125 years ago

Jan. 22, 1892

Wednesday evening there was a meeting of the Republican Central Committee and of quite a number of representative republicans of this county held in the parlors of the Sargent Hotel at Aberdeen for the purpose of transacting necessary business and to meet Ralph K. Nichols, Secretary of the Republican State Central Committee. The meeting with Mr. Nichols will undoubtedly result in great good to the party in this county. A county league was formed and Geo. D. Scofield elected as county organizer of Republican clubs. There has never been a meeting of the part in this county where such good feeling and harmony prevailed, or one which will prove more beneficial.

Mr. Nichols agreed that only good, responsible and capable men be nominated for office, as it should be the policy of the party to nominate only those who would fill those qualifications.

The Central Committee elected Mr. David Allen, of Aberdeen, as member of the State Central Committee from this county. When the committee adjourned it was to meet again at Montesano on the 24th of February.

100 years ago

Jan. 19, 1917

Montesano citizens and the members of the fire department in particular are highly lauded and their public spiritedness placed above that shown by any other city in the state in a letter received by R. H. Fleet from Morton Gregory, president of the Union Pacific Life Insurance Co., the company which made the loan of $10,000 to the fire department for the erection of the city hall building. The letter was called forth by the receipt of the most recent payment on the locan, making the total paid to date in three years $5,000. The loan was to be paid $1,000 annually, and the boys are now two years ahead of the schedule of payments.

75 years ago

Jan. 22, 1942

Ministers of Grays Harbor not only have refused to back down on resolutions adopted in Montesano last week, demanding a ban on sale of liquor to soldiers, but this week they went further and asked a complete halt of sale of any alcoholic beverages to anyone in Grays Harbor county or any other area designated as a “combat area.”

Reports published in Aberdeen that the Grays Harbor Minsterial association expected to reconsider its original resolution were scotched as completely erroneous, a new statement declares. This erroneous report, after being published in Aberdeen, was also published in Portland.

Meeting in Our Saviour’s Lutheran church in Aberdeen this Monday, the ministers authorized the following statement:

“Ministers of Grays Harbor County in no way back down on their resolution of January 13 which asked for a ban on intoxicating beverages to our armed forces, but go one step further and ask that this restriction on the sale of alcoholic beverages be placed on all the territory designated as a vital defense area, so placing a complete ban on the sale and purchase of alcoholic beverages during this emergency. We make this recommendation on the basis of safety and efficiency. If the threat we are facing in this section is real, then it behooves everyone, civilian as well as soldier, to be on the alert. According to news reports the military authorities of Hawaii have placed a complete ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages. Grays Harbor has been designated as a combat area, therefore we urge an unconditional ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages be immediately imposed here.”

50 years ago

Jan. 19, 1967

An interim program for maintenance of the courthouse and county jail, until new facilities can be provided, was approved by the Grays Harbor County commissioners on Monday afternoon on recommendation of the citizens’ advisory committee.

At the same meeting, the commissioners heard a proposal to use the former Albert Schafer residence, now owned by the county, as a museum on a different site.

The committee’s findings, reported to the commissioners by Chapin Collins, chairman, urged the commissioners to submit the proposals for a remodelled courthouse and new jail to the voters at the earliest opportunity. A bond issue for this purpose failed to carry at the November election by 157 votes.

The committee concluded that “two elections demonstrated a strong majority of the voters favored the proposal, even though the technical requirements of bond approval were not met. Under these circumstances, the committee believes the county commissioners should plan to resubmit a similar proposal at the earliest opportunity, which, however, probably will not be for about two years. The need continues to exist and will doubtless become more acute. Meanwhile, existing facilities must be adequately maintained.”

Recognizing that the state has again condemned the present jail as unsanitary, insecure, inadequate and “one of the worst in the entire state”, the committee recommended that a minimum sum of money be spent on such work as is “absolutely necessary for health and safety and for decent standards of human habitation.” Only such other improvements should be made that “will add to the permanent value of the building as storage space in future years.”

The committee also recommended that “only those repairs and improvements be made to the courthouse that are now mandatory for the preservation of the building and the safety and health of those using it. Such repair should be consistent with future plans for ultimate renovation of the structure for a temple of justice and other purposes.”

25 years ago

Jan. 16, 1992

Despite their leadership’s recommendation to accept a contract offer, union members at Elma’s Oakhurst Convalescent Center have voted to go on strike as of January 29. The only hope against disruption of care for the 140 residents is a legally required meeting set for January 27.

If the strike goes through, it will be the first time a strike has occurred at a nursing home in Washington State.

Lynn Imbler, of the UFCW 1001 office in Bellevue, said the union met with the employer on December 23 after a strike threat was first issued. At the time, they complained that Community Care Centers, which runs the county-owned facility, was refusing to negotiate over issues of low pay and insufficient staffing levels. Some employees are so poorly paid they receive food stamps, the union charged.

After the Dec. 23 meeting, Community Care Centers made a tentative offer for a one year contract “with some improvements” Imbler said. The offer included an “understanding of more negotiations next fall.”

At the time, Imber said the union leadership came to an understanding of the facility’s business position. “We reviewed the financial data and concluded they were telling the truth regarding their financial situation.”

She said the union leadership would recommend the offer be accepted, but on January 8, the membership rejected it.

10 years ago

Jan. 18, 2007

Construction to complete the unfinished natural gas-fired power plant at Satsop could begin any day now. Then again, it might not.

That was the mixed message Tom Donovan, director of Grays Harbor Energy LLC, delivered to the Grays Harbor Public Development Authority on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

“Until June this year, the power market was slow,” Donovan said. “Since then, we’ve seen much more interest in the project.”

Grays Harbor Energy LLC is a subsidiary of the power investment company, Invenergy, which purchased the power plant in 2005 after Duke Energy mothballed it in 2002.

If completed, the 620-megawatt plant could generate enough power to supply 200,000 homes.

Donovan said he is close to signing contracts with several potential customers. If those deals come to fruition, the company would be able to justify completing the plant instead of demolishing it and selling off the assets. “We’ll see if we have a deal, otherwise it’ll go right back to where it was two months ago,” he said.

The flattened prices for natural gas also helped make the project feasible again, Donovan said.

Not discussed is the ongoing dispute over the plant’s valuation for tax purposes on Grays Harbor. Grays Harbor Energy convinced the Board of Equalization to lower the assessment from $97.7 million to $21 million, but the county has appealed that ruling to the state Board of Tax Appeals.

The energy official said a decision to restart construction would put up to 300 people to work and the plant would go online within 12 months.

Afterward, he refused questions from the media and left the building.