WHO ARE YOU ROOTING FOR?

WET. Well, once again we have come through quite the nasty little snow and ice storm and we are back to rain. The forecast is looking more wet than dry, but I'm hoping we get a break for Sunday and Monday, or else we'll be wading through water instead of snow and that's no fun either. Not to mention that after a freeze, we often have mudslides and we don't need those either. Let's hope we end January with no big issues.

PREPPED? As the year—and winter—has just begun, it's imperative to take notes on what went smoothly or what went wrong during our snow and ice events and try to improve on our situations to make them better. Ask yourself if you had enough food and beverages stocked up, or did you have to make a dangerous trip to the store during this time to pick up more supplies? How about your heating situation? Did you have plenty of wood, if you rely on that, or should you have had more? If you lost power, did you have what you needed to deal with that, like an alternative power source? What about your animals? Had you prepared enough supplies for them? The list is endless of course, so while this event is fresh in our minds, I hope you're making those need-to-improve lists right away. Better yet, I hope you don't have to make one and you all came through this in relative comfort and were prepared; that would be awesome, and kudos to you.

However, after looking at the Sheriffs' Report from last week, there were a whole lot of folks who got into trouble after apparently not heeding the warning to avoid driving and sadly kept our officers and emergency crews busy—too busy. Let's do better next time.

SPECIAL DAYS. Celebrating birthdays during this last week of January are Sharon Schmitz, Kaylynn Kaattari, Sherry Ostling, Becky Thacker, Brandon McClain, Gary York, Pearl Blackburn, Don Claussen, John Elfers Jr., Annelise Vik, LeeAnn Bonds, Troy Gorley, Sean Masters, Shirely Mae Toney, Kristie Andreas-Donias, Leslie Sullivan, Cindy Elmore, Nicholas Kubacki, Cindi Pedersen, Mike Nollan, Luke Sechler and Pamela Everest Priestly. I have no anniversaries listed for this coming week, so if you had one but it was not listed on the Lions Club calendar, give me a call and I'll get it added to my own calendar.

COMMUNITY BREAKFAST. Once again we want to remind you to head down here to Skamokawa and check out the community breakfast at the Skamokawa Grange Hall on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon. They also have a small Pantry set up with a few food items that maybe you need for your household, so you could check that out as well. If you have any extra non-perishable items that you could bring with you to donate, that would be great. As always, this is a free event but donations help keep the doors open as there's always rent to pay. You can also bring a goodie to share and you can bring your own mug or cup to use as well. If you have any spares, you're welcome to donate them. This is a great meeting place and I keep hearing how folks want to get together and talk, so hey, come on down and meet up and chat and enjoy a couple hours out of the house.

THIS SATURDAY. This is just a quick reminder that the celebration of life services for Susie Cooper will be this Saturday, Jan. 27, at 1 p.m. at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds on what would have been her fifty-sixth birthday. She may be gone but she certainly will not be forgotten by her family and all those that knew her.

EXCITING. Are you a football fan? Well, if so, then you've been watching some pretty exciting playoff games. Some of these games came right down to the wire and those who thought they had it wrapped up got a rude awakening by the long bombs and the big come backs from the opposing teams. I don't have a favorite but I tend to cheer for the west coast team when there's a game between the two coasts. We'll see who's in the running soon, and it will be time for the Super Bowl Feb. 11. Our local gathering places hope to see you with your friends and enjoy their food and drink specials. Here's to your team winning it all.

MULES. With the weather issues recently, some basketball games were cancelled and changed but to my knowledge, we are doing pretty doggone good. I hope by the time you read this, that they will have managed to stay strong and come home with more wins. I have to offer up a hearty congratulations to Zakk Carlson for his one-thousandth basketball career point. Wow! Great job! To all those who work hard and make our school proud, kudos to all of you.

VALENTINE BINGO. According to the current events calendar, Valentine bingo will be taking place on Feb. 3, at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds. That's just a couple of Saturdays from now. With a little luck we won't be wading through high water to get there.

FEBRUARY 10 is the monthly Flea Market at the fairgrounds. The market has expanded the T-building as well as the youth building. If you'd like to rent a table for 10 bucks, please contact Patty at the fair office at 360-795-3480.

SONS OF NORWAY. On that same day, but in the evening of Feb. 10, you can play bingo at the Norse Hall on Puget Island and, as always, they have cash prizes they'd love to see you win! The lower doors to the Norse Hall will be open at 5:30 p.m., with the games beginning at 6 p.m. Need more info? Contact Jan Silvestri at 360-431-1705.