Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1326 - 1350 of 2581
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...
To The Eagle: I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the letter in this edition of The Eagle submitted by Michael Baccellieri. I wish to correct its inaccuracies. Mr. Baccellieri states that I attempted to intimidate him by requiring him to complete a personal property tax form and by turning him in to the Department of Revenue. What he does not mention is that Washington State law requires county assessors to assess personal property and calculate taxes. If items of personal property are used in a business, and an exemption isn’t available...
To The Eagle: There is a regional effort underway to complete a feasibility study for the creation of a new skill center to assist high school students to receive much needed job skills. More information on skill centers in Washington can be found on line at http://washingtonskillscenters.org/. Please share this with area businesses and students. The original opening of the survey did not get any input from Wahkiakum County businesses, and we would like to add input prior to finalizing the process. We did receive some input from students in...
To The Eagle: During the run-up to the passage of the 2017 tax cut, Congressional Republicans, including Washington State 3rd District Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler, told us that the proposed tax cut would pay for itself, because GDP would increase an additional one percent, thus generating more tax revenue than the cost of the tax cut. We were also told that because the net tax revenues to the Federal Government would increase, cuts in future Social Security and Medicare benefits may not be necessary. But on April 12, 2018, less than...
To The Eagle: Don Kinney is absolutely on the money with his observations about capping property taxes (letter in last week’s Eagle). A fine distinction, though, is that tax rates must be controlled, but so must valuations. Bill Coons came into office replacing a well-meaning but hapless lady who was unable to control or undo the work of a renegade tax appraiser who jacked up property values and then disappeared over the horizon. Joining the effort to get Bill elected, I cited Howard Jarviss’s California property tax-capping Proposition 13 in...
To The Eagle: Cathlamet is a community of kind and caring people. We help each other, and for the most part, we like each other. While it’s obvious, if you regularly read the Letters to the Editor, that we are not all politically on the same page, we all call Cathlamet home and care about what happens here. On April 28 from 9 a.m. until noon the Pioneer Community Association will be sponsoring our annual Spring Cleaning event, Tidy Up the Town. Let’s make Main Street Shine! It’s time to remove those pesky weeds, trim back the invading vines...
To The Eagle: As the 2018 election cycle approaches, I would like to dispel the rumors that I would not be asking for your support in allowing me to continue as one of your Wahkiakum county commissioners. I have filed with the Washington state public disclosure commission earlier this year of that intention. I look forward to continue serving our community as a fiscally conservative Democrat. Thank you for the privilege. Blair Brady Rosburg...
To The Eagle: I think the property tax is mostly due to attitude. I found our county’s assessors on my property before I had my full coffee last spring and I told them they needed an appointment. I was informed by the assessor they could come on my property whenever they wished and indicated they would without my permission. I told them to leave and wound up with a tax increase of over 100 percent. It’s not just how the property is assessed, it’s unnecesary attitude. We are a small enough community we don’t need that. If I remember correct...
To The Eagle: Bill Coons, Wahkiakum’s assessor running for re-election, gave a rather detailed defense of his evaluation of Ms. Hamp’s mobile home property (March 29, 2018 edition), but his closing argument fell flat when he exclaimed, “In fact, a MH on land in the Elochoman sold late last year for $245,000!” Anyone familiar with the valuation and property appeals system would know that the cut-off date for comparable market value sales for the 2017 tax year would be December 31, 2016. According to my research, the sale with which Mr. Coons s...
To The Eagle: This morning my wife showed the Easter cartoon you ran in The Eagle, to me and asked if I was offended. After reading the cartoon I laughed because the sleepy character in the cartoon was me. She has elbowed me on numerous occasions in church to wake me up. On one occasion she even threatened to walk out, if I ever snore. If Jesus, his disciples or his teaching had been the brunt of this joke I would have been highly offended. The sad part of this joke is that the church has been sleeping while prayer, Bibles, Christian values and...
To The Eagle: I found Lori Hamp’s letter [March 22, 2018 edition] about her experiences with the property tax appeals system in this county to be right on. But Mr. Coons reply seemed evasive and defensive, as if he were running for something. And then Mr. McClain [March 29, 2018 edition] reminds us that indeed there is an election coming for Mr. Coon’s position. Ms. Hamp is absolutely correct that it is a frustrating, time-consuming, deliberately arcane form of harassment and intimidation that most people who have gone through it once would not...
To The Eagle: It seems that the local political season has begun. I want to let your readers know that I am seeking re-election as Wahkiakum County Assessor. I offer my experience and knowledge to voters as they choose the best person to competently, professionally and fairly administer property taxes in our county. Changes in taxation at the state level and a challenging real estate market need a steady hand in the assessor’s office. I look forward to a clean campaign where the focus is on the qualifications of the candidates who seek to s...
To The Eagle: In a book titled Yamsi, about cattle ranching in Oregon, the author/rancher laments about suckering in after the first snowfall and putting out winter hay too early. Then the snow melts and the cows and calves stand at the fence ignoring good green grass, bawling for their hay delivery. That’s a pretty good analogy for the condition we’ve gotten ourselves into vis a vis government and local problems. After that last horrendous school shooting in Florida there was a lot of constructive talk about protecting our kids and our schools...
To The Eagle: I can't believe the comic you ran in last week’s paper during the most holy week for Christians. This hurtful inappropriate piece of not at all funny trash depicting Christ at Gethsemane with his disciples. Let me point out that the paper came out on the same day Christ would have been at Gethsemane, a peaceful place which is where Jesus spent the day before being crucified. Is there anyone except a hateful person who find that funny or appropriate before Good Friday and Easter Sunday? There should be letters of outrage to the p...
To The Eagle: I must ask, when did it become appropriate for an elected official, in a public hearing to proclaim, “I’m not going to get into a pi__ing contest with you?” Although not offensive, the statement was very unprofessional and very rude. Therefore, I would like to offer an apology to Appellant, Mrs. Hamp and the entire Board of Equalization (BOE) for the behavior of County Assessor, Mr. Bill Coons. Colleen Haley Clerk, Wahkiakum County BOE...
To The Eagle: April is so great! You get your tax refund and magically you get to use it to pay your first half of your property taxes, not buy a new car, not to go on a cruise, not to buy a boat---my mother told me “Life isn’t always fair.” And again the poor local Assessor is under fire giving your property a value that you don’t like---unless you’re going to sell this year. Well, here is the enigma of the Assessor’s numbers: He is only right when he is extremely lucky. His crystal ball spewing values is always behind what is happening i...
To The Eagle: Thank you for the outstanding coverage and related article on the recent travails of the Wages family. While the incident involving the sheriff’s office was a matter of public record, the story by Diana Zimmerman was a deeply personal account of the struggles of a well-known family in the community. The article pointed out the efforts the family has made as well as the legal constrictions the mental health providers must deal with. News articles are often devoid of the broader picture. The comments by Sheriff Howie and U...
To The Eagle: While out for a walk Wednesday the 21st the first SWAT vehicle of many passed me and I watched it's path. Nothing good happening but I was relieved when I saw it not going towards the school. Then on Thursday the 22nd I was disappointed. These are uncertain, anxiety filled times for our students. All they wanted was to feel a sense of unity. To feel that they could do something, however inconsequential, to be part of the conversation and they were punished for the crime of taking part in a short remembrance of those who lost...
To The Eagle: Well let’s send our 18 year old young men and women off to war but make sure they can't buy a rifle until they are 21 here at home, really, is that what the ding dongs in congress came up with to curb gun violence? Message to Democrats: You applaud the fact that there is no real debate on college campuses anymore, now you take our youngsters (K-12) out of school to protest things that you brainwashed them with, can you say Nazi propaganda? Since when is it up to kids to walk out of school whenever they want to? Everyone has a r...
To The Eagle: I am writing in response to Ms. Hamp’s letter [March 22, 2018 edition] expressing her frustration with obtaining information for her appeal of her 2017 property value for 2018 taxes to the Wahkiakum County Board of Equalization (BOE). First, a couple clarifications must be made. The assessor’s office values property in Wahkiakum county for use in the levy of ad valorem (Latin for "according to value") property taxes. When Ms. Hamp refers to her property taxes, I believe that she means her property valuation, which increased 10...
To The Eagle: In regards to Lori Hamp's letter concerning her experience with the current county assessor, I am disappointed to hear of yet another citizen who is having a negative experience while dealing with our assessor. I believe that our county's property assessments should be accurate, equitable and appropriate, taking into account the location and condition of the property as well as the selling prices of similar properties near its location. I understand that there will always be citizens who disagree with the assessment of their...
