Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2332 - 2356 of 2591
To The Eagle: Patronage is the financial aid or support that an organization or individual bestows to another. Normally the term has a positive connotation. Last fall, the presiding judges of the superior and district courts requested that the county commissioners fund selected individuals to provide for security during their court sessions. The commissioners denied this request as they should have. However recently, the district court judge proposed to the commissioners a creative set of fees to be levied against defendants to fund court...
To The Eagle: Brett Chaput was also a district discus champion and was not mentioned in your article with Land and Baker. It is unfortunate that such an outstanding achievement by a local student athlete was not given the recognition it deserved. He is ranked number two in the state and has a very good chance of placing very high in that event this weekend. Joleen Koehler Cathlamet...
This past weekend, I picked up a copy of the Spanish Yellow Pages, a publication that lists businesses serving the Hispanic population of the lower Columbia area. It also includes advice for dealing with US law, and there was a section with the U.S. Citizenship Test. Hmm, I asked myself, can I pass? Well, I didn't get all the answers, but it was fun. So, from the Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service, here are the first 29 questions and answers for you. They shouldn't be too hard. I plan to run more of the test in...
To The Eagle: Have you heard the word from the PUD lately? This is the time of the year that the annual ritual begins where management starts their lament about being underpaid. It starts out about how the ratepayers cannot afford to lose their PUD managers to other higher paying PUDs or private employers. The request for 10 percent increases were denied by the board the past two years and management had to settle for a mere four percent per year. However, by comparison, local county officials and many state workers have seen their salaries...
To The Eagle: The recent court defeat of Oregon LNG is especially relevant as this month is also the one year anniversary of the defeat of proposed Bradwood Landing LNG terminal and pipeline. It is good to live in a country of laws where sometimes ordinary citizens can prevail against overwhelming amounts of money and the influence it can buy. The Texas energy speculators promoting Bradwood Landing spent 100 million dollars over five years trying to buy our river. But estuary citizens rolled up their sleeves and went to work. They formed local...
Last week was National EMS Recognition Week, and the Cathlamet Town Council and Mayor George Wehrfritz adopted this resolution recognizing the work of emergency responders. We heartily endorse the proclamation. The local volunteers make significant sacrifices and do wonderful work. Proclamation Whereas, May 15-21, 2011, has been designated as National EMS Recognition Week, and Whereas, It is fitting and proper to accord official recognition to our Cathlamet Fire Department and EMS services for their service and sacrifices to the Town of Cathlam...
To The Eagle: I am not a lawyer, and I’ve found over the years that things that seem obvious to me can have a different meaning when subjected to the light of the law. In the May 12 edition of The Eagle, the Department of Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant is quoted as saying “Wahkiakum County does not have the authority to prohibit biosolids management practices authorized by the State Regulatory Program” However, when I review Washington Administrative Code 173-308 which governs Biosolids Management, in particular WAC 173-308-030 Relat...
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: On behalf of the Kiwanis Club I would like to say last night’s “Reading is Family Fun” program was a big success. I will let someone else suggest the exact number in attendance, but I was impressed by the large number of children, and equally impressive was the number of mothers and fathers in attendance. While there were some difficulties with the audio in the auditorium, it didn't totally distract from our guest speaker’s ability to make a few points as to the importance of reading and reading skills, and captivate the young p...
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, It’s time for me to sit down and steam up my typewriter which is as old as Bin Laden and let you know how proud I am to be an American. When we look at what took place this weekend and the fact that our people who carried this well-thought plan out in perfection and not harming any innocent people along the way, we can be very proud and fortunate that our forefathers made the big move to let us be Americans. When President Obama and his aides were able to sit in the White House and look at every detail being carried out you c...
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...
