Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 44
Trinity Klecker, 15, started racing stand up jet skis in April. Now she is ranked sixth in the world in women's competition. At that same event, the IJSBA World Finals at Lake Havasu, she also took 10th place in the world competing against grown men on a stock jet ski. She is frequently competing against people with faster jet skis. And beating them. Trinity was initially considered a junior, which is the class for 13-15 year olds, but she was good enough that officials agreed to move her up to...
The Cathlamet town council on Monday took initial steps to raise water and sewer rates for customers of its utilities. The council is reacting to reports from an accountant and town staff who have stated that current rates aren't high enough to keep the two systems solvent. Rates are set in ordinances, and the council voted to approve for first reading an ordinance temporarily increasing water rates 10 percent and sewer rates 20 percent. The ordinance must be approved at two council meetings; the second approval should come at the council's...
Vocational Agriculture teacher, Kyle Hurley attended October’s Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday as a representative of the Farm Forest Advisory Board. He also talked about the Career Technical Education Program (CTE) and plans for a greenhouse on school property. According to Hurley, the advisory board had received an offer of about $700/1,000 board feet for some of the Douglas fir on Farm Forest property, which belongs to the school district. The board thought t...
People will be able to dispose of unused or expired medications this Saturday in Cathlamet. Members of the Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office and Wahkiakum Community Network will collect the medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday in the Cathlamet Pharmacy parking lot. The collection is for prescription and over the counter drugs and medications. The main goal of the collection is to keep the chemicals out of the groundwater and environment, said Undersheriff Gary Howell. People shouldn’t throw them into the garbage or flush them int...
In the past two months, we've printed a lot of election coverage in The Eagle. Last week, it was candidates for state representative and senate; the week before, it was county commission. We've printed Associated Press (AP) stories on state races and most initiatives. We've attended candidate forums in Skamokawa and Cowlitz County. We missed the forum in Grays River because our Cathlamet crew was busy at meetings there and the Grays River crew was flooded in. We've even had a bit of coverage of the presidential debates. One issue we haven't...
To The Eagle: This letter is my plea for folks to support the Proposition 1 Public Safety Levy this November. I am voting yes for this levy. Why? There are several reasons. For 15 years our property taxes have been capped at 1 percent maximum increase per year. While property taxes remain at 1 percent increase per year, our public safety expenses increase anywhere from 3-4 percent, so the gap is widening each year between revenue to fund basic services and the cost to perform these services. We don’t have the retail tax revenue in our county t...
To The Eagle: Enough is enough. No less than three times, Commissioner Cothren has ranted in a public forum about how the town has done nothing regarding our challenges with sewer concerns. He also stated he met with me regarding this a year ago. That is simply not true. He also stated the town hampered extending sewer service. Also untrue! The town offered to lower hook up fees but the county refused to do the same. Of course the town would like a cooperative effort with the county, but I can't possibly think why Commissioner Cothren wishes...
To The Eagle: I write this letter to encourage the voters of Wahkiakum and Pacific counties to vote for Doug Goelz for Judge of the Superior Courts of Pacific and Wahkiakum counties. I would also thank outgoing Judge Mike Sullivan for his years of fine service to the people of Wahkiakum and Pacific counties as Superior Court Judge. The citizens of these two counties are presented with two fine candidates for the open seat on the bench created by Judge Mike Sullivan’s retirement. I have known and practiced primarily criminal defense law b...
In last week's story about trust timber revenue for Wahkiakum County, The Eagle incorrectly reported that the county would receive an additional $900,000 from an exchange of timber encumbered by endangered species harvest restrictions. County officials had anticipated receiving the funds and had included them when they developed budgets last fall for 2016....
To The Eagle: With our national presidential race totally off the rails and crashing through la-la land, it's refreshing to have our local county commissioner race generate some good old-fashioned hate and dissension over traditional issues like truth and integrity -- and sewers. Wow! As the original curmudgeon who coined the phrase "sewer to nowhere," I'm inclined to offer my own take on sewer history, which differs slightly from Dan Cothren's. A decade back, our county commissioners, in their perennial condition of being short of funds, got...
To The Eagle: I am writing in support of Greg Prestegard for county commissioner. Greg and I have been the best of friends for nearly 50 years. I believe I know him as well as anyone and can speak to the qualities that he can bring to the commission. Greg is a leader. He was a well respected manager at the Reynolds aluminum mill. I have many friends that worked for him and with him and their comments have always been favorable. I worked with Greg as a volunteer fireman and saw first hand a take charge attitude to get things done. We served...
To The Eagle: Regarding Mr. Cothren’s letter last week, I wholeheartedly agree with the heading: “Please vote for integrity.” In that spirit, I write to clarify the inaccuracies that Mr. Cothren attributed to me. First, I never presented at any county commissioner meetings in 2015. All of the meeting minutes are online, so it is easy to see that his statement is false. I did present on October 7, 2014 and November 12, 2014. The first time was to request that the commissioners meet with the Town to re-negotiate their interlocal agreement regar...
Scott Wilson, a senior account executive from Bonneville Power Administration, attended Tuesday morning’s Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners meeting. He spoke at length about the PUD’s contract with BPA and the current rate case and answered commissioners’ questions. General Manager Dave Tramblie gave a report about the PUD’s work over the stormy weekend. The weather was not nearly as bad as had been expected, but crews were still busy. “We had a little bit of wind Friday and Saturday,...
Members of the Pioneer Community Association invite the public to join them this Saturday to clean up Cathlamet. As part of National Make a Difference Day, volunteers will bring gloves, hoes, clippers and other tools to clean up side walks and brush around the town. They'll meet at the Pioneer Community Center at 9 a.m. and work till noon. The event is part of the national Make A Difference Day program, which has awarded the PCA a $100 grant to aid the clean up effort. The Make a Difference Day program is one of the largest annual single-days...
PLENTY NASTY--While some folks were complaining about the fact that the "big one" didn't hit us this past Saturday, there were plenty of folks, like me, that felt like our prayers had been answered when another low formed to the west of the "big eye" and drew enough power from it, that those of us in our area and most up north, did not experience too much damage. There were exceptions of course, like down on the Oregon coast where a tornado hit a couple of towns, and were truly devastated, so that was pretty horrific. For all those folks along...
Presented by Jason and Jami Rainey of Skamokawa, with help from Mike and Julie Iverson and Brian O’Conner, the third annual haunted house will be held at the fairgrounds in the horse arena from Friday, October 28 through Monday, October 31 beginning at 6 p.m. each evening. Admission is free this year with donations gladly excepted. Any money donated will go back into the Haunted House to make it bigger, better and scarier next year. The Raineys really enjoy doing this project. This is the third year they have built a haunted house at the f...
THURSDAY Rosburg Community Club, 7 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Congregational Church, Noon. Cathlamet First Aid Division, Fire Hall, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, First Aid Division, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, ambulance training, 7 p.m. Wahkiakum Fire District No. 4, 7 p.m. Westside Play & Learn Group, Valley Bible Church, 9:30-11 a.m. Community Library & Computer Center, GRVC at Johnson Park, 1-5 p.m. West End Food Pantry, GRVC at Johnson Park, 1-5 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds...
Do we live in the “wild and wilder” northwest or what? This past weekend was certainly an eye opener as to Mother Nature’s power and ferocity. I thought I was prepared for just about everything, but it seems that wasn’t the case as far as my beautiful old walnut tree was concerned. I have no idea how old it was, but as I stood in my living room watching the wind and rain, that monstrous tall tree just decided to lay over into the yard below our house. It was surreal, as if in slow motion. It is like losing an old friend. As I finish up this ar...
The Naselle-Grays River Valley School District Board of Directors met for its monthly meeting on Tuesday. A contract for construction of a road approach off Highway 4 was awarded to Lindstrom Construction. WSSDA policies 5211, Transfers of Staff ,and 5221, Part-time Staff, were deleted. The board conducted a first reading of the following WSSDA Policies: 4218, Language Access; 4210, Dangerous Weapons; 5001, Hiring Retired School Employees; 6882, Sale of Real Property; 5610, Substitute Employment, and 3410, Student Health. Architect Erik...
On November 1 at 6:00 p.m., Chris Bischoff of the Cowlitz County Environmental Health Department will discuss about how to maintain and inspect your septic system. Discussion will include learning how a septic system works, how to inspect your system to be sure it is working correctly and what you can do to extend the life of your system. The program, sponsored by Washington State University Extension and the Cowlitz County Environmental Health Department, will be held for free at the Cowlitz Co. Administration Building, Room 300, 207 4th Ave...
Walter W. Kato was born in Astoria, Oregon, on December 2, 1925 and died of natural causes on October 15, 2016 in his home in Deep River, Washington. Walter was a life-long resident of Deep River, growing up on the farm, attending school, and learning the skills of farming and fishing from his father. Walter's parents, Gust and Jennie Kato, were both born in Finland and emigrated to America via ocean liner and Ellis Island and traveling by train to the Astoria area before World War I. They met a...
Sarah Jayne Jensen was born on May 1, 1918 in Tonkawa, OK to Ethel and Meade Campbell, and died October 13, 2016, at the age of 98 in Spokane. Sarah was raised on a farm in Elk and graduated from Riverside High School. Throughout her high school years she participated in baseball and basketball programs, making her an avid and lifelong baseball fan. Occupations included cooking in different positions from wheat ranches to school lunch programs for most of her adult life. Sarah and Don were married after Pearl Harbor was bombed, and WWII was...
On October 13, 2016 at approximately 7:25 a.m., Clarice Joy (Trotter) Peterson (a natural force of nature) left this world to be reunited with her husband, family and friends on that other shore so often talked about. Her arrival there possibly sparked fears of invasion. Joy was born to Clarence Howard Trotter and Mamie Alice (Brooks) Trotter at home in Harvey, Scott County, Arkansas on the evening of February 1, 1952, the last of seven children. The family moved to the Longview/Kelso area in 1953 and Joy has spent most of her adult life in...
Marjorie Mae Kraxberger (Elder), 89, of Canby, Ore., died October 14, 2016 in Oregon City, Ore. She was born April 30, 1927 in Astoria, Ore., the daughter of the late William and Hazel (Badger) Elder. She graduated as Valedictorian from Naselle High School, class of 1945. She was married to the late Siegfried Kraxberger in Vancouver, Wash., on January 11, 1947 and resided on their farm in Canby, Ore., for 69 years. She was a lifetime member of the Macksburg Lutheran Church. She is survived by her five sons and their spouses, Fred (Pearl),...
Edna Bettyjo Blain, age 87, died October 14, 2016. She was born February 24, 1929 to Alonzo Urban Clay and Gertrude Mildred Gragg Clay in Delano, Calif. The family later moved to Portland, Ore., where she met and married Franklyn L. Blain. They moved to Los Angeles, Calif. In 1949 the couple moved to Rosburg, Wash. They lived their lives together there until Franklyn’s death in 1999. Later Edna moved to Mint Valley Apartments in Longview until her final move to the Canterbury Inn in Longview. Edna’s occuupations included a waitress at the Gra...
