Busy weekend is on the schedule

WHAT A DAY!--As this week began, on Palm Sunday, we definitely had a mix of weather. Not only did we have snow, rain showers and sunshine but we threw in a nice little hail storm to boot! Thankfully, the snow that covered everything, including the road here in West Valley and SR 4 going up KM, didn’t last a long time and was melted off by afternoon.

From the forecast I’m looking at for the coming week, it seems spring weather will continue to elude us and we will still need rain jackets and warm coats!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from April 6-12 are Andrew Emlen, Wendy Westover, Janet Bryan, Leanndra Aragon, Chris Doumit, Chris Holland, Whitley Wirkkala, Tim Parker, Kylie Thacker, Jackson Ratcliff, Janna Doumit, Tyler Watkins, Randy Vik, Trygve Gilbertsen, Rafael Gilbertsen, Nikki Danker, Liam Thomason, Hudson Heiner, Mike Crouse, Sara Havens Brown, Savannah Burdick, Aspen Cothren, Judy Wilde, Costner Nielson, Sylvia Blix Link and Samantha Ahrndt.

Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Mr. and Mrs. Mitch Moonen and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Johnson. May you all have wonderful celebrations on your special days.

Remember, if you have a name or names you’d like to have remembered, please contact me and if there are some that are listed on the Lions Club Calendar that are no longer valid, please let me know so that I don’t accidently list them, and contact a LC member so they can be removed from the 2024 calendar. This goes for adding new folks (babies and weddings) to the list as well.

THURSDAYS--The Community Breakfast is held at the Skamokawa Grange Hall on Thursdays from 10 until noon, so bring your mug and maybe a treat to share and join the crew at the Grange for some eats and that fresh coffee brew! A huge shout out to Season Long and her helpers that put on this weekly event. If you’d like to help out, you can stop by and check out what’s on her wish list for items that are needed to keep this going. If you’re on Facebook, you can check there as well.

THIS FRIDAY--The Wahkiakum County Fair's Easter Bingo will be held at the Fairgrounds this Friday evening, April 7 at 6 p.m. There are lots of prizes and lots of winners, so come on down for some fun and support a worthy cause as well. Who knows, maybe go home with Easter dinner!

BUSY SATURDAY--Saturday will be super busy with the Flea Market at the fairgrounds from 9 a.m., to 3 p.m .; the Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt at 11 a.m., and a carnival put on by the Wahkiakum Fair Foundation. Then at 1 p.m., the Fair Foundation will also put on an Easter egg hunt, complete with an adult category, so there’s something for everybody!

FOS--While you’re down here, the grownups may want to check out the new book selections at Redmen Hall as things have been added and rearranged. The kids might love to pick out one of the new books just for them and there are also great gift items available. There are lots of unique choices by various crafters and books by local authors. Contact the hall at 360-795-3007.

Don’t forget to make those reservations for their first “Spring Tea” coming up April 22; do it today!

NORSE HALL BINGO--This Saturday evening, April 8, head to the Norse Hall on Puget Island and play some bingo! Doors always open at 5:30 so you can get all settled in for those games that begin at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Jan at 360-431-1705. Help support the Sons of Norway and maybe win some money, too!

ALL TOGETHER NOW--You should have gotten a flyer from Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services recently and if you didn’t I’ll just mention that these services are now all at one location, 42 Elochoman Valley Road. You can call Human Services 360-795-8630 or Health Dept Services 360-795-6207 as either number can be used to gain info regarding mental health services, vaccines, permits for septic, water and food, or treatment for substance use, vital records and more. Having things in one place will be much handier.

CLASS REUNION--The WHS Class of 1967 will hold their usual Bald Eagle Days gathering this year, and they want all those class members to spread the word about meeting this year on July 15. It will be at Dale J’s place at 330 2nd St. They will meet a little later than usual so everyone can enjoy the parade and uptown events. The plan is to meet at 1:30 and eat at 2 p.m. It’s advisable to bring one's own chair and favorite beverage as well as a dish to share. However, if you’re from far away, just bring yourself and the rest will be taken care of for you! For more info call Kay at 360-795-3425.

FUNDRAISERS--We have always had a wonderful, supportive community when it comes to sending our school kids’ fundraisers in or to send them to important events and I hope that our great group of folks will help out once again. Our fantastic Wahkiakum Mecha Mules Robotics Club is invited to go back to the International competition held in Washington DC and Maryland and they need our help to get there. We hope you’ll come to their car wash held at the Bank of the Pacific on April 22 from noon to 5 p.m. There will also be an exhibition of their work on April 28 from 3:30 to 8 p.m., at the High School Robotics Classroom and the Cathlamet Pool, with an entry fee of $15. These are hard working kids with a real talent; hard work and brilliant minds should be rewarded!

BALD EAGLE DAY THEME--The Wahkiakum Co. Chamber office would like your help in picking out the new theme for the Bald Eagle Days celebration coming up in July, so get those thinking caps on and get those ideas to the Chamber by April 15! You can do that online at info@wahkiakum.us and enter “BED theme” on the subject line. The winner of the contest will be announced April 18.

This is also a good time to think about being a vendor for this event and if you’re not one of those folks, maybe you could be a helper, as heaven only knows, there is always a need for those as this is a big undertaking and it’s much easier if more folks are involved. It’s the “many hands make for light work” thing and with this event being as big as it is, more and more hands are needed, so give the Chamber a call at 360-795-9996 and let them know you’d love to help them out. If you’re new here, this would be a great way to meet the members of your new community. Without the support of the community, these things just won’t happen, so here’s to those that are already working so hard to make this big event happen and here’s to more help coming your way to lend a hand!

SYMPATHIES--We learned that long time resident, Marvin Davenport passed away recently and we were sorry to hear that. Many may remember him from his logging and trucking days but most my age will most likely remember him from the days when he operated the Chevron station on SR 4 and it was Marv’s Chevron for many, many years. In more recent years, you may have been one of those folks who enjoyed the honey from his bee hives. During this sad time, we want to send our deepest sympathies to his wife Dorothy and the rest of the Davenport family.

GET TRICKED?--This past Saturday was April Fool’s Day and I just wonder how many people fell for a trick. Anyone besides me? I totally spaced out what day it was so when I saw that Karen Johnson was in Venezuela with another friend, I was like “what?” She’s had an injury that has slowed her down so I thought this was very adventurous of her. However, it finally dawned on me that it was a joke but I forgot to acknowledge my awareness of it after my initial shock, so she had to “dig at me a little.” Too funny!

The other “got’cha” moment was when someone posted a zipline story from the Astoria Column to a boat by the museum. Looked scary as heck, but what a ride that would have been! Anyway, that was definitely not true, so, the pranksters caught me twice. I need to pay more attention to that first day of April!