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The Twin City Wrestling Club traveled to Bethel High School for the Washington State Wrestling Association’s Ford Dynasty Den on Sunday, and it came back with its fourth team championship of the season.

The Mat Cats led the way with 187 points, topping the second-place team by 2.5 points. TCWC finished with eight champions, five runner-ups, nine bronze medalists, and nine fourth-place finishers.

Jackson Coleman (U6 52-53), Hayden Templeton (U8 40-43), Luke Vizgaudis (U8 53), Zayvynn Sanders (U10 49), Kash Davis (U10 63), Kash Davis (U10 67), Nicholas Schultz (U12 108), and Parker Daniel (U14 110) all finished first.

Isabella Nelson (Girls K-2 45-54), Ophilea Cortes (K-2 77-78), Julian Jones (U10 59), Jace Hanson (U10 71), and Adalina Nommensen (Girls 3rd-5th 63-66) placed second.

Khai Davis (U8 40-43), Davin Stratton (U10 84), Hunter Rice (U10 93-105), Kylie Stafford (Girls 3rd-5th 93-95), Michael Rice (U12 92), Titus Whitehead (U12 98), Kaed Davis (U14 96), Gibson Morgan (U14 120-126), and Gibson Morgan (U16-126) all took third.

And Colt Miller (U8 56), Jameson Mays (U10 67), Jasper Robinson (U10 71), Grayson Morgan (U10 84), Brayden Nelson (U10 93-105), Jacob Miraglia (U12 78), Kaed Davis (U14 92), Karson Cheney (U14 120-126), Nikita Nommensen (Girls 6th-8th 115-127) all placed fourth.

Next up is the WSWA Takedown Express Classic on Sunday at Kentwood High School.

Smelt’s annual return from the ocean has long drawn thousands of dip-netters up and down the Cowlitz River. This year, however, the prized tradition will be different.

The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is implementing a new fishing license requirement, schedule and harvest philosophy.

The new strategy aims to make it easier for the agency to enforce harvest rules while also giving anglers more notice about when they may be allowed to fish, according to the agency.

The shift comes after the yearly harvest was called off in 2018, 2019 and 2023 due to low numbers.

Last year’s run arrived in mid-February. About 8,000 anglers pulled 54,000 pounds of the silver fish out of the Cowlitz in just five hours. A second day of fishing was allowed in March, but it only yielded about 1,000 pounds.

The changes allow the department to adjust fishing schedules based on smelt run sizes and data from the commercial smelt fishery on the mainstem Columbia River, said Laura Heironimus, the department’s Columbia River smelt lead.

Columbia River smelt, also known as eulachon, are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. That means fishery managers must monitor the run size.

And Fish & Wildlife data shows those runs have varied wildly over the last 15 years.

Numbers rose from 2011 to 2014 landing at about 17 million pounds. Then fell to less than a half-million in 2018, before rising again to a high in 2022. They have declined again in the years since, landing at about 10 million pounds.

All those numbers are a fraction of their historical abundance.

The department expects two to four days of dip-netting this year, though it cautioned that could be impacted by outside factors.

“We may also find that even when the run size appears large enough for sustainable harvest, natural factors like water conditions, timing and unpredictable migration patterns could mean smelt are not present in large numbers during days open to recreational dip-netting,” Heironimus said.

Tentative schedule

“Recreational smelt dip opportunities are proposed for Wednesdays and Saturdays, beginning Feb. 5 and continuing through March 22,” according to a Fish & Wildlife news release.

The department will now announce the coming week’s fishing opportunities by 3 p.m. the Friday before.

For example, the agency will announce on Friday, Jan. 31 if fishing will be allowed on Wednesday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 8.

That information, along with rules and educational material, will be posted at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/smelt.

The department emphasized, however, that everything depends on run size information collected on the mainstem Columbia River by commercial fishers. The department will likely limit fishing to between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Another change is that while the river could be open to smelt netting more frequently, there may be less fish in the river when it’s allowed. That’s because the harvest days have previously been picked by testing and occurred on days when there were lots of fish in the river. Now, there will be less testing, and there may be less fish in the river on harvest days as a result.

During approved days, fishers may net up to 10 pounds, or about one-fourth of a 5-gallon bucket. Fishers may only net from shore and only at approved sites.

The department also said it expects commercial fishing to be allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between Jan. 20 and March 13.

Confusion

While knowledge of the season may be near-universal around Cowlitz County, the same can’t yet be said about the new license requirement.

Pam Underberg runs the sporting goods section at Ace Hardware in Woodland, one of the most popular places to get fishing licenses in the area. She said no one has come in looking for a license allowing them to net the fish.

“That might be a case that they have their freshwater or their combination (fishing license), and they feel that that’s covering it, which it does,” she said. “But maybe the people that just smelt dip aren’t aware you need a license, or they’re from another state or country that aren’t aware that we need a license.”

Underberg said if the department got the word out more, it’s likely more people would have a license and fewer people would end up being fined. No one from the department has come in to distribute literature or raise awareness of the change, Underberg said.

Regional department spokesperson Britton Ransford said the agency has worked to get the word out about the change, but it can take time for “complex seasonal fisheries like Cowlitz River smelt.”

The agency is intensifying its outreach efforts, he added.

“For those planning to dip for smelt this season, having a WILD ID — a free account used to purchase Washington fishing licenses — can make the licensing process smoother and quicker,” he said. “It’s a small step that can help make things easier once tentative dates are approved.”

Commercial and recreational fishers can get licenses online, in person at sites around the state or by calling the department at 360-902-2464.

Henry Brannan covers the Columbia River for The Daily News and The Columbian through Washington State University's state-funded journalism project, The Murrow News Fellowship.

A man arrested in December for allegedly kidnapping a juvenile at gunpoint and robbing him at Fort Borst Park in Centralia is now accused of raping a different juvenile in November. 

Cornelius C. Wayman Jr., 21, of Centralia, was charged Tuesday, Jan. 21, in Lewis County Superior Court with four counts of third-degree rape of a child. 

His bail is set at $250,000, which he would have to post on top of his $500,000 bail for the robbery case in order to be released. 

His conditions of release include a provision prohibiting him from having any contact with minors or going places where minors regularly congregate, such as schools or playgrounds. 

Officers with the Centralia Police Department began investigating the rape after locating a string of text messages on Wayman’s phone, which was seized as evidence for the robbery investigation, according to court documents. 

“It was very apparent the person on the other end of these text messages believed they were in a relationship with Cornelius through most of November 2024,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in charging documents, adding that, at the end of the text thread, Wayman reportedly “confronts this person about being underage.” 

A detective reportedly used the victim’s phone number, as well as information within the text messages, to locate the victim. 

When questioned about her relationship to Wayman, the victim reportedly advised that Wayman had given her a false first name, “Conner,” and said “he never asked (her age) and he presumed she was old enough,” according to court documents.

The victim reported that she “eventually” told Wayman she was underage, and said “Cornelius was upset over these details but continued to have sexual contact (with her) after learning she was underage,” according to court documents. 

A friend of the victim reportedly told a detective Wayman had told her and the victim that he was 18. 

Wayman is currently facing one count of first-degree robbery and four counts of second-degree assault for his alleged involvement in a robbery that occurred in Centralia on Dec. 4. 

In that case, Wayman is accused of meeting up with four juveniles who agreed to sell him and two others a vape pen at Fort Borst Park, holding one of the juveniles at gunpoint, pistol whipping one of the juveniles, pointing the gun at all four juveniles, taking the vape pen and fleeing the scene. 

Wayman has pleaded not guilty to all charges and trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 26. 

His arraignment hearing on the rape charges is scheduled for Jan. 30. 

Nine days into the 2025 session, majority Democrats in the Washington State Legislature have yet to tip their hand on several rumored tax increase proposals floated as part of a plan to fill a projected operating budget deficit of $12 billion to $16 billion over the next four years.

Leaders of both parties were asked about tax proposals during Tuesday's media availability events.

“I’m worried about all of them,” Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said in response to a question about which tax proposals Republicans are most concerned about.

During the 2024 legislative session, Republicans successfully resisted an attempt to raise revenue through property tax increases.

As reported by The Center Square, Senate Bill 5770 would have allowed local governments in Washington to exceed the 1% cap on annual property tax increases up to 3%.

“I’m worried that comes back,” Braun said. “People are struggling with [the] cost of living, and property taxes are key among those.”

Braun added he’s most worried about a potential payroll tax. Democrats are considering a possible levy on companies with large payrolls and employees who make high salaries, similar to Seattle’s JumpStart tax.

“This payroll tax essentially taxes jobs and innovation and if we do this, we’re likely to get [fewer] jobs and less innovation in our state,” he continued.

Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, said a payroll tax would be a job killer.

“You can look at what happened to Amazon’s hiring in Seattle and Bellevue before and after the Seattle head tax,” he noted. “The same thing will happen with this; it will just drive jobs away.”

Stokesbary said a wealth tax, pitched by former Gov. Jay Inslee on his way out after serving three terms, is most problematic. Inslee proposed a 1% tax on an individual’s wealth above $100 million. 

“It’s really an innovation tax,” Stokesbary told The Center Square. “The vast majority of people that accumulate that kind of wealth, do so because they come up with new ways of doing things. It’s Bill Gates founding Microsoft; it’s Jeff Bezos founding Amazon. Yes, they become very wealthy, but they create a tremendous amount of value for the economy. So, if we essentially tax those people’s innovation, the next Bill Gates, the next Jeff Bezos – they’re not going to pick Washington as the place to start their business.”

Inslee also suggested an increase in the business and occupation tax starting with larger businesses, then phasing in all businesses in the state.

“An across-the-board B&O tax or even a targeted one is going to be bad for the economy and for the people of the state of Washington,” Braun observed. “We have the ability to live within our means and still deliver the services our citizens require.”

During a Democratic media availability, House and Senate leaders told The Center Square that no decisions have been made yet regarding potential tax increase proposals.

“I want to be very clear that what we’ve always said, and what Senate Democrats have always said, is that the first thing that we have to do is go through budget reduction exercises,” House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said.

Jinkins said House members have “not landed” on a particular proposal, while suggesting the “wealthy” should pay their fair share.

“We are a highly regressive state and so making sure that wealthy corporations and wealthy individuals are paying their fair share of taxes will always be something that will guide us in any sort of revenue that we look at,” Jinkins said.

Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle said Democrats are starting with “scrubbing the budget” for potential savings.

“We also scrub the tax code, and we look at tax exemptions that may not be serving a public purpose,” Fitzgibbon said. “We look at tax exemptions that are leading to higher burdens on working people having to shoulder the costs for paying for K-12 education or behavioral health … that’s also a place that we look to first.”

A Jan. 15 opinion piece in The Seattle Times authored by Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith challenged lawmakers to face some hard truths.

“Our state government has succeeded in spending more money but failed in producing better outcomes for state residents,” he wrote. “Since 2015, state spending has significantly outpaced population growth and inflation. But during the past five years, the state has lacked the basic budget discipline that is commonplace for families and businesses.”

Smith offered solutions to some of the state’s biggest problems, including homelessness and housing affordability, and suggested more revenue shouldn’t always be the response from state government.

A potential wealth tax, an increase in B&O taxes, and a payroll levy tax would impact Microsoft as a company and its employees. 

“There is an opportunity to talk less about how much we want to spend and focus more on what we need to accomplish,” Smith continued. “Hard decisions can produce big dividends.”

The 105-day legislative session concludes on April 27.