Headlines & History since 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2026
Vol. 147 No. 4
$1.00
Home & Garden Show under new management
FERC
NEARING ACTION: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week issued a 40-year license for the Goldendale Pumped Storage project. The Yakama Nation issued a strong statement of opposition.
Lorrie Fox For The Sentinel
For many residents of Klickitat County, the annual Home & Garden Show is one of those dependable community traditions that signals something deeper than just springtime shopping: warmer days ahead, new projects on the horizon, and a chance to reconnect with neighbors and local businesses in one lively place. The 3-day event will take place at the Goldendale Fairgrounds over Mother’s Day weekend, May 8–10, on Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year, the long-running Home & Garden Show is also marking something new behind the scenes. After more than a decade under the direction of the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce, the event is now being produced by Monica McLaughlin, owner of McLaughlin Events & Marketing, in partnership with her husband. For McLaughlin, stepping into the role is both an opportunity and a responsibility—to preserve what the community has come to expect while also building a foundation for the show’s future. “We are honored to take on the Home & Garden Show and continue its legacy,” McLaughlin stated. “This event has been a staple in the community for so long, and we’re excited to help it grow.” While the shift in organizers is new, the mission remains familiar: bring together vendors, service providers, and residents for a day of ideas, learning, conversation and commerce, all in support of the local economy. On the surface, the Home & Garden Show is exactly what it sounds like: a gathering of businesses and artisans who offer products and services related to homes, landscaping, gardening, remodeling, repairs, decor, and outdoor living. But anyone who has attended in past years knows the show functions as something more than a marketplace. It serves as a networking hub for local businesses. It gives residents direct access to contractors and service providers they may otherwise see online or through word-of-mouth. It helps local entrepreneurs connect with customers and new partners. And perhaps most importantly, it draws people out of winter routines and back into community life. McLaughlin said balance is one of the strengths of a show like this: it can serve both the casually curious and those arriving with measurements, budgets, and to-do lists. For the previous decade, the Home & Garden Show was organized under the umbrella of the Greater Goldendale Chamber of Commerce, which managed vendors, logistics, promotion and planning year after year. That continuity helped the event become a stable fixture, even as communities across the region watched long-running traditions
fade, shrink, or become difficult to staff in a post-pandemic world. Now, the Chamber has passed the organizational baton, and McLaughlin is working to ensure the handoff results in a show that remains recognizable and trusted. McLaughlin’s goal, she said, is to provide professional event coordination while keeping the show grounded in the priorities of the community. It will continue to be held at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds, a venue that McLaughlin described as well-suited for the event and filled with possibilities. She said she appreciates having options within the venue, including the possibility of incorporating the Dooley Barn and outdoor areas depending on layout needs and weather. One of the most notable points for attendees is that the Home & Garden Show will continue to be free to the public. That is not a small decision. Across the region, admission fees are increasingly common for vendor fairs and expos, especially as costs for venues, equipment, insurance, marketing, staffing, and setup continue to rise. McLaughlin said keeping the show accessible was a core value for her team. The goal is to ensure the event remains welcoming, not only to longtime regulars, but also to families, seniors, and residents who may be watching budgets closely. “Free entry is something we wanted to preserve,” she said. “It keeps the community included—and the more people who attend, the better the experience is for vendors too.” McLaughlin is coming into the Home & Garden Show as someone who not only understands events from the organizer’s side; she and her husband also operate Among the Trees Botanical Lavender Farm, formerly known as McLaughlin Lavender, and they regularly participate in markets and vendor shows. That experience, she said, shapes her approach. “We’ve been on the vendor side,” she explained. “So, we know what it’s like to invest in a booth fee, prep your display, transport product, set up, and hope the crowd comes.” For vendors, an event lives or dies by several practical considerations: how clear communication is before the event, how smooth the setup process is, whether attendance is strong, and whether the crowd is a good fit for their products and services. McLaughlin said her team is focused on creating an atmosphere where vendors feel supported, informed, and valued—not just “booked.” McLaughlin brings extensive events and tourism experience from her prior work in Oregon, where she helped coordinate and grow multi-vendor community events. She previously served as the Executive Director for La Grande Main Street Downtown, where she was responsible for organizing and supporting major public gatherings, including
See H&G page B1
Federal agency issues license for Pumped Storage project Rodger Nichols For The Sentinel
“This is a landmark moment for the Pacific Northwest.” That statement came from Erik Steimle of Rye Development on news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a 40-year license for the Goldendale Pumped Storage facility. Steimle and Rye Development have been working on the project for seven years, but the idea first surfaced in Klickitat County half a century ago in the 1970s. Pumped storage facilities are nothing new. They have been around for 100 years, mostly overseas, and there are 43 of them in the United States across 18 states. They are not as familiar, because the closest one is in southern California, and a new facility hasn’t been licensed in 30 years. The concept of this “water battery” is simple. Two ponds, one high above the other, are connected through an underground
passage between them. At times of excess energy production from wind and solar - which would be otherwise wasted, with no place to put it—this excess is used to pump water from the lower lake to the upper lake. Then when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, the water in the upper lake can be sent through generators in the underground connection on its way down to the lower lake. The site of the old Goldendale Aluminum plant has been described as one of the best possible locations in the United States. The bluff above is 2100 feet above the base, offering a tremendous amount of pressure and volume for generation. Construction will involve creating both lakes and cleaning up some of the brownfield property left by the aluminum company to create the lower lake. Each lake is planned for 60 acres. They will be filled at the beginning from the Columbia, using some of the water right from the
aluminum plant, which Klickitat PUD had secured years ago for this possibility. Once that’s done, the system will be a closed loop, only adding water occasionally to replace any lost to evaporation. The project can store and deliver 1.2 gigawatts of power. “That’s essentially enough to provide 12 hours of on-demand capacity to every residence in Seattle,” said Steimle. It is also expected to generate more than $10 million annually for Klickitat County, supporting schools, public health, roads, emergency services, and other essential needs. What are the next steps? “Over the next 12 to 15 months, we’ll be finalizing the project and moving through the pre-construction phase,” Steimle said. “As part of the license, the project needs to begin construction in the next 24 months. Our goal at this point is to begin construction in 2027.” This project will put jobs back at the site of what was once the
See FERC page B1
Yakama Nation calls federal agencies ‘bad actors’ Following is a statement issued by the Yakama Nation regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and its decision to license the Goldendale Pumped Storage project. [Friday], Trump-appointed FERC Commissioners in Washington, D.C., praised foreign and developer-based interests in the largest and most expensive pumped storage project proposal in Washington State. The socalled Goldendale Pump Storage proposal would be located adjacent to the Columbia River and the John Day Dam at a polluted aluminum smelter site. The proposed project’s water storage reservoirs target the destruction of sacred sites that have great significance to food and medicinal gathering practices. Project developers have benefited from Trump-era rollbacks of federal clean water act protections and
pulling-out of discussions with the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation on destructive impacts to traditional cultural properties. “Today, federal agencies are rewarding bad actors who have spent years finding loop-holes to target a new wave of industrial development on top of indigenous sites that have religious and legendary significance to the Yakama People and many others who don’t have political connections or deep pockets” said the Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Gerald Lewis. He continued, “Elected Yakama leadership have met with tribal leaders in Oregon who face similar challenges—regulators in D.C. who do not hold private developers accountable to the laws that are meant to protect the environment, our foods, or important historical sites, and instead issue incomplete licenses with only
an afterthought of losses and destruction to Yakama resources.” Yakama Nation and aligned environmental non-profits have submitted written comments to state and federal agencies for years to advocate for the higher environmental consideration along the Columbia River. Two Environmental Impact Statements have found that the proposed project will lead to detrimental resource impacts. Corporate investors have contracted with local municipalities and unions to pay for some development impacts but continue to ignore and downplay the harm identified by Yakama Nation. “They know it’s wrong. if a small Christian shrine sat on this site, the decision-makers would understand what ‘sacred’ means. During his last days in office, Gov. Inslee encouraged FERC to consider damage costs
See Yakama page B1
CKCD case filed in Superior Court Lou Marzeles Editor A tort action against the Central Klickitat Conservation District (CKCD) and its executive director, Loren Meagher, has escalated to the Klickitat County Superior Court in a filing made Friday demanding a jury trial. The defendants responded Monday with a Notice of Appearance. The suit alleges a pattern of sexual harassment, safety violations, fraud, and retaliatory termination. The complaint outlines a timeline of events beginning in 2024 that describes an allegedly hostile work environment. According to court documents, the events began in mid-2024
when Meagher recruited Megan Taylor, who was then working for the Klickitat County Building Department. During her recruitment, Taylor says she disclosed a chronic medical condition, for which she states Meagher assured her the district would provide flexibility. The complaint alleges that in early December 2024, shortly after Taylor began her employment, Meagher made an unwanted sexual advance toward her at the Simcoe Cafe in Goldendale. Taylor claims Meagher opened her jacket and touched her without consent in a public setting. Following Taylor’s rejection of this advance, the suit alleges Meagher began to isolate her professional-
ly, micromanage her work, and mandate that all Human Resources complaints be routed directly through him. Tensions escalated regarding operational compliance in 2025, according to court documents. Taylor claims that on multiple occasions, Meagher instructed staff to bypass cultural-resource obligations and safety regulations. Specifically, in June 2025, during the Lummio Wildfire Recovery Project, Meagher allegedly ordered a crew to use a large tracked chipper to remove trees, despite a compliance plan that authorized only a small tow-behind chipper. On June 19, 2025, Taylor
See Case page B1