The Skamania Dispatch

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Latest — 07 Oct 2026

🧾 The Emergency Is Over. The Invoices Aren't. North Bonneville, Sept '26

North Bonneville's council formally ended its water emergency in September, then paid a second contractor bill it said it couldn't reconcile. It voted down an independent review, adopted a master fee schedule, and started handing its planning office to the county.

More issues

🌊 Riparian Buffers Rebuffed - Bingen Sept '26 Round-up

A consultant told Bingen the science calls for wider creek buffers, and Council said no again. A councilor resigned, two neighbors applied, the city asked a newspaper to correct its mural story, and a 1963 sewer line turned out to belong to someone else.

💧 Rezone Denied, Water Running Short - Stevenson September '26 Round-up

Stevenson's council turned down the Attwell Road rezone its Planning Commission had recommended. Nobody spoke for it and the owners never came. Plus a plan to share planners with the county and North Bonneville, and a water system with about 40 hookups left.

🛑 A Failed Moratorium and a Successful Appeal - White Salmon Sept '26

White Salmon's dollar store moratorium got one vote. The budget amendment quietly cut the comprehensive plan update from $50,000 to $10,000, a hearing examiner sided with a Wyers Street builder, and neighbors on two streets asked the city for answers it has not yet given.

🛢️ Uncovering an Oil Well Mystery - Special Investigation

In 1949 a company drilled for oil just west of Beacon Rock, and it may be still uncapped and leaking. We're using public records and old aerial photos to find it (and other orphaned wells in the Gorge) and we'd love your help.

🌲 On National Public Lands Day, Stand Up for Public Lands Counties - Letter From the Editor

Today, September 26th, is National Public Lands Day. Four days from now the law behind Secure Rural Schools, a lifeline for our Public Lands Counties, was written to run out. Here's why that deadline matters to anyone who loves public land, and the call I hope you'll make.

⚖️ A Verdict, a Tighter Timber Check, and a Rate Choice - Skamania BOCC & PUD September '26

A community member who sat through the trial says a jury convicted Levi Delena in Candice Malave's killing. DNR trims its timber forecast. The PUD seats Dev Bell and argues over a 2% rate increase. Plus five closed sessions, the roadless rule and a leaky new tank.

🛬 "Runway": Gorge Commission Reopens the Management Plan - Sept '26

The Gorge Commission was briefed on what it takes to rewrite the Gorge Management Plan. Nothing was decided, and the Forest Service said waiting until 2030 would be legal. Here is how the last rewrite worked, what changed the text, and where the public gets a guaranteed say.

✂️ Between Budget Gaps & Data Centers - Klickitat BOCC 8/19-9/15

About 150 people packed a Thursday workshop to ask Klickitat County to pause data centers, Columbia Gorge News reported. The Board took no action. Staff set October 1 as the target for a draft ordinance instead. Plus the 2027 budget, and the levy limit running under both.

🖥 The Data Center Moratorium Next Door - Skamania BOCC August '26

Eight people asked Skamania County's commissioners to pause data centers on August 18, and the Board adopted a moratorium that day. Plus a Sheriff's software upgrade, two Planning Commission appointments, and what the 2027 county contracts say.