Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1079 - 1103 of 2569
To The Eagle: The time has come for Bill Wainwright to step up, cross the line and apply to fill the vacancy on Cathlamet’s town council. He is energetic, committed and opinionated. He does not agree with the mainstream view on the body – whose proponents have remarkably thin skin to criticism or scrutiny. And he claims to support the notions of fairness and transparency. To which I say: show us. Bill might benefit from seeing the process from inside, a perspective that would likely moderate his views somewhat. The council majority – which...
To The Eagle: El Presidente’s declaration of a national “emergency,” delivered in his usual tortured syntax and devoid of course, of accurate facts, attempted to bend everyone’s attention toward the imaginary invasion at our southern border by the unwashed hordes of Central America. That’s the magic of Trump. Magic is an art of distraction and misdirection. Our Magician In Chief’s political sleight of hand is being performed to misdirect our scrutiny away from the real crisis threatening our republic. Our voter’s franchise is under assault...
To The Eagle: Howard Brawn’s recent opinion letter presents muddled insinuations that infanticide is about to become the new normal in New York because of its revised abortion statute. Nothing could be further from the truth, always the first casualty in the discussion about abortion and a woman’s right to autonomy regarding her reproductive choices. For women whose difficult pregnancy has become dangerously toxic or whose fetus’ heart has stopped beating, a late term abortion can preserve such a mother’s life. Other exigent circums...
To The Eagle: It is too bad the folks that drafted proposition 1639 did not include some form of “Opt Out” clause for those who live in rural areas and from time to time have immediate need for defense of family members or livestock from predators, both two and four-legged. A while ago my ex-wife saw a coyote in the yard trying to catch her pet chickens. Fortunately for all involved I heard the ruckus and ran around the house to see what was going on. There was my wife, who did not like having guns in the house, hanging out the window scr...
To The Eagle: JA Wendt PTO is looking for donations of seeds for our assistance with The Roots Project. We are in need of these varieties: Cucumber, tomato, bell peppers, peas, and green beans. These can be dropped off at 380 S 2nd Street, there will be a container out for them. Any questions, contact me at 360-795-1075. Thank you so much for your generosity to help our kids grow and eat more fresh vegetables. Thank you! Kristen Stebbins Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Feeling a bit like crossing pens with some of our local more conservative readers/writers so after a several month hiatus here goes. I challenge each one to read, or re-read, Grapes of Wrath. Written in 1939 this book is as timely today as it was 80 years ago when it first was published, earning Steinbeck the Pulitzer for literature. Of course the times are different, the characters are different along with the technology but the human tragedy is just as current today as it was yesteryear. There are so many things going really...
To The Eagle: This is a common question and it is rarely understood. It is easier to understand if one compares the Medical model with the Public Health model. The Medical model (Doctors of Medicine) treats sickness—indigent or wealthy. Public Health on the other hand is the science that prevents sickness in both the indigent and wealthy. Public Health does this in four ways: 1. We remove noxious agents from the environment; such agents as lead, arsenic, formaldehyde, hydrocarbons that cause cancer, asbestos, etc. 2. We interrupt modes of trans...
To The Eagle: As the Sheriff of Wahkiakum County, it is my sworn oath to uphold the United States Constitution and the laws and Constitution of the State of Washington as well as the laws of my county. With nearly three decades of law enforcement experience I have never refused to enforce a law in this state. And I will continue to enforce the laws. However, when a law is passed that is in direct conflict with each and everyone’s constitutional rights, I have an obligation to step back and take a harder look. While the constitutionality of I...
To The Eagle: I am not sure how many people are aware that there have been recent discussions regarding the possibility of a merge between Port District 1 and Port District 2 of Wahkiakum County. There may be cost benefits to merge, which could be passed on to the tax payers. On the other hand, there are worries that perhaps it would result in some areas being underrepresented. There is also the thought out there that if it works don't fix it. At this point there is no agenda out there that is a driving force, it is more of an input gathering...
To The Eagle: Although there’s much to criticize regarding the administration of our county, the crews that take care of our roads and electrical service are exceptional. I want to thank all the men (and women?) who were out throughout the night to make sure we were safe on the roads and warm in our homes. Ursula Petralia Skamokawa...
To The Eagle: The Washington Coast Restoration and Resiliency Initiative (WCRRI) provides valuable funds for salmon restoration projects in southwest Washington. Local restoration practitioners like the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) rely on WCRRI to fund habitat restoration projects that restore essential habitat for juvenile salmonids, update and enhance aging infrastructure, create local jobs, improve our natural resources, and make southwest Washington a more vibrant place to live. CREST is currently developing two...
To The Eagle: I’ve been thinking about immigration a lot these days. Here I sit in my nice house on Sunday morning looking at the lovely view I have of ‘my’ valley, thinking about the Indians who lived here first. I think I’m an immigrant, too. I migrated from Indiana to West Virginia, to Texas, to Colorado and to Alaska, then to Seattle, then to Wahkiakum County. I had so many stories from other places that my neighbor, Bob Torppa, asked me one day where I was “really” from, but I didn’t know what to say. I thought about it and my best answe...
To The Eagle: In the perennial pursuit to promulgate a Progressive Utopian Paradise (PUP), Governor Cuomo of New York has signed into law legislation enabling third trimester abortion up to actual live birth and in some cases beyond, as one formless and grammarless defender put it, “into the fourth trimester.” Virginia has enacted equally egregious legislation, and several other states including California are marching in lockstep in that direction, and some of the Democrat Party’s rather bizarre collection of 2020 presidential wannabes have...
To The Eagle: Although the judge determined that there are no legal grounds for recalling three members of the town council for misfeasance regarding the purchase of the lot next to the Bank of the Pacific, the bad odor surrounding these good people persists. Why, when there is a shortfall in funds for desirable expenditures such as the town library, did these officials authorize the purchase of a contaminated property not needed by the town? Why did the negotiated purchase price exceed the appraised value by $28,000? Lastly, why did the...
To The Eagle: Puget Island Volunteers are participating this year in Doernbecher’s Children’s Hospital “Fill The Boot” on Saturday and Sunday January 26 and 27. Stop by and donate to a wonderful cause. Hope to see you there! Sherrill Bollen Puget Island Volunteer Firefighters...
Happy new year! Well the new year is getting started with a kick and the Sheriff's Office is abuzz with several new deputies! Two of our new recruits already lived in our county at the time of hire and all of them are excited and dedicated to protecting and serving this county with professionalism and honor, and all have a public servant's heart. Upon graduation from the academy we will be posting their photos, bios, and introducing them to the community. We are looking to fill one corrections/dispatch position and are going to have a local...
To The Eagle: Formally registered as the Cathlamet Pioneer Center, but known by many as the old Pioneer Church, the building that anchors the corner of Main and Columba Streets in Cathlamet was built in 1896. For more than a century it has served as a worship center, meeting hall, Senior Center, movie theater, wedding site, performing arts center and most notably, the visual icon of the Town of Cathlamet. It has literally weathered storms that required FEMA dollars to restore the building for use. With the assistance of grants, cash donations...
To The Eagle: The Fair Foundation will hold a Lasagna Dinner on Sunday, January 20 from 1 to 6 p.m., at the Rosburg Hall. There will also be a bake sale and silent auction during the dinner. This is the first of several events that will help raise funds for the second Challenge of Champions Pro Bull Riding Event scheduled for July 19 this year. The Fair Board received a grant and purchased seven sets of new bleachers for the fairgrounds. They will be ready for the Bull Riding and will ease the seating problem that we experienced last year. We...
To The Eagle: I was pleased to discover that the county will be providing some funding for Cathlamet Public Library in 2019. They have budgeted $3,000 for the town library and the same amount for Johnson Park's library room. The library board had voted for a greater increase for out-of-town library cards in December when it was told that there would be no county support, and had reconsidered for a lesser increase at the January meeting since our library is open less hours than similar size libraries with higher fees. The new county support,...
To The Eagle: We want to say thank you to all of the people of Wahkiakum County that participated in helping with the Star Program for the 2018 season; the Wahkiakum High School that each year helps us, the families that took stars and for the businesses that allowed us to place our trees. We also appreciate the monetary gifts that completed many emergency families’ needs. We wouldn’t be able to finish the program each year without this help. NovaLee Knopp, Director Wahkiakum County Star Program Not a Wahkiakum County funded age...
To The Eagle: Our Washington State Democratic Party will gather for its quarterly meeting January 25 through January 27, Friday - Sunday. That meeting will be held at Hotel Red Lion, 2300 Evergreen Parkway, Olympia, Washington. Contact: 360-943-4000; olympiasales@relion.com. Public is invited and welcome to attend, view and listen to our party’s proceedings. Public - Hosted by Island County Democrats. Sincerely, David Zabel Chair, The Wahkiakum Democrats...
To The Eagle: As librarian I must regretfully announce that it has become necessary to increase fees for out-of-town library cards at Cathlamet Public Library. Half of our patrons live outside the town limits, but the county has declined to add support for the library to their budget for 2018 or 2019. The Library Board of Trustees voted at their January 3rd meeting to raise the cost of an out-of-town children's card to $6, an adult card to $15, and a family card to $23. These fees are still below what other libraries of similar size but with...
To The Eagle: Eric Skemp’s letter last week about Sheriff Howie demonstrates the fallacy of Initiative 1639. The statement “No sales of assault weapons to people less than 21 years old” is powerful. Folks who did not read the initiative, or who are not familiar with rifles see this and think “Assault Rifles, yes we should restrict those.” I-1639 defines any and all semiautomatic rifles as “Assault Rifles.” Of note, “Semiautomatic” means basically one pull of the trigger, one shot fired, release the trigger and squeeze it again, one shot fired....
To The Eagle: Just saw the latest news that there were over 40,000 deaths last year from guns, more than half were suicides. And this is not an epidemic? Clearly we have to do something to protect our population. Our county commissioners want to try to turn back the referendum that our state recently passed. What do they intend to accomplish with this effort? Is it a good idea just as we see that gun deaths have reached a 40 year high? At the same time as the commissioners tell us they should not make any effort to take steps to combat this...
To The Eagle: Some years ago I heard that there was a baseball player whose annual pay was more than the combined pay of all our U.S. congressmen and senators. At the time I thought that was a terrible comment on our nation’s value system. Now after observing the behavior of our senators and congressmen and many other federal employees for the last couple years, I don’t believe their combined pay should be as high as a second baseman’s. Gilbert Vik Cathlamet...
