Goldendale Sentinel April 20, 2022

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SERVING KLICKITAT COUNTY

Goldendale, Washington

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022

Vol. 143 No. 16

$1.00

Tract D is Yakama land, U.S. Supreme Court rules

LOU MARZELES

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

IT’S FINAL: Tract D and everything in it is Yakama Nation land, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Supreme Court rejects Klickitat County’s claim over Glenwood and Tract D

The old reality is again the new, final reality: Tract D—which includes Mt. Adams and the town of Glenwood— belongs to the Yakama Nation. Monday the U.S. Supreme Court, while acknowledging some fuzziness for a time over the definitive boundary of the Yakama Reservation, ultimately rejected Klickitat County’s challenge to the Reservation’s boundaries. The decision makes the issue of jurisdiction final and firm. The Yakama Nation always held jurisdiction over Tract D, but the county had contested the tribe’s claim. Monday’s ruling ends a long dispute over the matter, with the tribe winning its suit against the county, as it did at every court level prior to Monday’s Supreme Court decision. Klickitat County had argued that 121,465 acres in the southwestern corner of the Yakama Reservation—including the eastern half of Mt. Adams and the Glenwood Valley—were not included within the Yakama Reservation. The decision ends a dispute that has raged for more than a century before erupting in contemporary courts. “The Supreme Court’s decision once again validates the continuing strength of our Treaty rights under the United States Constitution,” said Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Delano

Saluskin. “The Yakama Nation will never compromise when our Treaty is at stake.” The dispute centered around interpreting ambiguous language in the Treaty of 1855. When Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens drafted the Treaty, he described the Yakama Reservation’s southwestern border as “passing south and east of Mount Adams, to the spur whence flows the waters of the Klickatat and Pisco rivers …” No such spur exists, which created an ambiguity in the Treaty language. The Yakama Nation has always understood Mt. Adams and Tract D to be Reservation land, and that understanding was affirmed by the Indian Claims Commission in 1966, President Richard Nixon in Executive Order 11670 in 1972, and federal surveyors in 1982. Despite this common understanding between the Treaty parties—the Yakama Nation and the United States—Klickitat County disputed the Yakama Reservation’s boundaries. Klickitat County argued that the Treaty’s language should be interpreted to exclude the town of Glenwood from the Reservation and, in the alternative, that Congress removed Glenwood from the Reservation in the Act of December 21, 1904. The United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the

See Tract D page B4

Auditor candidates square off on rumor LOU MARZELES EDITOR The race for Klickitat County Auditor is not yet even official— candidates can’t file until next month—but a nasty rumor has been reported and categorically denied. Imminent candidate JoAnne Chambers told The Sentinel last week she heard reports from three different people that her opponent, Heather Jobe, said Chambers had been fired for drinking on the job. “It appears I am considered a threat,” Chambers said. “I was not fired for drinking on the job.

The stuff is getting thick; it’s a good thing I have muck boots.” Contacted Monday, Jobe said she never made such a comment. “I never said anything close to that,” Jobe stated. “I don’t know how such things get started.” Jobe has campaign signs already up around Goldendale. Chambers initially made her comments in a prospective letter to the editor. When told The Sentinel, like most newspapers, does not accept letters from political candidates, she agreed to have her claim instead reported as a story and was told Jobe would be contacted for response to the claim.

EGGS-ACTLY RIGHT: Kids brought their parents along for the American Legion Easter Egg Hunt at the county fairgrounds Sunday morning. Legion members were on site at 6:30 a.m. hiding eggs on the lawn, 600 for the smallest children (above) and 900 for the older kids. It was cold, around 35 degrees, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going, as these eager Easter hunters demonstrated.

City approves revised Grant Street parking plan from county RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL The people spoke, and the Powers That Be listened. That was the loud and clear message from Monday night’s Goldendale City Council meeting. At the previous meeting April 4, a number of citizens showed up to testify against a county proposal to close part of Grant Street to create additional parking spaces next to the Klickitat County courthouse. As a result,

the council tabled the proposal until last night’s meeting. The county returned with a revised proposal that would not require vacating Grant Street but would involve moving a sidewalk and turning a portion of the street into two rows of diagonal parking, making that short section one way, entering from Court Street and exiting onto Grant Street. The city voted unanimously to reject the earlier proposal and to approve the revised plan.

“I think this gets the majority of the things covered that were discussed last time,” said County Engineer Gordon Kelsey, “and we only lost 12 spaces, so that’s not too bad.” Moving on to other matters, this year marks the sesquicentennial of the City of Goldendale, founded in 1872. Councilor Dave Jones explained that part of the celebration involves opening up a time capsule. “The time capsule was buried

See City page B4

First annual ‘June Blooms’ garden walk announced On the cusp of actual spring (as opposed to the spring weather we’ve experienced so far), it’s time for gardeners to come up with plans and dreams for their gardens. One sure item would be a Goldendale Garden Walk, and this year it’s going to be a reality. Save the date: Saturday, June 4, for the first Goldendale June Blooms Garden Walk—in short, June Blooms. Hopefully this will become an annual event. All gardeners are encouraged to enter their gardens, no matter the size, skill level, or age of the garden, the only requirement being the gar-

dens are located within the City of Goldendale. All gardeners have key knowledge and insights to share. The fun and camaraderie you can expect from opening up your garden to the appreciative public is rewarding. It is work getting a garden ready for a tour, but it really is worth it, so don’t be hesitant about opening your garden. The tour itself, June Blooms Gardens, will be open to the public on Saturday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This free garden tour is self-directed, and no registration or tickets are needed to see the gardens. Free maps

can be picked up at the Goldendale Chamber a week before the event, including Saturday June 4, and will also be available as a Google Map at goldendalechamber.org/events a week before the event. The deadline to enter a garden is May 15. You can be a part of the start of this new tradition. Here’s how you join June Blooms: complete the Garden Entries at https:// tinyurl.com/rk3za84j, at www. goldendalechamber.org/events, or call the Chamber office at (509) 773-3400 for more information.

Pomona Grange Mini-Fair returns The Pomona Grange Mini-Fair is returning April 26-27, after the Covid pandemic caused a twoyear hiatus. The popular event will be held at the Goldendale Grange Hall on East Darland Street. Anybody interested may enter the local contest whether you are a Grange member or not. It is a fun event that provides experience before competing at the Klickitat County Fair. There are many categories for entering, including baking,

candy, needlework, quilts, sewing, stuffed toys, fine arts, wood crafts, metal crafts, ceramics, and photography. If you have an item and are not sure of its category, contact a Grange member or leave a message on the Goldendale Grange Facebook page. Winners of all categories are eligible to go on the State Grange contest and beyond. In a limited number of categories, you must be a Grange member to compete above the local level.

There is no pre-registration for the contest, just bring your entries to the Grange Hall by 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 26. Judging starts immediately after entries close.


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