaccinations to approving a request for extra help in the county treasurer's office. Meeting as the county board of health, commissioners approved a three-month contract with Sherri McDonald to serve as the county's interim director of the Health and Human Services Department. Besides administrative duties, she is charged with analyzing department needs and making a recommendation on how its management structure could change. Commissioners approved the...
Wahkiakum County officials hope to complete a major upgrade of the radio communications by mid-summer. For two years, law enforcement, emergency responders, and other governmental organizations have been upgrading radio facilities to prepare to switch from broadband to narrow band radios by next January. The switch is a response from a Federal Communications Commission mandate designed to allow more entities to use the same spectrum of airwaves and thereby allow more use of the airwaves by public and private groups. On Tuesday, Commissioners...
Washington's small timber counties continue to press state and federal officials to allow harvest of timber from state managed, county trust timberlands. Commissioners from Pacific and Wahkiakum counties are contracting with the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) to hire a biological consultant to review and comment on "the science of marbled murrelet conservation, including the state Department of Natural Resources's (DNR) September, 2008, science team report." The assessment is part of an effort the counties are making to get...
Wahkiakum County's slide-prone environment is presenting challenges to local officials. The dike under Steamboat Slough Road is in imminent danger of sliding into the Columbia River and flooding the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer. The federal government apparently has no money to fortify the shoreline. Covered Bridge Road experienced a shift that created a ridge across the pavement, and the county apparently doesn't have funds to stablize the hillside where the road is located over the Grays...
Columbia Land Trust hopes to go to bid this year on a project that will address drainage and flooding issues on lowlands along Kandoll Road near Rosburg. A project completed several years ago to restore salmon habitat on land known as the Kandoll Farm also brought unintended consequences--freshets flowed over dikes but stayed as flood water because of drainage system changes, and two 12-foot culverts that replaced a tide gate have apparently increased stream flow in Seal River Slough to the point that it's eroding a dike protecting private...
Wahkiakum County should soon have a new, but temporary, director of the Health and Human Services Department. On Tuesday, county commissioners and Pacific County resident Sherri McDonald agreed in principle on a 13-week contract for her to take over reins of the department. Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow had suggested some changes in the proposed contract, and McDonald said she agreed to the changes, which involved wording and the addition of a separate contract regarding confidentiality. McDonald had a 30-year career in public health. A...
