Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2055 - 2079 of 2589
To The Eagle: I want to celebrate the new investment and growth happening in and around Wahkiakum County. From the reopening of the Appelo Archives Coffee Shop and Bookstore to the new Diner on Main and Tall Tree Coffeehouse, it is amazing to see all the investment and reinvestment in our community. Our family and neighbors have all been enjoying the wonderful transformation of Skamokawa including the Landing, the Skamokawa Resort and Store, the Oasis and the Duck Inn. The Hotel Cathlamet, Scribbles Nail Spa, and Kullerful Bokuets in downtown...
To The Eagle: The following is the exact text of an anonymous letter I received April 13: "We have watched your dog being abused for days! It is cruel to not provide him with shelter out of the wind & rain. HAVE YOU NO COMPASION (sp?) Please at least cover the kennell (sp?) so we don’t have to lose any more sleep due to your gross neglect. Also, your kennel is too small (by legal standards) for that size dog. "If you need help finding him a proper home - give him to the Humane Society where he'll be cared for properly." (no signature) In F...
To The Eagle: Since we received our school board election ballot on Saturday the 6th, it’s time to fill it out with a positive approval and get it back to the auditor’s office in Cathlamet or South Bend. I want all of you eligible voters to remember that it was our parents and neighbors within our school districts nationwide that provided the schools we were educated in and now, ladies and gentlemen, it is our turn to return the favor. I want all of you to read what you are paying with the $8.1 million; your yes vote will provide and it will be...
To The Eagle: As in the Wizard of Oz, voters need to pull the curtain back and have a look for themselves. Naselle School District is pushing back when voters say no, understand that, we’ve watered and fed that behavior, and it grew. No means no, no matter who says it. A few weeks ago I received a letter signed “Voters for Accountability”. This letter talked about various issues going on in our school. Although I agree with their concerns, I felt there were a number of issues not addressed. At the end of the day it comes back to the same issue...
To The Eagle: St. James Family Center is proud to be a recipient of United Way of Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties funding allocations for 2013. SFJC received $48,000 from United Way this year. SJFC would like to extend a special thank you to the United Way Liaison to our Board, Brad Whittaker, The United Way Board of Directors and the United Way President/CEO, Kalei LaFave. These people put in countless hours campaigning for funds, visiting programs, attending board meetings and have the tough job of allocating the funding. United Way does much...
I hope the Wahkiakum County board of commissioners next week will quickly designate the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce as the state recognized associate development organization (ADO) for Wahkiakum County. Commissioner Mike Backman on Tuesday said he wanted to consider assigning the designation to another organization, such as the Wahkiakum Community Network. I hope that as Commissioner Backman looks further into the issue, he'll realize the Chamber is best suited for the job and deserves the ADO designation. For example, the Chamber's mission...
To The Eagle: A few weeks ago, two Steubenville high school students accused of raping a 16-year old girl in a semi-conscious state, were found guilty by an Ohio Judge. But this isn’t the end of the story. In fact, now that a verdict has been reached, it’s more important than ever to speak out against sexual violence. You might ask yourself, “but what can I do”? I would like to suggest that we can all do something and that we can no longer remain bystanders in these heartbreaking events. Consider the following scenario: You’re out, and you t...
To The Eagle: Since April is the poetry(est) month, as recently ordained by the federal government, I will respond to this decree as best I can. But then again I am trapped by a tickled silence. What is it to respond to a cultural decree by the government? In the contemporary lexicon, a ‘response’ is something someone does via e-mail; jabbed letter by letter while squinting into a glowing object the size of a pack of cigarettes. Does musing on the nature of poetry in society break the Wahkiakum Eagle’s solemn editorial rule number 7? More...
To The Eagle: To say that I have been overwhelmed by the positive response I have received about naming the new ferry the “Oscar B.” would be an understatement. Those who knew my father know that his name and the ferry were synonymous. For those that did not know him, I hope that they will realize what a big part he played in keeping the ferry service in Wahkiakum County. I can’t thank the county commissioners enough for this honor of keeping his name connected with that of the Puget Island ferry. I hope that the feedback that the commi...
To The Eagle: We in Wahkiakum County have an excellent lesson on how to save large sums of public money. That is the Wahkiakum Sheriff’s office. Our Sheriff, Mark Howie, has expanded the practice of hiring deputies with experience needed in our county. Examples as follow. Our new undersheriff, Steve Marshall, who is a certified rescue diver, certified swift water rescue diver, certified collision investigator and vehicle assault, command search and rescue investigations. He has 32 years experience in various phases of law enforcement in King a...
To The Eagle, With respect to Craig Brown’s letter in support of the Food Bank in Erickson Park, I don’t understand the need for an ad hominem attack when his case can be made objectively. I haven’t found that personal comments add to any civil discourse. Bur for the record, I am not from Houston unless having lived there periodically when rotated back to the United States qualifies. Mr. Brown could have easily called me a Frog, a Limey, a Libyan or a Tunisian (or, I suppose, a Red, a subversive or a Planning Commissioner). I don’t conside...
To The Eagle: While I realize that coming from Houston might incline James Reed to shoot from the hip (“Town needs care in entering contracts” / March 7, 2013), now that he has settled in Cathlamet it might behoove him to get his facts straight before ‘firing off’ a letter To The Eagle. After scourging the Town Council for a contract that they haven’t even entered into, Mr. Reed goes on to lecture us on how a contract should be constructed to be in the best public interest. Unfortunately, town attorney Heidi Heywood is still drafting a land le...
To The Eagle: I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the partners of Drop Anchor Brewery and encourage Port District No. 1 and the community to support the proposed brewery at the marina. Mr. Erickson and his team, if successful, will be laying the foundation for further economic development in our community. In 1965, as a teenager, I had the good fortune to witness the construction of a distillery in Plainfield, Illinois. The company, in 1965, was known as the Distillers Company Limited. Today it is known as Diageo. You can...
It all started way back in time when someone got tired of packing around items to trade for what they needed. Things they did not have and could not grow or make themselves. Along comes some over-achiever (who shall remain nameless) with the bright idea to get everyone in their area to agree that something small and easy to carry represented the goods they were tired of packing around. From then on life became easier and the basic idea of money was established. Money was and is an agreed upon medium of exchange. A problem entered...
I suppose I am one of the citizens that Councilman McNicholas was referring to when he noted that there may be some adverse public reaction to a food bank in Erickson Park. I don’t want a food bank in Erickson Park. I do not belive that it furthers any of the park’s purposes. It is a mystery to me why the food bank cannot be established on private property (unless it expects some form of special deal or support from the town). But perhaps that debate is over. Living here for the last eight years, I find that the Town seems to reg...
The Wahkiakum PTO is organizing a food drive to benefit GAP (Giving Action Plan Program) for the week of March 11-15. This will be a class competition to see which class can bring in the most food listed below. There will be a winning class from each elementary and middle school that will get an ice cream party sponsored by the PTO. There will also be a drop box outside the office for community members who wish to donate food to GAP. Below is a list of items that work well for GAP when preparing food bags for kids....
To the Eagle: February is National Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month. It is critical that we take this time to remember that domestic violence is not just a problem for adults. One in three adolescents in the United States will be a victim of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse from a dating partner. Nearly 80% of girls who have been physically abused in their relationships continue to date their abuser. Two-thirds of teens who are in an abusive relationship do not report the abuse. A recent study by the Centers for...
To The Eagle: In last week’s Eagle, PUD Commissioner Bob Jungers maligned Cathlamet’s water system. He said: “One of the reasons they are in financial difficulty with their system is because their infrastructure has decayed to the point that their water losses are so high that they are manufacturing a lot of water that they’re not selling.” Respectfully, Mr. Jungers lives in a glass house. In Cathlamet’s most recent Annual Performance Report submitted to the Dept. of Health, our 3-year loss rate (2009-11) was 17.4 percent. In the PUD’s Annua...
To The Eagle: Looks like we might get a second chance! After the huge disappointment that the Naselle-Grays River Valley school bond didn't pass, I wanted to take this opportunity to plea for the no voters to give it more thought and perhaps choose to be supportive. I'm not sure of the demographics (other than west end Wahkiakum county soundly voting no), but I would imagine locals with kids and grandkids in our schools would generally be positive. They see first hand how an area that gets over 100 inches of rain a year might need more room...
To The Eagle: I’m engaged in an effort to convince our state Legislature to exempt rural school districts from high-cost state prevailing wage requirements. Such an exemption would save our school district $2 million (or more) on an $8 million construction program. On February 13 I testified in Olympia before a Senate committee hearing in favor of proposed bill SB 5508 for that purpose. FYI: Ohio exempts all school construction. First, I’d like to publicly thank Sen. Hatfield for agreeing to sponsor this bill as a result of a cam...
To The Eagle: The volunteers and officers of Grays River Valley Fire and Rescue District #3 would like to thank Wahkiakum West for its generous donation of funds to purchase audiovisual equipment for the new Grays River Fire Hall. As many of you know, the Grays River hall was damaged in flooding six years ago and was deemed unsafe and beyond repair. It has taken several years to acquire the funds and property necessary to build the new hall on high ground in Grays River. That new facility should be completed in the coming weeks. We needed...
To The Eagle: Hello. My name is Sam Okawa (get it?) and I'm an elderly Anatolian shepherd (dog) who moved here about four years ago. I read with interest Kay Chamberlain's piece in last Thursday's Eagle because my home and Ursula (my "person") were mentioned in it. It appears that someone was concerned that the eight rescued cows living here after they were taken, almost dead from starvation, from an abandoned farm, were not being fed and that good Samaritan felt intervention was necessary to "save" them. How that person saved the bovines is a...
To The Eagle: Recently there has been quite a bit of discussion in the area of gun control and assorted other political footballs. One thing I have been observing is that those who are opposed to things like the Bill of Rights and Constitution are fond of using statements about what might happen rather than sticking to facts, statistics and matters of record. I am not going to get into any of that debate here. I will say I support the Bill of Rights and Constitution and do my best to live up to those standards. So what is my point? Glad you...
To: Council Members; from: Mayor George Wehrfritz Subject: State of the Town Report, February 11, 2013 As required by state law, I submit the following State of the Town report for Council review. Main Street, Cathlamet My focus in this annual report is our principal commercial thoroughfare, Main Street. It is where Wahkiakum County has gathered to shop, socialize, dine and celebrate for more than a century. Historical photos reveal that it once was a happening place; today’s imagery stands in contrast to the bygone vibrancy and optimism &...
To The Eagle: Due to the uncertainties in regulations of the sturgeon sport fishery, Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars is making changes to its annual fundraising event. This year we will be having just one event, the 8th Annual Rods and Reels Rod Run car show. With the single event all proceeds will go to Wahkiakum High School seniors for college scholarships. The format for the car show will be similar to the past, including the salmon BBQ lunch, trout pond for the kids, great raffle tables, dart game, DJ, many door prizes and over 60 trophies...
