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

WET START-- As I write this on Tuesday, it's a pretty drippy day and it looks like we're stuck in the clouds with no view for sure. But considering that the folks back east are viewing feet of snow, I won't be complaining much. The snowstorm is a horrible mess back there, and for those without power, it's truly a disaster. I certainly hope that by the time you read this, things have improved back there.

SPECIAL DAYS-- Those celebrating birthdays this week are Vickie Reed, Chuck Parker, Derek Phipps, Connie Shurm, Austin Havens, Roberta Backman, Selah Hoven, Terry Everman, Christa Hoven, Brody Brown, Dale Strueby, Jade Hauff, Melody Brown, Cindy Grasseth, Pam Lazor, Milli Elven, Sara Buennagel, Angel Thompson, Mac Johnson, Angela Stensland, Julie Chamberlain, Kris Baldwin and Blake Hess.

Happy Anniversary wishes go out to Mr. and Mrs. Stan Thacker, David and Julie Black, the Jerry DeBriaes and the Dale Struebys. Enjoy your special days, everyone!

THIS IS IT--Yes indeed, today (Thursday) is Valentine's Day! I hope you've got a wonderful day planned for the special person in your life. There's lots of ways to treat your sweetheart to a special day, so no matter what you do, you can't go wrong. It's doing nothing that will land you in the dog house, so I hope you've avoided that big mistake. Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

ON FRIDAY--Do you need a pie for your weekend guests? Head to the Tsuga Gallery from 1-4 p.m. this Friday and you can buy a whole pie from the Cathlamet Woman's Club and serve up this homemade goodie without the fuss or muss of having to make it yourself. If you just need a slice for yourself, they're taking donations for that, so you could have one of one kind and one of another. You’ll be enjoying pie and helping a great group of ladies and their good works as well, so we hope you'll come out and support them.

EARLY DINNER-- There were about a hundred people who took advantage of the Valentine Diamond Dinner that was held last Saturday at the Skamokawa Grange Hall by the Wahkiakum Fair Board. We had some wonderful entertainment, as Kathleen Petersen tickled the ivories and dazzled us on her electronic keyboard, and Pat Conrad and Jerry Ledtke strummed their guitars and sang. It's always great to have our wonderful serving staff, kitchen staff and of course, our head cooks, Blair Brady and Bill Coons, so with Fair Manager Becky Ledtke’s guidance, it all goes extremely smoothly. I thank each and every one of the volunteers for pitching in to help at this great fundraiser. I personally want to thank Christeena Bassi for working in my spot this year, as my bad ankle was not up to running around all night long. Having her take my place was a real lifesaver!

My congratulations to Walter Deege for winning the grand prize diamond bracelet basket complete with champagne!

GOOD DEEDS--One of the volunteer servers at the Valentine dinner was Ursula Petralia. She also volunteers for various positions at the fair in August. What you might not know about Ursula is that she takes in rescued animals that have been abused and need a home for awhile so they can recuperate until permanent homes or solutions can be made. She does this out of the goodness of her heart towards her four-legged friends, and incurs all the expenses that this can often entail, such as food, fencing, and more. Needless to say, some of these critters may not look so great when she gets them. Unfortunately, some people have thought that she was abusing the animals. I just want to make sure and let everyone know that these critters were in rough shape when she got them but are now in very good hands.

If for any reason you think an animal is being abused in your neighborhood, by all means, contact authorities, but please be careful and don't jump to conclusions. I’d hate to have a person who truly loves animals get accused of something that is not true. If you'd like to help Ursula out with dog food, hay or feed for other animals that she is caring for, stop by and talk to her, or give me a call and I'll get you in touch with her.

Thanks again, Ursula, for all you do for four-legged creatures and for our community.

EXTENSION AGENCY--The WSU Wahkiakum County Extension office is offering cooking classes to help you serve up fresh, tasty and easy meals to your family. While they've had a couple of classes already, you can still take in the one on February 25. The class will occur at 4 p.m. at the elementary school multi-purpose room at the school. JoAnn Prestegard will be the featured guest cook. Call the extension office at 795-3278 for more information.

DOING GREAT--I got some pictures of my granddaughter Tessa Sechler playing basketball recently. She chalked up 12 points for Ballard High School’s Lady Beavers. Congrats, Tessa, on your best game so far!

GRANGE MEETING-- The Skamokawa Grangers met last Monday evening to enjoy a wonderful potluck dinner and to welcome three new members into the grange. We plan on having a welcoming ceremony at our next meeting on February 25. Potluck begins at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7 p.m.

The grange would like to remind all those talented folks that bake and sew and make cards to keep in mind that our State Grange spring contests will be here before you know it. This event is open to the public, so if you'd like to enter something, watch for the May dates to be announced. The best will go on to the state level. This is good practice for the items you'll enter at our own local fair in August, so you'd be getting a head start on your entries. If you're interested, give me a call or watch this column for more information in the weeks to come.

FOLLIES--The next big fundraiser for the Skamokawa Grange will be our annual Smoky Water Follies, which will be held this year on June 28, 29 and 30. We have some new folks coming in to the show to help out and perform for you, but we'd really love to have more kids in as well. Please give Sunrise Fletcher a call at 795-8770 if you'd like to be in the show.

SUMMER TIME--Following the Follies, the next big event that the Grangers will be putting on will be the Vendor's Market at Skamokawa Vista Park on July 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you're interested in having a booth, selling your wares or just giving your good cause some exposure, this will be a good place to do it. Give me a call if you want to get on the list. Setup is $10. I know I'm looking forward to more of Kathleen Morgain’s pie and some homemade jams and jellies by the Carver-Exum family!