The Wahkiakum County Fair starts today, Thursday

THIS IS IT--Today, Thursday, Aug. 20 is the first day of the 107th Annual Wahkiakum County Fair, so rain or shine, it's time to head to Skamokawa and enjoy all that our county fair, with the theme: "Boots, Buckles and Barrels of Fun" and see what all it has to offer at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds! It's Senior Citizen's Day, so if you didn't already buy a pass, and you're in that "senior class," then today is the day to head down here and get in free until 4 p.m. As always, Kids' Day is on Friday and Saturday is for all military folks. All you music lovers that enjoy those great songs of the past, will be thrilled to hear that the "King Brothers," who have entertained us at the Duck Inn to packed crowds, will be on stage at the fair from 7 to 9 p.m. this evening so I hope you get to come down and listen to them; they are awesome!

Of course, the fair schedule is full of other entertainers, exhibits, 4-H & FFA market sales, bingo, new vendors and you'll also have a chance to win the big raffle prize that will send you off on a two night stay at the Chinook Winds Casino and Resort, with special show tickets to boot, so I hope you're buying lots of raffle tickets for this great fund raiser and fantastic prize!

Come on down and see all the work that has been done to the grounds, as once again, there's been some hard working volunteers sprucing up the place and making it look better than ever, so kudos to them, and here's to some great times at this year's Wahkiakum County Fair!

It looks to be hot and dry for the fair, so be sure to wear plenty of sun screen and please leave "fido" at home, and not left in your rig or have them walking on a sweltering fairway, which can burn their feet, as you will get reported for animal neglect! ( Service dogs are naturally allowed, but still, they are not to be abused.)

SKAMOKAWA "KIDS" REUNION--Gary Emery wants to remind all those that attended school in Skamokawa, that you will be gathering at the Skamokawa Vista Park this Saturday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m., in the upper covered area by the yurts. This is a potluck gathering, so bring some of your favorite foods and share with your former school mates. You might want to bring a few fun photos from out of the past as well!

BURN BAN STILL ON--The rain that fell last Friday was so great, but remember, just because we had a little rain, it doesn't mean it's okay to burn anything, as the official Burn Ban is still in effect! According to the Sheriff's office, it will stay that way until signifacant rain has fallen so as to safely say there would be no further chance of fire danger. So, beings this was a nice little dust settler, this was in no way enough to lift this ban. If in doubt, always contact your local authorities to make sure the burn ban has been lifted. Even when the time comes that burn ban is indeed lifted, you should have a burn permit and you should contact the Sheriff's office prior to burning. That way, if they get a call about smoke, then they'll already be aware that you were going to be burning. So, call 795-3242 before you light that fire. Don't risk getting hit with a stiff fine, or worse, causing a fire.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from August 20-26 are Riley Emlen-Petterson, Becky Ledtke, Mike Vincent, John Gustafson, Chip Perkins, Roberta Leingang, Cindy Faubion, Linda DeBriae, Bryce Heiner, Kay Walters, Gena Riley, Larry Havens, Greg Parker, Keith Kehrli, Ashley Silva, Kathy Durrah, Clarity Gabbard, Bob Wegdahl Jr., Kelly Nettles Recupero, Katie Phillips, LouAnn Hedges, Darrell Trotter, Anita Blix Kangas, Dolly Hartley, Linda Newton, Nicholas Keithley, Sean Pedersen, Shannon Ellison and Wayne Bell.

Celebrating their anniversaries this coming week are Lesley and Larry Horman, Russ and Kathy Durrah, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Cruickshank, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Doumit, Mr. and Mrs. Ernie Teachman, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Lundgren, and Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Brown.

I ran into Joanne (Cook) Brockway last week and she told me about her wonderful anniversary celebration. So, I must send my belated anniversary wishes to Merle and Joanne who celebrated their big 50th anniversary on June 5, with a wonderful gathering of family and friends who came to celebrate with them from as far away as Texas, so that was pretty neat! Belated "Congratulations for 50 years together" you two!

URGENT POST OFFICE NEWS--On August 22 there will be a mail count conducted from our Skamokawa Post Office, and I can't tell you how important it is to make sure there is a lot of mail going out that day, as we don't want any further cuts to our services. So, please, mail something to a friend, a family member or just mail some bills that day rather than do them online, as we need everyone to mail something that day! There will be another count in Sept. as well, so grab some paper and a pen and get ready for some notes to go out on those first couple of September Saturdays as well. Please spread the word. Let's get some letter writing going and get that mail out this Saturday. Your friends and family would love to get mail from you and it's really important to our post office!

New at the post office are some extra large containers right at the front desk, so you'll be able to pick up larger packages now, as the other ones provided were often quite small, so this is a great addition and convenience for us. Also, a big thank you to Lisa Mooers for taking it upon herself to freshen up the post office with some new paint, so it's much brighter in there now, so thanks, Lisa!

RECYCLABLE CONTAINERS--There was a letter to the editor written by Judy Towhill last week about recyclables being left on the ground around the recycling bins on Puget Island, which she was quite upset about. Well, she is not alone, as I'm a bit upset by what I see around our bins here by our fire department, and it's not recyclables, as it's just plain garbage! The bins are clearly marked and nowhere on them do I see a sign that says, "half filled with food glass containers"; "bed frames & mattresses"; "boxes of bottles."If you have that sort of thing, it needs to go to the dump, which is only a short drive up KM, so please don't leave it sitting by the recyclable bins, as they are marked for clean mixed paper, plastic, cans or cardboard; not anything else.

SAYING GOOD-BYE--Like many others, we got the news last week that former Skamokawa residents, John and Sharon Buennagel, had sold their business in Cathlamet and would be moving soon, so we were sad to hear of their leaving. However, we certainly understand wanting to be nearer the kids and grandkids, so we wish them good luck as they head out to explore another chapter of their lives. Luckily there is the internet and we expect to keep in touch and see pictures of their new surroundings real soon. They will certainly be missed!

On the up side of this sad news, we were quite happy to hear that another Skamokawa couple, Ginger Schmitz and Jacob Collins of Jack and Jill Catering would be taking over Sharon's Pizza and More business in Cathlamet, so we want to say congratulations and good luck to them, and we hope you'll support them in their new venture!

OFF SHE GOES--This was a big weekend for Tessa Sechler, as my granddaughter headed across the state to get settled in for her college years at Washington State University, just like her Dad Pete, her Aunt Lisa and brother Kyle did before her. It's sorority pledge week so she had to get there early and get herself all ready for all the hoopla and the changes as she takes this next big step in her life. As she dives into the sports marketing program, we will just say: Go Tessa, our latest Coug in the family!

FILL THE BUS--With school starting soon, the kids and teachers could use your help in supplying school supplies for our kids. While there are some bins around town to collect these items, there will be a bus conveniently located at the Bank of the Pacific on Aug. 29 for three hours, 9 to noon. You can drop off items there if you'd like to help out. It seems that every year there are more and more kids who don't have the needed supplies for school, and every year our teachers are putting out their own money to help these children, which is so great of them, but let's give them a bit of a break and help them out too as that certainly gets costly Drop off your pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, erasers, glue, crayons and anything else a kid would need at either one of the container bins around town or at the bus at the Bank of the Pacific on the 29th. Don't have time to shop for that sort of thing? Well, cash donations are gladly accepted so they can fill in with items that may get overlooked. At this time, the collection bus does not collect clothing items, only school supply items. Your help will truly be appreciated by those kids in need.

METHODIST CHURCH--You might not remember it, but back in August of 1991, volunteers gathered at the site of the Skamokawa Methodist Church and built two nice additions to the existing structure, with the meeting hall room to the north and the new kitchen space to the west. That was a big project and it made the church so much nicer, as many folks have enjoyed those two spaces multiple times over the years. This year, another group of volunteers came and cleaned up and painted the outside of the church, so once again, it's looking extra spiffy. Kudos to the church organization folks and others who helped out during this time as that was a lot of work on some very warm days!

WATER SPORTS--While summer may be coming to an end and school will start soon, there's still time to contact the guides at Columbia River Kayaking, with their headquarters on Steamboat Slough or you can call them at 360-747-1044. Don't miss out on the newest sport in town, and that's Stand-Up Paddleboarding, so contact them at 503-791-9619 to book your tour, or check them out online: http://www.clatsoppaddle.com and reserve or book a paddleboard that way. Enjoy the waterways while our weather is still so nice!

COMING SOON--Don't forget the September events that will be happening around Cathlamet, Skamokawa and Naselle soon, like the Salmon Derby at the Elochoman Marina, as well as the Wooden Boat Show and the Chili versus Chowder - Battle of the Bowls event, which are always great fun. If you like looking for treasures, it's time to head over the hill to Appelo's Archive Annual Swap Meet on Sept. 4 and 5 from 9 to 4. The following weekend, Sept. 12, the Friends of Skamokawa will host their annual Wine Tasting and Auction event, A Cornucopia of Wines, which is their big fund raiser for the year, so we hope you will help support it as it assures that our historic Redmen Hall will be able to be maintained for yet another year. The cost for admission is $15 each or two for $25 if you buy them in advance (Bank of the Pacific or Sk. Store) and will cost five dollars more at the door that evening. This event will take place at the Skamokwa Grange Hall once again, 18 Fairgrounds Road, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., and wrapping up by 10 p.m. Donations for the auction part of this event are now being accepted at Redmen Hall. Call 795-3007 for more info. Hope to see you there at this exciting and very fun event!