Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Starting at the Olympia Ballroom in the state capital's historic district, students from across Washington carried inflatable orcas and salmon and marched through the streets of Olympia to the steps of the Legislative building. Chanting "Save our salmon," members of the Washington Youth Ocean and River Conservation Alliance (WYORCA) and other environmental groups advocated for the protection of Northwest salmon runs and the orca pods that depend on them. "We need Inslee and the political leaders...
Most Wahkiakum County employees will receive an extra 3 percent increase to go along with already scheduled pay increases this year, county commissioners decided Tuesday. According to the board of commissioners’ proposal, the increases are “in response to extraordinary high inflation.” Members of the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees Union were set to receive a 2 percent wage increase this year; the commission approved another 3 percent increase. The 3 percent increase also applies to members of the Masters, Mates...
Town of Cathlamet Mayor David Olson presented a breakdown on the total costs for the Butler Lot at the town council meeting last Tuesday equaling an amount closer to $450,000, not the $600,000 reported by a council member at the previous meeting, which was not disputed at the time. The breakdown included expected costs for the remaining work, which includes electric vehicle equipment, a kiosk, flora, and other details. The panel for the charging station was held up because of supply chain...
A 51 page closing brief for Wahkiakum School District’s suit against the State of Washington has been submitted to the Supreme Court in preparation for their court date before the Washington State Supreme Court on March 14. The school district, which is represented by Thomas Ahearne, the winning litigator in the landmark McCleary case, first filed the lawsuit in Wahkiakum Superior Court in December of 2021, after the community voted against a 22 year $28.75 million bond in 2020 for r...
Homelessness is still a big issue throughout Washington, and while the state has spent millions, the governor wants to invest more. In a press conference Jan. 19, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said while certain encampments have been cleared as a result of past funding efforts, there are still not enough places to house the homeless. "Many of these people have chemical addiction problems that have to be treated if they're going to succeed. Many of these people have mental health problems...
People who change their names to hide from their abusers should be afforded more privacy. That, at least, is the conclusion Maia Xiao came to after a transgender friend committed suicide after being harassed online despite a name change. Her friend’s “deadname,” the name used before transitioning, was discovered since it was a public record under Washington state law. “Even if she knew she was in a dangerous situation, she could not have changed her name privately because of our law,” Xiao said. Under consideration now is Senate Bill 5028, whi...
OLYMPIA--State Sen. Nikki Torres introduced a bill to continue the Legislature’s efforts to identify the root causes of the shockingly large number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Washington. She said Senate Bill 5477 is aimed at enacting practical, long-term solutions that address systematic failures in investigating these crimes, holding perpetrators accountable and getting justice for victims. “Crimes against Indigenous people, especially women and children, have continued to plague our state and our nation,” said Torres, R-Pas...
THURSDAY Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments Board, 961 12th Ave., Longview, Noon. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. District No. 4 Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, fire/ambulance, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Wahkiakum Planning Commission, Courthouse, 6 p.m. Wahkiakum Commissioners, Courthouse, 9:30 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Hope Center, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Free Senior Fitness and Balance Class, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, enter via door on 3rd, 12:45-1:45 p.m....
On January 17, the Naselle GRV School Board met with long range strategic planning as a goal for the coming months. During the meeting, issues of transparency and process were on the table twice. One of the goals of the board set this school year is transparency for the public. With that goal in mind, at public comment this reporter asked that the Superintendent make every document given to the board for their meetings, available on the school’s web site and passed out with the other documents normally given at the beginning of the meetings. T...
Wahkiakum County commissioners covered a variety of business when they met Tuesday. The board signed a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee requisition action on local wildlife issues; commissioners signed interlocal agreements to support the Cathlamet library and County Line Park, and they appointed a Westend resident to fill a vacancy on the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District. The letter to Gov. Inslee focused on two issues. First, the letters stated that the board and local residents have noticed an "alarming decline in our elk populations." The...
Wahkiakum County Port 1 Board of Commissioners agreed to continue managing County Line Park and learned that their insurance company approved a claim which will cover repairs after the dredge sank in November. Commissioners approved a resolution renewing an interlocal agreement with Wahkiakum County for County Line Park. The property belongs to the State of Washington, is leased by Wahkiakum County and managed by the port. County Commissioners increased their support to the port for management...
By Diana Zimmerman The Wahkiakum PUD Board of Commissioners talked about water plans, a new way to deal with supply chain issues, and got an update on activity at the utility. General Manager Dan Kay said he was working with the Department of Health and engineers from Gray and Osborne, Inc., on the Puget Island Water Plan, which is about to expire. He suggested that the PUD consider a Puget Island Small Water System Management Plan, a less expensive alternative to the traditional water plan. The...
Cosmetology students will be able to register for their final exam before they have completed their course work if a bill under consideration by the state Legislature is approved. House Bill 1017, by Cindy Ryu, D-Shoreline, allows cosmetology students to sign up for and take their final exam within 100 hours of completing their total required hours. The bill had a hearing Jan. 13 in the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee. Hannah Govea is a cosmetology student set to graduate in March this year, but said she is nervous about the...
While Tru Blue Most doesn't live in Wahkiakum County, her roots run deep, and it was here that this champion barrel racer first learned to ride. Most, who is 14 and attends school in Longview, is the daughter of Nichole and Josh Most, and the granddaughter of Wahkiakum residents Penny and Mike Paulsen. "I was always horse crazy," Most said. "Toy Story is my favorite movie and I wanted to be Jessie from Toy Story really bad. My parents were not rodeo people. They didn't know anything about it."...
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...
Four dogs sat in a House hearing room and two more watched the room over Zoom as a legislative committee discussed rules dog handlers must follow in courthouses for dogs to assist people who are providing testimony, including youth with disabilities. “I can’t say how amazing these dogs are when something bad has happened to your kids, my kids. Really, they’re our kids. All these kids belong to us,” said Ellen O’Neill-Stephens, founder of the Courthouse Dogs Foundation. “To be able to provide this link from the dog to the child when the child i...
Structural and system failures plagued Wahkiakum School District over the holiday break. Outside pipes burst in the bus garage and the grandstand two days after the big freeze taking Maintenance Supervisor Paul Lawrence, Transportation Supervisor Calvin Grasseth, and David McNally from the Town of Cathlamet away from their families on Christmas morning to contend with the issue and get it all shut off, according to Superintendent Brent Freeman. Freeman visits the facilities regularly, and did a...
Wahkiakum County commissioners signed letters to state legislators requesting increased funding for the county ferry Oscar B. and discussed other issues when they met Tuesday. The letters follow up meetings with Rep. Fey, chair of the House Transportation Committee, and District 19 Senator Jeff Wilson. Commissioners requested a change to state statutes establishing the state's subsidy of ferry operations. The letters included spreadsheets showing that the current 80 percent subsidy doesn't cover all costs, forcing the county to use money...
After two years of an online and hybrid Legislature that severely restricted legislators’ direct contact during the pandemic, the House and Senate chambers were full of people reuniting and greeting each other. at the opening of the state Legislature Jan. 9. A main issue at the start of the session was moving past the COVID-19 pandemic and adopting new rules and procedures that allows for in-person and remote participation. President of the Senate Denny Heck, the Lieutenant Governor, said community members sent the Senators to the l...
The parking lot on Butler Street is paved and painted now, but grumbles at the Town of Cathlamet meeting last week regarding the process and its somewhat unsatisfying results prove it continues to be a source of vexation. An EV station has yet to be installed, and plans for a kiosk are still in the works, but according to Town Council Member Robert Stowe, the lot has already cost the town $600,000. "The way it looks now it's a fait accompli, we're stuck with it pretty much," Stowe said. "I...
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...
The December 27 storm hit hard on Puget Island, knocking down a barn and sending a tall conifer into Welcome Slough. The barn, on the property of Sarah and Paul Lawrence, was built in 1939. Photo courtesy of Sarah Lawrence....
Wahkiakum County Commissioners and District 19 legislators on Tuesday discussed issues the county board would like to see addressed in the coming session of the Washington State Legislature. Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, met with the board in person, and Senator Jeff Wilson, R-Kalama attended via Zoom. Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, reportedly had a scheduling conflict. Topics ranged from compensating counties with trust timberlands that are encumbered by species habitat restrictions to laws affecting law enforcement and drug offenders. For...
General Manager Dan Kay addressed substation security issues at the Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. “We are taking it seriously,” he said. “Wahkiakum PUD is aware of substation vandalism events that have occurred recently in the Pacific Northwest and around our country. We have and are coordinating with our law enforcement agencies to communicate and increase the security at our substations. As part of this we cannot discuss specific details of our mitigation meas...
According to the county website, the mission of Wahkiakum Heath and Human Services is to “enhance the health and well-being of Wahkiakum County by providing effective health and human services and by fostering and implementing sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services.” One of the ways they seek to enhance the health and well-being of the community is through their mental health department. Duncan Cruickshank, who is in charge of the dep...
