Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2082 - 2106 of 2589
To The Eagle: I have been trying to follow the current wrangle over the responsibility for dealing with the Steamboat Slough dike failure. It seems to me that the problem has a fairly straightforward solution. It starts with insisting that both the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Corps of Engineers be forbidden from using bureaucratic wiggle words to avoid their responsibilities, that they be forced to deal in facts, and that they recognize, as my Granny used to say, “Can’t never did nothing.” Over a number of years, the Corps of Engin...
To The Eagle: In a 1942 Grays River Builder newspaper, a short article focused on the latest school district election. It read, "The voters tried out the new method of elections on Saturday when the elections were held in each of the component parts of the consolidated district." "Locally our issues were the election of one director and a 5-mill tax levy. The director elected was William Whitten of Altoona, succeeding Mayme Johnson. The tax levy, however, failed to carry as there was an insufficient number of votes cast to legalize a tax levy....
To The Eagle: As I travel Puget Island to the ferry tonight, I saw more white-tail deer than I’ve ever seen in all my trips to the refuge. So the government thinks it needs to save the deer. They buy a lot of working farms, tear down the houses and barns, build massive fences, and spend $28 million to make it the way they want. Along comes another government agency and dredges the river deeper and destroys the public road and dike protecting their investment. The Corps says it has money to build a new “setback dike,” but no money to fix the o...
To The Eagle: We have miles of beautiful dikes in the Steamboat Slough area with the exception of two hundred yards. The area in question gets heavy wakes from ever- and ever-bigger ships. This area is a long, sweeping turn and if you watch outgoing ships doing fifteen or better knots, you’ll see what’s going on with the area of our dike. This area is one of our remaining assets and has been a showplace for visitors. If the Corps wants to help, they could hire local contractors to repair the area for a pittance. The Corps of Engineers’ plan...
To The Eagle: The population in Wahkiakum County is aging rapidly. From 2010 to 2030 people aged 65 and over will increase from 25.5 percent to more than 42 percent. At the recent Aging Well – Living Well forum at Lower Columbia College, local experts addressed the impact this change is likely to have on our housing, transportation, health and wellness, workforce development, and community engagement. The keynote speaker, Bob Blancato, of Washington, D.C., national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition and director of the National...
To The Eagle: "For the government to permit banks to issue money, borrow that money, and pay interest on it is idiotic!" --Bill Hixon. Requiring commercial gillnet fishermen to try to fish in a little puddle is idiotic! It would be something akin to requiring that sport fishermen only be allowed to fish from port district docks, not floats, docks where ships tie up. That, too, would be idiotic! Giving the Army Corps of Engineers a pass on dealing with the increased erosion on the Steamboat Slough dike caused by their projects and actions is...
Following the shooting deaths of first graders in Newton, Connecticut, the nation has started talking about ways to curb such violence. Last week, President Obama announced recommendations of a taskforce, headed by Vice-president Biden, that asked Congress to tighten gun laws. Among other provisions, the recommendations call for a ban on both military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and a requirment for background checks for all gun sales. The Associated Press reported that, seeking to circumvent at least some...
To The Eagle, With continuing increases of atmospheric oxidation product concentrations and hot winds (oxidation produced tri-atomic molecules and hot winds associated with bureaucratic society), increases in habitat will likely occur without the expense of dike breaching. Rising ocean levels, a king tide, and an occasional good cyclone will contribute to no-cost wetlands. Gary Hanson Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: The word "entitlements" is being turned into a dirty word, mostly by the conservatives. What are entitlements? Something you are entitled to! I have earned my entitlement of Social Security, through lifelong contributions to the trust fund, being managed by our government. Our government has dipped into this trust fund to the tune of owing it $5,000,000,000 (I think that’s the amount of zeros?). For those of us now collecting on our savings, our government has changed the name of our withdrawals. Our Social Security check will n...
To The Eagle: As of December 15, 2012, the Bradley House Inn closed its door for business. We have had 11 years of being an innkeeper and we greatly appreciate all the support from our community. Our dream was to offer something that the town so desperately needed at the time. I remember after buying the Bradley House, we were sitting in the Riverview eating dinner. Six people (a couple and a party of four) were looking for lodging. There was none, so we offered our house for free. After all, we had four empty rooms. Four of those same people...
To The Eagle: The Eagle's last editorial gasp for last year was devoted to dressing down conservatives in Congress for fouling up President Obama's grand plan to tax the rich, which inspires the same response that Ronald Reagan made famous in his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter: "There you go again...bashing us poor battered and bruised conservatives." Last time it was the "conservative wing" that was not flapping hard enough; this time we're relegated to "conservative fringe," out there with the loonies, anarchists, and the flat earth folks....
On behalf of the members of Fire District #4, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the community for supporting our bond levy request to purchase a newer-used fire engine. The members of this community have always been supportive of our volunteer emergency ser- vices personnel. We cannot thank you enough for your continued support! As a friendly reminder, we would also like to take this opportunity to encourage you to replace the batteries in your smoke alarms. This should be done at least once a year to keep your smoke alarms...
To The Eagle: Back in the old days, when dirt was still hot and dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was a kid, if you did not have the money to buy something you wanted you either went without or you got busy and earned the money needed. Or you traded your time or services or something of value you owned for the item you wanted. That was referred to as "living within your means." Somewhere along the line someone came up with the idea of "lending" money. This was promoted as a way to get what you want now and pay later. "Just make one ‘small easy p...
Lisa Marsyla's last week at work as a Wahkiakum County commissioner was quiet. The board held their final meeting of 2012 on December 26, and it would have been the final meeting for Marsyla as a commissioner, for she didn't seek re-election. However, Marsyla's daughter was ill. Marsyla stayed home to care for the child, and she was able to leave office without a lot of fanfare. That's too bad. She has been a good commissioner and deserves a salute. Marsyla has been a committed official and worked hard on the tasks she tackled. An accountant,...
One has to wonder where our nation is headed when elected leaders ignore practical facts and favor rigid ideological doctrine. I'm speaking, of course, of the conservative fringe of the Republican party in Congress which refuses to consider raising taxes on the nation's wealthiest persons and thereby has hamstrung efforts to address the end of the Bush Tax Cuts, automatic federal budget cuts and other aspects of the so-called fiscal cliff scheduled to arrive in January. It's amazing that a couple dozen members of the majority party in the US...
To The Eagle: Ground breaking for the Empire State Building was in January, 1930 and ribbon-cutting took place in May, 1931, six months early and 30 percent under estimated cost. We used to build dams, bridges, skyscrapers and other immense projects in mere months from drawing board to completion. Now, building anything requires conferences, studies, a gazillion permits, and numerous lawsuits if the construction’s construed to threaten a three-toed toad or spotted spoonbill, or violate any of 347,288 (give or take) obscure and obtuse r...
To The Eagle: I realize it is hard to get agreement in any group of people. But...what would happen if each and every one of us in the USA and perhaps the world over just decided to ignore the governing agencies and went back to taking responsibility for our own lives? What if people remembered that not too long ago there were no handouts and people made their own way through honesty and hard work? Yes, I realize there were dishonest people and they were tolerated to a point then the vigilance committee met and the person was...
To The Eagle: This has been a bittersweet year for the Cathlamet Seventh-day Adventist Clothing Bank. We have received more donations than ever, the sweet, and we have received more donations than ever, the bitter. Let me clarify this. The sweet has several parts. First, what a wonderful, generous community Cathlamet is and has been. Secondly, most of the clothing has been clean, sorted and folded, which makes the clothing bank run smoothly. And lastly, it has been a joy to meet, visit, and laugh and talk with you about our...
While the national media are filled with coverage of the looming fiscal cliff, residents of communities and consumers of commercially caught fish of the lower Columbia River region are facing a cliff of another kind. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted last Friday to ban the use of gillnets on the main stem of the Columbia River, relegating them to side channels and tributaries. The move is part of a plan proposed by Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber that would also give allocation priority to recreational fishers and the professional...
To The Eagle: As a Wahkiakum high school student, I am concerned about the Julia Butler Hansen White Tail Deer Refuge. I have noticed that it could flood, and I don’t see very many people other than myself are concerned about it. I am an animal lover and I find this matter very important. With the land flooded in many places, animals who seek refuge and protection have to search for food in the mountains without the protection of the wildlife refuge. The animal wildlife refuge is the only true safe place for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer b...
To The Eagle: I congratulate Sen. Ed Murray on his election as Senate majority leader and the actions he has taken to represent the many different points of view within the Democratic Caucus. Already, Sen. Murray has shown tremendous skill in leadership and being open to others’ thoughts and suggestions. We face a narrowly divided Senate chamber and, more than ever, we will need to see bipartisanship and cooperation between Senate Republicans and Democrats, and members from rural, urban and suburban districts. The recommendation of my friend a...
Congratulations and thanks to all those who donated money, food and their time to fill and give out more than 130 Thanksgiving Baskets from the Wahkiakum Food Bank. It takes more than just food to fill Thanksgiving Baskets. The food had to be gathered together from many places, with many people helping to put it all in one spot, then divide it, put it into baskets, and put it into the vehicles. Esther and Ruth (hmmm, good Biblical names) had to stay an extra two hours. Needless to say we were all tired, but it was a good tired. We...
Like the candidates, I breathe a sigh of relief when the election is over. But it's not over till it's over. Only 20 votes separated Greg Prestegard and Mike Backman. Another 300 or so votes will be counted today (Thursday) at 12 noon, and they may still not settle the race for the District 1 position on the county board of commissioners. Some of the statewide elections are close. The races for governor, secretary of state, and state auditor were very close when counting ended Tuesday evening. Initiative 1240, concerning charter schools, was...
Having recently spent two months in the Pacific Northwest I flew back to Baltimore on October 28. My flight from Albuquerque to Baltimore was slightly delayed and very turbulent, to the extent that everyone clapped when the pilots finally landed us safely on the ground. I live in Edgewater, Md., which is only half an hour from the airport so I made it home just fine. I can’t say that for a majority of my fellow passengers though; in preparation for Hurricane Sandy shortly after my flight landed, every airport on the eastern seaboard closed, s...
To The Eagle: It is hard to make an informed decision on voting when we hear about Oregon candidates and issues and rarely about Washington. I found a great tool on the internet that helped me make informed voting decisions: www.tvw.org/2012-video-voters-guide, or you can go to the Washington State website: www.access.wa.gov and search for video voters pamphlet. Each candidate video taped a presentation. Gerry Brennan Cathlamet...
