Weather changes bring timely reminders

REALLY WET--It seems like only yesterday we were talking about how long of a dry spell we'd had and how we could use a little rain to help dampen the forests to keep the guys in the woods working, or to keep the fire danger down and to get our lawns green again and our wells full, but holy cow, has that all changed! We've had gully washers coming down this past weekend and now our once parched fields are lakes again!

Of course, we aren't experiencing anything like they are back East and so as hurricane Sandy hits the East coast, we are sending our thoughts and prayers to our friends and relatives back there and hope the best for everyone affected by that huge, one of a kind storm.

My great-nephew Adam Pedersen said that they still had power where they were in Maryland, so at least things weren't too bad at that particular moment and hopefully things won't be as bad as the last big storm there, as a huge tree came down and got both of their vehicles. With new rigs now, I said I hoped they'd be ok during this storm, and in true Adam form, he said, "I put Rain-X on them, they'll be fine!"

REMINDER--According to the governors of some of the states back east, they are coping with the problem of people calling 911 when they have a power outage or a fallen trees blocking their roadways and such, and they have had to remind people that they should not be using 911 for that purpose. So, before our first big winter storm, I guess this would be a good time to remind all of us to call the PUD at 795-3266 to report downed lines and outages during their working hours, or contact the Sheriff's office at 795-3242 after hours, and for all those other non-emergency calls as well.

The storm back east also serves as a good reminder to be prepared to take care of yourself for several days.

TIME CHANGE--Don't forget, this is the big Fall back weekend, so before you go to bed on Saturday night, set your clocks back one hour or you'll be very early for church on Sunday morning! Just think, you'll get to sleep in an extra hour!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays this coming week from November 1-7 are Brad McNally, Ginger Moonen, Anna Kuhn, Ryan Vincent, Greg Parke, Nicole Kaattari, Jessie Hoven, James Turner, Marsha Souvenir, Bill Schwarze, Diane Tischer, Carol Carver, Gary Huber, Kim Havens, Starla Hanson, Lisa Robinson, Phil Corbin, Linda Palmer Spieth and Elizabeth Davison.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out this week to Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Wika and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Wegdahl. Happy days to you!

GET WELL--It seems we've had people in and out of the hospital and others sick in bed or just feeling puny, so we'd like to send some get well, stay well, take care wishes to Mike Linn, Nicole Kaattari, Pam Elliott, Betty Koziel and Nancy Corbin, to name just a few. For the rest of you, we hope you're feeling better now as it seems some of these head colds, sinus congestion things are very persistent and want to hang on much longer than normal. No fun indeed!

THIS SATURDAY--If you're looking for books to read so you can pass the time a little faster during these dark and dreary winter days ahead, well then, it's time to head down to the fairgrounds and check out their large selection and buy them at a fraction of the cost of new. There's also new rummage stuff coming in all the time, so you might find some great slightly used items that would fit your needs just right, and trust me, the price is right!

CASH NOW--Not many people hold onto their fair checks once they get them, but just in case you've forgotten about it and tucked it in a drawer some place, make sure you get that out and cashed right away; you've got until next Friday to get it into the bank as the account is being closed that weekend.

WINNER--A hearty congratulations to Beth Lorenzo for winning the 42 inch flat screen TV at the Duck Inn this past Saturday night during their Halloween costume contest. A great win indeed!

FOS--You've only got a couple more weeks to take in the artwork of Nick Deal up at Redmen Hall as his work will only be showcased until November 18, so take some time and stop by the hall and check it out. There's also a lot of great books that pertain to our area as well and would make perfect Christmas gifts, so check out the gift and book shop while you're there as well. The hall is open Thursday to Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m.

SONS OF NORWAY--The Norse Hall will be warming up this week with their annual lefse baking classes beginning today, November 1-3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then, they will hold a bake sale on November 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you're like me, it may have been a while since you made lefse, so you might just need a refresher course. Also, the Sons of Norway want to remind all members that they have a meeting on November 7 at the Norse Hall. Don't forget, they will be holding bingo the second Saturday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m., so they hope to see you at the Norse Hall sometime real soon.

TURKEY BINGO--The Wahkiakum Fair Board invites you to come and play bingo and win a ham or turkey just in time for Thanksgiving on November 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. or so, with the doors open a half hour prior to the games beginning! Plus, there will be a great prize given away that night with a special drawing they will be having of a very nice Sears barbecue, so the lucky winner will be very pleased with that I'm sure so we hope you'll buy a ticket for a buck and we'll wish you luck! There will also be other prizes given away during the evening, and we'll all be anxious to see what they are. For years and years, Martha Backman had done the job of gathering gifts and setting up the food, etc. for this event, which was certainly appreciated, but since her retirement last year, Maureen Zacher-Bockius has been placed in charge of gathering items for the drawings that take place during the bingo games, so she's had her work cut out for her. If you haven't been contacted by Maureen yet but would like to donate something for this fund raiser, give her a call at 849-3441.

We hope to see you up at the J.A. Wendt multi-purpose room a couple of weeks from now, where you'll have a great time playing bingo, taking a break to eat a hot dog or munch on nachos and hopefully winning either a turkey or a prize or both!

COMING UP--We've got a new month beginning as this paper comes out and so it won't be long and holiday rush will be on. For example, both the Redmen Hall and the Skamokawa Methodist Church will be holding events right after Thanksgiving and that's just three weeks away. In just five weeks, the Skamokawa Grange will be lit up with Christmas decorations as they hold their annual free spaghetti dinner for the community, which includes a treat bag for all the kids. We'll also be announcing the winners of the $300 gift basket and the wooden footstool made by John Gustafson, as well as several smaller prizes, so we hope you'll buy some tickets at just a dollar each and come down to the grange hall on December 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. You can buy tickets for the gift basket at the Skamokawa Store; they are just a buck!

SAD WEEK--This has been a very traumatic time for the entire county, and especially for the family and friends of Sheriff Jon Dearmore, who was laid to rest last Saturday. Our hearts go out to his family, as well as to his county family; they are all grieving and words simply can't express our sorrow for their loss. If you would like to help the family, Jon Dearmore memorial funds have been set up at both the Bank of America and the Bank of the Pacific in Lori and Kaelee's name so if you'd like to help the family, that's a very accessible way to do it.

Jon also made a big impact on the kids in the area, I'm sure he'd love it if you chose to help a child during this holiday season, so when the Christmas trees show up in our local banks with the children's stars on them, why not take a star, buy those gifts and donate them in Jon's name? It would be a nice tribute I believe. However you help, I'm sure it will be appreciated.

I was saddened to hear of the loss of Ruth Fudge recently, who had been a dear friend of my mother's. Back in the day, she was my first Sunday School teacher and had also been a second mom when I was left in her care when my folks went to Alaska. When they lived on the game refuge, their full barn of hay was a great place to play, except for when I fell off a beam into the hay and knocked the wind out of myself. Lots of memories from my days at the Fudges', whether at the refuge or their home up on Fern Hill. We send our sincere sympathies to her family.

As this week began, I got a call that informed me that our dear "Granny" Dorothia Farmer had passed away at her home in Portland on Monday morning. She was just a few weeks shy of her 94th birthday. She was the mother of our dear friend and former Duck Inn owner/operator Judy Smith and sister Evadell Beard. We have known them all for years and years and we are truly saddened over the loss of their mother and our dear friend. Our deepest condolences are being sent to Judy and her family at this sad time.