Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1201 - 1225 of 2569
To The Eagle: It’s only time for a change when change is for the better. Certainly not now. Not this change. We’re asked to change assessors from our current assessor, Bill Coons (with 12 years’ experience and knowledge) to Brian McClain who has had no experience or knowledge at all in real estate, none. And who recommends Mr. McClain? Mr. Baccellieri? I checked. Mr. Baccellieri isn’t even registered to vote in our county! And this outsider Baccellieri fellow has the unmitigated gall to tell us, the voters here in our own Wahkiakum County,...
To The Eagle: This is in regards to the upcoming elections for Sheriff. I am a former resident of Cathlamet and a long time friend of Sheriff Howie. In fact I was his training officer some 30 years ago. I could go on and on about him and his work ethics and his passion and undying commitment for serving the residents of Wahkiakum County but you know that already. When I was his training officer I noted right off his drive to serve the community, his honesty, fairness and doing the right thing all the time. And above all I trusted him with my...
To The Eagle: Neighbor Brawn asserts that my latest screed contained inaccurate facts and numbers while being just another sordid example of the frenzied circus attempting to discredit Trump and the Republicans. He then suggests I ought to just sit back and enjoy the show, no less. Well Howard, let’s hear your numbers and supporting facts that effectively refute my opinion, that it has been the Republican agenda for the past 30 years to brand the poor and dependent citizens of this nation as parasites sucking the economic lifeblood from our r...
To The Eagle: Thank you, Jaime Herrera Beutler, for looking out for small, rural communities like Wahkiakum County. I cannot say enough about Jaime standing up for us on the endangered species issues such as the marbled murrelet. As a Wahkiakum County commissioner since 2001, I have been striving, along with my other board members, to keep Wahkiakum County solvent. As a county, we are losing approximately $1 million a year in revenue due to the endangered species act. I sit on the DNR Encumbered Lands Group and the Solutions Table Task Force,...
To The Eagle: Most of us have been highly entertained by the political theatre provided by the deranged progressives during the rise and reign of Trump. The Mueller investigation, stumbling around desperately in search of a crime to pin on the president, has only managed to expose malfeasance in the Obama administration and crime in the Clinton campaign, while their own malpractice has caused 26 firings, demotions, and legal referrals in the highest reaches of the FBI, Justice Department, and State Department. Late breaking news shows possible...
To The Eagle: With an election just weeks away, I would like to implore the good people of Wahkiakum County to vote for candidates who are most qualified for the position. My experience in this county is that the most important requirement for landing a job or getting voted into office is how long you or your family have lived in the county; “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Matt Kuhl is running for Wahkiakum County auditor. He has the college degree and work experience to be your auditor. If this position was hired out, the minimum...
To The Eagle: I have had dealings with both Bill Coons and Brian McClain. A couple of folks that have written in the last issue of The Eagle have concerns about experience. There are many people with years of experience in Washington D.C. and they are far from honest; they believe they are entitled to be above the law. And you are concerned that Brian won the primary by over 10 percent? There were over 60 percent of the folks who voted in this last primary that still believe honesty and courtesy still mean something. Brian is smart, bright and...
To The Eagle: In 1978, I had the pleasure of going to work in the Wahkiakum County Assessor’s Office. Iris Hedlund had been named the assessor, and she brought on Kathy Peek as her appraiser and myself as clerk. I served as clerk from 1978/1986. In 1986, Kathy left to be an appraiser in another county. Iris insisted I take the place of the appraiser. I was hesitant to do so, knowing how difficult the job could be. Time was spent going out with Kathy on many visits for property valuation. The job of appraiser meant schooling and training require...
To The Eagle: This is it, after two years of non-stop vilification, slander, and legal harrassment from the establishment, all they have is this: One, the president says mean things. Two, he doesn't act like the scripted presidents of the recent past. Three, they imagine that he will do something bad in the future. With 4.2 percent GDP growth, record employment (even, locally, Norco in Longview has added more jobs due to the policies of @realDonaldTrump and his administration). The good news for real people belies the nail-biting, bed-wetting...
To The Eagle: Mark Howie has shown in several ways that he has the ability, desire and leadership skills to continue as our Sheriff of Wahkiakum County. Mark is a role model for what public service is all about. He has integrity, diligence, is ethical and trustworthy. Vote to retain Mark Howie. Jeff & Sherrill Bollen Puget Island...
To The Eagle: I would like to start by publicly endorsing Sheriff Mark Howie. Mark has been a dear friend of mine for the past 10 years. Throughout that period, he witnessed my family and I go through the best and worst of times. Words cannot truly convey my gratitude for Mark and his willingness to lend a helping hand whenever it is needed. I spent numerous years as the wife of a Wahkiakum County officer. I can tell you from my experience, I gained a greater appreciation of the daily sacrifice given by the men and women of law enforcement....
To The Eagle: Sarcastic declarations of diminished intellectual capacity aside, I am baffled by my fiscally astute neighbor, Howard Brawn's, disingenuous assertion that he "has no clue as to who is getting fleeced" by the Trump misadministration. Here are a few of those clues. Let's consider how the middle class and poorer taxpayers will now be shorn. The Republican tax "reform" package is the most egregiously immoral, ravenously greedy, singularly heartless transfer of wealth from the middle and low income classes to the wealthy that this...
To The Eagle: Last week’s letter about the experience levels of all the other assessors in surrounding counties is very interesting. Why should Wahkiakum County be the only county in SW Washington with an assessor who has no certifications and no training in real estate appraisal? Brian McClain’s lead in the primary is concerning to me. People are ignoring his lack of qualifications. He promises he’ll get certifications, but the kind of experience and training he’ll need to be competent doesn’t take just weeks or months. And of course, t...
To The Eagle: While my opponent is not confused by party endorsements he is certainly confused by the meaning of the words “Attention To Detail.” Partially reading a regulation and then cherry picking only those parts that support your view is not what I consider due diligence when researching a topic. If my opponent had thoroughly read the RCWs and WACs he referenced before jumping to conclusions he would have found the following paragraphs : WAC 458-10-030 (4) Waiver of examination requirement. The department shall waive the acc...
To The Eagle: I met Sheriff Mark Howie when the then-Sheriff John Dearmore brought him onto the sheriff’s office while trying to restore our sorely depleted sheriff’s office. When we were down to four deputies and down a corrections officer, and had no emergency manager for our county, Sheriff Howie pulled every available string for funds including state monies. We now have six deputies and a full staff in the 911/corrections center. For years we had no realistic night shift; a deputy had to be called out thus amassing a horrible overtime exp...
To The Eagle: By now I’m sure you’ve seen the signs and heard the name Matt Kuhl, who is running for our county Auditor, but I’m here to tell you, most of you don’t know who he is. As his stepfather, I’ve known him most of his life. I first met Matt at the Christmas Tree Lighting the weekend of Thanksgiving in 1993 where he was singing with his twin sister Megan Kuhl and my son, Scott. Through those kids, I met their mother, Sandi Kuhl, who worked as a therapist at Columbia View Nursing Home. We married the following summer and her kids beca...
To The Eagle: Having been so thoroughly outed by the valiant anti-Trumpers last week, I am now compelled to submit my mea culpa and confess to dwelling in a parallel universe. I had no notion that eight years of 1-2 percent growth and high unemployment was “handing over a good economy,” nor that the recent record-breaking highs in the stock market were “flatlining.” And it certainly was unsportsmanlike of our prez to complain about a two-year investigation based on a fabricated dossier used to dupe the FISA court into warranting campaig...
Sheriff Howie sets the tone To The Eagle: It’s been my privilege to have been introduced to Sheriff Mark Howie by former Sheriff John Dearmore some ten years ago. During these ten years, I’ve visited with the Howies about local social occurrences and have found them to be in touch with the pulse of Wahkiakum County. Mark Howie is the kind of sheriff that stays connected to the youth of Wahkiakum County on a constant basis. As the local High School Golf Coach we cross paths regularly. Many of you know that in April of this year, I was inv...
To The Eagle: I wanted to take a few minutes to address the concerns that Mr. Watts has expressed.The first item of concern is the stated $100,000 salary, just under $68,000 is the actual salary paid by our county. The second item of concern is that the county will have to hire a substitute Accredited Appraiser. This need not be a concern, since Mr. Dahle who works in the assessors office is accredited by the Department Of Revenue. As a matter of point, The DOR reports that, as of the 31st of August 2018, Mr. Dahle is the only Accredited...
To The Eagle: Many have shared commendable things about Wally Wright since his recent passing. I would like to share one to remind folks of something he was willing to do that few are bold enough to do. Do you remember that he was willing to do business transactions entirely with coins? It was his way of reminding folks that coins are the only portion of our money supply that do not have a debt attached to them. And that is also a reminder that our debt based money system is a fraud, a hoax, a swindle. Wally was not in favor of any of those...
To The Eagle: It is sad to see my opponent engaging in the political ploy of accusing me of “cherry picking” regulations and then doing just that himself. In my letter of August 23, I was quoting from the form one needs to submit to the Department of Revenue (DOR) to become an accredited appraiser. I guess I need to mail this form to him. There is an interesting omission in my opponent’s letter last week. The word “experience” is nowhere to be found. As I stated in my letter: “You must have at least one year of full time work experience...
To The Eagle: The job of county assessor is comprised of understanding and complying with complex rules set forth by the state. The training is rigorous and hard. Citizens typically vote for people with years of experience either in real property appraisal or at least in real estate. For instance, Pacific County’s assessor had 10 years at a title company before running for assessor. Lewis County’s assessor had been an accredited appraiser since ‘75 before she first ran in ‘98. Clark County’s had been a licensed fee appraiser since ‘04 befor...
To The Eagle: I got a great chuckle out of our ‘Wordy Islander’s’ letter. He submits more letters in than anyone else but feels his majority voters get less coverage. This time two side by side of the ‘majorities’ opinion. It is good to see he is so supportive of Trump, because Trump’s ship is seriously listing to starboard. I watch enough FOX ‘news’ to see he has all their ‘not fake news’ talking points. I am grateful Trump has kept the economy on the steady climb it’s been on now for nine years, since the Obama years handed him a good eco...
To The Eagle: While my opponent is not confused by party endorsements he is certainly confused by the meaning of the words “Attention To Detail.” Partially reading a regulation and then cherry picking only those parts that support your view is not what I consider due diligence when researching a topic. If my opponent had thoroughly read the RCWs and WACs he referenced before jumping to conclusions, he would have found the following paragraphs: WAC 458-10-030, (4) Waiver of examination requirement. The department shall waive the acc...
To The Eagle: Warning: Brian McClain for assessor is not playing fair. He is currently not an accredited appraiser, the best way to protect the taxpayers. If McClain wins, we taxpayers will be forced to hire, pay for, a substitute accredited appraiser, plus pay McClain some $100,000 (including benefits) for not working as an accredited appraiser for at least a full year. After the passage of one year, McClain may or may not become an accredited appraiser. Vote for a currently fully accredited appraiser – Bill Coons. Dick Watts C...
