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Longtime Elk Run resident alleges speeding, threats by logging trucks and seeks county help
Summary
A resident of the Elk Run/Mount St. Helens Retreat area told the Cowlitz County commissioners he has been threatened by a logging truck driver, that logging operations have caused dust and dangerous driving on a private easement, and that he feels bullied by Weyerhaeuser and local law enforcement response.
During public comment at the Cowlitz County Board of County Commissioners meeting, resident Kerry Hargan described repeated unsafe driving and harassment by log-truck drivers on a private, residential easement known locally as the Elk Run/Mount St. Helens Retreat access. Hargan said he was nearly struck on his own property by a log truck and reported subsequent threats over CB radio from a truck operator. He asked the county to investigate alleged harassment by drivers and what he described as inadequate response from a sheriff’s deputy.
Hargan said the road is private and that landowners own to the centerline of the road; he said Weyerhaeuser holds an easement for timber access, but the company’s contractors and some hunters have been using the easement and driving at high speed. “One of the truck drivers went to fly out to like, they’re gonna fight ended up on his face,” Hargan said recounting prior confrontations, and later described a recent incident where he said a truck “almost ran me over” on the easement. Hargan said he has posted speed and dust-control signs and that some signs were removed or stolen.
Hargan told commissioners he felt sheriff’s deputies treated him dismissively after he reported the incident; he named the deputy he spoke with in the transcript (Officer Souvenir). He requested an investigation of Weyerhaeuser and the drivers; he also asked whether county staff could help the landowners enforce speed and dust-control measures. Hargan said landowners have the right to protect their easement and requested follow-up from the county. The county chair responded that the board’s authority is limited over independent elected officials and private companies but said staff would take the resident’s contact information and do research and follow up where possible.
The board asked the clerk to record Hargan’s contact information and indicated staff would review the matter and provide suggestions. No formal county directive or enforcement action was recorded on the transcript at the meeting; the resident said he will provide documentation and urged more direct follow-up.
