Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Greetings from the fair office; hope everyone had a great new year. Thanks to everyone who donated their time in the first Christmas lighting at the fairgrounds; it was a huge success. Also, thank you to all of you who came out and drove through. Anyone having fair theme ideas should get them to me by February 1st. The board will choose the 2021 fair theme at the February board meeting. Valentine's Bingo is scheduled for February 6. I will know on Wednesday if this is going to happen so watch next week’s What's Happening at the Fair for this i...
Rain and Boredom Wahkiakum County is one of the rainiest places in the nation with an annual accumulation of over 94 inches compared with the national average of 38 inches of rain annually. There are on average 126 sunny days per year in Wahkiakum County. With that in mind the question I have been periodically asked by newcomers is what one can do when it is raining all the time. For many of the area farmers nothing really changes except everything including the cows get wet. The local businesses that are open get busy, yet some who are older...
Each year, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United State selects emergency medical technicians, law enforcement and firefighter personnel to receive Public Servant Awards. Local VFW Posts submit a winner from each category to their State VFW Department Headquarters. The department then selects a single winner for each of the three awards and submit those to VFW National Headquarters. The VFW National Emergency Medical Technician Public Servant Award applies to any individual, who actively gives...
Washington State Library (WSL) announced that Cathlamet Public Library was selected to receive a $2,000 grant to advance digital equity in Wahkiakum County. Provided by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the funding will be used by the library to provide patron access to the internet away from library facilities and help close the digital divide, by making five mobile hotspots available for checkout. The hotspots will allow patrons to complete tasks that require internet access such as completion...
River Raptor Rubaiyat Who would venture out on such a dark day, skimming over water cold and gray, where black rain spits sharp nails of foul weather? Tireless fishing marvel is the osprey. Hover steady, willing stealth by feather, quick to plunge and break the airborne tether, maneuver luckless smelt in highwire test, beating strokes aloft, hell-bent for leather. Each adult does a shift upon the nest, shielding eggs from squalls while catching rest, wanting fish to break the hungry hours, weaving mossy sticks around white breast. Cries of...
IT'S A NEW YEAR--It's my first column of 2021, wow, we made it! We may be into a new year, but we still have the same ole weather, wet and wild! We even ended the first Saturday in January with a heck of a rain event, which also came along with some strong winds, of course that depended on where you live, as some areas got hit harder than others. I think the first tree casuality happened on the west end, as a tree came down across Altoona Road in the early evening hours, so that set the tone for the rest of the evening. By the time I headed to...
Would you like to know more about how to prune your fruit trees? On January 13 from 6:00-7:15 p.m., WSU Master Gardener Art Fuller will show how to prune your fruit trees—and what not to do! A free 1 hour presentation will be followed by the opportunity to ask questions about the topic. No need to register, just pop in. Connection information (you must have a zoom account--sign up for one at zoom.us), then join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, or Android from this link: https://wsu.Zoom.us/j/7756056320... Meeting ID: 775 605 6320 Password: 12345. Y...
The Lower Columbia College Foundation has named John and Cathy Natt as the 2020-21 Benefactor of the Year. Benefactor honorees have a history of providing charitable financial support to the foundation, and/or significant volunteer service to the college. Most notably, contributions from honorees have had major impacts on the college, its programs, students, and the community. “It is with great pleasure that we announce and honor John and Cathy Natt as this year’s Lower Columbia College Benefactor of the Year,” said Rich Gushman, LCC Found...
Grays River Floods Again The year 2021 began with the overflowing of the Grays River watershed. This is not an unusual event, but it does inconvenience many of the farmers who live in the Westend who have to take their cattle to higher ground. Fortunately many of the farmers here have their barns secure from flooding so their cows are safe. The barn in the photo shows the extent of the flooding in the valley next to the Rosburg Store. It looks like a big lake showed up. Within the next few days...
On Tuesdays at noon, and Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m., WSU Master Gardeners present weekly on-line free programs. No need to register, just pop in. Connection information (you must have a zoom account--sign up for one at zoom.us), then join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, or Android from this link: https://wsu.Zoom.us/j/7756056320... Meeting ID: 775 605 6320 Password: 12345. You can also call in by phone (no Zoom account necessary). Phone Call: +1 253 215 8782, 775 605 6320#. For help, call Gary Fredricks at garyf@wsu.edu or 360-577-3014 Ext. 3. The...
Do you want to grow a garden, but you're short on space? On January 12 at noon, WSU Master Gardener Steve Powers will explain ways to have a bountiful harvest from container grown veggies. A free 45 minute presentation/demonstration will be followed by the opportunity to ask questions about the topic. No need to register, just pop in. Connection information (you must have a zoom account--sign up for one at zoom.us), then join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, or Android from this link: https://wsu.Zoom.us/j/7756056320... Meeting ID: 775 605 6320...
OFF AND ON--As I begin this column, we're having some of that mixed weather where it sunshines one minute and rains the next and sometimes it does both at the same time! It looks like we are still in for some showers this week but it is mixed with some dry days at the beginning of this week, so we'll take what dry weather we can get. Of course clear skies usually mean freezing at night, so here's hoping you've prepared your faucets properly for that, and your outside critters are getting some extra feed of good quality to help them fight off...
It is hard to appreciate the cultural importance and ecological significance of a species that disappeared from Oregon’s coastal waters over a century ago. What has the loss of sea otters meant to Oregon’s indigenous peoples? What does their absence mean to the health of nearshore ecosystems? What might be gained from the return of sea otters to Oregon? Join Peter Hatch and John Goodell, from the Elakha Alliance, as they discuss the history and possible future of sea otters in Oregon. The 7 p.m. presentation takes place January 14 online via...
Westend Caroling Christmas traditions vary from place to place, so it didn't seem unusual to not have few or any trick-or-treaters on Halloween or to experience Christmas traditions in the remote area of the Westend. The covid-19 pandemic has had many in fear that a few in high places had the audacity to suggest that Christmas be cancelled. Of course, that never happened and we have had the opportunity to continue with our constitutional right to celebrate. There are so many Christmas...
Gray's River author Robert Michael Pyle has been nominated to receive a $15,000 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Pyle's work Nature Matrix: New and Selected Essays is one of 10 being considered for the award. Judges are Sandra Cisneros, John D’Agata, and Adam Gopnik. The award is for a seasoned writer whose collection of essays is an expansion on their corpus of work and preserves the distinguished art form of the essay. According to the description of the book by the publisher, Counterpoint Press, Nature Matrix: N...
Compiled by the Faith Action Network Last week, Governor Inslee issued his proposed budget for the 2021-2023 biennium and policy recommendations, and here are highlights. For more detail, see the full text on his website. The total 2021-23 biennial budget is $57.6 billion. The budget shortfall is estimated now to be between $2.5 and $3.5 billion. --The Working Families Tax Credit is included in his climate revenue package, the Climate Commitment Act. --Capital Gains tax at a 9% rate, starting at $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for joint...
Wahkiakum Historical Society member Frans Eykel lent a hand as one of 12 glass display cases landed at the Wahkiakum County Historical Museum on Dec. 22. Curator Kari Kandoll said the cases came from the Fort Lewis Military Museum, and while they were free, the society hired a professional moving company, B & Z Movers out of Roy, to do the moving, at $200 per case. The cost of the cases would have been almost $4,000 brand new, Kandoll said, but used is around $2,000. "This does put a strain on...
WET AND WINDY--As this weekend before Christmas winds down, we are having some very wet and windy conditions, so in other words, normal weather just before the Christmas holiday. It seems when we all want to do that last minute shopping, the weather is more like "stay at home" weather, which with Covid going around, is so fitting. However, there appears to be a few days of drier weather before the rain returns, which could mean some freezing, so let's hope folks don't get caught off guard by the dryness and forget about the possibility of some...
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will offer two free days in January, when visitors to state parks will not need a Discover Pass for day-use visits. The first free day is Friday, Jan. 1, which gives visitors the opportunity to take part in a First Day Hike, a nationwide initiative that aims to get people outdoors New Year’s Day. To discourage the spread of COVID-19, rangers will not guide First Day Hikes this New Year’s Day. State Parks’ blog Adventure Awaits suggests several ideas for self-led First Day Hikes and activ...
Hunters who report their 2020 black bear, deer, elk, or turkey hunting results by Sunday, Jan. 10, will have the opportunity to win one of nine deer and elk incentive permits for fall 2021, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials said December 22. WDFW Game Division manager Anis Aoude said the department is offering the special permits, which will be awarded through a drawing this spring, as an incentive to encourage hunters to report their results as soon as possible. “Special hunts include five deer permits and four elk p...
Tourist Attractions for the Locals This may seem a bit redundant for some; however, in defense of the readers who have been bombarding me with questions about the area and what to look for as a learning experience as well as an educational one. This is also in response to the many new arrivals to the community (less than 10 years) who have also inquired as to the historical significance of many of the old buildings. This is a brief summarization of just three of what I consider the most...
The Columbia River Reader (CRR) of Longview has compiled into a book a 33-episode series chronicling the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s journey of discovery. Author Michael Perry wrote the columns for the reader in time for the 200th anniversary of the1805-1806 expedition. They proved to be popular and were reprinted, and now, the Reader has put them together with embellishments, further reflections, commentary, photos and woodcut art by Debby Neely. Episode 1 describes President Thomas Jefferson's scheme to evade restrictions from Congress a...
The Town of Cathlamet has announced the conditional award of a $109,410 grant from state funding via the Washington State Department of Commerce Clean Energy Fund to install the only DCFC (Level 3) high power fast-charging electric vehicle charging unit in Wahkiakum County, adjacent to State Route 4 (connecting Longview to the Long Beach Peninsula) and abutting State Route 409 (Cathlamet Main Street), an important state highway connecting Washington to Oregon via the Oscar B toll vehicle ferry. The grant conditionally awarded to the town is...
COLD AND SOGGY--We ended last weekend with a very frozen Saturday morning in West Valley, and I have to say, I was a little surprised to have to really work at getting my frozen mailbox opened that morning! Now of course, we're into a stretch of very wet weather and I know people who are already tired of the rain and chilly temps, so for them, I'm afraid it's going to be a very long winter, as it hasn't even officially begun! The "chilled to the bone" phrase keeps coming up, and I couldn't agree more! SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays...
Enjoying Hunting and Fishing As a boy growing up in the Pacific Northwest, it was expected that I would hunt and fish like my father. In 1963 at the age of 12 I took a hunter safety course sponsored by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in order to obtain a hunting license. From that day on until I was drafted into the army in 1969 I went hunting or fishing with my dad and friends. Something changed in me after returning from the army that the desire to hunt was no longer an interest to me...
