Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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As January rolls to its end, daffodils bloom along Cathlamet's Columbia Street. Photo by Rick Nelson....
The implementation of Washington’s highly-touted and highly controversial long-term care program should be delayed by 18 months, lawmakers in both the House and Senate decided this week. In a floor debate Jan. 26, the Senate voted 46-3 in favor of delaying both the collection of premiums and WA Cares Fund’s implementation. And on Jan. 19, the House of Representatives did the same, voting 91-6 in favor of the same bill. This bill would result in the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program known as WA Cares Fund, signed in 2019, to beg...
By Rick Nelson "Water, water, everywhere," says the old poem, and it could well have been describing Wahkiakum County's January. December's snow and January's rain pushed streams out of the banks, flooded roads and properties, and sent local agencies looking for answers to the challenge of maintaining infrastructure. Three local agencies shared their challenges at Tuesday's meeting of the board of county commissioners. Poul Toftemark of the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District described a...
There were seven new cases of covid-19, this week, with three reported last Thursday and four more on Tuesday, bringing the cumulative total to 294. Of those, 24 are considered potentially active. The risk of contracting covid-19 in Washington is very high, according to the press release from Wahkiakum Health and Human Services, and they confirm that there is “active community spread” in the county. WHHS says that vaccines are the best possible protection from covid-19, and that boosters are rec...
Positive covid-19 cases have affected the Wahkiakum Mule boys basketball team, the girls basketball team, and the wrestling team, halting athletics this week. “[They] have shut down for the week and we hope that will put a stop to things for now,” Athletic Director Rob Garrett said. “Problem is this isn’t a school or sports problem, it’s everywhere. We are just using the numbers and guidelines we have been given and trying to allow our kids to play the safest way possible.” The Mules are tentatively set to resume their games on Monday. Che...
By Diana Zimmerman Covid-19 seems to be causing staffing issues everywhere right now, including the Wahkiakum Clinic, which was closed last Thursday and Friday. “All of our clinics are just getting slammed with covid-19,” Cowlitz Family Health Center (CFHC) Director Jim Coffee said on Monday. “Most of our staff are vaccinated and are just being taken down by the omicron virus. It’s been pretty devastating. We’ve had a couple clinics that have been closed off and on because we don’t have any st...
There are three variations of homelessness that Wahkiakum Health and Human Services Community Services Manager Julie Johnston sees in Wahkiakum County. There are those who are literally on the streets, or living in cars, without easy access to anything; another version the school usually sees are families doubled or tripled up in housing, or couch-surfing, where they might have a roof over their heads but it’s not permanent, or it may be more than one place over and over. The third, or what J...
This week, I received a ballot in the mail to vote on a tax levy for the Wahkiakum School District. I marked the box to support the levy. They call it an enrichment levy. The state legislature has determined that the state is paying for the cost of basic education, and voters in local school districts can use these special levies to enrich their programs. For the Wahkiakum School District, enrichment means future technology needs; music instruments; transportation to band competitions and athletic events; safety equipment; for grass and water...
To The Eagle: Last week’s Eagle had two particularly well written articles. James, to your rhetorical question of “why,” I think the answer comes down to the age-old balance beam of “fear and greed,” and then often justified with religion. When you peel the onion back, this is the political metric that is usually at the core. You call the religious aspect a cudgel, I call it a crutch. I think the last line in the other Eagle article about denial and CRT is a great example of this supposed justification. PS: Regarding your PS: I wonder ho...
To The Eagle: Folks should have received a ballot in the mail this week for a levy to replace an existing educational programs and operations levy. That's it! Nothing else on the ballot. Boring. Boring. Boring. But it's pretty darned important, and I'm writing to encourage people to return those ballots. It's not a slam-dunk that it will pass. Our schools operate using a combination of state dollars (about 80%) and local school levies (20%). We have the third lowest levy rate in the state at $1.90 per thousand dollars. In fact, the rate will dr...
To The Eagle: It is not an extra tax and its approval by voters will not increase your property taxes. Instead, by voting for the renewal of the existing levy, voters indicate that they want a certain amount of their existing property tax to be used to fund, for example, school projects (sports, drama, band) and the purchase of safety equipment (defibrillators). In past years, based on the consent of voters, as much as $2.36 per $1,000/assessed property value (APV) was allocated to such projects. This time, the school board of the Wahkiakum...
To The Eagle: On social media we are seeing some folks campaigning against the levy whose end goal appears to be that Wahkiakum school district ceases to exist. They are possibly misinformed about the costs of doing that. According to Washington State, Wahkiakum currently has the third lowest special levey rate of all counties in the state, at $1.90/$1,000. Source: https://dor.wa.gov/about/statistics-reports/average-levy-rates-county-interactive-data-graphic. Our estimated levy rate if the levy passes is $1.78/$1,000. Source: Voters pamphlet. I...
To The Eagle: The Wahkiakum Lions Club wishes to thank Diana Zimmerman for her great article about the LC Medical Equipment Loan Closet. It has already created help for several people in this community who needed items to help in their recovery. Also, we have received donations of equipment from Kelly Head, Hannah Booth, Linda DeHart and others who’s names I did not get. Thank you all. Because of you I can now add a hospital bed and transfer poles to my list of loan items. Carol McClain Keeper of the Loan Closet...
To The Eagle: We plan to vote “yes” on the replacement levy for the Wahkiakum School district (February 8 special election) and urge our neighbors to do the same. This simple, minimal measure carries forward the existing school levy and helps provide critical funding to address class sizes, technology, safety equipment, Mule athletics and necessary staff. The school district is not asking for an increase in funds, in fact district tax rates are projected to decrease over time. Families, children and quality of life improve when schools are ade...
To The Eagle: The ballots are out for voting on the renewal of our school district levy. Yes, renewal, not a new levy or tax, but replacing the expiring 4-year levy the school district is currently collecting. The estimated levy rate is $1.78/per $1,000 of assessed value according to the Official Local Voters Pamphlet. The previous 4-year levy was approved at $2.36/$1,000. The amount the levy currently collects is $997,000, the same amount the replacement levy will collect beginning in 2023. Yes, property values may continue to rise and if...
To The Eagle: A writer in last week’s paper suggested that the reason many good people don't want to run for office has something to do with religion being used as a cudgel (stick). The real reason many good people don't run for office is that the two parties have at the ready, a professional smear machine designed to destroy anyone that dares to challenge the political establishment. I think good people should run for office and point out to the voters that when the smears start, and they will, the words of Jesus Christ apply, “Let him amongst...
To The Eagle: My number1 hope for this country and continued democracy, is to pass the two voting rights bills currently in Congress. Sadly did not happen. Some years ago, it would have been a large bipartisan vote, now zero Republicans will vote for it! Sad! Next, I hope the roughly 15+ percent of the adult population that remains stubbornly unvaccinated, who are at the greatest risk of severe illness and death from the omicron variant, will somehow change their minds. My hopes also come in the form of appreciating, where we have so much...
To The Eagle: The school levy for Wahkiakum School District will be voted on February 8, 2022. Every school district in Washington State has a school levy that provides for maintenance of basic needs - books, teachers, teacher assistants, special education tools, extra curricular activities, and school building maintenance to name a few. A school levy is not just for schools but helps define the community it is in. If this school levy does not pass, the school will not have money for basic needs. Eventually, if not immediately, families will...
To The Eagle: As a recent writer adroitly pointed out, you’re not likely to read about American Communist activities in the local paper. They’re simply not exciting enough. You’d have to subscribe to the People’s World newspaper which informs the 5000 members of the American Communist Party. Connecticut’s World People’s Committee is a branch of our domestic Communist party and they met recently to present the Amistad Award to four dedicated labor organizers for their tireless efforts to advance worker rights, equality, and social justice. Th...
Forcing higher densities in Washington’s cities will help reduce housing costs, cut fuel emissions and put an end to exclusionary zoning, supporters of House Bill 1782 say. Critics of the idea, however, say it will require significant overhauls in city infrastructure and reduce local control of housing options. The bill addresses the “missing middle,” housing options that exist between single-family homes and apartment complexes, such as duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. The bill requires cities to allow middle housing in every zone where...
Washington marijuana users won’t face losing their job over a positive drug test if a proposal under consideration in the state Legislature wins approval. SB 5517 would update the Washington law that currently allows employers to turn-away job applicants and fire employees for testing positive for marijuana use in drug screenings. Prime sponsor of the bill, Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, said current employment laws must be reformed to accommodate recreational legalization of the drug. “The war on drugs has had a really negative impact on...
Young adults will be able to access a fund years from now to give them a boost if lawmakers pass a bill aimed at narrowing the gap between the rich and poor. Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, sponsor of HB 1861, said the Washington Future Fund Trust would act as a savings and investment account for babies born under the state’s Medicaid program, Apple Health. Beginning in 2024, a minimum of $3,200 will be set aside for each eligible child to access between their 18th and 31st birthdays. “I think it’s an exciting way to deal with a lot of the c...
Advocates hope mandatory conservation of key habitat areas will help salmon runs recover, but opponents worry farmers will pay a price. House Bill 1838, to be known as the Lorraine Loomis Act in honor of the late Northwest Indian Fisheries Commissioner, will reserve land on public and private property near salmon bearing waterways. Prime sponsor of the bill, Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Anacortes, said salmon play a vital cultural and economic role in Washington. The potential loss of the species will affect all Washingtonians, she said. “Salmon a...
COLD BEGINNING--As this week began, we not only saw some extreme fogginess, but it was also below freezing, which meant the water buckets for the animals were covered in ice and it definitely meant being inside was much more pleasant. Once the fog let up, we did get to see some sunshine which was most welcome. According to the forecast, we are going to be back to rain by this weekend, so while I didn't care much for the freezing cold, I sure enjoyed the dry part that came with it. Let's hope the rainy stretch is a short one! FINGERS...
THURSDAY Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. District No. 4 Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, fire/ambulance, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Wahkiakum Planning Commission, Courthouse, 6 p.m. Wahkiakum Commissioners, Courthouse, 9:30 p.m. Walking Group, Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m. Eastside Play & Learn Group, St. James Family Center, 10-11:30 a.m. West End Food Pantry, GRVC at Johnson Park, 1-5 p.m. Wahkiakum Food Bank, 42 Elochoman Valley Rd., 3-5 p.m. Sewing Room, GRVC at Johnson Park, 11 a.m....
