Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2226 - 2250 of 2595
To The Eagle: It's really exciting to read about all the scientific and technological breakthroughs that have been made recently by our politicians. Yep, you read that right. We used to have to hang around waiting for people like Einstein, Galileo, and Newton to get us on the right track, but now our politicians can perform these wonders, probably inspired by founding father Al Gore who invented the internet but then went dormant before he could re-invent government. One of these great discoveries, made recently up in Olympia, is that you can...
To The Eagle: Over 26 years I have relied on the Elochoman Marina to take my showers. Eighteen of those years I lived on my boat at the marina, until the staff members collaborated with a pike minnow fisherman falsely accusing me of threatening to shoot him. I'm guilty of shooting a picture of his boat that I sold him earlier. The marina wanted to get rid of me because I called the sheriff when drunken parties went on all times of the night. After 18 years, they evicted me from the marina. Last time I was accused of shooting anyone was in the...
So, the Town of Cathlamet has a new ordinance governing the operation of the Cathlamet Fire Department. It takes effect five days after today, the day it is published. You can find a summary of the ordinance on Page 8 of this week's edition. If you've been following this issue, the town's fire department has been operating under an ordinance developed in 1932, which put supervision of the department under the now defunct Cathlamet Commercial Club, subject to approval by the town council. Mayor George Wehrfritz and state auditors have said this...
To The Eagle: The Washington State Patrol would like to thank all the wonderful people of Washington who showed their compassion and care following the tragic death Trooper Tony Radulescu. When we in law enforcement lose one of our own, the outpouring of support from Washingtonians is a big factor in easing a very difficult time, and helping with the healing process that follows. We find real comfort in a community that cares, and I can assure you, so do the family and friends of the fallen officer. So on behalf of all of us who work to...
To The Eagle: It is heartening to read that county officials are taking seriously the impact a magnitude 9 earthquake will have in Wahkiakum County. While it is true that the risk of tsunami related problems here is low, we shouldn't be lulled into a sense of false security. In fact, geologists have determined that we are right on the edge of the zone of highest severity for the earthquake itself. So when we talk about bridge approaches being destroyed, we are talking about the Puget Island and Elochoman River bridges. We can also expect the...
To The Eagle: I'm writing you to announce I'm running for county commissioner for District 1. I read last week's Eagle and Lisa Marsyla's letter saying she wouldn't be seeking reelection. I want to thank Lisa for a job well done in serving her constituents. I'd like the opportunity to do the same. If you have questions for me, email me at mike.backman4421@gmail.com. Mike Backman Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: On behalf of the Tsuga Art Association, I'd like to give a big thanks to all of you who joined us at the Tsuga Gallery for another opening this past Friday. We were quite amazed at how many people came, considering the rainy weather and after dark winter hours for the reception. Also, we'd like to extend a very special thanks to Gerry Ledtke and Rick Nelson who took the time to share their beautiful acoustic guitar music with us throughout the evening. It was much appreciated. The support we feel from all of you in this community...
To The Eagle: Our community deserves to know the context behind the Town Council's effort to draft a new ordinance governing the Cathlamet Fire Department (CFD). Unfortunately, The Eagle's recent coverage has failed to put this important legislation into perspective. Allow me to remedy that with a few important points: 1) The CFD has been operating virtually without Town oversight since 1932. Yes, our volunteers do fine work and have saved many lives over the years. But the culture within the department is openly hostile to the Town. Council...
To The Eagle: We travelled to Tacoma Monday evening, February 13, to hear and meet with Republican candidate for president Rick Santorum. We were very impressed with Rick's straight forward family values way of thinking and speaking. He was also very sharp on economic issues, stressing the need for immediately lowering fuel prices. We feel he would make a good president for all. Santorum also reminded everyone of our county caucus soon coming up and the national importance for Washington State. The Wahkiakum County Republican caucus will be...
To The Eagle: I would like to thank the residents of Wahkiakum County that have supported, trusted and encouraged me to serve them as Wahkiakum County commissioner over the past three years. I have thoroughly enjoyed my position on the commission and have found it to be one of the most rewarding jobs of my career. Today (Tuesday) it is with sadness and much contemplation that I am announcing that I will not seek another term as county commissioner for District #1 at this time. I have a wonderful opportunity to potentially enroll my daughter in...
To The Eagle: Work doesn't have to feel like work, even in the pouring rain, as long as you are doing something you believe in and so long as you have a good crew working with you. Last Saturday, a crew of 13 volunteers, plus a very efficient machine, dug 56 fence pole holes and set posts at Erickson Park on Columbia Street. These posts will be the first step toward a fence to protect our community garden from the deer that frequent the park, especially in the early morning hours. In particular, the Friends of the Garden want to thank Dandy...
To The Eagle: I lament the passage of the "gay marriage" bill in our State Capitol yesterday as most of my conservative friends do. I await the petition for the referendum that I will sign to put the matter to the vote of the people of this state (unaccountably named for the father of our nation.) All this hooha in the name of and attainment of "equality." Equality, that chimera of all good liberals, secularists, and statists (communists and collectivists too.) Have any one of these preening, back-slapping politicians in Olympia ever studied...
To The Eagle: One in three teens will experience some form of abuse in their dating relationships and two thirds of those who do will not report it. The physical, emotional and sexual abuse that occurs in the relationships of teens is often similar to that of older people, but has its own set of issues. Younger daters are more likely to be harassed via text message, social media or e-mail and many young people have a hard time recognizing abuse in their relationships or those of their friends. Boyfriends and girlfriends are usually trusted...
To The Eagle: March is Red Cross Month – a time to recognize the work of the Red Cross in our community, and a time to recognize local donors and our more than 600 volunteers by letting them know how much we appreciate and depend upon their support to help people in need. Last year chapter volunteers assisted 112 families that had fallen victim to disasters, provided service to 545 military families, trained 9,099 people in lifesaving skills, and collected 24,417 units of blood. Nationally, the Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000...
From the Revised Code of Washington, RCW 26.04.010: (1) Marriage is a civil contract between ((a male and a female)) two persons who have each attained the age of eighteen years, and who are otherwise capable. On Monday, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a bill that gave same gender couples the right to marry. The language in the bill changed "one man and one woman" to "two persons" and spent a lot of time outlining protections for churches and religious organizations to refuse to conduct marriages for same gender couples. People supporting...
To The Eagle: I'm writing this letter to publicly express my gratitude to the four FFA boys from Wahkiakum High School and their teacher, Kyle Hurley, for the much needed help I received from them last weekend. They loaded 75 concrete blocks, each weighing at least 40 pounds, onto a flatbed truck and transported them from my good and generous friend Michele Smith's farm to my yard where they neatly stacked them in rows. I plan to use them for two 4' x 8' raised garden beds. The boys and Kyle did this for me as a community service project, a...
This week, we bid adieu to Reporter Ruby Murray. She joined our staff a little over a year ago and has produced some outstanding work. Reporting was to be a part-time job for her, allowing her to work on her creative writing endeavors. She's enjoyed success with her creative writing, and has been pressed to balance both careers, so it was time for a choice, and the creative writing became her top goal. We'll miss her, and we wish her good luck. Following is her farewell: On becoming a novelist by Ruby Murray A year ago I stopped fulltime work...
To The Eagle: After reading yesterday's Eagle and all the letters in there, I thought it was time for me to express my opinion also. I'm going to start by saying that all of us without exception on a daily basis break a rule or the law. A point I would like for our commissioners and Sheriff's department to consider in relationship to the property they are inheriting on Puget Island: There was a very good program on the agriculture station #345 RFD on Direct TV to do with what trade do the people who serve time in jail learn? The title of this p...
To The Eagle: When things fall apart on Monday morning, it's really great to have family and friends that are willing to come to your rescue! First off is when the telephone rang and it was my niece Carol Ann saying Doug had locked the keys in the car. The first thing you wonder is what do you do? So we called the Sheriff's Office to see if they had keys available and they did, so one of the deputies came down and made an attempt, but it didn't quite fit. So I called John and Bekalyn Zimmerman and John came over and worked at it and in the...
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...
