Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1907 - 1931 of 2595
To The Eagle: April is designated as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual assault has been getting a lot of attention lately, from college campuses to the military to the nation’s capital and even on the popular PBS series “Downton Abbey.” I hope this attention will start a much needed conversation about sexual assault in our communities and homes. This is an issue that should concern all of us because any of us or our family members can be victims or perpetrators. According to President Barack Obama, “Sexual assault is an affront...
To The Eagle: What is it like to live near an LNG (liquefied natural gas) storage tank? Ask the families of Plymouth, WA who were evacuated from their homes this week. Emergency responders evacuated a two mile radius around the leaking LNG storage tank caused by a natural gas pipeline rupture and explosion. Let's see - what lies within two miles of the six times larger LNG terminal proposed for Warrenton, OR? Warrenton Elementary School, Coryell's Child Care Center, Warrenton Head Start, Fred Myer and the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department....
To The Eagle: Women's History month is a time when we remember individual women who have been trail blazers for our nation. Individuals like Abigail Adams, Clara Barton, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, and Sanda Day O'Connor changed the course of history and opened new doors for women. As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, I am working on issues that matter to women and improve the lives of individuals and families across our nation. Here are just a few of my recent and ongoing efforts to improve opportunities for women in t...
To The Eagle: I am honored to be President of the United Way of Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties for 2014 - 2015! I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming confidence that you, the community, and the United Way Board of Directors has entrusted in me. I am very excited for the opportunity to continue serving and supporting our community through this new role. As you may know, the United Way of Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties exceeded our 2013 - 2014 campaign goal because of your generous donations. Thank you! The United Way envisions a world where...
To The Eagle: ]I never thought this would happen but I find myself totally agreeing with Howard Brawn, specifically his recent letter regarding the proposed pot-growing moratorium. I do have a couple of thoughts of my own. Twenty-odd years ago I found it necessary for a variety of reasons to part ways with alcohol and pot. This was accomplished with a little help from my friends (and You-Know-Who) and I have yet to regret this choice. But the point I’m trying to make is that I never saw fit to insist that it was time for everyone else to q...
To The Eagle: In all the posturing, hyperbole, and hysteria down at the courthouse since the announcement of plans for a couple of legal pot farms on Puget Island, the recurring mantra from the prohibitionists is, “We’ll be sending the wrong message” if we allow these marijuana growing operations in the county. Well, here’s the news: The wrong message is already being sent, and you’re the ones sending it. You are telling the kids that we don’t trust them to refrain from pulling a break-and-enter job to abscond with a few plants, process ‘em, an...
To The Eagle: The board of Friends of Skamokawa would like to update the Wahkiakum community about the status of Redmen Hall. We have a building held up by posts and beams that have been there since (as far as we know) the time Redmen Hall was moved up from the Skamokawa waterfront in the late 1920's. It has held up amazingly well, but finally needs some up-dating. In addition, there are some new regulations about earthquake retrofitting for public buildings that we need to comply with for insurance and future funding concerns. While this work...
To The Eagle: Amazing things have been going on around here. Very soon we will be breaking ground on a garden at the elementary school. Soon our students will have the benefit of learning where food comes from and how to grow their own tasty, healthy vegetables. I am amazed at the amount of things that can be accomplished in a short amount of time by a group of people passionate about their project. We have an energetic, enthusiastic garden coordinator in Adrianne Hiatt. She has two girls that will be attending school here in the fall, and has...
To The Eagle: Commercial marijuana farms in Wahkiakum County? Who will pay for this obvious, attractive nuisance? The taxpayers of Wahkiakum County, through a sheriff’s office who does not have enough deputies to cover 24 hours a day. Any such operation should be looked at from more than it’s a new income to the county. We must think of the additional security these farms would absolutely require. Wherever these farms are located, any operators must be required to pay for any additional security needed by the sheriff. We cannot use our pat...
Willapa National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Complex) thanks its many volunteers for their service in 2013. Willapa, Julia Butler Hansen and Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuges are part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, a nationwide network of lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specifically for wildlife. In 2013, volunteers dedicated more than 4000 hours of time to the Refuges. The Complex thanks each of our volunteers for their service and honors the following people who contributed more than 250 hours, including:...
To the Eagle: Some members of our community expend much energy to schedule interesting/fun/educational events in our county. A common complaint is that attendance is often poor. On March 29, no fewer than three overlapping events are scheduled: Disaster Preparedness (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), WSU Gardening Class (9 a.m. to noon), Rosburg Indoor Super Sale (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). As it is not possible to attend all three, I ask for better future communication and collaboration among groups that organized these competing events. The local Chamber of...
Wahkiakum School District transportation supervisor Calvin Grasseth came to our office late last week with a letter to the editor. The letter speaks to the issue of drivers passing school buses which are showing the red no-passing lights while students get on or leave the bus, an act which endangers the lives of the children. In the past few months, a half dozen drivers have gone around Wahkiakum school buses which were displaying the red lights and stop paddle, Grasseth said, and he is alarmed at the trend. I've printed his letter below as a...
To The Eagle: The Wahkiakum Lions Club is organizing a food drive to benefit GAP (Giving Action Plan Program) for the week of March 17-21. This will be a class competition to see which class can bring in the most food listed below. There will be a winning class from each elementary and middle school that will get an ice cream party sponsored by the Lions Club. There will also be a drop box outside the office for community members who wish to donate food to GAP. Below is a list of items that work well for GAP when preparing food bags for kids. F...
Examples from history: They didn’t know what caused the disease so they called it, “Fort Bragg Fever,” or in Cuba, so they called it, “Cane field fever.” We could go on with “pea pickers fever,” “mud fever,” and many more—all were discovered to be infections with leptospires. Is it the cause of hoof-rot disease? These descriptive names have been attached to diseases all caused by one genus; Leptospira. Within this genus are 200-250 sub-types. These have names based on the production of antibodies. Each type is a “serovar.” So there are 20...
Hope the end of winter is finding you safe. I have had some calls recently about the legitimacy of a group called “Law Enforcement Association.” This group solicits donations over the phone and gives the impression that the contributions go to local law enforcement agencies including the local sheriff. This is false. No police or sheriff’s agency will solicit donations over the phone, nor are we associated with this group. If this or any other self proclaimed law enforcement association calls you, ask them to send you information by mail befor...
To The Eagle: About government oversight: As commissioner of Grays River Habitat Enhancement District, a diking and flood control district, I recently needed to take a class to learn how to file our annual report. Thank you, (county Auditor) Diane Tischer for setting this up. Also thanks for helping with our budget, very much appreciated. The class turned out to be a four hour class, and when finished, I was ready to resign my volunteer position as chair commissioner. Paperwork, especially computer paperwork, is not my strong point and not...
To The Eagle: I am a smelt lover. I can feel someone out there thinking, “Good, you can have my share.” OK! For me, once the Christmas tree goes out the door on January 6, I look forward to a “mess (meal) of smelt”. Unfortunately, for several years only the seals and gulls have been able to enjoy them. Finally, we get our turn. I believe that food sources provided by nature, in a given area, are the foods we need to eat. Smelt are organic, a great source of protein, rich in Omega 3 and a whole lot tastier than fish oil pills. If you haven’t...
To The Eagle: PUD Commissioner Robert Jungers should be commended for his insightful proposal to bring high-speed, fiber optic service to Wahkiakum residents and businesses. Throughout much of northern Europe and Asian countries like South Korea and Japan, fiber optic Internet service provides jobs and distance learning that leads to jobs. We’ve lost business start-ups and young families because jobs and educational opportunities exist elsewhere. We lack secure, high-speed websites that attract customers and employment. We need fiber optic s...
To the Eagle: This year marks the ninth anniversary of the infamous Kelo decision, wherein the liberal wing of the Supreme Court supported the actions of a predatory Economic Development Committee in New London, Connecticut, resulting in the seizure and destruction of dozens of nice old Victorian homes and several small businesses by eminent domain, historically used to allow government takings for the "public good" meaning roads or public buildings. In this case, the land was given to private developers to build income producing faciliti...
To The Eagle: With snow in the Grays River Valley this morning, it’s a lovely sight to wake up to 50 or so elk bedded down just across the road from my house. I watched them while drinking my coffee and marveled at the good life they have in this valley with easy grazing, a safe environment, and water nearby in the river. It was painful, though, as they got up, to see at least three cows and one young bull limping from the hoof disease that weakens them day by day till they can barely move at all. I applaud Commissioner Cothren’s work to hel...
To the Eagle: The recent front page article, “Net pens planned for aid gillnetters,” republished from the Columbia Basin Bulletin, contends that moving non-tribal commercial gillnets off the mainstem will “reduce the impact of commercial fishing on wild salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act….” This statement omits the fact that the wild fish that might have been caught and killed incidental to harvest in the commercial fishery, known as impacts, will not be going to spawning escapements for conservation or recover...
To The Eagle: February is National Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month and it is critical that we all take this time to remember that domestic violence is not just a problem for adults. One in three adolescents in the U.S. will be a victim of physical, emotional or sexual abuse from a dating partner. Nearly 80% of girls who have been physically abused in their dating relationships continue to date their abuser. And two-thirds of teens who are in an abusive relationship never tell anyone about the abuse. It’s time to shine a l...
To The Eagle: Our President has set the precedent for a new world wide immigration policy. If an Adobe Photoshop forged birth certificate is good enough for the leader of the free world who is concurrently the leader of the world’s most powerful nation, it should also be good enough for any resident of any country in the world. All anyone should need is to reside in any given country and have a few bucks for someone skilled in Adobe Photoshop and you, too, can prove you are a native born citizen of whatever country you choose. You can do it a...
School levies seem to be a part of life. Despite appropriations from the state for the costs of basic education, school districts still need to ask voters to tax themselves to cover expenses that state funds don't cover. And this Tuesday is election day for the Wahkiakum School District's request for a special levy. School personnel have taken to calling it a replacement levy, for the levy would replace a similar levy which voters approved four years ago at a similar tax rate. As The Eagle reported in November, the levy pays for technology...
To The Eagle: Is there someone special you would like to honor this Valentine’s Day? Reading is Fundamental (RIF) of Cowlitz/Wahkiakum Counties has valentines perfect for sending to family, friends and teachers. For a donation to RIF, you receive a valentine to send with the message, “In celebration of reading, a gift in your honor has been given to Reading is Fundamental of Cowlitz/Wahkiakum Counties.” RIF is the reading motivation and family literacy program that distributes books to over 6,000 children in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum count...
