Birthday, gatherings, bring lots of joy

News from Naselle:

Classes will begin on Monday for the 2016-17 school year at the Naselle-Grays River Valley Schools. Be mindful when you are near the school grounds and remember the lower speed limit when our kids are present.

The FinnFest is over for this year, but the preparation for the next one will continue. The next meeting will take place on Sunday, the 28th at Naselle High School, 4 p.m.

Westend news:

The Grays River Grange Farmer’s Market is held every Tuesday, 2-6 p.m. Shop local and get delicious produce for reasonable prices. Fruit, veggies and baked goods are all available in the Grange building.

The West End Food Pantry is located in the Grays River Valley Center at Johnson Park and is open on Thursdays from 1-5 p.m. If you would like to donate non-perishable items, soups, canned meats, cereal, mac and cheese, juices, etc. are a good choice for donation. Personal hygiene items, laundry soap, dish soap, paper goods, pet food, etc. are also needed. Monetary donations can also be made to purchase items that are not donated. For more information please call Suzie Whalen or Shonda Ware.

The Free Saturday Night Movies in the Grays River Valley Center at Johnson Park start at 7:00 p.m. and concessions are available before the movie and during the intermission.

The Rosburg Wednesday Senior Lunch Bunch meets each week in the Rosburg Hall for a delicious meal prepared by Pat Potter and her volunteers.

On Thursdays, CAP also provides a senior meal for our community members at the same location, and lunch is served at noon for both venues.

Happy Birthday to Tina M. Fauver, Jon Gudmundsen, Sophia Colombo, Joyce Kilponen, Emma Pearl Kragerud, Mona Givens, Luke Gardner, Kim Gray, River Andning, Hannah Haataja and Lisa Colombo. Wishing each of you a perfect day for celebrating.

Happy Anniversary to Tim and Amber Haataia, Robert and Dawn Footh, Lonnie and Kim Eaton, Brent and Sheila Kragerud and Kayse and Maria Rogers. Here’s to many more celebrations together.

It’s party time at the Rosburg Hall on Saturday, September 3 at 1 p.m. in celebration of Joyce Bolton’s big day. Joyce has requested that no one bring gifts, but I’ll bet she wouldn’t object to folks bringing along a story or two to share. She is someone who I am proud to call a friend, and I think she is one of the loveliest, caring and positive people I have ever met. I’m not sure I can make it to the event but I want to wish her the best birthday ever, filled with the love of her family and friends, good health and prosperity for many years to come.

I just returned home after five days in central Oregon with family. It was probably the most relaxing five days in years, spending most of it with my granddaughter and her husband and especially with my great grandsons. Ezekiel is seven, going on 19, and had a little accident on Friday night in a fall, breaking his clavicle. That was a little unnerving for us, but it turns out he will be fine in a few weeks and will still be able to go bow hunting with his Daddy. Arrow will be a year old next month and even though he is not quite walking, it is a real chore to keep up with him. We had a ball, and it looks like Grammie will be making a few more trips down that way more often.