Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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A chainsaw bear statue caked in ice almost seems to shiver following an ice storm that paralyzed much of south Pacific County beginning Saturday, Jan. 13, with aftereffects dragging into Monday and Tuesday. Photo courtesy of the Chinook Observer....
Wahkiakum County Port 1 held a brief meeting last week. In ten minutes time they agreed to move their February meeting, which usually occurs on the second Thursday of the month to Feb. 13, signed waivers of compensation for any potential special meetings in the coming year, and listened to the manager’s report. Port Manager Todd Souvenir said the port completed a lot of projects in 2023, and thanked his staff, remarking that it had been a good and fun year. He said cabins, moorage, and RV u...
By Wahkiakum County Port 2 Commissioners adopted a new employee compensation schedule and got a quick update at their meeting on Tuesday. The new compensation schedule is in response to the state minimum wage law and salary rules that the Department of Labor and Industries put into effect back in July of 2020, Port 2 Manager Sam Shogren said. The new mainimum wage effective Jan. 1, 2024, is $16.28 an hour. Assistant Manager Terina Davis said Vista Park was shut down on Saturday because of the...
County commissioners met Tuesday in their regular session and approved several contracts for the new year. An agreement with the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce was renewed continuing their role as the economic development department for the county. The contract would pay the Chamber $20,000 annually. The county renewed its lease of the building occupied by the Cowlitz Family Health Center. The health center, located near the marina, has been paying $200 per month since 2017. In the public comment period Mayor David Olsen asked for the...
Washington lawmakers renewed their push Thursday to increase criminal penalties for harassment of election workers. The state House of Representatives, on an 86-11 vote, approved House Bill 1241 to make it a class C felony for a person to threaten election officials with injury through words or conduct. Today, such behavior carries a lesser penalty of a gross misdemeanor. The same bill cleared the House on a 90-7 vote last session but lapsed in the Senate. It is expected to receive a hearing in the Senate in early February. “Our election w...
THURSDAY Johnson Park Advisory Board 10:00 a.m. Johnson Park. West End Food Pantry, Johnson Park, 1- 5 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Noon, Hope Center 320 S 3rd St. Cathlamet. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Noon, Rosburg Hall, Rosburg. Community Library & Computer Center 12-5 p.m. Johnson Park, Rosburg SAIL Program, Exercise for Seniors, 12:45-1:45 p.m. Hope Ctr. 320 S. 3rd St. Cathlamet. Rosburg Community Club 7 p.m. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, 7:30 p.m. Puget Island Fire...
This spring could be the last one when Washingtonians move their clocks ahead one hour for daylight saving time, if a proposal making its way through the Legislature passes this year. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is fighting to "ditch the switch" in favor of year-round Pacific Standard Time – now in effect from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March. It's not Washington's first debate over the twice-yearly clock change. A 2019 law would put the state on permanent d...
Washington lawmakers want the state to partner with farmers, ranchers and others to better fight wildland fires. House Bill 1971 would set up a rangeland fire protection association pilot project through the Department of Natural Resources to give ranchers and farmers some training and other resources to make initial attacks on fires on private, non-forested land. The proposal requires the department to set up three separate pilot projects east of the Cascade Mountains by the beginning of the...
Washington’s Legislature is on track to achieve equal representation of men and women elected into office by 2026. That’s according to a new report from The Ascend Fund, an organization promoting women in politics and advised by former female lawmakers. Women now hold around 46% of seats in the Washington Legislature — a record-breaking 67 women out of 147 legislators. That puts Washington well above the national average. Just 32.6% of state legislators across the country are women. Women also hold key leadership positions in the Legis...
The mentoring program at Wahkiakum Health and Human Services was on life support in late 2022 when Minette Smith, the Coalition Coordinator for the Wahkiakum Community Network, was challenged to get it going again. The program, which matches local youth with adults to provide social and emotional support, has not only been resuscitated, one year later it’s showing signs of health. It is also benefiting all involved, including three people who didn’t see those benefits coming: Smith and her co-wo...
Wahkiakum County Health & Human Services is responding to a measles outbreak in the area. Six confirmed cases of measles have been reported between Wahkiakum and Clark counties as of this printing, according to WCHHS. Six cases is of significant concern to health officials; measles is a highly contagious and potentially serious infectious disease that can lead to severe complications, particularly among infants, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems. In a press release, WCHHS stated that they were not aware of any...
Washington is failing to meet Medicaid lead testing requirements for kids, even for children most at risk for exposure to the dangerous neurotoxin. That’s according to a recent state audit, which found that less than a third of children on Medicaid born from 2014 to 2016 were tested for lead before they turned 6 years old. “We may think lead exposure is only an issue on the East Coast or in the Midwest – places with a history of industrial pollution and older homes,” the audit said. “However, this performance audit shows we can never be compla...
While Little Island Creamery offers an award winning Brie, butter, ice cream, and more, owners Dick McDonald and his sister Kathleen McDonald have also aspired to turn their property into an event venue. Their new event coordinator, Delphine Criscenzo, is helping to make that happen. Criscenzo, who was born and raised in the south of France, has years of experience in community and event organizing for non-profits. "Finding the job at Little Island Creamery was serendipitous," Criscenzo said....
Submitted by Minette Smith Come celebrate January as National Mentoring Month with the Wahkiakum Youth Mentoring Program (WYMP)! The coordinators are inviting the community to an informational meeting at the Hope Center on Jan. 30th at 6 p.m. WYMP’s mission is to strengthen youth connections to our local community by providing opportunities through adult support and community involvement. The goal is to build healthy minded, confident, and skilled young leaders. In 2022, due to staffing changes and Covid-19, Wahkiakum Youth Mentoring Program wa...
THURSDAY Johnson Park Advisory Board 10:00 a.m. Johnson Park. West End Food Pantry, Johnson Park, 1- 5 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Noon, Hope Center 320 S 3rd St. Cathlamet. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Noon, Rosburg Hall, Rosburg. Community Library & Computer Center 12-5 p.m. Johnson Park, Rosburg SAIL Program, Exercise for Seniors, 12:45-1:45 p.m. Hope Ctr. 320 S. 3rd St. Cathlamet. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, 7:30 p.m. Puget Island Fire Department, 7 p.m. District No. 4 Fire...
KUKN clearly knows their ABCs. The radio station named J.A. Wendt kindergarten teacher Karrin Stephens Teacher of the Month after receiving a nomination for the educator from a senior at Wahkiakum High School. Senior Avrey Wiltse-Hiatt volunteers in Stephens' classroom every Friday morning. She plans to get a degree in education and one day, have a kindergarten classroom of her own. Wiltse-Hiatt's nomination reads, "Mrs. Stephens is an extraordinary teacher. She inspires her students and fellow...
From the Chinook Observer As the late-morning high tide grew, so did the phalanx of photographers in the parking lot above Waikiki Beach. The highest tides of December at Cape Disappointment included Christmas Eve (9.1-feet) and Christmas Day (9.1-feet), around 11 a.m. They were followed by a series of significant tides Dec. 26 (8.11-feet) and Dec. 27 (8.9-feet), providing the perfect photo opportunity to capture the colossal waves as they crashed into the rocks beneath Cape Disappointment...
The potential impact of solar panels on utility customers and a couple financial windfalls were the subject of conversation at Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. General Manager Dan Kay said that he and Commissioner Dennis Reid would attend a Washington PUD Association meeting next week to hear about Washington State legislative priorities, and about a recent net energy metering study. According to Kay, the study looked at three things: the benefit-cost ratio to...
Columbia Land Trust met with commissioners from Wahkiakum County and Pacific County a couple weeks ago to talk about an opportunity that might benefit local communities in a variety of ways: a community forest. A community forest is defined as forestlands that are owned and managed on behalf of local people, to benefit the economy, the community, and the land itself. Ian Sinks, the Stewardship Director for CLT talked about some of the conversations their organization has had with the community,...
Restrictions on testing workers for marijuana use, a waiting period for firearm purchases, stronger voting rights for Washington residents and harsher penalties for street racing are among the new laws set to take effect next week. Washington's Legislature passed more than 450 bills last session, which ended in April. Most took effect in July but a handful don't until Jan. 1. Here's a look at a few notable ones: Marijuana testing Although recreational marijuana has been legal for adults in Washi...
In the first Commissioners meeting of the year the board convened with Dan Cothren as chair. They began the meeting by reappointing the members of the County Fair board, the Board of Equalization, and by renewing the service agreement with the county museum. Additionally the commissioners agreed to match the funding for the community pool with the Town of Cathlamet up to $50,000. Duncan Cruickshank of Wahkiakum Health and Human Services (WHHS) told the commissioners about his effort to renew employees training in Moral Reconation Therapy...
The Wahkiakum County PUD held their State of the Utility on Tuesday, Dec. 19, with the commissioners and entire staff on hand to hear the report. “This is just a big thank you to the commissioners and the staff for all the hard work they’ve put in,” General Manager Dan Kay said. The hour-long presentation covered the utility’s finances, staff, infrastructure, system reliability statistics, a review of 2023, and plans for the coming year. Or, as Kay put it, “People, pipes, and poles.” ...
The future of the Cathlamet Town Hall is up in the air after an inspection uncovered leaks and mold. On Monday, Dec. 18, the town council agreed to a temporary fix; approving a five year lease for space in the Scarborough Building. Town employees expect to move into the new offices by the end of January, but efforts to solve the problem in the long term are just beginning. Four days earlier at the Wahkiakum County Port 1 meeting, Mayor David Olson spoke to port commissioners about what he...
Volunteers for the West End Food Pantry prepared holiday meals last Friday. Pictured here are Cheryl Tutka, Jamie VanBuhler, Paula Marx-Rush, Mark Erickson, and Pearl Blackburn. Photo courtesy of Jamie VanBuhler....
About 25% of all the remaining old-growth trees across all national forests and grasslands in the lower 48 states are in national forests in the Northwest that are managed by federal agencies. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) America's oldest trees, most of which are in the West, will get added protection from wildfire and climate change under updated forest plans from the U.S. Forest Service. In announcements over the past week, officials from the Forest Service said they would begin the...
