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

NOT TOO BAD--Last weekend wasn't too bad, as while we had some rain, we also had some dry times, along with some sunshine, so it was certainly better than the weekend before! We even saw the "field lakes" going down at last, so that's always a welcome sight. However, by the time you read this, we are supposedly going back to a rainy streak, so I hope you enjoyed whatever dry time we had, as it looks like the Fall weather, which means, "falling rain," is here!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Oct. 27-Nov. 2 are Maury Mooers, Hoby Thacker, Carol Blalock, Nathaniel Norris, Christie Davis, Mike Wright, Piper McClain, Kristi Knowles, Chris Spitzer, Miley Montgomery, Britt Boldt and Starla Hanson. Belated birthday wishes to Elizabeth Dahlen and Cody Terpsma, who both celebrated their birthdays last Sunday.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Ty Norris, Herb and Anita Mosteller and Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gorley. May your celebrations bring you more wonderful memories to hold in your heart forever. Belated anniversary wishes to Jason and Rochelle Wallin, as they celebrated their first anniversary last Monday!

MOVIE NIGHT--There's another free movie this Friday night at the Cathlamet Community Center, and as always, it begins at 7 p.m., and you can enjoy a pizza delivered to you at 6:45 p.m., from Sharon's Pizza Mill by calling them ahead of time at 795-3311. This week's movie is a documentary fit for all ages, and could be entitled, "Salesmen of Skepticism." You can go by the center to find out the real title but I'm not allowed to mention it.

CONGRATS--It was great to have the Mules Homecoming football game coincide with a win, which always makes the big game and Homecoming ceremonies a much more enjoyable occasion, so good job on the win over Winlock last Friday night boys! This Friday, Oct. 28, they will be headed to Toutle Lake and we hope they can chalk up another win. Go Mules!

Did you hear about the Mini Mules game? They played five overtimes and finally won, 46 to 40. Wow, amazing, good job!

BIG WEEKEND--There are lots of things to do here in Skamokawa this coming weekend, as we've got the Haunted House at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, beginning on Friday from 6 to 11 p.m., and the same hours again on Saturday night. Then on Sunday, it will be held from 6 to 10 p.m., and on Monday, which is Halloween night, it will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free but they will happily take donations. I am told there is a Halloween Carnival at the fairgrounds as well, but that will only be held on Sunday, Oct. 30 from 4 to 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!

For the grown-ups, the Duck Inn is holding their big Halloween doings featuring,"Sucker Punched" with lots of great prizes on Saturday evening and the Roadkill Saloon is having two Halloween parties, with one on Saturday night and the other on Halloween night. Here's hoping that whatever you do, you have a "spooktacular" weekend! On Halloween night, please watch for the kids that may be up and down the roadways and sidewalks that evening.

COUNTING DOWN--Just a reminder: it won't be long and we'll be "falling back," so make sure you mark down November 6, as that's the day when setting those clocks back an hour comes about. Naturally, most of us change our clocks prior to going to bed the night before, so when you head to bed next Saturday night, Nov. 5, it won't be as late as you think! Sleeping in an extra hour will be just delightful I think!

SHOP LOCAL--If you've been to any big retail stores recently, you can see all the holiday things up already, and many aren't so fond of seeing Christmas things before Halloween. However, with so little time between all these holidays, I totally understand it. It takes time to find just the right thing for those special people and there are always a lot of fund raisers and bazaars and things to go to, and well, you can't do it all in one weekend.

We are hoping that you'll be able to find some of those special things right here in our area, as shopping local helps everybody here and with so many unique artistians and craftsmen here, there's bound to be something that someone on your gift list would like. From books, to soaps, to candles, to cards, aprons, music CD's, a great painting or photograph and more, you can find most of those at Redmen Hall, so we hope you'll stop by there and check out the gift shop and latest exhibit. After Thanksgiving, they will have their holiday open house, so maybe you want to wait until then, but don't miss out on these unique items.

MORE SHOPPING--The Skamokawa Store has some great "Bigfoot" items for sale, as well as Skamokawa Resort wear, and there are great t-shirts and sweats, sweatshirts and more at the Skamokawa Vista Park office, which will make for some great gifts too, so maybe those items would work for you. Also, the Duck Inn has their wide array of Duck Inn items, so once again, that might be just perfect for someone on your gift list.

The St. James Bazaar in Cathlamet is going to be held on November 19, so there will be a wonderful selection of items there for sale, and you'll be supporting local folks, and there is always a wide variety of things. They still have room for more folks to set up their own tables, so if you're one of those crafty people with goods to sell, please give them a call. The more the merrier! Call Christie at 840-4489 if you're interested in setting up a table there.

MAIL EARLY--One reason people like to shop early is that the postal department wishes that you'd mail all long distance packages during the first week of December, so yes, I'm one of those people who likes to see holiday items out a wee bit early, so I can get those packages out during that first week. Also, it helps that I'm not shopping at the last minute and mailing things at the last minute and getting all frantic or worried that they won't get there on time or have to pay extra so they do!

CHANGED AGAIN-- Locally, we are going through another transition period at our Skamokawa Post Office, because as much as she enjoyed her job, postal worker Bethany was able to find a full time job elsewhere, which did not require her to work any split shifts here and there for the postal department, so while we are happy for her, we are sorry to see her go. She was extremely likeable and knowledgable. We are happy to see Lisa Mooers back behind the counter, but she won't be able to stay, as she'll be leaving once they find a replacement for Bethany. However, we will enjoy her being "back home" for as long as she can be here!

PAPER OFFERS ADVICE--In last week's Eagle, there were a couple of great sections about what to do in case of a flooding emergency, a full sheet to clip and save, and on page 9, there was an article by Beau Renfro, head of Emergency Services, about what you need to put together a disaster supplies kit. So, if you didn't get last week's paper, I'm sure they have some available in The Eagle office and you can clip those articles out and get ready for winter. While we always hope we don't need them, it's much better to be prepared than to be wishing we could get to the stores to get supplies. Most things are common sense, but many don't plan for three full days of needing everything one uses during that time. If you have animals, you'll need extra things, like more food and water for them; if you take medications you'll need to prepare for that; if you have small children, there's another batch of things you'll need for them, and of course, depending on the particular disaster scenario, you may need to stock up on things for an even longer time, but you'll need three days worth of supplies at least! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches give you protein and a boost of energy, and that stuff lasts a long time, so unless you've got an allergy to peanuts, it's a great thing to have on hand.

Keep in mind: It's better to be prepared for everything and have nothing happen, than to be prepared for nothing and have everything happen!

BALLOTS--By now you should have received your ballot in the mail, so I hope you'll go over all the initiatives carefully before you vote, as many have double sided meanings it seems, so we must check them out with an extra amount of scrutiny. Maybe it's just me, but I get really annoyed when I get a phone call from "so and so's" little daughter, and using her cute little voice, pushes me to vote for her daddy. If a father uses such tactics to get a vote, I wonder what else they will do to get elected?! Personally, I don't think it's cute or appropriate, but then, maybe that's just me! Then there's the Presidential race. What can I say? Good luck to us all! And there you have my two cents on the election at hand!