Redmen Hall offers various events

BRR--As this week begins, the temperatures dropped to 26 degrees in West Valley and things were frosty white. Actually, the cold and frost hit late Saturday night, and I was just thankful that it didn't get any colder. As Sunday progressed, the snow began to fall and with the cool temperatures, it didn't take it long to start sticking and adding up; not everywhere mind you, but certainly in West Valley! Even in Skamokawa, just two miles west of us, there was not as much snow; we tend to be in the "cold and snow zone" every year, unfortunately! It's not exactly what those of us who were looking forward to shopping and traveling over the holidays, were wanting to see but they say that this snow event will be short lived. Frigid arctic air will be taking it's place, and that's even worse I think as then we've got the threat of freezing everything up; not good! I really wish all these holidays were in July so we wouldn't have to deal with the array of nasty road conditions. Icy and snowy roads are not fun to deal with when everyone is wanting to gather together. We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope we get through this latest cold snap with no problems. Don't forget your pets and other animals; if it does get down in the teens, they need extra food and shelter. Take care everybody!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from November 24-December 1 are Dana Montgomery, Cole Claussen, Virginia Bacon, Don Ross, Linda Ostervold, Mike Paulsen, Shane Souvenir, Marv Holland, Trace Tarabochia, Jennifer Hoven, Dominic Diaz, Joan Mathis, Joyce Ower, Danny Silverman, Drake Cook, Hank Ferguson and Robert Kyle. Those celebrating anniversaries are Mr. and Mrs. Bob Bacon, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Holland, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Havens, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Webb and Mr. and Mrs. Rick Benfit. May all of you enjoy your special days!

COMING RIGHT UP--You'll be able to start the Christmas holiday off right here in Skamokawa with their annual Holiday Open House and Bazaar at Redmen Hall beginning tomorrow (Friday). There will be special music by Sunrise Fletcher from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m .; the new CD by Willapa Hills is out and would make a great gift! On Saturday, there will be two special things going on, with Rick Nelson providing some guitar music from 10 a.m. to noon and then there will be a book signing by author, Donna Gatens-Klint from 1 to 3 p.m. To top off the weekend, on Sunday, author Bob Pyle will be there to sign his book from 1 to 3 p.m., so come and check out the music and the authors and enjoy shopping for some of your items on your Christmas list at Redmen Hall and help support the Friends of Skamokawa while you're at it

TREES--Also coming up this week, is the Festival of Trees at the Hotel Cathlamet. Check out your favorite, make a bid, and if it's the highest one, you get to take it home in this exciting silent auction action! There are prizes for the best trees as well and in several categories, so it can be a winning situation for many folks. I always love to see the different themes people come up with; lots of great decorators out there and a multiple of talented folks in our area. Check them out beginning Friday.

T-SHIRTS--If you're looking for a colorful gift for the holidays for that car buff, why not pick up one of the Rods and Reels T-shirts for just $10? There were some extras left over and you can give Lee Tischer a call and he can make arrangements with you to get one of them. They feature our county's historic covered bridge in Grays River, besides some awesome cars, so it makes a great gift for a variety of people.

SURVEYS--Not too long ago, a survey was mailed out to the citizens of the county about shopping. It was the "Main Street Shopping Survey" and while they have gotten quite a few responses, there are a lot more people in this county, so please take the time to fill out the survey and turn it in by November 29. If you did not get a survey and would like one, just call the LCEDC and ask for one, 795-3996, or stop by their office in the Scarborough Building in Cathlamet. If you really would like to see certain businesses start up in this area, it's important to take the time and put your thoughts and ideas down on paper and let the folks who are trying to bring new businesses to our area know about them. It seems to me that it depends on your age group, as to what you'd like to see here, so it's important to get all age groups to turn these surveys in, so that their ideas are not just a reflection of any one particular age group. Now's the time to have your wishes heard.

HARD WORK--We should all be very grateful for the hard work of Fair Board President, Becky Ledtke, as she and her small band of faithful workers are really working hard to get the fairgrounds ready for the winter ahead. Water lines have been emptied and appliances put up and work has been going on to replace all the rot around the new windows that were put in the T-building, so this group has really been busy. We will keep our fingers crossed that no flooding will occur, but at least preparations have been made ahead of time to deal with this possibility. Whenever as much as possible can be done to try and skirt any severe weather issue, the better off we all are, whether it be at the fairgrounds or our own homes, but because the fairgrounds is a county owned property, and belongs to all of us, it would be really helpful if more people than just a handful were doing so much of the work. Our hats off to those who took the time out of their own lives to help, and a big thank you to Becky for spearheading the whole thing. It's a big job, and without any pay to boot, so thanks Becky!

THANKS--The Skamokawa Grangers and the Skamokawa Fire Dept. want to say thank you to our new Cahtlamet Pharmacist, Chris Wuestefeld, for donating the nice candy canes that will be given away in the goodie bags provided to all the kids at the "free" spaghetti dinner on Dec. 11. We've got a nice basket of goodies to raffle off and we've got a great entertainer in Andrew Emlen to help us lead the way in some Christmas carols, so with some good food and all our friends and neighbors, it should make for a very pleasant evening. Hope to see you at the Skamokawa Grange Hall between 6 and 8 p.m. in just a couple of weeks. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will not hamper our plans this year!

GRANGE OPPOSITION--Currently there is a bill before the Senate, S. 510, that would severely burden our dairies/farmers and food producers/manufacturers in this country with costly measures and an overwhelming amount of paperwork which could severely cripple our remaining food suppliers....an unnecessary extra measure which does little to protect our safety but just makes more work for them and adds extra costs to them, which trickles down to the consumer. The National Grange is opposing this bill and would like everyone to contact their Senator and ask them to oppose it. It is just too restrictive and costly. This bill is known as the "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act" and we need to contact them right away via email as it's going to be voted on next week.

BIG HOLIDAY--This is a big four day holiday weekend for many folks, as Thanksgiving Day is here on Nov. 25 (tomorrow) just one month before Christmas. We hope you'll enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends and think about all the things we have to be thankful for, even though things might not seem to be at their best, things could be a lot worse. Beings this is always a very busy time on our roadways, and the weather could be a little dicey, we need to be cautious and keep this holiday weekend a safe and happy one. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!