HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2025
Vol. 146 No. 4
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Songer says he’ll help immigration authorities
Motion filed to dismiss Snyder case LOU MARZELES EDITOR Goldendale attorney Justin Leigh has filed a motion to dismiss a complaint against his clients by Michael Snyder, owner of Starcade Pizza. Leigh is representing Julia Solvej Skillman, Darlene Williamson, Leandra Kessinger, and Amanda Dershon. Leigh’s motion asks the court to dismiss Snyder’s complaint, which seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief. The key points from the motion include: 1. Grounds for dismissal: • The defendants argue the plaintiffs’ complaint fails to state a valid legal claim under Washington State Superior Court rules. • Starcade Pizza, a business entity, cannot appear in court or file lawsuits without a licensed attorney, but it was represented by its owner, Michael Snyder, who is not an attorney. • The claims in the lawsuit are vague and do not clearly explain the alleged harms or identify who (Snyder or Starcade Pizza)
suffered them. 2. History of litigation: • The motion highlights a pattern of what the defendants describe as frivolous and abusive lawsuits filed by Michael Snyder, including prior sanctions against him for similar behavior. • Specific past legal actions involving Snyder are mentioned, including a restraining order against his daughter (one of the defendants) and other failed lawsuits. 3. Requests for relief: • The defendants ask the court to: • Dismiss the entire case with prejudice (meaning the plaintiffs cannot refile it). • Impose sanctions on the plaintiffs for filing a baseless lawsuit. • Award the defendants compensation for their legal costs and attorney fees. 4. Procedural deficiencies: • The plaintiffs’ request for an injunction is criticized as procedurally improper and lacking supporting evidence. • The motion emphasizes that
See Suit page A8
Mishandled inmate mail sends case to Skamania County LOU MARZELES EDITOR A matter of mishandled mail to an inmate has led to disqualification of the Klickitat County Prosecuting Attorney’s office to prosecute the case. The disqualification is procedural and does not reflect misdoings by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office. This case primarily revolves around the improper handling of “legal mail” addressed to Larry Kleven, who is a defendant in a criminal trial. Legal mail refers to confidential correspondence between a lawyer and their client, which is protected under law to ensure the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to legal counsel. Kleven argued that his rights
were violated multiple times when the Department of Corrections (DOC) opened his legal mail without him being present and subsequently when the Klickitat County Treasurer’s Office mistakenly opened another piece of legal mail. DOC mail incidents A letter from Kleven’s attorney, Katie Kauffman, was opened at the Department of Corrections. This letter was marked as “legal mail” and was handled improperly. The court determined this was a violation of Kleven’s rights. Klickitat County Treasurer incident A separate piece of legal mail was mistakenly opened by an employee at the Klickitat County
See Mail page A8
BOCC settles in to new schedule RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL
Klickitat County Commissioners inaugurated their new Tuesday meeting schedule at their January 14 meeting. Under the new format, their workday starts at 9:30 a.m., rather than 9 a.m., and the morning session is a workshop that is available by Zoom to the public. During a workshop, commissioners can receive staff reports, ask questions and discuss issues freely, but there is no public comment, and no votes can be taken. The regular meeting then begins in the afternoon, starting with public comment. The other part of their new schedule began Thursday, January 9, with a workshop meeting that was open to the public but not Zoomed to
the wider audience. The Commission intends to do so every Thursday. When some people in the public comment period said they were concerned that not providing Zoom coverage of the Thursday workshop was restricting public access, commissioners emphasized that the Thursday workshops are open to the public. Commissioner Todd Andrews explained the commissioner’s reasoning: “This is so department heads and employees could come and not be nervous as we’re brainstorming and talking some of those ideas,” he said. “Then Tuesday mornings, you can sit there and listen to us hash out these ideas that we gathered on Thursdays, and then have public
See County page A8
A Washington state law aimed at protecting immigrant rights faces potential challenges with the new presidential administration, according to a story reported on KUOW by Gustavo Sagrero Alvarez. The state’s sanctuary law, the Keep Washington Working Act, limits the ways local law enforcement can collaborate with federal immigration authorities. However, some counties in the state appear inclined to support federal deportation efforts. Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer voiced his willingness to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in a video posted to his department’s social media page on Dec. 11. “I don’t care if this is a blue state, a sanctuary state… they have an obligation,”
Songer said, referring to government agencies he believes should align with federal deportation plans under President Donald Trump. The Keep Washington Working Act, enacted in 2019, prohibits local law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status or detaining individuals for federal immigration agents. Nonetheless, it allows for cooperation in specific cases, such as dismantling human trafficking or drug rings, or addressing individuals in state prisons. Trump’s administration has signaled plans for mass deportations, prioritizing individuals who have committed crimes. Sheriff Songer, however, expressed openness to targeting people who entered the country
illegally or overstayed their visas—offenses that can escalate to federal crimes if repeated. A Department of Homeland Security report estimates approximately 340,000 Washington residents lack legal immigration status. “This sheriff is not going to refuse to help ICE—we will be there with ICE to do the job,” Songer declared in his video. Following Songer’s remarks, Steve Strachan, head of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, pushed back, emphasizing that deportations fall under federal, not local, jurisdiction. “There is no direct federal authority… over local law enforcement. That is the unique and special nature of our system in America,” Strachan told KUOW’s
See ICE page A8
Solar prompts assessment issues The subject of solar energy is so intricate that it’s easy to get bogged down in the sheer complexity or be diverted down rabbit trails, especially with the range of controversy over a proposed new solar farm in Klickitat County. So it would be helpful to look at EWS two of the key elements of the project. The first is the method used for initial valuation of the completed wind or solar project. It appears that the possible methods are market (or sales approach), cost and income, or a combination of the three. In the case of wind or solar arrays that cross a state line, assessment is directly by the state. RCW 84.12.300 allows the state to consider a whole host of factors while making their determination: “In determining the value of the operating property within this state of any company,
the properties of which lie partly within and partly without this state, the department of revenue may, among other things, take into consideration the value of the whole system as a unit, and for such purpose may determine, insofar as the same is reasonably asNALYSIS certainable, the salvage value, the actual cost new, the cost of reproduction new less depreciation and plus appreciation, the par value, actual value and market value of the company’s outstanding stocks and bonds during one or more preceding years, the past, present and prospective gross and net earnings of the whole system as a unit.” It appears that when it comes to projects within a county, the state has a suggested method, but the assessor does have the freedom to choose and can change the method as long as it’s uniformly
N A Rodger Nichols For The Sentinel
applied and equitable across the same type of property. According to an email from Greg Wagner of CEASE (Citizens Educated About Solar Energy), “When the wind turbines arrived 2004 the assessor used the income-base method of appraisal which provided a constant tax revenue. Then in 2011 the assessor changed to the cost-based method appraisal which allows an 8.5% annual depreciation for each wind turbine. As the assessed value decreases the tax revenue collected decreases and that tax burden is also shifted to the citizens, and this will continue in the upcoming years.” In a phone conversation with Klickitat County Assessor Billi Bare, she said she would not need permission from state or federal authorities to change her method and that she would be willing to work toward a change. That change would have to be uniform and equitable across the same
See Solar page A8