[Skamania] 🕯️ Demanding Answers to Domestic Violence - Stevenson May '26 Round-Up

This month, we are looking at the heavy and the controversial coming out of the Stevenson Planning Commission and the Stevenson City Council. In the wake of a tragic local murder, residents are stepping up to the microphone to demand better domestic violence intervention from the county, while a controversial hop-farm campground faces a massive wall of legal and neighborhood opposition.

In This Episode:

• The community response to the murder of Candice Malave
• Stevenson's official Pride Month Proclamation
• The Hop-Farm Campground standoff and legal threats
• Protecting Stevenson's fifteen million dollar treatment plant from industrial waste
• Financial incentives in the newly revised Sewer Ordinance
• Alarming state estimates regarding the Cape Horn Bridge

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• Skamania County man arrested after estranged wife found dead at Stevenson apartments
• City of Stevenson Website & Agendas: https://www.ci.stevenson.wa.us/
• Submit public comments to City Hall or via email prior to noon on the day of the meeting.

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Transcript

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Welcome back to the Scamania Dispatch Audio Edition. Today we're unpacking a very heavy, very busy May for the Stevenson City Council and the Planning Commission. And I'm going to warn you right up front, we're going to be discussing the recent tragic murder in our community and the intense civic response that followed. Over at the City Council, the atmosphere is incredibly tense. Scamania County Sheriff's Office reported the apprehension of Levi Delena within 10 hours of the May 15th murder of his estranged wife, Candace Malae, at the White Cap apartments. But for many residents in attendance, a quick arrest wasn't enough. In the wake of the murder and the devastating revelation that there were 14 prior domestic violence complaints between the couple, residents demanded answers. People stepped up to the microphone to ask the council for the implementation of specialized mental health and domestic violence crisis response training for local law enforcement. This tragedy has exposed some agonizing fault line in how the county currently handles chronic domestic violence. The grief in that room was translating directly into demands for protective policy and for better collaboration with community groups and agencies. Residents are concerned that without real structural change in how local law enforcement handles these cases, other neighbors will remain at risk for similar tragedies. In a related push for community safety and protection, residents also advocated for equal treatment for transgender and intersex individuals following recent local tragedies. The council curred that call and formally adopted a proclamation declaring June 2026 as Pride Month. Moving over to the Planning Commission, the fight over the Hop Farm Campground has reached a boiling point. The Commission postponed the public hearing on the conditional use permit, or CUP, to a future date. But for nearby residents and the legal counsel for Scamania Lodge, Ezra Hammer, they voiced heavy opposition. For this new campground plan, they cited severe fire risks, incompatibility with residential zoning, and what they see as improper environmental exemptions. Right now, the applicant is trying to bypass certain environmental reviews by claiming the campground is a minor exempt project under state law, specifically under CEPA, SEPA, or the State Environmental Policy Act. Neighbors are, it seems, not buying it, and a majority of the present commissioners signaled that they intend to eventually deny the application. If the city does deny the permit, the developer's only real recourse is a LUPA, LUPA lawsuit, that stands for Land Use Petition Act. A LUPA appeal takes the fight out of City Hall and would put it into Superior Court. It's a costly legal threat that often forces small towns to tread very carefully. So let's stick with public works and environmental protection for a moment because residents are fiercely guarding the city's new $15 million sewer plant. Folks showed up to demand the city heavily scrutinize a permit modification request by LDB Beverage. The business wants permission to dump specific organic matter directly into the municipal sewer system. Commenters were quick to remind the commission that similar industrial discharges in the past are exactly what necessitated that $15 million system upgrade in the first place. And speaking of sewers, City Council held the first reading of the heavily revised sewer ordinance. The big news here is that the revisions explicitly state that if you're a homeowner with an existing, approved, and functioning on-site septic system, you are not mandated to connect to the municipal sewer. Instead of a mandate, council is debating an incentive. They are looking at offering a one-year system development charge waiver, which is a fancy way of saying they might waive the hefty connection fee for one year to financially encourage you to connect voluntarily once a line becomes available. Finally, a quick look at regional infrastructure. Public commenters relayed some alarming information from a recent town hall regarding the Cape Horn Bridge on Highway 14. Resident Rick Jessel told the council that the Department of Transportation is estimating one to five people may die when that bridge eventually collapses and urge the city to keep the pressure on the state. Looking ahead, keep an eye on your calendars. June 4th was the deadline for public comments on the LDB beverage discharge permit, so we're expecting the final readings and potential adoption of that revised sewer ordinance to happen in July. To dive deeper into any of these issues and find links to the official agendas in public comment forms, check out the text version of this newsletter. You've been listening to a production of open gorge.org, home of the Schemania Dispatch and the Click of Tatler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. Support our work and stay up to date on everything happening at the Gorge. Head over to Schemaniadispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at Facebook.comslash opengorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.