Valentine Diamond Dinner set for February 13

MIXTURE--At the end of last week, we saw wind, rain, heavier rain and hail, mixed up with dashes of sunshine and rainbows. It really depended on where you were at any given minute as to what you were experiencing, but it was enough to let us know that winter is still here so we should be ready for anything. I know one thing, we sure did enjoy the breaks of sunshine and the rainbows which accompanied that; the best!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Feb. 4-10 are Alyssa Montgomery, Bailey McKinley, KC Garrison, Kathy Tarabochia, Ed Stornetta, Bob Montgomery, Alivia Lindsey, Derrin Corbin, Wendy Peek, Betty Brons, Terrie Eaton, Jessica Vik, Alecia Mosteller, Kenneth Zacher, Ann Pedersen, Ron Cothren, Ethan Havens, Lucas Havens, Paul Schroder, Blaine Cochran, Daniel Rose, JoAnne Nortrup, Kim Jones, Troy Kyle, Alexyss Baldwin, Dave Pedersen, Aunika Taylor, Annette Healy Miller, Dave Pedersen and Scott Pedersen.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Mr. and Mrs. Jason Rainey, Mr. and Mrs. Randy Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Lorenzo and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wilson. We hope all of you have wonderful celebrations on your special days.

FREE FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE--A new service will start this Friday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m., at the Community Center in Cathlamet. There will be a showing of a recently released (2015), Oscar nominated, PG rated Disney animated movie about various emotions, (like joy, disgust, anger and fear) that we all feel, and this movie shows those from an internal point of view. (In other words, this is a chance to meet the little voices in your head!) Free snacks are available but you can order a pizza from Sharon's Pizza ahead of time and it will be delivered to the center about 6:45, so be sure to call early to get that set up, 795-3311. Here's to a fun Friday night!

BASKETBALL--Congrats to the Mules Varsity boys and girls basketball teams for their great wins over Onalaksa last Saturday! Coming up, the Mules boys basketball team will play their last home game this Friday night, Feb. 5, against Toutle Lake, so come out and cheer on the team. If you're able to travel up the road, the Lady Mules will play tonight in Toutle Lake. Go teams!

FLEA MARKET--Don't forget to head to Skamokawa this Saturday, as you might find a real treasure at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, where they will hold a big flea mart in the youth building. There will also be new things provided by various vendors, so come on down and check it out.

CONCERT DATE CHANGE--If you had plans to go to the Castle Rock Men's ensemble program at St. James Episcopal Church, I do hope you noticed that the date had been changed in last week's paper. Instead of it taking place this Sunday, it will happen on Feb. 21 at 2 p.m., so it is hoped you'll come that afternoon for some great music and some tasty desserts as well.

BIG SB GAME--This Sunday is the big 50th annual Super Bowl, so there's bound to be a lot of "hoopla" at half-time and of course, we're hoping for some memorable Super Bowl ads, as well as a great game. For some extra fun, why not come down to the Duck Inn here in Skamokawa where there will be some food and drink specials during the biggest football game of the year!

CHOCOLATE LOVERS--If you are looking for a tasty treat or even a nice yummy batch of chocolates to give to someone special, you might want to stop by the Hotel Cathlamet on Feb. 12 from 4 to 7 p.m., to buy some goodies and support the Charlotte House at the annual "Chocolate Extravaganza." It is set up a little differently this year, with boxes of candy all ready to go, for just $20 and you can call ahead to reserve a box if you want to be sure to get these tasty morsels. Contact the Wah. Co. Domestic Violence Shelter at 795- 6401 to reserve yours or for more information ask for Susan.

FOLLOWING WEEK--It looks like there will be no shortage of places to go over the Valentine weekend, as if you're into food, you've got lots of choices. The Duck Inn will have the King Brothers on Saturday, Feb. 13 from 8 to midnight with a Drunken Ribeye Steak & all you can eat popcorn shrimp, so if you want to enjoy some good food and fantastic music, then there's your chance to have both. On Valentine's Day, the dinner special will be a bacon wrapped filet and all you can eat popcorn shrimp, and also comes with dessert and a glass of champagne. To top it off, the ladies will receive a flower, so that's a great deal as well. Call 795-6055 for your reservation soon, or for more info.

On Feb. 13, the Valentine Diamond Dinner will take place at the Skamokawa Grange Hall, so you might want to head there for an early dinner and then go over to the Duck for the music later on.

Also on Valentine's Day, those who want to head west, can enjoy the huge Valentine Smorgasboard that day at the Naselle High School. For more information on that, contact Barbara Rose at 360-465-2234, as I didn't see any times listed for that event. ( It was listed incorrectly on the community calendar, so be sure to show up on Sunday and not Saturday!)

Whatever you opt to do, we hope you have a wonderful "sweetheart" day!

CRAB AND OYSTERS--If you missed the crab and oysters at the Rosburg Hall recently, you're still in luck as you've got a shot at another good feed coming up on Feb. 20 at the Norse Hall. There will be a family friendly seating at 3 p.m., and then the next two, at 5:15 and 7:30, will be the 21 and up crowd, so there's plenty of opportunites to get a time slot that will work for you. There will be a lot of raffle prizes up for grabs and each seating will get a chance to buy tickets. You don't have to be there to win. Good luck to all of you! Remember, the money raised from this event goes towards our big Bald Eagle Day celebration, and beings we all love that event and those great fireworks, the Wah. Chamber hopes to see you there! Tickets may be purchased at the Bank of the Pacific for $32. For more info call 795-9996.

CERT CLASSES COMING UP--The Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) classes are being brought to you by the Pacific Co. and Wahkiakum Co. Emergency Management this coming month, so all those interested should sign up right away as pre-registration is mandatory and attendance is limited. The first two classes will be held at the Naselle Timberland Library, Feb. 20 and 21 from 8 to 5, and the last two will be held at Jonson Park in Rosburg with the Feb. 27 class going from 8 to 4 and the last one on Feb. 28, from 8 to noon. This course is to teach you how to be prepared and how to protect yourself and your family in an emergency. For more on what is all involved or to register, you can call the Wahkiakum Co. Dept. of Emergency project manager, Beau Renfro at 360-795-3242 or 360-465-2202 or email him at renfrob@co.wahkiakum.wa.us. You can also contact the Pacific Co. deputy director, Scott McDougall at 360-642-9338 or smcdougall@co.pacific.wa.us With the limited amount of participants for this class, and the fact that this four day course is free, you really should call them right away if you're interested in attending.

REDMEN HALL--The Friends of Skamokawa will have a special event at the end of the month, with Andrew Emlen and Keith Hoofnagle on Feb. 27 at the Redmen Hall, so they hope you've jotted this date down. Both gentlemen will be on the second floor of the hall, known as the River Life Interpretive Center and Andrew will be speaking about a passion of his, and that's the birds of our area, and Keith will be there promoting the republishing of a book he wrote, "The Story of Linda Lookout," which will be available to purchase and you can have signed by its author.

SYMPATHIES--We were sorry to hear of the passing of Cleave Hedman last Friday, and we certainly send our sympathies to his family. Cleave had many talents, from teacher to song writer and musician, as well as beloved husband and father. Also, we send our sympathies to Rex Gilbertsen and his sister, Tara, as their father, Lind "Mack" Gilbertsen passed away Jan. 20. There were many other surviving family members as well, which we send our condolences to, and one of those is a former WA-KI-HI classmate of mine, Noni (Gilbertsen) Meredith, so many hugs and special thoughts will be going her way.

BUS IDEAS--For those of you who have ever ridden the "On the Move" bus and have thought that maybe a few things could be changed, to either make it better, look better or just improved in some small way, now is your chance to share your thoughts and ideas. A meeting will be held at the River Street meeting room on Feb. 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. This town hall meeting will talk about everything from the placement of a new bus shelter, to new logos and medicaid transport, so you're asked to join in the discussion and improvement process. Call Kelly Reser at 795-3101 for more information, or if you have an idea but can't be there, she could possibly take your info and share it with those that are able to attend.

67'ERS--This is just a reminder to all members of the Class of 1967 who are in the area, as we will meet at Izzy's located on Grade Street in Kelso, near the Three Rivers Mall on Feb. 20 at 1 p.m.

ACROSS THE CREEK--If you happen to find a spare day between Feb. 26 and March 12, you might want to head over to Astoria and check out the goings on at the Astor Street Opry Company's Playhouse. There will be a muscial production of a "Tale of Beauty and the Beast" put on by an all teen cast so seeing all these up and coming actors and actresses with all their musical talents, should be great fun. If you're interested, contact the ASOC ticket hotline at 503-325-6104 or check out their website for more info.

DID YOU KNOW?--The Skamokawa Postal Service began in January of 1873 but it wasn't until 23 years later that the free rural delivery began. So, in 1896, or 120 years ago, people here started being able to save themselves a trip to the post office. What you might not know is that in 1950, the residential deliveries were reduced to only one day! Who knew? It wasn't until 1971 that the United States Postal Service began here and we now have our mail delivered to us six days a week. So, a big "thank-you" to all the mail delivery people who have taken on this huge task during some very nasty conditions indeed!