Resident appeals marina access ban

Wahkiakum County residents Greg Wika and Art Pedersen were invited to the Wahkiakum County Port 1 board of commissioners meeting to plead their case to the commission and ask for permission to return after a dust-up on port property earlier this year. Only Pedersen took advantage of the offer.

Despite marina leash laws, Pedersen has allowed his small dog to run free at the marina while he sits in his pickup truck. In January, according to a letter from the investigating deputy sheriff to the commissioners, his small dog bit a pedestrian twice. The man attempted to swat the dog away after the first bite. That wasn’t enough to deter the dog, which bit the man a second time, the report said, and the man kicked the dog. Wika, who was accompanying Pedersen and who was outside the pickup, responded by punching the man in the face.

Wika and Pedersen were notified verbally that they were not to return to port property. Wika was charged with assault, but the case was dismissed due to a technicality. Nevertheless, the trespass warning was still in effect, the deputy said in the report.

The ban from marina property remains in effect for Wika, but the commissioners granted Pedersen some leniency at Thursday’s meeting, with a few conditions.

“What about the idea If you came back, it was under the provision that if you break any city or marina laws, that’s it?” Commissioner Bob Kizziar asked.

Commissioner Scott Anderson agreed with Kizziar’s recommendation, as did Pedersen.

In other business, Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce Director Paige Lake spoke about the canceled salmon derby. She had some other suggestions for activities at the port, including a logging festival on Bald Eagle Day, and a Saturday market. Commissioners welcomed both ideas.