DECENT START--As this week begins, it was a pretty nice Sunday with some sunny skies to boot. Beings we ended last week with a brief snow shower, well, the sun was definitely more welcomed than that. KM mountain had a light layer on the highway for a short time that morning but thankfully, it warmed up and our brief snow event was over; whew! I hope that's the last we have seen of the "white stuff" but we have had snow at Easter time in April before, so for all you new folks in the area, don't be surprised if we still wind up with some miserable "Spring" weather; anything can happen around here!

SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from March 12-18 are Gretchen Mahitka, Azery Gribskov, Rick Kuljis, Grace Helms-Lampitt, Mary Thomas, Milt Doumit, Jason Nettles, Pat Kehrli, Breanna Olsen, Mariah Souvenir, Randy Hoven, Linda Barth, Jeff Barth, Lanie Hannah, Carol Wegdahl, Elizabeth Norris, John Vik, Carson Cothren, Brandi Arness, Jon Elven, Veryle West, Brandy Britt, Gene Healy and Ralph Kenner turns 95.

Those celebrating anniveraries this week are Tracy Carroll and Serene Snow, Kevin and Janelle Gilligan and Bill and Shelley Olsen. Here's hoping you get to enjoy those birthdays and anniversaries in style!

NO MOVIE--Once again, a quick reminder that there will not be a movie this Friday, March 13 at the Community Center in Cathlamet. For all of you just reading this paper, there are usually free movies and free popcorn on Friday evenings at the center located at 101 Main Street in Cathlamet, but currently the ones in charge of this are on vacation, so that's why there hasn't been one lately. If all goes as planned, they will resume next Friday night, March 20 at 7 p.m.

THIS SATURDAY--You'll want to be sure to head to Skamokawa this Saturday, March 14, as there will be two great places to shop instead of just one. The Wah. Co. Fairgrounds (almost) always host their monthly Flea Markets on the second Saturday of the month, and so once again, the Youth Building will have an abundance of things to choose from as you'll have new and used items for sale. Their hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Also, the Wahkiakum Fair Foundation will be selling raffle tickets for a dollar each for a stay at the "Great Wolf Lodge." The drawing will be held on May 3, so it would be great to have this prior to the summer months when all the kids are out of school and you could really enjoy the GWL experience. Here's hoping one of our locals is the lucky winner!

SKAMOKAWA GRANGE--Next door to the fairgrounds, at 18 Fairgrounds Rd., is the Skamokawa Grange Hall, and their members are putting on a big sale that same day, so you'll be able to shop in two places instead of just one! Granger Becky Ledtke says they got a whole lot of items donated to them so you can choose from kids clothes to TV's and everything in between. Here's hoping you'll stop by and support both of these good causes.

BINGO--The second Saturday evening of the month is also a time for playing bingo at the Norse Hall. Members of the Sons of Norway put on this monthly event. Doors open at 5:30 with games to begin at 6 p.m., and cards are $5 each. That's this Saturday evening, March 14. If you have any questions, or you want to double check on this event, call Jan 360-431-1705 or Susan 360-849-4476.

SERVICES--As a reminder, the services for Don Seaberg's wife, Cindi, will be held this Saturday at the Norse Hall on Puget Island from noon to four. Again, we send our deepest sympathies to Don and the other members of their respective families.

CANCELED--The Friends of Skamokawa are cancelling an event that they had planned for this Sunday, March 15, with guest speaker Kyleen Austin. She was going to talk about her recent kayaking trip to Alaska and show all the great pictures she took, but due to health concerns, this event is postponed for now.

MORE LOSSES--We've had sad news for ages and this week was the same, as our local community has lost another long time resident, Mike Balch, who was a former deputy and a friend to many and a loving husband to his wife, Darlene and great father to his son, Christopher, and their late son, Jonathan. We send our deepest sympathies to his family and closest friends and colleagues, as his smiling face and his kind ways will be missed by all who knew him.

We also want to send our sympathies to Sandra Hilker on the loss of her father, Elmer Jeudes, who had been living with her the last few years. We also want to send her husband, Everett some "get well wishes" as he's had his ups and downs lately, and of course, we wish Sandra some extra strength during this difficult time.

SURGERIES--Not only did Layton and Pam Elliott make a recent move, but now Pam will be making another trip to the hospital to have another knee surgery, so we hope she'll be feeling much better once that's done and healed up. Sharyl Iblings is going in for another hip surgery, so she's looking forward to being able to walk without being in such discomfort, but of course, she's not looking forward to the recovery time. Hopefully once she's all healed up, she'll be able to get around pain free! Tracy Tomlinson had foot surgery recently, which derailed some of her plans, but hopefully she'll be feeling better once she heals up and will be a bit more comfortable. Darlene Dobbins Almer had hand surgery awhile back and finally got her cast off and with some more patience and therapy, she'll be back doing her normal routine, only pain free this time.

OFF THEY GO--Kyle Sechler and wife Suzy are off to new adventures, as not only did they get married less than a year ago, but now they are moving to Atlanta, Georgia, so some big changes are happening in their first year as a married couple! I'm thinking it's going to be a big change of pace from the Seattle workplace scene, but Kyle's company is moving in that direction, so they are saying good-bye to the Pacific Northwest this coming week and headed in the Southeast direction. Beings young people adapt better than us older folks, I think they'll adjust to southern living just fine and will be showing us all their new surroundings via the computer in no time! Here's wishing the couple a safe trip as they make their way in that direction and continue their lives together in their new surroundings.

CONGRATULATIONS!--Both of our Mules basketball teams made it to State this year, and they both came home with some hardware, so a great big, "Congratulations" to them! The boys took home fifth place and the girls just had to make it a real thriller by going into overtime and coming out on top for a third place finish, so that was very exciting. Here's hoping that both of these teams find their way back to Spokane next year too. Go Mules!

KUDOS--You may have noticed that the newspaper collection box, near the Skamokawa Fire Department, was suffering from some "old age" issues recently. This was put up by the Lions Club members years ago but time and some extreme weather events, had taken its toll on it and so it was definitely in need of a repair job. I am happy to say that the repairs are underway and it should be able to keep papers dry once again thanks to several of the LC members. Kudos to all of you who helped!

TIME FOR GREEN!--We would be remiss if we didn't mention that next Tuesday is the day when we're going to be saying: "Happy St. Patrick's Day" and of course, we'll be wearing a "bit 'o green," so we don't get pinched! With a tad bit of Irish in me, I'll definitely be sporting something green that day, and we will be happy to wish you a little bit of Irish luck to boot! Here's to rainbows and leprechauns and all that is Irish; and it's ok if you just want to be Irish for the day.

TRIPLE WHAMMY--How did all of you fare this past week, as we had the time change on Sunday, a full moon on Monday and tomorrow is going to be Friday the 13th? Personally, I was extra sleepy after the time change and being shorted an hour, but nothing seemed too weird with the full moon, although the clear weather brought a good view of it and it was very cold, and I'll let you know if the 13th was a bad day or not; let's hope not! Do you have a "triple whammy" story? Let me know if you had an extraordinary week of some kind; and hopefully it's of the good kind and not the bad kind.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1950, the weather began cold and clear, but then it not only got wet, but it got colder with some very nasty days that included some heavy hail and some wind as well. On March 16, John James Foster passed away at the age of just 57 after a long illness. He left behind his widow, Esther of Cathlamet and a daughter, Mrs. Patricia Kluge of Astoria, as well as his Mother, Mrs. Orpha Foster of Bakersfield, CA. He was also survived by six siblings, which included four brothers: Audrey, of Bakersfield, Ed of Walla Walla, Harry of Eugene, OR and Ernest of Astoria and two sisters: Mrs. Minnie MacCarley of Bakersfield and Mrs. Nellie Linton of Portland. It was this week that Mrs. Nevada Shamley passed away and everyone was quite sad, as she was a woman whose smile greeted everyone at the Wahkiakum County courthouse, where she worked as a clerk for many years. It was also this week, on March 17, that "The Spar" opened, which was a pretty big deal back in the day. Birthdays this week were for family members Gene Healy and Barbara Walker. This according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diary.