Valentine Diamond Dinner Saturday at Fairgrounds

NEW MONTH--We may have a new month but it looks like we have the same weather; wet and blustery, with a side of slides and a dash of snow in the hills. Of course, if you were traveling over the mountains this past weekend, you might have gotten into a whole lot of snow and so much so, that some passes had to be closed for a bit due to multiple accidents happening. I hope you weren't in that mess of traffic stuck up on the mountainside someplace!

Meanwhile, we had people calling in about the slide area near Stella, where many, many people said the thick muddy muck was coming clear across the highway and even had some branches mixed in with it at one time, so WSP and WSDOT wound up being on scene and getting that cleaned up throughout the day. Needless to say, keep your eyes open along there, as with another week of rain due, anything could happen!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Feb. 1-7 are Kyle Gribskov, Courtney Zurick, Varsha Martin, Pam Moore, Morgan Castillo, Nicole Emery, Grant Johnson, Alyssa Montgomery, KC Garrison, Kathy Tarabochia, Betty Brons, Ed Stornetta, Terry Ostling, Kenneth Zacher, Terrie Eaton, Bob Montgomery, Bret Hart, Maddux Moore, Alexyss Baldwin, Troy Kyle, Madilyn Freeman and my cousin, David Pedersen.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Jason and Jami Rainey, the Randy Montgomerys and the Dan Cothrens. Enjoy your special days!

ADDING TO MY LIST--Our family finally got the news we've been waiting for, as this past year, my oldest grandson, Kyle Sechler, got engaged to Suzy Ekstrom in Hawaii, but they had yet to set a date. However, they have been busy looking for places to hold the wedding and deciding on the perfect time and all that, and it looks like August 16 of 2019 will find us all at a gorgeous castle along American Lake; so exciting! I am probably one of the few that was wishing for this year, rather than next, but hey, they have lots of decisions to make and plans to be cemented and all that wedding stuff to pay for, so, a little extra time is good! Needless to say, we are all delighted with the news and can hardly wait to add another member to the family and their special day to my list. Congratulations!

So, besides Kyle getting married, it sounds like his cousin is planning a wedding too, only on the Nollan side of the family, as Katie's sister, Susan (Nollan) Schillios was doing some wedding dress shopping with her daughter, Kari this past week. It looks like sisters, Katie and Susan, will have lots of wedding plans to think about, which is sure to be a fun time for all. Congratulations to Kari and her family and new family as well!

Then, to top it all off, my cousin on the Pedersen side of my family, Brenda (Baldwin) Ferguson, has also announced that she will be getting married this summer to Craig Neilsen, after 12 years of being together. I know I won't forget their wedding date, as it happens to be my birthday and my anniversary, so July 29 is going to be quite the day from now on! Congratulations to Brenda and Craig!

FREE MOVIE--If you're looking for a cheap date night, look no further than the Community Center in Cathlamet, where you can see a movie and get popcorn and they're both free; you can't beat that! This week they are showing an adult drama, rated R. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. You are also allowed to bring in your own snacks.

THIS SATURDAY--Don't forget, this Saturday, Feb. 3 is the big "Valentine Diamond Dinner" and it will be held in the Youth Building at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds. They hope to see you there as you enjoy their usual steak dinner which includes a salad and dessert. There will also be a chance to win a very nice diamond raffle item, a ring, donated by the Mike Mouliots, so here's hoping you are the lucky winner of the drawing! The evening begins at 6 p.m.

RECUPERATING--Rosalie Webb told me that her hubby, Tom found himself down with the flu bug recently. As if that wasn't bad enough, then he wound up getting pneumonia and had to make a trip to the hospital! We sincerely hope that by the time this comes out in print, that he will be completely A-OK, if not, get well soon, Tom.

Another person who wasn't feeling so hot was former resident, Laurie Miller and we want to give a shout out to her and hope she gets over whatever bug she has and is feeling 100 percent better real soon.

From one valley to the next, I've heard of people being sick so if you are one of those people, please stay home and don't spread it around. This has been a very harsh flu season with dozens of children and young mothers dying after very short periods of time, so it's nothing to make light of, that's for sure. We'll be sending get well wishes to all of you who are currently under the weather!

TRAVELING--Granddaughter, Tessa Sechler is really enjoying her studies abroad, and while she's there, it's a terrific time to take in other parts of the world on the weekends via the train system there. One thing about some of those countries, they are so small and close together that you can have breakfast in one country, lunch in another, dinner in yet another and be back to the country you started in when it's bedtime! Tessa is attending the Washington State University campus in Switzerland, and has loved seeing all the old castles there. However, she was really taken in by her trip to Vienna as it was carnival time in Venice and she and her group of friends got to get all dressed up for the occasion; fun, fun times for sure and memories that she'll have for a lifetime!

CRAB FEED FOLLOW UP--Once again, the annual Crab and Oyster feed at the Rosburg Hall this past Saturday was a huge hit. Those who cooked everything did a fantastic job and those who served the food and those youngsters who waited on us with trays of oysters and desserts, all did a fantastic job. Kudos to all of them for another well put together and fun event!

The King Brothers started playing their music earlier this year while we were all still eating and I thought that was a great idea. By the time people were finished up, they were in the mood to hang around and boogie to this great band with that old time sound and topping it off with some saxophone awesomeness!

Of course, there were prizes to be given out as well, and while I didn't know several of the recipients, or hear their names, I know that John Gustafson won a couple of them, and we were lucky to get one, as was Bill Coons and Barbara and Dale Rose. This was a great way to raise some funds to go to charitable causes and to our Vets, so hats off to all those who donated items for this fund raiser and those who bought the tickets!

However, at the end of the drawings, Ken Elliott announced that they had lost three of their members this past year, so if you're a Vet and looking to do some good works, why not contact Ken and come and join the American Legion, Deep River Post #111, as you'd certainly be welcomed there.

SAD NEWS--I received a call from Vera Oman Sunday morning and she informed me that her first grandchild, Nels Hansen, 26, was killed in a traffic accident this last Thursday, Jan. 25, as he was headed home from the Mammouth Ski Resort where he worked as a mechanic. What tragic news to receive, and naturally, she and Gordan are truly saddened by the loss of their grandson, but Nels' parents, Debbie and Steve Hansen, are surely shocked and grief stricken with the loss of their only son. Many may remember Debbie as an Island girl, growing up here and being a Wahkiakum High School graduate. She and her husband currently live in Incline Village, Nevada and as of my deadline time, had not made any plans for a service. We certainly send them and all the other members of their family, which includes Nels' sister, Annika, our sincerest condolences and deepest sympathies.

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--The Skamokawa Grange #425 want to remind you that they hold their meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month and you're always welcome to join them. Meeting times are 5:30 to 7 p.m. There is also Yoga held there on Wednesdays. You can contact Pearl Blackburn for more information at 770-298-7164 or to rent the hall, call their Grange Master, Levi Helms at 360-431-9506.

LOOKING AHEAD--The Friends of Skamokawa will open the River Life Interpretive Center/Central School/ Redmen Hall on March 9 and as always, this will be with their annual Antique Sale, where you can bring your vintage/antique items down, show them off and put them up for sale. If you're trying to clean house and no longer feel the need to keep great Aunt Thelma's set of dishes or silverware, now would be the perfect time to part with them. Who knows, maybe you'll even find something there that catches your eye that you'd rather have in your collection! At any rate, there are different size tables and spaces available, so call the hall at 360-795-3007 or 360-218-6504 or you can email them at: fos1894@gmail.com for more information or to get on their list of vendors. This sale will take place on March 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

EARLY EASTER--Just in case you're thinking about donating items to the big Easter Bingo event that is usually held in April, we have a rarity this year, as Easter actually falls on April 1. Needless to say, Easter Bingo will be held in March. More on that to come but this is just a little pre-warning for you as it's much earlier this year; and I'm not foolin' either!