Hosanna Musicale Sunday at SUMC

OFF AND ON--The first day of Spring saw the skies "springing a leak" after several wonderfully warm days. The weekend started out with pounding rains which made the TV signal go out at times, so it was not a nice start to the day. However, it did wind up improving as the day went by. It was back to the wind and rain on Sunday morning, but once again, it turned out decent so folks were still out in their flower beds and staying busy. I hear we'll be basking in a couple of full days of sunshine by the time you read this, so let's hope the forecasters are right! Remember, once it warms up in the 70's, it's time to be careful about leaving a pet in your car; they warm up real fast!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 26--April 1 are Aaliyah Montgomery, Leif Carroll, Mike Carroll, Linda McClain, Pam Emery, Judy Bates, Buzz Moore, Hap Anderson, JoAnn Prestegard, Mary Dominique, Juanita Rodahl, Maurice Brown, Jason Wallin Jr., Phil Rolf, Ronnie Rust, Sandi Cik, Vance Miller Jr., Richard Backman, Bob Brons, Crystal Davis, Erin Parker, 67'er Melvin Brown and Dawn Pedersen Macchione. Hope all your birthdays are special days this week. Belated birthday wishes to Sharyl Iblings and Sig Hjaltalin.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Mr. and Mrs. Brian McClain, Joel and Pam Moore, Rodney and Patty Ingersol and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Phelan. Belated anniversary wishes go out to Layton and Pam Elliott, Tracy and Serene Carroll and Steve and Dawn Macchione. Hope you had a terrific celebrations.

NEW TO THE LIST--We would like to say "Congratulations" to the newlyweds, Kevin and Janelle Gilligan who celebrated St. Patrick's Day in a special fashion, as the two made that their wedding day! With Kevin being Irish, it only seemed fitting I guess. The two were decked out in mint green and said their vows at Multomah Falls which certainly made for a gorgeous backdrop for their wedding photos. The new Mrs. Gilligan was the former Janelle Kerstetter and worked at our Sheriff's office before moving to Oregon and while we all miss her, we are certainly happy for her in her new town, new job and new hubby to boot! "Congrats" again, Janelle!

We're going to send Janelle some well wishes a little early, as she's going to be undergoing double knee surgery, which I find amazing, so she'll be glad she's got hubby to give her a helping hand, as that sounds like a rough way to go to me! Anyway, good luck on the surgeries Janelle; hope all goes well!

WELCOME BACK--We were happy to see our regular postal carrier, Sharyl Iblings, back on the mail route last week, at least part time. She recently had hip surgery so we're glad she's recovering nicely from that. To begin with though, she had to have some down time, which she didn't really seem to enjoy too much, as it got pretty boring "doing nothing," so we're glad she's able to get back out there and keep herself busy once again. Kudos to Gladys and Becky for filling in for her!

THIS SATURDAY--The Friends of Skamokawa will be hosting the Wahkiakum High School's Science and Art Display beginning this Saturday, March 28. I wrote about this last week in some length, so this is just a brief reminder that there will be students with their award winning projects, along with their teachers and demonstrations in their various categories, so come and check out our talented youth from noon to four!

THIS SUNDAY--The Skamokawa United Methodist Church will host their annual Hosanna Musicale, so they hope you will join them this Sunday, March 29, for some great music and help support the St. James Family Center at the same time. As usual, there is no admission fee but a good will offering will be taken to benefit the center, so they hope to see you there at 2 p.m., this Sunday.

ON WEDNESDAY--The Sons of Norway will hold their monthly meeting on April 1; no foolin' there! Head to the Norse Hall on Puget Island that evening for their 7 p.m. meeting. All are welcome. If you'd like to learn about this organization, check out their new website at: http://www.sonsofnorway.com and read all about it.

BUSY NEXT WEEKEND--It's going to be a very busy weekend next week! Not only will it be Easter Weekend, beginning with Good Friday on April 3, as well as an Easter Egg hunt put on by the Lions Club on April 4 at Vista Park, and special Easter Sunday services at our area churches, along with family gathering for the Easter dinner, but it will also be the monthly Flea Market at the fairgrounds on April 4, and to top it all off, it's also "Hook the Hawg" weekend! Whew; it's going to be a super busy weekend indeed!

If you're new to the area, you might not know about this latest event, as it's only in its third year, but this is a fun, fishing event. The "hawg" being a salmon and not the other kind! It will take place on April 3 and 4 at the Elochoman Slough Marina, with tickets on sale there, as well as the Skamokawa Resort, Moore's Auto, and the Banks of the Pacific in Cathlamet and Naselle. Adult tickets are $20, and youth tickets (11 to 16) are $10 and kids 10 and under are free. The proceeds from this event are split between scholarships for our Wahkiakum High School and upcomingChamber events. There are special prizes for the biggest fish brought in by a man, a woman, a youth and a kids 10 or under. You can check this all out at the Wahkiakum Chamber website or give them a call at 795-9996.

COUPLE OF WEEKS--The "Second Sunday Concert Series" put on by the Friends of Skamokawa, is taking off in a couple of weeks at Redmen Hall as Fisher Poet, David Densmore and Alexis Pengully will be at Redmen Hall to entertain you. Come and check them out on April 12 from 2-5 p.m. Admission is $10 with children under 12 costing just $5. All proceeds will be split between the entertainers and the River Life Interpretive Center at the hall.

HARD TO BELIEVE--It seems almost impossible but we'll be into the fourth month of the year in just a matter of days and we'll be even closer to that big Skamokawa event everyone's anticipating: the Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars 10th annual "Rods and Reels" show! It will be coming up May 30, so if you're wanting to participate and take advantage of the freebies they give for early registration, you should be filling in that paperwork, or go online at the Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars website or contact Lee Tischer at tisch@cni.net and he can give you extra info if you need it. Last year there were well over 300 cars and we're hoping for a big turnout again this year. All monies raised go towards WA-KI-HI scholarships, so we hope you'll come down, buy a lunch ticket, buy some shortcake made up by Sharon Buennagel of Sharons' Pizza and More and buy those raffle tickets for those tables of goodies. It's a fun day for a good cause and you get to meet a lot of nice folks, listen to some great music and support your local kids to boot; a win, win all around! Spectators get in free, so come to the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds and park area in just a couple months, you'll be glad you did. If you'd like to be a sponsor, they would love to have you and if you are a $200 sponsor (in goods or cash) you will get your name or company's name on all their t-shirts; great advertising for sure!

CONGRATULATIONS! --I want to be sure and give a shout out to my grandson, Blake Sechler in Seattle and pass on a hearty "congratulations" to him, as he has been taking all the training to be accepted into the ambulance crew in Seattle, and he just recently passed his written and practical tests, so he's officially going to be driving an ambulance and is one of the team! Good job Blake!

PLANTING SEASON--Many of my plants have bloomed already and that is not so great because these recent heavy rains have really been hard on them. I can only hope my other plants wait a little while and they won't get pummeled like my early blooming red rhodie is right now! Speaking of plants, I was told about a couple of plants that you might consider while you're digging in the garden or flower beds anyway, as I'm told that planting mint around your house may help keep those ants away. Don't like to have those pesky mosquitoes bothering you? Try planting some garlic, rosemary, marigolds, lavendar or the "lemony" plants, like lemon grass, lemon thyme or lemon balm and maybe you'll have a few less of the unwanted insects. Don't forget to empty all those things that collect water around your house, as giving them extra breeding spots is not advisable either. When it dries up a bit, we'll be saying "happy planting season" everybody!

SK. GRANGE REMINDER--Just a quick reminder that the Skamokawa Grange #425 now meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, so their next meeting won't be until April 7, with a potluck at 6:30 and the usual meeting time of 7 p.m.