Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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To The Eagle: One writer last week said he missed Howard Brawn's letters. I join him. It's times like this that I wish he was still wielding his pen to cross with mine but, alas, it's not to be. On that regard let me throw out a challenge to any and all writers to this paper. Google Century 25 and give me your best shot. It appears to me that our society and perhaps most of the world have reached or are nearing what this study has concluded. In the news this morning a gang of youth were told to quit hassling an elderly man on the subway and...
Editor's note: Here is a copy of a letter Mayor David Olson sent to Cathlamet council members regarding expenditures for the development of the Butler Street parking lot.) To the Cathlamet Town Council: I want to respond to statements concerning the Butler Lot, many of them inaccurate or misleading, contained in the Letter to the editor published in the January 12th Wahkiakum Eagle. I recognize at the outset (and regret) the cost escalation associated with Butler lot development. Much of this arose from process delays (the latest is that the...
To The Eagle: To put my Butler parking lot comments from last week in perspective: · A much more efficient and aesthetically pleasing parking lot on Broadway St replacing Wally Wright’s old hardware store was recently and benevolently developed by a local resident. It has roughly 20 parking spaces, and designed with much easier entry and exit routes. The total development cost for this parking lot, after deducting the purchase price but including all the extensive demolition and infill required, was roughly $125,000. This works out to ap...
To The Eagle: Again, more misinformation from the anti-seaplane writer last week when he stated "there are no overhead flight paths in this area." There are actually three “overhead flight paths” in this area. Low Altitude Victor Airway T355 is about 1.5 miles west of Cathlamet. Airway J589 passes right over the top of Cathlamet. RNAV Airway Q1 passes right over the top of Cathlamet. There are also three Airspace Fixes close by: HOMKU, 0.6 miles west of Cathlamet, BIRON, 4.7 miles from Cathlamet, and KKARP 5.4 miles SW of Cathlamet. Also one...
To The Eagle: High level politics is fundamentally about dealmaking. You can’t succeed unless you’re willing to make a deal with practically anyone on almost anything. Faust’s deal with the devil was fatal. On Capitol Hill, it’s how you survive. Republican congressman Kevin McCarthy made a devilish deal with the GOP’s radical right wing fringe in order to secure the Speakership after his 15th dogged attempt to win the ballot. His razor thin Pyrrhic victory will fatally compromise his new position and the national legislation he intends t...
To The Eagle: I will never buy an EV car. I’ve read many negatives about them. While it takes an hour or more to charge a cell phone, iPad, iPhone, imagine how long it would take charging a car? Besides, charging an EV, the cost would be outrageous. To fill up and pump the car with gas would take less than three minutes. The idea to put charging stations by the bank, I don’t mean to sound harsh, is not smart. I wasn’t aware charging stations were being built. Should it not have been on the ballot for the people of Wahkiakum County to vote...
To The Eagle: We want to thank all of the people of Wahkiakum County that helped The Star Program for the 2022 Christmas season; the families that took stars, the businesses where we were allowed to place star trees, and to the volunteers that helped with the heavy work. We also appreciate the monetary donations, which without we would not be able to complete another year of gift giving for the children of the county. Sincerely, NovaLee Knopp Director, Star Program of Wahkiakum County Not a Wahkiakum County funded agency...
What the heck’s been happening in the Sheriff’s Office you ask? Well, several positive things happened in 2022 and are carrying over this year as well. Sometime this spring, patrol deputies along with the sheriff, undersheriff, and administrative assistant will be moving to the vacated space on the back side of the courthouse where the Health Department used to be. There will be a welcoming lobby for the public, more office space for the deputies and a more professional setting for employees and visitors alike. Victims reporting crimes in per...
To The Eagle: I am neither for nor against a seaplane hangar at the marina, but a writer in this column has been giving you inaccurate, misleading, and flat out wrong information trying to convince you to vote against one. The Cessna Caravan he speaks of carries 11 passengers, not “2 to 6.” Being that the channel is over 150 ft. wide, there would be no crowding in the channel, even two Caravans could easily pass each other without a problem. Further USCG COLREGS Rule 18 e) states “A seaplane on the water shall, in general, keep well clear...
To The Eagle: The Eagle recently announced that the Butler St parking lot’s first phase of construction is complete and partially ready for use. Town taxpayers though need to understand the horrendous cost they’ve incurred for this project: · Past Mayor Jacobson had the town pay over $60,000 to “a friend” for this literally contaminated lot. This was twice the then current appraised market value ... assuming it wasn’t contaminated. About two years ago, current Mayor David Olson made developing the Butler St lot his personal agenda, and...
To The Eagle: As each reader has no doubt experienced, the area in and around Cathlamet can be breathtaking and incredibly peaceful: it is a situation that is unique compared with nearly every other city on the lower Columbia River. While we are aviation enthusiasts ourselves (but not pilots), my family and I wanted to urge our fellow citizens to contact the county commissioners and ask them to reject all proposals for any type of seaplane hanger, ramp, or base near Cathlamet or on the Cathlamet channel. In our letter parts 2 and 3, we explored...
To The Eagle: As the armed forces of Ukraine face their own Valley Forge this winter, their President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his address to this nation from our Capitol, has personally thanked the citizens of this community. The following is my condensation of his address to us. “Dear Americans in all states, cities, and communities, all those who value freedom and justice, who cheer us as strongly as we Ukrainians in our cities, in each and every family, I hope my words of respect and gratitude resonate in each American heart.” “Your finan...
To The Eagle: Now that Christmas is finally past, our CHINO (Christian in name only) friends can return to the thoughtless cruelty they're so good at. I well imagine the Lord and Savior was appalled that the powers that be in Texas couldn't even wait until after the birthday of the Lord to bus several dozens of immigrants to well below freezing Washington DC and dropping them off, infants included, in front of the vice president’s residence. Some of these folks were without shoes and none were prepared for the weather. Just shouts out the value...
To The Eagle: I have had 12 years serving the people of Wahkiakum County as Assessor. Being your Assessor is not a bed of roses, nor is it hell-on-earth. It is an important job that I have really, really enjoyed. I began in early January of 2011 with two senior people from the Washington State Department of Revenue sitting with me while we figured out how to certify the tax roll to the Treasurer so that tax bills could be created. In between, I learned more about how to better value property. Values became increasingly fair and equitable as...
To The Eagle: RE: A Seaplane base at Cathlamet. We are concerned Cathlamet residents who love this city we call home. But while I am an aviation enthusiast myself (but not a pilot), my family and I wanted to urge our fellow citizens to contact and petition the county commissioners to REJECT all proposals for a seaplane hanger, a seaplane ramp, or a seaplane base in any location near Cathlamet or on the Cathlamet channel. Two weeks ago in Part 1, we explored the potentially annoying noise impact. Then last week in Part 2, we talked about: the...
To The Eagle: We are concerned Cathlamet residents who love this city we call home. But while I am an aviation enthusiast myself (but not a pilot), my family and I wanted to urge our fellow citizens to contact and petition the county commissioners to reject all proposals for a seaplane hanger, a seaplane ramp, or a seaplane base in any location near Cathlamet or on the Cathlamet channel. Last week, we explored the potential noise impact. This week: Impact 2: The false promise of economic impact. The reality is that the impact on local businesse...
To The Eagle: Nearing age 80 one gets used to friends passing but when they do it always causes new pain. Some more than others. I received an email from Judy Brawn telling me that Howard had passed away peacefully a week before the beautifully written obituary showed up in last week's Eagle. Howard and I have been crossing pens, rather than swords, for several years and became friends even though we both love our America with different visions for the country. In our respective youths we both signed up to die to protect her if needed....
To The Eagle: I was saddened to learn of the passing of Howard Brawn in last week’s Wahkiakum Eagle. I will miss his insightful thoughts put to pen in his frequent letters to the editor; those letters were informative, not nasty or hateful as some other frequent writers. I have to wonder how many of us here know what an interesting, adventurous and exceptional life he lived and through it all he never forgot how blessed he was to live in this amazing country he loved so much and I mean every acre of it. Howard, or should I say Mr. Brawn, w...
To The Eagle: We all know for the money we spend on private businesses, we always get something in return like clothing, dining, etc. It also goes to pay salaries for their laborers. When private business is not prospering, depending on the situation, they have to lay off their laborers or close shop. We all know the government gets their money that pays salary to their employees, from laborers that worked in private businesses. Go online and search government agencies A-Z www.usa.gov. As you scan through that list and the amount of employees...
To The Eagle: On a trip from the Long Beach Peninsula to a doctor's appointment in Vancouver last week, my oil light went on, so I drove into Cathlamet, looking for a gas station. I stopped at the Windermere office and had the great good luck of finding Bill Wilkins at his desk. Rather than send me off with no oil, he sent me across the street to the grocery store to buy two quarts of oil. When I got back, he took care of getting the car running again. He, along with a friend whose name I didn't catch, advised me to call ahead to Rebound to...
To The Eagle: Despite repeated hints that he might do so, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was not the leader who made the most straightforward attempt at a self-coup this year. It was Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, who last Wednesday attempted to dissolve his country’s Congress and rule by decree. By the end of the day, Castillo had been abandoned by his political allies, impeached by the congress, and arrested. German authorities last Thursday ordered 23 people to be held for questioning as they investigate a far-right group that prosec...
To The Eagle: Now that midterms are over, let’s talk about property tax. “If someone moves in next to you and you’re currently assessed at $300,000 but they pay $500,000 for pretty much the same house, I’ve got to raise you up to that,” Bill Coons quote. How absurd. “Home values are elevated everywhere. It doesn’t make much sense. It’s hard for people who are older and on a fixed income,” Laurie Williams quote. It’s hard on all people of all ages who worked hard to be able to live in their own home. My brother-in-law, rest his soul, at one ti...
To The Eagle: Republicans, some of you have told me that the GOP has become a big disappointment over the last eight years, and that you are disillusioned with the Republican Party and America. Well, my Republican friends, rather then being disillusioned with the GOP and America, maybe it’s time you take a second look at the other American party, the Democrats. We both have seen and heard what’s been going on these last eight years. The lies about a stolen election, the ridiculous rationalization by GOP leadership minimizing the theft of top se...
To The Eagle: Our son was chosen to participate in Shop with a Cop on Saturday. What an awesome experience and amazing program. I was overwhelmed with the generosity given to these kids. Thank you to the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Department, law enforcement from all agencies and the countless volunteers that put this extravagant event together. Walmart and many local folks gave generously to bless these kids and their families. Grateful for our little county, Gary and Susan Burkhalter Rosburg...
To The Eagle: If you didn’t know last Saturday was a Christmas “parade” of the county’s emergency, and fire brigade, you would think that something horrific had happened. Like my friend did, who was just arriving on the island and thought there was a major emergency. The sound of sirens wailing brought back memories at my parents’ driveway waiting for the medics to arrive to help my mother. Yes, I was relieved when they arrived. I appreciate all that emergency personnel and staff do. But I think it would be more in the spirit of the season to...
