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

ONCE AGAIN--It seems like I just said we were heading into March but here I am, saying we're already into April; hard to believe! The last weekend in March started out a bit wet but thankfully the sun arrived and made all the raindrops sparkle on the lawn, which we fortunately got cut on one of the dry days we had last week! We started this work week with some low clouds but also some sunshine by noon, so it didn't begin too badly, but by the time you read this, I hear we're going to be back to umbrella weather, so all those pretty Easter dresses may have to be accompanied by a coat, and maybe boots! We'll just hope the weather folks are wrong and we have a somewhat decent holiday weekend at least.

EASTER WEEKEND--I'm sure you're all excited about Easter weekend and there's plenty to do around here so we hope to see you at one of the following: Tomorrow, which is Friday April 3, there is Easter Bingo at the grade school with lots of great prizes and a great raffle item. Doors open at 5:30 and games begin at 6 p.m. Bring a can of food to donate to the food bank and get an extra card!

On both April 3 and 4, the "Hook the Hawg" salmon derby is going on at the Elochoman Slough Marina so all fish enthusiasts should be out and about and trying to bring home one of the prizes offered up to the winners.

On Saturday, April 4, bring the little ones to the Skamokawa Vista Park for the Lions Club annual Easter Egg Hunt, which begins at 11 a.m., sharp. There are various age groups for the kids with special "prize eggs," so don't be late or those kids will have scoured the place clean!

Also that day, the Wahkiakum Fairgrounds will be the place to be as their monthly Flea Market will be underway, with multiple vendors.

I'm told that the Easter Bunny is going to be present at the Bingo games on Friday night, and will naturally be over at the park for the Easter Egg hunt on Saturday and then again over at the Flea Market, so come and check out all the action and say "Hi" to the Easter bunny and maybe you can even get him to pose for a picture!

On Sunday, April 5, there are many churches with special Easter services so we hope you have a wonderful time in fellowship at your place of worship.

Many folks will be having Easter dinner at home and we hope you'll enjoy your family time together. However, if you're more into the "let's go out to eat" kind of person, check your local restaurants for their Easter dinner specials. Here at our Duck Inn, you'll be able to enjoy an Eggs Benedict breakfast special or you'll be able to have a ham lunch/dinner special with scalloped potatoes. For more information on this, call the Duck at 795-6055.

Whatever you do this Sunday, I hope you'll have a very Happy Easter!

ACROSS THE CREEK--If you happen to be over in Astoria in the next few days, you might want to catch the ASOC's (Astor Street Opry Company) fifth annual production of "The Real Lewis and Clark Story, or How Finns Discovered Astoria"! All the music, melodrama and fun begins this Friday at ASOC Playhouse at 129 West Bond Street and starts at 7 p.m., with doors open a half hour prior to that. It will be showing Friday through Sunday until April 19, with the Sunday matinees beginning at 2 p.m. There are special family prices on Friday evenings. You can check it all out online at: http://www.astorstreetoprycompany.com or call 503-325-6104 for more info or to purchase tickets.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from April 2-8 are Vaal Gribskov, Janet Bryan, Marissa Longtain, Patti Phillips, Leeandra Aragon, Charlie Buennagel, Tim Parker, Kylie Thacker, Dana McClain, Paul Vik, Keith Lawrence, Judy Wilde, Patricia Ballard, Karen Bell, Makayla Bell, Nathan Pedersen, Jeremy Pedersen and Ralph Pedersen. Happy Birthday to each and every one of you!

Celebrating their anniversaries this coming week are George and Judy Bates, Mr. and Mrs. Don Wages and Mr. and Mrs. Terry Bonny. Enjoy your special days everybody! Belated anniversary wishes to Scott and Deanna Healy Ahrndt who celebrated 30 years together last Monday.

THIS COMING TUESDAY--The Skamokawa Grange #425 will meet at their hall on April 7, with a potluck prior to their meeting at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. At the last meeting, the grangers had a nice surprise when Krist Novoselic showed up with a small group of musicians, and played some great music for the group. Remember, the Skamokawa Grange now meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, so what you see on the Lions Club calendar is no longer valid.

ALSO IN ERROR--I was told that there was another slight error on the calendars as the Sons of Norway meetings are mentioned twice, once on the first Wednesday of the month, which is correct, but it's also listed on the first Monday, which is not correct. Nobody wants you to show up on the incorrect day, so you might want to make note of that and cross off the one listed on Monday.

CONGRATULATIONS--It seems that babies are making quite an appearance lately and they are not always alone. Not only did former classmate, Kathy Bond Peek welcome twin grandchildren into her life recently, but now it seems another classmate has done the same as Dale Jacobson told me that his youngest daughter, Katie had twins: a boy named Ellison (Eli) and the little girl is Madison (Mattie), so a big congratulations to the family on their latest additions!

SEMI-FINALS--Another kind of congratulations goes to former WA-KI-HI graduate, Laurie Miller, as she has just received notice that she is a semi-finalist in the "Oh Say Can You Sing" contest to sing our National Anthem at the Washington State Spring Fair in Puyallup! Laurie has done a lot of singing in various musicals and such, and has a wonderful voice, so we hope she lands the honor of performing at the fair. Good luck Laurie!

COMING UP IN SPORTS--Here's a few quickie reminders as to what is coming up right away: In WHS Track and Field events, there is a home meet today at 3:30 and then they'll be away at Napavine on April 16, while the Golf team will be here against Adna and Ilwaco today and will host North Beach on April 16. The Softball and baseball teams will both be hosting Onalaska on April 11 at noon. With Spring weather conditions being unpredictable, these schedules are subject to change so when in doubt, you may want to contact the school to make sure that things are happening at their proposed times.

67'ers WILL GATHER--To all the WA-KI-HI 1967 graduates/classmates, you're invited to a no host gathering next Friday, April 10, at 1 p.m., at the Urban Saloon and Grill at 1202 Commerce Ave. in Longview. Hope to see you 67'ers there if you've got a couple of hours to enjoy lunch and gab with your former classmates!

CONDOLENCES--We want to offer our sympathies to Nancy Summerill and James Mott, as they lost their father, Orville Mott recently. He died in Woodburn at the age of 92. Nancy and James have connections to the Walker/Everest side of our family, as their Mom was Joyce Walker and my grandmother, Elsie Everest was a Walker. Services for Mr. Mott will be held April 7 at 1 p.m., at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.

WARNING ISSUED--With the rain coming in, I was asked to mention this hazard that you may not have heard about. It appears that it's extremely dangerous to use your car's cruise control when it is raining. If you hit a puddle and lose traction, your wheels will still be "taking off" and you can wind up going quite fast when you really shouldn't be as it accelerates while the wheels are airborne. I checked this information out on Snopes.com. and it is said to be true. So, when it's raining, you're urged to be safe and not engage the cruise control on your vehicle.

SCAMS--Also, I've been asked to give everyone a reminder about all those scary IRS phone calls that people are getting which say you owe them money and are demanding payment. Just hang up, it's a scam. Then you can report it to the official place called TIGTA which stands for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484. You can contact them online as well and you can also contact the Federal Trade Commision online. Contact your local authorities as well, so they can gather information on what's going on in their area. Up to 12,000 calls a week are being made and some folks just freak out and send the money, but don't fall victim to this scam and be sure to warn all your friends, family and neighbors too.

MAY IS BUSY--We start out next month with May Day, so be sure to surprise your Mom with some flowers. Or a friend or neighbor or special someone; they'll love it! Redmen Hall will be sporting a new art exhibit on May 2 with Carol Peacock, and then you'll want to catch Kerrie McNally perform at the Hall on May 10, and we'll see all those who love to run out and about our refuge area on May 16, as the 4-H Great White Tail Run will take place then, with registration at Skamokawa Vista Park. On May 30 will be the Rods and Reels Car Show at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, so be sure to get those dates down on your calendar now, so you won't miss any of the action. On top of those events, there are many goings on "over the hill" so be sure to read the Westend news by Trudy Fredrickson, and you'll find out that there's teas and luncheons, birthday events and a Legion breakfast going on as well. There's lots to do in our little area!

Have a safe and happy Easter weekend, everybody!