Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1983 - 2007 of 9889
Wahkiakum County officials find themselves dealing with the good, the bad and the ugly. The good is an increase in revenue from rising investment interest rates and state timber excise tax revenue; the bad is a cooling of timber markets that is chipping away at revenue from logging on county trust timber lands, and the ugly is the inflationary impact on fuel used to power modes of transportation. The increases in interest rates since the beginning of 2022 is good news, Treasurer Tammy Peterson told the county board of commissioners on Tuesday....
Cathlamet town officials are getting closer to revising rates for sewer and water service, but fine tuning continues. The town's utility rates contain inequalities, with some customers subsidizing others, and out of town customers paying higher rates than those inside the town boundaries. The council is trying to develop a schedule that combines basic rates and usage fees for consumption of water above a basic quantity. Clerk/Treasurer Sarah Clark reported that she and Council Members Laurel Waller and Jeanne Hendrickson had spent hours working...
Long time Port 1 Manager Jackie Lea retired on April 25 but plans to remain available to staff and commissioners until June 30 as they transition to new management. “She gave a lot of time to this place,” Commissioner Scott Anderson said. “She will be missed.” “We thank her for her many years of service,” Counsel Tim Hanigan said, “and wish her the best in her retirement.” Maintenance Manager Todd Souvenir will step in as interim manager as the port begins its search for Lea’s replacement. Cath...
The Wahkiakum PUD Board of Commissioners met Tuesday and talked about supply chain issues, weather, and projects in the county. General Manager Dan Kay said that he and Auditor Erin Wilson were collecting information for long term planning, which he hoped would be a collaborative project. “This could take a good solid year,” he said. “I don’t want to rush it.” Commissioner Gene Healy suggested posting the graphic for long range planning created by the PUD on their website in order to stimulate...
Stephanie Vossen, owner of The Spar, a restaurant on Main Street in Cathlamet, has purchased and is currently renovating the River Rat Tap, a historic bar on Broadway Street. There will be a much needed laundromat and event space on the first floor, with a private residence upstairs. The event space includes a deck space. Vossen plans to provide office space rental during the day, with wi-fi and a printer/copier available. Vossen hopes to have the laundromat and event space ready for business...
THURSDAY Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. 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. Food Addicts Meeting, The Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 6-7 p.m. Rosburg Community Club, 7 p.m. Eastside Play & Learn Group, St. James Family Center, 10-11:30 a.m. Community Library &...
Dental records were used to identify Delmar Dixon, 61, of Rainier, Ore., whose body was found by a walker on Little Cape Horn beach on May 7. Dixon was last seen on December 26, 2021. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Department was contacted for information, but no details were provided. Cause of death is undetermined. The family has been notified....
Above: A family of geese cruise along Birnie slough. Right: A goldfinch perches in a Puget Island tree. Photos by Ian Brandon...
As the environment of the lower Columbia River region evolves, Wahkiakum County's Noxious Weed Control Program is trying to keep up. Originally created years ago to control poisonous and similar weeds on agricultural land, the program is now having to focus more and more on aquatic weeds. On Tuesday, members of the weed board of supervisors and the county board of commissioners heard pleas from Puget Island residents to expand this year's planned herbicide application in Birnie Slough to include Jackson Inlet and small sloughs at the head of th...
It likely will take an act of Congress to get the US Army Corps of Engineers to dredge sediment in Gray's Bay. Residents of the Grays River and Deep River valleys have been pressing the Corps for years to clear sediment from the rivers' channels across the bay. They contend that Corps activities to manage the Columbia River shipping channel have plugged the tributary channels' outlets, and this has resulted in increasingly adverse flooding in the valleys. In discussion Tuesday sponsored by the county board of commissioners, Corps officials...
An outbreak of avian flu has been affecting poultry in North America since sometime last fall or early winter, but it wasn’t until the first week of May that it began to show up a little closer to home, in backyard flocks in Pacific County, in Linn County, Ore., and now in Spokane County. H5N1 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, Bryan Richards, the Emerging Disease Coordinator for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center said, explaining that highly p...
Last Tuesday, the VFW Post 5297 raised a new flag at the Cathlamet Fire Hall after presenting it to the Cathlamet Fire Chief Vernon Barton. The flag previously hung on the catwalk of a C-17 that evacuated a Marine to Germany after he was injured by an IED (improvised explosive device) in Iraq. The local post's quartermaster, Justin Tawater, was a staff sergeant in the Air Force at the time and the flying crew chief responsible for all the maintenance of that C-17. Tawater is now a reserve in...
Part of my family's lore is that a young Ronald Reagan, during his days on the radio, would come in to my maternal grandfather's restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa, where surely he must have enjoyed slices of my Grandma Clarissa's pie with his cuppa Joe. Like many women of that era, my grandmother was a talented gardener, canner, cook, and baker. She'd made her children's clothes, played the piano, and was well read. She was the first person to suggest I should write. I had the opportunity to cook...
THURSDAY Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. Food Addicts, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 6-7 p.m. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Puget Island Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. Port District No. 1, 500 2nd St., 5 p.m. District No. 4 Fire Department, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire District No. 3 Commissioners, 7:30 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, fire training, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Westside Play & Learn Group, Valley Bible Church, 9-11:30 a.m. Eastside Play &...
A body washed up onto the beach at Little Cape Horn on Saturday, May 7 and was found by a walker who lived nearby. The Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Department received the phone call at 11:21 a.m. and two deputies responded. The coroner, Dan Bigelow, arrived a little later. The deceased was wearing a jean jacket, a blue top, ripped jeans, and hiking boots, and was believed to have white or blond hair. Bigelow said that they were closing in on an identity, and awaiting confirmation from dental r...
Filing for offices on this year’s election ballots opens next Monday. All county offices will be on the ballot, and the District 3 Wahkiakum PUD commissioner will be on the ballot. Other positions include US Senator, District 3 congressional representative, and the two state District 19 representatives. Several people have announced they will run for local offices. Incumbent Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow has announced he will seek re-election. This week, Cathlamet native Holly McKeen announced she will be a candidate for the position (see s...
Cathlamet native Holly McKeen this week announced she will be a candidate for Wahkiakum County prosecuting attorney. McKeen is a 2003 Wahkiakum High School graduate. She is now a deputy prosecutor in Cowlitz County and resides in Cathlamet. “My step-father, Fred Johnson, is the former prosecutor of Wahkiakum County,” she said in her announcement. “My son, Maddox Moore, is a freshman at Wahkiakum High School. “I moved back to Cathlamet last fall to be closer to family. I am excited about the opportunity to serve the citizens of the county I was...
In mid-April, Wahkiakum High School trap shooters Henry Bassi, Greydon Luce, and Braden Avalon traveled to Wenatchee to compete in the FFA State Trap Tournament. According to their coach and teacher, Kyle Hurley, Bassi shot 80/100, Luce shot 76/100, and Avalon shot 61/100. The night before the state shoot, the Mule team competed in a sequence of games and events against trap shooters from all around the state. Bassi placed fourth in state in the Miss and Out game. Avalon and Luce made it to the...
The Wahkiakum Historical Museum Society held a May Day event on Sunday, marking the first of May. One of their volunteers, Tiffany Mora, wanted to bring back the tradition, according to another volunteer, Dayle Olsen. People wove ribbons around the May pole, picked up flowers to give to loved ones, and shared a little laughter in the sunshine. Tiffany Mora chats with visitors to the May Day festivities at the museum. She has another name, but on this day, she insisted she was the Goddess of...
We are pleased to announce the return of our annual photo contest, A Day in The Life of Wahkiakum County and Naselle. We invite Wahkiakum County and Naselle residents to shoot a photo on Saturday, May 7, 2022, in the Wahkiakum County and Naselle areas and enter on or before May 13, 2022, to participate. Two division winners will be selected and earn $50 prizes. Winners and honorable mention photos will be published in The Wahkiakum County Eagle's special edition, The Focus on Wahkiakum, on May...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday approved two measures that will impact transportation routes. On Monday, the ferry Oscar B. will go out of service from 6 a.m. to 12 noon for mechanical work. County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said the closure is needed for engine maintenance, repairs and replacement of recalled engine parts. The board also approved a closure of Risk Road for replacement of the bridge over Nelson Creek. The closure was effective Tuesday and authorized to last until September 23. The non-profit habitat...
The Cathlamet Town Council on Monday decided to extend the public comment period to May 16 on proposed changes to rates for water and sewer service. The council wants to modify rates to end inequalities among customer groups. The new rates would include a basic charge and also rates based on customers' consumption of water. At the April 18 council meeting Clerk/Treasurer Sarah Clark reported that 80 percent of customers would pay only the minimum charge, and the remaining 20 percent would pay extra based on the amount of water consumed. An...
A report from Mike Johnson, an engineer from Gray and Osborne, Inc. occupied much of the conversation at the Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. In order to apply for a drinking water state revolving fund in November, the PUD will need an approved water system plan. He said that a conversation with the Washington Department of Health illuminated some potential paths for the PUD. They could do a full plan update, which would require a look at all their production and...
Makayla Davis, a freshman at Wahkiakum High School, continues to find success riding for Kelso WAHSET (Washington High School Equestrian Team). At the last district meet, Davis placed first in the barrels, first in pole bending and second in the figure eight. She took home a gold medal in barrels and pole bending and a bronze for the figure eight and also received a reserve high point in the gaming division. Having already qualified for pole bending and barrels, Davis has added a figure eight...
Jerry Bain is a modest man. It's likely we would never have heard about his recent honor if a little birdie hadn't come into the Eagle office last week to sing his song. Bain has lived in the community for more than 60 years and while many may know him for one reason or another, last month he was honored for work that primarily, though not exclusively, connects him with the younger generations in Wahkiakum--hunter education. In April, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Hunter...
