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

MIXTURE--While we had a mostly dry day last Friday, with only one fairly short burst of rain, it was definitely a drippy wet and gloomy Saturday morning around here. However, we saw quite a bit of sunshine Sunday and Monday, so that was quite nice. Considering there was a massive winter storm hitting the eastern part of the country, with record snowfall and blizzard conditions, we really couldn't complain much about our dampness at all.

Besides the snow virtually closing down some cities and all public transportation, some areas along the coast were experiencing flooding conditions, which were worse than that from hurricane Sandy a few years back, so we sure feel for those folks. According to weather records, there had only been two extreme snow events prior to this one, in 1993 and 1996, but this one had all the makings for becoming one of the top three ever, so it was pretty brutal back there. With millions of people affected and almost 13,000 airline flights cancelled, it was going to take awhile to get everything back on track once the storm ends.

With many friends and family members in the path of this storm we are anxiously awaiting news from them, and hope they have not incurred any huge losses.

BEING PREPARED--While we haven't had too many problems in comparison to others, just being flooded in for a little while, or being blocked from getting places due to a slide, is doubly annoying if you're not prepared for it. Needless to say, being prepared to be totally self-sufficient for at least three days is truly essential for everyone. Being stocked up on food and water, heat and light sources and medical kits, etc., is something we should have at our disposal at all times. As we saw on television, many people were trying to get those supplies at the worst possible time, as roadways were already a mess and multiple people lost their lives when they tried to navigate the icy roadways. So, again, those who were able to stay home and not have to run out at the last minute, were the smartest, as they were the safest.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Jan. 28-Feb. 3 are Becky Thacker, Brandon McClain, Sam Tarabochia, Nicholas Kubacki, Mike Nollan, Troy Gorley, Emma Rose Lindsey, Irene Getty, Bob Garrett, Morgan Castillo, Pam Moore, Nicole Emery, Varsha Martin, Kyle Gribskov, Jamie Helms, Courtney Zurick, Grant Johnson, Becca Johnson, Maddux Moore, Pamela Everest Priestly, Madilyn Freeman and grandson, Luke Sechler celebrates his 16th birthday today. Watch out Seattle, there's another teen on the road!

Belated birthday wishes to Jodie Baccelleri who celebrated her birthday last Sunday.Hope it was a good one!

Celebrating their anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Hoby Thacker, Bill and Joyce Ower and Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cothren. Enjoy your special days everybody!

CORRECTION--I just wanted to make a correction about the upcoming Valentine Diamond Dinner put on by the Wahkiakum Co. fairboard, which I mentioned was going to be held inside the fairgrounds this year, as that's what was on the list I had of events, but in fact, it is not. It is going to be held at the Skamokawa Grange Hall as it has before, and that will take place on Feb. 13 according to Patty Dursteler. For more information, you can leave a message on the fairgrounds phone for her.

COMING SOON--The Wahkiakum Fairgrounds will be the place to get those second hand treasures that you all love to find, as their Flea Market will take place on Feb. 6, so be sure to check out all their goodies. There are also new things, so come on down and see if there's something you can't live without!

On Feb. 21, (date change) the St. James Episcopal Church will be the site of some great music as the Castle Rock Mens Ensemble will perform that day at 2 p.m.

It's also time to sign up for the Stockhouses' CSA program and those who pay in full by March 1 get an extra discount, so get those fresh, locally grown food items through them and eat healthy and support local growers as well. Contact them at 849-4145.

GREAT WINS--It was great to see the Mules play this past Friday night and have them out-hustle Winlock for a great win. The Mules next game will be at Napavine Friday night, Jan. 29, and then at home against Onalaska on Saturday night. The Lady Mules were on the winning end of things as well last Saturday night in Mossyrock and with little dynamo, Peyton Souvenir scoring 36 points, well, there was no doubt! The ladies will play Napavine at home tonight and will play Onalaska at home on Saturday, Jan. 30, but their games will be earlier in the day with the JV's playing at 3:30 and the varsity at 5:45 according to the schedule. I'm not sure how that's going to work with the boys JV game usually at that time but call the school with any questions as to the logistics of those games. On Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Lady Mules will play Toledo at home.

SYMPATHIES--We'd like to send our sympathies to Skamokawa resident, Jay Mace as well as the rest of his family members, as his Mother, Marilyn Mace passed away Jan. 14 and her services were held last Thursday in Longview. We'd also like to send sympathies to Gerry Brennan, Christie Davis and Tim Gessner and their families, as their father, Herman Gessner passed away Jan. 19. His services will be held this Sunday at the Episcopal Church in Cathlamet.

CRAB FEED RECAP--When we picked up 18 tickets for the crab feed down in Rosburg this past Saturday, we knew if nobody else showed up, that at least our large group would have a good time! Of course, there was not a chance in the world that a scenario like that would happen, as once again it was a packed house, so we had to share all that great crab dinner with all the fixings and trays of oysters with our fellow friends and neighbors that also showed up for this popular feed! I have to admit, I was happy that one of the guys at our table was not an oyster lover though, as we gladly ate his share! Ha!

While I've always thought things were great, this particular year, their 44th by the way, was just exceptional as the crab and oysters tasted fantastic! The crab was thick with meat and perfectly cooked and the oysters were just right and not sandy or muddy, so hey, they were mighty tasty. Kudos to all the cooks who made everything to perfection and to all the servers in the kitchen, along with the bartenders and the young waiters with the trays of oysters. You were all great!

Also on hand were "The King Brothers" who are awesome musicians and this was proven when they found out that the "Chicken Dance" song was a real main-stay of the event, in which the crowd circles around and does the dance. It seems they had never played the song together before, but by golly with a brief bit of instruction and a few warm up chords, the group was performing it just like the pros they are; great job guys!

PLAYING SOON--Speaking of The King Brothers, they will be back in the Duck Inn Lounge in just a couple weeks as they return Saturday, Feb. 13 for your listening and dancing entertaiment. There will be some dinner specials that evening as well I'm told. Of course, the next day is Valentine's Day and there will be some specials that day as well, so look for their ads that will be out soon.