Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Vista Park is "good and busy," Assistant Manager Terina Davis told Wahkiakum County Port 2 commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday. She's been researching ways to convert their tennis courts to pickle ball, and searching for the perfect vehicle to transport their equipment and materials to other Port 2 properties in the county. The port is all set up to start selling ice to campers with the addition of an ice machine and a big chest freezer for ice storage. They've also reached out to local...
Last year I issued a challenge for the Wahkiakum County Fair. I was pretty sure that I, an infrequent baker, could make the best pie in the county, and I happily told you so. I confess it was mostly bluster, but it was a bit of fun. Twenty-three other bakers in the county stepped up to prove me wrong, and boy did they ever. Four of them took top honors. I got a blue ribbon, but I think it was the fair’s way of saying, “Bless your heart.” The GFWC Cathlamet Woman’s Club has taken over the pie...
Days of fine weather seemed to ensure that the Wahkiakum High School Class of 2023 would enjoy graduation in the sun, but when the rain came the district scrambled to move the ceremony indoors. For the first time since the pandemic began, the gym was full to the rafters with friends and family on hand to celebrate 44 students participating in their final act as students at Wa-Ki-Hi. Malia Ana Silva, the class salutatorian, welcomed the crowd. In her speech, she remembered one teacher from their...
The saloon in downtown Cathlamet changed hands to Realtor Debi Trull and her husband Gary last week to the tune of $225,000. “We are the proud new owners of that catastrophe," Debi Trull said with a laugh, before turning more serious. “It’s getting more and more dilapidated and it’s such an iconic piece of the history of Cathlamet its not in its best interest to continue rotting way,” she said. It will take some time, but the couple have long range plans to restore the building to its former gl...
The Wahkiakum County Port 1 Board of Commissioners increased the manager’s salary, approved a free launch day, and heard about activity at the Elochoman Slough Marina at their meeting last Thursday, In their first order of business, the board adopted a resolution to give the port manager a seven percent raise, which brings Todd Souvenir’s salary to $71,508.53, effective June 1. They also approved a free launch day in support of the Wounded Warriors event on August 31. The launch will be fre...
After a moment of silence for Rick Nelson, the editor and publisher of the Wahkiakum County Eagle who passed away on June 2, the Town of Cathlamet spent the greater part of the next four hours discussing a variety of subjects at length at their meeting on June 5. Sheriff Mark Howie talked about his department’s move to the back of the Wahkiakum County Courthouse, how they responded to the recent swatting incident at the school where a caller falsely reported an act of violence, the addition o...
The cause of two unrelated and recent fires in Wahkiakum County remain undetermined. According to Austin Burkhalter, assistant chief for the Grays River Fire Department, because a fire at a home on Altoona/Pillar Rock Road on May 28 did not appear suspicious, there was no request for a fire investigator. It is believed that the homeowner’s insurance company will likely conduct their own investigation. As for the fire at the home on South Welcome Slough on May 31, the cause is still being i...
A special filing period for three elected positions came and went quietly last week. According to Amanda Boehler, election coordinator for the Wahkiakum Auditor’s Office, no one filed for the Skamokawa Water/Sewer District position or the Cemetery District #1 position. Robert Torppa, however, filed for the Naselle Grays River Valley School District #155 Director 1 position. According to the RCW 29A.24.201, Boehler said, “If no candidate files for an office during the special filing period, an...
The second annual Cup of Sunshine Food Donation Challenge began June 1. The event, designed to support local food banks and the people who use them, is the brainchild of Jabber Shack owner, Sue Zabel. She’s challenging all the businesses in Wahkiakum County, west of KM and east, to participate in the food drive. This year, she said, even the employees at the Wahkiakum County Courthouse want to join in on the fun. “We live in the best community,” Zabel said. With children out of school, and some...
Last Thursday there was a full house in the sanctuary of the Hope Center, when 20 people turned out for the Stay Active and Independent for Life class, otherwise known as SAIL. The class is led by a retired nurse, Vicki Skeers. She joined the class not long after it was started by Sharon Shelby and eventually began leading the activity herself. "I was inspired by Sharon Selby," Skeers said. "If it weren't for Sharon there wouldn't be a program." Skeers received eight hours of training, and got...
There's a new exhibit at the Wahkiakum County Historical Society Museum celebrating the big band era and one particular family who made a big splash on the local scene at the time. "There were a lot of dances," Kari Kandoll, the museum curator said. "This was your entertainment." Wilbur Jacobson, a trumpet and saxophone player who was born and raised in Cathlamet, started a band while he was in high school. When he met Mary Wegdahl, who grew up on Puget Island, he found a life partner and a lead...
The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners began their meeting with a moment of silence for Wahkiakum County Eagle Publisher and Editor Rick Nelson. Commissioner Dennis Reid shared his thoughts on the PUD’s project to find a secondary water source on Puget Island, saying that he would prefer to use the water as a primary source for island residents instead of a back up system for the Town of Cathlamet. “I absolutely do not think that we should spend $3 million to make a back up system for...
Graduation takes place on Friday and Saturday for Wahkiakum and Naselle seniors. Wahkiakum High School will hold their graduation in the football field again this year and this time, students will sit in the field while guests will watch from the grandstands, extra bleachers, and folding chairs. The event takes place on Friday, June 9. Guests are welcome beginning at 5:30 p.m., and graduation will begin at 6 p.m. Speakers this year include Valedictorian Reigha Niemeyer, Salutatorian Malia Ana...
Puget Island residents Ed and Stacey Lane have been married for several years, but once upon a time, it was to other people. Ed's first wife passed away suddenly and without warning, and Stacey's first marriage ended in divorce. Neither one of them was looking for a second act when they met. There was always an easy friendship between them, despite their differences. And though they came to grief in different ways, they found a common ground in their experience with the emotion. One day, surpris...
Last Wednesday, volunteer firefighters responded to a second structure fire in Wahkiakum County in less than a week. The first was on May 28 on Altoona/Pillar Rock Road. The second fire, unrelated, was on Puget Island. According to Tom Merz, the incident commander for the event on Puget Island on May 31, crews were dispatched for a structure fire on South Welcome Slough at 8:36 p.m. Personnel arrived at 26 South Welcome Slough to find a single story, single family residential structure ablaze....
Are you swimsuit ready? Doesn't matter! Come to the Julia Butler Hansen Swimming Pool while the sun is shining and the water is warm. The pool opens next Wednesday, June 14 and is available for everyone, young and old, for play and exercise. There are group and private swim lessons, lap swim times, water aerobics classes, and hours set aside for open swim every day but Sunday. The pool can even be rented for private parties. Admission is $4 for children and seniors, and $5 for adults, but there...
Early Sunday morning at 2:06 a.m., the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Department received a call about a structure fire, including the garage and deck, at a home in the 1300 block of Altoona/Pillar Rock Road. The caller said that all 10 people in the house were able to evacuate and were safely outside. There were no reports of injuries at that time. The Grays River Fire Department was first on the scene, according to Skamokawa Fire Department Captain Steve Lewis who arrived around 2:30 a.m. Lewis,...
The Wahkiakum High School girls golf team came away with their first ever state title last week at the State 1B/2B golf tournament in Tumwater. Junior Avrey Wiltse-Hiatt led the Mule girls with a fifth place finish. She shot an 88 on the first day of competition at the Tumwater Valley Golf Club and a 91 on day two for a total of 179. Two other teammates joined her at the state tournament. Freshman Jessie LeFever shot a 121 on Tuesday and would not make the cut to continue the following day, but...
The Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors met last Tuesday, with some candidates for the coming election listening in the audience. Directors heard an overview of the special education program, the German Club members gave a rundown of their recent trip to Germany and the Mecha Mules talked about this year’s experience at the International SeaPerch Challenge. Superintendent Brent Freeman said that the district was awarded a two grants, including $395,000 that will pay to have the second p...
Next week, senior classes from Wahkiakum and Naselle High School will be taking their turns on stage to celebrate their respective graduations. Wahkiakum’s Class of 2023 will hold their graduation in the football field again this year and this time, students will sit in the field while guests will watch from the grandstands, extra bleachers, and folding chairs. The event takes place on Friday, June 9. Guests are welcome beginning at 5:30 p.m., and graduation will begin at 6 p.m. The motto t...
Last Thursday, a crowd of Westend residents filed into Rosburg Hall for the first workshop in a series planned to address changing water levels in the Grays Bay Area, and it's impact on habitats and the people who live there. According to Jackson Blalock of Sea Grant, it was while working with the Port of Ilwaco in 2020 to find funds to address flooding at the Ilwaco marina, that they noticed that issues of flooding, erosion, sedimentation, and habitat change extended well beyond the port distri...
Reigha Niemeyer has known for many years that if she wanted to go to college, she would have to pay for it. That's one reason this year's valedictorian at Wahkiakum High School is graduating with a 4.0, but it may also be another expression of the competitiveness that is so central to this four and even five sport athlete. "I've always had good grades," Niemeyer said. "I don't know why. If I didn't do good, I would be failing myself." Like both her parents before her, Niemeyer will continue her...
Graduating with a 3.951 GPA, Malia Ana Silva is the salutatorian for Wahkiakum High School's Class of 2023. Silva is Wahkiakum High School's ASB president, Key Club president, and her class president, and while classmates and teachers may recognize her leadership ability and Silva herself may willingly step in when she recognizes a need, it's not something that comes naturally. "I think I was just kind of thrown into it," Silva said. "My class needed a leader, and everyone decided that was me...
The filing period for the next election ended on Friday, with 18 candidates signing up for 13 offices. Three offices received no candidates for the coming term including the Naselle Grays River Valley School District Director 1 position currently held by Tyson Vogeler, the Skamokawa Water/Sewer Commissioner 1, currently held by Levi Helms, and Cemetery District 1, Commissioner 1, currently held by Cathy LaBerge. According to Amanda Boehler in the Wahkiakum County Auditor’s Office, there will b...
Alia Lebovitz of the Naselle Bubbleheads robotics team shared some of her thoughts about attending the International SeaPerch Challenge earlier this month. Here’s what she had to say: “I got to talk to other kids who shared my interests from all over the world. I even got the chance to joke around with native Chinese speakers in Chinese. “We did a good job working with what we had. We met teams who practiced everyday for hours, and had been doing the challenge for years. Despite this being our s...
