Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1306 - 1330 of 2581
[Editor's note: VFW Post Commander Bill Tawater read the following remarks from post member Bob Roche on Monday as veterans and their supporters gathered at Greenwood Cemetery.] As we observe Memorial Day, we do more than just carry on a tradition dating back to 1866, we also fulfill a commitment. Throughout history, those who serve and defend, those who have faced the greatest dangers and won the greatest battles, and those who die for their country receive the highest honors. Today we honor our fallen, but we also embrace a feeling of honor,...
To The Eagle: After attending the candidates forum last week, I came away with the lingering questions I always have after someone claims to be a conservative. What is conservative about being concerned about some woman making the wrenching personal decision in regard to whether or not to carry a fetus to term as opposed to getting an abortion? When some old guy stands in front of a crowd and proudly announces that he is ‘pro-life', it does remind me of the whiney little tattletale kid on the second grade playground. It makes me wonder why s...
To The Eagle: My Name is Matt Kuhl and I am running for Wahkiakum County Auditor. To your readers, I would like to share a bit about myself. Growing up in Cathlamet, I developed personal qualities only a small town can teach: selflessness, hard work, respect, caring for your neighbors, kindness, honesty, and much more. My whole life I have felt a need to help others. After graduating from Wahkiakum High School, I joined the US Army as a Cavalry Scout serving honorably for five years, deploying twice to Iraq and earning multiple Army...
To The Eagle: The Wahkiakum Fair Foundation is working hard to bring the Challenge of Champions Pro Bull Riding exhibition to Wahkiakum County on July 20; the Friday of Bald Eagle Weekend. We would like to thank everyone who has attended our dinners and bake sales and especially the following sponsors for helping with our goal of earning the required promotional fee: Superior Tire, Selix Cabinets, Columbia Ford, Watkins Tractor Supply, Bill and Cindy Faubion, Millennium Bulk, Truant Leather, Wahkiakum West, Bank of Pacific, Cathlamet Realty Wes...
To The Eagle: I have a message for the person who pepper sprayed my dog on East Sunny Sands Road last week: I just want you to know that not only did you traumatize my 13 pound, 12 inch tall dog, but you also traumatized my 5-year-old great grand-daughter when she got transfer in her eyes and nose. If you are not aware that pepper spray is oil based and transferable, then you should not use it. Lore Twiet Puget Island...
To The Eagle: My name is Stewart Feil, and I am running for Wahkiakum County Prosecuting Attorney. I filed my declaration of candidacy on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Because of when I filed, my name was not printed in last week’s article so I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself to you and your readers. I currently work at Hanigan Law Office, P.S., where I serve as legal counsel for several businesses and municipal corporations, as well as municipal prosecutor for the City of Kelso. In the past I have served as a criminal defense att...
To The Eagle: People need to be mindful and think of others in this small town. Placing road cones in the middle of the lane of travel on the Puget Island bridge at night or any time, is not a funny joke. It could ruin the underneath of a small car when hit. Or worse cause a collision when people try to avoid them. There is not enough room on the bridge for people to be playing games let alone stop and try to get a cone out from under their vehicle. If it is being done because people are displeased with the construction work, it is not the...
To The Eagle: As the 2018 primary election is quickly approaching, Wahkiakum County is adopting a new prepaid postage procedure. Numerous counties in Washington state, with King County making the first move, have pushed for a prepaid return envelope for voters to send their ballots in. Washington state is in a select group that has moved to a vote by mail system entirely. To add even more accessibility and ease of voting, Wahkiakum County has decided to equip each ballot return envelope with prepaid postage. The registered voters of the county...
To The Eagle: By now it should be common knowledge that there will be an election this November. The purpose of this letter is to invite one and all that are interested in our remaining freedoms to come to the Pioneer Community Church on Wednesday the 23rd, from 7-9:00 p.m. There is a bipartisan forum moderated by Wahkiakum history teacher, Don Cox, with candidates from both political parties answering questions submitted by We the People. The winner of the August primary will be on the ballot this fall. There will also be onsite voter...
To The Eagle: I read the list of candidates, hoping to get elected to various positions in our county. Sadly I saw no one willing to become commissioner of the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District. We lost Bill Karwoski, so do not have the three needed commissioners. Eddie Blain volunteered to be a fill in until someone stepped up; that was two years ago. In reality we need two new commissioners. I have been commissioner for 12-plus years and would love to hand over the reins to someone younger and healthier. I was a ‘fill-in’ as well. If...
To The Eagle: We are both extremely happy with the wage increase for Dave Tramblie and others. Mr. Tramblie has saved this county thousands of dollars due to diligence and attention to detail. Attracting excellent employees and keeping them working for Wahkiakum County is a hard task. Congratulations to the county for rewarding these hard working most deserving employees. Nancy and Peter McGuire Altoona...
To The Eagle: PIGYS, the Puget Island Garage & Yard Sale, which takes place on June 22nd & 23rd, faces some major challenges this year. The Trump-inspired economic boom should bring us an abundance of customers, but that abundance is going to hit a choke point at our bridge construction traffic light. Traffic will be crossing the bridge in close-formation lumps, which would turn our usual pull-off for yard sale maps at the foot of the bridge into a hazardous enterprise. Our best bet will be to move the map distribution to the Cathlamet side...
To The Eagle: When we purchased the Video Store from Becky in 2009 it was suggested that this business, movie and game rentals and sales, was like a “buggy whip factory”; a business providing a soon to be obsolete product or service. Recently I have heard the term for our type of business as a “melting ice cube.” It may have taken longer than many have predicted, but the future of the Video Store is currently being questioned. Even though our product or service has lots of competition, every day I hear from regular patrons, and even the “on...
To The Eagle: The short article on hoof rot on page 9 of the May 10, 2018, Wahkiakum County Eagle merits a response. “Crippling elk hoof disease found in Eastern Washington,” is not surprising news. What is surprising is that it is reported. I will not be surprised when it is found soon in Idaho and Montana. No doubt every effort will be made to hide it from the public, but it will come, and then Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and on and on. Their report that their solution is to kill all the sick elk is a sick (no pun intended) and ineffective “solu...
To The Eagle: I have had the great fortune to have served the people of Wahkiakum County as sheriff for nearly six years now. During this time I have seen the people of this office serve with honor, integrity, and respect. I hope that for the overwhelming majority of our citizens this has been the case in their interactions with the sheriff's office. I have filed for sheriff both with the state Public Disclosure Commission as well as with our Wahkiakum County Auditor's Office. I want to take this time to say I would find no greater honor than...
To the Eagle: I continue to be amazed and pleased with Cathlamet’s community organizations and volunteers. I went to the Summer Lunch Program meeting at the Community Center last Monday at 1 p.m. I was impressed with the history of the program the last few years and the planning for this year's program. The program is run entirely by donations and volunteers to ensure good nutrition for children and adults in the summer. Good nutrition is essential to our children’s development, learning, health and feeling good. Volunteers are needed for this...
To The Eagle: January 2018, Western Wahkiakum County received a 34 percent, per month, increase in the electric base rate. The West End also is charged $56.23 before the water tap is turned on. If Wahkiakum County does not have the population to keep the base water and electric rates at a rational, family wage level; it certainly does not have the population to pay the exorbitant salaries; retroactive mind you, the PUD commissioners have authorized for their staff. Colleen Haley Grays River...
To The Eagle: On behalf of the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce, thank you to all the volunteers who came together with us to help beautify our downtown. The planters are gorgeous and the flowers are beautiful. The Chamber board voted overwhelmingly to finance this project. The Chamber is very excited by the enthusiasm and creativity of our new Community Development Committee and looks forward to supporting more beautification projects in the future. Sandi Benbrook Rieder Chamber Vice President...
To The Eagle: I am less cynical than I was just a few days ago. While my wife and I were on a trip for medical purposes to a hospital several hundred miles away, one of my young ones called using a cell phone. As a result, I heard first person what was taking place on the highway east of town literally seconds after a major crash [April 19]. What I heard, though frightening, was also encouraging. Apparently rumors have already started to swirl in town that a bunch of teens had engaged in reckless driving. This inaccurate assessment was patently...
To The Eagle: I want to add my comments regarding Mr. Coons, the Wahkiakum county assessor. As did others, I often found him disrespectful and rude. Example 1: I was disconcerted when I noticed a man, whom I did not instantly recognize as Mr. Coons, uninvitedly walking around my house and peeping into windows. In view of the rescued dogs/goats/cattle that roam freely on my fenced land, I informed him of the inadvisability of appearing without notice on my property and stated that with notice, he would have been welcome. He in turn strongly...
To The Eagle: Personally I do not like property taxes! Seems to me like a discriminate tax. That said, I like all the benefits it helps to pay for, schools, sheriff, roads and so on. I don’t really like any taxes, but also know it takes a community bucket to fill, in order to have what we all like. Lately, there has been a piling on, of our County Assessor Coons, bordering on the ugliness, that seems to be a norm these days, sadly! Jesus was scorned for dining with a tax collector, I (not to be confused with Him) would be happy to go to a barbe...
To The Eagle: Good nutrition is essential for effective learning every day, all year long. Just as learning does not end when school lets out, neither does the need for good nutrition. Summer meal programs help children get the nutrition they need to learn, play, and grow throughout the summer months. For the past two years Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church has taken the lead and served meals to kids and adults during the summer months. Initially they worked under the guidelines of the USDA Summer Food Service Program but found that it wasn’t a goo...
To The Eagle: Let’s take Bill Coons’ response to my letter in order: Welcome Slough Boatworks is not a business, it has no tax ID numbers and does not build boats for profit. It is a name with a website only to give credence to the boats I build so non-profits can raise as much money as possible. If I have sold a boat, it was mine personally. Bill Coons knew this and turned me into the Wash. Dept. of Revenue and told me he will let them decide! They investigated and I was cleared of all Bill Coons’ accusations according to Dave S. at the Olymp...
To The Eagle: Tax men are never popular. Just as Bill Coons. But in a state with no personal income tax, communities and public activities too numerous to list depend on taxes assessed on property and businesses. Some of the allegations thrown at Mr. Coons in these pages are outrageous. Last week, he responded to them admirably – which reinforced my sense that he is a dedicated public servant. George Wehrfritz...
To The Eagle: I would like to add my two cents worth to the previous Letters to The Eagle concerning Wahkiakum County Tax Assessor Bill Coons. My multiple interactions with him have also been unpleasant and unbecoming of any public servant. After I constructed a vacation rental on South Welcome Slough Road in 2014-15, with all requisite surveys, permits and inspections, I received from the assessor’s office a Personal Property Tax form for this rental. Unaware of the requirements concerning this form, I sought information from Mr. Coons. He a...
