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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...
A Tumwater woman was hospitalized after the vehicle she was driving collided with a log truck last Friday afternoon near Nassa Point. Nancy Knofler, 66, was headed westbound on SR 4 in a Subaru Outback on Friday around noon when her vehicle crossed the center line near milepost 39 and collided head on with an eastbound log truck driven by Fabian Hohn, 38, of South Bend. Hohn, who was wearing a seatbelt, was uninjured, according to a report from the Washington State Patrol. Emergency responders...
In last week's paper, Assessor Falon Hoven's position was incorrectly described as appointed. She was elected to the position. And to clarify, the cell phone tower described in Mayor David Olson's comments to the county board of commissioners is located on land belonging to the Town of Cathlamet, which will negotiate an updated lease with the service provider....
THURSDAY 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, enter via door on 3rd, 12:45-1:45 p.m. Food Addicts...
According to Sheriff Mark Howie, when the arctic blast gave us freezing rain on December 23, it stranded one deputy at home, and a trooper at the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Office. Thankfully, according to the sheriff's report, it was a pretty quiet night in Wahkiakum County. Sergeant Brad Moon of the Washington State Patrol, who started his shift that morning around 11:30 a.m., was not so lucky. He was handling one thing up north before the storm came in, while another trooper headed to SR 105...
These homes really showed their Christmas Spirit. Photos by Rick Nelson....
Judge Heidi Heywood, Wahkiakum County Treasurer Tammy Peterson, Wahkiakum County Assessor Falon Hoven, Wahkiakum County Auditor Nicci Bergseng, and Wahkiakum County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow were sworn in by Tim Hanigan on Thursday, following re-election to their offices, or in Hoven's case, to her new elected position as assessor. Photo by Diana Zimmerman. Correction: This cutline originally described Hoven's position as appointed. The correct word is elected....
Wahkiakum County commissioners set salaries for elected officials and adopted the county's 2023 budget when they met Tuesday. The board also approved contracts for the Health and Human Service Department and a resolution and contract establishing a public defender services program. Starting January 1, salaries for the county auditor, assessor, clerk, sheriff and treasurer will be based on the salary of a sitting superior court judge, which is set by the state salary commission. The sheriff's salary will be 50 percent of the judge's salary, and...
The date has been set. The Washington Supreme Court will hear Wahkiakum School District’s case against the State of Washington on March 14, 2023. The lawsuit, initially filed by the district a year ago in Wahkiakum Superior Court, argues that the state should be responsible for funding equitable and safe facilities for schools according to the state’s own constitution. The court date is good news for the district, though Superintendent Brent Freeman admits there will likely be lost sleep bet...
Recently, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission upheld a $226,000 penalty against CenturyLink after five of its telephone companies violated an agreement with the Commission by raising customer rates without notifying the UTC. This is the second year in a row that the company has violated the agreement. CenturyLink is bound by an alternative form of regulation plan established in 2014, which requires its companies to notify the commission of any changes to its rates at the same time it notifies customers. Five CenturyLink...
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. AA Meeting, The Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 7 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Grays River Fire Department, open meeting, 7 p.m. West End Food Pantry, GRVC at Johnson Park, 1-5 p.m. Community Computer Center, GRVC at Johnson Park, 1-7 p.m. FRIDAY River City Strippers, St. Catherine Catholic Church, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. AA Meeting, Hope Center, 7 p.m. SATURDAY...
On December 20, the Naselle GRV School Board met for the last time in 2022. Amy Hunt was elected to be Chair, continuing her time as interim chair in the latter portion of 2022. She stepped in as Interim Chair when former chair, Chuck Hendrickson, resigned at the August meeting. Amy Chadwick was elected Vice-Chair as well for the 2022-2023 school year. The meeting was held at the Grays River Fire Hall following the policy stating the School Board will meet there three times annually. This meeting was productive and enjoyable. Fifth graders pres...
Though winter is officially with us, activity at the coming Puget Island Gardens is anything but dormant. Gene and Dawn O'Neil, along with their assistant Natalie Fink, are busy dreaming, planning, and otherwise preparing for the opening of a garden center this spring. Gene O'Neil grew up gardening, and has had a long career in sales in the garden business. Dawn's career focus was on hospitality and food, with a specialty in pastry, and she has worked at the Four Season Hotel in Seattle, and...
Cathlamet town council members will be looking for an additional member to join their ranks in 2023. At their December 19 meeting, the council declared a vacancy in Council Position #3, formerly held by CeCelia Raglin. The action was taken in accordance with municipal code after a council member misses three consecutive meetings without requesting excused absences. Council members present at the meeting expressed gratitude for Raglin’s service. Information about the process for filling of the vacancy is forthcoming. In other business, the c...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday lobbied the chair of the state legislature's transportation committee for increased funding for county transportation services. The State of Washington covers 80 percent of ferry operation costs, but state statutes contain a cap on that funding. When costs exceed the level covered under the cap, the county has to shift money from road department projects to cover the overage, Public Works Director Chuck Beyer explained. Overages have run between $100,000 and $200,000, he said. Is it possible to raise th...
A recount requested by Joe Kent, who lost the race for U.S. Representative for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District to Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, did not change the outcome of the election. Instead, the undertaking, which cost Kent more than $48,500, only succeeded in extending Perez’s lead a little more. Wahkiakum’s recount was conducted last Thursday morning by Wahkiakum County Auditor Nicci Bergseng, Wahkiakum County Commissioner Gene Strong, Wahkiakum Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Shannon Edd...
Dennis Reid swore the oath of office after reelection to his position as a member of the Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, and General Manager Dan Kay and Auditor Erin Wilson gave a presentation on the state of utility. It was a time of coming out of covid-19 and what is going to be the new normal, Kay said, from whether to have meetings in person or hybrid, or how to address challenges like inflation and supply chain issues. According to the presentation, the mission of th...
THURSDAY 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. Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. Eastside Play & Learn...