Mules to play first football game Friday

TOASTY--If you like the hot weather, you have obviously been enjoying this latest band of heat that has shown up this week! With temperatures in the upper 90s, this summer weather is not ending and it has led to a real dry one for sure. Fire danger is high and with multiple wildfires still burning out of control, officials are warning us to continue to honor the burn ban and be very vigilant with any hot items, which have the potential to cause/start a fire. As always, make sure you and your animals are getting plenty of water, shade and avoiding prolonged periods in the sun. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

NEW MONTH--I know it's hard to believe, but tomorrow (Friday) it will be the first day of another month! While parents are already reeling with buying school clothes and supplies for their kids, it's even harder to realize that if you only get paid at the first of the month, you've got just four paydays until Christmas! Doesn't that just boggle your mind?!

THIS FRIDAY--Speaking of school, the Mules football team will be headed to Naselle for their first football game of the season this Friday night, and we hope the team comes out of this with a win. However, win or lose, we hope they come away with no injuries! Go Mules! Check out the full schedule of the Mules events either in this paper or at the WHS website.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Aug. 31-Sept. 6 are Nanea Carroll, Quin Bassi Jr., Kathy McNally, Tristan Collupy, Fred Bennett, Cora Irving, Shirley Rose, Paul Toney, Nathan Takko, Dan Lloyd, Terry Heagy, Linda Cook, Donna Peterson Benard, Scott Baldwin and hubby, Bill Chamberlain.

Happy Anniversary wishes this week go out to Mr. and Mrs. Lee Tischer, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Backman, Mr. and Mrs. Todd Souvenir, Mr. and Mrs. Buzz Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Johnson and Steve and Ruth Doumit. Here's wishing all of you some very happy celebrations this coming week!

COMING TO AN END--If you like to frequent the Puget Island Market on Friday afternoons beginning at 3 p.m., at the Stockhouse place on Birnie Slough Road, you don't have much time left to enjoy it. While this season will continue through the end of October, this will be the last season for Rob and Diane. The couple has held this for 13 years and now they feel it's time to enjoy life a bit more, jump on their boat and do some exploring. We all know that while the market is only open for one day, the work that goes into it is non-stop and extremely time consuming, so we wish them well as they give themselves a much needed break and enjoy the upcoming years with no schedules and relaxing hours instead of just working hours.

MOVIE TIME--Once again, there will be movies shown on Friday evenings at the Community Center in Cathlamet, which always begin at 7 p.m. There is free popcorn or you can bring your own snack. This Friday, Sept. 1, there will be an adult movie starring Tom Hanks. You can call the center and ask what the title is. The center is located just to the east of the Cathlamet Market at 101 Main Street. As always, you can contact Sharon's Pizza Mill and have a pizza delivered to you at the center about 6:45 p.m. Just call 360-795-3311 ahead of time to make arrangments.

RUNNER--Congratulations to Scott Pedersen for his completion in last weekend's "Hood to the Coast" race. In spite of some sore knees, he managed to make it to Seaside and join in with the others who completed the race, and with some decent weather, which was not too hot or pouring down rain, Scott said it was a great experience.

BIG HOLIDAY WEEKEND--Labor Day weekend is coming up and I'm betting that Sept 1-4, and even 5, will see heavy traffic on our highways as folks head out to enjoy this always busy three-day weekend. With nice weather predicted, it's a last hoorah for some, as often those with children of school age wind up knee deep in school activities from here on out, so this holiday weekend will be it. Here's to safe travels where ever you may go!

SONS OF NORWAY--Members of the Sons of Norway want to remind all members, and invite anyone else who is interested, that their monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., at the Norse Hall on Puget Island. They'd also like to remind all those bingo lovers that they hold bingo games in the basement every second Saturday of the month, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m., and games beginning at 6 p.m.

WINE TASTING/AUCTION--The time for lively bidding and the tasting of many kinds of wine from all over, is almost upon us, as the Friends of Skamokawa will host their annual Wine Tasting and Auction next Saturday, Sept. 9. The Skamokawa Grange Hall will once again be full of great items to bid on, whether they are in the silent auction group or the live auction section. Brian McClain will lead the live auction, so get those paddles ready and let's see those bidding wars begin. They are so much fun! The food will be provided by Don and Kitty Speranza, so that's new this year, but if you've ever eaten out at their place at the Inn at Crippen Creek Farm, you know that they can really whip up some delicious meals, so we're all excited to see what they offer up at the wine tasting. As always, there will be non-alcoholic beverages available, so if you don't like wine, but want to join in the auction, there will be alternatives for you. This is the only major fund raiser that the FOS holds, so they really could use your support. If you haven't donated anything towards the auction, you can still zip something up to the hall for them, but most of all, they'd love to see you there. Here's to a packed house and lots of good food, good fun and money raised for the hall!

GARDEN AREA--Speaking of the Friends of Skamokawa, some work has already begun to get the proposed garden area up near the Central School/River Life Interpretive Center/Redmen Hall. This garden, with flowers, trails and some benches for sitting on is being put in place in memory of Thea Pyle, who was such a great supporter of FOS, as she was not only an artist, but was in charge of the Book and Gift Store for many years.

MADE THE TIMES--The Seattle Times had a great write-up about Grays River resident, and former Nirvana band member, Krist Noveselic recently. You may already have heard that the band, "Giants in the Trees" has put out their first CD and has performances scheduled in many places. The big deal for all of us is that it features several locals, like Jillian Raye, Ray Prestegard and Eric Friend, so that's pretty neat. The article mentions that the group met at the Skamokawa Grange Hall during a music session there and the rest, as they say, is history. Good for them!

MEETINGS--Speaking of the Skamokawa Grange #425, they hold their meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of every month, so if you're interested in joining them, head to the grange hall at 18 Fairgrounds Road on those days at 7 p.m.

SCC--If you haven't made it to Skamokawa Vista Park's Ship Channel Coffee trailer, you still have time to take advantage of it. They have a lot of coffee specials and of course, they have wonderful smoothies and iced drinks as well as some hot dogs or rolls, etc., so check them out while you can. They are only open until 2 p.m., so don't be late!

CRD--In a little over a month, "Columbia River Days" will be happening, as there will be events at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds on Oct. 6 & 7, and of course, the big event on Saturday evening, Oct. 7, as the delightful Covered Bridge Dinner will take place once again. We can only hope for a wonderful fall day/evening and that this great dinner is once again enjoyed by all that attend. For more information on this event, contact Carrie Backman at 360-795-3278.

HORRENDOUS IN TX--We have all been glued to various media sources this past week as Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and other storms look to be headed to the SC coastline. Many of us have family in the state and we have been praying for their safety. With such a massive amount of flooding, the impact will be far reaching as there won't be much that won't need repairing, from houses, businesses, roadways, electrical services, etc., just everything; it's truly horrific. Those affected are in our thoughts and prayers, and for all those who took their water crafts and started rescuing people and animals on their own, well, kudos to you for being a true hero to those during this desperate and dangerous time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the storm's path.

ARE YOU READY?--I'm not sure anyone can be ready for anything and everything that these weather events throw at us, but it's a good reminder to get started before you need food and supplies, or have an escape plan in the works, as we need to be prepared prior to these events. Even here, we get some flooding that closes our roads, power outages, rock slides, mudslides and such, so don't delay and get your survival kit ready before you find yourself without. Just imagine if some huge weather event happened today. Would you be able to feed your family with alternative cooking options, enough food stocked up for you and your pets, have plenty of water, bathroom options, be able to stay warm with alternate heat sources, etc.? If not, now might be the time to get your survival kit started as being prepared is a whole lot less stressful than finding yourself totally dependent on others.