Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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It was roundtable discussion time Tuesday as the Wahkiakum County officials and residents covered a lot in a morning of discussions on topics ranging from high speed internet to ferry service status notifications. The day started with a quarterly roundtable facilitated by Bill Flashing of the Cowlitz/Wahkiakum Governmental Conference; representatives of local governmental bodies gathered to relate their projects and concerns. Wahkiakum PUD Commissioner Gene Healy sparked some discussion with comments about high speed internet. "We need to keep...
Local motorists breathed a sigh of relief after SR 4 reopened 21 hours after being closed Friday afternoon just west of Stella. Soil, rocks and a fir tree came sliding down about 4:55 p.m. with rocks striking at least one car and taking out utility lines but causing no injuries. Washington State Patrol responded quickly, one motorist said, and closed the highway to await evaluation and action by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The slide occured on the stretch of SR 4 t...
Cathlamet town Council Member Richard Swart has resigned his position, effective January 1. Swart has been hampered by health issues, especially after being struck by a vehicle in a hit and run collision in 2017. He has a record of long service to the town, including terms as mayor and members of both the town council and planning commission. Following is the text of his letter of resignation: Dear Mayor, Council, and Department Heads, I am resigning from Town of Cathlamet, WA Council Position #2 effective 12:01 a.m., January 1, 2018. My plan...
Wahkiakum County commissioners want to reconsider details of a plan to make improvements to the two sections of Steamboat Slough Road along the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge. County Engineer Paul Lacy brought the issue to the board of commissioners on Tuesday, thinking the board might want consider the merits of changing plans. The county has received a Federal Highway Administration Grant to asphalt 1,200 feet of road, pave turnouts and parking areas and install shoulder rock, interpretive kiosks, guardrail and signs. The grant...
After 42 years working on the job, county Auditor Diane Tischer has left the office. She started when she was 23 years old; she held the top post for 28 years. "Where has the time gone," she pondered last Friday in her final day in office. "It doesn't really feel like it's time to retire. "If I had known I would be here this long, I would have written a journal. There have been a lot of changes in the office." The office handles a variety of tasks, chief among them are running elections,...
The Wahkiakum School District board of directors will hold some special meetings in January for workshops to organize their search for a new superintendent. Twenty-five year veteran Bob Garrett announced last week he would retire at the end of the school year. At their regular monthly meeting Tuesday, directors decided to enlist the aid of their Educational Service District staff to guide the search. Also at Tuesday's meeting, directors heard of concerns of water leaking into the floor of the high school welding shop and efforts to take care...
The Cathlamet Town Council adopted the 2018 budget, raised utility rates, swore in new members and handled other business at its Monday night meeting. Budgets total $3.9 million. Sewer and water utilities make up the major portion. The water operation and maintenance fund totals $706,307.14; the water cumulative reserve totals $70,000, and the water revenue bond redemption fund totals $128,802. The sewer operation and maintenance fund totals $88,116.82; the sewer cumulative reserve totals $440,3...
Wahkiakum County commissioners visited with Rep. James Walsh Tuesday and handled a variety of other business. The visit was part of an effort by the Washington Association of Counties to get state legislators and local officials together to discuss issues and concerns. Last week, Sen. Dean Takko and Rep. Brian Blake visited the commission meeting. Commissioners covered a variety of issues, including dissatisfaction with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) management of...
Wahkiakum County Assessor Bill Coons had an unpleasant surprise in his email Tuesday afternoon. He received notification of new state property tax levy rates from the Washington Department of Revenue, saying, in effect, the state property tax levy rate is going up approximately 50 percent, which will raise property taxes about $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The increase is a result of the legislature's action in response to the state supreme court's McLeary Decision, which mandated increased funding for basic education in...
Last Saturday, 10 young Wahkiakum County residents and 10 members of the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Department descended on a Longview Walmart for a bout of holiday shopping. It was the department's first Shop With a Cop event, and Sheriff Mark Howie said it came together in a hurry. "(Undersheriff) Gary Howell and I were talking about setting it up for next year," Howie said Tuesday. Then Emergency Services Director Beau Renfro said he had money to do the program this year. In off hours,...
The Naselle Comets defeated the Wahkiakum Mules 57-51 last Friday to claim the KM Trophy for basketball. The Comets led 12-9 after one quarter, but the Mules were on top 21-19 at halftime and 37-35 after three quarters. The Comets outscored the Mules 22-14 in the fourth quarter to win. "Their in your face defense really bothered us all night and made it difficult to get in a rhythm on the offensive end," said Mule Coach Todd Souvenir. The Comets executed from the charity stripe late in the game,...
Wait and see. That was the message from the Wahkiakum County board of commissioners to public officials making late requests for changes in the 2018 budgets. Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow and District Court Judge Heidi Heywood were asking for pay class increases for two staff members each, saying circumstances earlier this fall kept them from making the requests when other department heads made them, and which commissioners subsequently approved. Town of Cathlamet Librarian Carol Blix was...
For 90 minutes Tuesday, Wahkiakum County officials and residents discussed issues with District 19 members of the state legislators. Topics included management of fish and game, limits on property taxes, encumbered county trust timberland, beach nourishment, funding of state mandates, consolidation of health care services, funding for 911 emergency dispatching and others. The meeting was sponsored by the Washington State Association of Counties as a means of making sure legislators hear local co...
After two days of discussions, Wahkiakum County commissioners are a bit closer to setting their 2019 budgets. They spent Monday and Tuesday meetings discussing levy numbers and last minute requests from department heads and supporters of the Cathlamet town library. With Commissioner Blair Brady out of town, collegues Dan Cothren and Mike Backman put off some decisions so that Brady could participate. A resolution for adoption of the budget will come later this month. At the top of the list this week was the request from the Town of Cathlamet...
The proposed 2018 Wahkiakum County budgets have been published, and the public hearing commences next Monday morning, but county commissioners continue to hear requests for modifications and appropriations. On Tuesday, commissioners heard requests from Wahkiakum District Court and the Town of Cathlamet Library for appropriations, and they heard comments in a public hearing of new ferry fares that led them to change their planned new rates. Commissioners had planned a basic 5 percent increase in ferry fares, with additions of some new rates for...
Commissioners of Port District 2 approved their 2018 budget and voted not to raise the district's property tax when they met Nov. 21. The proposed budget totals $1.13 million, up from $1.1 million for 2017. Actual 2017 expenditures through mid-November totaled $930,111. The district expects to receive $415,696 in revenue from operations, including camping fees at County Line and Skamokawa Vista parks and $25,000 from the sale of sand deposited by US Army Corps of Engineers dredging of the Columbia River shipping channel. Another $116,750 will...
Wahkiakum County's final tally of general election ballots on Tuesday produced no changes from previous totals. Incumbent Mayor Dale Jacobson won a close election for mayor, 72-65, over write-in candidate Laurel Waller. When votes were first counted Nov. 7, Waller led 58-53. In the second round, Jacobson led 69-65, and when votes were counted Nov. 17, he added three more to his total. Waller had filed as a candidate for Council Position 5 and defeated write-in candidate Jean Burnham, who was appointed to the council earlier this year, 99-43....
Wahkiakum County commissioners will meet with District 19 state legislators next Tuesday, and they're inviting the public to join the fun. Coming at the end of the board's 11 a.m. session next Tuesday, the meeting is part of an effort by the Washington Association of Counties (WSAC ) to have local officials discuss issues and needs with legislators. Expected participants include Sen. Dean Takko and Representatives Brian Blake and Jim Walsh, and a representative from WSAC. Commissioners have topics in mind to discuss with the legislators, and...
Customers of the Town of Cathlamet's water and sewer systems will see 2.9 percent rate increases in 2018, the town council decided Monday. The increases are included in an ordinance which passed its first reading by a 4-0 vote on Monday. Final action on the ordinance will take place at the council's Dec. 18 meeting. Under the proposed new rates, the basic monthly water charge would be $35.96 inside city limits and $52.76 outside the city limits. The basic monthly sewer charge would be $98.78 inside city limits and $114.84 outside the city limit...
Last Friday, incumbent Mayor Dale Jacobson increased his narrow lead in the election for mayor, 72-65, over write-in candidate Laurel Waller. When votes were first counted Nov. 7, Waller led 58-53. In the second round, Jacobson led 69-65, and when votes were counted Nov. 17, he added three more to his total. Waller had filed as a candidate for Council Position 5, and she leads write-in candidate Jean Burnham, who was appointed to the council earlier this year, 99-43. Waller has said she would take the office of mayor and forfeit the council...
Local agencies are looking for citizens willing to participate in local government. Branches of Wahkiakum County government have several vacancies on governing boards, and Port District 2 has a vacancy on its board of commissioners. Vacant county positions include: --The Wahkiakum County Planning Commission has a vacancy available in each of the three commissioner districts--Puget Island/South Cathlamet; Rosedale/Elochoman, and Skamokawa/Westend. --The Wahkiakum County Noxious Weed Control Board has vacancies in Weed Control District 4 (east en...
Washington's Board of Natural Resources (BNR) on Nov. 7 selected its preferred alternative for management of marbled murrelet habitat on state-managed trust timberlands. Started in 1997, the habitat conservation plan (HCP) is meant to preserve habitat for the endangered species, which lays eggs on large mossy branches in old trees. According to a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) news release, the alternative "is intended to provide long-term certainty for murrelet conservation practices, and for public services and local jobs that rely on...
The election for mayor of Cathlamet took a turn in the second round of tallying votes last Thursday. Incumbent Mayor Dale Jacobson claimed a narrow lead in the election, 69-65, over write-in candidate Laurel Waller. When votes were first counted Nov. 7, Waller led 58-53. Waller had filed as a candidate for Council Position 5, and she leads write-in candidate Jean Burnham, who was appointed to the council earlier this year, 96-42. Waller has said she would take the office of mayor and forfeit the council position if she were to defeat Jacobson....
Are the gloves ready to come off? Wahkiakum County officials are trying to get everything in order for beach nourishment projects next year, and facing one major obstacle. County officials and their engineering consultants met Tuesday afternoon to go over the final section of the permitting process, the Section 408 review, and they feel good about that, said Commissioner Dan Cothren. "Once we get this out of the way, I'd say that by January, we'll get some dates (for dredging)," Cothren said. "They'll know what's out there." He was referring...
Wahkiakum County commissioners will hold a public hearing November 28, 9:50 a.m., to consider raising rates for travelers on the Puget Island ferry. Rates haven't been raised since 2010, Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said last week. In the meantime, the county's operating costs have increased. As proposed, basic rates would increase $1. The rate for a foot passenger would go up $1 to $2; the rate for a small vehicle would go from $5 to $6. The cost for a bicycle would increase by $1 to $3, and the cost of a motorcycle would increase $1 to...
