Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2130 - 2154 of 2595
To The Eagle: While my letter is intended for Ms. Petralia (Eagle, Oct 18, 2012) all residents of Wahkiakum County should have an interest in my candidacy for Superior Court Judge. Any speaker should be happy to provide some comic relief to any program. All I can ask is to be invited back to address the voters and I will work to balance my convictions and keep you in stitches. And I feel honored that Ms. Petralia praises me as a comedian and encouraged me to run for county commissioner (by e-mail and phone, February 23, 2012). While Ms. Petrali...
To The Eagle: Re: marriage equality. We have two married daughters. One was married in Iowa and lives in Texas where her marriage is considered valid. The other was married in Massachusetts and lives in Washington where her marriage is not considered valid. This is not fair and I want justice for both girls and their marriages. Therefore I support Proposition 74 that provides marital equality. Carol A. Kriesel Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Wahkiakum County Auditor Diane Tischer and I enthusiastically support Kim Wyman for Secretary of State. As your Secretary of State for the past 12 years, I fully understand the qualities needed to serve successfully in that position. It’s not a matter of political party preference. Instead, it’s the ability to rise above party and oversee elections and the other office functions in a fair, non-partisan way. Kim Wyman has demonstrated that quality for twelve years as the Thurston County Auditor. She is endorsed by 66 present and...
To The Eagle: As your ballots are mailed out this week, I take the liberty of reminding all that every vote counts and what a privilege we have in our country to do so. There are many problems with our system as we all know, but I know of none better. On our local election, I point out a problem in our county commissioner elections. The current terms are four years rather than three or six years. That means that two commissioners come up for election at the same time. This creates the possibility of losing two experience commissioners at the...
To The Eagle: I am writing to encourage your readers to join me in voting for Gene Healy as Wahkiakum PUD Commissioner, District #1. We need to retain Gene in this leadership position because of his experience, his ability and his decency. I served with Gene on the Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Council. Gene would always provide leadership by asking meaningful questions that brought our focus to the big picture and prompted insightful discussions. I was very pleased when Gene sought to serve our community by offering to complete Larry R...
To The Eagle: First I want to thank the Grays River Grange for hosting the candidate forum and the generous grangers for providing delectable snacks - the fresh bread was spectacular! Not surprisingly, the principal local issues addressed by the candidates were the faltering economy and the concomitant loss of jobs, the education of our children, and taxes/budgets. Sadly, none of the candidates offered fresh insights or new solutions. Political party preferences were easily detectable as specific candidates short-sightedly blamed the demise of...
To The Eagle: 'Tis the season of high political theatre and the first two presidential debates did indeed provide great drama with President Obama doing a dispirited defense of the indefensible and Vice President Biden attempting to avoid defending the indefensible with a squirming, eye-rolling, interrupting tantrum worthy of a five-year-old, (apologies to any five-year-old who may be reading this.) Our own candidate forum in Grays River last week was more sedate, but it had its entertaining moments and provided some really clear distinctions...
This week we note the passing of former Senator Sid Snyder. A story elsewhere in this edition chronicles his career. I didn't know him when he was appointed to a vacancy in the state Senate, but I soon came to appreciate him. As a representative, he was acutely in touch with his constituents and represented our area's particular points of view very well in the Senate. He was an extremely effective legislator and quickly rose to the top leadership post. He worked well with members of the Republican party and with the bureaucrats. And he never...
To The Eagle: Over the last several weeks, I have been hearing from various clients and friends that "the word on street" is that I no longer live in the area or practice my Attorney at Law business in the area any more. I would like to dispel this rumor and reassure my clients that, as my recurring ad in The Eagle states, I am still very much engaged in my business here and remain committed to serving the Wahkiakum, Cowlitz and Pacific county areas that I have served since opening my private practice in 2004. It is true that my wife and I...
To The Eagle: I’ve worked with many people in both parties who held diverse interests but also held the value that the decisions we make as elected officials are about the people, not the party. This is why, as a democrat, I support republican Attorney General Rob McKenna for Governor. My experience working with Rob is that he puts the people and issues first, over the party and positioning. He understands that the work of the legislature and government is about getting the job done for the benefit of the public. When I was in the l...
To The Eagle: This month welcomed October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. One in four women will be the victim of domestic violence at some point in her lifetime, and on average, three women are killed every day at the hands of a current or former intimate partner. The economic downturn has had a devastating effect on programs working to serve survivors of abuse. While a bad economy does not cause domestic violence, it can make it worse. At the same time, there are fewer options for survivors to escape. According to the 2012...
To The Eagle: Oops, did I slip up--I forgot the dinner at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church on Sunday. I was reminding myself all the time so I would remember but on Sunday it was 1:30 p.m. when I remembered. Do I feel lower than mud. It was to benefit the Wahkiakum Food Bank and I was not there, (and do those ladies know how to cook.) I am so sorry and I apologize from the bottom of my heart, please forgive me. I did not have enough time to get this in last week's paper. Our Saviour's church does much to help the Wahkiakum Food Bank. Jimmie Lou...
To The Eagle: One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, despite the fact that it doesn't work. Here are a few things that don't work: Solar and wind power don't work as sources for the electric grid because they only produce power for short unpredictable periods of time, and the power must be used when it is generated. It is also prohibitively expensive unless subsidized by government, which is already running out of money. Light rail doesn't work because it only goes where the rails go, not where people want to...
To The Eagle: Obviously Mike Backman does not know the difference between a meet and greet which is sponsored by the backer and backers of particular candidates, and a forum which is open to all candidates. A lack of that knowledge is one reason we are backing Greg Prestegard for county commissioner. Mike Mouliot Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: The Washington State Department of Transportation wants to remove the only well used crosswalk in the town of Cathlamet on Main Street. This seems to be a case of bureaucrat incompetence or arrogance! P.J. Fleury Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: On September 14, I took a boat out to Miller Sands, across the channel from Altoona. This was the site of the only White Pelican nesting colony west of the Cascade range. When I arrived the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were working at the site. They had bulldozed all the vegetation and were pumping dredge spoils on the nesting area. Now that the site is steep and free of cover, it will not be usable for the pelicans next year. I contacted Bird Research Northwest and a biologist from the Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge, who...
To The Eagle: Dear 795-3333, I wish you would have invited all the candidates to your meet and greet or made it clear that you didn't. Some of us have worked hard to meet the people and get our platform out. Mike Backman Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: A couple of years ago, in honor of St. James Family Center's 25th anniversary, I ran the Portland Marathon in tribute to them and invited people to donate to SJFC in celebration of their quarter-century of service.The generosity of the community overwhelmed me: More than $800 was donated to this essential, local institution. I was thrilled at this response, but I shouldn't have been surprised: SJFC is extraordinary.For 27 years, now, SJFC has been providing a safe place for children to learn, stay, and grow.My own children, now...
To The Eagle: I have run some sizable operations in the international oil business and think I understand what it takes to make an organization go. Tammy Peterson strikes me as someone who is qualified for Treasurer. I have no disagreement with anyone who supports and votes for her. But there is an intangible that makes organizations go: someone around whom the department will solidify and rally as a constructive element of transformational leadership. I think Marlena Silva exhibits this quality. She supports county employees and their...
To The Eagle: In my opinion, the three most devastating events that can occur in a person’s life, but not in order of trauma are: 1) the loss of son or daughter in war; 2) a woman’s awareness and treatment for breast cancer and; 3) a bitter divorce. You might have a different opinion and change the subjects or circumstances. Being a Vietnam veteran, I witnessed many boys/men who would not come back to their parents; sad. Working and lecturing in the field of health and wellness with many women, and having female relatives that were dia...
This week, I announce some changes in staff. Reporter Melissa Linquist is leaving us, more or less. When we hired her last spring, she was completing her student teaching. It looked like none of the local school districts would be hiring a full-time elementary school teacher, and she would be a substitute teacher. That would have allowed her to continue as our part-time reporter. Alas, the Ocean Beach School District experienced some staff changes in August, and when an elementary position came open, they snapped up our enterprising reporter....
To The Eagle: Although I did not interview for or know that an article was going to run about the August 12 fund raiser event for Brandi Thomas, I wanted to clear the record because many things that were said in the article were taken out of context. Some of the information came from an email that I sent to Ms. Lindquist who wrote the article. I know her on a personal level and know that she is one of the sweetest people I’ve met. I have taught in the same building as she did her student teaching and quite a bit of substitute teaching during t...
To The Eagle: Governor Kitzhaber has called for an end to commercial gillnet fishing. Hmm. I don't understand all the hullabaloo! I'm glad and thankful we have commercial gillnetters. I love to eat fish but I do not like to fish for it. For many years, I commuted to work from Cathlamet to Longview. From Nassa Point to county line I would see less than 10 gillnetters (I know there are more going toward Astoria). They are not out there every day or every night; they are out there only when allowed. Now, the sport fishermen, that's a different...
To The Eagle: Speaking of our community’s wonderful spirit of volunteerism, (August 16 ‘Opinion’) I would like to acknowledge the exceptional work done by volunteers on behalf of Cathlamet Public Library. Not only do they provide fine customer service checking-out nearly 12,000 books and movies every year, they also perform a wide variety of other tasks that keep the library running smoothly. Thanks to volunteer generosity, the library is now open Tuesday through Saturday, five afternoons a week. In addition, the library is governed by a board...
To The Eagle: The article that was in last week's Eagle speaking to the Governor Kitzhaber plan is related to a proposal that goes back several years when the State of Washington also tried to out the commercial fishermen put of business on the Columbia River. I've been a Grange member for over 60 years and was on the Fish and Wildlife committee at that time. When we were meeting with this group who were making the proposal which our committee opposed, I asked what percentage of the people in the state of Washington actually had a license to...
