Ethel Slingerland Mullens designed the Henry Hackadoo mascot for South Bend HS. It was on the cover of the 1952 Carcowan. Ethel, who graduated from SBHS in 1952, was called into the superintendent's office and asked to design a mascot. Ethel said she got the idea for Henry Hackadoo from a "squeeky toy that was sitting on the superintendent's desk and the cheerleaders had a cheer that ended with 'hack a doo, hack a doo' and that's how it came to be." Henry Hackadoo T-shirts and crewneck sweatshirts are available by contacting Joyce Kidd on Facebook at Derik Nissell Toy House, and order forms can be obtained at South Bend Pharmacy. All proceeds go to the toy house. Orders will be taken through September.

The Delta variant is hitting Washington hard and has even reached into the smaller counties like Pacific County.

Many medical facilities are shuffling patients around to areas that have more hospital beds for COVID patients.

The Delta variant of COVID is sweeping through the nation, hitting the unvaccinated and vaccinated. The vaccines are offering protection from this variant by generally not putting the vaccinated people in the hospital.

According to Pacific County Department of Health and Human Services Director Katie Lindstrom, "It [The Delta variant] is much, much more infectious than previous variants of the disease; for every one person who gets infected now, around six people are getting infected. Prior it was 1 to 1 or 1 to 2, but now it is 1 to 6, that is what the national data is telling us."

When the pandemic started, the 60 plus age group were infected with COVID the most, but now COVID is infecting younger people.

"The cases are happening in younger people than before," Lindstrom continued. "That has to do with the high vaccination rate in the older population." She also pointed out that COVID cases are still happening all through Pacific County.

SOUTH BEND - The 58th Annual "Come and Play on Labor Day" Festival opens tomorrow and closes out on Labor Day. This years' theme is "Happy Days are Here Again!" This unique gathering of friends, families and visitors offers a variety of kids and adult activities and food and music, and, more than anything, wholesome fun for everyone.

Ron Black Sr., a local veteran, has been appointed to the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee (VAAC) this spring by Governor Inslee. This is a first for Pacific County since most positions are filled by veterans from more populated areas.

MENLO - The theme for this year's Pacific County Fair is "Celebration". The 125th edition of the Pacific County Fair (100th in Menlo) returns to more of a sense of normalcy after only a couple of displays in 2020. The fair takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Pacific County Fairgrounds.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Tienhaara released a comprehensive overview about what to expect as the 2021-22 school year opens in his district.

New owners Chuck and Coby Moreno of C&C Classic Diner (formerly Slater's Diner) had their ribbon cutting ceremony on July 27th. You may have noticed the new paint on the building or the new sign as you passed by.

Raymond Superintendent Ross Baker brings an eclectic background to the Raymond School District (RSD). Baker was hired as the new superintendent on July 1 - taking over for Dr. Stephen Holland, who retired after 18 years at RSD.