[Skamania] ⚖️ The Delena Verdict - Skamania BOCC, PUD, and More - Sept '26

A reported verdict in the killing of Candice Malave Delena, and why the news was forced to travel by Facebook. Plus the Skamania County Board of Commissioners and Skamania PUD in September: a smaller timber check from DNR, a new PUD commissioner, and a board split over a 2% rate increase.

In This Episode

• The Delena verdict and the news desert
• DNR's lower 2026 timber forecast
• The Roadless Rule: a resident's plea and a board letter
• Five closed-door personnel sessions
• An outside review of the Sheriff's evidence room
• Road 90 plowing and Drano Lake traffic
• Dev Bell joins the PUD board
• 2% or zero: the PUD's 2027 rate choice
• The Carson water plant, Cape Horn's transformer and a leaky Underwood tank
• The PUD's wildfire shutoff policy

Resources & Links

• Read the full written Dispatch at SkamaniaDispatch.com
• Roadless Rule comments, open through October 6
• Skamania County commissioners' agendas, minutes and audio
• Skamania PUD agendas and minutes
• Skamania PUD Wildfire Mitigation Plan
• Skamania County Council on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Crime Victims: 509-427-4210

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi neighbor, welcome back to the Open Gorge Podcast. This is your September roundup to the Scamania County Board of Commissioners and Scamania PUD. We've got a lot today, but we're going to start somewhere a little bit different. We're going to talk about Candace Malayev Delena. In May, Candace was killed at the Whitecap apartments in Stevenson. Her estranged husband, Levi Delena, was arrested that night and booked on second-degree murder. Bail was set at $2 million. In September, his case went to trial in our courthouse. According to a community member who sat through it and a group of Candace's supporters, a jury found him guilty on all counts. Her supporters say that the verdict came through on September 21st and that it includes first degree murder and that sentencing is set for October 1st. Here's the really hard part for me. As of September 23rd, the court, the prosecutor, and the sheriff's office hadn't published a word about the verdict. Four Portland TV stations covered the arrest in May. As of September 23rd, we couldn't find a single news story on how it ended. The people who sat through that trial had to spread the news themselves on Facebook. That's what a news desert looks like. One community member who sat through the trial wrote that Candace deserves to be remembered for the life that she lived. And I have to share my lament with you. This is an aside for me as the editor. I wanted to just be honest about the fact that this is for me an imperfect report. I was really frustrated with the lack of available sources. Like most people, I can't leave my job to attend public meetings or court dates during the day, and so I have to rely on often thin or delayed public records to find out what happened. It's part of why I believe it's a foundational injustice that we don't actually have a full-time locally reported news outlet in Scamania County anymore. As a volunteer, I try my best, but these are the situations when I feel personally like it isn't enough, and I really feel the weight of that. Our right and our duty to a free press is, in my opinion, most infringed on when it's these stories that can't be heard in a timely manner and from everybody who is affected by them. If you or someone you know needs help, our local advocates at the Scamania County Council on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Crime Victims are at 509-427-4210. Thank you so much for joining me for this special report. Now we're going to move on to the county. First, the timber check. DNR District Manager Brian Poland came to the commissioners on September 22nd. He now expects just over $1.6 million in state trust land timber money for the county this year. Back in July, DNR was saying about $1.8. So why this drop? One buyer decided not to log this fall, so that sales remaining $840,000 or so will move into next year. And next year, he said at least $840,000, maybe more than $3 million if another sale gets cut. That's better than the county had been planning on. In his words, quote, I'm really into a fuzzy crystal ball for that one, end quote. That lands right in the middle of budget season, and one commissioner pointed out another clock. The federal secure rural schools law runs out at the end of this month in September. Time, as they put it, to make the donuts again. Next, the roadless rule. That's the 2001 federal rule that limits new roads in big parts of our national forests. The Forest Service wants to end it. On September 15th, Stevenson resident Mary Repart asked the board to push back. We don't need more roads in our county, she said. More roads, she argued, mean more off-road vehicles and more fires. And she added, quote, I can't tell you how many bourbon bottles I find, unquote, after hunting season. The board went the other way. The commissioners who spoke backed a board letters supporting an end to the rule. One commissioner, who grew up in a timber family, said of the industry, quote, I'm never going to give up on it, unquote. There is no formal vote. If you want to weigh in yourself, comments are open through October 6th. Now the closed door sessions. On September 15th, the board went into executive session three times in a row. The topic was the performance of a public employee. It went from 10 30 in the morning to 11 minutes past one. The third one wasn't on the agenda and got extended three times. A week later, two more. That's five closed sessions and two meetings, no action yet after any of them. And that's totally legal. Nothing unusual really happening here. The state law lets a board talk about an employee's performance in private. Any actual decision just has to happen in public. The record doesn't say who they were discussing. A few more county items. The sheriff's office is paying an outside firm $8,500 to review its evidence room. The sheriff's own memo says the office, quote, has a history of property and room neglect, unquote. A state audit reported in 2024 couldn't find three of the 15 items it checked for. Two of them were firearms. Out of Forest Road 90 toward Northwoods, a commissioner says Pacific Corp is pulling out of its share of a plowing contract to the snow parks. The commissioner put that contract about $50,000. The question will go into next year's budget talks. At Draeno Lake over Labor Day, the lot filled and cars lined Highway 14 almost to the first tunnel. Things got better with reader boards and barrels. Wind commuter, who drives the Dalles every day, told Public Works Director David Weymeyer it was, quote, a million times better. And on Wind River Road, Weymeyer's target for opening an uphill lane at the slide repair is October 9th. And especially for the folks who live in Carson, I know it'll come as a welcome relief. Moving over to the PUD. First, the board is back to three. After Commissioner Liz Green passed away in July, the board appointed Dev Bell of Underwood on September 1st. The county auditor swore him in, and he's already vice president. Under state law, he serves until someone's elected in November. Green had already filed for reelection against challenger Addison Dillon. If Green's name gets the most votes, the seat will open up again. Now, your electric bill. The draft 2027 budget lands in a 2% effective rate increase. I've talked about raising the monthly base fee from $60 to $65 and trimming the energy charge. On September 22nd, the board split on it. Commissioner Dan Boyce put it bluntly. We've done a lot of that big stuff, but we put ourselves in debt doing it too, unquote. Bell said he didn't want to take an increase lightly with fuel costs up, so his staff said they'll bring three options to the October 6th budget hearing. 2%, zero with a higher base fee, or flat zero. And customers spoke up. On September 1st, a caller said, quote, I got hot and bothered, unquote. She said rates keep climbing and she objected to the $15 fee she pays to opt out of a smart meter. On September 22nd, a Stevenson resident asked for a plain English budget narrative, quote, as opposed to just the spreadsheets, unquote. The board agreed and added an 8 a.m. workshop on October 6th. Now, a few big projects. The Carson Water Treatment Plant finally has a builder. In August, the board awarded it to Topany Incorporated for about $12.2 million. Right after the vote, someone in the room said, quote, here it comes, water treatment plant's gonna get built, unquote. Now staff say construction likely starts in 2027 while they wait on another million dollars in approvals. I know that's a long anticipated project, and the topic of Carson's water capacity, especially for any new construction or adding housing or any other new development, has been a really hot topic around the gorge, including in some of the Gorge Commission meetings that we've covered in these past few weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one pans out. Cape One's new transformer arrived from Virginia on August 31st. The catch, unloading it takes special equipment, and staff expect a change order of $60,000 to $90,000. In Underwood, the new reservoir sprang a leak. I'm bummed to hear that. Staff said the repair would push things back four or five weeks. I'm hopeful that they can get a handle on whatever's going on there. And one more. On September 22nd, the commissioner who's still new to the job, asked whether PUD ever cuts power ahead of dangerous fire weather. Board wasn't sure. The PUD's own wildfire plan does answer it though. The PUD keeps that option, but doesn't plan to shut off power ahead of time. The board asked for a briefing. So what's next? October 1st, sentencing in the Delena case, according to people who are following the trial. We're hoping by that point we'll also have a few more official sources that we can then tap into to ensure you can keep up with this case. October 3rd, noon to sixth, Lochtoberfest, up at the historic Wind River Nursery near Stabler. I highly recommend checking that one out. It's a lot of fun, and the Wind River Nursery is beautiful. October 6th, the PUD's budget hearing, with a workshop at 8 a.m. It's also the last day to comment on ending the roadless rule. October 9th, the target date for that uphill lane on Wind River Road. For every figure, every link, and the full story with as much info and as many sources as we can always find, please read the written edition at Scamania Dispatch.com. You've been listening to a production of opengorge.org, home of the Scamania Dispatch and the Click of Tatler. You believe in informed communities are stronger communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the gorge, head over to Schemania Dispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.com/slash open gorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.