Holiday events abound in Westend

I hope everyone had a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Looks like cold, cold, cold in the forecast for the next few days. Bundle up; check your winterization of water pipes, animal water supplies and even your neighbors, to make sure all is well.

News from Naselle:

Naselle Comet team schedules for the coming week: Friday, the 6th-boys and girls basketball at Warrenton at 8 a.m .; Saturday, the 7th-boys and girls basketball at Warrenton at 8 a.m .; Monday, the 9th-middle school girls basketball at Valley at 5:45 p.m .; Tuesday, the 10th-girls basketball at PeEll at 5:45 p.m .; Wednesday, the 11th- boys basketball at Montesano at 5:45 p.m. and middle school girls basketball with South Bend in Naselle at 5:45 p.m. Go Comets!

The Comet Booster Club will hold their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

The annual Martha’s Circle Bazaar and luncheon will be held this Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Naselle Congregational Church located at 14 Parpala Road. Lots of goodies to purchase including rugs, crafts, baked goods, etc., and soup luncheon for a $7 suggested donation.

The Naselle Finnish-American Choir will perform at the Deep River Christmas Concert on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the historical Deep River Evangelical Lutheran Church in Deep River. The concert will feature the Finnish kanteles, solos, selections by the Naselle Finnish-American choir, directed by Cliff Weimer, and a sing-a-long of Christmas Carols with the audience.

After the concert one can partake of the Soup Supper at the Naselle Lutheran Church from 4-6 p.m. Admission is by donation and all proceeds go toward the upkeep and maintenance of the Deep River Church.

The Appelo Archives Center in Naselle will host a Holiday Extravaganza on Dec. 14. Join in for some holiday shopping at the bazaar from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (tables can be reserved for $5/each by calling 484-7103). Bring the kids, pets, or the whole family for a photo with Santa from 2-3 p.m. and take advantage of a deluxe Santa photo package including 2-8X10s, 3-5X7s and 4-4X6 prints for $15.

Then join in celebrating the Scandinavian tradition of Saint Lucia’s Day, after Santa has gone back to the North Pole and the elves are back at work. Festivities will commence as they welcome Santa Lucia from 3-4 p.m. Sounds like a day of fun for the whole family.

How would you like to win a new bicycle for Christmas? Okie’s Select Market in Naselle is selling raffle tickets for one and the winning ticket will be drawn on Dec. 24 (need not be present to win). You can purchase tickets at Okie’s.

Westend news:

It’s time again for one of the most special nights of the year at the Grays River Grange.

They will host their annual community Christmas Party on December 10 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Grays River Grange Hall. They are extending an invitation to you and your family to attend this truly Traditional Christmas Party.

On the agenda for the evening: Potluck dinner, caroling, gift exchange, raffle drawing for a beautiful Christmas wall hanging, Grays River Farmer’s Market T-shirts, and more (raffle tickets can be purchased at the party), Recognition of Years of Grange membership, and the best part of the evening- The Night before Christmas read by Robert Pyle, and I’ve been told that they could possibly have a visit with Santa himself.

If you have a child attending, please bring a gift with your child’s name on it for Santa to deliver.

To participate in the adult gift exchange, bring a gift not to exceed $5 and mark the package male or female.

If you have questions, call Grays River Grange at 465-2268 and we will get back to you or email at grange@wwest.net. You do not have to be a Grange member to attend.

As an added plus to the evening the Grays River Grange is asking attendees to please share in this season of giving by bringing non-perishable food items to be donated to local food banks.

The public is invited to the Grays River United Methodist Church for a Christmas pageant and celebration with music, poetry and candlelight ceremony on Sunday, December 22 at 5 p.m. Refreshments will follow. Everyone is welcome. For more information please call 465-2740.

Free Friday Night movies will continue at the Grays River Valley Center with a special month long series presentation. “Tolkien in December” will begin with “The Hobbit” this Friday and will continue with “The Lord of the Rings-The Fellowship of the Ring” on Dec. 13, “The Two Towers” on the 20th and “The Return of the King” on the 27th. The movies start at 7:00 p.m.

The Grays River Valley Center is licensed to show these and many other movies to you for free. If you have a request for a showing of your favorite movie please contact Tim Virkkala or the center at 465-2310. This is your center and we are here for your pleasure.

Since we have moved the library and computer center to the main entrance of our building at the Grays River Valley Center, we have been getting lots more traffic coming through. We are going to change the library hours once again to accommodate that traffic and we would love to have a few more volunteers to help us expand the hours that we are open. The new schedule will begin on January 6 as follows: Mondays-noon to 6 p.m .; Tuesdays-3-7 p.m .; Wednesdays-noon to 6 p.m. and Thursdays-1-5 p.m. Our library contains about 10,000 books (children’s, teen and adult fiction and non fiction), music CDs, movies, and lots of reference materials, and it is absolutely free to anyone in our county. There is no charge for library cards.

The Community Computer Center is now open for online classes at LCC and registration is open. Come on up and enroll into the program for moving forward and getting your college degree. If you need help, come on in on Mondays from 3-7 p.m. and speak with Randy or Ramona.

Remember, everything we do here at the center is based on volunteer time and donations, and we receive no tax money out of your pocket or help from the county for our operating expenses—we depend on your generosity.

During this time of year, occasionally the weather becomes pretty treacherous on our roads and we strive to be on the safe side. The Johnson Park Advisory Board recommends that if the weather and roads are icy or snowy, the Grays River Valley Center will close. Please call ahead if you are uncertain, 465-2310.

The Rosburg Senior Lunch Bunch meets at the Rosburg Hall each week for a good home-cooked meal prepared and served by Pat Potter and her staff of volunteers. Menus coming up include: Wednesday, the 11th-chili with all the trimmings and dessert; and get ready for the Christmas Social on the 18th-a good old fashioned Christmas dinner with all your friends and neighbors.

Senior meals are also served at the Rosburg Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are sponsored by CAP. Menus for the coming week include: Thursday, the 5th-pork chow mein, brown rice, stir-fry veggies and Mandarin oranges; Tuesday, the 10th-turkey and rice, broccoli Normandy and tossed salad; Thursday, the 12th-turkey pot roast, steamed potatoes, carrots and mushrooms and tossed salad. Lunches for both venues are served at noon.

Happy Birthday to the following this week: Tatjana Queener, Tim Lewis, Mike Swanson, Lisa Bighill, Robert Footh, Nancy McGuire, Jeremy Ray, Larry Dunn, Todd Blanchard, John Footh, Mary Marlow, David Magnuson, Glen Goddard, Kim Cooper, Benjamin Nikolas, Sara Maki, Debbie Klinger, Rod Ammer, Dean Helvey, Jim Strange, Deeanna McCullough, Rich Bennett, Noah Mattson, Francy Penttila, Rex Shelter, Drew Macy and Hannah Wirkkala. Here’s to you on your special day.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Pete and Phyllis Carlson, Bob and Cheryl Caetano, Lee and Cynthia Clark, Max and Mary Smith and Howard and Arlene Nelson. Here’s to many more celebrations together.

I had an e-mail from the owner of one of our puppies from our last litter with an interesting subject heading “mirror image.” It seems that Xena, who lives in Deep River with Terry and Becky Teubner, was scheduled for spay surgery one day last week and when they arrived at the vet, there was one other car in the parking lot. Xena got excited when another pup that looked just like her got out of the other car. Turns out it was her sister, Penny, who now lives with her human parents (and a miniature pig) in Ellensburg and was visiting with family in Longview. She was also scheduled for surgery that day. Small world when two pups meet in Astoria. Apparently they recognized each other even after about six months. Quite a reunion.