Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Mule football, volleyball, and cross country practice is expected to begin at Wahkiakum High School on Monday after the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Executive Board decided to allow three truncated seasons for athletics, beginning with a seven week focus on fall sports. Whether Wahkiakum athletes and coaches will be allowed to compete against other teams is up in the air. It’s tied to Governor Jay Inslee’s Roadmap to Recovery Plan, and to the health of Clark and Cowlitz Co...
Photographer Genie Cary recently spotted this bird, tentatively identified as a finch, near her Rosedale residence....
Wahkiakum County’s high hills might have had snow early this week, but this flowering bush on Puget Island just caught a bit of frost. Photo by Rick Nelson....
Fred Thomas believes if an independent team had investigated his son’s death, the outcome would have been much different. In May 2013, 30-year-old Leonard Thomas was shot by Lakewood police sniper Brian Markert after a four-hour standoff between Thomas and the Pierce County Metro SWAT team. The team responded to a domestic dispute at Thomas’ home in Fife. Thomas was unarmed and holding his 4-year-old son in his arms when Markert shot him. When Fred Thomas and his family pursued legal action, he said they faced an uphill battle. A unanimous fed...
Dozens of business owners — from restaurant owners to bowling alley managers — told state officials that continued COVID-19 restrictions place small businesses at risk of permanent closure, but state healthcare officials said a rush to reopen businesses puts the public at risk during a pandemic that has yet to to be controlled. In all, more than 1,500 Washington residents convened online Jan. 20 to debate a bill before the Legislature that would ease government limits on indoor dining and entertainment. Sponsored by both Democrat and Rep...
A person who unlawfully summons the police on someone could face a civil action lawsuit under a proposed law that is gaining traction in the Legislature. Senate Bill 5135 would allow an individual to pursue civil action against a person who called the police without having evidence of a public safety risk. Senators voted along party lines with Democrats in favor in a 5-4 decision Jan. 21 to give SB 5135 a do-pass recommendation, and it was sent to the House Rules Committee. Democratic Sen. Mona Das, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a Jan. 2...
Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, meetings and events usually listed here have been canceled or changed to online participation until further notice. The Eagle was advised of the following events: Online Recovery Meeting, Lower Columbia River Refuge Recovery. Mondays 6:30 p.m. Zoom ID 960 8413 9102. Community Center, Mon. 9-12 & 1-5. Tues-Thurs. 9-1. Friday by appointment. Cathlamet Library T-F 2-5 p.m. Covid restrictions enforced....
One more Wahkiakum County resident has tested positive for covid-19, according to a press release from Wahkiakum Health and Human Services on Thursday. This brings the cumulative total to 74, with 12 considered potentially active. The individual is in self-quarantine. There is a limited connection to Wahkiakum School District, but no known connection to St. James Family Center. WHHS is working to identify people who may have an exposure risk and will be notifying anyone who is determined to have had close contact. There is active community...
Wahkiakum Health and Human Services reported on Friday that covid-19 had been confirmed in an additional Wahkiakum County resident. This brings the cumulative total to 75, with 11 considered potentially active. The individual is in self-quarantine. There is no known connection to Wahkiakum School District or St. James Family Center. WHHS is working to identify people who may have an exposure risk and will be notifying anyone who is determined to have had close contact. There is active community spread in Wahkiakum County, and the risk of...
On Tuesday, Wahkiakum Health and Human Services reported that covid-19 had been confirmed in six more Wahkiakum County residents. This brings the cumulative total to 81, with 16 considered potentially active. The individuals are in self-quarantine. There is a limited connection to Wahkiakum School District, but no known connection to St. James Family Center. Because of the close cooperation between the health department and the school district, as well as the significant protective measures in place, the school district will remain open. WHHS...
Rental property wasn't really in Ryan and Melissa Garrett's plans. They had just purchased a home in Wahkiakum County, where they both grew up and went to school and were now raising their kids, with the intention of flipping it. What they didn't see coming was the torrent of response from people who were looking for a home to rent. "We hadn't advertised that we had purchased it," Ryan Garrett said, "but for that many people to contact us in need of a rental, it really got us thinking about how...
Dozens of business owners — from restaurant owners to bowling alley managers — told state officials that continued COVID-19 restrictions place small businesses at risk of permanent closure, but state healthcare officials said a rush to reopen businesses puts the public at risk during a pandemic that has yet to to be controlled. In all, more than 1,500 Washington residents convened online Jan. 20 to debate a bill before the Legislature that would ease government limits on indoor dining and entertainment. Sponsored by both Democrat and Rep...
On Tuesday, the Cathlamet Town Council declined to pass a motion to "approve The Spar restaurant's right-of-way permit subject to agreed upon terms" in a 3 to 1 vote, which gives outdoor dining on Main Street a bleak future. In the same council meeting, the first reading of an amended fire code ordinance was passed which would allow River Mile 38 Brewing Co. to expand its operation at the marina without needing sprinkler systems. Other items discussed include an update on the covid-19 sewer test...
As of Tuesday, 71 Wahkiakum County residents had tested positive for covid-19, with 18 cases considered active, and 1,155 tests conducted so far. This is an increase from 64 on Tuesday of last week. Pacific County added nine new cases on Friday, for a total of 649 cases. Of those, 31 are considered active, and seven deaths have been attributed to covid-19. Cowlitz County is reporting a total of 3,308 cases, with 328 considered active, and 32 deaths. Across the river, Columbia County has had...
The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners on Tuesday heard reports, talked about energy assistance and succession planning, and adopted a resolution to enter into an interlocal agreement with Wahkiakum County that would provide $10,000 to customers who are struggling to pay their bills because of the pandemic. “We were able to work through the little storm last week pretty quickly,” General Manager Dave Tramblie said during his report. “In 12 hours we had everybody but two people back...
On Tuesday, the Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors got an update on the budget, some of the superintendent’s thoughts about ways to fund renovations at the high school, and plans to return more students to a more regular schedule next week. Following a brief discussion about who might attend a Washington State School Directors’ Association’s legislative conference in February, Business Manager Shelby Garrett gave an update. “The general fund balance is a little lower than last month,...
Wahkiakum County Port 1 Board of Commissioners discussed maintenance, rates, and more at their meeting last Thursday. Maintenance Manager Todd Souvenir, who has been working on a project to install LED lighting in the storage units, recently received a second bid from Dynamic Energy Solution. The project will take a little longer, but cost less, and create less of a hassle for customers, because the port will replace the lights themselves. “It’s pretty crazy that you went from one company tha...
Just when residents of Washington will have access to a COVID-19 vaccine depends on how many doses the federal government delivers and how many the state can administer in a day. Currently, the state is receiving 100,000 doses per week and administering 14,000 doses per day, but Gov. Jay Inslee acknowledged Monday that there have been major bumps in the road so far. "I have to be forthright with Washingtonians," Inslee said. "Patience is going to be one of the most important assets for us in...
Formerly incarcerated people would automatically regain their right to vote if a proposed bill in the Washington State Legislature is approved. Rep. Tarra Simmons (D-Bremerton), the first formerly incarcerated person to serve in the Legislature, testified in favor of HB 1078 Jan. 14 and said earning her right to vote helped her engage with and serve her community. “This is really about reentry. It's not about the punishment. The punishment has been taken into consideration during the prosecution,” she said. Simmons was sentenced to 20 mon...
Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed budget for the upcoming biennium calls for $570 million in new education spending, but many parents and educators have expressed frustration that the governor’s budget does not adequately fund additional transportation and special education needs fueled by COVID-19. Of the education spending, the governor proposed $400 million for schools to expand learning opportunities and potentially add instructional time for their students. Additionally, the budget also includes $79 million to support broadband connections for...
A different take on Gov. Jay Inslee’s capital gains tax, less broad and friendlier to small family-owned businesses, will likely be introduced later in this year’s legislative session. “We are considering proposals similar to what the House has considered in years past,” said Rep. Noel Frame, D-Seattle. “So, for instance, the filing threshold has been higher in the past House versions, so that's one major difference. Also what we have had the last several years is an exemption for bona fide family owned businesses.” Frame emphasized the goal of...
Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, meetings and events usually listed here have been canceled or changed to online participation until further notice. The Eagle was advised of the following events: Online Recovery Meeting, Lower Columbia River Refuge Recovery. Mondays 6:30 p.m. Zoom ID 960 8413 9102. Community Center, Mon. 9-12 & 1-5. Tues-Thurs. 9-1. Friday by appointment. Cathlamet Library T-F 2-5 p.m. Covid restrictions enforced. Community Integrated Health Services, Monday, 6-8 p.m., Video Link: https://cihealthse...
Commissioners of Port District 2 boosted salaries and picked out two candidates to fill a vacancy on the three-person board when they met Tuesday. Commissioners Brian O'Connor and Austin Burkhalter recessed into executive session at the end of their meeting to consider applicants to fill the vacancy created by Lee Tischer's resignation to assume a position on the county board of commissioners. When they returned to open session, attorney Tim Hanigan announced that the board would interview two candidates, Mike Backman and Allen Bennett, at the...
Some local citizens who are concerned about abused, neglected, abandoned, and stray animals formed the Wahkiakum Animal Advocates Group (WAAG) in 2019. The pandemic slowed their plans a bit, but they have continued to move forward, getting their 501c3 status, setting up a bank account, talking with local leaders via Zoom, and even performing a trap, neuter, and release operation for a feral cat colony in the Elochoman Valley in recent months. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the last yea...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday by consensus declined to become partners in a project to create a public wifi system through the town of Cathlamet. The Town of Cathlamet, Port District 1, Wahkiakum PUD and other parties have been working on the plan, and last fall, the county commission agreed to participate in funding, allocating the use of $12,406 in CARES Act funds to pay for all the hardware needed to make the project happen. However, the board declined a request to join the town, port district and PUD in a governing board with...
