Turkey bingo Friday at J.A. Wendt school

SOME OF BOTH--Once again, it depended on where you were and what time you were there, as to what kind of weather you had this past weekend. At times it was quite balmy and clear, while the next night or morning might be socked in with fog and other times, the clouds would come in and drizzle on us a bit, and one night it rained hard and blew pretty good, while others didn't feel a thing, so there was definitely a mixed bag of weather. This week shows rain and clouds and some drying periods as well, so it looks like we're just into typical Fall weather. Needless to say, let's hope that when and if the real nasty stuff arrives, that we are ready for it, as it won't be long and "Ole Man Winter" will be here!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Nov. 17-23 are Rory Heywood, Tanner Collupy, Matthew Bennet, Jody Havens, Samantha Havens, Dean Seaberg, Heidi Souvenir, Brian Havens, Jim Price, Shannon Spitzer, Gunnar Blix, Larry Holland, Toni Below, Mike Brown, Cheryl Parker, Jessica Wright, Susan Prestegard, Katie Watson, Kylian Cochran, Harvey Good and Erik Pedersen.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Danny Ashe, Ryan and Lisa Nortrup, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Linquist, Mr. and Mrs. Russ Poppe, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Thomlinson, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Garrett and Virgil and Lisa Cothren.

NEW ADDITION--I got a call from a very excited Grandma the other day, as Kay Walters called to tell me that a new baby has arrived in the family, and things are looking pretty in pink these days! We'll send our hearty congratulations to Angel (Hall) and R.J. Brown on the birth of their daughter, Jasmine Rochelle, who born Nov. 10 weighing seven pounds and eight ounces. The happy family resides in Renton and when I spoke to Kay, she was headed that way. Congrats on this special occasion, as your daughter's first daughter is truly a wonderful day!

FREE MOVIE--This Friday, Nov. 18, there will be another free movie at the Cathlamet Community Center, but this one is more for the adults as it is a Michael Moore film, which could be entitled, "Ill people" and deals with our health care system. As always, movies begin at 7 p.m., and you can get a pizza delivered there by 6:45 by calling Sharon's Pizza Mill at 795-3311.

TURKEY BINGO--Time for turkey and all the trimmings is coming right up, so before you head out to buy one, why not try to win one? The annual Turkey Bingo event, held at the J.A. Wendt Elementary School in the multi-purpose room, will take place this Friday evening as well, so show up there before 6 p.m., buy your bingo cards at three for $10, and try your luck! There will be hams and turkeys and lots of prizes that can be won by buying extra tickets for that, as well as tickets for their grand prize. Somebody has to win, and it could be you, so please show up and help support this important fund raiser that benefits our Wahkiakum County Fair.

SATURDAY BAZAAR--As I mentioned last week, Nov. 19 will be the date of the St. James annual Holiday Bazaar and will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be several items to enjoy for lunch, as well as many artisans selling their wares and goodie makers too. For the kids, it's a great place to let them shop for others in the family at a very reasonable price as nothing is over a dollar and will be wrapped up and ready to put under the tree. Don't miss out on this great fund raiser and fun time, complete with entertainment for your listening pleasure!

MEETING--If you get done shopping at the bazaar and you want to find out what's going on with the Cathlamet Waterfront Park plans, then you can head down to the River Street Building, 25 River Street, which is on the lower level of the Charlotte House next to the PUD. According to Mayor Dale Jacobson, the meeting begins in the morning hours (8:30 a.m.) and goes until later in the day. You are welcome to take in as much of it as you want, so you can stay for a little while or stay for lunch, but at any rate, this meeting is being held so that you can see what plans are under review. This is your time to put your two cents in and figure out what would be best for the people and to possibly draw more people here.

SATURDAY @ THE DUCK--It's time to get your country on, so put on the jeans, the boots and head to the Duck Inn this Saturday night, as country singers, "The Nash Brothers" will be in town! Check out their Facebook page or find them on the web, but if you like country, you'll like these guys. Spread the word and help welcome them to the neighborhood this weekend. For more info, or to reseve a table, call 795-6055.

OPEN THANKSGIVING--Speaking of the The Duck Inn, many folks were asking me if they were going to be open on Thanksgiving, and the answer is yes! They will serve smoked turkey or ham with all the fixings (mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, dinner roll and salad) and to top off the dinner, it even comes with a piece of Trish's homemade pie! As a matter of fact, you can even take a whole pie home for $13.95. Don't take chances and call ahead to order those so you don't miss out. Like most restaurants during the holidays, it's always best if you make reservations ahead of time, so call 795-6055 today!

SKAMOKAWA SCHOOL SIGN--We are calling all you "kids" who went to the Skamokawa Grade School, to pitch in and help fund a proposed standing sign that will be placed where the school stood. The memorial plaque and sign will be 3 by 5 feet and show photos of the school and gym, and include the dates that the school was up and running. The amount of money still needed to complete this sign, is $310. Those in charge of this project would really like to get this money gathered up by the end of this month, so they can complete their goal. Any money that would exceed that amount, would be donated to the final Dollars for Scholars scholarship that the group will give out to someone who is graduating this coming year, 2017 from Wahkiakum High School, that was Skamokawa associated. Gary Emery (360-795-0884) and Julie (Engleson) McKagan (360-459-8810) are spear-heading this project so if you have any questions, you can contact them at the phone numbers that are provided.

In the meantime, please send your donations to Gary Emery at 4 Par Drive, Cathlamet, WA 98612 and earmark your check for the SGS memorial plaque. It goes without saying that you certainly don't have to have gone to school there to donate to this cause, as it's always great when we preserve a part of our local history, so a big thanks goes to those who started this project and to all of those who have already donated to it and those who will be donating to it!

Once again, this is another opportunity to give a gift that will last for years to come, as that person who has everything, might just welcome a donation to this sign in their name; a win, win for everybody!

WHS GRADUATE SINGS--If you happen to be in the neighborhood of our Washington State Fair site, you might want to check out the "Victorian Christmas Opry Theater" in the Showplex there, as former resident and WHS graduate, Laurie Miller will be singing there. Although she will be performing with her usual, " Will Power Band" the one evening (Nov. 30 at 7), she'll be taking a little break from them and going it alone, by performing on Wednesday Nov. 30 at both 1 and 4 p.m., then Thursday, Dec 1 at 1 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. Way to go Laurie!

GREAT JOB--Congratulations to Evelyn Clark for making the top five in the Miss Washington State pageant held this past Sunday. Personally, I would have picked her for the winner, but hey, my vote doesn't count. Not only is she just drop dead gorgeous, but she is a multi-talented young lady and a hard working fisher-woman as well. Great Job Evelyn; you made your whole family (and us) very proud! She is the daughter of the Mike Clarks of Puget Island and granddaughter of the Hap Andersons of Cathlamet, with a ton of aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives in the area!

SYMPATHIES--We want to offer our deepest sympathies to the family of Monte and Shelly Longtain, as they lost their daughter, Mallory at the tender age of just 13 at the end of last month. A celebration of her life will take place on Jan. 14, with the exact location to be announced at a later date. Mallory is the granddaughter of locals, and my classmates Truchet Miller and the Larry Longtains. Our condolences to the entire family.