The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

 The first raffle ticket for the Valentine Diamond Dinner grand prize was drawn and set to the side to keep everyone in suspense! Kay Chamberlain and Phil Vik then announced and drew the winners of the other multiple raffle prizes we had for our guests; 2nd prize Teed and JoAnn Prestegard won a his and her set of hand-crafted gemstone necklaces, 3rd prize Carol Ervest won candy and a glass blown ornament, 4th prize Kenzie Abbott won a basket full of chocolate, stuffed animals and assorted other goodies, 5th prize Deb Howie won a big chocolate bar. Finally the grand prize winner was announced. The winner of the diamond bracelet, a bottle of champagne and a basket stuffed with other goodies was Walter Deege! Thank you to all who attended our dinner and bought raffle tickets.

 My column was dedicated to thanking the many fair board members and volunteers that helped at our Valentine Diamond Dinner fundraising event last week. This week I can devote my column to thanking a few local organizations that supported our many needs as we set up for our dinner.

 The Skamokawa Grange members generously provided the use of some tables, chairs, plates, silverware, cooking pans, coffee pots and numerous other items that we needed for our dinner. The Skamokawa Grange has always been so supportive of our events. Thank you.

 The Wahkiakum Community Network loaned us their black tablecloths to use at our dinner. We purchased some red tablecloths and arranged the two colors in a simple pattern on the 15 tables, then added bright decorations. The visual effect made for a festive dining area. Thank you, WCN!

 Vista Park loaned us their big barrel-shaped BBQ. The grills are big enough to cook 60 steaks at a time, if you have expert cooks to watch over them, which Bill Coons and Blair Brady are. Thank you, Vista Park!

 The Bank of the Pacific has always been a big part of our fundraising events, they announce our events on their big outdoor sign and sell tickets for us inside the bank to help bring people to our event. Advertising is a big part of making our dinner a success, we can’t thank them enough for providing these services to support our Fair events.

 Kay Chamberlain and Trudy Fredrickson both write columns in The Wahkiakum County Eagle newspaper, they do their very best to attract people from both sides of KM Mountain to our dinner and I sure appreciate their well written articles.

 As you read through the above accounting of the community involvement we receive as we plan our Fair Board fundraising events, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that people in this county support and love the Wahkiakum County Fair!

 An extremely important bill for Washington Fairs was heard in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee on Monday, February 18. This bill provides a dedicated source of revenue for the Fair Fund from the state lottery. This revenue had been dedicated to pay off the bonds on Qwest Field. Beginning this year, the Fair Fund would receive $2,500,000. From next year until 2023, the Fair Fund would receive $2,500,000 plus a 2% increase each year. After 2023, the amount would drop back to the current level of $2,000,000 per year. I will keep my readers updated as I hear more good news about this source of revenue for Washington Fairs.

 The next Wahkiakum County Fair Board fundraising event will be Easter Bingo on March 22. This is a fun family night with lots of raffle prize drawings and bingo games. Bingo games start at 6 p.m. at the JA Wendt multi-purpose room. Every bingo winner receives a turkey or ham for their prize!

 The fair office is open by appointment only. If you need to gain access to the fairgrounds contact Fair Manager Becky Ledtke @ 795-3480 or 560-0371 and leave a message.

 The next Wahkiakum County Fair Board meeting will be on March 13, at 7 p.m. at the PUD building meeting room. The public is welcome to attend the meeting.