Headlines & History since 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2025
Vol. 146 No. 34
Saving a slice of history
County, The Dalles agree to regular meetings
Lou Marzeles Editor It still stands. The flames were just a few yards away from the oldest Grange Hall in the state of Washington, one that predated Washington statehood. In minutes they would consume the building and consign it to history. But not on Charlie Deach’s watch. Charlie was supposed to be gone. He was in a Level 3 evacuation zone in the Burdoin Fire, should’ve left days ago. But on the afternoon of July 18, seeing flames marching on the Columbia Grange Hall in Lyle, an impulse overtook Charlie. He probably just thought of it as natural instinct—you do what needs to be done. So he did. He hopped on a backhoe and, with flames only feet from him, created a fire break between the building and the fire. He saved not only the Grange Hall but also a home to the north of the hall. On August 13, a group of people came together at the Columbia Grange Hall to jointly attest that what Charlie did was much more than a garden-variety sense of duty. For them, Charlie exemplified the very heart and soul of the Grange institution, not to mention (which the group did) uncommon selflessness and valor in the face of imminent peril. There were Grange officials from multiple levels of leadership there, including National Grange President Christine Hamp, who read a proclamation honoring Charlie. National Grange Development Director Amanda Brozana was there. Rusty Hunt, vice president of the State Grange, was on hand. So was King County Pomona Grange No.13 President Bob McClean. And, of course, Klickitat County’s own Grange President Claudine Mincks was there to welcome the gathering, which also included numerous other well-wishers. The proclamation was elo-
See Hall page A8
Rodger Nichols For The Sentinel
Top and bottom right: Lou Marzeles. Left: Columbia Grange Hall security camera.
UNCOMMON COURAGE: The historic Columbia Grange Hall in Lyle was saved from destruction in the Burdoin Fire by the courage and quick action of Charlie Deach, shown holding the quilt in the top picture with his wife, Kate, to his left. To Kate’s left is Klickitat County Grange President Claudine Mincks. At far right is National Grange President Christine Hamp, who read a proclamation honoring Deach. The quilt Deach holds was a Quilt of Valor that had been awarded him only weeks earlier to honor his service as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. It kept Deach and Kate warm the night they spent safeguarding the Grange Hall. Above left, a security camera caught a picture of Deach on his backhoe creating the fire break. Above right, charred fence posts show how close the fire came to the Hall.
Issues over City incubator project raised Rodger Nichols For The Sentinel The majority of Tuesday’s Goldendale City Council meeting was taken up with a second quarter budget update by Sarah Kazcmarek from TDJCPA, the Vancouver-based CPA firm hired by the city. As is usual, some numbers were higher and some lower than at the halfway point in the annual budget from the previous year. “The revenue you’ve collected
this year is 48.2% of the budget,” she told councilors. “Last year that was 49.89%, so you’ve collected a little bit less. However, overall, that was an increase of 6% over last year, and that was an increase in property taxes and business and occupation taxes. You had 1.8 million, almost 1.9 through second quarter and about 1.8 million last year. And on the expenditure side for the general fund were 46.8% of the budget compared to 42.8% at this point in time last year. The actual expens-
es increased almost 20% from the prior year, and this is due mostly to your airport fuel system, which was a new budget item for 2025; and then law enforcement went up about 5,000.” Councilor Danielle Clevidence made two requests that were endorsed by the rest of the council: she asked that the report show more detail for amounts over $500,000 and for any category labeled “miscellaneous” or “other,” no matter the size. “When it says ‘other’ or ‘mis-
cellaneous’—very ambiguous words—that’s when it puts a flag up for me and makes me go, ‘Hold on, what is this?’” she said. “It’s those words. It’s not that we need every single detail about every single license and permit individually marked out; it’s more what is under the ‘miscellaneous’ and what’s under the ‘other’ in those things.” Changes will be made in time for council members to have the figures for 2026 budget delibera-
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Commerce Corner: Awards, action, local impact Teja Hanna For The Sentinel
It’s been another busy week at the Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce as we roll through summer—and we’re keeping the momentum going with events, programs, and projects that bring our community together and help local businesses thrive. The Goldys—time to nominate We’re one week into nominations for our first-ever Goldys Awards, and the community response has been incredible. Thank you to everyone who has already taken the time to recognize the businesses, individuals, and organizations that make Goldendale and Klickitat County a better place.
See Commerce page A8
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Courtesy John Longfellow
EXCITEMENT: The Klickitat County Fair & Rodeo drew appreciative crowds this past weekend.
They might have called the August 12 Klickitat County Commissioners meeting Meeting Lite. It was short one commissioner, Todd Andrews, and it was short in length, taking a single hour for the morning workshop and a bare half hour for the afternoon meeting. Even the public comment section was short, with only four people making comments. In that morning session, Public Works Director Jeff Hunter explained why an out-of-town company was drilling holes in Knight Road. It’s to get a baseline on the condition of the road before the start of a project that has a road-haul agreement. “We have to give them the ability to do that, so they can quantify the damages in mitigation,” he said. “It still does not set the project in motion. It is one of the phases. We do this with everyone. We did the same thing on Hale Road, on East Road, on Roosevelt Grade— anyplace we have a road haul. It’s part of their requirement.” The road is tested again after the project is completed to determine the level of damage caused by the project, which the company will be required to fix. In this case, it’s a company hired by Carriger, which was granted a permit by EFSEC for a large solar farm in the county. Commissioner Lori Zoller reported on a meeting with Klickitat County’s Prosecuting Attorney Davis Quesnel and Jonathan Kara, attorney for the City of The Dalles. She said they have agreed to a monthly Zoom meeting in regard to their joint ownership of the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport. “There was a thought that we could create a new intergovernmental agreement that allows the city and the county to still be on the board yet streamline the relationship,” Zoller said. “We would still be the owners, but this would be a different way of letting the airport grow and have its own entity so it becomes self-sustaining, which has been the idea for a long time.” And to set the record straight, one of the callers in the public comment section thought they had heard that local volunteer firefighters were not trained to fight house fires. That is incorrect. The firefighters working for the Department of Natural Resources, or DNR are the ones who specialize in wildland fires and are neither trained nor equipped to fight structure fires. Local volunteers do train and have the equipment to fight house fires. Under the consent agenda, commissioner approved: • Closure of the Adult Probation petty cash fund • Release of $1,798.25 in retainage for the 2023 HVAC repair of the county services building • A supplement to the agreement for state funding of curve warning sides and guide posts, CRP 381 • Vacate old rights of way following the realignment of several roads • To set a public hearing for the vacation of excess right of way following relocation of portions of Old Mountain Road, Courtney Road, Old Hwy 8 and Sundale Road • A public health professional services agreement with Becknell • Appointment of Eric Wilson from alternate to full member of the Hood River-White Salmon Bi-State Bridge Authority