Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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The Grays River Grange hosted a candidate forum moderated by Grangemaster Krist Novoselic. Candidates from state races to local races were invited to speak and answer questions. The Eagle will focus on two local races: Assessor and Sheriff. Candidates for sheriff introduced themselves and then answered questions from the audience. Here are some of their thoughts. Graham Phalen: "I'm a Republican candidate for sheriff. I've lived here for about three years. We moved here so we could combine our...
Highway construction projects on SR 4 and the Puget Island bridge will impact traffic next week. Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) contractors plan to finish work at the slide at Stella very soon, and a new slide stabilization project will start Monday near County Line Park. Following are WSDOT announcements that, 1., outline the status of the projects and, 2., address questions about the bridge work. --- WSDOT News: SR 409 Puget Island Bridge closures Oct. 15-19; New slope stabilization work begins near County Line Park...
The body of a man found in the Columbia River last month has been identified as Puget Island resident Joe Abeyta. Clatsop County Medical Examiner Dr. JoAnn Giuliani said late Friday afternoon that fingerprints confirmed the identity. Abeyta lived alone in a waterfront residence on the northern side of Little Island. He was often seen walking with his dog across Puget Island bridge into Cathlamet to collect his mail. At the request of Dr. Giuliani, newspapers published a detailed description of his clothing, and Wahkiakum County Prosecuting...
A joint effort between Wahkiakum County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow, the defender, and law enforcement resulted in an exceptional sentence that they believe will be in the best interests of the community and Puget Island resident Lee Wages, 55, after he pled guilty to three counts in Superior Court on Monday. Wages pled guilty to attempted assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, and assault in the third degree. Wages was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 24, accord...
Wahkiakum County officials covered a lot of issues when the board of county commissioners met Tuesday, but most of it revolved around erosion. County officials have been working for two years to set up a 10-year program with the US Army Corps of Engineers to place sand dredged out of the Columbia River shipping channel along eroding shorelines on Puget Island and at Cape Horn on the mainland. In the summer, officials and property owners had been told it was likely that Cape Horn would have beach nourishment in late September or October, but...
For weeks, I've been waiting for the edition when we didn't have a letter to the editor regarding the election for county assessor. I've wanted to write an opinion column about the race, but I've wanted to avoid giving the impression that I'm responding to a letter. However, there's been so much interest in the race, the letters keep coming, and I don't think there will be a lull before the ballots come out later this month. And so, here it goes. I met Bill Coons not long after he moved to Wahkiakum County in the early 1990's. At that time, he...
To The Eagle: Nicci Bergseng has done a commendable job as our county auditor, overseeing a multi-million dollar budget for Wahkiakum County. Nicci assists the county commissioners and department heads in balancing the budget and reporting financials to the state auditor. She has been involved in three state audits, overseeing the last two. Nicci has received outstanding marks in every one. Being county auditor requires a skill set that goes beyond being great at accounting and numbers. Nicci has proven to be a great manager as well. Nicci, as...
To The Eagle: Every vote is needed and counts. I have bragged about our county’s voters for years with our high turn outs. I hope to continue doing so. Your party affiliation or how you vote pales to the importance of registering and voting in our elections. Vote on the issues and the people not the hype. Having had a tie election in the past I can assure you every vote is important. Please encourage everyone to participate in voting. Thank you. Commissioner Blair Brady Rosburg...
To The Eagle: I have lived in Wahkiakum County for 50 years. I worked in the assessor’s office for almost 10 years appraising timber and real property. I am now a board member on the Board of Equalization and have been for 10 years. The Board of Equalization is an appeals board for the assessor’s values. Normally the board hears 10-12 appeals most years. The previous assessor had 168 appeals in her last as assessor. She had no experience in property valuation. The board also had to revalue Puget Island land values. Bill Coons has done a goo...
To The Eagle: It’s not surprising that Bill Coons is conducting a negative campaign when it was he who insisted it should be clean. It’s not out of character for him to take another person’s comments out of context to design an attack ad. And it’s to be expected that he would make a campaign promise to hold an appeals workshop but renege on it in the end. Mr. Coons plays politician as he has conducted himself as assessor. However, what does surprise and bother me is the number of people, including Bill Coons himself, who point proudly to his...
To The Eagle: It's time to Tidy the Town again! The Pioneer Center Association will be holding the biannual event Saturday, October 27, and are hoping to have a good turnout of people looking to improve the town's appearance. Meet at the Community Center on Main Street at 9 a.m., with gloves and tools, and plan to have a good time making Cathlamet trash and weed-free once more. If you have questions, please contact Suzanne Holmes (360-430-6184), April Peterson (971-404-6184) or Pat Battaglia (360-703-1185). We are looking forward to seeing...
To The Eagle: After speaking with Matt Kuhl and asking many questions of him, we feel that Matt is fully qualified to fill the position as Wahkiakum County Auditor. His education, accounting degree, experience as well as his ability to listen to and answer questions are also huge assets. He is honest and believes in being transparent and accountable to the citizens of the county. We support Matt Kuhl in his run for Wahkiakum County Auditor. Sincerely, John & NovaLee Knopp Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Recent letters to the editor have been great reading. I have a concern, though. In Wahkiakum County, rarely do we have great voter turnout! In our current political races, I fervently wish for all who can vote, to vote! Remember when we had to go somewhere to vote? Not anymore. It only takes a short time to fill out the ballot and send it in. No trip anywhere and no gas used. You can leave your robe on by the fire and just make some marks, if you’d like, then mail it in or drop it off at the Courthouse. How easy is that? I even r...
To The Eagle: A few of last week’s letters to the editor about my candidacy deserve a response. Mary Gustafson questioned my integrity due to a structure on my wife’s property. She should get her facts straight. My wife owns the property where I live. The title is in her name along with her late first husband. I have no ownership interest in her property. She has lived here for over 40 years. She is Finnish. She built the mökki on her land. Mary attributes everything about the mökki to me. It’s no secret that Michael Baccellieri launche...
To The Eagle: We are voting for Matt Kuhl because he is truly the wise choice to fill the position of Wahkiakum County Auditor. Matt grew up in Cathlamet and graduated from Wahkiakum High School. Matt served in the military after high school and was deployed twice for active duty in the ongoing Middle East conflict. After military service Matt attended WSU/Vancouver where he received an accounting degree, and is currently working at an accounting firm in Longview. Matt is a homeowner in Cathlamet and is currently volunteering at our local...
To The Eagle: Mark Howie has proven he is the only candidate for the job. When I first met Mark and his wife Debb, they were both so excited about being a part of our community, and to this day he is still volunteering, attending and promoting community development. Mark is a professional, he goes above and beyond the call, and is very concerned and dedicated about mental and physical health issues. He is a positive leader and expects his officers and staff to treat everyone with respect. He is very dedicated to his career and the safety of...
By Diana Zimmerman The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners listened to reports, and went over the preliminary budget for 2019 on October 2. Jim Jespersen of the water crew was in attendance to share what he had learned at a recent conference. The PUD has been transitioning to automated meter reading meters, and the technology, which cuts down on the amount of time employees spend reading meters manually, solves one problem but creates another. Meters are “disappearing,” Jesperson sai...
LAST WEEK--At the end of last week, it sure poured, as by bedtime on Friday night, we were just shy of an inch and a half of rain that day, so it was a real soaker. Luckily, even though the skies were black in the morning, the rain let up for Saturday and we wound up with a pretty decent day. Forecasters say that we may even have a few drier days with some warmer temperatures coming our way this week, so that would certainly be enjoyable after the soaking we got! SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Oct. 11-17 are Heidi Heywood, Sami...
THURSDAY Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. AA Meeting, The Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, 7 p.m. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Hope Center, 3rd & Maple, Cathlamet, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Puget Island Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. Port District No. 1, 500 2nd St., 5 p.m. District No. 4 Fire Department, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire District No. 3 Commissioners, 7:30 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, fiire training, 7 p.m....
Greetings from the fair office. Hope everyone is enjoying the start of October. This is a busy month at the fairgrounds. This Saturday is the monthly Flea Market. We have several vendors. So come out to the fairgrounds and find yourself a treasure. You name it we probably have it. It starts at 9 a.m., and runs till 3 p.m. We still have tables available for $10 each. Jason and his crew are getting the haunted house ready. If you have some spare time and would like to help him give him a call and he can let you know what time he is out at the...
News from Naselle: Sports calendar for this week: Today (Thursday), high school volleyball in Naselle with WSD at 6 p.m.; Friday, high school football at Darrington at 6 p.m.; Saturday, high school volleyball JV Tournament in Naselle at 8:30 a.m.; Tuesday, middle school football in Naselle with Knappa at 4 p.m., high school volleyball at CAA at 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, middle school volleyball in Naselle with North Beach at 5:45 p.m. Go Comets! The Naselle-Grays River Valley School Board will hold their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday at 6:30...
Wahkiakum County law enforcement officers and emergency response personnel handled a variety of reports during the past week, including: October 1 — 8:56 a.m. A cow appeared to be injured in a Skamokawa field. The owner was notified. 9:03 a.m. Visitors to Vista Park reported that several items had been stolen during the night. 9:43 a.m. A caller asked to speak to a deputy about someone bringing drugs into a hospital in Longview. He was advised to contact the Longview Police Department or security at the hospital. 1:34 p.m. An erratic driver was...
Monday night the African Children's Choir from Uganda brought a ray of sunshine through our area to Valley Bible Church in Grays River with their colorful upbeat performance touching the hearts of the packed sanctuary. Photo courtesy of Pearl Blackburn....
On Monday, Kristen Stebbins, the owner of Embrace Fitness and Nutrition LLC, taught her first Zumba class in Cathlamet. By day's end, she'd taught two more, and she was feeling less nervous and more excited about her new venture. Stebbins, who moved to Wahkiakum County with her family about a year ago, was from Rainier, Ore., and very active in the Crossfit community in Longview. The move made it more difficult to participate. She bought equipment and tried to continue her workouts at home, but...
Wahkiakum High School student Beau Carlson, who sustained a head injury while making a tackle in a football game a little over a month ago, was back in the hospital three days after being released from Seattle’s Children’s hospital on September 28. According to Amber Wassell Mace, who set up a Go Fund Me account for Carlson and his family, Beau is at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, fighting a bacterial infection in his brain. It has caused inflammation and resulted in debilitating headaches, nausea, and swelling. “The inflammation of the brain...
