Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1281 - 1305 of 2581
To The Eagle: I don’t know if you saw last week’s letter in The Eagle, but there will be more to come about the mayor having the town treasurer pay $1,000 earnest money to purchase a parking lot, prior to their executive session. Later, it was on the town council’s upcoming agenda under “Property acquisition – action expected.” This was at least three months ago. What happened between then and their last June 18 meeting, I don’t know. Did the Department of Ecology do a soil inspection and sign off, allowing change of ownership, or are we now...
To The Eagle: We’ve been fortunate to live and work in Wahkiakum County most of our lives. Gordon has lived here his entire life and I’ve been here for more than 60 years of marriage. But we’ve also lived here long enough to have seen many changes in the community--some good and some not. Today, it’s encouraging to see a new generation of community leaders like Sheriff Mark Howie and his wife Debb. We’ve gotten to know them over the years. While we call him Sheriff, we also call them friends. They’re good people and they’ve both given their tim...
To The Eagle: I had to re-read Elizabeth Brinner’s article in last week’s Eagle a couple of times to make sure it was a serious letter. Initially I thought it was a poor attempt at satire. Not so I guess. I’m assuming she’s recently moved from Seattle, Portland or a city of similar size, which would explain her problem adjusting to the lifestyle we all enjoy living in Wahkiakum County. Before retiring to Cathlamet, I left a big city, fast paced, professional career working under neon lights and in front of a computer screen all day. After work,...
To The Eagle: Our editor’s entrance into the fray with commentary on the ethics of tax assessment might possibly constitute rushing in where angels fear to tread. In the normal course of events, a person setting up a for-profit enterprise gets a tax number from the fed and then later registers personal property used in that enterprise with state (if their state has a personal property tax law). The current imbroglio involves our local assessor placing people on the rolls involuntarily and without due process. In my case protests were simply i...
To The Eagle: First off, to no surprise of anyone who has ever met me or read my letters to this paper, I am a progressive liberal. The reasons are numerous and include liking child labor laws, laws that help keep the earth safe for us and our future generations. My education in science and human biology allows me to know the difference between a fetus and a baby and to understand that about 10 percent of all people in all cultures are homosexual. Enough history to realize that if I like what is happening in our country today, I would...
To The Eagle: The recent vote by the Cathlamet town Council to purchase the property owned by former Council member Bernadette Goodroe was clearly unethical and an obvious gift of public funds. When the existing gas station and auto repair shop were removed the site went through a remediation process to remove the majority of the contamination, but due to technical difficulties the site could not be fully abated. Consequently, the State of Washington Department of Ecology placed a restricted covenant on the property because residual...
To The Eagle: A top-two primary election is on August 7, 2018. Three Democrats are candidates in the primary for the 3rd Congressional District, David McDevitt, Caroline Long and Dorothy Gasgue. While Gasgue, Long and McDevitt are all Democrats there are differences. David McDevitt is the Progressive candidate. Long self-identifies as a moderate. Gasgue has said she is a “Libertarian Progressive.” McDevitt will work for fair progressive tax policies, a single-payer universal health care plan, a living wage, affordable housing, safe sch...
To The Eagle: What a coup! Our former mayor submits a myopic view of letters to the editor and secures an instant inadvisable change to editorial policy, all in one fell swoop in last week’s Eagle. First, background: The vitriolic candidate trolling refers to letters criticizing our tax assessor, Bill Coons, and the first one was from Lori Hamp on March 22, before the beginning of our local political season. Next edition featured a response from Bill, and a candidacy announcement from Brian McClain, wisely accepting the opportunity presented. N...
To The Eagle: I am writing you regarding a letter to the editor by Lory Olson. Lory's comments are blatant lies. Carolyn Long's campaign has pledged not to accept money from corporations, and we have not and will not. Carolyn has also been teaching students in the district for 23 years, she's worked with the Vancouver Economic Development council; she's advised the local Rotary on policy, and she has been awarded the Iris H-RoC award, among many others, for her work in the local community. Lory is intentionally misrepresenting Carolyn's...
To The Eagle: Concerning last week’s “Advice to Newcomers,” I’d like to share my own experiences as a recent newcomer to this area. The hardest thing for me is the lack of compassion for animals. Dogs run loose, almost getting hit by cars, dead cows lay in fields for days (to no one’s great concern), wild animals getting killed for target practice. And, most of all, there is no animal control to report abuse or neglect. So, you have to drive by it and witness it and not be able to do anything about it. Another major problem is the gun shoot...
To The Eagle: George Wehrfritz advances an idea that “The Eagle” has been too free in giving space to “an internet-style troll “ who is attacking candidates running for office. He prescribes limiting the privilege of expressing one’s opinions in the newspaper to just one letter per person per campaign cycle. (He himself has written two so far.) He seems to be disturbed by the expression of points of view in conflict with his own. He lumps them all together as the work of one person he calls a troll. That may be his individual perceptio...
To The Eagle: Free Summer Lunch Program. Four simple words. It can happen here. Four simple words. In coordination with the Wahkiakum School District’s Summer School schedule, we hope to offer free lunches at JA Wendt Elementary School, Mon – Thursday at noon, beginning July 16 and ending August 16. Community members have been meeting for a month working out details on how to bring a Summer Lunch program to kids in Cathlamet. A critical piece to this happening is volunteers stepping forward to help prepare and serve the meals. If you have tim...
To The Eagle: Anyone going through Cathlamet this spring has to be impressed by how much nicer it looks, and those responsible deserve a large "thank-you." The new sign at the courthouse looks so much better than the rotted one. The Wahkiakum Bloomers did a beautiful job of placing vibrant blue pots of red and white flowers along Main Street, and quite a few businesses followed suite, brightening up the downtown area and highlighting the painting of several stores in that area. Julius Dalzell whacked the brush and weeds along the waterfront tra...
To The Eagle: A top-two primary election is on August 7, 2018. Three Democrats are candidates in the primary for the 3rd Congressional District, David McDevitt, Caroline Long and Dorothy Gasgue. While Gasgue, Long and McDevitt are all Democrats there are differences. David McDevitt is the Progressive candidate. Long self-identifies as a moderate. Gasgue has said she is a “Libertarian Progressive.” McDevitt will work for fair progressive tax policies, a single-payer universal health care plan, a living wage, affordable housing, safe sch...
To The Eagle: Last night at the town council meeting, they had an executive session to discuss the purchase of the small parking lot between Butler Street and the Bank of the Pacific. When they came out of session, a motion was made to purchase the lot for $68,000. After a second another council member raised discussion regarding the assessed value being $34,000 and the appraised value being $38,000 when she was interrupted by Council Member Sue Cameron claiming a point of order. She claimed that because these numbers were discussed in...
To The Eagle: My name is Nicci Bergseng and I’d like to introduce myself as your Wahkiakum County Auditor. I was appointed to the auditor position in December 2017 and I am currently working to retain my position. It is my commitment to this county to continue upholding the highest level of integrity and honesty within my office. A lot of community members throughout the county know me from Bank of the Pacific where I worked for nearly ten years. After leaving the bank, I gained employment in the Wahkiakum County Auditor’s Office. While wor...
To The Eagle: The Eagle has been generous in its provision of a forum for local letter-writers to critique, endorse or otherwise comment on our elected officials and their would-be rivals. But even generosity has its limits – and, I would argue, this publication is delivering too much of a good thing. Every election cycle now brings the spectacle of a few prolific letter-writers trolling candidates they don’t like. Recent editions have put this phenomenon on display. It starts with a letter criticizing an incumbent and endorsing his/her riv...
To The Eagle: Response to article written in The Eagle June 7th, 2018, “PUD studying benefit, cost of water main work.” This article explained how the Wahkiakum PUD would go about repairing the water line that is attached to the bridge to Puget Island. I find it incredible that they, the PUD, would go to great lengths to not inconvenience those of us that live on Puget Island. I want to thank you for putting us first in this project and every project you undertake. However, we are currently being trained in the art of understanding how to liv...
To The Eagle: Good news from D.C.; Supreme Court on the integrity of elections, no votes by the dead. The economy at 3.9 growth, low unemployment [local Norpac hiring more because of DOJ supported lawsuit] [re. Newsprint from the dumping Canadian businesses]. And now, the beginnings of a path to peace on the Korean peninsula. All of my lifetime there has been an unfinished war. Our west coast has been in the crosshairs. Thank you Mr. President, Donald J. Trump. Peace. Mike Swift Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Thank you very much for the prize money (Wahkiakum County Eagle photo contest.) I donated it to the Veterans of Foreign Wars here in Cathlamet. I have been a member of this organization for several years. I have also witnessed the good they do for our community. Most of which goes unnoticed by the majority of people in our county. Their goal is to help veterans and their families who are in need. They are also involved with educating students of the importance of acknowledging the sacrifices that men and women in uniform make and...
To The Eagle: Plans are underway to offer free sack lunches to youth in our community this summer. Lunch on Us is a grass roots effort designed to help our local kids have a healthier summer. According to Feeding America, 1 in 7 people in the U.S. face hunger every year. The rates of hunger in children are even higher, with about 1 in 5 lacking proper access to food at some point during the year. The realities of food insecurity often mean that kids especially lack food access in summer months — a time when families can't rely on free or r...
To The Eagle: I’d like to respond to our elected County Assessor Bill Coons’s recent ad placed in The Eagle. I quote, “There’s no need to learn to hate a new Wahkiakum County Assessor.” I am sure this ad was directed toward me and others who posted letters to The Eagle. Speaking only for myself, “Bill, there is no need for anyone to hate an honest elected official, especially the county assessor!” I would like our new assessor to abide by our county and state laws. Like, if he or she builds a new home they apply and obtain the proper septic...
To The Eagle: I came to this area in 2003. I learned a lot in my first years as a newcomer, so I thought I’d share a few things with any new folks who have moved here recently. First, it’s important to realize you’ve come into a Scandinavian culture with Finnish folks in Naselle, Swedish and Finnish in Grays River, and Norwegian on Puget Island. There are other heritages as well, of course, but the Scandinavian heritage is very strong here. These are hardworking, honest, kind and intelligent folk who may not appear overly friendly at first...
To The Eagle: Well I read the letter to the editor last week where your typical liberal takes his time to try and explain what a conservative is, of course he was way off the mark and the explanation was the funniest thing I ever heard, no wait, this old Army Sergeant has to say a Marine that knits, now that's funnier. The next topic was about the gut wrenching decision a woman has to make to abort a baby, a less gut wrenching decision would be that if you don't want a baby (rape and a mother’s life being exceptions) how about a much less gut w...
To The Eagle: Volunteers truly do make a difference at The Charlotte House, a program of St. James Family Center. Have you ever had someone stick up for you? Not someone who came over and bossed you around – but someone who was there at just the right moment when you needed help and offered a listening ear. Putting it simply, that’s what we do as advocates at The Charlotte House. Making a difference in the lives of victims, survivors and their families is the best reason to give your time to our program. Our trained advocates are available 24/...
