Big decisions in store for fairgrounds property

ANOTHER WEEK--By the looks of it, this year is going to fly by like the last one. We have spent this past week in a virtual fog as both evenings and mornings were thick with the stuff, at least down this way. Our soggy fields seem to "grow" the fog and there were only hours between the morning fog and the evening fog, as most of the time, the evening fog was showing up in the late afternoon, so we were "in a fog" most of the time. The dangerous part of that was that the deer and elk seemed to be using it as a time to cross the roadways, which meant a couple of them and a couple of cars were bound to meet, and they did so with nasty consequences: wrecked vechicles and dead animals. Needless to say, when traveling in this kind of weather, you need to turn on your headlights earlier and slow down a bit.

BIG GAME--I am guessing that there were few folks who weren't watching the Seattle Seahawks last Saturday when they beat the Carolina Panthers for their spot in an NFL divisional playoff game, so it was fun times for Hawk fans. Personally, I wasn't feeling so great and was sort of down and out for the day, so I only caught the last few minutes of the game, but then, that was the important part! From the sounds of it, it will be the Green Bay Packers heading to Seattle to battle it out, so I'm sure that will be another day when nothing else had better be planned, as all eyes and ears will be glued to a television set as that is bound to be one wild game in Seattle!

NOT SO LUCKY--For all the Oregon Duck fans, the big game last Monday night was one of great frustration, as the Ducks wound up losing to Ohio when dropped passes and penalties and poor defensive plays started taking their toll. They began strong but couldn't pull it off with that many mistakes, so sadly, our west coast team did not bring home the championship; really too bad after a really great year for them.

MULES--This Friday the Mules will be headed to Adna to play and then they'll be home, next Wednesday against Pe Ell. I see where the JV team schedule has been changed a bit and so they'll be starting at 6 p.m. from now on and just play for two quarters. The Lady Mules hope to continue their winning ways with a game at home against Adna this evening (Thursday-Jan. 15) and then travel to Pe Ell next Tuesday. Here's to all our Mules: Go Mules!

DOING GREAT--Tessa Sechler is having an outstanding year on the Ballard High School varsity team this year and even got a nice write up in a Seattle paper last week. The Lady Beavers are 9-3 so far this season and Tessa plays point, so she's always out there in front playing fast and aggressive. With this being her senior year, it's a great time to be playing on a winning team and having some personal bests as well. Of course, as my only granddaughter, I'm just a little bit proud!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Jan. 15-21 are Bruce McClain, Theresa Kuljis, Ann Brown, Beryl Curtis, Brittney Robbins, Kim Webb, Trystan Mendez, JoAnn Poppe, Randy Rodahl, Ashley Turner, Veronica Wallin, Teagan Miller, Kortnee Vivian, Brenda Bonny Faber, Christopher Danker, Bailey Danker, Arvid Blix, Shanna Havens, Tim Hanigan, Shane Pedersen, Bernice Tover Ellison and 67'ers Wayne Olsen and Don Marsyla. May you all have perfect birthdays this coming week! Celebrating their anniversary this week are Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ohrberg and Michael and Nikki Danker. Enjoy your anniversary celebrations!

If you don't see your name listed on the birthday/anniversary list, give me a call and I'll get it included. Some folks would rather not see their name listed and you can call and let me know that you'd rather not see it there as well. Please leave a message on my machine if I'm not at home.

NEW BABY SOON--Skamokawa Resort operator Lance Britt told me their family's good news the other day, as he and wife, Shannon will welcome the patter of little feet to their home come June, and they will be "pink" feet at that! Yes, a baby girl is due to arrive in June. We are very excited for them and congratulate them on their news, as this will be the first baby for the couple and that's always a little extra exciting! With the Britt family known for a lot of boys in their family, the baby girl is a special treat to one grandma in particular, so I'm sure we're going to be welcoming a real "princess" into the family! Here's to a healthy baby girl for the Britts and an easy time for Shannon, and here's to another name that will soon be added to the birthday list!

PRAYERS--I understand that former Islander resident, and all around great lady, Nancy Corbin has been in the hospital recently, but thankfully it looks like she's going to get to come home soon. I'm sure a few extra prayers said on her behalf would be appreciated by Nancy and her family. Here's to a full recovery Nancy, take care!

THIS SUNDAY--We were sorry to hear of former PUD Mananger, Mike Prever's passing awhile back, and wanted to remind those who knew him, that his services will be held this Sunday in Longview. The place is called "Father's House" at 1315 Commerce, and is near the Cookside Restaurant. According to his widow, Ginny, the services will begin at 2 p.m. Again, our sympathies to Ginny and the rest of Mike's family.

MLK DAY--As a reminder, next Monday is Martin Luther King Day so if you need to get to the post office or other government buildings/businesses, you'd better get there today or tomorrow, or you won't be able to do your business until next Tuesday. We hope that if you are one of those folks who benefit from this three day weekend, that you will enjoy every minute of it.

CONGRATS--Once again we've got another Skamokawa resident starting a new business, and so wish David Blalock and his partners a hearty congratulations on their new venture, "Smoky Water Communications." The business is located in the spot of the former liquor store, and right next to another former Skamokawa gal, turned business owner, Sharon Buennagel, of "Pizza and More."

SURVEY--The Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce is currently asking you to fill out a survey in regard to what kind of movies you'd like to see come to the Community Center in Cathlamet, and what hours would be preferable, as well as what kind of snacks you'd like to have available during the showings. So, if you're interested in going to the center to watch a show, either fill out a survey online or contact them and let them know your prerferences. The WCC number is 795-9996.

VALENTINE'S DAY--The happy, lovey dovey, plenty of hearts and flowers kind of day will be upon us in just a month, Valentine's Day that is. We hope you'll come to the Skamokawa Grange Hall on Feb. 14 where once again, there will be filet mignon served with all the trimmings. Tickets to win a $600 diamond bracelet and other goodies will be on sale and so you'll really want to buy a few of those, as you're sure to make your Valentine happy if you were to drape that around her wrist! Keep the big day in mind and look for ticket sales for the dinner and the bracelet to be available soon. This is a fund raiser for the Wahkiakum County Fair so your support is truly appreciated by the fair board and fair foundation members.

FAIR--Big decisions will soon be made about the fairgrounds and who will see to the running of it, but regardless of who that is, there is always going to be a need for volunteers when it comes to putting on the county fair in August, so please keep that in mind in the upcoming months. Every year they are scrambling to get people to man the ticket booths, be a superintendent in a buiilding, etc. so if you'd like to be a part of this great tradition, your help would be greatly appreciated. Of course, it's important to enter something into the fair as well, and sponsoring an event would be awesome, so while it seems early, many things need to be settled very early for this to take place, so please let it be known that you're willing to help as soon as possible.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1945, the week began with pouring rain and a nasty storm but ended with the last three days being clear and cold. On one of those clear days, three ships cruised up the river and everyone enjoyed seeing them glide up the clear, smooth river. Many folks listened to the Inaugaration of Presdient Roosevelt as he began his fourth term in office. Grandma Everest took advantage of the clear weather and walked out to the tracks and back past Sis Foster's place. Later on that day, it was time to head to the show, "Shine on Harvest Moon" which she thought was quite good.

In 1950, it was still cold and everyone was reeling from the snow, ice and then the pouring rains. The big story was that Astoria was totally isolated as there were no phone lines and no roads into that area. There were so many breaks in the telephone lines due to the heavy snow that got heavier by the rains and then those trees came down all along the roadways and highways and severed the connection. The crews in Astoria were trying to clear all the slush and even after working full time at it, they still had a foot of snow left to deal with.Meanwhile, residents were dealing with flooded basements and leaking roofs, while other crews dealt with backed up sewers and conduits filling up with water and shorting out communications. Needless to say, no schools were open. In Nehalem, four barns collapsed from the weight of the wet snow, killing cows and causing fear of more collapses and flooding. That area had six feet of snow in part of the valley!

In 1960 Grandma Elsie was recovering from surgery; two of them actually and was glad to be going home as she said she felt like a "body with a number," so getting home and out of the hospital was a big relief. Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Fudge came by to visit as did many close friends, and of course, the telephone was busy from both ends! The week began cold and it got to snowing real good by mid week but luckily it was melting on the last day of this week. It was a sad week for the Mooers and the Kniseley families, as Jerrold Kniseley was among the 50 passengers that lost their lives when a Capital Airlines Viscount Airliner went down in Virginia that week. He was married to the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Mooers, Joyce, and they had a daughter, seven and a son, who was two. The Navy veteran was only 39 years old; the townsfolk were truly saddened by this news. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.