Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Recycling in Wahkiakum County is as easy as one, two, and three. There are several bins in the county that collect items from plastic to newspaper to cardboard. Jay Alexander, manager of Peninsula Sanitation in Ilwaco, said this year there is a new bin at the KM Transfer Station for cardboard. Almost any corrugated board can be recycled, except waxed cardboard, he said. Waxed cardboard is the type in which produce is often delivered. Shoe boxes, soda and beer boxes are also not acceptable recyclable cardboard. Bins are available in four areas i...
At the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tuesday, Wahkiakum School Superintendent Bob Garrett announced tickets for Saturday’s crab feed have been sold out; however, raffle tickets are still available. Tickets are one dollar apiece and can be purchased at the Cathlamet Pharmacy or the Cathlamet Chevron. Raffle ticket purchasers need not be present at the crab feed to win. Chamber President Jennifer Hanigan introduced Web Designer Nick Henderson, who recently redesigned the website for Port District 1. Henderson, who grew up in F...
Wahkiakum PUD Manager Dave Tramblie on Tuesday informed the board of the Puget Island Diking District’s intent to start dredging the area on Grove Slough. Bonneville Power Administration has agreed to offset some of the district's construction costs based on energy savings that would occur at the completion of the project. No final decisions have been made until exact costs have been determined. Tramblie said he spoke with Port I commissioners at the Elochoman Marina regarding the removal of overhead conductor. “The Port seems willing to entert...
While it may be too late to make that New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, it’s never too late to decide to get healthy. That was the number one reason Puget Island resident Mike Backman lost the weight. One morning in November 2007, Mike was buying fish in the Puget Sound area and found his leg to be in great pain. A doctor’s visit informed him he had cellulitis. He was given pills and for two weeks, ordered to stay at home with his leg elevated. During a sleepless night while watching television, Mike, saw an infomercial about weigh...
Now a chiropractor, former Naselle Youth Camp resident Adam Lopez was one of many to urge state officials to maintain funding for the camp at a community meeting last Wednesday in Naselle. Photo by Sunny Manary. Forty some years ago, the citizens of Naselle and surrounding areas gathered to protest the possible opening of a youth detention center in the area. “Not in my back yard!” was the consensus. Many of those same NIMBY’s and more assembled at a town meeting February 4 with a much different tone. “This is our backyard!” was the attitude...
A brainstorming event that included area landowners, Conservation District supervisors and concerned citizens was held February 2 at Skamokawa Methodist Church. The concern of serious area flooding was the consensus of problems facing Wahkiakum County. Darin Houpt, Wahkiakum Conservation District manager, said the main reason to bring the group together was to find long range planning for relief to area residents. But that means long range; perhaps five to seven years. “There is no magic light switch. Things take time,” he said. Ray Ledgerwood,...
The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Directors met this week to discuss a variety of topics ranging from wind farms to energy assistance. Jim Oakley, Senior Members Relations Representative for Energy Northwest spoke to the board about wind energy. At a wind farm, Oakley said, there needs to be someone there to answer phones 24/7 so should there be a problem, Bonneville Power Administration can call if they need to test the system. BPA recently needed to shut part of the system down, but were only able to reach a couple of the farms. It was a...
On Sunday, the Appelo Archive Center opened the C.A and Agnes Appelo Memorial Library in Naselle. The center, owned by the Wahkiakum Community Foundation, rents the space for the library. Foundation President Linda Elliott said the room used to be used for storage. “Look at it now!” she said with a big smile. “I’m so excited this has happened. To put together something like this on the Westend!” Elliott believes this is the first time anything like this has opened in that area. Don Chandler traveled from Cross Plains, Wisconsin, to attend th...
A Colorado company is searching for signs of natural gas in Wahkiakum County. Venoco Inc. plans to drill four test wells in the Skamokawa area. The company started drilling on two on January 2. It should take 4-5 weeks to drill to the 7,000 foot target depths, said Mike Edwards, vice-president of Customer Relations with Venoco. Once they've reached the target depth, crews will remove the drilling rigs and head to other sites. The company will bring in other equipment which will take core samples to determine the presence of natural gas in the w...
The possible Naselle Youth Camp closure was the main issue at the Naselle-Grays River School Board meeting January 20. Superintendent Alan Bennett said if the camp were to close, there would be a major change in staff in the district. At a recent superintendents' meeting, Bennett reported all districts are facing cuts, “but I can tell you, no one is going to have to deal with the level of cuts we will have to deal with if the youth camp closes.” The closure would be a huge change in staffing, with 1/3 of the teachers gone; there would be iss...
In the first meeting of the new year, members of the Wahkiakum School Board heard a presentation from Seattle NW Securities about a bond refinance. In 2000, community members approved a bond that would remodel the grade school. The board is considering refunding the 2000 bond because of the considerable interest rate decline. “Refunding bonds is done for the sole purpose of saving taxpayers money” said Superintendent Bob Garrett. If rates stayed the same as they were last week, he said, the refund could provide more than $75,000 in savings to...
Monday’s power outage was due to a tree down in Rainier, Oregon, PUD Manager Dave Tramblie reported this week. The power was restored quickly and no crews were needed, he said. During the floods earlier this month, he said, crews noticed significant water loss on the Westend. After an investigation, a leak was found in the riverbed near the Western Wahkiakum Water System (WWWS) pumping station. Another leak was found near the Grays River Hatchery on Shannon Road. Both leaks have been repaired. Auditor Erin Wilson told the board that c...
The Wahkiakum PUD board of commissioners has passed a resolution adopting the 2009 budgets for the district's electrical and water systems. The gross revenue for electrical is $3,523,000, for the Puget Island Water System; $302,950, and for the Western Wahkiakum Water System; $209,300. Manager Dave Tramblie reported the power outage affecting Grays River on November 18 was due to a fuse on a transformer blowing. The cause of the fuse failure is unknown, and the fuse was replaced. Tramblie said it was a cause for concern as the transformer is...
November 20 marks the 33rd annual Great American Smokeout. The day originated in the early 1970s and in 1976 became a nationwide challenge. The event is always held the third Thursday of November and the purpose is to encourage smokers to kick the habit, even if for one day. In the state of Washington, the average smoker starts at age 12; 80 percent beginning before they turn 18. According to Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services Tobacco Prevention Specialist Linda Hartung, a survey from 2007 said statewide approximately 16.5 percent of...
Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce President Sandi Benbrook Rieder told board members Tuesday that volunteers are needed to represent the county on the natural heritage of the area and the Southwest Washington Tourism Board. Anyone who is interested needs to contact the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce. Judy Brawn told the board a Museum Day is scheduled for December 6, with several events and pictures with Santa Claus. Admission is free, yet the exact time of the event is to be determined. She told the board that Sargasso Sea is planning again for...
There is no longer an excuse to not work out in Wahkiakum County. Dave Gehrman and Julie Fritsch have opened “The Cathlamet Gym” on Main Street and it is sure to please athletes and non athletes of all ages. Always the entrepreneur, Gehrman made his own weight room in his parent’s basement as a kid. “I made all my own weights out of concrete and pipe,” he said. Then his friends would come over and work out too. He moved his makeshift gym to an abandoned gas station in Longview; more people came to work out. Thus, “Dave’s Body Shop” was bor...
The housing market continues to be questionable in many areas of the United States; a survey of Wahkiakum County’s situation real estate business shows a range of opinion. Broker Kay Cochran of Lower Columbia Realty said that from January 2007 to late October of this year, LCR had 36 residential sales, which was down from 2006. Last year started with a gentle downturn, she said, but it ended as a really productive year in real estate. “What is happening with the economy right now has affected our entire nation," Cochran said. "This area is not...
The Wahkiakum PUD board of commissioners met Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics. Monday’s county wide power outage was due to another utilities crew dropping a tree on a BPA 115 KV transmission line in the Vernonia area. The Town of Cathlamet has agreed to a new contract with the PUD over charges they deemed as inappropriately removed. The contract, relating to the Puget Island Water System (PIWS) has been rewritten to the approval of both parties. Manager Dave Tramblie explained the dispute arose when the Town submitted their expenses t...
Representative Dean Takko met with members of diking district #4 to discuss future options for the group. Currently, the district has only one supervisor. Washington state law says, “Each special district shall be governed by a three-member governing body.” (RCW 85.38.070) However, “if only one person files for the position, he or she shall be considered to have been elected to the position at the election that otherwise would have taken place for such position.” (RCW 85.38.115) For the past several months, the board has been conside...
The Wahkiakum School Board met Monday night to discuss the future of the high school remodel project and other issues. Superintendent Bob Garrett told the board he learned from Doug Nichols of the Educational Service District the planned remodel project can be re-evaluated for under $10 million. With the local economic and fiscal pictures both locally and nationally looking rather bleak, Garrett asked the board to consider whether the project should move forward or be put on hold. Board Member Mike Quigley asked what could be fixed now that...
Brown and Kysar Engineers Erik Kysar and Ryan McMaster presented the Wahkiakum PUD with a system planning study for the years 2009-2023 in the PUD commission’s general meeting Tuesday. The study was assembled by the firm as a planning tool for the utility. The local PUD is doing well when compared to other PUD’s of the same size. “Out of probably 50 utilities in the Pacific Northwest, I’d say you guys are in the top five percentile of financial health, seriously,” Kyser said. In other business, in 2013, the Federal Communications Commissio...
“Fight, Mules, Fight! We’re here to win tonight!,” yell the Wahkiakum Cheerleaders during a recent practice. The group of ten girls jump, scream and perform stunts to keep the crowd motivated during football and basketball seasons. The girls usually practice two days a week for around 90 minutes, but that will depend on the weather. On nicer, sunnier days, they may be out longer. “We try not to have too many practices because it interferes with school work, and everybody wants to go home sometime,” said Assistant Coach Raedyn Grasseth, who has...
By next summer, Wahkiakum County will form a group to assist the community in case of a large scale emergency. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is comprised of retired doctors and nurses and other health professionals that could help the county in case of pandemic. Health and Human Services Director Judy Bright said the MRC was founded in 2002 in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In his State of the Union Address that year, President George W. Bush asked all Americans to volunteer support to their country. The MRC is in partnership with Citi...
“Don’t touch the bats!” That is the message from Health and Human Services Director Judy Bright. This year, there have been three reports of rabid bats in Wahkiakum County--one on Puget Island, one in Cathlamet, and one on the Westend. There has been at least one confirmed bite of a child, who was with four other children at the time, on the Westend. All five children received prophylaxis medication, Bright said. The only way to know if a bat is rabid is to capture it and send it off to the state lab for testing. The best way to capture a bat...
The Wahkiakum PUD board of commissioners met Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics. PUD Lineman Shane Pfenniger gave the board an update on the boring machine the PUD purchased last summer. He explained how the equipment works and about the problems they have faced since installation. He said the tracking device isn’t working as well as hoped and felt a new one would be beneficial. Pfenniger told the board the price of a new device would be approximately $16,000. The board authorized Pfenniger to go ahead with the purchase. Energy Northwest S...
