Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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The year-old ferry Oscar B. is back in service again, but the saga of its mechanical troubles is far from over. During a high river, debris plugged the intake for the water cooling system for the engine generators, and the ferry was tied up to find a mechanical solution. Consulting engineers came up with two solutions, and the ferry ended up in a Vancouver shipyard where workers installed a self-contained cooling system along the keel. The ferry went out of service December 10 and was supposed...
Without a clear mandate, Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday tabled a vote on forming a flood control zone district for the Flandersville/Cape Horn neighborhood. Some residents urged the commission to adopt the resolution forming the district, which would be the residents' formal organization to work with the US Army Corps of Engineers to deposit dredged sand along their eroding shoreline. However, one resident of the western end of the shoreline, Jim Hobart, said he and his neighbors didn't need sand in front of their properties. They...
Wahkiakum County department heads discussed upgrades to courthouse security with the board of commissioners on Tuesday. Commissioners also heard reports from health department officials and addressed other business. Officials agreed they would like to upgrade security in the courthouse. Sheriff Mark Howie opened discussion by noting that some doors aren't secured during trials, which can draw angry people. He suggested card locks be installed that would allow vetted employees to enter but which would steer others to the security entrance....
Wahkiakum County officials hope to have replacement shaft seals to repair the ferry Oscar B. by the end of this week. The ferry had been out of service most of December and January to install a new generator cooling system. The ferry left a Vancouver shipyard Tuesday, January 26, apparently ready to resume service the next morning. However, the crew noticed a strange noise coming from the engine room, and upon investigation, they found that shaft seals had failed and were leaking. Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer learned that...
The Oscar B. was expected to resume service between Puget Island and Westport early Wednesday morning, but service was halted when the crew discovered leaking shaft seals. Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer explained why in this early morning email: "Due to leaking shafts the Ferry Oscar B will be down until new shaft seals can be installed. At this point I do not have a time frame. The shaft seal supply company is located in Renton, WA. If they have the required seals we will...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to help Diking District 5 complete repairs to a dike along Skamokawa Creek. Diking Commissioner Tim Schmitz said district is applying to the state Department of Ecology for funding for work that would bring the whole dike up to US Army Corps of Engineers standards and also add trails for hikers and kayakers. The district completed Phase 1 of the improvements in 2014, repairing 2,635 feet of dike and improving an inlet structure. The county participated in the local match for the grant funds to...
Wahkiakum County commissioners set the stage for creation a flood control zone for Cape Horn and handled a variety of other business when they met Tuesday. The board set a February 9 public hearing on a resolution to create the district, which will enable Cape Horn residents to sponsor beach nourishment work and levy a tax to support the work. Residents of Cape Horn and East Sunny Sands have been seeking beach nourishment with dredge spoils to counter erosion to their shorelines. Commissioner Dan Cothren reported the county and US Army Corps...
Wahkiakum County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a proposed ordinance to regulate junk and solid waste on private property. Around 50-60 people attended a public hearing before the vote, and speakers at the hearing voiced opposition and support of the ordinance. The ordinance has been three years in the making. Responding to public input, the board of commissioners held community meetings on the issue in the spring of 2013, and citizens at those meetings overwhelmingly...
The Oscar B. was expected to resume service between Puget Island and Westport early Wednesday morning, but service was halted when the crew discovered leaking shaft seals. Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer explained why in this early morning email: "Due to leaking shafts the Ferry Oscar B will be down until new shaft seals can be installed. At this point I do not have a time frame. The shaft seal supply company is located in Renton, WA. If they have the required seals we will send a person today to pick them up and get them...
The Town of Cathlamet, Wahkiakum PUD and the state Department of Health (DOH) are working on a plan that will keep the local agencies from restricting new connections to their joint water systems. In 2015, they notified the town that a limit on new connections to both town and Puget Island water systems was possible because the town's water plant couldn't pump enough water from the Elochoman River in summer to meet the plant's capacity. In the fall, the town Public Works Department used compressed air to clean the perforated line that runs...
Commissioners of Port District No. 2 covered a lot of ground at their meeting Tuesday but set up action for their February 16 meeting. Carrie Backman of the Wahkiakum Marine Resources Committee discussed bringing ice machines and mobile fish cleaning units to the county to assist commercial fishers in adding value to their catches. She said the two ice machines, which would be capable of generating 8-10,000 lbs. of ice in a 24-hour period, should be located on a concrete slab with access to water and electricity. She and port officials discusse...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday signed a letter to Governor Jay Inslee requesting Inslee's assistance in upgrading the county's trust timberlands. In the past, the county has derived substantial revenue from state managed timberland. However, since 1999, approximately 3,000 of the county's 12,600 acres have been set aside as habitat for endangered species and are therefore off limits to harvest which results in a reduced base of revenue for county government. County officials have long sought compensation for the encumbered lands and...
Difficulty in obtaining parts has resulted in a delay in the anticipated repair of the ferry Oscar B, Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer announced last Thursday. On Jan. 5, Public Works officials said a shipyard had said that repairs could be completed in "6-9" days, which would have been the end of this week. However, that shipyard ran into difficulty in obtaining parts, and Beyer had to change course and contract with a second yard. The change in plans now means that the repairs could be completed around January 22. The...
Wahkiakum County officials are working with residents of the Cape Horn/Flandersville area to form a political entity to address erosion issues. The parties met Tuesday at the end of the weekly meeting of the board of county commissioners to set boundaries for a flood control zone district. The district identifies an area with erosion problems, an organization sponsor work to address them, and property that could be assessed to help cover costs. After going over maps prepared by the Public Works Department, citizens and officials agreed to...
A difficulty in obtaining parts has resulted in a delay in the anticipated repair of the ferry Oscar B, Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer announced Thursday. On Jan. Public Works officials said a shipyard had said it could complete the repairs in "6-9" days, which would have been completed around Jan. 15. However, that shipyard ran into difficulty in obtaining parts, and Beyer had to change course and contract with a second yard. The change in plans means that the repairs should be completed around Jan. 22. Here is the text of...
It's a new year, and Wahkiakum County officials feel they're ready to see progress in efforts to have dredged sand placed on eroding shorelines. Last year, county officials began working with Puget Island residents to get the US Army Corps of Engineers to plan sand disposal along East Sunny Sands. Residents there have been experiencing erosion and would like sand replenished there to save their homes and property. County officials met with Corps personnel and outlined a process that would potentially replenish the beach in 2016 and set up a...
The ferry Oscar B. should be back in service sometime late next week, Wahkiakum County officials said Tuesday. The US Coast Guard ordered the ferry docked three weeks ago after debris plugged the fresh water cooling intake for the primary and auxiliary generators. Inspectors and engineers have settled on a design for modifications to the intake, and the county commissioners on Tuesday authorized Public Works Director Chuck Beyer to select one of two shipyards to begin the work as soon as possible. Beyer said the work should be done in 7-9...
The ferry Oscar B. should be back in service sometime late next week. Inspectors and engineers have settled on a design for modifications to the cooling water intake, and the county commissioners on Tuesday authorized Public Works Director Chuck Beyer to select one of two shipyards to begin the work as soon as possible. Beyer said January 7 that the work should be done in 7-10 days....
Plans for repair of the ferry Oscar B. are in process, but it will be some time before the ferry is back in service. The ferry sucked up sticks and floating debris during high water December 11 and has been tied up since. Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said Tuesday that Elliott Bay Design Group, who designed the vessel, was wrapping up repair plans and would pass them this week to the US Coast Guard for their inspection. Basically, the proposed plan involves improving the...
Wahkiakum County commissioners set county levies for 2016 and acted on other business when they met Tuesday. Commissioners approved a 1 percent increase in levies, the maximum allowed by state law without a public vote and the county's first increase in years. The General Fund Levy will total $969,888.63. It includes four parts--Current Expense, $515,787.26; levy shift from County Road, $471,000, Mental Health, $8,000, and Veteran's Relief, $4,000. There is a $28,898.63 reduction to compensate for "amount over levied." The Emergency Medical Ser...
by Rick Nelson Wahkiakum County officials on Tuesday put off a decision about who should represent the county on the board of directors on the new regional mental health funding agency, Great Rivers Behavioral Health. Great Rivers is still getting organized and hiring staff. Suzanne Holmes has been representing Wahkiakum county and its mental health program on a temporary appointment, and county Health and Human Services administrators recommended she be appointed to complete the term. Holmes has done an excellent job, said county mental...
Wahkiakum County officials are re-examining a program for boarding horses at the fairgrounds in Skamokawa. The program was started with 4-H youth in mind, but other horse owners have questioned the propriety of the program. Under the program, participants could board horses at the fairgrounds horse barn for $100 per month and work off the fee by performing 20 hours of community service. The questions came to the board of county commissioners Tuesday. Commission Chair Mike Backman said the county fair board, of which he is a member, said the...
Wahkiakum County commissioners dealt with a variety of issues at their meeting Tuesday, including traffic tickets, health department fees and repairs to the county ferry. Health and Human Services Department administrators Sue Cameron and Chris Holmes explained that a former driver of Wahkiakum On the Move had accumulated four traffic tickets under the City of Longview's camera enforcement program. The tickets totaled $496, and Elochoman Valley Partners (EVP), who operate the transportation program, paid the tickets. The administrators asked th...
Last week's storms left Wahkiakum County dealing with several problems. Unstable slopes caused slides that have closed Shannon and Covered Bridge roads in the Grays River Valley, and debris clogged cooling system intakes on the ferry "Oscar B." and closed service for repairs. The ferry could be out of service for 3-4 weeks, Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said. While making a run early Friday morning, sticks and branches floating in the Columbia plugged the water intake to the engines' cooling system. The crew was able to...
Commissioners from three lightly populated, timber dependent counties are preparing to lobby for legislation that would increase their revenue from timber harvest. Wahkiakum, Pacific and Skamania counties all have portions of their state managed trust timberland tied up in habitat conservation areas for endangered species. The counties have been seeking compensation for the lost revenue and have had limited success. Now, they have a new plan and some unexpected allies among environmental preservation organizations. Columbia Land Trust, who has...
