Commentary | The Daily Chronicle

Mary and Charlie Funk hold a Chinook paddle with a painting by Charlie on the wall behind them.

Julie McDonald Commentary: Chinook Elder Shares Stories and Legends Through Art

Just before Thanksgiving, we held another Paint and Sip at the Morgan Arts Center in Toledo and learned to paint pink, blue, purple and white hydrangeas under the tutelage of Centralia artist Sue … more

By Julie McDonald / For The Chronicle | 12/12/22

Richard Stride is the current CEO of Cascade Community Healthcare. He can be reached at drstride@icloud.com.

Richard Stride Commentary: The Great Fruitcake Experiment, Just in Time for the Holidays

I read about a discovery in Antarctica of a 100-year-old fruitcake, found in a hut on Cape Adare, and it was still good. It was wrapped in paper in the remains of a tin and was in … more

By Richard Stride / For The Chronicle | 12/7/22

The USS California on fire in Pearl Harbour after the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941. (Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS)

Other Views: U.S. Resolve After Pearl Harbor Still Inspires

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941 — 81 years ago today — the forces of Imperial Japan struck the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Some 2,400 Americans were killed in the surprise … more

By The Columbian Editorial Board | 12/7/22

Julie McDonald Zander, Chase Conaway, Nora Zander and Larry Zander are pictured at a Washington State University football game.

Julie McDonald Commentary: It’s a Small and Sometimes Scary World on the Palouse

With our daughter in her senior year at Washington State University this year, my husband and I drove twice in November to Pullman for football games, where she performed in the Cougar Marching … more

12/5/22

Lee Coumbs smiles after receiving an award last May during the Spring Youth Fair.

Brian Mittge Commentary: Happy 80th Birthday to a Right Jolly Old Elf

When the Fort Borst Park Christmas lights turn on this weekend for the first time in 2022, many folks will deserve thanks. The first guy in line to do the thanking is also the first guy in … more

12/2/22

Ed Johnstone is the chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Being Frank Commentary: Climate Change Forces Tribes to Leave Traditional Lands Behind

Native nations are on the front lines of climate change. The impacts have reached our shores and are forcing us to leave traditional lands behind. Sea level rise, flooding, erosion, intensity of … more

By Ed Johnstone / Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. | 11/30/22

Commentary: Despite Inflation and Other Concerns, People Returning to Stores

The good news is, despite higher prices, inflation and safety concerns, more Christmas shoppers are browsing online but making in-store purchases. The National Retail Federation (NRF) … more

By Don Brunell | 11/30/22

Columnist Julie McDonald with sisters at an event in Clark County.

Julie McDonald Commentary: Author’s Book Describes Crucial Role of Community Libraries

During the general election earlier this month, nearly 60 percent of Morton voters opted to leave the Timberland Regional Library District, reversing a decision a decade ago to pay taxes to support … more

By Julie McDonald / For The Chronicle | 11/28/22

Lifelong Chronicle journalist Doug Blosser in his element, The Chronicle newsroom, in 2012. As newsroom clerk he produced a vast volume of words that appeared in the newspaper, from restaurant health inspections to court records and Voices items. Blosser died Nov. 16, 2022, at age 74.

Brian Mittge Commentary: RIP to a Proud Coug and a Lifelong Newsman

Longtime readers of The Chronicle are probably very familiar with the work of Doug Blosser, even if his name rarely appeared in the newspaper. Blosser, who died earlier this month at age … more

11/25/22

From the College President: New Apartments Coming in 2023 for Centralia College Students

At the corner of South Ash Street and Centralia College Boulevard, dirt is being churned up and crews are laying the groundwork for new student apartments. The new facility will be owned and managed … more

By Bob Mohrbacher / For The Chronicle | 11/22/22

Flames from the Goat Rocks Fire ignites trees last October, as seen from Cannon Road in Packwood over Butler Creek.

Commentary: Late Wildfire Season Points to Need for Better Forest Management

Last summer, our state’s wildfire season was below normal — a welcome relief for firefighters and smoke-choked Washingtonians, especially city dwellers. However, that all changed this … more

By Don Brunell | 11/22/22

Richard Stride Commentary: Giving Thanks for Family Stories

My grandma on my mother’s side, who lived from 1914-1990, and my grandma’s brother, Orlin, who lived from 1912 to 1987, grew up in Kansas during the 1920s. Kansas during the child … more

11/22/22

A generator sits outside a structure at a homeless encampment at the end of Eckerson Road in Centralia in this Chronicle file photo.

Julie McDonald Commentary: Did Deinstitutionalization of Mental Hospitals Lead to Homelessness?

My great-uncle Paul Sullivan, an outspoken, self-educated World War I veteran, ranted for years about his spineless, weak-willed father who allowed his mother to be railroaded into a mental … more

By Julie McDonald / For The Chronicle | 11/21/22

Kris Johnson is president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturers association.

Commentary: Annual Celebration Spotlights Washington State’s ‘Makers’

Some of the most amazing companies in the world are hiding in plain sight, right here in Washington. They’re located inside industrial buildings and office parks that we drive by every … more

By Kris Johnson / Association of Washington Business | 11/18/22

Richard Stride Commentary: The Value of Taking Time to Listen to the Music

Do you ever listen to music by the Doobie Brothers? One song says, “Don’t you feel it growing day by day. People getting ready for the news. Some are happy, some are sad; Oh, we have … more

By Richard Stride | 11/16/22

Relatives of Tom and Idris Massey hope to change the road’s name between Spencer and the Cowlitz River — the land their family owned — to Massey Road, both to honor their parents’ contributions to the community and to simplify directions to the Massey Bar Boat Launch.

Julie McDonald Commentary: Family Seeks to Change Road’s Name to Honor Parents

A year before the United States plunged into Civil War, a 25-year-old Irishman born in County Cork boarded the HMS Edinburgh in Liverpool, England, and landed in New York April 13, 1860. Eight … more

By Julie McDonald / For The Chronicle | 11/14/22

Visitors tour the Veterans Memorial Museum on Veterans Day.

Commentary: Honoring Fallen Heroes Goes Beyond Lowering Flags to Half-Mast

Lowering our flags to half-staff is a solemn act that recognizes our fallen heroes, whether they be men and women in our armed forces or police officers killed in the line of duty. It is a vivid … more

By Don Brunell | 11/14/22

Pumpkin pie is prepared for meal bags at Gather Church on Thanksgiving in Centralia in 2021.

Brian Mittge Commentary: The Spirit of Thanksgiving Is a Tonic for Our Divisions

Election season is finally more or less finished (it’s all over but the countin’). I’m thankful for our American system of self-governance, but our elections always seem a little … more

By Brian Mittge / For The Chronicle | 11/11/22

Richard Stride Commentary: When Nazis in America Gathered Without Fear

I recently watched a new documentary on PBS by Ken Burns. It’s titled “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” I have always loved Ken Burns documentaries because of the thoroughness in … more

By Richard Stride | 11/9/22

Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.

Julie McDonald Commentary: Reflections on a Turbulent Summer and Election Season

When U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler narrowly lost to Joe Kent in the top-two primary election, I was disappointed but not surprised. A lot of former president Donald Trump’s fans in the … more

By Julie McDonald / For The Chronicle | 11/7/22