Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 38
My apologies. So many details to try to get right in last week's story about the Wahkiakum School District's 22-year $28.75 million bond to renovate the high school that I completely forgot a really important one, the one that will affect voters in the district. The district is estimating that if the bond passes, the tax increase would be about $3.37 per $1,000 of assessed property value. According to Wahkiakum County Assessor Bill Coons, the median home in Wahkiakum County is $250,000. That...
SR 4 will be closed for an undetermined time because of a landslide blocking the highway near the eastern base of KM Mountain. The slide occurred late Thursday afternoon, dumping debris over a stretch of pavement at approximately milepost 25. Because of the amount of material on the highway, SR 4 will remain closed until Washington State Department of Transportation Geo-Technical engineers can examine the hillside and determine what work needs to be done to reopen the highway. Geo-techs came to...
Washington Department of Transportation engineers hope to have a single lane of traffic open soon around the slide blocking SR 4 on KM Mountain. "Soon" is probably next week but possibly as early as late this week. District Construction Engineer Christopher Tams said Tuesday he has hired a contractor to begin removing trees and other debris that have blocked the highway since last Thursday afternoon. Crews would mobilize Tuesday and Wednesday at each side of the slide and begin working toward each other, he said. The rate of progress will...
By Diana Zimmerman The Broadband Committee met Monday for an update from the Wahkiakum PUD on the project to provide broadband for the east side of Wahkiakum County. PUD General Manager David Tramblie said that the PUD had determined GPS coordinates for poles in the county east of KM and sent that information to Noanet, who has been working on a broadband feasibility study for them, paid by a grant from the Community Economic Revitalization Board. Noanet is currently focused on mapping out the i...
By Rick Nelson The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is considering lowering speed limits on SR 4 through Rosburg and Grays River. The department is also considering modifications to the speed limits on SR 409 as it comes off the Puget Island bridge. The county board of commissioners on Tuesday heard a request to send an email to WSDOT agreeing to support lowering the speed limit to 45 mile per hour through Grays River and also establish a no passing zone there. After much discussion, the board agreed to delay a vote on the...
"My dad would say, 'There is always a job that needs doing. Be the one who gets it done,'" Suzanne Holmes said. "He was always encouraging us to start. 'You don't know where it's going to take you. You can't see the finish or you don't think you're going to finish first. Start.'" Holmes is a busy volunteer in Wahkiakum County. Her activities over the years have been so many and so varied that they are unlikely to all be listed here, but it's that drive, and her work with a local summer lunch...
To The Eagle: The Wahkiakum School Bond measure is coming up for a vote and there appears to be a fair amount of misinformation out and about. The current high school building reached its predicted end-of-life 20 years ago, and should have been renewed then, but wasn't. The last bond, 20-plus years ago, upgraded the elementary school to the bare minimum, leaving the school district to absorb ongoing maintenance and ongoing repair costs from money that could have gone into instruction. The predicted cost of this bond, based on the school...
To The Eagle: The Wahkiakum County Democratic Party voted at its general meeting January 11, 2020 to support the Wahkiakum School Bond after studying the facts. We urge everyone to educate themselves on facts and go on a scheduled tour of the high school Thursday and Friday for three weeks. Anyone can also call Brent Freeman at the high school and ask for a tour. Please vote yes for the school bond. The above was written as Vice Chairman of the Wahkiakum County Democratic Party. On a more personal note, for several past years I sent my...
To The Eagle: Haven't written in a while which another person mentioned to me the other day. It's not that I have nothing to say, it's more like no matter what I say it makes no difference. Preaching to the choir is just that and I find myself better able to be friends, good friends, with folks that are diametrically different in thought, philosophy and practice if I keep my thoughts to myself. Given that, I still find it just amazing what is going on in our once great nation. I find it difficult to think that America has been made great by...
Vote no on school bond issue To The Eagle: After reading the very informative article about the needed repairs to our school in last week’s Eagle I had only one thought: How much was this going to cost me? The article cleverly never mentioned the cost to the taxpayer but it did mention that repairs would run about $35,000,000, which, to me, seemed high. In fact I just learned that Elon Musk’s new 600 acre Tesla factory in Germany will run about $45,000,000. So one can see the absurdity of their initial bid for repairs. I have also learned tha...
To The Eagle: Vote Yes for the Wahkiakum School Bond. It’s the necessary and right thing to do. Built in the early ‘60s, the high school was built with pride to last. But it wasn’t built to last forever. The high school has stood nearly 60 years without any significant updates, remodels or repairs. That’s 20 years past the predicted life expectancy and something needs to be done now. Here are some of the reasons why: • There is no sprinkler or other fire suppression system at the HS. • The existing fire alarms do not function properly. • Sch...
To The Eagle: It is no secret that the state of Washington has botched up school finances, the most recent example being the court-ordered enhancement of school funding which our legislature distributed in such a way as to penalize small rural school districts like ours at the expense of larger urban districts. In our local history, a decade-and-a-half ago we defeated a couple of bond issues to replace the J.A.Wendt elementary school for over seven million bucks and ended up with a remodel job for under three, and then-superintendent Bob...
By Rick Nelson Four hours plus: The Cathlamet Town Council met Tuesday for their regular monthly meeting, starting at 6 p.m. and recessing into an executive session around 10:10 p.m. Needless to say, they covered a lot of ground: Some of the highlights: The council agreed to open their Butler Street parking lot on Feb. 14 to public parking. Before the lot is opened, town staff will obtain signs informing parking lot users that they use the lot at their own risk and that the lot is closed 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Council Member David Olson reminded the...
To The Eagle: Silence allowed many dictators to continue their brutal regimes. Since we are allowed to have free speech and opinions in this country, thank God, we are also allowed to point out, what we deem to be bad policy and bad behavior. We have a leader, who has a Senate, Attorney General, Supreme Court and ‘personal’ media outlet. This is hopefully as close as it will get to a dictatorship. The Republican states have done their utmost to quell the votes of those they deem to be voting for Democrats. It is paramount to get out the vot...
To The Eagle: The impeachment crisis is ridiculous. Our legislators can’t see themselves that they, too, are liars and abusers of power. The moment Trump became president, they’ve wasted taxpayers’ dollars yearly hunting for excuses when they should be a team working to MAGA. Our past presidents spent billions of taxpayers’ dollars to other countries. Have those countries paid us back? For example: Former President Obama sent billions to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia for weapons, $225M to Palestine for humanitarian aid and climate change....
To The Eagle: Vote no on school bonds, or you’ll be signing a blank check for unknown costs. The Eagle reports these improvements will cost ‘about’ $35.4M. Ever had a remodel done to your home with an ‘about’ estimate and it actually cost 50 percent more? When you bought your home the bank charged you fees and a loan interest rate based on your credit. By the time you pay off your home you will have paid back more than double/triple the loan amount – same goes for a bond issue. Our county does not have AAA credit rating – so our interest will...
Above: Matt Marshall, leader of the Washington Three Percenters gun rights group, addresses a crowd rallying for Second Amendment rights Jan. 17 at the state Capitol in Olympia. Marshall condemned Republican leadership in the House of Representatives, which expelled Rep. Matt Shea from the Republican Caucus. Marshall announced his candidacy for the 2nd District seat held by House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox. Photo by Cameron Sheppard, WNPA News Service Right: Embattled Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane...
NICER?--After a couple of days of snowy weather and then a couple of outages last week due to strong winds and debris flying everywhere, it's back to just rain and gloomy conditions, so I guess that's some sort of improvement anyway. Of course, by the time you read this, who knows what has happened, but with a little luck, we will just stay damp and dismal and not flooded and totally miserable, as one is certainly more preferred than the other. Here's to calmness this coming week! HOW DID YOU FARE?--Depending on where you were, you may have had...
THURSDAY Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m.-Noon. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Community Center, Cathlamet, 6-7-15 p.m. Sandra Sews, 10:30-Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, The Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. CathlameTones, Hotel Cathlamet, 6 p.m. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. District No. 4 Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, fire/ambulance, 7 p.m. Senior Fitness & Balance Class, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, 12:45-1:45...
Woodworker Extraordinaire Nobody at the Art Show at the Grange would have any idea the impact that the show would have on me. After talking with the artists and others, it occurred to me that there is so much talent in the Westend that it fathoms the imagination. The genius that is in the Westend has been hidden in plain sight. When all those around you can do generously amazing things with their talents, it goes unnoticed because it is so common. One of those talented woodworkers extraordinaire...
Wahkiakum County law enforcement officers and emergency response personnel handled a variety of reports during the past week, including: January 13 – 4:28 a.m. A caller reported that a light was on in the old nursing home. 6:25 a.m. A driver reported that he struck a deer on SR 4 on the east side of KM. 7:29 a.m. A caller reported that a restraining order had been violated. 4:05 p.m. The Cathlamet ambulance aided a Rosedale resident complaining of chest pain, cold sweats, and respiratory issues. 5:37 p.m. A caller said that a Grays River r...
Johnson Park is excited to welcome our newest board member, Dana Hamp. We are looking forward to having Dana on the board. Johnson Park is taking applications for one more position on the board. Applications are available at the Wahkiakum County Courthouse and at Johnson Park. There will be a special commissioners meeting on January 29, at 6 p.m. This meeting is to discuss Johnson Park and the upcoming changes; we welcome any suggestions. Events coming up: Super Sale - March 21: If you would like a table contact Shonda Ware. Sewing Room hours...
Members of the Puget Island Fire Department, in conjunction with the Kiwanis Club of Cathlamet, will be collecting donations for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. All donations will go providing care for children. Look for firefighters on the Birnie Slough Bridge. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated!...
Aubrie Montgomery was honored with a certificate and a check at the last Wahkiakum Lions Club meeting. Aubrie was chosen as the Lions Club December Student of The Month. She is active in multiple school sports, loves the outdoors, camping, hiking, hunting and fishing. She plans to attend LCC and go on to Clark College to get a degree in Dental Hygiene and eventually a Doctoral degree. Pictured with Aubrie are her mother, Gena Montgomery, and Lions Club president Terri Elfers....
The Lower Columbia College (LCC) Foundation has named Joe Fischer as the 2019-20 Benefactor of the Year. Benefactor honorees have a history of providing charitable financial support to the foundation, and/or significant volunteer service to the college. Most notably, contributions from honorees have had major impacts on the college, its programs, students, and the community. “It is with great pleasure that we announce and honor Joe Fischer as this year’s Benefactor of the Year,” said Rich Gushman, LCC Foundation Board Chair. Sharing the love...
