Candidates for Klickitat County Clerk Renea Campbell and Shelby McKern spoke with The Sentinel last week. Following are comments from those conversations. (Note: McKern’s interview took place after Campbell’s, which precluded opportunity by press time for Campbell to respond to McKern’s comments.)
Sentinel: How would you describe your office at this time?
Campbell: Currently I have the best staff that I’ve ever had, and they are great workers. They work well together. It’s a team. It is just so enjoyable to have such great employees. That is a great feeling when that happens.
Sentinel: How long have you been Clerk?
Campbell: Nine years.
Sentinel: Why don’t we begin at the very basics for somebody who may not know what a county Clerk is? Would you give us a sense of exactly what its responsibilities are and what its office oversees?
Campbell: The Clerk elected office position was established to keep the records for Superior Court. So all filings that would go into cases that would be heard or reviewed by Superior Court are filed in the Clerk’s office so that there’s not the appearance of unfairness. The Clerk’s Office is a part of the executive branch of government. All of the court cases in Superior Court that are recorded by the court’s office, all the filings come into my office, and we house all of the records. It’s the way it was set up in the Washington state constitution.
In Oregon, the Clerk is more like what the Auditor does. So we get a lot of phone calls that are about voting or clerk for the board of county commissioners. We do a lot of transferring calls, but I think that’s pretty common.
Sentinel: Does the office have any supervisory function?
Campbell: No. The Clerk’s responsibility is to make sure that the documents are in the proper format per court rules, make sure signatures are on the paper and that filing fees are received. We don’t do any kind of fact checking. It’s not our responsibility.
Sentinel: What sort of information do you provide to the public when they call?
Campbell: We can’t give legal advice. But we can give people resources, which we give. There’s lots of resources available. Especially since COVID, Washington Law Help [WashingtonLawHelp.org] is one of the resources that we use, and it is monitored. And the information put on there is from the Northwest Justice Project. It is updated all the time by attorneys. And forms and things. We direct people there all the time; it is a fantastic resource. For pro se litigants, attorneys go there and use it as a resource.
Sentinel: You have all of these resources available on your website?
Campbell: One of the things that happened for me during COVID was, the Board for Judicial Administration established a court recovery task force, and I volunteered to be on it for the clerks, the Washington State Clerks Association. I was assigned to the technology committee. That was really a very good place for me to be because technology is where we’re moving. How are we assisting our constituents in getting paperwork and filings done in the Clerk’s Office? One of the other things that was noted through our committee work was that websites are not as up to date as they should be, not as informational as they should be. So that was one of the projects that we worked on, county court websites, district and municipal courts, superior court websites, clerk’s offices’ websites. We looked at them all. We put together a guideline for courts to use, to establish and set up and keep their websites up to date. I updated my website based on some of the things that we discovered. And I’m thinking, there’s going to be some changes as to how people get documents and request copies of documents. So I’ve got to get that updated. It’s kind of an ongoing process to keep your website updated. The Clerk has new requirements with the Civil Protection Order statute that was completely redone and became effective July 1. We are required to have the forms available on our websites, so those are all downloaded. We had them on there before, but now it’s a requirement to have them on your website.
Sentinel: In terms of traffic in general, can you describe the volume of requests for information that comes across your office?
Shelby McKern
Sentinel: Let’s begin, please, with how and when you decided to run.
McKern: I used to work in the Clerk’s Office for about two and a half years. February of 2018 is when I was hired, and I left in September of 2020 to transfer over to the IT department. I spent that time there, and then while in IT, I still worked around and intermingled with all the offices. And then at that same time, I also took on an independent contracting position; I’m a legal administrative assistant for an attorney up in Bellevue. So I kept my foot kind of in the legal world, making sure I was staying up to date with different practices. I specifically stayed in estate planning and probates but keeping my foot inside the legal ring to just remain up to date on the practices of the court system.
I graduated from Harding University in 2016 with my Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. I worked for a bank for about two and a half years and decided banking was not what I wanted to do with my life very quickly. I started looking for ways to come back to Goldendale. I grew up in High Prairie. I went to Centerville and [Goldendale] high school for ninth and 10th grades. I spent my 11th year abroad in Japan, and then I graduated my 12th from here.
Part of my reasons for leaving [the Clerk’s Office] were salary opportunities, and I was getting frustrated with the working environment that I was working in. I didn’t want to be a part of that anymore. It was frustrating to hear about the problems that people or friends had and the interactions they would have in the Clerk’s Office.
After I left, I was hearing the problems that were still the same problems, just never getting better. You listen to that for two and a half years, and you finally go, “Okay, I want to be able to do something about this,” because I think people deserve the opportunity to have something different. The election cycle just turned up this year, so I threw my hat in the ring and said, “I want to provide that opportunity for something different.”
Sentinel: Would you go into some of the issues that you felt were not being resolved?
McKern: It’s a little difficult to explain it from a voter standpoint, because if you look at the job as the Clerk, the state tells you and gives you the resources to do about 90 percent of what you’re asked to do for your job. The other 10 percent comes down to, how do you handle your office? That’s about the products that you use in order to run the office, those relationships that you keep up with, inter-court agencies, and the attorneys and people that come into the office to work with them, how you handle interactions with those people. It’s difficult to balance what you can say to people, because as a Clerk, you have a lot of legal obligations, and you can’t give advice. You can’t give any recommendations for a lot of things. That’s a hard line you have to respect, but there are different ways of approaching how you tell people who are frustrated and going through something that’s probably life changing for them. Or they’ve never gone through the court process before, so it’s a completely new world that is so complex. We have people make careers out of it, and they become lawyers in order to operate in this system. It was a lot of cover-your-tail attitudes about approaching different people. You want to be able to provide people with information and resources, and sometimes it felt like I was discouraged in trying to provide more or trying to help guide people along within the boundaries that I was allowed to work in. I never felt I was overstepping my bounds, trying to help provide more information to people, not give recommendations, but I did feel pressured to keep from offering more solutions at certain times when interacting with people who would come in and ask for help on what they needed on their paperwork. So you felt the office could be more helpful. I feel like there’s a better way to balance it than what it was at the time when I was there, which was: you can’t be telling them that, you can’t give them that information. I wasn’t recommending anything. I wasn’t encouraging them to take a particular path. I was trying to explain
The Klickitat County Assessor wants you to know that while property values in the county have soared—some by close to 70 percent or more—your taxes will not necessarily proportionally raise.
In an interview last week, Assessor Crista Shroder said home properties have indeed skyrocketed in recent years, and yes, the increases in some areas have been downright astonishing. But county assessments, she pointed out, still remain based on willing seller-willing buyer: what price will a seller and buyer agree on and finalize? The property value increases reflect what sellers and buyers agree on as a purchase price, which can be wildly disparate from past valuations.
And that still doesn’t mean taxes will soar. There are limits on those.
Many people recall something about a 1 percent allowable increase in taxes each year. “For district’s budgets,” Shroder says. “It’s a little bit more complicated
than that. If they haven’t asked for that every year, they can go up a little bit higher. Statutorily it’s 1 percent over last year, plus new construction plus any increase in state assessed. That’s pretty much the only way that taxing districts can increase their budget. They can go higher than the 1 percent if they have the banked capacity. If they had new construction for a couple years in a row and they didn’t ask for it in the past, they can ask for it at a later date. But typically for the taxing districts it’s 1 percent over last year. That was a voter approved initiative, I believe in 2001.”
Shroder cites an assessment of four homes at $100,000. “If we were to increase assessments, if we were to double them—so we took a $100,000 valued home, and the sales presented us now at a $200,000 home, then that makes those four homes at 800,000. If that was the total district with the 1 percent increase in the budget, and an increase in new construction and state assessed, that makes the district at $434.
ABOVE: GOOGLE MAPS. RIGHT: COLUMBIA BANK. BANK BRANCH SHUFFLE: The proposed merger between Columbia and Umpqua Banks— directly across the street from each other in Goldendale—is inching along. But as a result of that process, a letter full of legalese (partially shown right) was posted on the door at Columbia Bank recently. We checked with authorities at the bank on what it means for the future of Columbia customers.
LOU MARZELES
EDITOR
A letter was posted on the door of the Goldendale branch of Columbia Bank last week saying the branch was going to be divested from Columbia Bank, along with the White Salmon branch and eight others elsewhere. The letter was confusing and raised a lot of questions. The Sentinel took those questions to Columbia Bank, which responded with answers from Chris Merrywell, executive vice president and chief operating offi cer at Columbia Bank.
Sentinel: Why are you divesting the Goldendale and White Salmon branches in Klickitat County?
Columbia: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is requiring us to sell 10 of our branches to another financial institution as a condition of our pending merger with Umpqua. The DOJ closely reviews mergers between banks to ensure a market continues to provide competitive banking options after a merger is complete. The Goldendale and White Salmon branches are part of the 10 branches we must sell. Currently, we do not have a signed agreement with a buyer.
The Goldendale and White Salmon communities remain important to us. After the close of the merger, we will remain an active partner in the Klickitat County community and will
INSURIFY.COM
COUNTY HOME VALUES SOAR BUT NOT TAXES: The Klickitat County Assessor says while home values in the county have skyrockted, that doesn’t mean taxes will be commensurate.
The Sentinel talks with candidates in contested county races
AUDREY HILL FOR THE SENTINEL
Priding themselves on surprising their customers with a job exceptionally done, Phil D’Avanzo and his wife, Shannon, recently opened the doors of Goldendale Auto Detail at 126 E. Broadway. Providing a detailing and window tinting service, Phil, who was born and raised in Goldendale, has been detailing professionally since 2013 when he opened his fi rst shop in Portland Oregon.
Phil and Shannon work to provide a “one stop shop” for the community, to not only detail cars, and tint windows but also to work on restoring the interior and exterior of the vehicle to pristine condition. They clean the customer’s vehicle and work to educate them on what true detailing is and how it can help preserve the worth of a vehicle. They provide a place where customers can leave their
cars to be cleaned and not have to use the do-it-yourself carwash. Detailing provides an in-depth clean and restoration using various techniques and professional products that not only clean your vehicle but restore and preserve it as well.
They offer a custom detail to everyone because Phil believes, “Every car is different; people have different uses for their cars, different sizes, and different makes and models. It is kind of custom to what the customer wants and their expectation of it.” Phil loves how rewarding the job is and seeing his hard work bring happiness to others. His favorite part of his job is, “The reaction of the customer afterwards— they come in and they think the car is hopeless, and then they come back and I have exceeded their expectation, and the look on their face and their reaction is why I do it.”
Goldendale Auto Detail also offers commercial and residential window tinting. The shop is open Monday through Friday and is by appointment only. For more information or to schedule a detail or window tint, call Phil D’Avanzo at (503) 2679907.
What a grind! Grind ers here, grinders there, coffee grinders every where. They’re either that or boxes with crank handles on them, always nice conversation open ers. “Watcha got there?”
“A box with a crank han dle on it.” “Cool.” But more likely they’re coffee grinders. Who are these people looking at them? Why are they looking at them? Why are there so many on a table? When
September 13, 1892 – 130 Years Ago
The public schools of this city are overcrowded and overflowing. If the large attendance continues, it will be necessary to fit up another room somewhere in the city and employ another teacher. The upper rooms have a membership of 40 to 50 and the two lower rooms from 60 to 70. It is impossible for any teacher to accomplish the best results under such circumstances. An addition should be built on the west side of the Academy in the near future. The school census of this year shows an increase of nearly 50 pupils.
September 22, 1938 – 84 Years Ago
Something of a record attendance for a present day one-room school is being established at Dallesport this fall. According to Sue Morehead, county superinten dent, 33 students are now enrolled at Dallesport. Every grade is represented except fifth. Miss Selma Myhr, of Lyle, is beginning her second year at the Dalles port School, which is Klickitat District No. 1. Not only does the Dallesport school boast a record rural enroll ment, but its student body includes three racial groups, whites, Japanese, and Indian.
September 24, 1942 – 80 Years Ago
“I’ve been married 52 years,” said George Saxton “and the same old woman is still cooking biscuits for me.” George had come to The Sentinel office from Pleas ant Valley to renew his subscription for the fortieth con secutive year, and states he’s always enjoyed the paper. Rubber shortages and gas rationing holds no fears for Saxton. Now 76 years old, he brought in a load of wheat last week with his team and a wagon. He upheld this mode of travel all these years regardless of the wide spread use of trucks. A show of energy and cheerful ness like Saxton presents is a meritorious trait and is something the rest of us would strive for.
September 29, 1960 – 62 Years Ago
Brooke Mattson: Our school is settled into the routine of school life with an enrollment of 70. Most of the stu dents are taking advantage of the hot lunch which we have never had before in September. Election of officers Thursday resulted in the following choices: President, Denny Jackel; Vice-president, Brooke Mattson; Secre tary, Patty Linden; Treasurer, Craig Olson; boys’ com missioner, Kirby Enyeart; girls’ Commissioner, Diane Marriott; Sergeant at arms, Joe Crocker.
September 17, 1992 – 30 Years Ago
Sometimes it’s better to start over than it is to fix what you’ve got. At least that’s the conclusion that the owners of the Knosher-Erdman Funeral Home came to. “The old one is old, and if we made improvements, we would still have an old building.” Construction began last Monday on what will become the new funeral home. The current building is 100 years old. It’s been a funeral home for at least 80 years. The building was originally designed to be a store. Allyn’s Building Supply is the contractor for the project, with Stanley Van Horn as the foreman of the project.
September 17, 1992 – 30 Years Ago
Deciding that it was better to get involved than to be left behind, the Klickitat County PUD moved a step closer towards becoming a partner in wind power devel opment for Klickitat County last week by deciding to join the Conservation and Renewable Energy Services (CARES) group. CARES, a joint operating energy group formed by a number of Washington Public Utility Dis tricts, is designed to develop conservation and renew able energy sources for the region. At least three wind power companies plan to submit proposals in response to Bonneville Power Administration’s request for 50 megawatts of wind power.
—Richard Lefever Klickitat County Historical Societywas this? Beats us. All we know about this pic ture is that it ran in The Sentinel sometime, lost in the annals of yesteryear. If you know anything about it, please drop us an email (info@golden
dalesentinel.com) or give us a call (509-773-3777) or drop in at the office—and remember, you’re wel come to come in and take a look at the original pho tograph.
We’ve colorized this pic ture from last week to show what it might’ve looked like back then in color. Betty Zesiger and Miland Wall ing were the first to give us these gentlemen’s names and, upon hearing that they were of the Marvel family, we knew we would get a full story shortly. Sure enough, Ken Marvel called not long after. A historian in his own right, a member of the Klickitat County Historical Society, and this being his family, Ken knew the exact
date the picture ran in The Sentinel all those years ago: August 31, 1961. This picture ran with a caption that read: “NICE CATCH of Canadian Kamloops trout was being displayed in Bickleton Sun day by G. E. Marvel and son David of Marvel’s Service Station. The two, with Har old Naught and son Steve, had just returned from a British Columbia fishing expedition. The fish shown were taken from Dee Lake by the quartet during their last days of vacation.”
Lucy Ann Stark Henderson.
In August we ran a Ses quicentennial story titled “County officials arrested for failure to collect tax.” The story was originally written in 1867 and compiled by The Sentinel February 17, 1972. It was not a strictly Goldendale history, rather a small por tion of the history of Klicki tat (in its original spelling of “Clickitat”) County, which Goldendale is now the seat of. After the story ran in 1972, The Sentinel received a letter from a reader who said the story solved a bit of a family mystery for them; for reading convenience we have not put it in quotes.
The historical material in your February 20 issue resolved a small mystery in our family history. The Amos Stark (1825 – 1893) who was appointed one of Clickitat County’s first three commis sioners was our great uncle, brother of our grandmother,
When he was an old man, reminiscing to young Nel lie McCann, he said, “Mark what I tell you, Nellie, for one day it will be history.” Years later I asked her to tell me what she remembered of his story. Among other incidents she said that Amos rode horseback clear from Clickitat County to Olympia to attend the Territorial Con stitutional Convention.
When I undertook to ver ify that bit of information, I learned that Amos’ name was not on the roster of that august body. Now I know that my great uncle did not ride to Olympia as an hon ored delegate to an impor tant convention but as a com missioner UNDER ARREST for dereliction of duty.
What a come down! But the story you printed ties in with what Nellie remembered to prove it. Nellie always insisted, however, that Amos was the first white man to settle in Klickitat. While there are no records to prove it so, he may well have been.
Amos stark was born and reared in Indiana. When his mother died and his father remarried, he took off to fight in the Indian Wars, then sol diered until the Mexican War ended in 1848. Thereafter he started searching for a place
to locate the land which he was to be given as a reward for his services. According to Nellie’s story it was around 1852 that Amos reached the Oregon Territory and took a small paddle-wheeler up the Columbia. After they por taged the falls at Celilo and were plowing up the swift current of the upper river they came to a level cove of land protected by steep rocky bluffs. Above the bluffs rose smooth rolling hills, green at that time of year with lush bunch grass. Amos asked to be put ashore.
For several days he climbed canyons, spotting the gushing springs and sparkling streams flowing from them, the bench lands with thick layers of fertile soil, and decided that he had found just what he had been searching.
He could picture fat cattle roving the unfenced hills, orchards and gardens on the benches and below the bluffs, a thriving village. So, Amos flagged the small steamer as it came back down the river and returned to Portland for supplies. We do not know how long he was gone. There is a tradition that he made a trip to California to try his hand in the gold fields.
Most historians place the dates of the first white set
tlers in Klickitat County as in 1858 or 1859. We believe Amos returned back before then. When he did come back, he took advantage of every means of acquiring all he could of the lands he had come to love, his war service grant, homestead laws, refor estation claims, etc. until he owned hundreds of upland acres and practically all of the plain down by the river.
By 1862 his dream of a thriving village had mate rialized, and he was well known throughout the county. Amos lived out his days in “the old white house” which, until a year or so ago, stood just below the present highway, a mile or two east of the Maryhill Museum. My grandparents came in 1873.
Lois Henderson Plotts (Ira’s daughter) Vancouver, Washington. (Editor’s note: Ira Henderson served as sheriff here from 1916 – 20 and was a nephew of Amos Stark.)
Compiler’s notes: a plat des ignated “Town Plat of Colum bus Klickitat County Wash ington Territory.” Was filed April 16, 1879. In 1907 Sam Hill began building the town of Maryhill next to Colum bus. The general area is now known, locally, as Maryhill and has a Goldendale zip code.
Scientists have built the world’s largest super col lider, a device that smashes atoms to see what makes particles. Some warn that at some point, it’ll make the whole world dissolve, and big sign will come up and say, “Level II”!
A hamburger walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Sorry, we don’t serve food here.”
I drank so much coffee, I made it to work in four min utes, but I forgot to bring my car.
I’m not saying my friend is intellectually challenged, but when I asked him how to spell Mississippi, he said, “The river or the state?”
Dear Savvy Senior, I just turned 65 and would like to learn more about the stronger flu shots I see advertised for older adults. What can you tell me about them and how are they covered by Medicare?
Senior Novice
50,000 people die from it.
The CDC recently updated their recommendations for the pneumococcal vaccine and now recom mend that everyone 65 and older who has not previously received any pneumococcal vaccine should get either PCV20 (Prevnar 20) or PCV15 (Vaxneuvance). If PCV15 is used, this should be followed by a dose of PPSV23 (Pneumovax23) at least one year later.
Or, if you’ve previously received a PPSV23 shot, you should get one dose of PCV15 or PCV20 at least one year later.
Medicare Part B also covers two different pneumococcal shots – the first shot at any time and a dif ferent, second shot if it’s given at least one year after the first shot.
If you haven’t already done so, you should also get a COVID-19 booster shot this fall. Both Moderna and Pfizer have developed bivalent booster vaccines that add an Omicron BA.4/5 component to the old formula, which provides better protection.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
Dear Novice, There are actually three different types of seniorspecific flu shots (you only need one) that the CDC is now recommending to people age 65 and older. These FDA-approved annual vaccines are designed to of fer extra protection beyond what a standard flu shot provides, which is important for older adults who have weaker immune defenses and have a greater risk of developing dangerous flu complications. Here’s more infor mation on these three vaccines.
Fluzone High-Dose Quadriva lent: Approved for U.S. use in 2009, the Fluzone High-Dose is a high-potency vaccine that contains four times the amount of antigen as a regu lar flu shot does, which creates a stronger immune response for better protection. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, this vaccine was proven 24 percent more effective than the regular dose shot at preventing flu in seniors.
Fluad Quadrivalent: First available in the U.S. in 2016, this adjuvanted vaccine contains an added ingredient called adjuvant MF59 that also helps create a stronger immune response. In a 2013 observational study, Fluad was found 51 percent more effective in preventing flu-related hospitalizations for older pa tients than a standard flu shot.
You also need to be aware that both the Fluzone High-Dose and Fluad vaccines can cause more of the mild side effects that can occur with a standard-dose flu shot, like pain or tenderness where you got the shot, muscle aches, headache, or fatigue. And neither vaccine is recommended for seniors who are allergic to chicken eggs, or those who have had a severe reac tion to a flu vaccine in the past.
Also note that the CDC does not recommend one vaccination over the other.
FluBlok Quadrivalent: For older adults that are allergic to eggs, FluBlok, which is a recombinant vaccine that does not use chicken eggs in their manu facturing process is your best option. This vaccine is proven to be 30 percent more effective than a standard-dose influenza vaccine in preventing flu in people age 50 and older.
All of these vaccines are covered 100 percent by Medicare Part B as long as your doctor, health clinic, or pharmacy agrees not to charge you more than Medicare pays.
Another important vaccination the CDC recom mends to seniors, especially this time of year, are the pneumococcal vaccines for pneumonia. Around 1.5 million Americans visit medical emergency depart ments each year because of pneumonia, and about
He’s who I’d vote for
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The Festival of Wheels gave it another try this year. It seems the attendance has dwindled to much lower levels than when the event was new, 10 years ago. There are a lot of competing car shows this time of year, so it doesn’t surprise me .
I am writing a letter of endorse ment for re-electing Constitutional Sheriff Bob Songer as Sheriff of Klickitat County. As a sheriff in a neighboring county, I have had the privilege and opportunity to have become acquainted with Bob since he first became sheriff in 2015.
nature and are included nowhere in the Constitution. The omission of the word “equal” is also notice able and vexing.
for three hours.
Bob Songer is known to be a great defender of the state and federal con stitutions. Bob believes in liberty, and he holds to his principles; he won’t bend the knee to the author itarians in Olympia. Klickitat County needs to have a sheriff who will resist the anti-gun, pro-mask mandate, pro-vaccine mandate peo ple.
This year Goldendale Motor sports Association and ABATE brought back the burn-out, which was tried several times in the past with questionable benefits to the town. This year someone had the brilliant idea to use the old skate board park as a place to stage the return of the burnout. It was held on the concrete slab, a tempting medium for anyone inclined to bum rubber. Rednecks of many degrees, punk kids or maybe the little old lady from Pasadena.
I think the city of Goldendale needs to rethink supporting burnouts in our park. Next year don’t issue a permit to any group that wants to burn-out. There are places in the county where it could be held, just not in the city please. I hate toxic smoke, and you should too.
Additionally, it’s concerning that Songer relies on himself to make these interpretations while the evidence of his reading comprehension continues to be dismal as he com pletely fails to respect the impor tance of the First Amendment.
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.”
—James Madison
On Sept 4 I will be asking the mayor and his administration to make an ordinance forbidding anyone from reckless unsafe burn outs in any ones neighborhood or any street in the Goldendale city limits. I would appreciate some support from like-minded citizens at the council meeting. Let them know how you feel.
The duties and responsibilities of the sheriff are very difficult and challenging. That individual must demonstrate himself as a knowl edgeable professional with the edu cation, experience, character, and abilities to do the job well.
There are several important areas that the sheriff must keep intact: the Office’s culture, openness and trans parency in dealing with the public and media, and retaining positive relationships with other county officials. Klickitat County needs a well-trained person with integrity and leadership to effectively man age and administrate the Office of Sheriff.
I personally was left with a bad taste in my mouth and lungs. Even though I made it a point to stay away from the burn-out and was at my home where I thought I would escape the noise and smoke, when the toxic cloud rose from the park and drifted over the Little Klicki tat River Park (the swimming pool) on to the kids and families at the pool and on to me while I was sitting on my property. We were contaminated by the toxins in the smoke, and my eyes and throat were imitated, and my lungs filled with carbon monoxide and other cancer causing toxic compounds
For the above reasons, Bob Songer should be re-elected as sheriff of Klickitat County. If I had the oppor tunity to vote in Klickitat County, I would not hesitate in casting my ballot for Bob Songer.
I encourage all Klickitat County voters to do the same.
“We Establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are and must remain separate.” —Ronald Reagan
I contacted the bank for an explanation. The answer was essentially that “we wouldn’t do that.” Then why is it in your docu ments, I asked. The answer was to send me up the chain of command. The second person gave the same answer as the first and then was to have me contacted by some-one higher up. That person has not contacted me after more than a week so I am following through on what I told the bank contacts I was going to do—write a letter to the editor to be sure local folks are aware of how Columbia Bank is choosing to deal with its account holders.
“Christianity neither is, nor ever was, part of the common law.” — Thomas Jefferson
“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.” —John Adams
Ken McKune Goldendale C“Religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together.” —James Madison
son who wears her feelings on her sleeve. Before Renea arrived each morning, we wondered which boss would show up. Would she be upbeat and positive, or would she be moody and depressed? The stress from the never-ending cycle of emotions was overwhelming.
This is not a personal attack on Renea. As an empath, I can appre ciate what it feels like to have lots of emotions; however, when those emotions affect the person’s ability to do their job, then it becomes an issue. It is an issue that has direct consequences for this community.
While Shelby McKern worked at the Clerk’s Office, I was her superior, and I watched her grow and thrive. She has a thirst for knowledge, and her mind has an enormous capac ity to retain information. Shelby was able to streamline several of our processes and write detailed instructions for packets that are given out to the public. These pack ets are crucial for citizens who can’t afford an attorney and need to file a no contact order, divorce proceed ings, or change a parenting plan.
My concern is that a comment as broad as this opens the door for abuse. I have had no difficul ties with our local branch and am sorry that the headquarters has decided to take such a hard line. It ap-pears I will need to look for a bank that does not behave in this manner.
Kelsi Stahl BingenI recently received an updated “Terms for Business and Deposit Account Agreement” from Columbia Bank. I am not in the habit of reading the fine print but for some reason this time I did. I came across an “added” line that I found very concerning. Again, this line is both for personal and business accounts. It reads: “We may refuse to open and account and may close your account at any time for any reason or for no reason at all.”
The office of County Clerk is a non-partisan office. There are no platforms or issues to campaign for. The main topic typically spoken about is customer service.
“For No Reason At All” I particu larly found offensive.
Brad Lohrey Sherman County Sheriff Wasco, OregonLast year Sheriff Songer “summa rized” the Constitution on official letterhead into four points. Songer claims that he only executes his responsibilities as sheriff as he sees fit through his personal inter pretations of the Constitution and his personal religious beliefs. It’s concerning that he finds it appro priate to summarize all Ameri can rights and liberties from this rather lengthy document in only four points. It is also concerning when the vast majority of the “sum marized” beliefs are faith-based in
Renea Campbell has held the office for nine years. In order to provide consistent and accurate customer service, there needs to be consistency in the office. Providing good customer service requires that you have the ability to maintain a full staff that is competent and well trained. In order to have a welltrained staff, you have to foster a safe, healthy work environment.
In the last five years, the County Clerk’s Office has had at least eight people leave. The current office staff is the third round of completely new employees in that five years.
I worked as Chief Deputy Clerk for nearly three years. In my experi ence, the pay is decent, and the work is incredibly rewarding and inter esting. In my opinion, the reason the office has such a huge turnover rate is management.
Renea is a highly emotional per
We need stability in the Clerk’s Office, not only for the employees who work there, but for the good of Klickitat County’s citizens. Shelby McKern is the change we need.
JJ McCray GoldendaleAs a follow-up to the recent inter views with the two candidates for Klickitat County Sheriff, I want to point readers to a new website that a group of concerned citizens cre ated to offer more information and evidence of why Bob Songer should not be re-elected.
He is a dangerous man who believes that he has more power than the state and federal govern ments and is not afraid to use it to support his own political and professional agenda. He holds no respect for his own employees and regularly insults half of Klickitat County residents during his weekly radio appearance. He lives in a fan tasy world of conspiracy theories and oppressive political power. The only check on his power is to vote him out.
Find out more at www.replace songer.com.
Sue Kusch White SalmonLetters to the editor should be original and comment on an issue. Deadline for let ters is noon Monday for the same week’s paper.
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Glenwood recently lost another good soul. Family and friends gathered last weekend to celebrate the life of Diane Stembridge at the home she shared with her long-time partner, Allen Feller. Diane was a kind, fun, caring lady who is greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. Our deepest condo lences go to Allen and all of his and Diane’s family. Rest in peace now, dear lady.
On Friday, September 30, Glenwood School will hold a special remembrance in honor of Orange Shirt Day. This is a day to remember the effects of governmentrun residential schools on Indigenous Peoples. The name comes from the experi ence of one woman who, as a child, was removed from her home and placed in one of the schools. She was wearing a very special orange shirt her grandmother made for her. Upon her arrival, the clothes she was wearing were taken from her and replaced with a uniform. She never forgot her beautiful orange shirt, and the color orange has always reminded her of that period of her life. Wearing orange helps to reaffirm that every child matters. The day will begin with a special assem bly at 12:45 p.m., followed by student activities, a moment of silence, and a walk for hope. On this day, Septem ber 30, our school will join the nation in remembrance and affirmation that Every Child Matters.
Mt. Adams Resource Stewards recently held their
annual photography contest. Well, it just so happens, Glen wood High School has a great photography class and a lot of very talented photographers. Many of their photographs won prizes. In the category of Forest, Flowers, and Scen ery, Brenna Beeks and Tiana Jackson received first and second place, respectively.
In the Traditions & Working Lands cat egory, Tiana Jack son received second place. In the Wild life category, Peyton Sanchey’s photo received first place and Tiana Jackson placed second. Way to go, girls. Well done.
This year, the Glenwood middle school girls began volleyball practices with their coach, Sara McFall. They practiced diligently every afternoon, but with team member count fluctu ating between four and five players, they could see they just didn’t have enough girls to make a team. Through Mrs. McFall’s efforts, the Glenwood girls were able to join the Klickitat middle school girls’ team and have been traveling there for prac tices and games. Although it is a Klickitat team, many of us think of the combined team as “Little Klickwood.”
The Glenwood girls partici pated in their first game last Wednesday against LyleWishram. Although their team lost, the score margins were close, and the girls came home feeling very good and upbeat. And the younger
girls won their JV games. It’s coming together nicely, and these Glenwood girls are thankful for a coach/ athletic director who went the extra mile to ensure they got to have their fall volley ball season after all. They played Trout Lake and Cen terville earlier this week, and I’ll share those results next week.
The Klickwood high school girls’ team is well into their season now. They’ve had a few tough losses, but more great wins than losses and are playing very well this season. Thurs day they’ll play Horizon Christian in Hood River at 5 p.m. We’re proud of our team and hope this fall volleyball journey takes them into the playoffs. Stay tuned.
Our high school and junior high school rodeo athletes competed in Walla Walla last weekend. In junior high competition, Blaine Arnold finished 6th in goat tying on Friday and 2nd on Sunday, placing 3rd in the average for this rodeo. In high school rodeo, his sister Joslyn placed first in goats on Sat urday and 2nd in breaka way roping but didn’t place in those events on Sunday.
Peyton Sanchey placed 3rd in the poles on Saturday. At this time, I did not have results for Emma Patterson. Our rodeo athletes continue to do well against dozens of contestants in each event. Way to go, Glenwood rodeo kids.
Halloween is coming soon. The Glenwood Womens Club, Glenwood Grange No. 94, and Glenwood General Store will once again present the Trunk or Treat Halloween Festival on Main Street in Glenwood, to make it an extra special evening for the children and their families. Trunk or Treat will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., but other activities will continue that evening. Please bring your car trunk or truck tailgate uptown and decorate it, park along Main Street, and allow the kids to trick or treat at your vehicle. Prizes will be awarded for best trunk/tail gate decoration and for best costumes.
The General Store is spon soring the pumkin carving contest. If you plan to enter your pumpkin, please have it at the store no later than 5:30 p.m. Prizes for best pump kins in adult and youth divi sions will be awarded at 6 p.m. The store will also be serving complimentary clam chowder, chili, and hot cocoa between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The Hallenbecks will have a fire pit where kids can make s’mores and warm up if it’s a chilly evening, starting around 5:30 or so. I’ve heard that the high school is plan ning something fun to coin cide with Trunk or Treat. I’ll include more details as I receive them. It’s going to be a wildly fun Halloween night in Glenwood.
Due to the high wildfire hazard conditions expe rienced this summer and continued lack of sufficient precipitation, Klickitat County is extending the ban on outdoor burning within Klickitat County Burn Ban Zone One, defined as lands East of the Klickitat County Fire District No. 7 eastern boundary to include but not limited to Klickitat County
Fire Districts No. 2, 9, and 10; and within Klickitat County Burn Ban Zone Two, defined as lands between the Klicki tat County Fire District No. 7 eastern boundary west to the western boundaries of Klickitat County Fire Dis tricts No. 4, 12, and 15 then north on the Klickitat River to the north county line, to include but not limited to Klickitat County Fire Dis
tricts No. 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, and 15; outside the corporate limits of any city or town; the jurisdiction of the Yakama Indian Nation; and the juris diction of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and prohibiting the issuance of burning per mits except for authorized agricultural burning. Resi dential barbecues will be allowed. Said ban on outdoor
burning shall be in full force and effect through October 14. The public is directed to check with the appropri ate authorities concerning burning restrictions within the corporate limits of any city or town. To read the full resolution go to www. klickitatcounty.org/249/ Emergency-Management.
A message from a Lion’s Club member Michael Magu ire reports: “In September Lyle Lions did their vision screening project at the Lyle School with assistance from The Dalles Lions Club. We screened approximately 40 students from multiple grades. Our Com munity Center hosted the Twin Bridges Museum in Lyle annual Spa ghetti Dinner and silent auction fun draiser held Sep tember 17. In August we pro cessed 80 pounds of donated blueberries from local farm ers for our monthly pancake breakfasts. We are gradually getting more guests to our pancake breakfasts on first Saturdays and senior lunch program on Tuesdays. In October we will begin plan ning for our annual Christ mas Basket project. We no longer have a phone at the Community Center but have upgraded our Wi-fi. We have been gifted with an iPad and will begin hybrid Zoom and in-person meetings on first and third Mondays at 6 p.m. Fortunately there was no need for cooling shelter or fire evacuation use of our building this year.” They are good folks who do good things, and I appreciate them highly.
The Klickitat County Burn Ban has been extended in Zone 1 and Zone 2 until Octo ber 14 due to high fire danger and lack of sufficient pre cipitation, but we still have to be on alert for any and all potential fire hazards.
Remember The Dalles Bridge will be doing a full closing again. This time it will start on September 28 at 8 p.m. and run until Octo ber 3 at 6 a.m. I know we will all enjoy the work after all is said and done with these shut downs and closures, but it sure is a nuisance now. Keep the positive and mud dle through knowing that we are all in this together.
On October 8 from 1 to 4 p.m. join the community to wish Sylvia Gould a fond
farewell. She is moving to Spokane in November. The Open House party will be at the Lyle Celebration Center, 715 Washington Street, in Lyle. Sylvia taught kinder garten and first grade in Lyle for 30 years.
Next month is the Third Annual Howards Haven Animal Sanctuary Pumpkin Patch event, held at 37 Monogan/How ard Road. It has been reported as being quite the “go-to” event that has many, many things to offer both children and adults, from Pumpkin Decorating to Pallet Maze to a Petting Zoo, to name a few. There’s also a free pumpkin for all children in attend ance, and it’s all on October 29-30. It sounds to me that it will be bigger and better again this year. A must-see to appreciate celebration of the fall. Please call with an RSVP for a time slot, which are on every hour and half hour, to Donette, (509) 9458362, or Ann at (541) 571-3485.
It’s still free, but to keep the animals happy, a donation is appreciated.
It’s never too early to plan ahead: Lyle’s Christ mas Bazaar will be held at the Lyle Activity Center on November 4 and 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat urday and is still looking for vendors. Call Karen: (541) 490-5673.
Will you help seniors who burn firewood? Volun teers are needed for inter ested parties to process and deliver firewood for senior neighbors in the Lyle area.
It’s like getting your exer cise while doing something useful. Mileage reimburse ment may be available for those with hauling capacity.
Learn more and sign up with Klickitat County Senior Ser vices. You know the old say ing: wood stoves warm you twice, once for gathering it and once for burning it. This would help out a senior citi zen who is unable to gather it.
The Dallesport Commu nity Council is hosting a candidates night on Friday, October 7, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Dallesport Community Center. All the local and legislative candi dates who will be on our county General Election
Ballot in November have been invited. This will be your next opportunity to hear from Democrat, Inde pendent, and Republican candidates as to why we should vote for them. The public attending will be able to submit polite ques
tions to individual or mul tiple candidates. Lou Mar zeles, editor and publisher of The Goldendale Sentinel, has agreed to be the mod
erator. Community Council members Sue Fleming and Bill Clark will be the ques tion screeners and public readers. Screening will be
for politeness, relevancy to the positions the can didates are pursuing, and duplication of previous questions.
The only other known Candidates Night in the county is at the Centerville Grange on October 12 at 6 p.m.
CAMPBELL from page A1
Campbell: There’s quite a bit, really. The prosecu tor files criminal cases and juvenile cases with us. The current numbers for criminal cases is, I think, we have filed number 47 for the year. But then we also have had decisions with regards to drugs where those cases have all been ruled uncon stitutional. There are lots of reasons why criminal filings are not where they used to be, so it’s hard to pinpoint just one reason why numbers are down. It’s not necessarily that crime has gone down; it could be that the laws have changed.
Sentinel: What’s the size of your staff, and are you at what you should be?
Campbell: I have three in addition to myself. When I started, I had four full-time people and the filings had been decreasing, so in 2016 I reduced the staff to three. But I did maintain a parttime position in my org chart because you never know, and I want the position to stay there if I need it. So I have three that I’m budgeted for currently. That’s been working fairly well.
Sentinel: How did you end up in the court sys tem and deciding to run for Clerk?
Campbell: I grew up in Glenwood. I went to col lege in Walla Walla, and I’ve always been active in sports and rodeo and was on the college volleyball team. I was on the rodeo team. And then from col lege I started in district court. I was hired in east
district court in 1983 as a deputy clerk and held that position until 1989 when the court administrator retired. And then I moved into her position. So from ’89 to 2007, I was the court administrator managing all the day-to-day office and employees. And what I did in district court—when a judge goes to a conference or goes on vacation, the county would have to hire a pro tem judge to come in to handle in-custody defendants, because they have to be seen within 24 hours excluding weekends and holidays. So I saw a need and took the exam; that’s called the non-attor ney judicial qualifying exam. And I passed. So I was sworn in, and then I presided over matters as a court commissioner at the direction of the presiding judge. I would do in-custody defendants. I would estab lish conditions of release, appoint council. This was while I was still the court administrator. When the judge was gone, I would pre side over the matters that needed judicial discretion.
I had left the Clerk’s office in 2007. It was at a point in time where I needed to be home with my family, so I did that. And then in 2013 I had heard that [the Clerk] was retiring and decided with my court experience and background that I would be a good person to run for the elected Clerk position. I put my name in the hat and was the appointed candidate. There were three names put for ward to the county com missioners, and then I was appointed by the county commissioners to finish up
Right - EUGENIA? ARE YOU IN THERE?: There turkeys sure were trying to get into the Mountain View Cemetery last week. Perhaps they spotted the headstone of a friend who mysteriously disappeared late last November.
the term. I started the posi tion on April 1, 2013. Then I had to run that same year for election.
Sentinel: So you’re running for your third term?
The Festival of Wheels gave it another try this year. It seems the attendance has dwindled to much lower levels than when the event was new, 10 years ago. There are a lot of competing car shows this time of year, so it doesn’t surprise me .
Campbell: Yes. Sentinel: Shelby [McK ern, her opponent] used to work in your office. Did she communicate with you before she announced? Did she have any communication with you that she was going to run?
Campbell: No. Sentinel: Did it sur prise you?
Campbell: Yes. Shelby worked in my office for two and a half years, and then she took a position for more money in IT. She’s the help desk technician.
This year Goldendale Motor sports Association and ABATE brought back the burn-out, which was tried several times in the past with questionable benefits to the town. This year someone had the brilliant idea to use the old skate board park as a place to stage the return of the burnout. It was held on the concrete slab, a tempting medium for anyone inclined to bum rubber. Rednecks of many degrees, punk kids or maybe the little old lady from Pasadena.
Sentinel: She’d be the person you go to to ask how many hits you’re getting on your website?
Campbell: Yes, she actu ally does oversee that. When she was in my office, she was in charge of the website because she’s good at website stuff.
Sentinel: Why do you feel you are the better candidate for this posi tion?
Campbell: I think my years of experience and knowledge, and the fact that I am very active in the Clerks Association; I go to all the meetings when I can. We have a spring conference in March, sum mer conference in June or July. And then we also have WACO, which is the Washington Association Of County Officials, which is all of the elected positions within the county, exclud ing the board of county
commissioners. They have their own association. It’s a way for all elected officials to get together and have a conference. I stay on top of it. I did that when I was in district court. I think it’s invaluable to stay actively involved in the associations because that’s where you learn the things that are new. You can network. It’s just a way to stay involved, and that’s something I’ve always done, which has kept me abreast of what’s new and helped me make decisions that were the best for the Klickitat County Clerk’s Office.
for three hours.
I think the city of Goldendale needs to rethink supporting burnouts in our park. Next year don’t issue a permit to any group that wants to burn-out. There are places in the county where it could be held, just not in the city please. I hate toxic smoke, and you should too.
On Sept 4 I will be asking the mayor and his administration to make an ordinance forbidding anyone from reckless unsafe burn outs in any ones neighborhood or any street in the Goldendale city limits. I would appreciate some support from like-minded citizens at the council meeting. Let them know how you feel.
Sentinel: What is your sense of following the highest possible stand ard of conduct and ethics you can bring to a posi tion?
Ken McKune Goldendale CCampbell: That is very critical. The Clerk’s Office deals with a lot of confi dential documents, cases and conversations that had to stay in the office. We’re dealing with people’s lives, and we see the worst of the worst of people’s lives.
I personally was left with a bad taste in my mouth and lungs. Even though I made it a point to stay away from the burn-out and was at my home where I thought I would escape the noise and smoke, when the toxic cloud rose from the park and drifted over the Little Klicki tat River Park (the swimming pool) on to the kids and families at the pool and on to me while I was sitting on my property. We were contaminated by the toxins in the smoke, and my eyes and throat were imitated, and my lungs filled with carbon monoxide and other cancer causing toxic compounds
Sentinel: This is a deli cate matter, and we bring it up chiefly because you raised it yourself at the last candidates’ night. That night you talked about the loss of your arm.
I recently received an updated “Terms for Business and Deposit Account Agreement” from Columbia Bank. I am not in the habit of reading the fine print but for some reason this time I did. I came across an “added” line that I found very concerning. Again, this line is both for personal and business accounts. It reads: “We may refuse to open and account and may close your account at any time for any reason or for no reason at all.”
Campbell: Well, it was a tough question. Do you remember the question? It was, “What have you done to positively impact someone in the Clerk’s office?” Of course people are always curious, and kids are always curious. That’s why I used that anal ogy about my arm in my answer to that question, because I think it’s impor
tant for me. It’s what I do in my life. I’m always trying to assist people and keep them up to date and having as much knowledge as they can. I want to have a posi tive impact. So usually my parting comment to them [when they ask about my arm] is, when you’re with your dad or your mom or your grandparents and they tell you to be careful around machinery, you need to be careful. It’s a visual. I do that in every thing, try to make sure that I’m sharing information like now. There are things that are coming up that only I have the knowledge of, because I’ve been there for so long. And I passed on the information to my staff because I don’t believe in withholding information and knowledge. It’s impor tant to share it because one never knows; people need to know how to do other processes in the office. I try to make sure that I am always instructing my staff on things as they come up. And it’s important for them to see that they can over come obstacles.
thing that you want to be sure to bring up?
I contacted the bank for an explanation. The answer was essentially that “we wouldn’t do that.” Then why is it in your docu ments, I asked. The answer was to send me up the chain of command. The second person gave the same answer as the first and then was to have me contacted by some-one higher up. That person has not contacted me after more than a week so I am following through on what I told the bank contacts I was going to do—write a letter to the editor to be sure local folks are aware of how Columbia Bank is choosing to deal with its account holders.
My concern is that a comment as broad as this opens the door for abuse. I have had no difficul ties with our local branch and am sorry that the headquarters has decided to take such a hard line. It ap-pears I will need to look for a bank that does not behave in this manner.
Ken Margraf GoldendaleSentinel: Kids ask you about that a lot?
“For No Reason At All” I particu larly found offensive.
Campbell: Oh, all the time. It happened yester day at the grocery store. A little girl, she goes, “What’s that you got on your arm?” This girl’s like three years old. And I’m like, “Okay, do I tell her?” I said, “It’s a prosthetic.” She repeated it and enunciated it really well. I was quite shocked because I hesitated to say that word because it’s kind of a mouthful, but it was cute. It has given me a dif ferent outlook on life
Sentinel: Is there any
The Lady Timberwolf Soccer Team just finished up a great week of wins that they fought for with every ounce of heart they had. But they didn’t have a lot of time to celebrate, as they had a huge week of games ahead of them. Altogether they had three games last week, and they gave it their all every single time they stepped out on the field.
Game one was played
away against Warden High School. These ladies have been working hard on all their techniques and work ing as one on the field. On that day it showed. They fought well as they held possession of the ball 53 percent of the time, which helped them take more shots at the goal. Kali Wat son took a shot and watched the ball hit the back of the net. Kelly Smith also got a terrific shot at the net and helped the girls score again. Mackenzie Dahl did a great job, along with the
other girls playing defense, keeping Warden out of the net. Final score 2-0, Golden dale with the win.
A great win helped the Wolves move into their next game with motivation and fire. Game number two was also away with Warden at White Swan. White Swan was no match for the Tim berwolves, as our girl’s held possession of the ball a majority of the time and were able to take plenty of shots at the goal. With all these attempts, the Wolves were able to score 15 times.
They were on a roll and weren’t slowing down. That defensive line held strong again keeping White Swan scoreless the entire time. Final score of the game was 15-0, Goldendale with a huge win. This has been one heck of a week so far for the Lady Timberwolves, two great wins and one more game ahead of them. This game was sure to be a great match up, as Zillah is always tough with good players. But these ladies have never backed down
from a fight. Zillah held possession of the ball most of the time, but it didn’t stop Goldendale from get ting in range of the net and taking great shots. Illiana Vega scored both of their goals. The Zillah team was able to break through the defense and score one time and that is all the Wolves gave up all night. The final score 2-1, Goldendale with their third win of the week.
All I can say is, wow, these ladies have been working hard and play ing their hearts out. They
Campbell: I’d like to talk about the electronic filing that has been indicated as mandatory for the Clerk’s Office. I’ve seen a document that got posted on Facebook that said Klicki tat County was to have elec tronic filing. I think it was September and October; there was like a two-week period there electronic fil ing was going to be estab lished. And when I looked further into that docu ment, it wasn’t a document that clerks had ever been given. It was, in fact, from the Washington State Bar Association. It was actu ally talking about district and municipal courts. So the person who posted it on Facebook got it wrong. There is still no mandate for electronic filing to be established in county clerks’ offices. The state has not been able to get elec tronic filing established for the courts that are using the document management system that they put out. It gets complicated, and it’s hard to explain, because there’s lots of moving parts. The state office that was trying to force it onto the district and municipal courts, which is what this article was relating to, was about those courts, not the superior courts. They had to table it because the dis trict and municipal court judges said absolutely not. They’ve had to back com pletely out of that, forcing it on the district and munici pal court judges. So there are no mandates at all. It’s inaccurate information.
earned each and every win they got this week. The coaching staff has been supportive and has done a great job keeping these girls prepared and moti vated for every game and practice. The Lady Tim berwolves will have played at home Tuesday the 27th against Cle Elum and Thursday the 29th against Highland. Keep that ball rolling, ladies! Go Wolves!
Home-delivered meals will continue to be provided to seniors (60+) and spouse or caregiver in home with senior if qualified. Please contact their office for more information on eligibility for home delivered meals.
MENU: GD, WS & Lyle 9/28 & 9/29: Chili Baked
Potato White Salmon - Pioneer Center 501 NE Washington Street 509-493-3068
Hot Meals at noon
Call your local office or toll free (800) 447-7858 for more information. Ask your local office about the Sen ior Food Box Program as well as the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
Monday and Wednesday Bunco – 2nd and 4th Fri day of every month at 1:00 p.m. at the Pioneer Center Senior Center.
Hatha Yoga – Tuesday and Thursday 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. All levels are welcome
StrongPeople Strong Bodies – Every Tuesday at 2 p.m. For more informa
tion and to complete a short packet of information call Jill at 509-493-3068
Goldendale – 228 West Main 509-773-3757
Hot Meals at noon
Tuesday and Thursday
Nail Trims - Tuesday 10:00 a.m. – noon
Exercise – 1:00 p.m. every Tuesday and Thurs day
Recovery Café – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. every Wednesday, Lunch, crafts and support group
Lyle – Lions Club Com munity Center 503 Lewis and Clark Hwy 509-773-3757
Doors open at 8 and hot meals are at noon on Tues day
Advisory board meetings for 2022 call Director Sha ron Carter at 509-773-3757 for information
October 7 – White Salmon Pioneer Center
November 4 – Goldendale County Services building
December 2 – Dallesport Community Center
Left: Peggy Woodard. Right: Naomi James Left - SOIL SAMPLING: Last week a backhoe, operated by Bob Montgom ery, was unearthing the land near the building seen here, down near where the railroad tracks used to be. Back in the day, the railroad delivered oil and other goods, and the EPA required soil samples to make sure all was well. It was. Tayler BradleyMCKERN from page A1
something six different ways to help them understand what it is they needed to do better, rather than me tell ing them what to do. It was, here are other situations that are similar to yours. Here are the forms that you can access that provide information.
Sentinel: So you’re run ning in part because of a dissatisfaction with the level of service provided by the Clerk’s office to cus tomers.
McKern: Yes. The level of service and in tandem with that, it feels like there’s a lack of a proactive approach to running it. You want to be able to provide other things, to help make the court pro cess less complicated for people. One of the biggest things that took forever to get into place or to get the ball rolling on was e-filing, which is in the process now, partly because there’s a state mandate for a particular case type that says all coun ties have to have e-filing for that particular case type. And of course, no county is just going to go and make an e-filing system for one type. They’re going to do it for the whole system. I think the approach should have been, even at the time when we changed over to a lot of our electronic document reposi tory systems that are used internally in the office, we already knew there were e-filing options. I feel that should have been explored much faster. The process is only just now becoming something that people can explore to do e-filing. It’s a digital age. You need to be looking at digital solutions to help make things more efficient and easier for the people that interact in your system. You could have an attorney up in Snohomish that might offer better rates for the case type that you need assistance with. And they might offer the availa bility to practice in our court if they have e-filing. But that
ASSESSOR from page A1
So if you use the $800,000 and the $434, it gets you 0.05. So then once you take that, that’s the rate you take that you multiply it by, their $200,000 assessed value home, and it’s $108.50 in taxes.
“So the point that I want to make,” Shroder empha sizes, “is even if your home were to double in value, your taxes are not going to double. They’re not going to be pro portionate to that.”
Shroder cites additional models of assessment value increases and the math behind their taxation.
Across the board, there is not necessarily a propor tional increase in taxes.
Across the county, Shroder hopes there will be a huge collective sigh of relief. Her office has received a lot of nervous inquiries about this. So has The Sentinel; one woman from Snowden called worried that her home
BANK from page A1
operate from Umpqua branches.
Sentinel: Divestiture of these county branches means the branches are to be sold. To whom will the branches be sold?
Columbia: The branches will be sold when an agree ment is signed with a buyer. We will inform customers once an agreement is signed.
Sentinel: Who deter mined which branches were to be divested?
Columbia: After a review by the Department of Jus tice, the Department iden tified the branches they required Columbia Bank to divest.
Sentinel: What does this mean for current Colum bia customers?
Columbia: It is impor tant to highlight for your Columbia Bank readers that nothing has changed with their current accounts and services. There will be no interruption of services, and a smooth transition will take place when the buyer
person isn’t allowed to use them. It is one way in par ticular that someone could be held back from being able to find easier access into the courts.
Sentinel: But that’s a technological issue, not an issue with how the office is run.
McKern: That just adds into the proactive mentality of looking ahead for those solutions.
Sentinel: Was this pro active approach some thing you undertook in conjunction with other people in the office, or you just started and saw that other people were also trying to extend that extra help?
McKern: When I got there, the two people that had been there—one person had been there at least four months ahead of me, and the other one had been there a couple of years ahead of me. So when I was learning, I just took my lead from their train ing. And they showed me how they approached trying to help the person get what they needed. It was kind of a fluctuation throughout the couple of years. Sometimes we were encouraged to be able to give more. Sometimes you’d watch Renea [Camp bell, incumbent Clerk] go up and interact with people, and she would be the one that would give more infor mation or more help. And you could mimic that same thing. And a week later you might get a, “You shouldn’t say things like that.” And it would be confusing because you’d be like, “But you said that last week to someone else in front of all of us; why can’t I say the same informa tion?”
Sentinel: Did you raise that question to Renea? McKern: I pick my battles. “What hill do I want to die on?” Usually that wasn’t one of them.
Sentinel: So that implies you felt there were a lot of battles to be waged,
assessment rose 68 percent in a single year. That was brought to Shroder’s atten tion, and she was well aware of the situation and the con cern. She emphasized again it doesn’t mean the person’s taxes will proportionally increase; they won’t go to the point of matching the annual gross product of Fiji.
So is there any formula people can use to antici pate their taxes? “Not at this time,” Shroder says. “Right now we are at the very, very beginning of the levy process. We’re doing levy classes with the DOR [Department of Revenue].
We do those every year to make sure we’re up to date on any legislative changes. Then we’ll send the taxing districts their numbers. We’ll send them out their district values and their last year’s budgets and help them with the math on what they can do. And then they start
is identified. Customers can continue banking at the Gol dendale and White Salmon branches. The employees of both branches are expected to become employees of the new bank once a buyer is identified. Customers’ accounts and services will transition to those offered by the bank that purchases the branches. We will con tinue to be in contact with customers as we have more information.
Sentinel: When do the divestitures occur?
Columbia: Currently, we do not have a signed agree ment with a buyer. Once we have a signed agreement, we will share with custom ers the details and timelines surrounding the transition.
Sentinel: Are the divest ing branches still taking new customers?
Columbia: We continue to open new accounts and loans at divesting branches. These accounts and loans will also transition to the new bank with divestiture.
and you had to pick them selectively.
McKern: Discussions could be difficult working in Renea’s office, working to try to resolve certain problems. I’m really good at conflict resolutions. So I come at it with a very tactful approach of, “Okay, let’s get to the bot tom line. What’s the issue that we need to resolve.” You want to see the resolution as, “What’s the ideal, and what steps can we take to get there?” And we could never get beyond—I could start the conversation: “Here’s what I was told or here’s what was said. Here’s the conflict. What is it you want to see me do differently?” And we couldn’t get anywhere. I never got an explicit answer. I never got specific things to work on. I never got an answer to the question of, “Okay, I understand you. I don’t like how this is going right now. What do you see as the ideal? How can we make that happen?” I never got an answer, and I tried to approach that subject multi ple times over different inci dents throughout the years.
Sentinel: Did you have the sense that this was a feeling shared by other staff?
McKern: Yes. Many of them.
Sentinel: Did you ever have a direct conversation with Renea about, not the problems being resolved, but the problem with resolving the problems?
McKern: Yes. It just felt like you hit a wall of an ina bility to change. You could be running the office one week under the exact rules, everything was going fine for a couple of weeks. Sud denly you’d be going through the same process you’ve been doing for the past cou ple of weeks and she’d come up and say, “Well, you’re not doing this right. We need to be doing XYZ instead.” You’d be, “When did that change? Is it some sort of legal man date, or is this a personal
having public hearings and start setting their budgets, which they turn into the county. The board of county commissioners then certify them to us. And then with all the other numbers that we get from the state, we start our levee process, usu ally the last couple weeks of December, and it goes through January. So at this time, the only thing that I can state is, an increase in value doesn’t mean a proportionate increase in taxes. Beyond that, there is no frame of reference to anticipate what that tax is going to be.”
So it’s good news and foggy news, to coin a new frame of reference. Your newly assessed value doesn’t mean you taxes are going to blast off. But you’ll also have to wait a bit to see what those taxes will be.
Sentinel: Existing branch accounts, you’ve stated, will remain intact when new branch owners acquire them––smooth transitions and nothing changes. What if there are differences in policies (e.g., checking account charges, interest rates, and the like) between what the customer has now and the policies of the buying bank? Will exist ing policies be “grandfa thered” in?
Columbia: When we have a signed agreement with a buyer, they will be able to communicate how our accounts and services will transition to their bank.
Sentinel: Is there a pro jected date for the com pletion of the merger of Columbia and Umpqua Banks?
Columbia: Once all regula tory approvals are obtained, we will determine a date for the close of the merger.
preference? You have the option to run your office with your personal prefer ences as an elected official. I respect that.” And she’d say, “No, this is the way it’s always been done.” And the three of us would look at it and say, “We’ve never done it that way.” She’d say, “No, no, no.” And we’d say, “Okay, we’ll do it that way from now on.” And then subsequently, that could change again in another month or two. It’s not going to affect the peo ple coming through there. It just affects the environ ment that you work in. And when it starts to become that toxic work environment of, “Okay, what am I going to face today? Is it going to be something different? Are we all okay? Is everyone on egg shells?”
There are a lot of burned bridges that have happened with different court agen cies and people that have to interact with the court system where they already have a dread when they have to interact with our county Clerk’s Office. I want to be able to go in and pro vide the opportunity to heal those relationships. It’s a difficult thing to describe when I want to interact with voters and try to convince them, “Why is it I want you to consider me?” I’m not run ning against Renea. That’s not what I’ve been trying to focus on. I’ve been focusing on, here are the things that I want to see different. Here are the things I want to pro vide, different levels of ser vice. I want to provide more opportunities. There’s a lot of healing I want to bring to the relationships that have fallen apart in the court system. In the court system, there’s a full-on war zone between Superior Court and the Clerk’s Office. The court administration and the Clerk, they are completely at odds. You feel there’s a lot of tension between our court administration and the Clerk’s Office. The Clerk is
the gateway to the Superior Court. But the court admins know the whole process. You interact with them day to day and work together to get them the documents. It’s symbiotic.
Sentinel: So to confirm: you’re saying you’re not running against Renea so much as you are running for an improvement in the system and the internal operations.
McKern: Yes. I want to be an option that hopefully can convince people there’s a better way that we could be doing this. Renea is not a bad clerk. Renee can do the job. She runs her office. She keeps it within the budget. She runs day-to-day stuff and reports everything to the auditors that she needs to and passes the audits. That’s all fine. In a state perspec tive, Renee can do the county clerk position. That’s not the part that really affects peo ple. It’s, how are you run ning the internal sides that interact with people on a day-to-day basis? And how are you keeping those rela tionships healthy with other people?
Sentinel: What do you feel makes you competent to run the Clerk’s Office?
McKern: The state pro vides all of the training that you need in order to be a county Clerk. You go to clerk school for a couple of weeks after you’re elected. It gives you all the base lines. There’s an entire net work of clerks, too, that you stay a part of and connected with so that you always have open resources to ask other people. There are things that I don’t necessar ily know how to do, but I’m quick and I’m competent. I’m adept at learning things in a pretty quick fashion. Learning that information in a short time wouldn’t be a detriment to the office. I’ve already handled the budget for the Clerk’s Office. I’ve been handling that for two years, and I just submitted
IT, so I already know how to do the county budget. The only piece of it that’s new that I would have to consider would be revenue for the department, but that’s just adding in a separate process. Keeping involved in the legal system: I took the position as working as a legal assistant in order to stay involved with the courts, at least in some fashion. And then also seeing how other clerks in other offices work, because I’ve worked here, I got to see how clerks in King County work and Spokane County work.
I’ve had the opportunity to expand a lot of my technical knowledge, and in doing so I’ve become a lot more famil iar with a lot of the backend programs that are used for the clerk’s office. It’s helped me understand that there’s so much more potential that we could be taking advan tage of digitally. I have a fresher perspective as some one who’s younger. I don’t think my age in this race counts against me towards being able to do the job well or move it more into the 21st century. We’re in a huge age of transition. I think we need someone who’s going to be looking ahead to say, “Okay, here’s where we think other problems are going to arise. We want to preemptively address them. I’m much more proactive about want ing to seek out and find those solutions. I like looking for efficiency. I like looking at day-to-day tasks and saying, “Okay, here’s how we do this every single day. What part of this process can I make 30 seconds faster? What part of this process can I make one step simpler?” I like looking for those things. I’ve done it my whole life, just out of habit. To be able to take that to a system that’s already very complex and confus ing seems of good use of my skills.
The weekend of September 17 and 18 was a very busy one at MarDon Resort at Potholes Reservoir. Four fishing tournaments took place there, and at 6 a.m. there was a long line of trucks with boat trailers waiting to launch at the resort. One of the tournaments was a high school bass fishing tournament, another was the Mt. St. Helens Bass Masters Club Tournament, and the third was the one I was fishing in with my best friend, Rusty Johnston, the Old Farts Bass Tournament. Put on by the Banks Lake Bass Club every September, at least one angler on each team has to over 40 years old. This is an open tournament (meaning anyone can enter), and $400 of proceeds from this year’s event will be used to provide a scholarship for a local student.
It was a beautiful morning. The temperature was around 50 degrees, and the skies were partly cloudy with only mild winds. Rusty and I had fi shed the reservoir a week earlier in an effort to fi gure out where the fish were and found the water levels had changed
dramatically since our last time on the water in June when the reservoir was at full pool. Since then, work was being done to improve a public boat launch on the east side of O’Sullivan Dam, and in order to do this the water levels were dropped nearly 23 feet. This meant the entire sand dunes portion of the reservoir was inaccessible, and the lake was fishing pretty small.
Despite this, we had good success fi nding and catching bass at the mouth of Frenchman’s Wasteway, near the face of the sand dunes and off the rip rap at O’Sullivan Dam. Better still, we were the fi rst boat out for the tournament and actually got to the spot we wanted at the mouth of Frenchman’s Wasteway before anyone else did.
Things started off promising. We were after a shared limit of five bass, with the heaviest limit weighed in winning the one-day tournament. I caught a twopound bass right off the bat that went into the livewell and then hooked into a very big fi sh that I thought for sure was going to be a huge smallmouth bass. Alas, it was a six-pound walleye! An impressive fish, but not what we were looking for
Goldendale had a great production come to town last past Monday, and it was one for the whole family. That production was Circus Funtastic. This group of performers brought their talents to our community and created a wondrous event that was inspiring and fun for everyone. They had a great turnout and fi lled almost all of the seats. The performers set up their stage in the indoor arena at the fairgrounds. They wheeled in their treats trailer and prepared all the sweet goodness like cotton candy, nachos, snow cones, sodas, popcorn, and more. There were balloons and light-up toys to buy to help keep the fun circus vibe going when the performance
started, as they turned the lights out for that. If you got there early enough, the kids could go bounce and play in the bouncy houses. Who wouldn’t want to bounce around with their friends before watching a great show? They also brought in ponies for pony rides just for the kids. And lastly, they set up their stage where all the magic happens. They had a floor that was colorful, hung up the ring for the acrobats, and of course set up the backdrop that was also the curtain for the performers to get ready behind.
This circus was superhero themed, and it was a huge hit for the kids. What kid wouldn’t want to see Superman or Iron Man do fun and crazy tricks? There were lots of different performances—they had fire breathing, high
during a bass tournament. After that the bite died down, and we didn’t catch anything else for 90 minutes.
We decided to try fishing off one of the sunken humps near the face of the sand dunes, something many of the contestants were doing.
Rusty caught a keeper, but that was the only bite we got. From there we went towards Medicare Beach
on the east side of the lake where I caught another keeper, but that was the only fish we got there.
Finally, we fished crankbaits off the face of O’Sullivan Dam, something that worked very well a week earlier. Unfortunately, the only fi sh I caught was another walleye, but Rusty caught several keepers using a black and chrome Berkley Flicker Shad crank-
bait. By the end of the day, we had caught seven bass weighing two pounds or better. Unfortunately, we couldn’t fi nd any bass that weighed over three pounds and our fi nal weigh in was just under 11 pounds for our five fish.
Most of the other contestants had a day similar to ours, but some of the anglers, as always, fi gured things out. That included the team of Tag Watson and Matt Krumdiack who came over from Bellingham to fish this tournament. Using big soft plastics from a company called Magnum Baits, their five fish weighed in at 20.95 pounds, besting the next team by almost four pounds. Matt also caught the big bass of the Old Farts Tournament, a 4.82- pound largemouth bass. Between the first-place finish and biggest bass caught, the two went home with a check for $1,620.
As for the fourth tournament, this one is something special because no boat is required. It’s the annual MarDon Resort Dock Tournament, taking place on and around the marina at MarDon Resort. It kicks off Friday night and runs thru Sunday morning and the anglers catching the largest
two fi sh out of 10 different species wins cash prizes. This year’s fi rst place winners were:
Perch - K. Daughtry Bluegill – N. Melburn
Pumpkinseed – G. Goss
Crappie – Rolondo Duddly Walleye – Kevin Kay (6-pounds)
Largemouth bass – Greg Watson (3.9 pounds)
Smallmouth bass – Chris Sliker (3.4 pounds)
Rainbow trout – none weighed in Carp – Kevin Kay (14.4 pounds)
Bullhead – Z. Taketa
And then there was the biggest fi sh caught off the docks during the tournament, a channel catfish reeled in by I. Harris that weighed in at just under 17 ½ pounds.
Fishing for bass, walleye, and other species should continue to be good through October. If you are looking for a place to stay (and eat and stock up on fishing tackle) go to www.mardonresort.com. Potholes State Park is an option as well and also has a useable boat launch.
John Kruse – www.northwesternoutdoors.com and www.americaoutdoorsradio. com.
KPUD will be listing and selling surplus office equipment and vehicles on the Public Surplus Auction Site starting
Thursday, October 6, 2022
flying acrobats, twisting contortionists, fancy jugglers, hilarious clowns, a lifelike transformer, and hand balancing acts. It was jam-packed with lots of talent to be seen. They also did a great job of involving the crowd into their acts. The kids were very thrilled with each act, and you could hear the wonder in their voices as they watched the magic hap-
pen.
Overall, the circus was a great experience for the kiddos. It sparked wonderous adventure and creative thoughts for those who had enjoyed the performance. Who knows? There may have been the next greatest showman in the seats watching and being inspired to create their very own show.
On September 17, ABATE of Washington Columbia Gorge Chapter (CGC) held their annual fund raiser event to help New Hope Farms. The event this year was a Poker Run that started at the Klickitat County Courthouse at 10 a.m. The ride proceeded to Bickleton, Roosevelt, the Stonehenge Memorial, and fi nished back at the Courthouse.
The Poker Run consisted of over 20 motorcycles/ trikes and two vehicles. Unlike most runs, anybody interested in participating in the New Hope Farms Poker Run was invited, regardless of the type of vehicle. Donations were accepted during registration for those who couldn’t ride yet still wanted to help support New Hope Farms.
The folks at Car Quest in Goldendale also helped out by accepting donations on Saturday during the run. This made it easier for peo-
ple to donate during the day instead of having to be at the Courthouse during the registration time.
Most residents of Goldendale who are familiar with CGC will remember that the fundraisers for New
Hope Farms in the past have been car washes. This year a ride was decided to be the best option, as there weren’t enough volunteers available to do a car wash.
New Hope Farms came to the American Legion for
lunch on September 23 and to receive the funds that were gathered for them by CGC. Travis Herseim, the current coordinator for CGC, presented the checks totaling $723 to New Hope Farms.
The Auction will last 7 Days, and items will be sold to the highest bidder.
To register and bid on items, please go to: www.publicsurplus.com
COURTESY M DON RESORT
BIG FINISH: Levi Meseberg fished the tournament with his daughter, Lilee.
A H BREATHTAKING: Breathing fire comes easily for this Circus Funtastic performer.
C
RUNNING TOTAL: A devoted group, seen here at the Stonehenge Memorial, did the Poker Run to help raise much-needed funds for New Hope Farms.
Good to know in the Goldendale Sentinel issue of April 14, 1938:
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The Sentinel still has the largest paid circulation in Klickitat County of any newspaper on earth.
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The Nazi government sends an envoy to speak at the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce about all the good things Hitler was doing in Germany.
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County teachers are invited to a luncheon at Mac’s Cafe.
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18-year-old Arthur Johnson gets a suspended sentence for “taking a vehicle without permission” on condition he refrains from use of alcohol.
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AND – Robert Ballou’s “History of Klickitat County” is the first book published in the county, printed on the Sentinel’s presses.
All over the world you will find an amazing and diverse group of animals. This group is the marine mammal. These animals have hair, breathe using lungs, produce milk for their young and are warm-blooded. They have adapted to live most of their lives in and around the seas and oceans of the world. All of these animals adapted to marine life from land mammals somewhere around 160 million years ago. There are 130 different species of marine mammal but one in particular catches the attention of humans more than others. That is the Dolphin.
This marine mammal can also swim fast enough to get a speeding ticket in some places if it were a car. The orca has been recorded swimming at 37 miles per hour. The mako shark can swim faster but the orca can swim fast for a longer amount of time and a further distance than the shark. Dolphins use their tail fins and bodies to swim and their fins to steer. One of the reasons these animals jump out of the water is to see where they are going better or take a breath of air. It also helps improve their speed. Usually this is when a dolphin jumps up and goes back in nose first. When they jump out of the water and spin it is for a number of reasons like simply showing off and hunting for food.
Dolphins can be friendly, fearless and playful, as well as being very smart. Dolphins live in pods. A pod is a large social group like a pack of dogs. Dolphins make sounds. Scientists have proven that they use these sounds to communicate with each other. When living in captivity this sea mammal has been trained to do some very complicated tricks. Aquariums and zoos often have performances that have Dolphins as the stars of the show. There have also been dolphins who are trained by the navy much like dogs. They have learned to fetch and carry items underwater and detect dangerous items like underwater mines that could damage or sink a ship at sea. This military program started in 1960 and was successfully used until 1997.
Dolphins are in a classification with whales but there are many different types of dolphin. Some live only in the oceans and seas or bodies of saltwater, while others live in freshwater zones. There are 38 to 44 different species of dolphins depending on which group of scientists you listen to. The animal most people think of when they hear the word dolphin is the bottle-nosed dolphin. There are some pretty exotic looking animals in this species. The Irrawaddy dolphin looks like a beluga whale and there is the pink dolphin that lives in the Amazon River. Did you know a pink dolphin can blush just like humans? Did you also know that killer whales are not really whales but dolphins? They are the largest ones and because of their size they were classified as whales at first but DNA shows they are really dolphins. Some species of dolphins are endangered and others have already gone extinct.
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Traveling to Granger to play always proves to be the toughest conference match of the season for the Tim berwolves. With both teams at 2-0, the match had much riding on the league stand ings for the rest of the sea son. GHS took the match in an uncommon 3-set battle that saw its share of momen tum shifts for both teams.
At one point in the 2nd set, the Timberwolves trailed 17-22 and battled back to win 25-23 with an 8-1 run.
All the GHS hitters contrib uted in a variety of ways with hard hit kills, soft tips, and a beautiful off-speed chip from the back row. All the shots are needed to beat the very defensive-minded Spartans.
Lydia Hanning served 21-22, keeping MB Brook Blain (13K and 7 Stuff Blocks) in the front row to do the damage to the Granger defense. Gwen Gilliam had a stellar passing night with 21 perfect passes. The sen ior has improved her skills from last year and added 14 digs and 6 kills, with 2 aces. Taryn Rising notched 7 kills and 13 digs with her consistent play. Brylee Mulrony had 11 digs and 13 perfect passes, while setter Emily Tindall handed out 24 assists. The show stopper of the night was Lexi Molnar who dug 21 Granger hits, stopping the Spartans from getting kills in their most desired area. It was truly a great team effort in beating
the Granger team. Match scores were 25-22, 25-23 and 25-22.
Thursday brought the Mabton Vikings to the Timberwolves den. It was a quick night with the domi nant T-Wolves dispensing of the Vikings in 3 quick sets. Set scores were 25-13, 25-13 and 25-7. 4 Timberwolves served perfect for the night, with Mulrony going 29-29 with 5 aces. Molnar was 9-9, Gilliam 12-12 and Ada Gar ner back in action going 8-8. Garner missed the Granger match with an injury, but came back strong with 4 digs and 2 kills. Rising ham mered 11 kills, with Blain adding 8 off of sets from Tindall. Tindall continues to improve in her new posi
tion and had a couple of kills as she learns to be aggres sive on the second ball when warranted.
The big week ended in Quincy with the team trave ling north for a 24 team tournament of schools from 1B, 2B, 1A and 2A classi fications. Playing without both setters, Tindall and Molnar (HS Rodeo), Mul rony stepped into the spot and made her team proud. Finishing 14 of 24 teams, the girl battled all day and kept pace with each team it played. Rising had an out standing day hitting the ball, amassing 51 kills, 41 PP and 26 digs. Gilliam con tinued to show her improve ment in all areas with 52-53 serving, 20 PP, 59 digs and
The Goldendale Timber wolves had just finished off a week of great practice and were ready to take on their next opponent, Columbia Burbank High School. They would be traveling away this week, so they left school ear lier and loaded up the bus. They were ready for the challenge and were going to leave it all out on the field.
They stepped out there with huge goals and the ambition to get there. The Timberwolves knew this was going be a tough one as soon as the game started.
Columbia Burbank struck early with two huge touch downs off some great passes.
Goldendale wasn’t going to
let it get to them as they got within a few yards of the end zone. Kade Bomberger handed the ball off to Ste ven Faumuina, who ran it in for their first touchdown.
Columbia Burbank fired right back putting more points on the board. The score was now 6-18, Timber wolves trailing.
They knew they needed to keep fighting as they worked their way down the field. Kade read the defense and saw that Eli Golding was open, so he threw, and Eli took the ball all the way in for a 52-yard touchdown. The team went for a twopoint conversion and suc ceeded. They were feeling the momentum begin to roll.
They played great defense, and the Wolves got the ball
Last weekend the rodeo athletes had a great weekend in Longview and they were ready to get back into the arena to make more great runs. This week they headed out to Walla Walla for three days of all the rodeo action they can get.
Friday the Jr High rodeo competitors went over to the arena and left it all out in the dirt. These Klickitat County kids had another great week end and placed in multiple events. Hadlee Beierle placed 10th in the goat tying on Sat urday, and her cousin Paisley Hill made two good runs in the pole bending to help her place 8th in the pole bending. Blaine Arnold placed 6th in the boy's goat tying Friday and 2nd on Saturday giving him the 3rd place finish in the average. Blake Endicott finished first in the team rop ing Friday, 7th in the boy's goat tying Friday, and on Saturday he placed 8th in the goat tying to help him place 8th in the average. He also placed third in the ribbon roping on Saturday. Last but not least Jackie Bean made two great runs in the bar rel racing to help her finish 11th in the average. He also placed 8th in the goat tying
Friday and 3rd in the breaka way on Saturday.
The Jr High kids were fin ished, and they moved right into the rodeos for the high school competitors. Jorgia Bean rocked it in the barrel racing placing 6th the first day and 3rd the second day for 5th place in the average. She also placed 3rd in the goat tying Saturday and 1st on Sunday to claim the aver age win in the goat tying.
Peyton Sanchey placed 3rd in the pole bending on Sat urday, and Emily Tindell placed 3rd in the goat tying Sunday. Emily also placed 4th in the barrel racing Sat urday and 1st on Sunday to claim the barrel racing aver age win. Joslyn Arnold won the goat tying and placed sec ond in the breakaway roping on Saturday. Wade Endicott won the team roping on Sun day and he also placed 5th in the calf roping.
These kids have been rock ing and rolling through these rodeos. Every single ounce of their efforts is shining through their performances.
There is a lot of rodeo sea son left, and they have had a great start. Each of them will be heading to Coulee City this coming weekend for their third rodeo. Keep practicing and good luck this weekend!
District # 2 Klickitat County Commissioner
Helping you make Klickitat County a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
loriforklickitat.com 509.369.2366
Paid for by the Campaign to Elect Lori Zoller
back and began heading back down the field. Kade yet again read the defense, saw Steven had found the gap, hit him and the boys scored again. They were ahead for the first time all night. Columbia Burbank wasn’t going into half time behind, and they scored one more time, score at the half, 20-24, Columbia Burbank leading.
After the half those Columbia Burbank boys found a huge motivator and ran away with the game. They scored five more times in the game bringing the score to 20-51. The Wolves were taught to never give up, so they kept fighting and playing with every ounce of energy they had. They worked downfield to be
within one yard of the end zone. Kade handed the ball off to Evan Riley, who ran it in for 6 more points. Colum bia Burbank wanted the win, though, and scored one more time keeping the win at home, final score 26-57.
This week the boys had a pretty tough opponent that put up one heck of a fight. This was a tough loss for the Wolves. They left it all out on the field, and they shouldn’t let it get to them. The coach ing staff will get them back out there to work out the kinks for their next game. The boys will play again Friday the 30th against Granger away. This com munity is proud of these ath letes no matter the outcome. Keep pushing, boys, and pre pare for the next game.
19 Kills. Mulrony dug up 36 balls and served 30-34.
Blain added 14 K and 12 big stuff blocks. Sophomore Garner also played a new position on the right side and was outstanding with 21 PP, 27-28 serving, 14 digs and 10 kills. Hanning had 5 aces on 46-50 serving and 11 kills, while the freshman swing players, Greta Gil liam, Maggie Gutierrez, and Tessa Larcome served 33-38 as a group in their Varsity debut’s.
GHS beat teams from Waterville and Entiat, while losing close matches to Omak, Davenport and Othello. The best part of the tourney was the girls improving in their responses to adversity,
bounding back from close losses and adapting to play ers in new positions. With the libero taking the setter position, it was equivalent to losing two starters. Defi nitely a victorious day for the gritty Timberwolves in areas of attitude, effort and togetherness! This experi ence will definitely prove valuable throughout the rest of the season.
The JV team has posted wins against White Swan, Mabton and Cle Elum and look forward to another chance at a solid JV team from Granger in a couple of weeks.
The Timberwolves will be on the road to Kittitas on Thursday.
—Jodi BellamyThe cross country run ners had a week off, and it was a good time to get in the hours of running to help them get better and work on cutting off every minute they could of their times. Each of them knew there was a lot of season left to go, and they had all the chance in the world to meet their goals.
The team got into the van and had a great trip out to Connell for the Connell Invite. This invite included 19 different teams, and there were a few different races. Goldendale athletes competed in the men's 5,000 meters. There was a lot of competition, and each one of them ran as fast as they could. Sean Henrikson fin ished 7th with a time of 18 minutes 10 seconds. Isaac Call came in with a big pack finishing 28th with a time of
19 minutes 28 seconds. Elliot Grindling, Raymond Holy cross, Simon Grindling, and Damian Simonds ran a good race and left their best out on the course and will have plenty of races to work on their endurance. The lady Timberwolves also ran the 5,000-meter race. Emily Cazares and Bailey Holy cross have been working hard and ran the best race they could. They didn’t fin ish as high as they wanted, but the competition that day was fierce. The girls will keep putting in the hours to be the best runners they can be.
The cross country team is getting stronger and stronger each day that they run, and that strength will help them be better each and every time they compete at a meet. Their next race will be Saturday, October 1, at the Apple Ridge Run Invite held by the Highland High School.