Spring? What’s going on here? Studded tires are supposed to come off on April 1 so we wake up to snow the next few days. Something’s wrong with this picture. This wasn’t the only place with bad weather for the Easter weekend, as we headed south to spend time with our family in California. It started snowing just out of Ashland, Ore. and got pretty scary in the Siskiyous. We made it through the snow, slush, wind and downright nasty stuff, just ahead of a 20-car pileup near Weed, Calif.

We had a wonderful time with the family and headed home on Monday morning, without all the snow and just a little bit of wind and rain. It’s nice to see the kids and grandkids, but so nice to be home, even with another duck pond complete with ducks, in our pasture.

News from Naselle:

Naselle School has been a pretty busy place the last few weeks, so I will try to play catch-up in this week’s column while they are on spring break.

Naselle elementary students for the month of March displaying the character of cooperation were as follows: Ryker Johnson, Hollie Haataia, Emma Rose, Gibzyn Privett, Coby Blackburn, Jaymyne Fisher, Parker Dalton, Vince Fauver, Dante Hernandez, Cameron Burch, Zach Thorsen and Maliah Elliott. Congratulations to all of you, and keep up the good work.

Naselle students participated in an Invention Convention on March 30 and 31. The winners from most of the grades are as follows: Judges’ Choice for Kindergarten – Carson Lanz for “the bird motel”; 2nd grade- Abigail Moten for her “PVC chicken feeder”; 3rd grade - Cole Dorman for his “mole trap”; 4th grade – Micah Cenci for “the egg checker”; 5th grade – Brian Smith for “long lasting camp light”; 6th grade – Emily Bjornsgard for “highchair helper”; 7th grade – Emily Gjovik for “hot/cold pillowcase”; 8th grade- Talylla Nordberg for “nail glue”; and 9th grade – Makenzie Matthews for “splish/splash mouse trap. Honorable mentions went to: Kindergarten – Jason Harman for “artist notebook”; 2nd grade – Bailey Barrett for “go green dog harness”, Bailey Rose for “clean it and play” and Skyler Wilbur for “super laundry soap”; 3rd grade – Lindsay Hunt for “frosty icepack holder” and Jacob Eaton for “cheese net”; 4th grade – Shon McEneny for “a fishing pole holder” and Brianna Wirkkala for “spraw”; 5th grade – Ellie Chapman for “brush n floss” and Raja Estes for “pen/pencil”; 6th grade - Jake Clark for “cat-off turbo” and Skylar Lamberton for “magnetic shoelaces”; 7th grade – Kayde Sultemeier for “introducing the soap saver” and Shelbie Abbott for “cord warden”; 8th grade – Kayti Nelson for “rice mitten” and Katie Green for “slip not”; 9th grade – Chandler Chapman for “two-handed golf club”, Tom Shotwell for “interchangeable clam shovel” and Jake Condon for “wallet hat.” It sure sounds like these kids did some thinking with these projects, and most sound very useful to many of us. Congratulations to all of you.

In addition to the Invention Convention, students had the opportunity to be run over by a robotic vehicle very similar to the ones currently exploring the landscape of Mars and learned about some of the opportunities and obstacles in our continued exploration of outer space. NASA Aerospace Educator, Sandra Kaszynski, brought the robot to Naselle School from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to illustrate the important role robots play along with humans in NASA’s quest to understand the mysteries of space. Ms. Kaszynski talked of the excitement of exploring the moon and Mars, and explained that while we do have the ability to get humans to Mars, we don’t currently have the ability to get them back. That, she said, may be something our current elementary students can figure out the technology for, and participate in exploring. The students enjoyed her presentation very much and were interested in many of the career opportunities she discussed.

The Naselle Lutheran Church Salad Luncheon will take place on April 24. The plant, bake and craft sales start at 10:30 and the luncheon will be between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a $6 donation. Alfred Simmuka has over 500 tomato plants growing!! Baked goods will once again include traditional Finnish delicacies such as cardamom bread and prune tarts. The church is located at 308 Old Knappton Road, Naselle. The money raised supports church mission work.

Other news from the Westend:

The election of three commissioners for the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District will take place on April 27 at Johnson Park in the cafeteria on the north side of the building. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. This election is open to landowners within the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District boundaries, and you have from two to 40 votes, depending on how many acres you own. Example: if you own from one to 10 acres, you get two votes (if you are single, you get both votes; if married, each person gets one vote). If you own more than 10 acres, you get two votes for each extra 10 acres (votes divided between a married couple), to a maximum of 40 votes (20 each for a married couple). It may sound confusing, but County Auditor, Diane Tischer will be on hand to answer questions and make any clarifications necessary.

You must go to the polling place to vote, unless you contact Diane Tischer as soon as possible for an absentee ballot.

The Grays River Habitat Enhancement District has a copy of the voter list, a district map and how many votes each landowner gets, so if you have questions regarding those facts, you can call 465-2960 or again, Diane Tischer our county Auditor. Some of the same information is available on the Grays River Grange website.

There are quite a few landowners from out of town and those folks will be receiving a copy of the election notice and a sample ballot with information on how they can cast their votes, from the GRHED.

The regular monthly meeting of the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District will take place on Wednesday, April 14th at 6 p.m. in the Grays River Grange Hall. Meetings are always open to the public and landowners are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for May 3 at 6 p.m. for the public hearing on the permit to apply biosolids in the floodplain in Grays River at 118 Covered Bridge Road. The meeting will be held at the Rosburg Hall.

It’s spring, and time for the annual chicken dinner put on by the Rosburg Community Club. This year it will take place on April 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The delicious meal is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for this group and all the proceeds are used either for maintaining the hall, scholarships or other local benefits. The dinner includes baked chicken with all the trimmings and an awesome salad bar, as well as home made pie, cake and other dessert goodies.

Adult tickets are $10; youth from 6-12 years are $5 and under six is $2. Where else can you eat a huge home cooked meal, and enjoy the company of your friends and neighbors, and have someone else clean up after you. Besides that you are donating to an outstanding and longtime community group.

The Wednesday Senior Lunch Bunch that meets at the Rosburg Hall will enjoy Pat Potter’s famous Cook’s Choice and a yummy dessert on the 14th.

On Tuesday and Thursday, seniors can also enjoy lunch sponsored by CAP at the same location. This week’s menus are as follows: Thursday, the 8th – pork chops and gravy, mashed potatoes, pea salad, peach halves and strawberry rhubarb crisp ; Tuesday, the 13th – beef barley soup, cheese and crackers, marinated vegetables, orange jello and congo bars; Thursday, the 15th – roast turkey, rice pilaf, peas and cauliflower and pineapple upside down cake.

Birthdays being celebrated this coming week: Tony Wirkkala on the 8th; Dean Brannon, Bryan Tienhaara, Neil Wirkkala, Steve Mattson, Judy Torppa and Lance Gray on the 9th; Vicki Wirkkala, Nichole Tarabochia, Katie McIntee, and Keith Reitz on the 10th; Jimmy Cooper, Kevin Busse and Melissa White on the 12th; Justin Queral on the 13th; Pam Calvert, Pat Potter and Vicki Olmstead on the 14th; Jessica Heriot, Baird Lehman, Shane Gilbert, Lori Fanoni, Walt Wirkkala and Ernest Wirkkala on the 15th. Happy Day to everyone!

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to the following couples this week: Cody and Annie Strange on the 8th; Don and Marlene Wiitala and Lance and Blair Gray on the 14th.