Sheriff Howie sets the tone

Sheriff Howie sets the tone

To The Eagle:

It’s been my privilege to have been introduced to Sheriff Mark Howie by former Sheriff John Dearmore some ten years ago. During these ten years, I’ve visited with the Howies about local social occurrences and have found them to be in touch with the pulse of Wahkiakum County. Mark Howie is the kind of sheriff that stays connected to the youth of Wahkiakum County on a constant basis. As the local High School Golf Coach we cross paths regularly. Many of you know that in April of this year, I was involved in a horrific car accident on SR4 while driving the Golf Team to a match. Mark’s deputies did a fantastic job managing the accident scene and made sure that all my personal possessions were retained and returned to me upon my return from the hospital, some 3+ weeks later. There were so many heroes at that wreck, I was lucky to be alive. At the scene, Mark recognized that one of our golfers went “above and beyond” to see that the seven team members and I were kept safe until help could arrive. Sheriff Howie presented this student athlete with a special recognition during the High School Graduation Awards ceremonies. This is the type of community leader that I treasure!

I personally think that the sheriff sets the tone of how his deputies behave. Recently, we had a man actually open fire on our deputies with a rifle out of his own house. I was so proud that instead of shooting back that our sheriff’s deputies calmly retreated and waited patiently (knowing that this person wasn’t mentally stable) and later talked this shooter into surrendering his weapon. I felt like that was the finest way for our peace-officers to handle this scenario. No one was hurt. This is the way I’d like our sheriffs department to behave. Professional and safe!

I know personally that Mark does not just “live” in Wahkiakum County. He was a commercial property owner here in Cathlamet, long before he became our sheriff. This was never just a place for him to snag employment. Mark has invested his own personal dollars in our community. Like you and me, he also believes in our county; and I believe in him; and hope you will too. Please vote to retain Mark Howie for Sheriff.

Nick Vavoudis

Cathlamet