Blessing of the Animals this Sunday

News from Naselle:

The Naselle-Grays River Valley High School class of 2012 will bid farewell to one chapter of their lives on Saturday when they accept their diplomas, graduating from high school. The ceremony will take place in the gym at 4 p.m.

This group of students will take their place in the new world of learning when they make their decisions on where to go from here. Many will head off to college, and some will make their way without a higher education. No matter what the choice, it will be difficult in the world as it is now. As a community we have given our kids the best we have to offer in the way of education, and we can only hope that good choices will be made by these young people looking to their own futures.

Congratulations to the awesome class of 2012 Comets! Good wishes go with you.

Kindergarten graduation will take place on Monday at 6:30 p.m. and the 8th Grade Move-up will be held on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The last day of school will be next Thursday and students will be dismissed at 10:30 a.m.

After celebrating a graduation for our younger folks, why not give a shout out to a wonderful Naselle couple who will be celebrating 50 glorious years as man and wife. Cliff and Kaye Weimer will welcome family and friends on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church, located at 725 33rd Street in Astoria, Oregon. In lieu of gifts a money tree will be available. They look forward to sharing this special occasion with everyone.

The Friday Club of the Congregational United Church of Christ located at 14 Parpala Road in Naselle will host a lunch at noon on June 15. They will have a representative from the Olympic Area Agency on Aging to discuss the effects of medications as we age. This is a very important subject to everyone, as many medications react differently on individuals and can have adverse effects when taken with other medications. Bring your questions and join in on this important discussion.

Other news from the Westend:

There will be a Blessing of the Animals service next Sunday at Grays River United Methodist Church at 10 a.m. Following the service the ladies' Friendship Circle will host a potato dinner. Everyone is welcome. The blessing of the animals will be held outside, weather permitting. For questions, please call 360-465-2240.

The Johnson Park Advisory Board will meet for its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in the library at the Grays River Valley Center (old Rosburg School). This is a public meeting.

There are still lots of activities going on each week at the Grays River Valley Center. The library and computer center are open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is your library and computer center with free access to internet and library usage, and the community is encouraged to utilize it. There is no charge for library cards, no matter where you live and we have about 10,000 books, including a wonderful children’s section and reference materials, lots of movies, audio books and music CDs. We also have a huge selection of paperback books available. Come on in and check us out.

Other ongoing activities at the center include: Yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Aerobics on Mondays and Wednesdays, Art group on Thursday evening at 7 p.m., TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) on Thursday afternoons, card playing group on Monday afternoons, a fully equipped exercise room, and now that the weather is getting nicer check out the walking trail through the woods near the ball field.

Volunteers are working hard to keep the grounds up at Johnson Park and do a little landscaping at the same time. If you have extra garden tools, we could use rakes, hoes, shovels, loppers, etc. in good working condition. If you have any of the above items and would like to donate them please call Penny Gregory at 465-2775 or Steve Ramsay at 465-2731.

On that same note, if you have shrubs, rhododendrons, or other ornamental plants that you would like to donate to help beautify the park, please contact Penny or Steve.

The Grays River Habitat Enhancement District will hold its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Grays River Grange Hall. The community is encouraged to attend these public meetings and the volunteer commissioners welcome your input and comments. Refreshments will be served.

Don’t forget the first game of the Guns and Hoses Softball Tournament will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Wahkiakum High School. This tournament is being held in an effort to replenish our food bank reserves. Bring canned goods, non perishable items, personal hygiene items and laundry soap to the game for your admission. We look forward to this game between our Sheriff’s office and our Fire Department. A great family outing for a good cause.

This is a reminder that the annual Pig Roast/Campout held at the home of Poul and Zenaida Toftemark on the first weekend of August will not be held this year. The Toftemarks want to thank everyone for supporting their efforts in going through the adoption process to bring Elmer home from the Philippines as their son. They hope to continue the pig roast tradition in the future. This early reminder is put forth so attendees can make other plans for that summer weekend.

The Wednesday Senior Lunch Bunch meets at Rosburg Hall each Wednesday at noon for a wonderful home cooked meal provided by Pat Potter and her volunteer crew. This is an independent effort to give back to our community and our older citizens, and gets by on donations and volunteers. Thank you, Pat and crew for all you do. Please join them for a fine meal and a great bunch of friends and neighbors.

Senior lunches sponsored by CAP are also served at the above location on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Menus for the coming week include: Thursday, the 7th-pork chops and gravy, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, melon and berries and pudding; Tuesday, the 12th-sweet and sour pork, Cantonese vegetables, brown rice, Mandarin oranges and fortune cookies; Thursday, the 14th-chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, fiesta vegetables and raspberry bars.

Happy Birthday this coming week to Dawn Warden, Leigh Ann Wood, Pete Howard, Zack Badger, Erin Wirkkala, Diane Matthews, Jesse Lopez, Linda Bryant, Mildred Ziak, Shannon Wirkkala, Steve Gacke, Jo Mouliot, John Footh, Nick Zimmerman, Nicholas Strange, Craig Haataia, Tara Query, Chad Gregory, Brent Kragerud, Megan Wirkkala, Sue Thomas and Ray Jordan. Wishing you all a very special day.

Happy Anniversary wishes to Arne and Aliisa Wirkkala, Hank and Linda Nelson and Tom and Susan Gradt.

Congratulations are in order for a couple of Westend families this past week. Best wishes to newlyweds, Nicole and Austin Burkhalter who were married last weekend. They will be making their home in Rosburg. Nicole is the daughter of Terry and Kim Tarabochia of Grays River and Austin is the son of Gary and Susan Burkhalter of Rosburg. Wishing you both a prosperous and happy future.

Rylan May Chandler finally made her appearance much to the delight of her parents, Cassie (Bolton) and Jonathan Chandler of Rosburg. She weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 and ¾ inches long. New grandmother, Leslie Bolton and great grandparents, Norm and Joyce Bolton are grinning from ear to ear as well. Congratulations on the new arrival.

Welcome home to David Hammonds. He has been in California for nearly a month visiting with his brother and sisters. It’s good to have you back, Uncle David.

As a member of the Johnson Park Advisory Board, I want to thank our new Eagle reporter, Melissa Linquist for the wonderful write up on the park and the Grays River Valley Center.