Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Photos by Todd Wilson It didn't take long for the defending Class 2B football champions to show the Wahkiakum Mules that they're still a potent force by posting a 62-10 win over the Mules last Friday. The Mules twice pinned the Onalaska Loggers deep in Logger territory early in the first quarter, and twice Logger running backs broke free for long runs. The first set up a 1-yard touchdown at 10:52 of the game; the second was an 81-yard run that put the visitors up 16-0 at 6:56 of the first...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday acted on a couple business items, discussed covid-19 vaccine mandates with constituents, and met in executive session to discuss potential litigation. The board approved a request from Chief Civil Deputy Joannie Kuhlmeyer to raise civil service fees. Kuhlmeyer said fees haven't been adjusted since 2008. Statutes say fees may only cover the cost of service and can't be a revenue generator. Inflation has been 30 percent since 2008, Kuhlmeyer said, but increasing fees that much creates only small actual...
Photos by Todd Wilson The Wahkiakum Mule football team picked up its second win of the season last Friday, downing the Mossyrock Vikings 28-24. Because of the Vikings' low number of players, the teams fielded eight-man teams, and it took the Mules, used to the 11-man game, a while to adjust. The teams traded scores in the first quarter, with Mossyrock leading 16-14 after 12 minutes. Jacob Johnson hauled in a Brodie Avalon pass for a 49-yard Mule touchdown at 4:16, and Gabe Moon scored on a 40-ya...
Members of the Cathlamet Town Council reviewed plans to fund a manager for the Community Center in Cathlamet when they met Tuesday. Council members also approved concepts for improvements at town hall and Erickson Park, and they delayed action on business such as modifying pet licensing and deciding whether or not to pay employee's long term care program fees. The council approved in principle proposals to improve the outside of town hall and to refurbish restrooms and other facilities at Erickson Park. Improvements at town hall would include a...
Wahkiakum County commissioners covered familiar ground and handled a variety of other business when they met Tuesday. In opening public comment, a speaker described discomfort caused by logging trucks passing by his house and raising dust, and of sediment washing into a nearby creek, which is eroding his property. He described barriers to obtaining permits to address the erosion and wondered why timber companies can obtain permits so easily. Commissioner Dan Cothren responded that timber companies do go through the permitting process and must...
Photos courtesy of Todd Wilson The Wahkiakum Mule football team opened their season with a 32-0 shutout of the Raymond/South Bend Ravens last Friday. It was a win in the first game from new head coach Ryan Lorenzo and his assistants. The Mules scored twice in the first quarter, first on a 2-yard run by Gabe Moon and later on a 15-yard pass from Brady Avalon to to Jacob Johnson. In the second quarter, Dominic Curl scored on a 4-yard run, and Avalon completed a 4-yard pass to Zakk Carlson. An...
The word on Facebook is that people opposing masking and other mandates to prevent the spread of the covid-19 virus will hold a demonstration today (Thursday) in front of the county courthouse to make their feelings known. I just can't understand the reasoning behind that movement. The covid-19 pandemic is raging all around us, threatening the lives of young and old alike, and masking and vaccinating are the safe, proven methods of preventing the spread of the virus and even quashing it. According to a report from the Washington State...
The effort to reconstitute the Community Center in Cathlamet took a step forward Tuesday at a meeting of center supporters and town and county officials. The center is operated on a cooperative agreement of the county and town. The county has been responsible for the manager's position, and because of funding constraints, has tied that position to programs funded by outside agencies. The most recent manager left the position last spring, and since then, center use has largely been limited to previously existing programs led by volunteers. Feari...
Wahkiakum County commissioners approved a road closure and fire district expansion and addressed a variety of other issues when they met Tuesday. Columbia Street will be closed from Jacobson Road to SR 4 on September 9 for paving work. Commissioners approved a petition from Fire Protection District No. 4 to expand its boundaries. District personnel collected petitions signed by over 60 percent of residents of the area in question supporting the annexation. State law allows a county commission to approve such an annexation without a public vote...
Wahkiakum County officials covered a lot of ground, much of it from public comment, when the board of commissioners met Tuesday. Middle Valley resident Jerry Ledtke reported that recent herbicide spraying had apparently led to the death of six cattle on his land, and he urged the board of commissioners to look into the county spray program. It appeared the application took place around a road culvert for a stream draining into land he had rented to another person who had 140 animals on the land. The person has had the animals autopsied and...
The development of Svensen Park on Puget Island was a major topic of discussion when the Port District 2 board of commissioners met Tuesday. Commissioners also discussed possible projects in western Wahkiakum County, and they approved a suggestion from Manager Jeff Smith to begin charging for taking water from the Skamokawa Vista Park water system. Svensen Park on West Sunny Sands Road has a boat launching ramp, some picnic tables, a canopy formerly used by park hosts and few other facilities....
Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services (WHHS) received positive test result notifications for four additional covid-19 cases in Wahkiakum County residents and also an additional covid related fatality, department Director Chris Bischoff announced this morning (Tuesday). This brings Wahkiakum to a cumulative total of 177 cases, with 11 of those potentially active, and five fatalities. Out of respect for their family, and due to the size of the county, WHHS will not release any demographics on the deceased other than that this one was in the...
Wahkiakum County Commissioners on Tuesday authorized the purchase of a spare engine for the ferry Oscar B. Commissioners also authorized the Public Works Department to contract with an engineering firm to survey county bridges, and they approved an update of a sheriff's office contract with the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) for occasional housing of prisoners in the county jail. The Oscar B. has two main engines, and the new engine will be a spare. It will be installed when the older of the two engines in service reaches...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday hosted a public hearing to gather input on a proposed update of the county Shoreline Master Program (SMP). The board held another hearing last night (Wednesday) at Johnson Park in Rosburg. A report of that meeting will appear in the Aug. 12 edition of The Eagle. The county adopted its shoreline program in the 1970's and amended it in 1981. The county planning commission worked with a planning consultant to draft an update in 2016; county officials and members of the public were dissatisfied with the...
With a short agenda, Wahkiakum County commissioners breezed through their business meeting Tuesday. The board approved an expenditure of $34,182 to purchase a Ford F250 pickup to replace a 10-year old road department vehicle with over 200,000 miles of use. The department pays into the Equipment Rental and Revolving Fund to finance replacements and has set aside $54,000 over the 10 years for the replacement cost. Commissioners also authorized Chair Gene Strong to sign a contract with Lakeside...
Where does the money go? Wahkiakum Port District 2 Commissioner Austin Burkhalter posed that question when the port commission met July 20 in Skamokawa. Burkhalter also suggested that because the port district has cash in the bank that the commission could "cut back taxes a little bit." The questions sparked a discussion which ended with commissioners asking Jeff Smith to prepare an analysis that commissioners could consider as they prepare to enter their budget cycle. Port Attorney Tim Hanigan commented that commissioners have approved 1...
Wahkiakum County commissioners breezed through a light agenda when they met Tuesday, handling a bit of business and keeping up with current issues. Commissioners approved a two-day closure of Brooks Slough Road at milepost 2.5 to allow the County Road Department to replace a failed culvert. The closure will occur August 9 and 10. Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said the failed culvert was causing flooding of farmland. In other business, the board had no objections to liquor license renewals for the Dollar General Store in Cathlamet and the...
Editor: This story has been corrected. An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the town is responsible for utilities and maintenance; in fact the town is responsible for utilities and maintenance. In addition: The town owns the building and leases the building to Wahkiakum County for $1, and the town contributes $5K annually to help with staffing and maintenance.] --- Wahkiakum County commissioners have named member Lee Tischer their delegate to discuss staffing issues of the Community Center in Cathlamet with other local entities....
What are the highest priority improvements at County Line Park? Local officials discussed them Tuesday at the meeting of the board of county commissioners, focusing on deteriorating walkways, water system improvements, and, of course, how to pay for them. No decisions were made; county commissioners asked Port 1 Maintenance Manager Todd Souvenir to consult with the Port District 1 board of commissioners and return for further discussion in August. The state Department of Natural Resources owns...
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) learned Tuesday that contractor crews are scheduled to start the resurfacing work on Monday. The contractor will start at Skamokawa and work eastward to Coal Creek Road intersection near Longview, placing a chip seal surface and making other improvements along the 25-mile route. Travelers will see signs installed first, followed by pavement repairs. "Things are dynamic in construction, and timing and order of work might shift depending on site conditions and material availability," said...
Voters residing in the Town of Cathlamet city limits will soon decide which two of three candidates for mayor will appear on November’s general election ballot. The Wahkiakum County auditor’s Office will mail ballots and a local voter’s pamphlet this Friday for the Aug. 3 primary. The three candidates are incumbent Mayor Dale Jacobson and Council Members David Olson and Robert Stowe. Stowe and his wife moved to Cathlamet in 2016 to retire; he is a working artist and member of the Tsuga Gallery. He joined the Cathlamet Planning Commission in 20...
Ballots for the 2021 August 3 Primary Election will be mailed to Cathlamet voters this Friday. Wahkiakum County Elections Coordinator Kaelee Dearmore said the local ballot consists of one race, Town of Cathlamet Mayor, with three candidates printed on the ballot. Only voters within the Town of Cathlamet boundaries will receive a primary ballot. There are less than 500 registered voters eligible to participate in this election, Dearmore said. The Cathlamet mailing will also include the county's first Local Voters' Pamphlet (LVP), which should...
[Editor's note: This story has a correction: The remodel of a courthouse vault will cost an estimated $4,950, not $49.050.] Wahkiakum County commissioners heard a complaint about vaccination requirements and handled a variety of other business ranging from keeping the Community Center in Cathlamet open to marijuana programs when they met Tuesday. Former community center coordinator Cecile Bamer expressed frustration with the Department of Health and Human Services (WHHS) and its policy on employee vaccination for covid-19. "We're being...
I was deeply saddened last week to learn of the unexpected death of former Cathlamet resident Mark Doumit. I think my first memory of him was in 1979 or 1980 when I went to the old cannery building in Cathlamet to photograph some gillnetters. Someone was unloading their catch, and Mark, then in high school, and another person were pitching the salmon into a tote so they could be weighed and sent to market. He started early in public service as a member of the Cathlamet Fire Department, if I remember correctly. After graduation from Wahkiakum...
By a 2-1 vote, Wahkiakum County's board of commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution supporting federal recognition of the Chinook Indian Nation. Commissioners also discussed covid-19 issues with members of the public and addressed staffing issues at the Community Center in Cathlamet. Chinookan bands signed a treaty with the US government in 1851 but it was never ratified. Tribal members have sought federal recognition to qualify them for federal benefits for native peoples. The Clinton Administration granted that recognition 2001, but...
