Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1476 - 1500 of 2595
To The Eagle: I try to get out and walk some part of Puget Island four or five times a week for exercise. Monday, while out on SR 409, someone in an older Chevy pick-up stopped to offer me a ride into town. I was immediately taken back to the days when this was such a common occurrence. Such a nice gesture and courtesy. Alas -- how sad we live during a time when many don't feel comfortable doing something like this. My hat's off to the man who stopped. As it was, I was practically home. But if I'd been walking into town, it would have been a...
To The Eagle: What I said in in my letter two months ago was that I am sick and tired of the whining from the superannuated fogies in our country (and county) who can't accept (boohoo) the results of our national election. What Reagan said was true: “You know so much that just isn't true.” Mike Swift Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Finding nothing in The Eagle two weeks ago, we thought the great Wahkiakum DDT (Debate on Donald Trump) was off with the kids on summer vacation, but as of last week, it is apparently back on full throttle. Memo to James Roberts: Welcome to the fray. Good letter in last week's Eagle, but it kinda bent my psyche, 'cause I couldn't figure out whether I was writer 1, 2, or 3. Did a neighborhood survey and applied statistical analysis: Turns out I was writer number one and seven sixteenths. A more professional survey by Pew Research...
To The Eagle: You can tell that Howard Brawn is back in town. He's barely got his dogs back into their kennel and he's already poking holes in my little shibboleths with that sharp pen of his. Some neighbor. I'd never sneak onto his property and toss pebbles at his hounds. He ought to show more respect for the creatures I've spent years nurturing, preening and polishing. I feed my shibboleths an organic diet, comb their coats daily and give them plenty of exercise by trotting them out and around for other people to admire as frequently as...
To The Eagle, I wait patiently for our weekly source of local news but mostly for the opinion section with the ongoing battle of wits, although some seem to be a bit short of the requisite wits. One frequent writer seems to be articulate and knowledgeable. Another that comes to mind is articulate but seems to have confused socialism with various dictatorships around the world who claim to be socialist. These dictators have told their easily led populous that they are a socialist society but what they have is exactly the opposite. Cuba, North...
To The Eagle: Doing more with less is a constant in local government. Only when that option is exhausted should doing more with more be considered. In Cathlamet’s case, the proposal to hire a town manager seems ill-conceived and potentially undemocratic. My concerns are as follows: 1) What evidence is there that our quasi-volunteer system is broken? Today, council members and the mayor receive nominal pay for significant work. But is the level of service now provided so deficient as to justify a salaried town manager? 2) Why not increase the m...
To The Eagle: Before Cathlamet, our community was known as Birnie’s Retreat. James Birnie, a Scotch fur trader working for the Hudson Bay Company, is credited with landing his canoes on our shore in 1846. He didn’t come alone. Accompanying him were his wife Charlotte and a boat load of kids. Many boat loads, as the Birnies already had 10 kids and added two more after settling in. In addition to the Birnie Bunch, James brought along Native American slaves to cut down timber, help build shelters, dry fish and plant gardens and orchards for eve...
To The Eagle: I’ve been the fair manager for five years. After reading what Mr. Backman had to say at the June 13 commissioners meeting, I would like to get some facts straight for him. At the May fair board meeting, there was a motion to call off the bull riders if a goal was not achieved ($15,000). It was also stated that there would be a committee meeting on May 30, and they were to decide if it went forward or not. At that meeting, it was decided by the committee to go forward. Therefore I allowed fundraising to go on for the event. If t...
To The Eagle: Perusing a foot-high stack of mail after a three-week marathon trip (New York for the national wolfhound show, then San Diego for our granddaughter's wedding) the accumulated editions of The Eagle showed that the Trump-inspired brouhaha continued unabated in our absence. First of all, we'll respectfully decline Dennis Gordon's challenge to a debate with a threefold rationale: strategically redundant -- we are already having that debate in these pages; tactically inept -- I'd be foolhardy to vie with the stentorian skills of a...
To The Eagle: Roger Ailes (deceased-May 18), Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump are men of the same cloth. The management or leadership of any government, industry, academia, religion or religious groups, community and or public service groups, and all families, would not tolerate the actions of any of these three men. Fox News, even with its successful programming of fear with Ailes and O’Reilly could not allow itself to tolerate the actions and behavior of either man. Both sponsors and consumers demanded change. However, it is amazing that app...
To The Eagle: I really appreciated Poul Toftemark’s erudite summary of the many issues we editorial letter writers have been addressing in previous editions of this great small town newspaper. This fellow has been listening closely. He deserves being listened to just as carefully. Poul's elegant definition of a liberal as someone with "obvious leanings toward betterment of our environment, health and general well being while here on this beautiful earth" has marvelous depth and simplicity. As Mr. Toftemark stated, the election is over. My d...
To The Eagle: It is my understanding that “Letters to the Editor” is a place to vent personal opinions. So here it is. I have been a supporter of the Wahkiakum County Fair since I moved here 47 years ago; I have served on the Fair Board and as a Fair Manager; also I have been a 4-H Volunteer Leader for 40 years. During that time I have worked with county commissioners who were very supportive of the fair as a county tradition. I am sorry to say that I do not feel that the current board of commissioners feels that way. The fair receives no fun...
To The Eagle: The latest phone scam is alive and well in Wahkiakum County. The caller will state that the reason of this call is to inform you that IRS is filing a lawsuit against you. The IRS will not call you. The "Department" phone number they want you to call is 719-387-0327. This area code is from Colorado, but the call most likely is generated somewhere else. People will note that the grammar used is awkward, indicating someone not familiar with American syntax. The IRS is asking that you use the TIGTA's IRS Impersonation Reporting web...
To The Eagle: The Skamokawa and Grays River Granges have played an important role shaping our Wahkiakum community. But, there is very little information available at our museum in Cathlamet concerning the Grange and its history. We are requesting the community share any memorabilia you may have that will preserve and honor the Grange. Any photos or information will be shared with the Wahkiakum County Historical Museum. We are interested in the active Skamokawa Grange #425, active Grays River Grange #124, the closed Elochoman Grange and Puget...
To The Eagle: Just a reminder to everyone about the PIGYS sale coming up June 23-25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those interested in having a sale need to contact me by June 16 to ensure you get on the map. My number is 360-430-0951. Sandie York Puget Island...
To The Eagle: I am really excited about the upcoming 2017 season at the Julia Butler Hansen Swimming Pool. Last year we invested in an excellent pool liner, two new water heating systems for our showers and a new locker room floor for the ladies. This year we will have a fantastic new pool heater system. Perhaps more significantly, I have chosen to change the lifeguard training and the swim lesson programs to what I think will be a very successful system for us. I signed up for the Starfish Aquatics Institute programs to train guards locally...
To The Eagle: After reading the opinions of varying people, presumably all Americans, I will do my best to stick to that label, though I have been labeled something else, at different times. I, and I believe most, except perhaps Hillary, are way over the election. That said, do not expect that we will all of a sudden be lockstep with Trump’s policies. Once the election surprise was over, hoped for some good changes. In particular to the EPA and in my opinion over-reach of regulations. Instead it has been a baby with the bathwater approach, v...
To The Eagle: This is a suggestion for your reader, Mr. Bouchard: Why not calm yourself about president Trump, elected legally by many of our neighbors? We put up with your guy and his incompetence for eight long years. Eight years of low employment and weakness in our society. Your side lost the election and refuse to accept it. You would rather bellyache and wear your pink hat, or is it the black mask and hoodie? It seems you would rather have a failed and crippled country than a successful one. The narcissism and hubris old hippies like you...
To The Eagle: It's important to us as recent Cathlamet residents to thank all that have played a part in helping the Cape Horn area property owners sign the Right of Entry document. This last effort has taken all of us over two and a half years to finally get to this point of achievement, and because of this time invested for our need of the sand replenishment, we can finally move forward with the final details to get on the Corp of Engineers’ calendar. Thank you to all of County Commissioners; Blair Brady, Mike Backman and especially our D...
To The Eagle: I declare myself in response to Howard Brawn’s and in support of J.B. Bouchard’s recent letters to The Eagle. I am perhaps brain dead and I have been irresponsible as a citizen of the United States not to insure that Trump would not be elected president. He will never earn a capital “P” from me. But who would have thought… , but I understand, members of both parties have been irresponsible to America and Americans' needs. Change was needed but not Trump. But with my faults, I do take pride in knowing the facts and using facts in a...
To The Eagle: I feel like Mike Swift just shouted in my face without really saying much beyond a few tired platitudes [Letters To The Editor, May 25, 2017 edition]. He might consider expressing an original idea once in a while. No sense in my denying the aging hippy comment. Got me dead to rights. I also feel like Swift left his audience hanging on to nothing with his final comment that we "read more history." I do actually read quite a bit of it and have some publications to recommend. If you're an insomniac and like multi-volume series, try...
To The Eagle: Thank you for printing the letters to The Eagle. Lately we have read the tendentious and tedious letters from our neighbor, Bouchard, who it seems is very upset about the election of DJT, the estimable Donald J. Trump. They illustrate very well the ignorance and arrogance of the aging hippie “Zen-marxist.” First of all, this county and country had an election on November 8, 2016. We selected a president in accordance with our election laws and our constitution. Now the crybabies and weak-minded among us want to somehow go bac...
The following news release from theWashington Attorney General's Office details Attorney General Bob Ferguson's involvement in promoting the rights of transgender people, who are people just like the rest of us. No citizen's rights should be diminished. Kudos to Bob Ferguson. --Publisher Rick Nelson OLYMPIA —Attorney General Bob Ferguson is leading a coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia in urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold the right of a transgender student in Virginia to use the school b...
To The Eagle: May is Older American’s Month. As Vice-Chair of the Washington State Council on Aging and an active advocate for senior programs with the Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities of Southwest Washington, I happily admit to being senior sensitive. The theme for Older American’s Month 2017 is Age Out Loud and The Administration for Community Living wants you to know that. More than ever before, older Americans are working longer, trying new things, and engaging in their communities. They’re taking charge, striving for wellness, focus...
To The Eagle: May is Older American’s Month. As Vice-Chair of the Washington State Council on Aging and an active advocate for senior programs with the Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities of Southwest Washington, I happily admit to being senior sensitive. The theme for Older American’s Month 2017 is Age Out Loud and The Administration for Community Living wants you to know that. More than ever before, older Americans are working longer, trying new things, and engaging in their communities. They’re taking charge, striving for wellness, focus...
