Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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A log truck driver from Terrebonne, Ore., was hospitalized Monday after his truck ran off SR 4 east of Cathlamet and rolled onto its side. Charles Ron Wilson, 69, sustained cuts and fractures of facial bones. He was airlifted to a Peace Health hospital in Vancouver and underwent surgery, which went well, his son said in a Tuesday Facebook post. The eastbound truck ran off the highway around 4:48p.m. at the foot of the Abe Creek passing lanes, downed utility lines, took out a guard rail, and...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday dealt with a variety of issues ranging from wage negotiations to elk hoof rot and, of course, dredging. Commissioners and department heads held a workshop to discuss issues and goals for coming negotiations with the county’s union employees. The major points included: Sheriff Mark Howie said he would want adjustments in officers salaries. He presented data showing deputies make 34 percent less than the statewide average, and corrections officers make 43 percent less than the average. The undersheriff a...
The Wahkiakum Mules came on strong in the second half to defeat the visiting Ocosta Wildcats 34-7 last Friday in a non-league football game. After a scoreless first quarter, the Mules took the lead at 9:29 of the second quarter. KC Beery caught a pass from Lucas Brown for an 18-yard touchdown. L. Brown passed to Zach Brown for the conversion and an 8-0 lead. The visitors responded with their only score of the night on a 22-yard run and kicked a conversion that cut the Mule lead to 8-7 with 6:11...
While county officials agree they'd like to see lower speeds on SR 4 in the Cathlamet area, they don't want to use traffic circles to accomplish that end. County Engineer Paul Lacy on Tuesday asked commissioners if they'd like to include in the county's Six Year Road Improvement Plan a proposal to install traffic circles, also called roundabouts, at SR 4 intersections with Main and Columbia streets and make modifications to the highway that would slow traffic. Citing distaste for traffic circles, commissioners voted against the proposal....
With their members aging and dwindling, the congregation of the Cathlamet United Church of Christ this spring started looking for an organization to take over ownership and operation of their building. They ended up agreeing by an 8-0 vote to offer the property to Wahkiakum County for use by Health and Human Services (H&HS). H&HS administrators like the offer, but when they presented a proposal on Tuesday to go through with the proposal, the board of county commissioners expressed concerns about the financial aspects of long-term ownership of...
Should Wahkiakum County's heath department investigate the cause of elk hoof rot disease? Dr. Boone Mora, a Skamokawa resident and a retired public health officer, thinks so. On Tuesday, he met with the county board of commissioners, who also serve as the board of health, to urge the board to undertake that study. However, after hearing from health department staff, commissioners took no action. "I don't see any clear path forward," said commission Chair Blair Brady. "We'll keep pressing the state lab to do more." Mora maintains the cause of...
The Wahkiakum Mule football team journeyed to Naselle last Friday with one goal in mind: To return to Cathlamet with the KM Trophy, the grand prize when the Mules and Naselle Comets meet. The Comets took an 8-0 first quarter lead, but the Mules did the rest of the scoring to claim a 22-8 victory. After throwing five incomplete passes, Comet quarterback Cole Dorman connected with Donny Edwards who beat a defender for a 22-yard touchdown play with 1:12 left in the first quarter. Dorman ran the...
Wahkiakum County may well have to come up with another quarter million dollars to accomplish dredging projects to protect eroding shorelines. That's the news Commissioner Dan Cothren reported from a late August meeting with the US Army Corps of Engineers and representatives of federal representatives. The Corps is requiring a Section 408 review, which will analyze the potential impacts of placing dredged sand on the eroding beaches. The cost could run $200,000 to $300,000, Cothren said. "I'm...
William Faubion, who is retiring after serving 38 years as Wahkiakum County district court judge, had a first time experience Tuesday. "I've been judge a long time here and I've sworn a lot of public officials in," he told an audience of two dozen people gathered for a ceremonial hearing. "This will be the first opportunity I've had to swear in a district court judge. "I'm very pleased to have that opportunity." Faubion, who is retiring with 16 months left in his term of office, swore in his rep...
The Wahkiakum School District board of directors heard a report on the alternative learning program, approved golf course rental agreement, and, after going into executive session, new contracts with raises for employees. Here's how Superintendent Bob Garrett explained the raises: "The state gave a 2.3 percent increase to all employees. The district added another 2.7 percent to classified staff, giving them a 5 percent increase. There were a couple of instances where a few classified employees received a larger “bump.” "Teachers received jus...
I received this communication Tuesday from an Elochoman Valley resident who feared retribution if he were identified. With that in mind, I'm printing here. "Some may be aware of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist counting fish on the Elochoman. Yesterday he informed me he has uncovered several poaching teams stealing fish from the river only to sell to restaurants. They use nets to circle the fish, then pull them out. While several are netting the fish, there is usually someone along the road keeping watch to alert the...
The local 2017 high school football season gets underway this Friday, 7 p.m., with the Wahkiakum Mules heading to Naselle to take on the Comets in the KM Trophy Game. Knocked out of last year's Class 1B playoffs, the Comets hope to use their size and speed to make a run deeper into the playoffs. The Mules are coming off of two seasons in which the majority of players were underclassmen. With good quality in skill positions, they hope to make their own run into the Class 2B playoffs. It will be a...
Will SR 4 someday have a "dogbone" between the intersections at Main and Columbia streets? The answer, of course, is if local entities can come up with the money. Paul Lacey, Wahkiakum County engineer, brought the idea to the monthly meeting of the Cathlamet Town Council on Monday to ask if there is any support for the idea. Council members listened to Lacey's proposal; they made no decision but will revisit the issue at their September meeting. In other business, the council voted 3-2 to allocate up to $1,200 to Tsuga Gallery for advertising...
With clear skies overhead, Wahkiakum County residents were able to take in the solar eclipse that traveled across the county on Monday. Wahkiakum was not in the path of total eclipse, so a bit of the sun was visible over the moon.Carol Danker, Amy Gurley, Joan Mack and Valerie Windsor from First Interstate Bank took time out to view the eclipse. Cathlamet Pharmacy tried holding eclipse glasses over their cell phones to take photos. At one point, viewers on Main Street notices waves of light and...
Wahkiakum County Commissioner Dan Cothren reported Tuesday having a shock during a timberlands tour last Thursday sponsored by state Department of Natural Resources. Commissioner of Public Lands Hillary Franz, some members of the state Board of Natural Resources, DNR personnel, and representatives of environmental groups gathered in Cathlamet to tour state managed timber land and discuss issues related to managing them for marbled murrelets, and endangered species. The agency is trying to finish a habitat conservation plan (HCP) for the small...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday heard reports on several issues that they've been facing. Commissioner Dan Cothren reported the county and US Army Corps of Engineers have reached agreement on a new memorandum of agreement regarding a Section 408 review of planned beach nourishment projects. "The MOA is signed; now we just need to work with (county Auditor) Diane (Tischer) for a fund to take the money out of," Cothren said. Cothren commented on a meeting last week with personnel from the Washington State University School of...
Wahkiakum County's board of commissioners on Tuesday addressed a wide variety of issues ranging from dredging and the county ferry to fish nets and mental health services. Commissioner Dan Cothren reported the county's permit application process for placement of dredge spoils is proceeding well; US Army Corps of Engineers staff have said they're pleased with the plans of the county staff and consulting engineers to complete the permitting. However, Cothren said, the pipeline dredge Oregon will soon be working on a shoal across from Cape Horn,...
So, our nation witnessed an ugly clash between white supremacists and counter demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend. The clash left one demonstrator dead, and two police officers responding to the event died in a helicopter crash. I joined vigil Sunday afternoon in front of the courthouse to express sympathy with the victims and opposition to the racist, ultra-right values of the supremacists who initiated the demonstrations. Some 32 people were there, and they expressed grief, shock, disbelief and outrage that we have the...
Wahkiakum County is in the market for a new director of the Health and Human Services Department. Present Director Sue Cameron last week sent the board of county commissioners a letter announcing her intention to retire and leave the position effective October 6. Cameron has been director for five years. She has worked in public health for 41 years, and she has also been a county commissioner in Tillamook County, Ore., and is currently a member of the Cathlamet Town Council. Commissioners met Tuesday with Cameron and other department officials...
Commissioners from Consolidated Diking District No. 1 visited the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners Tuesday to discuss their vegetation management program. Two weeks ago, Puget Island residents told the county board someone had sprayed herbicide along dike roads, killing brush and blackberries, and often, they added, the applicators had sprayed high into trees and well into private property. County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer on that day identified the diking district as the applicat...
Effective September 1, Wahkiakum County will have a new district court judge. William Faubion, a 38-year veteran of the bench, is retiring at the end of August, and Tuesday, Wahkiakum County commissioners voted 2-1 to appoint Skamokawa attorney Heidi Heywood to complete the remainder of his term. The position will be up for election in 2018 ballots. Commissioners Blair Brady, Mike Backman and Dan Cothren had received names of two candidates to fill the position, Heywood and Cathlamet attorney Tim Hanigan. Commissioners met in a short executive...
Setting up a long-term beach nourishment program for four Wahkiakum County flood control zone district (FCZD) beaches took a small step forward Tuesday. Commissioners voted to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the US Army Corps of Engineers for processing a 408 Section review of the potential impacts of the proposed sand deposits on the Columbia River shipping channel and the channel for the ferry Oscar B. County Public Works Director Chuck Beyer said he and the county's consulting engineers handling the application had discussed the...
District Court Judge William Faubion is retiring in August after serving 38 years as the only District Court judge in Wahkiakum County. Next Tuesday, the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners will appoint a temporary replacement for him. The appointee will serve the remainder of Faubion's term through 2018. The position will be on the ballot next year for a complete four-year term. The District Court office forwarded to the commission the names of two possible candidates to fill the office, local attorneys Heidi Heywood and Tim Hanigan. Both...
A group of Puget Island residents visited the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners July 18 to ask if it was a county crew that was spraying blackberries and brush alongside Island roads. The spraying occurred about six weeks ago, and now dry and brown vines and leaves border the dike roads. Commissioners in turn asked county Public Works Director Chuck Beyer what he knew about the spraying. "That wasn't us," he said. "It was the diking district." Indeed Consolidated Diking District No. 1 had contracted with a Cowlitz County firm to spray...
Wahkiakum County commissioners have asked the Washington State Ferries system to take over operation of the Puget Island-Westport ferry. An undated letter approved at the board's July 18 meeting states the county "is in a financial crisis and can no longer afford to operate the ferry." The letter, signed by board Chair Blair Brady, acknowledges that the state has subsidized ferry operations since 1982, but since then, revenues have declined, and operating costs have increased. Further, county revenue growth is restricted by a 1 percent cap on...
