Were you prepared for the weather?

NOT NICE!--I'm pretty sure that our snow/sleet/wind event last weekend lasted much longer than a whole lot of people wanted it to, as while that first batch of snow is pretty, after that, it can just wind up being a real nuisance. Besides, when you add the freezing rain/sleet and the strong winds to it, then it's really not pleasant and as many people could attest to, it made for some very hazardous driving! Many folks in the Westend lost power for a long time, as they got a lot of ice and I was told that more than 100 trees came down!

The one thing most officials said mulitple times in both Washington and Oregon during this time, was "stay home" if at all possible as driving on snow is one thing but driving on ice in a blizzard with little visibility is something else. However, with WSP saying they responded to over 850 accidents, not everybody listened.

As this work week begins, hazardous weather conditions are plentiful across the United States. I know many friends and family members who are stuck in various states with no power and extremely cold temps, so we are truly concerned for all of their safety, and we hope this miserable weather lets up soon!

THANKS--During these nasty stormy events, there are always a lot of people working behind the scenes, like dispatchers, in order to help us, so we want to let them know we truly appreciate them, as the steady stream of phone calls must be overwhelming at times. Then there are those who respond, who are "on the ground" and working out in the elements, so for all of those helping to clear trees, remove snow and get our power back on, we certainly appreciate and thank you!

NOT ALWAYS APPRECIATED--All too often it seems it takes a disaster to make some people realize just who does the heavy lifting when things go wrong, and it's always been annoying to me to have people who think that those in the trades are somehow less than some other folks. Well, guess what? Your fancy "suit" isn't going to restore your power or get your water flowing back in your pipes, so those guys with dirty clothes and muddy boots may not look all fancy, but you'll wish you had one coming down your street in that big ole diesel rig with a trailer behind it hauling the diesel backhoe, followed by another diesel rig to load debris in, followed by another rig with some guys with chain saws (they sure don't operate on batteries), so that you can flip a switch and have your utilities back up and running again! Simple jobs? I think not!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from February 18-24 are Jade Mahitka, Mac Johnson, Sara Buennagel, Allie Helms-Lampitt, Milli Elven, Vickie Allenback, Chuck Parker, Ashellie Elfers, Dale Strueby, Melody Brown, Terry Nielson, Lucille Nielson, Rebecca Costillo, Nick Tarabochia, Todd Thomason, Michael Watkins Jr., Darrin Dow, Amanda Zacher, MacKenzie Pedersen, Morgan Spieth, David A. Pedersen Jr. and 67'er Shari Gorman Parker. May all your birthdays be special for you this year!

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Terry Heagy, Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Wirkkala, Mr. and Mrs. Dale Strueby and Mr. and Mrs. Victor Wiedermann. Here's to adding some wonderful anniversary memories!

WELCOME TO THE PAPER--I am so happy that the Westend got somebody to take over their "Downriver Dispatch" section of this paper, as I know there are a lot of things going on down there, so "Welcome Aboard" to Karen Bertroch; one of the latest Eagle employees!

VALENTINE'S DAY--From what I could gather, most of us had already opted to forget about our plans for going out on Valentine's Day and spent it at home instead, either because the restaurants opted to close or we couldn't get out of our driveways! But I still saw families having fun in the snow, as those with quads or tractors or a hill or a slide, made the best of the snowy condtions and still had a good time.

I figured it was a good time to warm the house with a turkey in the oven and enjoyed my dinner at home, along with the box of goodies that hubby surprised me with, so we did alright here. Here's hoping the next holiday is able to be celebrated "out and about" as I know a lot of folks who would happily give up cooking for a bit!

STILL ENJOYED HERS--I know one lady who didn't have to cook and she still got her special Valentine dinner, and that was Jeanne Paulsen. Yep, son Mike Paulsen cooked up his "usual" Valentine dinner of steak and and lobster and tossed in some grilled shrimp and a baked potato to boot and while the family didn't get together like in past years, a plate was made up by Penny and delivered via Chelsea, so Jeanne had a very tasty and special dinner afterall. Good job!

NICE JOB NICOLE--I also got to see some fabulous bouquets of flowers made by Nicole Emery of Daisy Chain Floral and they were being enjoyed by all the gals who received them. Through thick and thin, and even a snow and ice event, Nicole managed to deliver her gorgeous creations and all the recipients were thrilled! Way to go Nicole!

NEXT WEEK--We learned this week that our beloved Duck Inn will reopen the last few days of this month, so starting Feb. 26, you can check out all the new seating arrangements that they've added since we were last there. Please realize that while they get to open, there are still restrictions in place during this time, so you might want to call and make a reservation ahead of time, (360)795-6055. We wish Logan Britt a great re-opening and with a little luck, we won't have any more shut-downs or weather set backs and we can get back to a bit of normalcy!

PREPARED?--Once again, we got tested in our survival skills when we had a power outage in the wee hours of Saturday morning amidst all the snow and cold, so, how did you fare? Every year some people complain because they don't have this or that and every year, our Fall and Winter weather arrives and they are still complaining. So, after this recent episode, wouldn't you think it would be wise to invest in the necessary items prior to when you need them?

In case you weren't aware, they make a small heater that uses those little bottles of propane and that can be used indoors. Often times these are on sale during the off season, and you can pick one up for about $100; the bigger and better ones are about $150, not cheap but then again, you'd be warm. When you live out here in the country, the odds are, you're going to be dealing with these issues forever; maybe not very often, but we have lots of trees and overhead lines, and these challenging months arrive every year, so the odds are, you're going to need alternative heat at some point.

If you're worried about your refrigerated stuff, one might want to consider a generator. Every home is set up differently, so you'd need to see what's best for you, but I liked the one that ran eight hours before it needed to be refueled, as that way, hubby could usually get home to deal with it and I didn't have to handle the fuel situation. There are many other options of course but the idea is to act now, as once the emergency happens, it's too late.

Emergency Management officers have been telling us for years to take steps to be self-sufficient in case of an emergency. FEMA says we should each have a three day supply of everything we need to get by, but in 2015 a supply list in this paper, suggested we bump that up to five days, as in a disaster, our very rural areas may be less likely to get the help we need in just three days. Some are saying a week to 10 days of supplies are even better. There are lots of supply lists available, which you should know by now, but basically, you'll need all the things you use on a daily basis, along with extra batteries for flashlights/radios and fuel for your generator.

Each time we have a weather event, it's just another time that we get to analyze our preparedness, so while it's fresh in your mind, jot down those items that you wished you'd had on hand, so you'll be even more prepared next time!

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1946, there was only one decent day the whole week. On one of those nasty days, the Pocahontas lodge members held their new fund raising event, a benefit card party to help renovate Red Men Hall. They played pinochle and bridge, and "whist" and "500," whatever they were! Prizes for bridge games went to Harry Foster in first place, with Mrs. Jane Goodfellow bringing home the second place prize and Mrs. Lulu Heron taking third place. First prize winner for pinochle was Mrs. Helen Anderson with Claire Westbrook taking second and Mrs. Bert Berry coming in third. At the "whist" table, only members of the Allulu council were playing, so they didn't award any prizes. There was an extra supply of prizes donated, so Paul Hendrix auctioned them off. There was also a cake raffle and Dick Cuddy held the lucky winning ticket. They raised about a third of the money that the contractor was needing to do the job. Mrs. Jane Akers was chairman of all the arrangements for this event and beings it was highly successful, she was highly commended by her peers.

Cathlamet beat LaCenter in a basketball game that week but beings we scored 54 to their 18, it wasn't too exciting of a game to watch. Luckily, there was a girls tumbling act at half time which was entertaining. The following day the Mules played in Woodland and there was a big crowd there but once again, we won by such a big score that the game wasn't all that interesting. However, the game that was a bit wild was the game in Castle Rock. Now, it seems the game ended with Cathlamet winning by one point, but wait, the officials, Ted Fix and Wayne Howe, said that the Mules had six boys on the court; oops! That meant that we got a technical and CR got to throw a free throw, which they made; tie game. Into overtime they went and somehow, only Castle Rock managed to make one single basket to win 34-32. Our team's roster showed the names of Olson, Crist, Johnson, Irving, Trimble and subs: Doumit, Wika, Ahrens and Quigley.

On the last day of this time period, it was another nasty day so it was time to go to the movies once again: "Thrill of Romance" with Val Johnson and Esther Williams was playing in C-town that day.

All this according to Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.