Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1301 - 1325 of 9557
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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....
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...
