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

ROUND TWO--How did you make out during our little snow and freezing rain routine last week? I hope you weren't one of several who wound up in the ditch around here, as it only took about an hour of the white stuff coming down, and there was a call out, so let's hope you're slowing down and preparing yourself a little more for this second round of cold weather. By the time you read this, there is a possibility of more snow and/or icy conditions, so let's hope we slow down a little more, stay home if we don't have to be out and about, and then lastly, hope the forecasters are wrong and we don't have to deal with any nasty weather conditions at all! Beings we had about four inches of rain after we had several inches of snow, things are very soggy, and if all of this is going to freeze, and then get topped with snow, well, that won't make for great traveling, as all of these trees are great for shade in the summer time, but they don't fair so well during the brutal cold weather.

GOOD SAMARITANS--A driver who wandered up in the hills around our area and got stuck in the snow, was able to be rescued thanks to Tracy Carroll, who luckily just decided to take a look around the countryside that day. The person in the vehicle had already been stuck there for three hours, so with the snowy conditions and cold temperatures, that could have been a very bad outcome had Tracy not arrived when he did. Good job Tracy!

It's another one of those times when a person needs to be prepared for that sort of thing by carrying supplies in their vehicles, and also to let someone know where they are going and when they expect to return, just in case something like this happens. There are also folks relying on GPS or other maps, when it would be better to rely on one's own common sense, as any time a "short cut" comes up, or a suggestion to leave a main road that is well traveled, and onto a snow covered one, well, don't do it!

BIG BOOM--Did you hear it, or feel it? It was about 9:32 p.m. on Monday night when our house shook and we heard a "boom" and we were all saying, "What was that?" Hubby and I headed outside to see if we could see a big tree down or something like that, but nope, all was well with the trees. We still heard a rumble but in the fog, it was really hard to say where it was coming from. At any rate, I jumped on Facebook and sure enough, there were people all over the place asking what was going on. From what I could gather, they had jets in the area doing some night time flying and the consensus was that they had caused a sonic boom. Wow, it sure was eerie and I'm glad that's all it was but I could do without the added excitement, thank you very much!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Dec. 15-21 are Abby Buennagel, Melainie Quigley, Erik Anderson, Breanna Smith, Ruth Linquist, Jim Webb, Lynah Bergseng, Angel Brown, Riley Brown, Kristen Souvenir, Donna Olsen, Hillary Price, Ron Hendrickson, Rhianna Hendrickson, Jimmie Lou Cleveland, Gwen Gorley, Barbara Moore Johnson, Sherry Pedersen Stewart and three of my 1967 classmates Sharon Servis, Elaine Rolf and Don Seaberg. Belated birthday wishes to Patrice Everest Holtz.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Roger and Jo Reed and Brian and Misty Havens. May all of your special days bring you happiness, fun times and wonderful memories to hold onto throughout the year.

It seems we've added another couple to our anniversary list, as Les Burns and Hollie got hitched this past Sunday, so congratulations to the newlyweds, and we'll be sure to add you to our ever-growing anniversary list.

Remember, if you want to have your birthday or anniversary announced, be sure to give me a call and let me know about it, so we can share your special days!

GET WELL--After some surgical procedures lately, Susan O'Conner and Sandie Benbrook Rieder are both recuperating with some new hip and knee joints, so we hope the ladies are feeling much better real soon. Sharrel Mooers has also had some recent surgery and we want to wish her a speedy recovery as well.

For those that are dealing with serious health issues, we wish you the best as you battle your way to good health. For folks like me, who have been dealing with a variety of "bugs," here's hoping you feel one hundred percent real soon so you can enjoy this Christmas holiday!

HOLIDAY CELEBRATION--The home of John and Mary Gustafson was brimming with festiveness this past weekend, as many of their friends and family members gathered to celebrate the coming holiday season. I was told there were about 40 people there and they enjoyed the good food, provided by Sharon's Pizza Mill and some awesome music, provided by Andrew Emlen and Kylene Austin. There were guests from the local area, as well as many relatives and good friends who drove several hours to enjoy the Christmas gathering. As I understand it, it was a party that my grandma Elsie would probably say, "A good time was had by all."

CHRISTMAS PROGRAM--The River of Life Assembly of God Church is hosting their annual Children's Christmas program this Sunday, Dec. 18 at 10:45 a.m., and you are invited to attend. You're most welcome to join them for the Christmas Day service at 10:45 a.m., the following Sunday, which is indeed Christmas Day.

ALMOST HERE--Christmas is almost here--10 days from today; can you believe it? I hope you were able to get up to Redmen Hall while their holiday goodies were all there, as they are currently closed for the winter, but will reopen in March with their fabulous antique sale, so mark that down on your calendar today! I hope you were able to get to the Hotel Cathlamet this past weekend to check out Treasure Collupy's glass sale in the lobby, as one of his gorgeous glass items would have made a great gift. (Of course, you might be able to call him and see if you can meet with him to still get something!) However, the Duck Inn has some clothing items as well as gift certificates that you can pick up and the Skamokawa Store and Skamokawa Vista Park both have some great, unique clothing items, as well as some other things, so check them out too, as we'd sure like to support these local businesses!

NEW YEARS--If you like country music, or country rock, or just any kind of good dancing music, you should reserve a table at the Duck Inn soon, as the "Nash Brothers" will perform in the lounge on New Year's Eve, so you won't want to miss it! There is always a dinner special to go along with that special night, so call 795-6005 to get more information or make your reservations. With only a couple of weeks to go, it will be here before you know it!

CHAMBER/EAGLE--Remember, if you want to get the word out about your upcoming events, be sure to contact the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce and get your special doing listed on this upcoming calendar. Some events are at the same time every year, so those should be easy enough to remember for us old-timers, but for those new people in the area, it's best to get the word out early, so they can be made aware of all the fabulous things that happen here throughout the year.

All of you bingo lovers know by now that there is bingo at the Norse Hall on the second Saturday of each month, unless otherwise posted, but that's a pretty secured time, so you should be ready to yell "bingo" by 6 p.m. on those dates! The Valentine Diamond Dinner is in February and the Bald Eagle Days are always mid-July, the Wahkiakum Fair is almost always the third week with a Thursday through Saturday in August, and The Friends of Skamokawa always hold their Wine Tasting and Auction on the second Saturday in September, to name a few, so if you're in charge of a big dinner or a sale, or any other kind of fund raiser, now's the time to start getting those dates to the Chamber and getting the word out there, as we are a small county, with a whole lot of activities going on, and the more we pump it up, the better response we get!

Don't forget, besides the Chamber calendar, put an ad in The Eagle as well, but remember that not all people who get The Eagle get it on Thursday like we locals do, so you need to make sure your event gets plugged a couple weeks prior to the actual event. Having it run a couple of times really helps too!

A little hint: If you are making signs for any event, make sure they are bold and eye-catching and to the point, and can be seen and read easily. Too many put everything on them and in little print, so they are easily overlooked. So, walk by some signs or flyers and take notice of the ones that "pop"; those are the ones you want to make for your upcoming event! If you have no time to make signs and a few extra bucks in your pocket, why not call Lisa Mooers at Laser Designs, as she's local and might be able to put together the perfect sign for you. You can contact her at 795-3577.