Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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To The Eagle: A few of Howard Brawn's national management suggestions might be difficult to achieve. However, his comments “Rocks thrown at wrong target” (The Eagle 9/29/11) were on target and deserve some suggestions to address a solution. The apparent misappropriation and or non-accountability of over “100K” in Emergency Medical Service and Fire Department funds are still not accounted for, and the existence of “four undeclared checking/saving accounts under the town’s tax ID number” in the names of and managed by the district court judge a...
To The Eagle: The readers of The Eagle were treated to a pithy reply with wonderful humor, to my rebuttal of a previous letter. I found humor even in the not meant to be humorous, hence this letter. I did by the way send Mr. Brawn a thank you card which I hope he gets, as he does not list his full address in the book, mine is in case he would like to send one back. First, thanks for noting our six year fight, with Columbia Land Trust, which now seems to be moving forward. I can only guess Mr. Brawn gets his news before we in the Westend do....
To The Eagle: In the past year, the Daily News has had numerous letters referring to the disregard local PUDs have for the payers. The management style seems to be in the image of ENRON. The most telling was at a meeting of Public Utility District #1 of Wahkiakum County this past year when it was announced that there would be no public comment. After a query to the legal counsel of said PUD, I was informed that PUDs are not required to take public input. Question: why are they called Public Utility Districts? P.J. Fleury Cat...
To The Eagle: I would like to encourage parents, teachers and community members to attend the Principal's Round Table tonight (Thursday) at 6 p.m. in room 101 of the John C. Thomas Middle School. We will be discussing online safety, cyberbullying and sexting. With 20 percent of youth having sent or posted nude or semi-nude photos of themselves, we are definitely in need of some education on the consequences of this epidemic. The emotional and legal consequences both come with huge impact on one's life. With the increase in technology, we are fi...
To The Eagle: It seems past time to admit that our economic system does not work. Sufficient assets can carry some of us over cyclic economic depressions but for many of us, these cycles have tragic consequences. We have lost jobs while needing to support and educate families and many have fallen into undeserved poverty. The wealthy don't get their wealth out of thin air. They get it from us. It seems mindless to continue to extract profit from working people who have no opportunity to replenish their resources. It reminds us of the analogy of...
The Washington state legislature is poised to pass a law recognizing marriages of same gender couples. Governor Chris Gregoire got the ball rolling before the state of the current legislative session when she said she would sponsor the legislation. She said she had considered the issue and concluded it would be the right thing to do. Here are her comments, as reported by The Associated Press. “It’s time, it’s the right thing to do, and I will introduce a bill to do it,” Gregoire said. “I say that as a wife, a mother, a student of the law, and...
To The Eagle: Spanning several years of reading The Eagle, I have been introduced to and have come to admire the Finns of Wahkiakum from afar. I do have one Finnish friend, a retired medical assistant from Astoria, living near her family in Blaine. What do I conclude about these folks of Finnish ancestry? Well, they are perseverant, pragmatic problem-solvers, socially conscious, keen on preserving their heritage, and light-hearted towards music, dance, learning enjoyment and the arts. I might have guessed from the evolving computer center at...
To The Eagle: Ah, the crosses we of the Conservative Branch must bear! Daring to mount a defense from criticisms by our Eagle editorial board, I am then skewered by one of my heroes Poul Toftemark, a leading member of the merry band who have worked tirelessly to keep the Westend of our county somewhat above high tide, defending it from the depredations of the Columbia Land Trust. So I hasten to apologize for any disinformation I may have disseminated and explain how that may have come about. "Conservative Branch" is nomenclature invented by...
To The Eagle: Just finished reading the paper, thanks, I enjoy reading it. I also enjoy the fact that pretty much anyone is allowed to write in this space, love free speech and a way to bring it to an audience. On that note, I need to express my thoughts on an editorial sent by a ‘conservative branch’ person. Some of the criticism of our President is appropriate, while most is definitely not. The Wall Street bailout was a 2008 Bush thing, not Obama, right or wrong. Personally I don’t think any bank or such should be propped up to cover their...
To The Eagle: “Library Sponsors Teen Library Night” in the December 29 issue, states that Ariana Brock asked the city council to consider making funding between the library and swimming pool equitable. Her comment was made at the Wahkiakum County Budget Hearing. Teen Library Night is held Saturdays from 4-9 p.m. Patrick Carrico volunteers teen homework assistance Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m. Connie Christopher Librarian Town of Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Some discussion of doing away with the Federal Reserve Banking System has been heard lately on the news. This is good news. The bad news is the Federal Reserve Banking System itself. The purpose of the Federal Reserve System is to create reserves for commercial banks. To create these reserves , an officer of a Federal Reserve Bank writes a check, usually to a securities dealer to purchase some type of bond, most often a U.S. Government bond. The Federal Reserve does not have a checking account. They only have a checkbook. What...
To The Eagle: We, the local "conservative branch," were pretty devastated by last week's Eagle editorial in which we were taken to task for our "continual negative campaign" against our poor abused president, as well as sacrificing the well-being of all the other citizens. This severe upbraiding seems to also have damaged my memory since I can't seem to recall preventing the prez from submitting a budget, giving away trillions to his labor union and Wall Street cronies, spending billions on green Rube Goldberg projects like Solyndra, biofuels,...
The end of 2011 brought a lot of transitions to the ranks of Wahkiakum County's public employees and volunteers. Three county employees retired after decades of public service--Kathy Durrah, a clerk in the auditor's office, Danny Eaton, a skipper of the ferry Wahkiakum, and Eddie Blaine, a member of the road crew on the Westend. It's time for a break--I hope they enjoy it. Some of the people leaving their jobs leave big shoes to fill, and I hope we'll continue to see them involved in public service. David Goodroe has left the Cathlamet Town...
The US House of Representatives gave us a Christmas present of sorts last week. The House and Senate have been working on legislation that would extend payroll tax breaks for low and middle income workers and that would maintain unemployment benefits. Both were set to expire at the end of 2011, and President Obama and Senate and House Democrats have been pushing for an extension. Republicans hadn't supported the extension, saying they wanted long term reductions in spending and federal permit approval of a new petroleum pipeline in Alaska. The...
To The Eagle: On October 15, 2010, my father unexpectedly passed away. With his passing came great upheaval and change in every aspect of my life including having to leave our home of 22 years. In the midst of shock and despair, I discovered the isolation and loneliness brought on by grief of such a significant loss in my life. I put all of my belongings into a storage unit and set off on a journey of healing. Throughout my travels through the UK, Europe, Canada, LA and New York, I met many healers and many others who were kind enough to open...
To The Eagle: At a time when we are trying to conserve our resources it bothers me that the beautiful greetings cards I receive go in the trash. I went online and found there are places that recycle and repurpose these cards so I'm asking for your help. If you would like to donate your cards to the St. Judes Ranch for children, remove the fronts of the cards, (no Hallmark, American Greetings or Disney cards, please.) Also there should be no writing on the back of the card. Take them to the Tsuga Gallery in Cathlamet, Thursday through Saturday,...
To The Eagle: In the summer of 2001, the then GM. of the PUD, Harry Paul, submitted two requests for water system grants for both Puget Island and WWW water systems. In the fall of 2002, both grants were awarded to the two water systems. The largest grant was to the WWW system, which required a 20 percent match for those residents who wished to connect to the existing water system. After years of effort by both the utility employees, commissioners and the hard work of the local Salmon Creek residents, 50 residents committed to pay $4,000 per re...
To The Eagle: The world's largest central banks have agreed to work together to "solve the global financial crisis." In truth, the central banks of the world have deliberately caused the global financial crisis. By offering to solve a worldwide problem they have created they have revealed their real goal which is financial, economic and political control of the nations. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank recently appointed the new Prime Minister of Greece. The world needs sound money now. Thanks to mon...
To The Eagle: I've been using the Wahkiakum Ferry since the mid-1960s, both to work and going to work. During that time until now I've had the privilege to ride and work with these two great skippers, Gary Bergseng and Dan Eaton, both in retirement now. Their service will be missed by all. Olaf Thomason, Sr. Cathlamet...
Following is an article from the National Newspaper Association. As we watch the change in newsmedia, it's good to know that at least some sectors are surviving. It's hard to imagine our nation without good newspapers. Readers in areas served by community newspapers continue to prefer the community newspaper as their sources of local news and advertising. The recently released results of an annual survey conducted by the National Newspaper Association and the research arm of the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of...
To The Eagle: St. James Family Center (SJFC) is the fifth largest employer in Wahkiakum County. As this, we contribute over $450,000 per year in payroll to Wahkiakum County. Over $400,000 of our income is received from state and federal funding sources. Many of our programs offer services to our community's most vulnerable populations, at risk children, low income families, and battered women and their children. As the Governor and legislature struggle with the challenge of balancing a budget with a $2 billion deficit, those programs are in jeo...
To The Eagle: Did you see those Boy Scouts and Lions Club members when they came to your door to collect for the food drive for the Wahkiakum Food Bank? The boy scouts looked so handsome in their scout attire. They collected over 3,300 lb. of food; such a great food drive. If by chance they did not find yours, please call and someone will pick it up. We had almost 100 baskets last year; this year it was 102. I think the wind and rain kept some from coming to get their baskets. I came home three times to get a dry coat. I think they enjoyed the...
Washington voters may have a chance next spring to do what the nation's political leaders can't do--vote on a tax increase to prevent further cuts to social services. Governor Chris Gregoire has said that in order to meet the new expected revenue shortfall, she and the legislature will have to chop away education, health, and public safety programs. She has proposed that the legislature ask voters to approve a temporary half cent increase in the sales tax to help cover the shortfall. Republican politicians in this state and across the country...
To The Eagle: Working on the new logging book recently published by the Appelo Archives Center gave me a deeper appreciation for our local timber industry and what it's meant to the area for over a century. Since I was not raised here, I had to learn and like others who may not know about our local history, it's been a joy to learn. Many look to the Gold Rush in the Yukon for great history, but I challenge folks to look at the Timber Rush in Deep River and imagine the worth of those huge trees if valued with today's money. We determined that...
To The Eagle: Here's an update on the Skamokawa Post office situation. So far we have just received standard responses to our letters involving our Skamokawa Post Office and whether or not we are going to be able to keep it here, where it's been since 1873! I was a bit annoyed to see that being able to buy stamps from our carrier as a main focus in the response letter from the Discontinuance Office, which was the least of our concerns, not to mention that we already knew we could do that, so that was hardly an issue, but it seemed to be the onl...
