Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 2457 - 2481 of 2591
To The Eagle: To the property owners/voters of Wahkiakum County. If you feel your property is taxed at a higher rate than its current true market value, then the November election will be extremely important to you. There are people in Wahkiakum County and the state of Washington who are only interested in the taxes received on your home/property. Other counties and states have recognized that the market value of real estate is considerably less than it was three years ago and have adjusted appraisers to match, but we are faced with opposition...
To The Eagle: I apologize personally and publicly to Tom Doumit, Town Attorney and Ruth Doumit, Town Councilwoman, if I offended or harmed them or impugned their character by my opinion letter published by The Eagle, August 12, 2010 in regard to and in opposition of the almost $900,000 town amphitheater project and its ongoing maintenance costs. While I did not name them, as I said in that letter, "The town attorney and councilwoman are both good people and I consider them to be my friends. I take no joy in writing this letter..." I have not...
To The Eagle: I write in response to George Hanigan's letter published August 12, 2010, under the caption "Town's obligations already too numerous," in which Mr. Hanigan impugns both my personal integrity and my professional competence, and that of Councilwoman Ruth Doumit. I will not allow those aspersions and the erroneous analysis that underlies them to go unchallenged and uncorrected. Mr. Hanigan claims that he has "heard the opinion expressed by several citizens" that Councilwoman Doumit and I, "as adjacent landowners... had a personal...
To The Eagle: Frank and Donnie are appalled? (Letter to The Eagle, August12). Being a World War II veteran and because of my age, disabled, I feel for anyone that is disabled, especially young people returning from the war missing arms and legs. I made it possible to ascend the stairs to the office without falling through rotten steps. I personally replaced them with steel and concrete. I personally assembled all of the steel and wood picnic tables Frank and Donnie probably have used over 15 years ago. I'm responsible for getting a dock ramp...
To The Eagle: I agree with the position of Wally Wright and David Goodroe on the matter of the Town not being able to support the skateboard--oops, excuse me!--the amphitheater facility. Until the town can afford to maintain Strong Park, Erickson Park, J.B. Hansen Swimming Pool, B. Bradley Library, the street improvements and maintenance, the water system, the sewer system, meaningfully contribute to the Wahkiakum Historical Museum, town law enforcement, employ the people it needs to fully operate and pay its employees adequate compensation,...
To The Eagle: On behalf of the Wright and Blankenship families, I would like to thank some very helpful folks in Skamokawa and Cathlamet. First, a thank you to Bob Robinson and Janet Bryan for their great help at Vista Park with the Wright/Blankenship reunion. The success of our get-together was directly related to the new management of the park. All the reservations were handled well, and we all had great support from the park staff. A special thank you to Janet, Bob and their staff for getting everything ready for our "clans." Second, an...
To The Eagle: A big thank you to Jackie Lea and Paula Cothren for the opportunity to have a vendor booth at the Marina during the recent Bald Eagle Celebration. We were directly opposite the enclosed area and we sold garden spinners and wood art. We were very pleased that our products were so well received. One of the nicest things we experienced, while sitting in our booth, was to have conversations with all of the folks who stopped by, especially the out of town RVers and boaters. We were delighted to hear all the positive comments from...
To The Eagle: On August 5, there was a letter to the editor published persuading people to vote for the “obvious” choice for sheriff. It is not my intention to persuade one to vote for who I think should be sheriff, but I would like to take a stand for the one candidate who received criticism in the letter. A comment was made about one of the candidates being arrested. The context of the letter implies that anyone who would vote for this candidate would be foolish, considering the candidate’s past. It is unfortunate that Josh Grasseth, the u...
To The Eagle: After having just finished reading "Pull up a chair with Blair" (The Eagle, 7/29/2010), my response is it's time to pull the chair from Blair, and my reason for expressing the opinion I am is that turn about is fair play. In the month of May portion, the news is good: that we now have a full time doctor on staff in the clinic. Now you read the July section and word is the clinic has now hired a nurse practitioner. Which sounds very good, but the drawback is when the clinic changed hands, we had a full time nurse practitioner and...
To The Eagle: Considering the three candidates running for sheriff, the choice seems relatively easy. Jon Dearmore is the only candidate who is currently employed in law enforcement and has 20 years experience in this field. Jon has numerous law enforcement qualifications beyond the minimum required. His community involvement is shown by his membership on several committees and boards in the county, including Wahkiakum County 4-H, Wahkiakum Community Network, Timberland Regional Support Network, Region 4 Law Enforcement Terrorist Prevention,...
To The Eagle: As many of you know, Grays River residents Del and Trudy Fredrickson lost their home in a fire last Thursday. I would like to thank all of the emergency crews that helped on the scene, including crews from Grays River, Cathlamet, Skamokawa, Dist. 4, and Naselle. Fortunately Grays River volunteer Jon Gudmundsen, who is a battalion chief for Kitsap County, was first on scene. He did an excellent job of commanding the scene and helping the crews work together to get the fire out. My husband Troy Norris was in charge of staging. He...
To The Eagle: On Thursday, July 29, some time after midday, I renewed one of our vehicle license tabs online. The next morning I picked up the tabs from our Post Office box. Wow. Thank you Wahkiakum County Auditors Office. Kathleen Morgain Skamokawa...
To The Eagle: Some people have forgotten things that taxes pay for. They are: PUD; services on electric lines; roads - building, resurfacing and repair; EMT/ambulance; firetrucks and police; social security; Medicare; Medicaid; children's services/immunizations; weed control on the highways; park maintenance; water pumped to homes; urgent dental with Human Services; food stamps for low income folks; senior produce vouchers; utility discounts for senior citizens; student loans for college students; vocational retraining; unemployment insurance;...
To The Eagle: Judge Jill Johanson is an excellent choice as candidate for the Court of Appeals. She has over 24 years' legal experience, as an attorney, a prosecuting attorney and for eight years as a County Superior Court Judge. She has had experience in felony criminal cases, dissolution of marriages, Juvenile Dependency and Offender matters. She has been the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge. Judge Johanson has received the endorsement of over 20 Court of Appeals, Supreme Court and Trial Judges. She is the past president of the Washington...
To The Eagle: A big thanks to Janet Cimino for organizing the Artisan Market once more for the Bald Eagle Day/Wooden Boat festivities. It was Janet who, once again, got the ball rolling for this third year in a row, drawing local artists together to display their work over the weekend in what used to be Ruthie's Downtown Gallery - a fantastic space for us to use. About 20 local artists throughout the county participated in the event, and we had a great response from people coming in to see the talent that surrounds us here along the river. It...
Elections The older I get, the more fondly I think of Tevye and "The Fiddler on the Roof." He wanted so much to adhere to his traditional way of life, but life wouldn't let him. Life brought change, and he had to deal with it. For those of us mired in a career of dealing with our state's tradition of a primary election in September and the general election in November, the new schedule, with the primary in August, is an unsettling adjustment. The election season should be heating up in August, but no, vote by mail ballots will be sent out at...
To The Eagle: Response to Daily News, July 16,“Local Economy Has Got Us Optimistic.” Brought instant memories of my fifth grade teacher, repeating, “You Don’t Got Anything!” In addition to the poor grammatical inference, another article concealing facts, there is $200 million in construction occurring at The Port of Longview, building an Export Grain Terminal (EGT) and a non-local workforce is accomplishing most of the work. The Port made public “New Jersey Skyline Steel” will-be-built “prevailing wage.” Upon examination, this is a public...
To The Eagle: As a person who has worked in Public Health for the majority of the last 47 years, as a Public Health Nurse and Public Health Administrator, it was a pleasure to read in the paper recently that the Wahkiakum County Health & Human Services had presented a report to the county on health data about our residents. This information in detail is available at www.countyhealthrankings.org and is based on an annual random survey of adults and youth in Washington State. Eighty years ago this report would have looked at things we now take...
To The Eagle: Well, another Bald Eagle completed and unfortunately there are too many to thank personally so I will just say thanks to all who helped and participated. There is so much to do behind the scenes and most have no idea of the time committed to soliciting vendors, getting permits, right down to getting the garbage cans placed. It is overwhelming. That is why I want to mention three people who every year around this time, give every waking moment to make sure this event is enjoyed by all and goes off without a hitch. Lynda Gerlach...
To The Eagle: To the 25 families living in the town of Cathlamet who so far have completed and returned the recent survey, I thank you. This survey is designed to help restore the vitality of stores and other businesses in Cathlamet and reduce the number of vacant storefronts. For cost considerations, this first survey was sent only to those people who receive a water bill directly from the town of Cathlamet. It is recognized, however, that the success of businesses within the town affects everyone in the county so I am working on proper ways...
To The Eagle, The posted speed limit is 20 mph in a school zone, so what's the problem on Clover Street? Posted speed limit is 20 mph, just like in a school zone and there are lots of kids. Is it that some people don't feel that the speed limit applies to them? If so, I'd love to hear their reasons. On that dead end street,can a few extra seconds be that important? I guess we will have to wait until something tragic happens before they get it. Roger Bucholtz Cathlamet...
To The Eagle: Recently, we have been treated to many letters to The Eagle focusing on projects that the Lower Columbia Economic Development Council and the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce have worked hard on and supported. We are told by the writers that defeating these efforts is cause for joy. As one of the people who works very hard for our community, I challenge those who work so hard to stop projects to roll up their sleeves and find a way to get involved in helping the community. It is not enough to simply sit at home and say, “I have g...
To The Eagle: The amazing facts and figures in the county health analysis on last week's front page sure did clarify my thinking. I thought that our slightly high incidence of coronary disease and stuff was because half of us are over 60, but now I find out it's because of low intake of spinach and rutabagas. The fact that such produce is not available must also come as a reall shock to the folks who run the wonderful produce department at Cathlamet Market and our world class farmers market on Puget Island. I was also under the misapprehension...
To The Eagle: I am opposed to the disposal of untreated human waste through land application. Since I am a resident of Grays River valley, I am especially opposed to the land application of untreated human waste in the valley. It is unsafe and unwise on several levels. If that were not the case why have we been prohibited for years from constructing outhouses near wells or close to streams and rivers? What about the studies linking the introduction of human medicines into aquatic environments with aberrant morphological changes in amphibian...
To The Eagle: Two writers, letters to the editor dated July1, 2010, two opposite views. The first letter titled "Fear of change will isolate Wahkiakum County." It discusses "Lack of vision and openness to new ideas." To me and probably to most Wahkiakum County residents this seems like an insult. We must appear to be dumb and stupid for wanting to live in Wahkiakum County. I'm also in disagreement about "What makes a healthy community." Healthy communities are made by people who care for the welfare of the whole county, not just a few...
