Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Several southwest Washington counties, including Wahkiakum County, implemented a ban on outdoor burning for land clearing, residential and silvicultural purposes. Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said Tuesday the ban will expire April 21. Then ban could be lifted sooner if weather conditions permit, he added. The ban came after state and local agencies had to responded to four separate fires on Sunday. One occurred on a logging site up the Elochoman Valley near Duck Creek. It burned 1.5 acres, according to reports. Crews from...
Wahkiakum County and the state of Washington have entered the era of the ark. To halt the rapid spread of the corona-19 virus, Governor Jay Inslee has limited gatherings to two people and ordered people not involved in essential business to stay at home. (See more details about Inslee's proclamation in other stories in this issue.) The number of cases, locally and around the world continues to grow rapidly. Wahkiakum County has yet identified no cases, Chris Bischoff, director of county Health...
Schools, other closures mandated Limits placed on groups Life as we know it is changing, and local health officials are joining those across the state, nation and world in clamping down on activities to slow the spread of the covid-19 virus. Washington state is a west coast hot spot for the virus which moved from animal to humans in China and has now been classified as a worldwide pandemic. There have yet been no cases in Wahkiakum County. Three people are awaiting the results of tests, and another two have come back negative for the dis...
In a meeting kept short to reduce risk of exposure to covid-19 virus, the Cathlamet Town Council met Monday to accept a bid for a water main project and to handle other business. The council voted 4-1 to accept the bid of Nutter Corporation of Vancouver, $565,239.22, to install new water main along a portion of Columbia Street and SR 4. The bid was under the $680,000 estimate of design engineers from the firm Gibbs and Osborne and $30,000 lower than the next lowest bidder. Council Member Robert...
Wahkiakum County Health Department officials continue to monitor the impact of the new covid-19 virus as it spreads across Washington state and the rest of the world. Although there are no cases in Wahkiakum County, the health department is taking steps to reduce the chance of exposure, Health & Human Services Director Chris Bischoff said Tuesday. Last week, the department cancelled public meetings set for Wednesday and Thursday of this week to gather input for updating the county's junk vehicle ordinance. This week, the department has...
Eroding beaches on Puget Island should receive nourishment from dredge sand this year, county officials reported Tuesday. County Commissioner Dan Cothren said he and others had discussed dredging issues in the past week with Carla Ellis, a dredging program manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers. "It was pretty upbeat," Cothren said. There is sand in the river channel that needs to be dredged, he said. He anticipates a schedule similar to last year in which the dredge deposited spoils on the Cape Horn shoreline in late summer. The officials...
With the increase in the incidence of coronavirus illnesses in Washington, Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services officials have begun defining steps to deal with the new illness. Now named COVID-19, the virus originated in Wuhan, China, as an illness that transferred from wildlife to humans. It is a virus new to the human race, H&HS Director Chris said at meetings Monday and Tuesday, and so humanity has no resistance to it and no vaccinations have yet been developed to prevent it....
Wahkiakum County commissioners breezed though a light agenda Tuesday before hearing a presentation from Health and Human Services Director Chris Bischoff on the spread of COVID-19 virus (see separate article in this edition). Commissioners accepted bids from Naselle Rock and Asphalt and Lakeside Industries for a variety of rock and asphalt products needed for summertime road work. Road department personnel will purchase from the provider with the lowest price depending on product and location. Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said the ferry...
A transfer of land from Wahkiakum County to Port District 2 could lead to improvements at Skamokawa Vista Park. Port 2 officials presented the request for the transfer to the county board of commissioners on Tuesday; the county officials were receptive to the request and said they would look into it. Also Tuesday, officials discussed the delay of a drydock closure of the ferry Oscar B. and acted on other business. The 13.5 acre parcel in question is a steep, timbered hillside on the north side of Vista Park. Yurts and other campsites lie close...
Cathlamet author Lilly Robbins Brock presented the second volume of her Bennett Family Saga during a visit to the Cathlamet Public Library last Saturday. Inspired by research into her own family's history, Brock is telling the story of immigrants arriving in 19th century America, making their way by steamship to the west coast, first San Francisco and then to Puget Sound. The first volume of the series, Intrepid Journey: An Untamed Frontier, tackles that story. Volume 2, Intrepid Journey:...
For the second month in a row, the monthly meeting of the Cathlamet town council on Monday reached the four hour length as council members tackled a variety of business items. Next month may not have the long meeting, for the council amended the town meeting ordinance to establish two regular meetings per month, instead of one. The council will meet on the first and third Mondays, 6 p.m., in the DeBriae Fire Hall Meeting Room starting March 2. In other business: --The town opened the Butler...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday adopted a county parks and recreation plan despite citizen concerns it focuses too heavily on the Johnson Park facility at Rosburg. In other business, the board once again tabled a decision on removing trees at the Johnson House in Cathlamet and rescheduled the coming drydock closure for the ferry Oscar B., which will now start March 11. The parks and recreation plan identifies parks, community centers and other recreational facilities across the county and provides an analysis defining priorities for...
Voters in the Wahkiakum School District have rejected a proposal to sell $38 million in bonds to renovate district school buildings. Initial votes counted Tuesday showed 912 voters opposed to the bonds, 66.72%, and 33.21% in favor. The Wahkiakum County Auditor's Office will count late arriving ballots today (Thursday) to update the results. The school district board of directors is scheduled to meet next Tuesday, 6 p.m., in the Wahkiakum High School Library. Unofficial Election Results Bonds to improve safety and renovate and expand schools...
The ferry Oscar B. will be out of service almost two weeks to go into dry dock for painting and repairs. The Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners authorized the shutdown during their meeting on Tuesday. Commissioners also fielded complaints about maintenance of Oneida Road, heard an update about the spread of the new coronavirus infecting people around the world, and delayed a decision about trimming trees at the Johnson House until they know plans of Port District No. 1 for using the facility on Cathlamet's Division Street. County Public...
Wahkiakum County commissioners had a short but busy meeting Feb. 4, covering lots of ground. Some of the topics addressed were: County staff are trying to arrange a meeting with the US Army Corps of Engineers dredging program staff to discuss projects on Puget Island and Grays Bay. Commissioner Dan Cothren said Corps staff haven't responded to the request for the meeting to discuss beach nourishment on Puget Island and a proposal to unplug the mouths of Grays and Deep river to reduce flooding in the Westend. Cothren added that Island beach n...
Wednesday afternoon update from Tamara Greenwell, WSDOT Regional Communications Manager: "All of the soggy debris is behaving well under all the rain. It is surprisingly more stable than we thought it might be. Crews are planning to get safety barrier in place on Thursday. It is still too soon to say when we can reopen the highway, but we are hoping for some time next week. "The trees and rootwads from the slide are being taken to the Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group for use in their...
By Rick Nelson With news about the new coronavirus 2019-nCOV that originated in China turning into a worldwide pandemic, Wahkiakum County health officers addressed the issue at the Tuesday meeting of the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners. The virus started in animals and transferred itself to humans in Wuhan, China. It has since spread around the globe, infecting people with a pneumonia like illness. The risk to people in the lower Columbia region is low, said Wahkiakum County Health Officer Dr. Steven Krager. Health organizations and...
Wahkiakum County commissioners had a short but busy meeting Tuesday, covering lots of ground. Some of the topics addressed were: County staff are trying to arrange a meeting with the US Army Corps of Engineers dredging program staff to discuss projects on Puget Island and Grays Bay. Commissioner Dan Cothren said Corps staff haven't responded to the request for the meeting to discuss beach nourishment on Puget Island and a proposal to unplug the mouths of Grays and Deep river to reduce flooding in the Westend. Cothren added that Island beach no...
Single lane passage coming soon No public logging road detour Health department adapting Wednesday meeting cancelled WSDOT using past & present knowledge CATHLAMET (Jan. 28) -- Washington Department of Transportation engineers hope to have a single lane of traffic open soon around the slide blocking SR 4 on KM Mountain. "Soon" is probably next week but possibly as early as late this week. District Construction Engineer Christopher Tams said Tuesday he has hired a contractor to begin removing trees and other debris that have blocked the highway...
I think it's an admirable goal: If you're going to do something, do it right the first time. My coaches, Paul Spears and Terry Bonny drilled that into me during the seasons I was a Wahkiakum Mule football player, 1965-68, and I've honored it through the years since I graduated. Of course, expediency has its place--one step at a time when your ready and the time is right . . . but sometimes what you're trying to accomplish never gets quite completed in this way of working. Voters in the Wahkiakum School District now have a choice--expediency or...
Washington Department of Transportation engineers hope to have a single lane of traffic open soon around the slide blocking SR 4 on KM Mountain. "Soon" is probably next week but possibly as early as late this week. District Construction Engineer Christopher Tams said Tuesday he has hired a contractor to begin removing trees and other debris that have blocked the highway since last Thursday afternoon. Crews would mobilize Tuesday and Wednesday at each side of the slide and begin working toward each other, he said. The rate of progress will...
By Rick Nelson The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is considering lowering speed limits on SR 4 through Rosburg and Grays River. The department is also considering modifications to the speed limits on SR 409 as it comes off the Puget Island bridge. The county board of commissioners on Tuesday heard a request to send an email to WSDOT agreeing to support lowering the speed limit to 45 mile per hour through Grays River and also establish a no passing zone there. After much discussion, the board agreed to delay a vote on the...
By Rick Nelson Four hours plus: The Cathlamet Town Council met Tuesday for their regular monthly meeting, starting at 6 p.m. and recessing into an executive session around 10:10 p.m. Needless to say, they covered a lot of ground: Some of the highlights: The council agreed to open their Butler Street parking lot on Feb. 14 to public parking. Before the lot is opened, town staff will obtain signs informing parking lot users that they use the lot at their own risk and that the lot is closed 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Council Member David Olson reminded the...
Fact checking: It seems most major newspapers now have fact checkers; The Eagle isn't a major newspsper, so we rely on trusted outside sources, notable the Associated Press. Here are links to others: https://www.snopes.com/, https://www.politifact.com/, and https://www.factcheck.org/. Additionally Wikipedia articles usually include footnotes referring readers to sources. And as stated in last week's column, if one doesn't want to trust Wikipedia's articles regarding climate change, one can find plenty of scientifically based sources at the...
One might think Tuesday's meeting of the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners turned into a reality TV news program. The morning started at 8 a.m. with a roundtable discussion by local governmental entities reporting their principle activities and transitioned into similar discussion in the county commission's formal meeting. Highlights include: --Jackie Lea, manager of Port District 1, said the port is continuing the permitting process to site a barge demolition site. A company wants to decommission barges at the Elochoman Slough Marina. Ac...
