Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1201 - 1225 of 2280
The Cathlamet Town Council on Monday acted on a variety of ordinances, including finalizing one that says the town won't supply water to the Puget Island Water System after 2037. The council is required to hold three readings of ordinances before they are passed. Ordinances included: --Ordinance 570-13, which increases the rate for water consumed above the minimum provided in the ordinance; passed for first reading; --Ordinance 569-13, restoring water and sewer connection fees to previous levels, effective January 1, 2015. Two years ago, the...
The Cathlamet Town Council on Monday approved a request for an extra $66,634 payment to the engineering firm guiding the construction of the town's new wastewater treatement plant. Engineer Ken Alexander of Gray and Osborne Engineering made the request to the town council at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Alexander explained that unavoidable delays had held up the contractor, Pacific Crest Construction, and so extra time will be needed for inspection and related services as the contractor wraps up the project. Also, the town had added a new...
Local governmental bodies and agencies plan to offer a multitude of services when the community center opens in the remodeled Cathlamet Town Hall building. The Town of Cathlamet has delegated operation of the center, which will be located in the former fire truck garage, to the Wahkiakum Community Network. The Network is working with WSU Cooperative Extension, Lower Columbia College, SW Washington Workforce Development Council and other groups to offer services ranging from education to employment assistance. The Network will also offer its...
Wahkiakum county residents and public officials expressed displeasure with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) on Tuesday. WDFW Regional Director Guy Norman visited the county board of commissioners to discuss land acquisition and other issues and heard lots of input, with harshest criticism directed at the highest levels of the department. "Guy Norman is not the county's enemy," Commissioner Dan Cothren cautioned before Norman's arrival. "He does good work for us. I don't want him to be the post that gets beat on." The...
In a special meeting Tuesday morning, the Cathlamet Town Council authorized a request for qualifications for a consultant to aid in the updating of the town's six--year water plan. Council members hope to select the consultant at their December 16 meeting. The town's current plan expires at the end of 2014. Town officials feel the next plan will address projects such as major work on the intake to the town's Elochoman River water plant and whether or not the town needs to develop a second water source. Town officials have said they could avoid...
Finding middle ground isn't always easy, as demonstrated by the sour negotiations between Wahkiakum PUD and the Town of Cathlamet over the contract for sale of water for the Puget Island Water System. The town wants to amend the contract, which can be opened every five years, to include costs not covered in the pact. These include a share of capital improvement costs. The negotiations have drug out 19 months, apparently because the PUD and town can't agree on what costs and numbers to consider. Now, we're at the point where PUD commissioners...
Fifty years ago, the 1963 Wahkiakum Mule football team earned a record of 8-0 and were voted second in the state in the football writers’ poll. The team edged the Knappa Loggers 12-7 in their first game and held opponents scoreless in their next seven games. They were Pacific League champions. There were no statewide football playoffs, so they didn’t have an opportunity to claim a legitimate state title. They were good athletes: There was (and is) a state basketball tournament, and the Mules, with that group of athletes, won the state cha...
Fifty years ago, the 1963 Wahkiakum Mule football team earned a record of 8-0 and were voted second in the state in the football writers’ poll. The team edged the Knappa Loggers 12-7 in their first game and held opponents scoreless in their next seven games. They were Pacific League champions. There were no statewide football playoffs, so they didn’t have an opportunity to claim a legitimate state title. They were good athletes: There was (and is) a state basketball tournament, and the Mules, with that group of athletes, won the state cha...
In the first round of counting ballots for Tuesday's general election, Mark Howie leads Mike Balch 879-684 in the race for county sheriff. Auditor and Chief Elections Officer Diane Tischer said 142 ballots arrived too late to be counted Tuesday. Election officers will gather at 10 a.m. Friday to count those ballots and others which arrive by then. In the county's other contested races: --Wahkiakum School District Director 4--Shawn Merz 576, Lamar Blix 538. --Naselle/Grays River Valley School District Director 2--Joshua Holt 129, Art Hyland 86....
Wahkiakum County commissioners heard concerns about repair of a slide along Loop Road and handled other items of business in a short meeting Tuesday. Loop Road resident Robert Torppa voiced concern that the repair of the sliding slope is second rate and will fail. The Grays River cuts into the base of a hillside and is causing the slide. The county has closed one lane of the road while it developed a plan to stabilize the slope and found funding for the project. Torppa, a contractor, has a house on the crest of the hill above the slide. The...
In the first round of counting ballots for Tuesday's general election, Mark Howie leads Mike Balch 879-684 in the race for county sheriff. Auditor and Chief Elections Officer Diane Tischer said 142 ballots arrived too late to be counted Tuesday. Election officers will gather at 10 a.m. Friday to count those ballots and others which arrive by then. In the county's other contested races: --Wahkiakum School District Director 4--Shawn Merz 576, Lamar Blix 538. --Naselle/Grays River Valley School District Director 2--Joshua Holt 129, Art Hyland 86....
The Wahkiakum Mules overcame a slow start to beat the Toutle Lake Ducks 38-7 in their final game of the regular season last Friday night. The Mules finish the regular season with a 6-2 record, good for third place in the Central League. On Friday, the visiting Ducks gave the Mules field position in the first quarter but played good enough defense to keep the Mules out of the endzone. That lasted till the first play of the second quarter when quarterback Gunnar Blix followed a wall of blockers...
Town of Cathlamet moved their 2014 budgets closer to balance at a workshop meeting Monday morning. The council had passed the budget October 21 for the first of three readings with the general fund in a $54,000 deficit. Mayor George Wehrfritz opened the meeting by announcing that he and Clerk/Treasurer Tina Schubert had identified some cuts and revenue increases that would lower the deficit to approximately $28,743. "We asked the fire department to make a reduction of $5,000 and the library a reduction of $2,000," he said. Many of the revenue...
The ferry "Wahkiakum" is undergoing repair to a cracked hull and may be back in operation late this week. Crewmen discovered a leaking crack in the hull on October 23, and the ferry was taken out of service for repair. Wahkiakum County Public Works Director said Tuesday that the ferry had arrived in dry dock in Astoria that day and was examined by a US Coast Guard inspector. Some removal of the area of concern will occur first, Ringen said, and then the Coast Guard will re-inspect. Depending on what is found, the ship yard may or may not be...
Wahkiakum County officials have completed their first round of meetings to go over preliminary request for the 2014 budgets. After their last meeting with a department head on Tuesday, Commissioners Dan Cothren, Blair Brady and Mike Backman said they would take a break and then reconvene to start whittling down the requests. "We're $530,000 out of whack," Brady said. "Short." Sheriff Mark Howie, one of the last to talk with the board, had two big requests for the board. First, the state funds that finance the position of the Emergency Services...
The Morton/White Pass Timberwolves showed the Wahkiakum Mules why they're the state's top ranked Class 2B football team last Friday by handing the visiting Mules a 51-0 Central League loss. "They're solid," commented Mule Coach Eric Hansen. "They have a good line and two good running backs. Their quarterback is accurate in his passes and he can run the ball. Their defense swarms to the ball. They played the game the way it's supposed to be played. "I thought Shane Souvenir, Mason Mackey and...
The Cathlamet Town Council discussed water supply issues and ordinances and acted on a wide variety of other business at their monthly meeting last Monday. The council followed a suggestion from Mayor George Wehrfritz to slow down in adopting an ordinance that would end sales of water to the Puget Island Water System in 2037. The town and Wahkiakum PUD, which owns the Island water system, have been negotiating an update to the long term water contract. Negotiations have take a turn for the better, Wehrfritz said, and he recommended the council...
Slowly but surely, the Wahkiakum Conservation District is working to rebuild the health of the streams in the Skamokawa Creek basin. The district has been working with landowners in Middle Valley to stabilize stream beds and improve fish habitat. "This is a community watershed approach to resource management," district Manager Darren Haupt said Tuesday. Haupt described the district's programs as getting the watersheds back in balance. Under normal, natural conditions, drainage and stream flow will be in equilibrium with sediment load. However,...
Wahkiakum County commissioners worked through a light agenda Tuesday morning. The board approved a $1.1 million loan agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation for costs associated with the construction of a new county ferry, discussed a suit involving county trust timber lands, and acted on other business. The county needs about $1.1 million to cover all costs for the ferry replacement project. State and federal funds will cover most of the $4.5 million cost, but the county will also have to modify the Puget Island ferry...
Most fans expected a shoot out when the Wahkiakum Mules entertained the Napavine Tigers last Friday, and it was just that in the first half which ended in a 20-20 tie. However, the visitors took control of the game in the second half, blanked the Mules, and claimed a 34-20 Central League victory. The two teams are tied for second place in league standings with 5-1 records; the Morton/White Pass Timberwolves, topped ranked team in the Associated Press Class 2B poll, lead the league with a 6-0...
The wet weather of early fall has put a stop to construction of a setback dike on the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge. Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Pete Ringen received word from the US Army Corps of Engineers late last week that the Corps was halting construction for the winter. "The storm earlier this month was a serious setback for them," Ringen told the county board of commissioners on Tuesday. "It came with the wettest September on record." Because of the rainfall, the contractor is unable to handle some material,...
Wahkiakum County Commissioners had good news and bad news Tuesday when representatives of the Department of Natural Resources presented a report of potential revenue form state-managed county trust timberland. The good news is that the county will receive about $1.74 million this year, over $500,000 more than expected. The bad news is that predictions for 2014 and 2015 aren't as high, around $1.2 million per year. "We had a pretty good increase in timber prices this year," said Regional Manager Steve Ogden. Log prices have fallen a bit but...
What's going to happen at County Line Park? That's what a group of frequent users asked members of the Port District No. 2 board of commissioners on Tuesday. Port 2 is working its way down a path of agreements with other governmental entities to take over operation of the park on November 1. Port officials feel they can upgrade park facilities and run it in a cost effective manner. Spokesperson David Pennington explained that the group consists of people who have stayed at the park many times over the years and who have become like family....
The Wahkiakum Mules outscored the Onlaska Loggers 36-28 in Central League football last Friday. The Mules scored at the end of the third quarter to go up 36-28 and controlled the ball for the fourth quarter to win their hardest game so far this season. The Mules’ score could have been higher, Coach Eric Hansen said. “We didn’t finish them off when we had them down,” Hansen commented. The game ended with the Mules kneeling the ball down just outside the Logger endzone instead of punching in anoth...
The Wahkiakum Mule football team rolled over the Pe Ell Trojans 36-12 in a sometimes wet and rainy homecoming football game last Friday. The win left the Mules with a 4-0 record, tied with Morton/White Pass and Napavine for first place in the Central League. Mason Mackey put the Mules on the scoreboard at 8:18 of the first quarter with a three-yard run. Gunnar Blix ran the conversion for an 8-0 Mule lead. Mackey scored his second of the night at 10:28 of the second quarter on a two-yard run;...
