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The Castle Rock Exhibit Hall will be officially closing this Saturday after more than 23 years of preserving and displaying local history.

Brought on by a shrinking pool of volunteers to help maintain the program, as well as decreasing income from local lodging tax dollars, Exhibit Hall Society President Douglas Parker said his group had to make the difficult decision in March of shutting down the facility.

The Winlock Middle School and High School music students will be performing a free concert Thursday evening at the High School, and the public is invited to attend.

The choir will perform first at 6:30, followed by the band at 7:30. A reception with refreshments will follow the performances.

Prior to Memorial Day, it is the hope of the Winlock Cemetery to place flags and crosses on the graves of veterans in honor of the holiday, but the labor to do so is not always available. Recently, local high school students have been dropping by to help with the project, and this year saw students from Winlock and Napavine (pictured) volunteering under the direction of Winlock instructor Hedy Mitchell.

Local residents and veterans observe of Memorial Day service Monday at St Francis Mission, near Toledo, among eight scheduled services for the Napavine, Winlock, Toledo and Vader areas. Part of an annual tradition, the services are organized and led by members of American Legion Post 101 and VFW Post 3409, and assisted by Boy Scout Troop 324, all based in Winlock.

The Winlock School District has hired a new elementary school principal after eliminating the position last year due to budget constraints.

During their May 21 meeting, the Winlock School Board confirmed the hiring of Boyd Calder to the position after what Superintendent Shannon Criss described as a “grueling” vetting process, including an open Q’n’A forum with staff members.

Students with Winlock High School’s band program (pictured) walked away with a first place trophy in the second division at the Massed Band Festival in Wahkiakum May 16. 12 bands from around the area were competing, including Winlock, Toledo, Onalaska, Pe Ell, Raymond, Wahkiakum, Mossyrock, Touted Lake, Ilwaco, Napavine, Ocosta and Adna. (Photo provided by Karl Scarborough.)

This is Barb Lewis reporting on the book "One Summer, America, 1927" by Bill Bryson.

I admit it - I love to read about the past, especially the 20's. This book captured my imagination from the beginning.

Things have either been pretty quiet around town or else I haven’t been at the right place at the right time. A group gathered the other day to start planning for the next Fall Festival. It will be the 10th annual show and they want to do it up big. Expect to hear more about live music, a quilt show and more activities to make this a real Town Festival. It was also decided that this and future Festivals will be held the third weekends of May and October. That will make the dates for this on Oct. 17 and 18. Contact Norma at (360) 295-3672 for more information.

This is still a few weeks away, but you might consider a trip to Long Beach for Flag Day on June 14th. They bill themselves as the “most patriotic town in America” (They’ve never been to Ryderwood!) and have a great festival every year. If you hang around the stage from 12 to 3, you can catch “Sweet Swing” and their repertoire of patriotic songs from the 40’s – period USO-like attire, to boot. This fine trio will perform in Ryderwood on Sept. 14, which I’ll be telling you more about later. I’m thinking Long Beach might be a pretty good day trip on the 14th.

The Country Cruisers Car Club has scheduled their spring car show for June 7 at McMurphy Park, and food and events are expected for the whole family, including performances by The Randy Band. To enter your vehicle, or to reserve vendor space, call club president Al Banks at (360) 295-3417.

The first of three limb disposal days has been scheduled for June 7, and local residents can dispose of old tree limbs for free. This event will be at the Vader Sewer Plant (1025 A St.), and residents are advised no logs, grass, leave or garbage will be accepted.

Library upade: Mike Ouellette and sons are sheet rocking the building. Travers Electric will update the lighting. ToledoTel has wired it for WiFi. Volunteers are needed to help paint the inside. To help, contact Pat at 864-6757 or caldwell@toledotel.com. Next meeting is 6:30 p.m., June 3 at the library.

The Clean Up TOLEDO Day is Saturday, May 31. Show up at the boat launch at 9 a.m. or contact Mike at 864-2334 or mikes@toledotel.com The City will have a huge collection box for anyone to drop off grass clippings, leaves, branches and other organic materials.

The Winlock Olequa Senior Center has a lot of wonderful things to offer our community. Many of you may not know that you can rent the building for any events needed. They also offer many services for the seniors in our area. I wanted to give a sample of the meals they cook for the community. On Wednesday, they will have chicken strips, tater tot’s, mixed vegetables and peaches. On Thursday, it’s cooks choice, Joanne Parkison informed me this is the day she decides what to cook and experiencing her food as a kid, I can guarantee you it will be great. On Friday, they will be having meat lasagna, garlic bread, pea’s with pearl onions, mandarin oranges and brownies. They also offer sewing times, pinochle, bingo and many other fun things to do where you can sit and meet new people. I admire Gary and Joanne Parkison for their dedication to the senior center. They take their volunteer times seriously, they are always there and as Joanne has said, “I enjoy my seniors” and it shows in everything they do.

Timothy Sweeney, 65, a local craftsman from Winlock passed away February 12, 2014 after a short illness.

He is survived by his wife Sharon, 6 children, 15 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Letter to the Editor:

The volunteers at the WHMA Food Bank would like to acknowledge the public as well as the employees of our local post office. This year’s food drive was a huge success!

The Vader City Council has chosen to increase the wages of city employees with part of their funding surplus resulting from 2013’s decrease in expenditures.

The city clerk, billing clerk and part-time public works employee will all receive a raise of $0.75 per hour starting June 1, while the billing clerk and public works employee will be given eight more hours per week.

Winlock Senior Chance Fisher and Junior Sarah Howsden qualified for a trip to the WIAA State Track & Field Championships in Cheney next weekend.

Fisher won the district championship in the high jump by being the only competitor to clear six feet. He struggled at 5'8", making the height on his third and final jump.

Local law enforcement and emergency responders will be performing an Active Shooter Drill this Saturday at Toledo First Baptist Church and residents are reminded not to be alarmed by a preponderance of emergency vehicles at the church that day. While the public is still encouraged to call 911 in case of any perceived emergencies, they should understand the events are the church are simply a drill.

Authorities are seeking help solving a burglary taking place in Silver Creek earlier this month.

Sometime between 6:30 p.m. May 11 and 3:30 p.m. May 17, an unknown number of suspects broke the window of a new home under construction and stole a Stihl 066 chainsaw, a Senco framing nail gun, wire, extensions fords, a tool box, a DeWalk orbital sander, a Gerber axe, a Craftsman toolbox a floor jack, a Hitachi framing nail gun, six boxes of framing nails, a 1hp Craftsman router, and a ratchet set with sockets, among other items. The total estimated loss is more than $6,000.

Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office spent an hour and forty five minutes conducting a crosswalk emphasis Thursday in hopes of educating the public and creating a safer environment for those using the crosswalks between the Law and Justice building and the Courthouse.

In that short time, fourteen traffic stops were conducted. Out of those stops:

A Winlock man has been killed in a Chehalis-area logging accident in the fourth logging fatality reported locally this year.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports the 18-year-old victim, later identified as Cole Bostwick by the Lewis County Coroner’s Office, had been setting chokers May 21 at a logging site on the 4700 line off Pe Ell-McDonald Rd. when a carriage was accidentally lowered onto Bostrick, killing him upon impact.

Castle Rock's local NAPA auto parts store held the first of what they intend to be many Customer Appreciation Days May 21 behind their store on Front Ave. SW. Aided by the Rock 'n' Roll Tool Trailer, which visits area NAPA locations for proportional events, NAPA representatives served up free food for community members, among other happenings that day. For more info on this and other community events, be sure drop by Castle Rock Auto Parts at 105 Huntington Ave S., or call (360) 274-6651.

Local antique and objet d’art buffs have a new venue to find decorations for their homes as the Winlock Antique Hall has opened in downtown Winlock.

Located on the corner of First St. and Walnut St. at the old location of McKenzie’s Hair Salon, this new vendor-based shop was opened by Seattle developer and history enthusiast Jesse Martin, who purchased the building knowing full well about its history within the community.