Refuge run will be held on May 15

SPOTTY--Our sunshine has been sort of hit and miss lately, and the days that had been forecast for sunny last week, were pretty spotty. Wound up being more clouds and rain showers than sun I think. Of course, it all depended on where you were, as I heard some folks were able to mow their lawns, while others would have been needing a snorkel to manage that! It looks like we may have a few days of dry weather by the time this gets delivered, so I sure hope so as the "April Showers" are getting a little old and the hail and the pounding rains have pummeled a lot of my poor flowers!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from May 6-12 are Lori Parke, Stan Thacker, Erval Cooper, Tami Bosch, Jennifer Hanigan, Katharine Parker, Josh Phelps, Lizabeth Whitney, Pat Thacker, Rosalie Webb, Kay Cochran (the Class of '64 is turning 64!), Vicki Bergseng, Sage Miller, Stevan Morgain's mother Alyce, Mercedes Pedersen, Ashley Jorgensen, Leslie Monroe and my son, Pete Sechler.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are: Gary and Sandie York, John and Sharon Buennagel and Frank and Carolyn Pedersen. May all of your special celebrations be celebrated in style!

CONTEST IS ON--May 8 is the day to bring those craft items to the Skamokawa Grange Hall and get them entered in the state grange contests. I didn't get any calls but I did get a couple of inquiries. I hope you checked this all out online or gave someone else a call. We'll have the doors open by noon...come on by! If you really want to know all there is to know about this, call Donna Moody in Grays River; she's "it" when it comes to this sort of thing!

PLAY IS ON--If you head "over the hill" this weekend, you will find "The Pirates of Penzance" playing at the Naselle Commons Room at their school on both Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 p.m., so if you're looking for something different to do in the area, why not check that out?

DAY FOR MOM'S--This is the weekend to celebrate all moms, or someone who was like a mom to you, or some other female in your life that deserves a bit of special treatment this Sunday. I hope you have done your part to make her feel special today. Be sure to check out your local flower shop, nursery or your local restaurants for their specials to help Mom celebrate her big day!

RUN, RUN, RUN--Or you can walk, as you enter the Great White-Tail Deer Run around our refuge on May 15. This is an annual fund raiser for the 4-H kids so let's hope the weather cooperates and we have a good day for everyone to take part in this event. Rain or shine, we hope they have a good turn out once again. If you haven't already registered, you can do so the morning of the race, as registration takes place at 8:30 a.m. with the race beginning at 10 a.m. There are several categories to walk/run in, even including one with your dog, but their are restrictions so check those out early. Good luck everybody!

FOLLOWING WEEK--It's hard to believe but once again another school year is coming to a close and on May 22, the Senior Prom will be taking place in Astoria. We hope that everyone has a safe and sane prom night and we anxiously await the news of the King and Queen of the prom!

IS IT YOURS?--The school would like to remind all parents and students that they have an abundance of "lost" clothing and other items, so really, they are not lost but found by the school; you just need to come and claim them! It's easy for kids to leave sweatshirts and things behind at a game or on the back of a desk or out on the playground, so rather than buy a new "whatever," go up to the school and see if your child's item is there. From the sounds of it, there's a whole lot of kids missing one thing or another. Claim yours today!

LOTS OF SPORTS--If you're a parent with a child in sports, I don't have to tell you how busy things are at the school, as track, golf and baseball/softball teams are very busy these days. With the weather the way it has been, you might want to check with the school before traveling to any of the proposed games, as there is always the possibility that it has been called off. Good luck to all of our Warriors and Mules as they start wrapping up their seasons, because school will be out in about a month. Wow! Seems like they just started!

NOT FAR OFF NOW--

I hope you have set aside June 5 for a fun day in Skamokawa, as that is when big fish will be caught and the fanciest cars in the west are going to be showing themselves off at the Wahkiakum Fairgrounds and park area. It will be a day of great trophies being passed out for shiny cars and great big ole sturgeon and terrific tables full of prizes given out to the lucky winners in the afternoon. There will be some fabulous chicken and fish cooked up for everyone to take part of, so it's going to be a really great day. There are posters up all over town and you can check out the info on Facebook regarding the Rods and Reels Show; join the group and see all the pictures and hear the latest goings on or check out the Wahkiakum Chamber website for all the information, as well as entry forms.

HELP NEEDED IMMEDIATELY--Due to some last minute, unavoidable happenings, the grangers are minus their scheduled piano player for the upcoming "Smoky Water Follies" and we are putting out a plea to all of you piano players to see if a couple of you couldn't please come forward and offer your services. If we had a couple of people, then it would be much easier as you could share the work load. So, how about it? Anyone out there willing to tickle the ivories for a good cause, or know somebody that we can contact? Please call either Sunrise Fletcher at 795-8770 or Adele Swift at 795-8043 and let them know you'd be willing to help out! You can also call me if you can't get hold of either of them. We've got some great new performers and a great show planned and would hate to have to cancel it. We would really appreciate your help! Thanks!

ONLY GOOD THOUGHTS--I've had a great response from many folks in the community and way beyond in other states, as I was asking for extra good thoughts and prayers on behalf of my brother Marshall Pedersen recently and everybody has been terrific with all their words of comfort and support. He had surgery last week and while things started out pretty good, he took a dramatic turn for the worse. Well, folks were just wonderful in their outpouring of prayers and well wishes and I got news late Monday night that he was improving, so we are taking a deep breath and hoping that he stays stable and continues to improve. My thanks to all of you who put him on your prayer chains and included him in your own prayers. You're all great and I sure do appreciate all of you at a time like this.