Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1357 - 1381 of 2589
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...
To The Eagle: An old Native American proverb: White man cuts one (1) foot from the top of his blanket and sews it on the bottom to make it one (1) foot longer. The same applies to DST. Jerry Bain Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Thanks for last week's front page article about robotics in Wahkiakum. It is community support like this that helps us to get grant money for robotics and other school programs. The Eagle's prior support helped us to get the $24,000 grant that has purchased the robotics equipment and training for our students and teachers. One addition to the article: We wish to thank our three judges for making the hard decisions amongst all of the teams present: County Commissioner Mike Backman, School Board member Paula Culbertson, and Sheriff...
To the Eagle: Every year I feel like I am being railroaded by the Assessor’s office. Last year my property taxes on my then 7-year old manufactured home increased 10 percent from the previous year, this year they increased by yet another 19 percent above last year’s appraisal! Last year, I appealed my appraisal, arguing that manufactured homes (MH) should only depreciate in value, and should never appreciate unless improvements have been made to them. The appeals process appears quite easy at face value. Simply submit the completed pet...
To The Eagle: I was shocked to read your AP article emphasizing state official’s total lack of integrity by elected Legislators and our WA attorney general. This bipartisan failure to support and enforce WA constitutional protection brings shame on them all. The singular issue is not important. Those WA officials’ hubris and open willingness to violate legal due process is appalling and paramount. WA senator: “I have incredibly grave concerns that we are creating a convoluted process for getting around a [WA State] constitutional right...
To The Eagle: There still seems to be some confusion as to the difference between the Fair Foundation and the County Fair Board. The Foundation is a non-profit organization formed by volunteers to support use of the fairgrounds and raise funds for projects at the grounds not covered by the fair budget. The Foundation is not affiliated with county government. The Fair Board is also comprised of volunteers who are appointed by the county commissioners to guide the fair manager in maintenance of the fairgrounds and coordination of the county...
To The Eagle: Showered with approbation as both “humorist” and “knowledgeable correspondent” in last week’s letters to The Eagle, and despite detecting a strong thread of sarcasm, we humbly thank both contributors, and respond to Elizabeth’s request for lists of sources and achievements: In print, National Review and The Weekly Standard are usually reliable, though NR has been a bit grumbly since the Trump ascension, and over at TWS, editor Bill Kristol seems to be afflicted with a case of Trump Derangement Syndrome which has affected hi...
To The Eagle: What a joy and asset we have here in The Wahkiakum Eagle with our friend, Howard Brawn. He puts the lie to much of the hysteria and mean back biting from our leftist democrat neighbors. When all we readers get is a steady stream of AP handouts and media lies in The Eagle, that's OK. The Daily News isn't any better. Personally, I get my news and opinion from the myriad sources on the internet, both left and right. The Eagle is a fine little town paper. Most of the opinions are amusing. I confess that the suffering democrats are...
To The Eagle: Royal Bridge is committed to making the repair and repainting of the bridge as easy as possible on all residents of Cathlamet. We all know how excited everyone gets about the prospect of road construction in their community, but this particular project affects more than just the local people. A local fabrication shop, Big C Industries, located in Longview, has been subcontracted to build a temporary nesting site on the concrete portion of the bridge for the pair of osprey that have nested on top of the bridge for many years. Big...
To the Eagle, I have met and chatted with Howard Brawn on several occasions but I had no idea he had such a flair for comedy. His letter last week proclaiming that Trump has accomplished such wonderful and amazing things in his first year left me with tears of laughter rolling down my well worn cheeks. I thought by listing his accomplishments I might find something to justify Mr. Brawn's laudatory statement but came up with the following. If this is success to be happy about there is something seriously wrong with our collective sense of...
To The Eagle: Well folks, we're approaching the time of year when we begin Daylight Savings Time (DST), which is actually "Fake Time." That's right "Fake Time." No matter how we try to adjust the clock we cannot change the actual hours of daylight each day. Whether we realize it or not, the sun rises and sets at a certain time each day. We can change the clocks forward, backward, up or down and it will not change the hours of daylight. Yes I do not like "DST" and I am retired and can adjust my hours as I need; however, when I was working I had...
To The Eagle, I ask your wise, knowledgeable and frequent correspondent, Mr. Brawn, to please enlighten the ignorant among us on the sources of his valuable information. He appears to avail himself of links that I have not been able to access. I do admit that I do not subscribe to any Russian media. I wonder why our beloved GOP is not all over this heinous activity by the Democrats. It would be immensely gratifying if Mr. Brawn would provide a list of the accomplishments benefiting 99 percent of the American population enacted by the most,...
The Washington Newspaper Publishers Association is deeply disturbed by the Legislature’s action to limit the public’s right to know. As of Friday, the state’s lawmakers and their staffs are no longer subject to the state’s Public Records Act. Most problematic is the way our elected officials went about this. They crafted the law in secret, and with less than a day’s notice and without public comment, they made it effective immediately and retroactive to the time of statehood. Last month a Superior Court judge ruled that the state Legislatu...
To The Eagle: As in the old Indian fable of the six blind men examining the elephant, public awareness has been growing about a political scandal brewing that inundates the old high-water mark set by Nixon’s Watergate. In a nutshell, Hilary and the DNC spent $12.5 million through a firm called Fusion GPS, and a retired MI6 spook named Steele fabricated a salacious dossier on Trump which was then used to mislead the FISA Court to issue a warrant to spy on first the Trump campaign and then the Trump presidency. The Mueller Russian collusion i...
To The Eagle: A friendly reminder: People who have been diagnosed with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence than to commit violence themselves. Please keep this in mind when using the topic of mental illness as a pivot from talking about sensible gun legislation. Also, institutionalization in a psychiatric facility (i.e., hospital, asylum) is not a good option. Not only does institutionalization violate rights, it is not helpful in treating mental illness. After discharge from a psychiatric institution, risk of suicide...
To The Eagle: I've been a registered Conservative Democrat since Truman, not in lock step, but I vote for what I think is best for the country. We just got out of eight years of on-the-job-training and left after dividing the people and country. The local weekly paper has posted hateful letters against the president and the country. None were constructive. They hate the president for what he did to the Democrats, while the blame was within the Democrat party itself. We've had great presidents in the Democratic party and more to come. The...
To The Eagle: Regarding the letter to the Eagle (February 22, 2018) from Craig Brown suggesting that the most appropriate name for the building Wahkiakum Health and Human Services acquired from the Congregational UCC would be "Congregational Building." Calling it by this name, familiar to most of the people in Wahkiakum County, would make it more identifiable to those using it. As a former member of the church, my hope is that this wonderful old building will find new life and be a place where all can enjoy, learn from, and receive all the...
Letters To The Editor The Eagle welcomes letters to the editor, with a preference for letters addressing issues of local interest. The following guidelines apply: 1. Letters are preferred typed and double spaced.Optimum length is 1.5 pages double spaced or 3/4 of a page single spaced, or 300 words. 2. Letters must be signed and include the writer’s printed name, address and telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. 3. Letters should address issues and refrain from personal attack or character assassination. 4. Political or elec...
To The Eagle: Russia has never been our friend. During WWII Russia was an ally to help defeat Germany, that’s where the ‘friendship’ ended. Since then, Democracy has been at odds with the authoritarian rule of Russia-USSR-Russia. Eastern Europe was brutally ruled and used at their digression. Then until now, Russia has openly worked against the US interests. I believe we have much more infiltrated corners in our government, like the White House itself. So much has happened in this administration, that it’s difficult to remember the beginni...
To The Eagle: I recently discovered that Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services has taken upon itself the opportunity to name the building donated to the county by the Congregational Church. The name they have decided on is claimed to be “The Hope Center.” It’s not that this is an inappropriate name; it’s just that the community at large was not given an opportunity to weigh in on the decision. I was hoping we could designate that facility something that would readily communicate to those of us who respect local history and have known t...
To The Eagle: A positive and refreshing aspect of the news coverage following the school shooting in Broward County, Florida, was that the usual lefty political hacks yelling about gun control were quickly sidelined to make way for rational analysis of how we local folks could do a better job of defending our kids. The shooter had broadcast a series of connectable dots, but there was no civic antenna or receiver to organize the information into an intervention, nor any physical defense mechanisms in place for the school. No one really failed,...
To The Eagle: Richard Erickson’s notion (Letters to the Editor, Feb. 15 edition) that the town should sell the old sewer lagoons to Port District 1 is both predictable and ironic. Yes, the waterfront should be used to promote economic growth in Wahkiakum County, though selling it to a loss-making port district lacking a long term vision would be a major mistake. Here’s why: In 2012 the town council very publicly proposed that the port take the lead in co-developing the sewer facility’s parcels based on a decade-old concept plan, a scheme once...
To the Eagle: After reading the reactions about the proposal to sell cannabis in the Rosburg Store, I'm very disappointed in the board of commissioners of Wahkiakum County Fire District No. 2's logic when they opposed the application. They stated that the store is near a park and a school bus stop, and felt commercial activity at the store could create dangerous traffic situations. I'm curious if the reaction would be the same for selling alcoholic beverages. I assume the previous versions of the Rosburg store sold alcohol. Also, I recall...
To The Eagle: This past weekend, there was a significant house fire in Skamokawa. Readers may be interested to know that whenever there is a house fire in Wahkiakum, the sheriff’s office dispatches all fire departments to respond. That really paid off in Skamokawa! At the fire, every district had some representation, and all the personnel were used to good purpose. It was a big effort with responders shuttling and supplying water, people running apparatus, and of course the people wearing air packs and going in and out of the burning b...
