Winter continues in Fraser
By Norma Brand and Cathy Walker
The winter season still has its icy grip on the Fraser Community. Our week started out with clear skies and cold temperatures, and then warmed up for a short time over the weekend. The power outage that hit the area at 12 o’clock midnight on Jan. 26 affected a large area. A call to the Clearwater Power Company revealed the problem was located at the Weippe Substation. Both Avista and Clearwater Power maintenance crews had responded and after 11 hours and 50 minutes power was restored.
A question comes to mind, “How many families were prepared for this situation?” Take time to look over your survival supplies and bring them up to date. We still have several months of cold weather ahead. Remember the Boy Scout oath “Always be prepared.”
Sunday afternoon it started snowing and by 6:30 Monday morning Guy and Cathy Walker had eight new inches of snow.
Mark and Karen Fowler reported their son, James, is enjoying college and dorm life suits his personality. Good luck James. Also their grandson, Darius Wassenberg, is attending Headstart in Weippe on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Linda Beard drove to Spokane on Saturday morning to help her daughter, Sharon Klein, celebrate her birthday. She reported that driving around Spokane was a little tricky because of the big snow storm that hit the area. On her return trip to Fraser, the roads cleared up 40 miles south of Spokane and she arrived home safely later that evening.
Christmas is over for another year and the decorations have been packed away. Now what will you do with all the beautiful cards you have received? St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is accepting card fronts again.
The children at the ranch trim the card fronts and glue them onto preprinted cards, which are then resold to the public. The children earn 15 cents for each card they create. The money is deposited into either a savings account or a college fund for the child.
The card fronts should be mailed to: St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, P.O. Box 60100, Boulder City, NV 89006-0100.
Recycled cards can be purchased from the ranch for $8 per package of 10 cards. The phone number is 1-800-492-3562. The Capital Press reporter, Bill Duncan, wrote about this topic in his column “The View from Here,” in the Jan. 25 issue. What a great way to put all those beautiful cards to use and help a worthy cause.
Ruth and Chuck McHone spent a quiet week at home. Ruth has been busy processing black walnuts which she adds to her baked items. They keep their bird feeder full so they can enjoy the birds. Ruth saw a Blue Heron down at the pond and a flock of ravens harassing an eagle. The white snow is perfect for bird watching.
Blanche Kinney spoke with Norma recently. She reported they had a call from Mary and Roy Cochrell recently. Roy wondered how they were getting along with all the snow that has fallen this year.
Theresa Luna visited with Norma Brand and mentioned that she was still looking for work.
Marie Green received a surprise phone call from Taiwan recently. In 1964, Marie and her husband, Joe, were a host family for an International Farm Youth 4-H Foreign Exchange Student from Taiwan named Ami Chi. Ami has continued to correspond with Marie over the years with the help of her daughter Ye Ping. This year Marie’s annual Christmas letter didn’t get sent because of her accident. Ye Ping tracked Marie down with the help of Marie’s daughter, Wilma, and to make a long story short, the friends reconnected. Ask Marie to fill you in on the details the next time you visit with her.
The Fraser Booster 4-H Club had their first meeting of the year on Jan. 9. At this meeting they held elections and the newly elected officers are Andy Berreth President, Joe Stanley Vice President, Jillian Stanley Secretary, Sara Stemrich Treasurer, and Erin Sellers Reporter. The next Fraser 4-H meeting will be on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Remember you need to turn in your enrollment forms soon if you have not already done so.
The 21st Century After School Program went ice skating on Friday, Jan., and had a great time. It was very chilly that day and even though they had a short time to skate, it was just long enough for most of the children. On Friday, Feb. 1, 15, and 29, the 21st Century will be going to the Weippe Public Library. On Feb. 29 they will celebrate Dr. Suess’s birthday. On Friday, Feb, 8, they will visit the Appaloosa Horse Museum in Moscow, Idaho.
Kirk Gangewer had to have a new well drilled because the old one caved in. What a blessing for Kirk that the drilling company only had to go down 400 feet for the new well.
Groundhog Day is fast approaching; do you think he will see his shadow?
Happy Birthdays go out to Loretta Musgrave and Jody Harris on Feb. 1, Nathan Musgrave, on Feb. 2, and Bert Chavez.