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The Toledo School Board has announced they will be holding public forums next week for local residents to interact with finalists for the position of superintendent, with a candidate expected to be offered the job by next month.

Officials have been seeking to fill the position since Superintendent Sharon Bower announced her resignation in November, effective the end of June. The School Board has since been working with Northwest Leadership Associates to cultivate and narrow down a candidate pool, and a group of five finalists has been submitted.

Students with Winlock's Mexico Within the Heart dance group perform in Seattle Sunday during the National Migrant Education Program Conference. The students had been specifically invited to be part of the conference as their participation and level of exposure has grown over the years. Other performances from the group are expected locally as the summer festival season kicks off soon.

My name is Barb Lewis, and I love books. Biographies are some of my favorite types of books and I just finished 2 new ones. The first is "Elvis and Ginger, Elvis Presley's Fiancée and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story" by Ginger Alden. I grew up listening to his music, doing my homework at the kitchen table with the radio next to me. And as each of his movies came out, a group of us would go to the theatre to watch. He was the King of rock and roll!

Spring has officially arrived as the many budding and blooming trees, shrubs and bulbs can attest. It's that time of year when leaves on trees are just beginning to show their green and it is such a brilliant color. Our little Zone 4 microclimate doesn't have near as much blooming as other nearby areas, but the daffodils have been spectacular and I've just spotted the first rhodie blossoms.

The Red Hat ladies have an outing planned on Thursday to dine on Chinese food in Mossyrock. They will get all decked out in their Red & Purple and carpool from the Café at 11:30 a.m. Contact Patty at (360) 295-3544 to join an afternoon of fun, food and silliness. The Red Hatters motto is "All play and no work"!

Congrats to the City Council for passing Toledo's Shoreline Master Plan. This new document helps guide development decision along the Cowlitz River and can be viewed at City Hall during open hours.

March 26 Story Time at Toledo Library 1-2 p.m. Surprise Theme! Visit https://www.facebook.com/FriendsToledoTimberlandLibrary

May Day is coming up in a little more than a month and the theme has been announced for this year's festival: Trains, Tractors and May Flowers. Confirmed activities include breakfast at the Little Falls Masonic Lodge, performances from the Noe No Ka Mauna hula group and Mexico Within the Heart dance group, as well as the annual Cake Walk, a bike giveaway and games by Little Crane Café. The Vader Assembly of God Church will also be holding a flea market sale, while the fire department will be holding an open house. The event is scheduled for May 2 and vendor spaces remain available, with interested parties encouraged to call Judy Costello at (360) 295-3036, while those interested in being part of the parade should call Janet Charlton at (360) 295-3011. Parade forms are also available at J & G Grocery and Cedar Village IGA.

The Lions Club will be holding their regular Bingo game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Building. Cash prizes will be available, while the kitchen will also be open to provide refreshments. For info call Jeannie Emmenegger at (360) 785-4817.

Site Leader Karen von Seggern says: "I would like to thank all the volunteers and community members who made this year's Rummage Sale a huge success for the Olequa Senior Center. Many thanks to those who gave up their weekend to work the sale, the community who donated and those who attended and purchased items. It could not have happened without you all."

Over the March 7 weekend, two members from the Organ Historical Society, Dick Morrison and Fred Beeks, approached Raymond Theatre Manager Anne Steele on the premises that there was a broken pipe organ that Beeks had inquired about on an earlier sightseeing trip through town.

The odds of a debris pile in Winlock being cleaned up by beleaguered developer Phil Smith appear to be slimmer as an auction to sell the property in question has been scheduled for later this June.

Though Smith has been urged by both the City of Winlock and Lewis County since last year to clean up the pile (the remains of a two-story house left at under-developed subdivision Grand Prairie Mountain View Estates), Smith's creditors have since filed a notice of trustee's sale with the county seeking to recover more than $900,000 Smith owes in principal, interest and fees, as of January.

The City of Winlock has received approval to begin using a federal grant for the replacement of Fir St. Bridge, with officials stating they hope the project may come to completion around the end of the year.

The city had been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Federal Highways Bridge Program (FHBP) in December and, after the project was added to the state's Transportation Improvement Plan, among other procedural steps, Winlock received word last week the funds have been released and replacement can move forward.

A breakdown of recent local games for the week of March 25.

A Winlock woman has been arrested after a DUI collision near Napavine March 18, according to the Lewis County Sheriff's Office.

Shelley D. Jordan, 37, was contacted at around 9 p.m. on the 100 block of Jubb Rd., east of Napavine, after having driven her car off the road. She was first transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with complaints of back pain and, after being medically released, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for DUI. Her vehicle was reportedly totaled.

Lewis County Fire District 15, of Winlock, recognized multiple responders and retirees during their awards dinner on Saturday.

Recent fundraisers gathered more than $10,000 for the survivors of a Feb. 26 fire in Winlock as the community seeks to support the family amid their loss of a house, a mom and two daughters.

Held last Saturday, multiple events were organized both by community leaders and local families close to the victims and included a motorcycle poker ride, benefit lunch, rummage sale and silent auction.

Officials with Lewis County Medic One have agreed on a proposal to fully fund the agency, stabilizing efforts to reform local paramedic services amid sharp decreases in revenue.

Approved by the Medic One Board of Directors during their March 17 meeting, the plan will divide the agency's total budget, at $820,825 for this year, between the six districts served by Medic One (Lewis County Fire Districts 1, in Onalaska, 3, in Mossyrock, 8, in Salkum, 15, in Winlock, 2, in Toledo, and Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20, in Vader and Ryderwood) based on the percentage of advanced life support (ALS) transports within each district.

SOUTH BEND - The Pacific County Republican Lincoln Dinner will be held March 21 at the Willapa Harbor Community Center, 916 West First Street in South Bend. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. The social hour begins at 5 pm, followed by dinner at 6 pm.

Investment company Edward Jones has opened a new location to serve South Lewis County and both serious and curious investors are invited to drop by.

Located in Napavine next to the Starbucks on Rush Rd., Financial Advisor Vanessa Horning said their goal is to provide the services available through Edward Jones to those not able to regularly travel to their other offices on Morton or Chehalis.