Flooding: Nature's Halloween trick

News from Naselle:

New season—new sports for the Naselle Comet teams. Here is the schedule for this week: Tuesday, middle school girls basketball with Willapa Valley in Naselle at 5:45 p.m .; Thursday, middle school girls basketball at Ocosta at 5:45 p.m. Go Comets!

The Naselle Booster Club will meet on Tuesday, the 10th at 6:30 p.m.

Check out the Naselle Holiday Bazaar in the Naselle High School Commons on Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lots of great items for your perusal, and purchase.

The Naselle Lutheran Church will be holding their Christmas Bazaar and Bake Sale on November 14, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy the Coffee Bar with hot and ice coffee accompanied by fresh doughnuts or the Soup Bar, starting at 10 a.m. You have a choice of Smoked Salmon Chowder, Italian or Winter Squash Soup.

Check out the many craft and bake items offered for your holiday seasonal shopping.

Proceeds will be dedicated to Hunger and Mission Work. Thrivent has provided funding to help with supplies for crafting. The Naselle Lutheran Church is located at 308 Knappton Road in Naselle. For further information, contact: 360-484-3826.

Westend news:

Mother Nature spoiled a few plans on Halloween with the badly needed rain, but also the addition of some flooding in our little corner of the world. My niece and I had planned to hand out candy at the All Hallows Eve celebration in the Grays River Valley Center but ended up sitting at home and watching the water rise and flow over the driveway so we couldn’t get out to the highway. I guess we missed a fun time, as lots of families took advantage of the indoor event, with free hot dogs, punch, candy, goodies and movies.

Thank you so much to all the volunteers including two high school students, whose names I did not get. We really appreciate all your efforts the bring a little family fun to our community. And a very special thank you to all the trick or treaters and their families. See you next year.

On October 7 the Grays River Valley Library became the recipient of a very special personal book collection delivered by Dennis and Judy Hedges of Corvallis, Ore. Bob Hedges (Dennis’ Dad) wanted them donated to the library in his mother’s memory. Dennis and Judy sent an e-mail saying: “He is thrilled that the books have been delivered and that we entered a donation stamp in each book. Bob is very sentimental about Grays River and the history it holds for our family. His mother, Swanhild Ingemundsen was raised by her mother and stepfather, Ole Dosland on the old dairy farm and farm home in Grays River, in the early 1900’s.” If I’m not mistaken, Jon and Stephanie Gudmundsen now live on that property.

Thank you so much Bob, Dennis and Judy for all the effort you put into this donation and the miles it took you to drive here. Know that you are appreciated so much. Memories mean a lot to many here in our community, including me, even though I’m still a newcomer.

On Saturday, the annual fall breakfast, sponsored by the Deep River American Legion Post #111, will be served 8-11:30 a.m. All you can eat pancakes, with sides of eggs, ham or sausage, coffee, tea, juice and milk. All this for only $6. Where else can you get a home cooked breakfast, and give to a group that gives so much back to our community, kids and especially our veterans? Help them by celebrating Veteran’s Day a little early.

Our free Friday Night Movie this week is a kids' movie. Released in 2014 the film tells the story of a young robotics prodigy named Hiro Hamada who forms a superhero team to combat a masked villain. Bring the family for an entertaining evening with popcorn, candy, pop, and a great movie on our big screen. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Happy Birthday to Roy Herrold, Linda Nelson, Jim Bauer, Carol Dziados, Renee Hunsinger, Dave Batt, Conner See, Barbara Swanson, Rebecca Rose, James Laney, John Bergquist, Adrianne Howard, Carolyn Simukka, Philip Nelson, Judeen Alves, Aaron Larson, Bill Pratt, Abigayle Eaton, Judith Emmick, Logan Albright and Otis Hunsinger.

I would like to send a very special Happy Birthday to our friend and neighbor, Al Salazar, as he celebrates his 84th birthday. Al is the proprietor of Duffy’s Irish Pub in Grays River and has lots of stories to tell of his many ventures. You will notice when you drive through our little burg some of Al’s handiwork in the highly gingerbread decorated buildings of Grays River proper. His eclectic passions and collections are especially evident in the buildings. Wishing you an absolutely wonderful birthday, and many more to come. Keep up the good work, and keep cooking those delicious meals that we enjoy every time we visit the pub.

Wishing Alan and Penny Gregory another wonderful anniversary, though it will have to be celebrated together at a later date, as usual. Penny, enjoy the sun and sand while you bask on the beach in Hawaii with the other man in your life (her Dad). Alan, I hope you get the biggest elk ever this year and have it all cut, processed, wrapped and in the freezer before Penny gets home. And you may want to clean her truck as well. Happy Anniversary, my friends.

Thank you to all our veterans out there, past and present. There is no way to express my appreciation for all you guys and gals give willingly to keep our county safe and free. Thank you for your service. Happy Veterans Day.