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  • Police dogs to be trained to find fentanyl

    Alexandria Osborne, Washington State Journal|Feb 16, 2023
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    The war against the use of illegal fentanyl will get some extra help in the future from drug sniffing dogs trained to detect the substance. That’s the intent of House Bill 1635, introduced by Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, R-Lakewood. The bill instructs the Criminal Justice Training Commission to develop model standards for training the police dogs. Fentanyl is used illegally for intense but short-term highs and temporary feelings of euphoria, but can cause fainting, seizures and sometimes even death. Mosbrucker said the fentanyl epidemic is second only...

  • The Eagle Calendar

    Feb 16, 2023

    THURSDAY Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Hope Center, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Fire Protection District No. 1 Commissioners, Fire Hall, 5:30 p.m. Fire District No. 4, 7 p.m. Cathlamet First Aid Division, Fire Hall, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, First Aid Division, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, ambulance training, 7 p.m. Free Senior Fitness and Balance Class, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, enter via door on 3rd, 12:45-1:45 p.m. Food Addicts Meeting, The Hope Center, 3rd...

  • Stalking, online or in person, would be the same

    Alexandria Osborne, Washington State Journal|Feb 16, 2023

    Stalking is stalking, whether it is in person or online, and they will be treated as identical crimes if a bill presented in the Legislature is adopted. Under current law, a person commits the crime of stalking if they repeatedly follow someone with the intent to intimidate and harass. “Unfortunately, scholarly literature indicates that law enforcement has a tendency to downplay the behavior because the individual acts of stalking are not typically criminal on their own and do not appear threatening to someone who doesn't understand the c...

  • Is it spring?

    Feb 16, 2023

    The daffodils seem to think it's spring, but the weather bounces back and forth between Winter, Part X, and False Spring Part Y. The National Weather Service's Wednesday morning forecast calls for a chance of rain through the weekend, with the snow level bouncing between 500-2,800 feet, high temperatures around 47 and lows 33-44. Photo by Rick Nelson...

  • Legislature moving to tighten drunk driving laws

    Renee Diaz, Washington State Journal|Feb 16, 2023

    Ashley Bonus said she began her fight against impaired driving after her sister, Stacy Gammons-Ankerfelt, died in an accident in 2012. Now, she wants a new law that lowers the blood alcohol level needed to sustain an impaired driving conviction. “I work hard to make a change for my sister. I would never want any other family to feel the pain we feel every day. So, I work really hard just to make any change I can,” Bonus said. Bonus, now a volunteer with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), testified recently in support of Substitute Senate Bil...

  • Legalizing fentanyl test strips proposed

    Renee Diaz, Washington State Journal|Feb 16, 2023

    Allisone McClanahan suffered from severe chronic pain and fibromyalgia. To ease her pain, the 26-year-old took a pain pill from a friend she thought contained oxycodone. Instead, she died of a drug overdose in 2021. After her death, the toxicology report revealed the pill did not contain any oxycodone and was poisoned with fentanyl, seven times the amount her body could withstand. Genevieve Schofield, Allisone’s mother, said she did not want anyone to experience pain like hers. She reached out to legislators, and testified at hearings, u...

  • Wahkiakum High School receives OSPI's Distinguished School Award

    Diana Zimmerman|Feb 9, 2023

    Wahkiakum High School was one of four schools in the state of Washington this academic year to be selected by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for a ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) Distinguished School Award. The award also names WHS Principal Stephanie Leitz. To be eligible for this award, schools must qualify for one of three things--exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years, closing the achievement gap between student groups for two...

  • Council lowers sewer plan loan interest rate, reorders order of agenda

    Rick Nelson|Feb 9, 2023

    The Cathlamet Town Council on Monday passed resolutions establishing a policy for purchasing during emergencies, lowering the interest rate on the town's sewer plant construction loan, and modifying their meeting agenda format. The first resolution gives the mayor authority to make expenditures and avoid bidding requirements during declared emergencies. The second resolution replaces the town's first water plan loan with a new loan lowering the interest rate from 2.75 percent to 1.10 percent. Clerk-Treasurer Sarah Clark said the change would...

  • Commissioners consider new food vendor fees

    Rick Nelson|Feb 9, 2023

    Wahkiakum County Commissioners covered a lot of ground when the met Tuesday, approving expenses for construction and other projects and previewing proposed changes in fees for food service vendors. Commissioners approved a contract for landscape design services for Forrest Mora Landscaping, $3,500. Once a design is completed, the county will seek quotes for implementing the landscaping around the courthouse. The board accepted a quote from Renaud Electric to upgrade the electrical service at the Grays River Valley Center, $18,770. The board als...

  • PUD reviews Island water source search

    Diana Zimmerman|Feb 9, 2023

    Water was a big topic of conversation at the Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, which started with a public hearing for the proposed conversion to a Puget Island Small Water System Management Plan, which would be adopted later that morning. General Manager Dan Kay explained that a traditional and formal water system management plan has to be updated every six years for the Department of Health and would cost $40,000. Because there were no changes to their formal...

  • Coffee shop reopening after water disaster

    Diana Zimmerman|Feb 9, 2023

    Patty Vezaldanos is going to be 65 in 60 days, and she is dreaming about slowing down a little bit, spending fewer of her days each week in her shop, Patty Cakes Café and Roasting, which is located on Main Street in Cathlamet. If that a was a New Years resolution, well, the new year may have had some different ideas about how she should spend her time, at least for the first 30 or so days. The café was closed as it always is for the first holiday in January. The following day, a Monday, Vezeldan...

  • Cathlamet man dies in traffic accident

    Feb 9, 2023

    Cathlamet resident John D. Ramsay died on February 3 following a January 25 accident on SR 4 west of Stella near Bunker Hill. According to the Washington State Patrol, Ramsay was driving a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire between a 2016 Toyota Highlander driven by Cathlamet resident Robert C. Hollis and another vehicle. Ramsay's vehicle attempted to change lanes and collided with the Highlander. Both vehicles spun to the right on an embankment and came to rest on their tops. Ramsay was flown by Life Flight to Southwest Medical Center, Vancouver; he died...

  • Longer school year proposed to reduce loss

    Alexandria Osborne, Washington State Journal|Feb 9, 2023

    Students should spend more time in school and less time on break so they retain the learning they acquire during the school year. That’s the opinion of Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee, who has introduced a bill in the state Legislature that adds five days to the school calendar. “SB 5505 takes swift and decisive action to support learning recovery with a simple solution -- providing our students with additional access to their teachers, their peers, and to dedicated support staff,” Hawkins said. Under current law, schools are required to of...

  • The Eagle Calendar

    Feb 9, 2023

    THURSDAY Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. Free Senior Fitness and Balance Class, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, enter via door on 3rd, 12:45-1:45 p.m. Food Addicts, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 6-7 p.m. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Hope Center, Noon. Puget Island Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. Port District No. 1, 500 2nd St., Noon. District No. 4 Fire Department, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire District No. 3 Commissioners, 7:30 p.m. Grays River Fire...

  • Crime victims get added confidentiality

    Renee Diaz, Washington State Journal|Feb 9, 2023

    Victims and witnesses who track perpetrators in prison to know when they are released will be able to keep their identities private, if a bill that passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support becomes law. “This bill creates a safer environment for the victims and survivors, and they are not placed again in harm’s way because of a public records request,” said T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest. The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) provides a tracking program for victims and witnesses so they can know when the person who victimi...

  • First responders practice extrications

    Diana Zimmerman|Feb 2, 2023

    By Diana Zimmerman There were 43 volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics from all five Wahkiakum County Fire Districts at Hancock Sort Yard last Thursday, making their way through four drill stations, learning how to stabilize vehicles that have been in accidents, and how to do extrications. The combined knowledge and experience on the field that night was hard to comprehend, with all the years of volunteer service walking around and the few who were formerly career firefighters but now do...

  • Classified employees seek new contract

    Diana Zimmerman|Feb 2, 2023

    Classified staff at Wahkiakum School District have been without a contract since August, and with negotiations at a standstill, mediation is scheduled for their next meeting in February. “We’ve had quite a few meetings, Haanah Ohrberg said. “It’s not going anywhere. We are just getting the same offer from the district. It’s not enough.” Ohrberg was selected to represent the Wahkiakum Education Support Professionals union, and is a member of the classified staff at WSD, which includes al...

  • Busy school board hears wage request, other varied reports

    Diana Zimmerman|Feb 2, 2023

    There was a full house at Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors meeting January 17, with classified employees in attendance in support of ongoing negotiations, people preparing to give presentations on school trips, career technical education and robotics program success, the wellness committee, and grant opportunities for facilities improvements. Even the Seattle Times was in attendance, with a photographer taking pictures and a reporter taking notes. Haanah Ohrberg, a seven year...

  • Legislative committee plans ferry funding

    Diana Zimmerman|Feb 2, 2023

    Wahkiakum County commissioners met with Representative Jake Fey of the State House Transportation Committee for a few minutes on Friday afternoon via Zoom to talk about ferry funding. Beth Redfield from the Office of Program Research went over a bill draft which proposes to increase the state share of the operating and maintenance deficit of the Wahkiakum County ferry from 80 to 85 percent, and would delete all the references to an appropriation as a limit. "It would simply be you get...

  • Coast Guard rescues man near Puget Island

    Feb 2, 2023

    On January 21 United States Coast Guard crews rescued a man near Puget Island in the Columbia River after his hunting kayak capsized around 11:30 a.m. A person on shore called 911 after seeing the man in the water. They noted the man was wearing a yellow life jacket. A helicopter crew from Astoria arrived on scene within 20 minutes of the initial call, located the person, deployed the rescue swimmer, and successfully hoisted the man. He was brought back to Astoria to awaiting EMS who evaluated him for hypothermia. The individual declined...

  • Constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights stirs support, protest

    Renee Diaz, Washington State Journal|Feb 2, 2023

    Mary Le Nguyen stood in front of a group of 70 abortion-rights activists on the Capitol steps for a "reproductive freedom rally" in early January and she shared her personal story of being a survivor of sexual abuse. "This is not about power shifting from here to here. I want people to like us to have the power," Nguyen said, as she protested with Pro-Choice Washington. "I want us all to be more powerful, but that means we need to slow down together and see that reproductive justice is more...

  • Effort to make roads safer has bipartisan support

    Renee Diaz, Washington State Journal|Feb 2, 2023

    Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and Gov. Jay Inslee say they are backing a package of new laws aimed at protecting workers, pedestrians and commuters. New bills would include reducing the blood alcohol concentration limit for operating a vehicle when driving, imposing more restrictions on high-risk drivers and requiring a skills course for young and older drivers. Amber Weilert, a mother from Parkland, described how her son was struck and killed in a crosswalk while riding his bicycle. “I am here to be Michael’s voice to support him and...

  • The Eagle Calendar

    Feb 2, 2023

    THURSDAY Wahkiakum Fire District 3 Commissioners, 7:30 p.m. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Hope Center, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, work night, 7:30 p.m. Puget Island Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. District No. 4 Fire Department, 7 p.m. Wahkiakum Fire District 2 Commissioners, Skamokawa Fire Hall, 7 p.m. Cathlamet Public Library Board of Trustees, 12:45 p.m. Free Senior Fitness and Balance Class, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple,...

  • Trap, Neuter, Release on Puget Island

    Feb 2, 2023

    Jenny Martin of Wahkiakum Animal Advocates Group and another volunteer, Lynette Wright, trapped seven feral cats on George and Nell Coulson's Puget Island property as part of a Trap, Neuter, Release program on Thursday morning, including this orange tom affectionately referred to as Garfield. It was clear the Coulsons cared about the cats, which they somehow inherited after a neighbor passed away, but feral cats have long been a problem on Puget Island and volunteers are hoping to manage the...

  • Disabled ship heads to Portland shipyard

    Feb 2, 2023

    Guided by four tugboats, the disabled Panamax cargo ship GSL Eleni headed up the Columbia Tuesday for a Portland shipyard. According to reports, the river was closed to all cargo shipping during the process. For more information, listen to the North Coast Radio KMUN Ship Report podcast at https://shipreport.net/ship-report-podcasts/. Photo by Diana Zimmerman....

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