Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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The Wahkiakum School District board met Tuesday for a short meeting and reviewed projects under way. More than half of kindergarten through third grade students at Julius Wendt Elementary school are eligible for free or reduced lunches, Superintendent Bob Garrett said. Sixty-four of 104 children in kindergarten through third grade receive free or reduced lunches, Garrett said. The district began to receive additional funding this year because of that population in the last school funding formula. Directors approved the refurbishing of the old...
Port District No. 1 commissioners voted to increase some fees and district property taxes collected to support the district at their meeting October 13. As they did last year, the commissioners voted to increase the property tax levy by 1 percent. Park employees Jackie Lea and Abe York will receive a 2½ percent salary increase. At present, the two employees’ health care is provided without cost to them. They select from among the health plans available to county employees. The 2011 budget was influenced by the strong spring chinook s...
It’s not surprising that Mike Cullom, who was born in Vader and lived in western Washington during his life, loves fog and finds it a subject for his photos. From his home on Puget Island, he takes pictures of what he sees. “Fog hugs the ground or it puffs in the trees,” he said. He enhances images digitally until he has created the impression he experienced. An exhibit of Cullom’s digitally enhanced photographs and miniature buildings begins Saturday at Redmen Hall in Skamokawa. Cullom, who has lived on the Island for seven years, retired...
The Wahkiakum School District board met Tuesday for a short meeting and reviewed projects under way. More than half of kindergarten through third grade students at Julius Wendt Elementary school are eligible for free or reduced lunches, Superintendent Bob Garrett said. Sixty-four of 104 children in kindergarten through third grade receive free or reduced lunches, Garrett said. The district began to receive additional funding this year because of that population in the last school funding formula. Directors approved the refurbishing of the old...
Layton Elliott is opening a new accounting business in Skamokawa, carrying on the tradition of his mother-in-law, the late Evelyn Caroll, who operated Evelyn’s Bookkeeping Service. Elliott said, “Unfortunate events allowed us to afford to live here, and return to the woods I wandered as a kid.” “As a kid you can’t wait to get out,” he said, noting that he’s happy to be back to the quiet and beauty of Skamokawa. Elliott moved back to Skamokawa in September, after growing up in Wahkiakum County. His wife Pam, was Evelyn Caroll’s middle daughter....
“People think massage is an extravagance, a luxury, but I’ve seen amazing results. I’m here to really help the community,” said Bryon Parrino, a nationally certified massage therapist. Parrino has opened the Naselle Massage Clinic at 5 Appello Lane. “Finding restrictions and helping people get their range of motion back is a bit like solving a puzzle,” said Parrino. “It can be a lot of fun.” Parrino trained at the Oklahoma Health Academy in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and moved to Rosburg in March to be near his family. Parrino said he has “had the pr...
“The Wahkiakum Food Bank is seeing more people needing help, but it has just received a donation from an elementary school food drive,” Director Jimmie Lou Cleveland said this week. The food bank operates from the Health and Human Services campus but it is not affiliated with the county. Cleveland said, “There has been a steady increase with lots of new people. The numbers we see keep climbing.” Cash donations are down. “The little people” aren’t contributing as they had been…The food banks serves about 18-27 families a week,” Clevel...
Skamokawa – Over 40 people gathered Tuesday to protest the proposed closing of the Skamokawa Post Office. They gathered information about the process, sought to understand the chances of affecting the postal service decision and made a case for the post office as the center of the Skamokawa community. They shared some laughs and left no doubt about their commitment to work to keep the post office doors open. Skamokawa was targeted for closure because it took in less than $27,500 revenue annually and generated less than two hours of...
In the face of increasing demand and fewer donations, Helping Hand Food bank is struggling to meet local need. One of two county food banks, Helping Hand is seeing more new faces and serving more people than they have in the past. “I see the same thing here that I’ve seen at every food bank I’ve ever worked at,” said Helping Hand volunteer Chuck Burton. “People would like to work. For them to need help is demoralizing. Most people don’t know how tough the economy is right now. Some of these people are disabled, but a lot can’t find a job.” Help...
Wahkiakum 4-H has received $2,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture to help youth learn leadership skills and partner with adults to solve community problems. Wahkiakum youth join four other communities statewide in facilitating public forums to address community problems. Groups in other rural areas have chosen problems such as access to secondary education, youth health and obesity, and better living for veterans. University of Washington Extension 4-H coordinator Dale Larson of Ellensburg trained a local 4-H group for seven...
The Rogenator and the Gourd Stormer drew people of all ages to the Fourth Columbia River Country Days Harvest Festival at Two Islands Farm Market last Friday. Adults and children milled around on a perfect autumn afternoon, listening to music, shopping for fresh corn and visiting. Rob Stockhouse found water balloon launchers on the internet and found them perfect for pumpkin “chunkin." “Water balloons tend to explode,” he said. Stockhouse, who grew a 600-pound pumpkin last year, said “I didn’t grow any this year. This was a terrible year for...
Wahkiakum Public Utility District commissioners held a second rate hearing for electric and both the Puget Island and Western Wahkiakum Water Systems (WWWS) at their regular meeting Tuesday morning, which they recessed for public hearings on rates later Tuesday and on Wednesday. Retired PUD manager Mike Prever and prospective board commissioner Lee Tischer were the only members of the public present during the commissioners regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday morning. About seven Puget Island residents came to the evening session to share...
Dr. David Steves, 35, is working at the Cowlitz Family Health Center clinic in Cathlamet. Steves said he treats all ages, loves his work and wants to help people. “When I was interviewed, they asked me what do you see yourself doing in five years. I said, I want to be seeing clients. They asked again, and I said, I want to be seeing patients,” he said. Steves graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2008 and completed his residency in Clarion, Pa. He received a scholarship from the National Health Service Corps which req...
The Washington State’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released test results that led Wahkiakum School District staff to analyze trends as they sought strategies to improve scores. The district met criteria for federal No Child Left Behind standards, which require continual improvement across 36 areas to avoid financial consequences. The Measure of Student Progress (MSP), which replaced the WASL, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, in 2010, gave the district’s students mixed results across grade levels and sub...
With a drape of long lichen over her head and the shoulder of a green lace dress, Lithuanian born Vilte Bacinskaite improvised a contemporary ballet along the bank of the Elochoman River on a humid day last week. Bacinskaite was one of five dancers from Portland-based Northwest Dance Project who traveled to Carole and Dick Lewis’ home on the Elochoman River to shoot sequences that may be used as props in future dance productions. Crawling across a wall covered with moss and slugs required more theatrics than dancing. I was trying to tap into th...
The Wahkiakum Public Utility District Board of Commissioners reviewed projected 2012 budgets and set rate hearings for water and electric customers at its meeting Tuesday. The board intends to collect a 9 percent increase for the electric side of the utility and has yet to determine how much of an increase to charge water customers of either Puget Island Water System (PIWS) or the Western Wahkiakum Water System (WWWS) systems. Preliminary budgets were based on the assumption of a 3 percent raise for union employees. “The manager has not a...
On the warm Labor Day weekend, Fred Johnson opened his Naselle farm for a celebration of farming, good food and music called Farmstock, as a fundraiser for KMUN Coast Radio. Farmstock brought together regional farmers, musicians and those seeking to learn about farming. Experts offered talks on poultry farming, seed saving and living an off-the-grid lifestyle. When Teed Prestegard of Cathlamet heard about Farmstock, he said, “I thought it was going to be like Woodstock. I know I wasn’t the only one who thought that.” JoAnn Prestegard said,...
Longboarders wowed Cathlamet for the third year in a row, and the racers were equally enthusiastic about coming to the small hillside town on the Columbia. “Anytime you can skate on Main Street, that’s great,” said Christopher Blache from Eagle Point, Ore. The Cathlamet Downhill Corral offers varied events, but the downhill race attracted 96 contestants, the maximum allowed and was full months ago. Judy Edmondson and Alison Johnson of Newburg, OR coordinate the event. On Friday, participants gathered and registered in front of the Scarborough b...
The Wahkiakum School District Board met August 24 and approved contracts for district staff and heard from youth leadership about additional efforts needed to reduce marijuana use. Districts across the state have handled the state legislature’s 1.9 percent cut to teacher wages reductions differently, Superintendent Bob Garrett said. Some have no funds to offset losses and others have large enough cash reserves to make up all of the teachers’ loss. The Wahkiakum board agreed to offset the loss to teacher’s salaries by reducing the hours they...
The Cathlamet IGA Market has new store managers: Stephanie Crouse is store manager, and Andy Lea is assistant manager. Both are long time local residents. Crouse replaced Scott Merriman, who left to work in the St. Helens IGA, which is close to his home. Crouse has worked in the Cathlamet store since 2004. She said she finds the work challenging and her goal is to give better service to her customers. “We have a really great team right now,” she said, of her 11 employees. Lea worked at Moore Auto and Marine for the past 16 months before the...
“So, you’re the new DeEtta,” a customer said Tuesday as he slid into the barber chair at the Cathlamet Barber Shop. “I should probably look in the mirror so I can show you how DeEtta did it,” he said. The new barber, Christeena Bassi, said she is enjoying getting to know the customers who received haircuts from DeEtta Funderburg for a decade. At the end of June, Bassi, who is 30, completed the yearlong course of study for a cosmetology license, and has purchased the Cathlamet Barber Shop from Funderburg. The barbershop, a landmark on Main Stre...
This summer, 26 children participated in the summer reading program. Nineteen of those received certificates for having read 10 or more books. Children who participated in the Cathlamet’s summer reading program, heard about an American’s trip to Africa, sat in a pretend aircraft for trips abroad, and learned about India. The theme of the Collaborative Summer Library Program provided by the Washington State Library Association was One World, Many Stories and focused on travel and different cultures. Community volunteers gave presentations and...
Pictured in this photo from the collection of the Wahkiakum County Historical Museum, a pile driver works on a pier for construction of the PI bridge in 1939. The Cathlamet-Puget Island Bridge was dedicated during a celebration August 26-27 in 1939. The bridge provides a vital link in area transportation. The bridge connects to the Ferry Wahkiakum via SR 409 during closures of SR 4 and is a tourist attraction or an aid to commuters at other times. Travelers monitor an osprey nest for activity...
Tuesday Wahkiakum Public Utility District General Manager Dave Tramblie recommended commissioners implement a 9 percent electrical rate increase beginning January 1. Tramblie presented a letter outlining his rationale, stating the request was taken as a last resort. He said the increase is the result of the PUD no longer receiving a $70,000 annual credit from Bonneville Power Administration, undertaking capital improvement projects like the construction of the new Wahkiakum substation for increased reliability, and a 9.6 percent increase in...
For 4-H families, August is a time of preparation and anticipation, culminating when the Wahkiakum County Fair opens on Thursday, August 18 (today). But volunteers work just as hard to make the fair grounds perfect. In the past three months, volunteers racked up over 1000 hours getting the fair ready for its first day today (Thursday), Fair Manager Becky Ledtke said. Last week, the T Building was ready, freshly washed gingham curtains in place, new paper, and bright colors welcoming visitors. Valle Ledtke was cutting out letters for signs. She...
