HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2025
Vol. 146 No. 23
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Purple sky over Goldendale COURTESY GOLDENDALE OBSERVATORY. PHOTO BY TROY CARPENTER.
NORTHERN LIGHTS OVER GOLDENDALE: Goldendale Observatory Administrator Troy Carpenter captured the lights early Monday morning. June 7 and 8 are Discover Pass Free Days.
TROY CARPENTER FOR THE SENTINEL I’m writing to attach an image taken this morning (Monday, June 2, at 2:20 a.m.) of some aurorae and a train of Starlink satellites [above]. There are five Starlinks in the image, and I counted 25 total within the train. Much was said on the internet and news this weekend about the potential for bright Northern lights on Satur-
day and Sunday evenings. Indeed, a powerful geomagnetic storm occurred as predicted, but the timing was not ideal for viewing in the Pacific Northwest. The strongest emission was even further north and west of our location by the time darkness fell on Saturday night. This same inconvenient timing was repeated on Sunday, but long exposure photography still revealed bright colors on the early mornings of Sunday and Monday. Noteworthy was the Friday, May 30, afternoon solar pro-
gram at Goldendale Observatory, when the Earth-facing M-Class flare that caused all the commotion was viewed in real time by our visitors. Such was the power of this event that the high energy solar ions were traveling over 4 million mph when they struck Earth’s magnetosphere. As the Sun is still within “Solar Maximum,” this is a great time to consider observing it with filters like those employed at our facility. For solar program reservations, please visit GoldendaleObservatory.com.
Ogden street music sessions return Those of you in withdrawal from Dr. James Ogden’s weekly summer music jam sessions that used to be held in front of his Main Street office: rejoice. The music is back. It’s at a different location now. “The Senior Center [on Main Street] gave us permission to hold the sessions there,” Ogden says. You can listen again to music on the street every Monday evening at 7 p.m. in front of the Senior Center now through the last Monday in August.
Planning Department calls for solar to have conditional use permits RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL
During the Klickitat County Commissioners May 27 meeting, the Planning Department’s Lori Anderson updated commissioners on the progress of the Solar and Battery Energy Solar System (BESS) Committee. She said the committee met for the fifth time on May 21 when they made recommendations to the Planning Commission and began the review of the draft ordinance. “They want to require all industrial solar projects to have a conditional use permit,” she said, “and clarify that the Battery Energy Storage System is not an accessory use but will also require a conditional use permit.” The committee will meet for a sixth time on June 4 to complete review of the draft ordinance and hopes to have the final recommendation by June 18. The Planning Commission itself will hold a special workshop on June 2 to review the comments from the community meetings about the comprehensive plan update. Public comment will be saved for a meeting on June 16 for a public hearing on the Solar and BESS committee recommendations. During the public comment period in the afternoon regular session, commissioners were asked what solutions were being considered in response to loss of grant funding for a person to process land use applications for the portion of the National Scenic Area in Klickitat County. Their response was that they had met the previous Thursday in a workshop with representatives of Wasco and Skamania counties. They said there were “three or four options” to come out of that meeting that they were discussing with their planner. Commissioners also concluded a rate hearing on Dallesport sewer rates. Planning Department Director Jeff Hunter out-
lined the changes: “This year we’ve agreed to raise the rates by 6 percent,” he said. “We’re recommending raising the connection fees 28 percent. The current connection fee is $4,602.68. If we raise it 28 percent, brings it to the new proposed connection fee of $5,891.43.” He said this large jump in connection fees was necessary because the annual 3 percent increase they had been adding for past years was not keeping up with rising costs. He added that the application fee had been $25 since the wastewater treatment plant was first built more than 20 years ago, and that it would be raised to $100. Best dialog of the meeting: Commission Chair Ron Ihrig was asked how he had done after going fishing over the weekend, to which he responded, “Crazy wind. The only thing I caught was a cold.” Under the consent agenda, commissioners approved: • A Geosyntec service agreement for Switzler Reservoir project. • Amendment No.1 to the WSDOT Capital Grant Agreement PTD0674-01. • Purchase order for ADA minivan for Klickitat County Senior Services from NW Bus Sales. • Reappointment of Valerie Fowler to the Columbia River Gorge Commission representing Klickitat County. • Sole source of one new detention door and components from the 2025 Klickitat County Jail improvement project list. • A consultant agreement with AKS Engineering & Forestry, LLC for on-call surveying services. • Klickitat County Water Conservancy Board appointment. • Consideration of approval for boundary line adjustment BLA 2024-18, Struck/McCrutcheon. • Purchase order for ADA minivan for Klickitat County Senior Services from Model 1 Commercial Vehicles.
See County page A8
MELISSA UHLES
SPECTATOR DEMOLITION: Two mobile homes at Cottonwood MH & RV on Columbus Avenue were destroyed Saturday by its new owners as part of a major clean-up campaign to rid the park of drugs and danger.
Cottonwood cleans up in move to family-friendly living MELISSA UHLES FOR THE SENTINEL
The mobile home and RV park formerly known as Cottonwood RV is cleaning up its act. For the past two years new owners, Monte Christo Communities, have been trying to improve the park. The company owns a total of 23 other parks in the Pacific Northwest. The new name of the community is Goldendale MH & RV. On Saturday, May 31, the residents and everyone in the community were invited to celebrate with a free hot dog lunch, crafts, and games. This event was planned by the park owners. Jacquey Poytress, Development
Director for Monte Christo Communities, said, “The park used to be an eyesore with complaints and a negative reputation. With crime and drug issues cleared out, we hope to make it a family-friendly park. We are very excited to turn the corner with the park and make it a place people want to call home.” When asked what the purpose was for making a community event out of the demolition of two of the abandoned homes, Poytress remarked it was so residents and the community could enjoy themselves and have fun watching the excavator demolish the homes. It was indicated that the two mobile homes being demolished were res-
idences of people who had been doing drugs and had been evicted. She made it clear that current law-abiding residents in other mobile home units were welcome. Poytress mentioned that the site is not currently zoned for mobile homes, so their focus for now will be bringing in residents with RVs that are in good shape. When asked about vans, she said they would have to be self-contained vehicles with showers and toilets. Additionally, tiny homes will be allowed if they are certified as recreational vehicles. That requires certain inspections that would occur during the tiny
See Park page A8
Pickers Festival celebrates 10 years LORRIE FOX FOR THE SENTINEL Once known as the Goldendale Bluegrass Festival, the event attracted people from all around the Northwest to enjoy music and connect with friends in late spring. But about 10 years ago, it decided to close. Fred Coates established the Goldendale Pickers Festival in its place. The annual event draws people from throughout the Northwest to delight in a few days of socializing and playing music. This year’s festival will be held from June 5 through June 8 at Ekone Park. “It was such a fine place to be there in your park that we looked into renting the
park and getting some [portable toilets]. And sure enough, enough people wanted to come and be together that it worked. So we’ve kept it going,” says Coates. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Goldendale Pickers Festival at Ekone Park. “We are traditional people, so 10 years is just expected. We keep thinking we’re going to get to do that forever. I guess, so far, that’s working,” says Coates. “And, the traditional thing is that we are just the same folks that we’ve always been, and now we just get together and play together with about 120 friends, and the locals come, too. Not everybody thinks alike, but you can get around the same
little campfire or jam session, and you’re singing harmony, and you realize, you know what? We can play together even if we don’t think alike. We still know how to play together.” What’s been new in the past 10 years? “I’d say there are a lot of new songs, many new friends. But there’s more songs. We’ve learned a bunch of new songs. So you’re getting a better bargain for your money all the way around,” says Coates. They’re happy if they break even. “We don’t make a profit on it,” Coates states. “Last year Bish-
See Pickers page A8