Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2025
Vol. 146 No. 44
Local case files in State Supreme Court
County hears on health findings RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL
LOU MARZELES EDITOR A long-running defamation case in Goldendale is taking an unexpected new turn as the Washington State Supreme Court is now being asked to review the constitutionality of the very law that has stalled the case for months. The move is the most significant of a trio of new developments in the matter. The other two are the request by the attorney representing the defendants to remove himself from the case and the felony arrest of one of the defendants. Michael Snyder, owner of Starcade Pizza and Goldendale Family Entertainment, has petitioned the high court to strike down the state’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), arguing that it unfairly blocks his ability to present evidence or seek justice in his defamation claims. Snyder’s challenge comes after lower courts repeatedly halted his case under the provisions of that law. Snyder filed the defamation suit against four individuals— Julia Skillman, Darlene Williamson, Leandra Kessinger, and Amanda Derschon—alleging they spread false claims that he was a criminal, a pedophile, and a danger to the community. Snyder asserts that the group created and actively promoted a Facebook page titled “Beware Starcade Pizza Owner” to more than 500 specific people. In the end, thousands viewed the page. Snyder says it inflicted serious harm to his reputation and business. Williamson, Kessinger, and Derschon were dismissed from the case under UPEPA (RCW 4.105), a 2021 law designed to protect free speech and prevent frivolous lawsuits, particularly those meant to silence public criticism. Their attorney, Justin Leigh, argued that his clients were simply exercising their right to free expression. Snyder, however, contends the law was misapplied and that the defendants’ actions were malicious and coordinated. UPEPA’s broad effect Under UPEPA, when defendants invoke the statute, all proceedings in the case are automatically stayed—effectively freezing any ability by the plaintiff to gather or preserve evidence while appeals are pending. Snyder’s attempts to continue discovery or to “preserve testimony” during the appeal process were denied by Klickitat County Superior Court Judge Randall Krog, who said the statute left him no discretion to allow such actions. Snyder argues that this stay provision violates constitutional protections by denying citizens the right to seek redress in court. “This law creates a situation where defendants can trigger endless delays,” Snyder said in court filings. “It deprives plaintiffs of meaningful access to justice.” The Washington Supreme Court previously struck down a similar law, the state’s former Anti-SLAPP Act (RCW 4.24.525), in 2015, ruling that it violated constitutional guarantees of petition and jury trial rights. Snyder’s filing notes that in 2015, the Washington Supreme Court struck down a prior anti-SLAPP law (RCW 4.24.525) as unconstitutional in Davis v. Cox, ruling that it infringed on the right to a jury trial and petition. Snyder’s petition claims that the current version—enacted in 2021—goes even further in restricting plaintiffs. “The legislature may enact anti-SLAPP laws to prevent vexatious litigants,” the court wrote in Davis v. Cox, “but it
See Case page A8
$1.00
The Bigfoot (with apologies to Edgar Allen Poe)
Once upon a moonlit clearing, while I wandered, tired and fearing, Through the oaks whose creaking branches whispered legends told before— As I stumbled, eyes half-dreaming, through the misty starlight gleaming, Suddenly I heard a screaming echo from the canyon floor. “’Tis a cougar,” I said, trembling, “calling from the canyon floor— Only this, and nothing more.” I recall with mind so sober, ’twas the chill of late October, And the pumpkin-scented zephyrs swept through fields of Klickitat. Eagerly I sought the daring ghostly stories worth comparing— Every year The Sentinel’s bearing tales of this and tales of that. But tonight I longed for something that would not be just another dumb thing— A good yarn, and not mere chat. And the wind, so slyly creeping, set the shadowed wheat a-weeping, Thrilling me with fears fantastic never felt in print before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart so quick repeating, I stood listening, half-believing, as footsteps crossed the forest floor. “Surely,” said I, “surely that is just the wind upon the floor— Only that, and nothing more.” Open then I swung my lantern, when, from out the dark and damp berm, Came a shape so tall and hairy it near stopped my mortal core. Not a bear, though shagged and looming—no known beast of earthly grooming— And my journalistic sense was blooming: front-page headline, maybe more! “For the Sentinel!” I muttered. “What a tale for Monday’s score— Bigfoot walks by Dallesport’s shore!” Deep into that figure gazing, long I stood there, stunned, appraising, In its eyes a mild bewilderment, like someone shy and sore. Not a monster bent on taking, but a hermit’s heartache breaking— As though mankind’s cruel mistaking drove it from our world of yore. Through the quiet it regarded me, I did not know wherefore— Turned, and vanished—nothing more. Back I stumbled, nerves a-shaking, pulse like thunder, knees near breaking, Wondering if my senses fooled me, tricked by cider or folklore. Yet next dawn, by tracks unerring—vast and human, but deterring— Lay the proof, the tale conferring what I swore I’d seen before. There The Sentinel now proclaims it, loud across our valley floor: “Bigfoot seen within this county—Evermore!” —Lou Marzeles
KVH board faces public comment on Sonne dismissal MELISSA UHLES FOR THE SENTINEL
At a Klickitat Valley Health (KVH) board of commissioners meeting October 22, CEO Jonathan Hatfield presented KVH district updates prior to board president Larry Hoctor opening the meeting to public comment. A small group concerned about Dr. Rachel Sonne’s employment coming to an abrupt end gathered once again to ask questions. Prior to this meeting, the group
attended a September KVH board meeting and a board of county commissioners meeting. Some protested on the courthouse lawn, and they have also contacted the County Health Department seeking answers. During Hatfield’s first three-quarters update, he said that three doctors had left this year. He mentioned the first two by name and said that a third person had “separated” from the hospital. His presentation explained that they were working on their
hiring, training and retention efforts and had implemented 24/7 security to make staff feel safer. He shared that five family medicine practitioners have renewed their contracts. There have also been three new hires in the Emergency Department, Family Medicine, and Surgery Departments. KVH now can perform cataract surgeries. Additional hires included a radiologist, pulmonologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, and a new pain man-
See KVH page A8
Klickitat County Commissioners heard a mixture of the good, the bad, and the unusual at their October 21 meeting. Regarding Public Works, Director Jeff Hunter reported the operators of the Big Horn Wind Farm in Klickitat County, which opened in 2006 with 133 General Electric turbines, are planning to upgrade the facility by repowering the unit. “It’s not as intensive as the Juniper Canyon project, where they replaced the blades, the cells, and everything,” Hunter said. “This one they’re just replacing the internal stuff. That’s the motors, the shafts, and everything in themselves, but the blades are staying.” He said there still would be a lot of traffic when that project begins in the spring and that his office is working with the company to develop a road haul agreement to compensate the county for the excess wear and tear on the roads. Addressing the jail, during the morning workshop session Jail Administrator Bill Frantz praised the work by his staff, noting two events at the jail involving suicidal ideation from two different people. “In both cases,” he said, “the staff identified the problem. In one case, a ligature was fashioned out of clothing, and it was recovered from the incarcerated person. In both cases, we were able to bring about resolution, so hats off to them.” Officer John Burgess was nominated by his peers for employee of the quarter, commended for his accuracy at work and taking the lead in jail operations on his shift. Frantz said that was demonstrated when the jail took in an unruly inmate. “This person who came into our custody was like a raccoon in a man suit,” Frantz said, “He was just crazy, violent, and assaultive, and Burgess navigated that with a lot of tact and dignity. That person is now seeking help in a hospital with underlying mental health issues.” Garth Reeves of the Seattle consultant firm Health Facilities Planning and Development presented the mandated Community Needs Health Assessment for 2026-2028. The 55page report is full of statistics comparing the health of the populations in the two hospital districts with that of Washington State and with the nation as a whole. Some of the results are startling. The suicide rate, based on the number of suicides per 100,000 population was 15.4 nationally, 41.1 for the county as a whole, and 25.2 for people residing in the Skyline service district—but 71 for people in the KVH service district. One of the factors contributing to the startling difference is income. Median household income is $55,989 for the KVH district and $79,718 for Skyline. But that was not the most startling statistic from the report. There’s a national phenomenon called the Hispanic Paradox, first detected 40 years ago. Low socioeconomic status is almost universally associated with worse population health and higher death rates everywhere in the world, but Hispanics in the United States have a 24% lower risk of mortality as well as lower risk for nine of the fifteen leading causes of death as compared to whites. In Klickitat County, the life expectancy for the county as a whole is 79.9 years. That’s ahead of the national average of 77.6 years. But for the Hispanic population of the county, it’s 89.1 years. Researchers suggest that diet, particularly the high intake of legumes such as
See County page A8