Commissioners

Wahkiakum County commissioners heard a report on the arrival of influenza in the county, settled some issues, and set the stage for dealing with a $250,000 shortfall in revenue off state managed timberlands when they met Tuesday.

Health Department Administrator Judy Bright reported that health workers are continuing vaccination programs for seasonal and H1N1 (swine) flu, and influenza is appearing in the population.

Wahkiakum School District Superintendent Bob Garrett this week reported high absentee rates in the district's three schools.

"Yesterday (Monday) was our worst day thus far regarding student absenteeism," he told The Eagle on Tuesday. "We had 22 percent of our K-5 students absent, 17 percent of our middle schoolers absent, and 14 percent of our high school students absent. Most were ill."

Bright said the health department and Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic are offering vaccinations as vaccine becomes available.

Health officials recently reported that the number of H1N1 vaccine doses won't be as high as expected, and they'll continue to administer by priority.

"We will begin to focus on the following groups: Household contacts/caregivers for children under the age of 6 months, people age 6 months through 24 years old, and people age 25 through 64 with health conditions associated with higher risk of complications from influenza such as diabetes or asthma," Bright said. "How we approach each group will depend on the amount of vaccine we receive at any given time.

"As supplies increase, there will be enough vaccine for anyone wishing to receive it."

So far, department personnel have administered 363 doses of seasonal flu vaccine and 335 doses of H1N1 vaccine. H1N1 seems to hit young children and pregnant women hardest, so those groups have received the H1N1 doses.

Commissioners and other officials discussed how to deal with a $250,000 shortfall from harvest of timber on state county trust timberland.

County officials were notified just this month that expected revenue from the Falk Ridge timber sale would be $250,000 shorter than expected because there wasn't as much harvestable wood on the sale as Department of Natural Resources foresters originally estimated.

Treasurer Paula Holloway said the county's revenue forecast remains on track because the county received money from another timber sale that was expected to be logged in 2010. However, officials said the money from the second sale won't be available in 2010 as originally planned. Combined with other revenue shortfalls, the county government is looking at a $500,000 shortfall next year, officials said.

The officials also expressed dissatisfaction with the DNR's projections and accounting. Last year, a DNR accounting mistake resulted in a $700,000 shortfall for the county, and services and personnel were chopped.

Commissioner Lisa Marsyla suggested inviting Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark to visit county officials to hear about the situation. Commissioners Dan Cothren and Blair Brady said they have spoken to Goldmark and other DNR officials about the situation.

Holloway noted that the last payment from the Falk Ridge sale came in August and no one reported that it was going to be the last payment until October.

"When it's so late, you can't hardly adjust," she said.

In other business:

--The commissioners chose one of three options for court security suggested by Judges Bill Faubion and Michael Sullivan for court security.

The commissioners chose the option to contract with Columbia Security at a rate of $25 per hour. The board has requested the courts contract for service rather than have new county employees provide the security. Other options include hiring local employees, which the judges said would be least expensive, and hire a contractor but cover his insurance costs with the grant money funding the project.

--Citing revenue shortfalls that are projected to continue into 2010, commissioners rejected pleas from Holloway and Assessor Sulema Zerr to hire additional part time help to aid with mounting tasks in their departments.

--Commissioners also voted to hold a hearing on proposed increases to vehicle and passenger fees for the county ferry on November 3. See this week's public notice section for more detail