Johnson heirs sue to regain Johnson Park

June 7 , 200

Heirs of the couple who donated the site of the Rosburg School have filed suit to recover ownership of the property.

John and Helen Johnson sold the site for $1 to Wahkiakum County in December, 1936, for use as a public park or public school.

School District 66 soon built a school on the site, and the facilities were operated by the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District until last summer, when the district, no longer needing the site, returned the property to Wahkiakum County.

The suit, filed May 17 by Joy Johnson, Earl Johnson and Peder Johnson, claims the county hasn’t operated the property as a park and that it shows no plans to operate as a park, and thus, the property should be returned to the Johnsons.

Joy Johnson is the granddaughter of John and Helen Johnson, and brothers Earl and Peder Johnson are their great-grandsons.

Wahkiakum County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow will represent the county in the suit, he hasn’t yet filed a response to the plaintiff’s claims.

The suit states that the school building has eight classrooms. Of those, the county rents two to private citizens for their private use. One houses a preschool run by St. James Family Center. The suit states that the classroom is funded by the state Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, which is intended for children from low income families, and it “serves only the low income community.”

Other rooms house a computer center and county programs such as the Women, Infants and Children program and other Health and Human Services programs.

The gym is open to the public, and the school occasionally houses fire department training programs, the suit says.

Of these, only the computer program and the open gym comply with the conditions of the property dedication, the suit says. Further, according to public records and statements in public meetings, county officials have considered logging the site and selling the property, the plaintiffs say.

The plaintiffs ask that the court issue an injunction requiring the county to stop the non-compliant uses and to return title to the plaintiffs.

No hearings have been scheduled in the case.