Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2357 - 2381 of 2582
To The Eagle: Responding to the ancient but oft unheeded principle that the best way to spark the economy and job growth is to cut taxation, regulation, and spending (short version: shrink government), the tea partiers, conservatives, and other happy warriors that we sent to that other Washington last November are off to a great start. They have preserved the Bush income tax cuts, tackled the budget mess, joined the fray to behead the Obamacare monster and are struggling to control the antics of that weird cult of global warmers and green jobbe...
To The Eagle: In the first two months of this year, the state of Washington has had three exemplary employees die on the job while serving and protecting the public. Our hearts go out to their families and the loved ones that have been left behind. Every day state employees perform potentially dangerous jobs in uncertain and changing conditions. It might be a law enforcement officer working to preserve public safety, an inspector working to ensure roads and bridges are safe, a firefighter putting out a forest blaze, or a social worker working...
To The Eagle: I am extremely disappointed with the actions taken by the Wahkiakum Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) today (Tuesday). It is unfair to the taxpayers of Wahkiakum County. I ran for assessor in order to improve the services delivered by the assessor’s office to the citizens and taxpayers of Wahkiakum County. I had hoped to have the opportunity to utilize the resources in my budget to address the many severe problems left to me in my office. It seems quite reasonable to use the funds in Professional Fees to obtain the help needed...
To The Eagle: Duck hunters who favor Alternative 1 of the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Willapa National Refuge have sent letters to several local newspapers. They argue that walk-in hunting access should take precedence over breaching dikes to restore salt water marshes. One "fact" in these letters is that a similar dike-breaching project at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge has resulted in death of waterfowl, so that only seven percent remain. This would be shocking if true--but it is not supported by refuge staff when recently contacted. Bird...
A friend called me at 12:38 a.m. last Friday. "Rick," he said, "do you know about the tsunami? There's been an 8.9 earthquake in Japan." I thanked him for the call and turned on the TV to startling videos from people who experienced the quake in Japan and from people who photographed the effects of the tsunami that hit the coast of Japan. The early video of those surges showed a black mass sweeping away anything in its way. Naturally, I wondered what that meant for me and other Puget Island residents and residents of other low lying areas...
To The Eagle: The Eagle for February 24, 2011 front page story "Board offers plan to equalize" and the February 25, 2011 Daily News article "Puget Island taxes too high" both address a system that is broken and in need of reform. Checks and balances that are supposed to protect the tax payer are inadequate and those that do exist have been compromised by actions of persons in the County Assessor's office going back for several years. I remember the public statement by a former Assessor, that went something like "I will not fire the appraiser...
To The Eagle: I note with some trepidation that county commissioners Brady and Cothren have decided to become the "Poop Police" for Wahkiakum County, messing with the biosolid laws of the state of Washington. Brady claims that different universities have reached different conclusions about the safety of biosolids, but is unwilling to accept the consensus of science and industry, as the state has done. Cothren is willing to call the state's bluff, even though it could result in litigation costing Wahkiakum County (and by definition, that's you...
To The Eagle: To the drivers that take the shortcut from Glengate to Jacobson Road--Slow down! On Monday afternoon, February 28, one of you killed a much loved family pet. Next time, it could be a child. The few seconds you saved were not worth the pain you caused Spook's family. Mary Watkins Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: It is with a sad and heavy heart that I write this letter. My husband came home with the news today that the "guardian of the mountain" had passed recently. I'm sure most other drivers were at least aware of him because of his sheer size and beauty! I know that we, for one, noticed him and looked for him anytime we headed over KM Mountain. He would lay there in the yard, sometimes closer towards the road where the ground sloped up, so as to have a resting place for his massive head, all the while lazily watching traffic go by. We...
The Wahkiakum School District is developing a policy that would guide staff in reporting students who may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol and have them tested for the presence of the controlled substances. The goal, district officials say, is to make sure students get the help they need for substance abuse. Of course, subjecting students to urine tests for drugs is controversial, to say the least. The district tried to implement a random drug testing program for athletes in the 1990s but lost a suit to parents and the American Civil...
To The Eagle: In January of this year, the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) released new research on domestic violence homicides in Washington State. Sixty eight women, men and children were murdered by an abuser in the last two years. "These homicides tell us where we are falling short," said Nan Stoops, executive director of WSCADV. "They make it clear that we cannot rely on any one system or agency alone to end domestic violence. We all have a role to play." The study puts forth 11 key goals for change....
To The Eagle: During the last week of March 2010, I purchased a mattress from a store in Kelso for the sum of about $500. This mattress was purchased with the thought that it would be beneficial to my wife as she suffers from an arthritic spine. For a few months all went well. In early autumn my wife started to complain about the mattress being uncomfortable. Finally in December, we inspected the mattress. There was an almost two inch sag in the mattress. We then contacted the store about this problem. We were told that we had to have...
To The Eagle: I want to thank Mr. Kimmel for his letter (The Eagle December 16, 2010) entitled “Vendetta” and addressed to me. My thanks and that of many people in Wahkiakum County go to Mr. Kimmel for reminding all of us that the management of Cathlamet’s Fire Department and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) needs to be addressed. The managers of our FD and EMS still have not answered my questions (The Eagle December 9, 2010) or inquiries of the mayor or city council, thus avoiding transparency. A small but relevant oversight by the FD/EM...
To The Eagle: Will Rogers pointed out that it isn't so much what you don't know that will hurt you but rather the things you're absolutely sure of that just ain't so. That's being aptly demonstrated in California, where the voters ignored the financial disaster alarm bells that alerted the rest of the country last November, voted in the four Ls (leftists, liberals, loonies and labor) with Governor Moonbeam at the helm. He's pledged to build 20,000 watts of green power, connect all the major cities with high speed rail, and hire thousands of...
To The Eagle: Continuing public support of the Wahkiakum County Historical Society has brought the society and the county museum back from the brink. Our special thanks go to several who made extraordinarily generous cash donations to the society and requested anonymity, and to all of you who purchased raffle tickets for the Historical Society's romantic Valentine's Day dinner. Your continued support is enabling the society to look forward to a secure future. Judy Brawn President Wahkiakum County Historical Society....
To The Eagle: February is the month where we see hearts, flowers, candy, and talk of true love, new love and hopes of love. February is also nationally recognized as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. The Charlotte House works with the students of Wahkiakum School District in teaching them about healthy relationships, their rights in relationships, possible warning signs of an unhealthy relationship and where to go for help if they're not sure what to do when a relationship feels wrong. Parents and caregivers of teens play...
To The Eagle: With the low tides the last few days, I have taken time to do my routine survey of my section of dike. Today I also went and paddled upstream in the canoe at low tide. I encountered continual degradation of the dikes, in particular on the outside curves of the slough. Our section of the outside curve is particularly easy to see, as we have the dock to make close visual inspection at low tide. From the dock it is very easy to see the continuing and worsening scour and sloughing. Very noticeable, from just a month ago. The dike is...
To The Eagle: Thank you new County Commissioners and Dirk Rhone for putting the kibosh on the old commission's approval of the Oregon Pipeline. You quickly acted in the county's best interest. Re-evaluating the environmental and safety impacts of the proposed 41 mile natural gas pipeline that would cross Clatsop County is absolutely necessary. Whether the pipeline would be for exporting gas to China and other Asian countries or used for importing LNG, the consumer and the environment would be the loser of this venture. Since NorthernStar's...
The state legislature is considering legislation that would end requirements for cities and counties to publish legal notices in a newspaper of general circulation in their region. It's touted as a measure to lower costs and ease time demands on city and county offices. I think the effect will be to increase the disconnect between citizens and their elected officials and local government, and this legislation should be rejected. Legal notices encompass a variety of notices. Some are notices for environmental reviews of proposed projects; some...
To The Eagle: The front page article of The Eagle, January 13, 2011 about the Puget Island property assessments and a face to face discussion with our new assessor Bill Coons seems to lead one to conclude that property owners will not be able to contest any new assessments. Not being able to contest assessments will force property owners to pay the inflated tax rate for this coming year and maybe for the next four years. This appears to be a case of taxation without representation. P.J. Fleury Puget Island...
To The Eagle: First of all, ask Oliver and Irene Bacon about the history of my folks and me in Cathlamet. Irene took care of me in 1948-49 when my folks taught at Wahkiakum High School. We lived on Puget Island again in 1956-58 when they again taught at the high school. I was in the fourth and fifth grades and had a rowboat on Birnie Slough. Seems like I've written this to you before. Pardon if I have senior moments. Please do all you can to support the Veteran's Administration. They've done well by me. I lived in Cathlamet and volunteered for...
To The Eagle: In reading the December 30 edition of the Wahkiakum County Eagle, I have some more things that we should all consider and look at thinking positive and expressing our own opinion. I totally agree with our county commissioner on the thought that we should form a Park and Recreation District on the Johnson Park site. I've been thinking along the same lines for close to 10 years when the school and the county have been wanting the county to take over the operation of the area. I was a fifth grader when that school opened and it was t...
To The Eagle: Our editor prizes brevity, which perhaps explains why last week's editorial concerning the Chamber of Commerce/EDC merger was spare in its account of the adventures of the Economic Development Council. In an attempt to rescue the faltering golf course a few years ago, the EDC set up a condominium project complete with golf cart garages which, in theory, would disgorge a crowd of wealthy and eager golfers onto the course on a daily basis. The contractor balked until the town agreed to spring for a sewer system, and the town, pleadi...
To The Eagle: As a follow up to a call for citizen help I just wanted to notify the public that your response objecting to the closure of Tunerville camp has been heard and acted on. At a meeting on December 15 that could take the award for probably the most miserable conditions that elected officials have ever attended there came a compromise. Senator Brian Hatfield, Representative Brian Blake, Representative Dean Takko, County Commissioner Jon Kaino, and all three Commissioners from Wahkiakum County stood in the rain in a circle of concerned...
I was very leery two months ago when I learned the Lower Columbia Economic Development Council and Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce were going to discuss a merger. I worried about whether or not the two groups' missions are compatible enough to form an organization that will be able to handle a variety of economic development projects while still doing the community activities and promotions that the Chamber conducts. Instead, I should have been worried about whether or not local government would continue to support county wide economic developmen...
