Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 3868 - 3892 of 9989
Debra Lawson, owner of Angel Wings Pet Sanctuary on Puget Island, has petitioned to have animals seized by the Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office on February 4 returned to her. Lawson is asking for the return of 12 dogs, 23 cats, four roosters, eight chickens, two horses, and 12 -15 goats, citing RCW 16.52.085(4), which states “The agency having custody of the animal may euthanize the animal or may find a responsible person to adopt the animal not less than fifteen business days after the animal...
• Senator withdraws bill exempting legislature from public disclosure of some records OLYMPIA (Feb. 19) A proposal to provide exemptions to the Public Records Act for the Legislature is dead, according to bill sponsor, Jamie Pederson, D-Seattle. Senate Bill 5784 drew fire from media representatives at a public hearing last week. At a press conference Tuesday, Democratic leaders from both the house and the senate indicated that because of the outcry against the proposal, they would not move forward with a public records bill this session. The S...
By Madeline Coats WNPA Olympia News Bureau OLYMPIA (Jan. 30, 2019) OLYMPIA — Lawmakers are pushing for a bill to allow year-round observation of daylight saving time in the state of Washington, with the intention of the practice spreading throughout the country. House Bill 1196 was co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 14 representatives and introduced by Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane. “I want to ditch the switch,” said Riccelli at a public hearing. “We’re already on daylight saving time eight months of the year.” According to the bill, t...
THURSDAY Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Community Center, Cathlamet, 6-7:15 p.m. Learn to knit, crochet and mend, Sandra Sews, Community Center, Cathlamet, 10:30 a.m.-Noon. Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. S.A.I.L., Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 12:45-1:45 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, The Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 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....
Submitted by Superintendent Lisa Nelson On February 19, a special meeting was held at 5 p.m., prior to the regular meeting of the Naselle/Grays River Valley School District Board of Directors. Directors and teachers who work in the music and vocational departments toured the facility’s wing, which was constructed in 1957. The purpose of the meeting was to begin conversations around upgrades and modernization to the facility. Additional workshops are being planned for the future. At 6:30 p.m., the regular board meeting was called to order. In p...
Wahkiakum County commissioners heard a plea for drainage work near Deep River, decided how to address the latest challenge to their dredging permit process and addressed other issues when they met Tuesday. Wirkkala Road resident Nick Nikkila expressed frustration with drainage issues that cause flooding in that neighborhood. Two culverts and tidegates on Wirkkala Road need to be replaced; they're failing and too small to handle drainage in heavy rain events. He showed a video of his vehicle ploughing through water to reach his driveway and his...
• Currently the death penalty is not valid per the state Supreme Court OLYMPIA (Feb. 15) The Senate passed a bill Friday to remove the death penalty from Washington state statute and replacing it with life in prison without parole. Senate Bill 5339 passed with 28 in favor, 19 opposed, with senators Phil Fortunado, R-Auburn and Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, excused. Republican senators Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake and Brad Hawkins R-Wenatchee, and sponsor Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla voted in support of the typically democratic bill. Democratic senat...
The latest hurdle to finishing Wahkiakum County's permit applications to deposit dredge spoils on eroding beaches isn't very big, but it could delay any beach nourishment to next fall. A biological assessment of one of the county's four flood control erosion zones has found streaked horn larks use it as a nesting area. Because they're a federally designation endangered species, they can't be disturbed during their nesting season. That season runs June through September, the bulk of the permitted dredging season. County Public Works Director...
When Grant Turner goes out with his friends, it takes a little planning. Turner, who became a quadriplegic after an accident in 2015, can't drive. His friends come to him, and drive him in his own wheelchair accessible van to their agreed upon location. When it's time to go home, his caregiver will arrive at the location, drive him home in the van, and then return to get his or her own car, leaving the van at the location overnight. He's done it for four years. It was never a problem until this...
• Washington state sheriffs call upon Second Amendment rights • Opposition of gun law sparks lawsuits in state • Some sheriffs refuse to uphold gun initiative OLYMPIA (Feb. 12, 2019) The state attorney general has stepped in with a warning to more than half the state’s county law enforcement officials who say they refuse to fully enforce the gun control measures voters approved in November. Police chiefs and sheriffs will be held liable if they refuse to perform background checks required by I-1639, said Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Tues...
The Downriver Dispatches column in last week’s edition incorrectly stated that the Naselle Lutheran Church had closed; the Naselle Congregational Church has in fact disbanded its congregation and passed its property to the Finnish American Folk Festival organization. We apologize for the error....
The effort to recall Cathlamet's mayor and three council members has gone to the Washing State Supreme Court. The attorney for petitioner Bill Wainwright filed a notice to appeal on February 7. The state justices will review the filing and decide if they want to hear the appeal, let the Superior Court ruling stand, or send it back for another hearing. Wainwright had filed the charges alleging misfeasance and malfeasance and violation of oath of office against Mayor Dale Jacobson and Council Members Sue Cameron, Jean Burnham and Ryan Smith. The...
Becky McCray, a consultant who comes from a very small town in Oklahoma, visits small communities, encourages conversation and leaves them with ideas for improvement. McCray met with a group of elected officials and interested citizens on Friday morning for a quick tour of Cathlamet before gathering with a larger crowd, including some Wahkiakum High School students, at the River Street meeting room at 10:30 a.m. “Here’s what I decided about your town,” McCray said. “You have a really great c...
THURSDAY Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Community Center, Cathlamet, 6-7:15 p.m. Food Addicts, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 6-7 p.m. S.A.I.L., Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 12:45-1:45 p.m. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Sandra Sews, Community Center, Cathlamet, 10:30-Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Puget Island Fire Department, drill night, 7...
• Bill could avoid health risks by allowing year-round observation of daylight saving • Daylight saving time could become permanent in Washington state • Federal law must approve year-round daylight saving in Washington state OLYMPIA (Jan. 30, 2019) OLYMPIA — Lawmakers are pushing for a bill to allow year-round observation of daylight saving time in the state of Washington, with the intention of the practice spreading throughout the country. House Bill 1196 was co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 14 representatives and introduced by Rep. Ma...
At 7 a.m. on Monday morning, the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant for animal neglect and animal cruelty at Angel Wings Pet Sanctuary on Puget Island, which is owned and operated by Debra Lawson-Bean. "We had three complainants come to us with pictures, video, and verbal statements," Sheriff Mark Howie said Tuesday. "When we have a case of animal neglect, when it gets to this point and we have this amount of evidence, it is a huge multi-agency, multi-interdepartmental...
The measles outbreak affecting the Portland-Vancouver area hasn't hit Wahkiakum County, yet. As of Sunday, 51 cases of the highly contagious disease had been diagnosed in Portland, Vancouver and Seattle. So far, there have been none locally, Chris Bischoff, director of Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services said Tuesday as the county board of commissioners met as the county board of health. There is one possible case in Cowlitz County. According to the Mayo Clinic website, "Measles is a childhood infection caused by a virus. Once quite...
Last week, commissioners from Wahkiakum County Port Districts 1 and 2 met to discuss the pros and cons of consolidating, entering into an inter-local agreement to share services, or remaining as they are. Several community members were in attendance. “The purpose of this meeting is not to make a decision one way or the other but to have an open discussion about whether they are ideas worth exploring,” Counsel Tim Hanigan said. Port 1 Commissioner Bob Kizziar suggested that combining the two port...
We love our weather, as evidenced this past week. Wednesday's sunset, above, photographed by Frans Eykel, and Thursday's blooming daffodils, photo by Rick Nelson....
Once spring-run chinook salmon disappear, they are not likely to re-emerge, indicates genetic analysis of the revered wild fish in a study led by the University of California, Davis. Prompt conservation action could preserve spring-run chinook, as well as their evolutionary potential. The study illustrates that when human actions alter the characteristics, or phenotypes, of wild species, these changes can become irreversible. This can have long-term evolutionary consequences because natural phenotypic variation buffers species from...
There was a lot to talk about at the Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday morning. Commissioner Dennis Reid brought up two issues during open discussion. He suggested that they do away with the resolutions regarding salary range and salary caps for the general manager. “The manager’s salary is up to the commissioners,” Reid said.” If you are going to set a salary cap, you should stick to it. It irks me that every couple years we say we want to give the manager a raise...
Cathlamet residents may have noticed that their water and sewer bill increased this month. During a meeting to discuss details for a job announcement at the Town of Cathlamet last Wednesday, acting Treasurer Sylvia Costich reminded the town council members of an ordinance passed in May of 2015 that sets an automatic increase in utility rates each year. According to the ordinance, the increase is equal to the “annual percentage change published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for September o...
THURSDAY Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 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. Food Addicts Meeting, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 6-7 p.m. Westside Play & Learn Group, Valley Bible Church, 9:30-11 a.m. Cathlamet Public...
Wahkiakum County commissioners covered a wide variety of business at their Tuesday meeting, including having discussions on changes to ferry rates and use of the vacant Johnson House as a rental residence. Ferry patrons have complained about the rates for vehicles with trailers. They say a vehicle and trailer can be charged $28 per trip, taking up the same space as two cars, which would be charged a total of $12. It discourages use. Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said the rates established two years ago were structured to show state...
