HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879
Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2023
Vol. 144 No. 29
$1.00
Firefighters save Ponderosa Park
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
GOOD DAY MAGAZINE, NATIONAL GRANGE
SHE’S FAMOUS!: Goldendale’s own Everly Smith appears with Santa on the cover of the current issue of Good Day magazine with a Christmas in July theme. The magazine is nationally distributed.
Local girl on cover of national magazine RICHARD LEFEVER FOR THE SENTINEL
Everly Smith, five-year-old daughter of Cara Smith of Goldendale, is featured chatting with Santa Claus (Dan Better) on the front cover of the July Good Day magazine. Good Day is published in Washington, D.C., by the National Grange Organization. It is distributed in 35 States, reaching thousands of subscribers. In early March the editor requested pictures and stories of Christmas events around the nation for a
feature story called “Christmas in July,” showcasing local Grange Christmas programs. Everly’s picture was in the group sent in by the Goldendale Grange. The Goldendale Grange had partnered with the Community Christmas tree lighting committee and the Candy Cane Lane Parade committee to arrange a special visit by Santa Claus and serve hot soup to those who watched a very cold Christmas parade. When the parade ended, Everly Smith was among the children who quickly migrated from the
See Cover page A8
PUD reaches settlement with U.S. government Klickitat PUD has reached a settlement agreement with the United States resolving the U.S. government’s claims arising out of the Mile Marker 28 fire. The fire began on July 24, 2013, near Mile Marker 28 on U.S. Highway 97 in the Simcoe Mountains northeast of Goldendale. The parties disputed the cause of the fire, with Klickitat PUD maintaining that a logging company operating on the Yakama Reservation under the supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs felled a tree on the utility’s distribution line, which the government had failed to mark. The settlement resolves all of the government’s claims,
including those made on behalf of the Yakama Nation, in both judicial and administrative forums. The PUD says it is pleased to be putting this dispute behind it with no admission of liability for a fraction of the damages originally sought by the federal government. “While the utility continues to believe that the logging company and the United States were ultimately responsible for the Mile Marker 28 fire,” the KPUD said in a statement, “it determined that it was in the best interests of the utility and the public it serves to avoid the uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense of litigation in multiple forums.”
DISASTER AVERTED: Rapid response from firefighting agencies and the Department of Natural Resource–this photo was taken from a DNR plane–kept the Knight Road Fire from consuming Ponderosa Park.
Cooperation among agencies key in containing fire LOU MARZELES EDITOR The fire last Thursday afternoon started suddenly and moved quickly, taking aim at Ponderosa Park like it had a bullseye on it. Flames first arose on the east edge of Knight Road, then built up and consumed a stretch of bare land almost all the way to Pine Forest Road. Residents in Ponderosa Park were notified they were in a Level 3 evacuation area. Level 3 means grab what you need most and get out. Most did. But aid came almost as quickly as the fire began. Multiple firefighting agencies arrived, and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) helicopters and planes flew in from Dallesport and Wenatchee. “Everybody could see the fire in the valley,” states Klickitat County Emergency Management Director Jeff King. “It was obvious that it was growing rapidly and moving quickly.” Seeing the fire moving east toward homes, King immediately started working with the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office on evacuation-level determinations. “And I got ahold of Public Works and made sure the fairgrounds were open for animals,” King
says, “and then got ahold of the Red Cross and made sure a shelter was in the process of being established.” One was set up at the Goldendale United Methodist Church at Broadway and Columbus. “We just didn’t know what could happen, and you don’t want to be behind the curve.” Initially there were three evacuation levels from Knight Road to Pine Forest Road. “We had Level 2 from Pine Forest to Pipeline,” King recalls. Level 2 means be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Level 1 is essentially a warning of possible evacuation. “Within the hour we upgraded that, so Level 3 went all the way from Knight Road to Pipeline Road. We had a Level 2 from Pipeline Road to Hanging Rock Road and the north end of Orchard Heights.” By Thursday night the Level 2 notice for east of Pipeline was rescinded, and the Level 3 was reduced to Level 1. By Friday evening the fire’s forward progress was halted, and it was 50% contained. By Saturday morning it was 100% contained, meaning lines had been drawn entirely around it. In all, 128 acres were burned. No homes were lost; the only structural damage was to an out building. No injuries or livestock
losses were reported. A DNR fire investigator came to Knight Road to see if a cause for the fire could be determined but came away with no clear indication. King could breathe a momentary sigh of relief—until a new fire popped up the same day the Knight Road fire was contained. DNR is calling it the Blockhouse Fire, probably because Blockhouse is a nearby landmark. King is calling it the Palomino Fire because it actually started on Palomino Drive, off Horseshoe Bend Road near Centerville. “We did Level 3 and Level 2 evacuations from Palomino east,” King recalls. “There was response from the Centerville Fire District, Rural 7, the City of Goldendale, and DNR—they all responded.” The Palomino Fire consumed 88 acres. Although some 100 homes were within striking distance of the fire, only one root cellar and an abandoned, empty homestead were destroyed. All evacuation levels were rescinded by late Sunday morning. “The cooperation and collaboration between local fire districts and departments and the DNR and getting on initial attack is
See Fire page A8
Funds available to help counties with elections security For a second year, the Office of the Secretary of State will provide each county’s elections officials with up to $80,000 to improve local election security. More than $3 million is available statewide through the Information Security Funds program, created by the Office of the Secretary of State to help Washington counties strengthen their election security efforts. Counties can use the funding to purchase or upgrade their security software and hardware, hire IT security personnel, make structural improvements, and more. “Election security and protecting our election systems from cyber threats remain my office’s top priority,” said Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. “A significant amount of work to secure our elections, however, resides at the county level. This additional
funding will go a long way in helping counties enhance their election security efforts, especially as cyber threats continue to escalate in severity and frequency.” Hobbs announced this new program in November 2022. In its first year, 25 counties applied for the funds to support local projects, and the Office of the Secretary of State has paid more than $1.57 million to date. The funding stems from legislative approval of the Office of the Secretary of State’s proposal to help counties protect election systems from cyber threats and other security risks. The program provides flexibility to address multiple critical issues at a time of inconsistent federal support for local election protection. Counties that wish to apply must have an installed and oper-
See Funds page A8
CONTRIBUTED
FOND MEMORIES: The Goldendale High School class of 1959 held its 64th anniversary during Community Days. Left to right back row: Rex Maurer, Don Miller, and Dennis Geary. Left to right front row: Charlene (Chick) Smith, Betty Kloker Schauff, Donna Grillo Miller, and Noel Witt Taylor. All except Chick Smith were 12-year classmates in Goldendale schools. Pete Brokaw attended but had to leave prior to this picture being taken. He was also a 12-year classmate. This class started 1st grade at the old primary school (currently Fathers House). They remained there until they were transferred to the old high school for the 6th grade. The old high school was located where Les Schwab Tire is now located. For the 7th and 8th years, they were at the new elementary school on Collins. For their freshman and sophomore years, they returned to the old high school. They spent their junior and senior years in the new high school that had previously been the new elementary school.