HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879
Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021
Vol. 142 No. 40
$1.00
SDS sale nears completion, raises questions CITIZEN SANDY News analysis by Sandra DeMent
On September 30, 2021, three firms announced they are forming a consortium to acquire the SDS Lumber Company and the Stevenson Land Company, including all timberlands and the Bingen lumber mill. The deal, which is expected to close in the next few months, involves: • Sale of 96,000 acres of SDS timberlands to Green Diamond Resource Company, a Seattle-based
investor and manager of Twin Creeks Timber LLC. Twin Creeks is a Timber Investment Management Organization (TIMO). Twin Creeks was created by Silver Creek Capital Management in 2015 as a joint venture with Plum Creek Timber which was then acquired by Weyerhauser. In 2018 Green Diamond replaced Weyerhauser as Silver Creek’s joint venture partner and became the forest manager of all of Twin Creek’s 500,000 acres. • Sale of the SDS Lumber Company and its Bingen lumber mill to Carson-based WKO (Wilkins, Kaiser & Olsen, Inc.) The SDS mill and the WKO mill will operate un-
der a newly formed subsidiary to be known as Mt. Adams Forest Products. Together with its Mt Hood subsidiary, WKO produces 300 million board feet of dimensional lumber annually. • The national, non-profit Conservation Fund, which will manage the conversion of a portion of the SDS timberlands into conservation easements, to protect timberlands from future development or subdivision. No details are yet available as to what the Conservation Fund has contributed to the deal, nor which of the local area’s forests, rivers, and streams might be subject to conservation. The announcement, which de-
scribes a complex series of timber industry relationships, is short on details and raises more questions than it answers. Until the ink is dry on the consortium paperwork, however, no one is answering questions. Below are a few of the issues raised by the deal: Green Diamond manages the forests under its control in conformity with standards known as Sustainable Forest Initiatives (SFI). While SFI is not the most rigorous forest practice certification, all of the 550,000 acres it manages for Twin Creeks Timber are subject to SFI standards including third party audits, some conducted by Departments
of Natural Resources. The acquisition and management by Green Diamond raises questions as to whether the SDS timberlands will be managed more--or less-- rigorously than they have been. This affects biodiversity, habitat protection, and water quality Green Diamond also has experience in managing its forests so as to create and sell carbon offset credits to companies that pledge to meet carbon neutrality goals. One such recent sale to Microsoft generated substantial revenues for Green Diamond. Carbon offsets are tied to the rate of growth of trees, since studies show that
See SDS page B1
Will Klickitat County be in the 4th Congressional District?
CONTRIBUTED
STOLEN, THEN SET ON FIRE: Goldendale’s Stasha Garcia was in St. Louis and had back surgery. While there, her car was stolen, then set on fire. She’s stuck in St. Louis and looking for help to get home.
WASHINGTON STATE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
BIG CHANGES?: Four maps were proposed by the Washington State Redisticting Commission for redistricting of counties after the 2020 census. All four propose putting Klickitat County in the 4th Congressional District, instead of the 3rd where it is now. In this proposed map, the 4th District would occupy a huge swath of the state.
All proposed redistricting maps show Klickitat County in the 4th Congressional District instead of the 3rd The four voting members of the Washington State Redistricting Commission (WSRC) each published their proposed congressional district maps September 28. The public can access the proposed maps at www.redistricting.wa.gov/commissioner-proposed-maps and comment directly on specific areas of each proposed map. “Now that draft maps are available for everyone to review, we are looking forward to our public outreach meetings next week,” said Commission Chair Sarah Augustine. “I believe public input is critical to helping the Com-
mission come up with a finished product that meets all statutory obligations.” The Commission holds one remaining virtual public outreach meeting on Zoom, on Saturday, October 9 at 10 a.m. There is no need to register for the meetings if you simply want to watch. You can watch the Commission’s meetings live on TVW or on its YouTube page. The meeting will be broadcast in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. If a member of the public requires interpretation in another language, they can request it upon registration.
If you wish to comment on the maps, but do not want to do so at a public meeting, you can find several ways to comment in any language at the Commission’s website on the “How to Participate” page. Commissioners will see all comments made regardless of the method of comment or language used. All map submissions, comments on proposed maps, and comments sent using the various methods available on the website are subject to public disclosure under the Washington State Public Records Act.
Goldendale woman stuck in St. Louis after car destroyed by theft and fire LOU MARZELES EDITOR Stasha Garcia from Goldendale, earlier a longtime resident of White Salmon, was in St. Louis (and still is), and she needed back surgery. “I blew out four vertebrae,” she says. While recovering, she asked some locals if they knew people they could recommend to do some errands for her. They did. On September 24, over came two people, a mother and her 20-year-old son, and they ar-
ranged to run the errands she needed. At the end of the errands, the son asked for the keys to Garcia’s car again, so he could hook up a trailer to it. So he said. Garcia, still largely immobile after surgery, tossed him the keys through a window. Next thing she knew, she could hear her car racing out the driveway as the son abruptly took off in it, his mother shouting at him and pounding on the rear window as he pulled away. “He’ll come back,” the mother
See Car page B1
K C Pharmacy has new owner, new name TAYLER BRADLEY FOR THE SENTINEL
A local business that has been a part of this town for many years is trading hands again. New owner Jaqueline Eide is very excited to begin her journey with K C Pharmacy. The business is changing its name to Goldendale Pharmacy. This business provides a lot of people in our rural area a place to get prescriptions and other medical needs without having to travel long distances.
Jaqueline is not new to the pharmacy world as it has been a passion of hers for some time now. She has worked in local independent pharmacies both during and before completing pharmacy school. After that she began working with Bartell Drug Company, located in the Seattle area, where she was a pharmacist, director of retail operations, and district pharmacy manager. She was with the company for 12 years, so needless to say, she has a lot of years
See KC page B1
Herrera Beutler to hold phone town hall CONTRIBUTED: T MICHAEL WEST
THE DEER SHALL LIE DOWN WITH THE CAT: Here’s something you don’t see every day. This amazing shot shows a couple of interspecies buds here in Goldendale looking right at the camera, taking a break in the shade during those awful heat-wave days of this past summer.
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler will be hosting a live telephone town hall on Tuesday, October 12 at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. All residents of southwest Washington’s Third Congressional District are invited to join Herrera Beutler as she gives an update on her work in Congress. Residents will also be invited to ask questions or share
whatever is on their mind. Southwest Washington residents can call in to join the live telephone town hall at any point during the event by calling (877) 229-8493 and using the passcode 116365. Those residents unable to participate in this event can send comments and questions to Jaime at JHB.house.gov/contact.