Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2332 - 2356 of 2582
To The Eagle: We in Wahkiakum County must thank our elected county commissioners Blair Brady and Dan Cothren for their stand on biosolids against the dictatorial nonelected bureaucrats! P.J. Fleury Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Two men were quoted in the Daily News of Longview on May 3 as saying they didn't think they had broken any laws when they sprayed septic sludge on a Grays River Valley farm on April 30. They may not have broken any laws, but it seems to me that the farm owner knew that an ordinance would soon be passed, and so they intentionally went against the wishes of most of the people who live in the Westend. They knowingly put those same people, myself included, at risk from as yet unknown health effects of long term exposure to the septic...
To The Eagle: This week is national Nursing Home Week. At Columbia View Care Center, we are celebrating. I am very proud of the continued fine work of the nursing home staff; their passion for the work they do enhances the lives of the residents. I appreciate the dedication of our volunteers. To all who come routinely to visit, play music, lead a group and add life, thank you! Residents especially enjoy children, anyone performing, and well-behaved pets. If you are thinking that one day you would like to add volunteering to your life, do it...
The populist political movement that swept the nation last year is alive and well in Wahkiakum County. A group of conservative citizens upset about perceived threats to private property rights last year convinced the county board of commissioners to form the Wahkiakum County Property Rights Review Board to advise the board on issues that might affect private property. The board gave its first report this year, advising the commissioners to oppose a state Department of Ecology permit to allow a Long Beach company to dispose of septage biosolids...
To The Eagle: The Clean Water Act defines sewage sludge as a pollutant.1979? That is why they put a stop to ocean dumping as it killed whole fisheries and created dead zones. So under federal law if there is even a possibility the disposal site will have an adverse effect on a threatened or endangered species and their critical habitat, directly or indirectly, that diminishes the likelihood of survival and recovery of a listed species, that act, is considered destruction of a critical habitat. We have six listed species in the Grays along side...
To The Eagle: Welcome to the Grays River Valley, where the Washington State Department of Ecology, in their infinite wisdom, has given their blessing for septic sludge to be dumped in fields next to the Grays River where we are trying to protect several listed species from dying. Won’t that be an enticing note to folks who want to visit, hunt or fish in our county? Or how about, come view the last covered bridge still being used in the state of Washington and enjoy the odor. Watch the elk and deer walk across and graze the field that has j...
To The Eagle: Mike Mouliot, writing in last week's Eagle, focuses like a laser on the realities of our local property tax woes. Sad truth of the matter is that even after overcoming his predecessor's backlog, training barriers, computer glitches and county commissioner obduracy, our nimble and hard-charging new assessor, Bill Coons, is unlikely to have much success at jockeying our taxes into any zone that reflects either fairness or reality. What is needed is a change, actually a simplification, of state tax law recognizing a fact of life that...
To The Eagle: As a property owner with Columbia River frontage, I am concerned about the possibility of a tsunami event. As a member of the Elliot family, I learned of a tidal wave that took the buildings from our dock at Dahlia. This event happened in the 1930s or 1940s. I don't know what caused it or if it went upstream or downstream, but to the best of my knowledge, it happened. I think that event should be researched and evaluated for possible reoccurrence. That wave could have come from the ocean or been generated by a landslide on the...
To The Eagle: What could the Senate possibly be thinking?? They’ve passed a bill (SB 5542) that ties any funding for the Tobacco Prevention Program to monies that might be collected to license cigar bars - where people are allowed to smoke indoors. How ludicrous is that! Our county in particular needs help getting people to quit – as just pointed out in the Pathways 2020 report. You know, it is not just lung cancer that is caused by smoking – it also plays a role in a number of other cancers. Contact your Senator. Let’s put a sto...
To The Eagle: In the April 21 issue of The Eagle, Dale and Sylvia Costich voiced complaints about the county's response to the Japanese tsunami. It is interesting to note that when a public hot wash, (a discussion of the event and the response to it,) was held, neither were present to voice their concerns. They speak of the county's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) and specify items that should be in it as well as identifying what responders should do when responding. The plan is a comprehensive, all-hazards plan covering any...
To The Eagle: On Monday in the Wahkiakum Superior Court two Cathlamet residents are scheduled to accept a plea agreement in their alleged misuse of Cathlamet Fire Department credit cards. The alleged misuse of these gasoline credit cards over the period of February, 2008, to August, 2010, totals $5,840. The nature of the crime warranted that both individuals be charged with felony offenses with maximum penalties of five years in prison, and/or a fine of $10,000 plus restitution, assessments and court costs. While the specifications of the plea...
To The Eagle: The night of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan we were awakened by a phone call from a relative who saw the news on TV. After watching the news for a while, we decided to get some sleep and check back at 5 a.m. when the tsunami was expected to hit Hawaii. If there was a massive wave at Hawaii that might significantly hit our coast, we were prepared to leave Puget Island for higher ground, just to be on the safe side. We never panicked and we would not have waited for an official evacuation notice, if we were concerned about...
To The Eagle: The sun is out and the days are getting longer, and I’d like to walk in my neighborhood. But, I’m afraid! Not of gangs or such as in big cities, but of animals. You see, a couple of months ago on a rare sunny winter day, my husband took our dog for a walk. She was on her leash. Not 10 minutes into the walk a large dog, three times her size and weight, came out from behind bushes, a scuffle ensued, and subsequently Kodees was bitten in the eye and the retina detached. After many trips into Longview to the vet, medications, tes...
To The Eagle: Dispatchers are the unsung heroes of public safety. They miss the excitement of riding in a speeding car with lights flashing and sirens wailing. They can only hear of the bright orange flames leaping from a burning building. They do not get to see the joy on the face of worried parents as they see their child begin breathing on its own, after it has been given CPR. Dispatchers sit in darkened rooms looking at computer screens and talking to voices from faces they never see. It's like reading a lot of books, but only half of each...
To The Eagle: It appears more and more that the State of Washington is attempting to balance the budget on the backs of home and property owners by attempting to hold the line on the over assessed homes and property that are appraised at 25-50 percent over their 2011 market value. The valuation is depending on whether it is a home or property and its location. Many of the properties were assessed higher than their market value at the peak of the market in 2007. Today the values have dropped 25-50 percent. The state is attempting to hold the...
Editor's note: We have corrected typographical errors in this letter since it was first posted. To The Eagle: In response to the article by Ruby Murray entitled "Questions continue on tsunami warning" (The Eagle, 4/7/11), I would be interested in knowing how many people on the island or lowlying areas were actually panicking the night and early morning of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. You really have to ask those residents why they didn't take the initiative and evacuate their homes on their own if they were having a sleepless night...
To The Eagle: The Daily News Saturday April 9, 2011 front page question: SR 4 Slide--Why No Highway Bypass? Answer: No one in state legislature is impacted by SR 4. Note there is an obvious bypass between Bunker Hill Road and Sherman Road that will require one quarter mile of road and a small bridge. Peter J. Fleury Cathlamet...
Two recent emergencies have highlighted the decline in Wahkiakum County's emergency management system. In a "hotwash" review of responses to the March tsunami and last week's closure of SR 4 because of a landslide, officials talked about the challenges of finding information about the incidents and the challenges of communicating that information with each other and with the public. They identified several problems: Only certain officials can update the county's website and Facebook page, and they can do it only form certain computers....
To The Eagle: I have had several calls regarding the issue of Evergreen Septic putting septic sludge on the Zerr property on the Grays River. Apparently Evergreen trucks are hauling in rock to form a staging area as they prepare to spread the sludge. It is my understanding from Commissioner Blair Brady, an ordinance is being prepared as we go to press. Hopefully it will be supported by the other two commissioners. There needs to be a sense of urgency on this subject. With the extreme wet weather we have had and the precarious condition of some...
To The Eagle: It's time to play hardball with our politicians. Those clowns we've sent back to D.C. (clowns-- as in "Send in the clowns, send in the clowns, don't bother, they're here!") are discussing doing away with every conceivable thing to supposedly attack the national debt; every conceivable thing except the thing that caused the debt, that is. Did Social Security cause the debt? No! Did welfare programs cause the debt? No! Did Medicare cause the debt? No! Did our armed forces cause the debt? No! What did cause it? Congress has...
To The Eagle: It is beyond me why some people believe the Columbia River exists solely to make them rich. A year ago determined Washington and Oregon residents defeated the reckless and unnecessary liquefied natural gas terminal and high-pressure pipeline proposed for Bradwood, Oregon. Despite that, fossil fuel speculators still propose an LNG terminal in Warrenton, Ore. Imagine three massive tanks filled with flammable natural gas - - built on sand, on fill, on top of undiscovered bedrock, in a tsunami and earthquake zone, below sea level....
To The Eagle: April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Washington state. Locally and around the state, individuals, youth, communities, schools and agencies will be taking action to increase awareness about sexual assault and to end sexual violence. The issue is pressing. One out of every four girls and one out of every six boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. A recent survey conducted by the Washington State Office of Crime Victims Advocacy found that one third of all women in Washington state have experienced some form of sexu...
To The Eagle: Doesn't it seem ironic that the US government insisted that General Motors declare bankruptcy because their balance sheet was $25 billion in the red? The government's some $14 trillion in the red is the equivalent of every state in the union having just a tad more than 11 General Motors sized bankruptcies. Let's not be alarmed though; I recently noticed a syndicated columnist who insisted that the federal government is not in bad shape at all financially and nowhere near bankruptcy. Apparently, as long as there is a taxpayer...
To The Eagle: It is well known that many homes and properties in Wahkiakum and other counties in the state are very much over-assessed. Many homes as much as 30 percent over market value. Even if they would sell pasture that cannot be developed for reasons such as flooding, water table access, ability etc., and cannot be used for home sites, are assessed sometimes as much as 200 percent of market value. The market is continuing to fall from 1 to 1.5 percent per month and the home and property owners are being billed for values from four to six...
Community groups are getting together next Monday, 6 p.m., at Wendt Elementary School, Cathlamet, for a program on the prevention of youth suicide. Local elected officials are supporting the program. Below is the proclamation approved by both the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners and the Town of Cathlamet Council. It has a lot to say. I hope the community will support this program. Youth Suicide Prevention Day March 28, 2011 Promote Education and Awareness for Youth Suicide Prevention WHEREAS, suicide is one of the most disruptive and...
