Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1381 - 1405 of 2594
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...
To The Eagle: I reviewed the report on the town’s meeting regarding sewer rates. The council is deciding whether to charge customers a flat fee or charge on the amount of usage. We all know the fair way is to charge on usage. A single person on a fixed income in a two bedroom mobile home, who conserves their water to keep their bill down, should not pay the same as a family in a three bedroom home with three kids – where there is numerous loads of laundry, daily dishwashing, baths/showers, and watering of the lawn, etc. The town is faced with a...
To The Eagle: Our US Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler deserves praise for her vote against the recent federal spending bill. I appreciate her concern over the large—and growing—amount of debt the federal government owes. Recently, I attended a financial planning seminar featuring a Loyola University economics professor. His take was 2018 looks steady for our economy. Good news, however, he added the United States was in a “late period of recovery” in an economic cycle. The problem is spending and debt obligations when the economy inevita...
To The Eagle: We all want to do what’s best for our families, but most of us are doing almost nothing to face a huge threat to our elders’ health and welfare. Even those of us who have carefully planned for our other major life events get caught off guard because we don’t realize an important reality until it’s too late: Medicare does not cover the cost of long-term care for most of us. As the director of an agency that serves aging Southwest Washingtonians, I’ve seen firsthand how difficult these needs can be for families to manage. Most of u...
To The Eagle: At last, a crystal-clear snapshot of the sewer segment of the Wahkiakum water woes (front page headliner in last week’s Eagle). Using the data from that story, a minute on your family abacus will show that a $588,000 annual obligation divided among 408 customers is $1439 each, or 120 bucks a month, which is a bit much for a village sewer system. The unavoidable stone wall that consultant RosAna Noval hit is that if any customers pay less, others will have to pay more, so no matter what arbitrary payment categories are set up, i...
To The Eagle: Have you noticed how much harder the more ardent Trumpsters and GOP Congress need to work these days to keep supporting their pro-Trump position? Whether Trump is thumbing his nose at our law enforcement and judicial system, or generally denigrating anyone that’s not a rich white man, or undermining our decades old relationships with key international allies, he’s increasingly harder to accept as trustworthy, and as an agent of positive change. I think his base and our “bobble head” GOP congress understand this. It’s probably...
To The Eagle: I agree with neighbor Brawn’s comments in a previous issue regarding giving credit where it is due for perceived improvements in the national economy. The foundation upon which our present robust economy stands was built by the Obama administration and its courageous efforts to correct the fiscal disaster it had inherited from the Bush dynasty. Wall Street’s unregulated sub prime derivatives disaster withered our domestic economy and threatened that of the world. The real estate speculators and mortgage felons who caused it mad...
To The Eagle: Mexico cannot afford to pay $25-billion right now for a wall. So why can't the U.S. give them a break in the price and showcase our modern technology by using drones and extra manpower to guard the border? We could save Mexico about $20 billion. I bet they would appreciate the great reduction in price and front the money to pay for the technology and manpower update for border security. I'm not trying to offend anyone who thinks it's a great idea to have the USA pay the $25 billion and forgo the promises of Mexico paying the...
To The Eagle: To hear and read the hysterical utterings rampant among some of our fellow citizens is both enjoyable and unsettling at the same time. I've been paying attention to national politics since my youth. This year has been exhilarating and hopeful for many of us who have been agonized over our country's drift to collectivism and nihilism. The economy seems to be getting better. Let's not ruin the mood with Hitler comparisons and pussy hats. Sincerely, Mike Swift Cathlamet...
To the Eagle: Last Thursday, a week ago, was a landmark day for us. We spent a lot of it driving up and down SR4 and I-5 listening to a cascade of breaking news on radio stations from Longview to Portland. Domestic news: Unemployment at historic lows; minority unemployment at lowest ever since record keeping began; female unemployment at a 17-year low. Stocks market at record breaking highs; 81 Fortune 500 companies giving large bonuses to all employees; Amazon to build new $30 billion campus; Apple repatriating $250 billion from overseas – wil...
To The Eagle: Two cheers for Krist Novoselic (letter in last week’s Eagle) for nailing a bad problem ($20 trillion national debt) and its cause (profligate government spending). As an erstwhile and capable leader of the Democrat Party effort in this county, we’ve long hoped Krist would eventually drift toward the conservative side of the ledger, and his comments on indulgent government squandering indicate he has – so why only two cheers? He lost that third one by characterizing a vote for the tax cut as contributing another tril-‘n- a-half...
To The Eagle: Allow me to applaud Krist Novoselic’s assertion that less knee-jerk partisanship and a restored focus on “real problems” would be healthy for Wahkiakum County. During a recent visit, I encountered a harder, more bitter right-left divide than I remember from my term as Cathlamet’s mayor (2010-13). I also sensed that tensions between old-timers and newcomers are intensifying beyond the point where the cross-current of ideas and perspectives is healthful to one where hard “camps” are emerging. In one instance, a friend shared that...
To The Eagle: The Naselle-Grays River Valley School District Board of Directors recently authorized the placement of a three year maintenance and operations levy on the February 13 ballot. This is a replacement of the existing levy at just under half the rate that taxpayers are currently paying. The rate for the proposed levy is $1.50 per $1,000 dollars of assessed valuation, or $150 per year for a $100,000 home. The current school levy expires in December 2018. The replacement levy, if passed, will be collected in calendar years 2019, 2020...
To The Eagle: I was born and raised on Puget Island and went to Wahkiakum High School. I'm of Norwegian descent and raised in a Protestant, commercial fishing family. I'm now 65 years old, and I see a lot of things that need to be fixed in this country. I'm disabled. I want to go back to work. Years ago, I was in a car wreck; a man came out of nowhere from behind at a high rate of speed as I was making a left turn in a 35 mph zone. The impact was so great that it knocked out the caps and fillings in my teeth. I was in severe pain with a back...
To The Eagle: Future scholars will sift through Trump’s digital proclamations the way we now read the chroniclers of Nero’s Rome - to understand how an unhinged emperor can make a mockery of republican institutions, undo the collective nervous system of a nation and degrade the whole of public life. Chaotic, corrupt, incurious, infantile, grandiose, obsessed with gaudy real estate and his own inflated self regard, Donald Trump is of Neronic temperament. Longing for undying fame, he has always craved attention. Now the whole world is his aud...
To the Eagle: I was recently having dinner out with friends. Over the courses, the conversation ultimately became partisan. These folks, with a liberal political opinion, seemed obsessed with how President Donald Trump needs to be removed from office. The conversation never got around to policy issues such as the liability of our $20 trillion debt, the broken healthcare system, foreign relations or other aspects of what we should refer to as politics. Now, some Liberals seem enchanted with the idea of Oprah Winfrey as the next president! This i...
To The Eagle: We want to say thank you to all of the people of Wahkiakum County that participated in helping with the Star Program for the 2017 season; Mrs. Merz’s class for fundraising and purchasing gifts, the high school classes that also raised money and shopped for extras, the families that took stars and for the businesses that allowed us to place our trees. We also appreciate the monetary gifts that completed 10 emergency families’ needs. NovaLee Knopp Director, Wahkiakum County Star Program Not a Wahkiakum County funded age...
To The Eagle: I recently made my first online purchase. I got what I wanted and I got it in two days. Sounds good, yeah? Well along the way I read a report on how Amazon is actually taking business away from the Big Box stores. So what? They have it coming for wiping out all the local Mom and Pop stores, right? Here is something to consider. I am 70 years of age and I can remember when anything and everything we needed was available locally or we made it ourselves from whatever was to hand. Again, so what? Along comes the big box stores and wip...
To The Eagle: The Lower Columbia Indivisible Group is inviting folks from throughout the Lower Columbia area to join them for a 2018 Women’s March on Saturday, January 20, from 11 am to 1 pm. This march celebrates the anniversary of last year’s marches where more than 4 million people participated worldwide, including approximately 200 people in Longview. There’s more reason now than ever to come together. Folks will meet at the Longview Civic Circle. For those not familiar with the circle, it is a large traffic circle with a park in the middl...
To The Eagle: There is one disease that can explain the symptoms of the Cuban-American brain disease happening to the American embassy workers and not happening to the Cubans in the area. The Cubans, millions of them, were immunized a couple of years ago against a water-borne disease named Leptospirosis, which is also the cause of elk hoof rot. Leptospirosis (lepto) can and does cause malfunction of every organ of the body of mammals except the salivary glands. Americans do not get the vaccine. We do not have a vaccine for leptospira approved...
