Welcome to Skagit County
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July 1, 2003
SKAGIT COUNTY – A headline in the June 28, 2003 issue of the Skagit Valley Herald read “Unpopular Edison tide gate likely target of vandalism.” The article quoted a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife employee stating that cables had been cut. After an investigation by the Skagit County Public Works staff, it was determined that the cables had not been cut, and the facility was operational. Skagit County maintains the gate and occasionally conducts repairs when debris jams the gate open or shut. The situation shown in the Herald’s photograph on Saturday, showed one of the floats stuck, causing the gate to remain shut. Public Works staff think they can make an adjustment to the float to reduce the possibility of this happening again in the future. “Like any other mechanical device, some times things don’t work the way they should and require a little TLC,” said Don Dixon, Surface Water Section Manager. “It’s unfortunate that this false report was issued and that wrong-doing by community members was alleged. We hope in the future that both the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the newspaper does their homework before making such serious allegations,” said Skagit County Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt. There has been a longstanding citizen and County disagreement with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife over the issue of the Edison self-regulating tide gate, according to Skagit County Public Works Director Chal Martin. “All parties affected by this self-regulating tide gate continue to work through appropriate and legal venues to resolve differences,” he said.
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