Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Dan Cothren is running for re-election for the seat on the county board of commissioners he has held since 2001. At a candidate forum last week, he said he is running again largely to finish major projects--working a bill through the state legislature that would expand the county's timber holding and ensure financial solvency in the future. He has been working with other counties, the state Department of Natural Resources and legislators to have the bill ready for the 2017 legislative session. "We've got to have the exchange (bill) or the...
Rosedale resident Bob Jungers wants to serve. He listed his community service at a candidate forum last week: 20 years as a reserve deputy, 20 years on the county planning commission, five years as a diking district commissioner and 12 years as a commissioner on the Wahkiakum PUD board of commissioners. On top of that he's owned and operated Elochoman Millworks for 35 years. Now Jungers is running for county commissioner; if elected he would be a commissioner for both the county and PUD. That isn't a conflict of interest, Jungers said, basing...
News from Naselle: This is it! Bring the family to Naselle for a fun filled weekend of FinnFest, including speakers, films, music performances, games, dancing and food. The event will take place at the Naselle-Grays River Valley School on July 29 and 30 and will conclude on Sunday morning, July 31 with a worship and closing ceremony. FinnFest takes place every other year in Naselle with free admission (although donations are always welcome and appreciated). This event highlights much of the Finnish culture and daily life over the years, with...
They say the devil is in the details, and for Wahkiakum County's efforts to address erosion issues at Cape Horn and Puget Island, that's proving to be very true. County officials are working with the US Army Corps of Engineers to set up a 10-year-long beach nourishment program, and they've hired consulting engineers to prepare the permits to get the project going. However, when it comes to paying for the work, they're just getting started, and they learned Tuesday that the process will be fairly complicated. The county has been paying expenses...
Local critics of state shoreline management rules should not expect any help from Olympia, two legislators said Tuesday. The comments came at a round table discussion Tuesday morning that included representatives of local governmental entities, a staff representative of Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler, state Representative Brian Blake and state Senator Dean Takko. The group discussed topics ranging from dredging at the Elochoman Slough Marina to progress on the county's housing development...
Wahkiakum County officials are making plans to ask voters to approve a special levy to supplement law enforcement and criminal justice funding. The levy is needed to cover reductions in state funding, proponents said Tuesday. Sheriff Mark Howie said he has recently hired a new deputy (see story on Page 3), and another should join the department at the end of the month. However, the department will still be short two deputies from previous staffing levels, he said. "Criminal justice funds have just plummeted in the last few years," he said. The...
A series of basic hunter education classes, needed by all beginning hunters, will start July 23 at the Cathlamet Fire Hall. To register, one must go to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website and follow the path to register for a traditional class (http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/huntered/classes/basic.php). The path takes one to Hunter Education Courses, Traditional Class, Register Now, July 23, View Event, Register. The website contains a list of instructions that must be followed to complete registration. Classes will take place...
As Wahkiakum County moves slowly through the process to set up sites for placing dredged sands on eroding shorelines, some Cape Horn residents are starting to think they may have to take matters into their own hands. The county has been working for a year with residents of Puget Island's East Sunny Sands and more recently the Cape Horn area east of Cathlamet to get dredged sand dumped on eroding beaches. The county has hired a consulting engineering firm to handle the environmental studies and...
A series of basic hunter education classes, needed by all beginning hunters, will start July 23 at the Cathlamet Fire Hall. To register, one must go the the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website and follow the path to register for a traditional class (http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/huntered/classes/basic.php). The path takes one to Hunter Education Courses, Traditional Class, Register Now, July 23, View Event, Register. The website contains a list of instructions that must be followed to complete registration. Classes will take place...
In times of severe emergency or disaster, a group of volunteer radio operators may be Wahkiakum County's last line of communication with the outside world. It has happened before. Several days of heavy rain in1996 caused slides that blocked roads and wiped out traditional telephone and radio communication. County emergency services personnel were able to communicate only with cell phones for two or three days. In 2006, slides from another series of storms wiped out roads, radio communication and...
Residents of Wahkiakum County's eroding shorelines continue to press county commissioners to expedite Columbia River dredging that would protect their property. In the public comment period at the beginning of each commission meeting, residents of Puget Island's East Sunny Sands and the Little Cape Horn area ask commissioners for reports on the progress of the county-sponsored program to form dredge spoils disposal sites to protect the eroding property. Almost every week, Commissioner Dan...
Local officials met Tuesday with representatives of the National Park Service to plan the design process for a waterfront park in Cathlamet. The group is working on a plan for converting the town's old sewer lagoons into a park adjacent to the Elochoman Slough Marina. The town has received a grant from the park service for the work. The group spent much of Tuesday going over a draft survey to be presented to the public in July. The group will tally results, and from there, a park service architect will develop a few possible layouts to present...
Port District 2's plans to construct a laundromat at Skamokawa Vista Park have come to a standstill for the moment. They have the architect's drawings, they have the financing, they have access to water, but they don't have a sewer connection. Commissioners had planned to construct the facility at the entrance to Vista Park where the old park office was located. However, the port was notified by the Skamokawa Sewer and Water District that the district has reached the maximum number of...
Cathlamet's town council approved a call for bids for expansion of the water plant intakes and acted on other business at their monthly meeting on Monday. The goal of the water project is to locate an unused line under the Elochoman River which would increase the water plant capacity. The state Department of Health is threatening to restrict the number of new connections to the town and Puget Island water systems unless the town expands water intake capacity. Consulting engineer John Hinton said the project should cost around $5,000 and is fair...
They keep coming: Wahkiakum County courthouse department heads in the past few weeks have made several proposals to reorganize their staffs. County commissioners Dan Cothren and Blair Brady weren't having it Tuesday. First they had a request from the county auditor's office which they approved. Auditor Diane Tischer has been modifying her staff's job descriptions. The board approved a request to boost the new deputy auditor II to step three on the salary schedule, and they approved moving the payroll clerk into non-union status. "I've been...
Wahkiakum County commissioners worked on a variety of personnel issues when they met Tuesday. At the end of the meeting, Commissioners Dan Cothren and Blair Brady--Commissioner Mike Backman is in Alaska--voted to increase the salaries of certain elected officials for the first time in years. The county clerk, auditor, assessor, sheriff and treasurer will receive 15 percent raises effective July 1. Assessor Bill Coons presented the request on behalf of the officials. "An adjustment needs to be done," he said. Based on the length of time since th...
Arrgh! There's nothing like publishing to show your mistakes to the world. We made a whopper last week. While preparing the page honoring the Wahkiakum High School Class of 2016, I typed "2015." I finished the page, read it over "carefully," and printed a copy. Two colleagues proofed the page. This is normal; all copy is reviewed three times before going into print. We made some minor adjustments but we all missed The Big One. So. We all apologize to the WHS Class of 2016 and their friends and families. We've printed the page correctly this...
News from Naselle: Early Tuesday morning, one of our local friends, Angela Gaines (from Okies) lost her husband. Donations are being accepted in an account set up at the Bank of the Pacific to help with Eric's service and any continuing needs of the family. Donation cans will also be available at local businesses. You can drop any donations of canned goods, or other items they might need, at the Mochas & More Coffee Shop in Naselle. Meals are also being collected to make things a little easier for the family. Carol Haven will be coordinating th...
Wahkiakum County Commissioners handled a variety of business when they met Tuesday, including: --Commissioner Dan Cothren reported he had met with officials from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the upriver ports association to talk about dredging issues. “Things are moving,” Cothren said, adding that the representative of the upriver ports seemed agreeable to the county’s concept that dredged sand will be placed along eroding beaches before it goes to inland disposal. Commissioner Mike Backman suggested the board hold a public meeting to ex...
Tomorrow is the last day of school for our students in the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District. Congratulations to all the students for another great year of hard work. Best of luck to all the graduates, and to everyone, enjoy a fun and safe summer. Next Wednesday, from 12:30 to 6:00 p.m., you still have the opportunity to save a life at Valley Bible Church. Another Blood Drive is on for the famed Rosburg group. If you need or want an appointment call Susan Burkhalter or just stop by the church on Wednesday during the scheduled hours....
Wahkiakum County officials on Tuesday agreed to put off a decision on how to restructure the county’s information technology (IT) management until late July. The county auditor’s office has handled IT management since courthouse offices started using computers, but the job has grown so technical and time consuming that even with assistance from a technical consulting company, More Power computing, joining the effort, the office wants to lose the responsibility. At a discussion two weeks ago, commissioners asked the IT committee to evaluate pos...
News from Naselle: Tonight, Thursday evening in the Naselle Commons you can enjoy the Evening of Excellence where many deserving students will receive their awards and recognition for all their extra special efforts this year. The event marks the end of another school year and showcases the students that have shown extra effort during the past few months and years. The presentations start at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Naselle-Grays River Valley class of 2016 will open the next chapter of their lives following their graduation from high school....
By Rick Nelson Wahkiakum County officials are searching for a way to deal with the growing demands of information technology. For years, staff in the county auditor's office have maintained the system, but Auditor Diane Tischer has said the system has become too sophisticated and too time consuming for her staff. Members of the Information Technology Committee have been evaluating the situation and on Tuesday recommended the board of commissioners consider hiring an IT professional to manage the system. Commissioner Blair Brady was absent--he...
Washington's voters narrowly favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the Democrat party presidential primary election Tuesday. Statewide, Clinton received 53.63 percent of the vote, compared to Sanders's 46.73 percent. However, the Democrats use the caucus system to select delegates to the national convention, and Sanders won heavily in the caucuses. Wahkiakum County voters favored Sanders 274-266 votes, or 50.74 percent to 49.26 percent. Pacific County voters favored Clinton 1,364 votes to 1,263, or 41.9 percent to 48 percent. The only...
Filing for positions on the local election ballots wound up Friday with contests for commission seats. Filings include: --Dan Cothren, Independent, filed for re-election to position two on the Board of County Commissioners. Matt Barnhill, Indpendent, and Robert L. Jungers, No Party, also filed for the position. --Dennis Reid filed for re-election to position three on the board of commissioners of Wahkiakum PUD. The position is non-partisan. --Mike Backman, Independent, filed for re-election to position one on the county Board of Commissioners....
