Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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The future is bright for students at Wahkiakum High School. The Technology Education program gives students the opportunity to earn college credit and get a taste of what the technological world has to offer. The program has four options for students, all of which give a taste of computer-aided education. The courses, Graphics Communication, Computer Aided Design I and II, and Technological Projects allow students to find their niche in the world and run with it. Instructor Tracy Schoeffler allows students to pick their own projects, but he doe...
The Johnson Clubhouse held an open house Friday to give people an idea what they’re all about. The house, sponsored in part by Timberlands Regional Support Network (TRSN) gives adults with mental health issues a place to relax and just have fun. Members participate in a wide variety of activities including making hair barrettes, crocheting ponchos or Afghans, painting, and making soap and doggie cookies. Items are available for sale at the Made in Wahkiakum store, and the cookies are doggie approved, said Colleen Bennett, intensive mental h...
The Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce members held their monthly meeting May 13 to discuss the upcoming tourist season and other subjects. John Dees, Yachting Season Representative referred to an article in The Oregonian that said already most in the touring industries are reporting declines versus this time last year. He did say, however that yachts visiting the Astoria and Columbia River clubs are expecting many visitors which should have an impact on tourism in Cathlamet. Jan Dees reminded the board of the Woman’s Club Birthday Wish Come True P...
In the May 6 meeting of the PUD, commissioners heard presentations from the Horizons Group, the Department of Ecology and Snohomish PUD. Dave Cummings, Engineer with the Water Resources Office of the Washington State Department of Ecology, gave the board a presentation on water rights for the Grays River area. He told the board that he could help pursue funding sources for the project, help with applications and perform simple cost estimates, however, he said, “we are not project advocates. We are a public agency subject to disclosure l...
Dave Spooner stands next to one of his latest project, a 9V pack electric radio control plane. Made from heated plastic colored beads, they are thrown into a bold and expand. "It's indestructible!" he said. Sunny Manary photo. Cathlamet resident Dave Spooner certainly likes to fly a plane. Not a Cessna or even a 747; Dave flies model airplanes. A hobby he found at the age of six, it has carried on for more than 60 years. Dave needed an out. As a child, he never was in the same school for more than about three weeks. Through six grades, he went...
Wahkiakum High School students will celebrate the end of the year and impending graduation ceremonies this Saturday with the tradition known as Prom. The Wahkiakum Community Network again this year will be placing stickers and bottle tags throughout the county. “The Bottle Tagging Project is modeled after MADD’s Sticker Shock campaign,” said Lea Sealund, Wahkiakum Community Network Director. MADD is the acronym for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The program started last year and in one day, over 1900 bottle tags were distributed to area retai...
A possible change in graduation requirements was the main topic of discussion in the April 23 meeting of the Wahkiakum School Board. Wahkiakum Principal Loren Davis gave the board a Power Point presentation outlining the possible change in graduation requirements for math. The policy that now exists requires students to take two years of math. When they enter high school as freshmen, Davis said, they are automatically scheduled for their first year and will often finish the requirement by the end of their sophomore year. The concern is that...
This year’s Wahkiakum High School graduates will be the first class required to assemble and present a senior portfolio. “A senior portfolio is a collection of things that represent the student,” WHS Principal Loren Davis said. Students are given instructions for the portfolio as freshmen and are encouraged to begin collecting the information necessary for the presentation they will give their senior year. “It is up to the local school districts to control what they would like to do with the senior project,” Davis said. Some schools will requ...
George Butkus, 16-year manager of the Cathlamet branch of the Bank of the Pacific, is preparing to retire. Photo by Sunny Manary. George Butkus is retiring this month after 15 years as manager of the Bank of the Pacific. Butkus started in the industry in 1961 as a "gofer," where, he said, he learned all the intricacies of banking. In the beginning, Butkus worked for National Bank of Commerce (NBC) which eventually became Rainier Bank. While there, he ran errands and did the “clearing’s run” for the bank. Items or checks drawn from certa...
Local students are wrapping up this week their exams in the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The WASL began in 1993 after educators, legislators and representatives of business and industry agreed that graduating high school students needed to meet certain defined levels of education and competency so that they would be prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. “They wanted to raise the bar,” said Wahkiakum High School Principal Loren Davis. The purpose of the WASL is to ensure students are meeting certain standards by gra...
The new-used transformer purchase was just one of the topics of discussion at the April 15 Wahkiakum PUD meeting. Steve Mills, a representative for General Pacific, gave the board a presentation regarding “smart meters,” which utilities will have the ability to control during peak usage. For instance, he explained, they would have the ability to turn off air conditioners in residential areas for a few minutes until energy levels reached a certain peak, then would be turned back on. Manager Dave Tramblie told the board that he received two bids...
The Scarborough Building will soon have a new display, thanks to a generous donation by Ruby Martha (Scarborough) Keating. The exhibit, consisting mostly of old time pictures of Cathlamet can be seen in the display case inside the Scarborough Building indefinitely. Keating said she was happy to make the donation. "What else am I going to do with them?" she said. "I'm the last one of the Scarboroughs. At least I would know where they are going." An antique wooden match holder bearing the face of Sitting Bull once hung in her grandmother's house,...
Dr. Janice McClean is preparing to start her practice at the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic. Sunny Manary photo. Beginning in mid-May, Dr. Janice McClean will begin practicing medicine at the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic. Dr. McClean, a 1991 graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, will spend the next few weeks learning the clinic functions and computer system. McClean was at the Everett Clinic in Snohomish County, but after working with a recruiter at the Department of Health for Rural Recruitment in Olympia, she found that...
Congressman Brian Baird announced last week that schools in Southwest Washington would receive more than $45 million in emergency education funding. The money has been released for education-related jobs and will maintain programs for low-income students and students with disabilities. The schools will receive $14.7 million in Title I funds and $30.4 million in IDEA (Individuals with disabilities Education Act) funds effective immediately. The funds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Congressman Baird said in a press...
The Wahkiakum PUD board of commissioners met Tuesday to discuss current projects and other issues. Manager Dave Tramblie reported the West Valley Road project crews have been working on is moving right along. They have been replacing some underground lines that have been causing problems. An application with Federal Emergency Management Administration has been filed to get the PUD access road asphalted. The road has flooded the last several years and been covered with mud and rock. Instead of spending the thousands it costs to clean up the...
Lia Sealund, executive director for the Wahkiakum Community Network, greeted the crowd at the town hall meeting held March 25 at J.A. Wendt Elementary School. Sunny Manary photo. The Wahkiakum Community Network held a town hall meeting March 25 to find ways to discourage alcohol use among area youth. “A Guide to Action” is the second town hall meeting where local residents came together to find ways to keep all students alcohol free. Carrie Kennedy, WSU Extension agent for Wahkiakum County, greeted the crowd of approximately 100 people and des...
The Wahkiakum PUD board of commissioners met Tuesday to discuss energy and water issues. Manager Dave Tramblie told the board water crews are trying to replace existing crossings on Puget Island. He said the pipe being used usually does not have a casing and creates a lot of problems. He said that Bill Chamberlain and his crew had made no headway in replacement. A bid to replace the pipe, Tramblie said, did not include any prep work. Tramblie said it appears that the PUD could purchase its own boring equipment in a price range of $25-40,000. A...
Students at Julius A. Wendt Elementary School heard Vancouver resident and author Andrea Renaisse read her story “Cowlick” last week. The story itself took only 20 minutes to write, Renaisse said, but it was three months before she had the final product ready for print. Most ideas come from silly stuff and thoughts. “There is too much seriousness in the world,” she said. She got the idea for “Cowlick” after a comment from a co-worker about his “crazy hair.” Renaisse, 37, said she began writing about eight years ago but has been making up storie...
The PUD met Tuesday to discuss the Puget Island Water System (PIWS) and other issues. Cathlamet Mayor Dick Swart told the board the council has decided to submit a draft water plan to the state Departments of Health and Ecology. He said the engineers have forecasted that there is enough water from single surface source of the Elochoman to meet the needs of mainland and Puget Island customers. However, exploration of additional storage, like an above ground reservoir, or another source was recommended. Commissioner Bob Jungers told Swart about...
The Wahkiakum School board met March 19 in another low key session. Superintendent Bob Garrett said Wrestling Coach John Hannah has requested permission to take the team to Alaska for an invitational tournament. Garrett said they have enough money from fundraisers, and he believed it would be a good experience for the team. Board member Lee Tischer asked if the trip would be mid-week. Garrett said he wasn’t sure of the exact dates at this time, but said students would be given homework assignments in advance. The board moved and seconded a...
In a decision announced March 20, the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Wahkiakum School District random drug testing program for middle and high school athletes is unconstitutional. The district developed and implemented the policy in the 1990s as part of efforts to reduce drug and alcohol use among students. Random testing of students began after a 1998 survey by the Wahkiakum Community Network found that a percentage of students had admitted to experimenting with illegal drugs in the recent past. In 1999, Hans and...
Wayne Flohr of Cathlamet has announced his candidacy for Wahkiakum County Commissioner. Flohr, 33, is running for the second district seat currently held by Independent Dan Cothren. Flohr is running as a Democrat. Flohr earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Washington State University in Vancouver, and his Masters of Social Work from Eastern Washington University through the Vancouver satellite campus. He is currently employed as a mental health professional with Wahkiakum Health and Human Services. He serves on the Wahkiakum Fair...
One of the last living Holocaust survivors came to Wahkiakum HIgh School last Friday to describe what he experienced as a young man caught in the Nazi Holocaust of World War II. Alter Wiener, a resident of Hillsboro, Ore., visits schools from elementary to college to tell his story with the hope that listeners will prevent such atrocities from happening again. Wiener, 82, has recently written his autobiography, “From a Name to a Number.” It is a chronological description of everything he experienced from the death of his father on Sep...
Cathlamet resident Margaret Burt reaches her 100th birthday today. Cathlamet resident Margaret Burt has reached a milestone. Burt, who was born Margaret L. White, was born this day in 1908 in Twin Falls, Idaho, a small pioneer town with the only hospital in the area. Buhl, the town where her parents lived, was 30 miles away. Her parents left a week early by horse and wagon so her mother could be near the doctor for the birth, she said. In her youth, she daily walked one mile to school. “Others walked four,” she said. The school had three roo...
The Wahkiakum PUD met Tuesday to discuss water and other issues. Bill Chamberlain, water department supervisor, gave an update about local water systems. He said that due to the recent freezing temperatures, many small leaks have been detected. He said that crews installed meters around main line valves to isolate where the leaks are coming from. He indicated the leaks are minimal, in most cases, they are barely showing up in tests, but he is still searching for a larger leak. Manager David Tramblie told Chamberlain and the board there is a...
