From the Editor’s Desk August 2011

Right now at the Valley Bugler, through August 31st, 2001 we are running our “Let’s Chat” contest, where sharing your thoughts could win you $100 in cash, along with other prizes!
We wonder if there are folks out there who think they can win this? We’ve only had a handful of entries, so your chances for winning are big.
Enter up to one time every day by following the rules listed below.

We like to hear from YOU!

Let’s Chat! Did you like this issue? Which articles caught your fancy? Who do you share your Bugler with? Where is your favorite place to pick one up? Do you have a favorite section or columnist?
Share your thoughts with us on any topic concerning the Valley Bugler Newspaper between June 27th and August 31st, and be entered to win our Grand Prize drawing for $100.00 in cold, hard CASH. Select comments will also be printed in the September issues, and other giveaways!
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “A penny for your thoughts”!!
You can send those to us with your FULL NAME and phone number:
• eMail: Use our Contact Form
- Write “Thoughts” in the subject
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- “Like” us and post your thoughts!
• Snail Mail to address below:
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Longview, WA 98632
——————–
We’ve heard from a few of you awesome readers, as shown in our “We Get Comments” column found on p.20 – maybe yours will appear there next month for bragging rights?
This month’s issue offers a wide array of fun stuff to do in the sun, now that it has finally decided to show its face. At least for now.
Although it has come to play, I am still wearing socks, and to my own dismay I have turned on the heat a few times this summer.
Disgraceful.
As we sit and mold quietly here in our corner of the States, I should be glad that we are not literally baking and being blown around like the rest of the Americas.
Record temperatures, months long droughts and swollen rivers disgorging themselves all over our beautiful countryside have filled the news.
I’m glad to live in our temperate Washington climate, where our biggest concern this summer is whether or not the moss will die.
There are heroic stories about local people traveling from the local area to visit these disaster stricken places, such as Joplin, Missouri and Minot, North Dakota. Taking time from their beautiful summer vacations, crowds from the Northwest are swelling our hearts with pride with their outreach missions to help where they can.
Not only do we have wonderful friends and neighbors in our communities giving to those that live elsewhere, we also see people caring and sharing with those around us in need.
Programs such as CAP providing meals for the hungry or less fortunate, and amazing organizations like LOVE, Inc – who are reaching out to those that most other people look right over.
I’m proud to live in such a place where I can be sure that a vast majoity of the people I meet will be helping someone else in their life, in some way, shape or form.
It’s this mentality and life practice of neighborly love that carries us through those dark times that fall on us all. I believe that’s one reason why we were created – to learn to love God through loving and caring for one another.
Whether it’s picking up your neighbor’s fallen garbage can or bringing a cherry pie to an invalid veteran down the way, we are all doing something to care for others. And if you’re not? Well, don’t you think it’s high time you found out all you’re missing?
Until next month, I hope to hear what you think, so Let’s Chat!

Michelle Myre
Publisher / Editor

Good ole guffaws

Outdoor Man?
This morning I waded across a raging river, escaped from a bear in the woods, marched up and down a mountain, stood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand, and climbed up an enormous tree!
My friend said, “ You must be some outdoorsman!”
“No,” I replied, “I’m just a lousy golfer.”

Harry’s Diet
Harry and his friend Bill were exiting a drugstore and at the front door there was a scale.
“Look, a scale,” Harry said to his friend Bill. “Let’s see how my new diet is working out.”
Harry stepped on the scale.
“I can’t believe it!” he said as he read the result. “I’ve been on this diet for two weeks but the scale says I’m heaver than I was before! How can that be?”
Harry pondered this as he stepped off the scale, then had a thought.
He took off his jacket and handed it to Bill. “Here, hold my jacket,” he said.
Bill took the jacket as Harry stepped back on the scale.
Not much change.
“Here,” he said as he handed his purchase from the drugstore to Bill. “Hold my box of Twinkies too.”

Teaching right from wrong
The teacher was trying to impress upon her pupils the importance of doing right at all times, and to bring out the answer, “Bad habits,” she inquired: “What is it that we find so easy to get into and so hard to get out of?” There was silence for a moment and then one little fellow answered.
“Bed”.

Harry’s going to heaven
After finishing the sermon, the Pastor says, “Anyone who wants to go to Heaven, raise your hand.”
All hands go up except Bill’s friend Harry. The Pastor asks, “How about
you Harry Don’t you want to go to Heaven?”
Harry.: “Oh, but I do. I just thought you were getting a group together to go right now.”

Noble Nannies and Hero Hamsters

They moved into our home in May of 1977 – Emelda Quigley and her wee hamster, Herkimer. Herkimer was cinnamon colored with a white collar and tummy. Being nocturnal, he usually slept all day and ran on his squeaky treadmill at night, a trait we tolerated because of how quickly he endeared himself to us and our  four children.
One morning after breakfast, I heard Herkimer’s treadmill squeaking oddly in broad daylight.
Intrigued, I headed out of the kitchen to see why our nocturnal friend was awake, and was startled to see that the top of the TV was on fire!
My three older children were laying on their stomachs in front of the TV watching Sesame Street, oblivious to the danger they were in.
The fire was spreading to the curtains! I quickly grabbed the children and brought them outside to the front porch, went back in, unplugged the TV and called 911. Then I grabbed Herkimer’s cage and brought our tiny hero outside.
Herkimer had smelled the smoke and his squeaky treadmill had been our smoke alarm.
The firemen came and extinguished the flames and everyone was safe back inside the house. I was thankful for Herkimer’s once annoying but now appreciated squeaky treadmill, which saved our house from burning down and my children from serious injury or worse!
Emelda, Herkimer’s owner, had moved in three days earlier to be our live-in nanny. Her job was to watch our four young children while I taught piano and guitar lessons to 51 elementary school students who came, by turn, to our home after school and on Saturdays.
Kim Chang, my best friend and Emelda’s sister, loved singing in choir together with me at church. She had expressed concern about her sister, Emedla on occasion. You see, Emelda had left the Catholic religion that Kim and I were part of at the time, and had become a “Born again Christian”. Together, Kim and I hatched a plan to get Emelda back into the Catholic Church: I’d invite her to live with us and be our children’s’ nanny, and part of her job would be to attend church with our family.
Kim and I felt confident Emelda would quickly return to the faith as she mixed with the many active and friendly congregants and priests in our parish, but here is what actually happened…
Kim was my youngest son’s godmother, and at the christening reception, Emelda came as a guest of Kim. I asked Emelda if she’d like to come stay with us and be our children’s nanny. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Thank you. I’ll pray about it and let you know”. (Which kind of freaked me out….)
Several days later, Emelda called to say, “Yes, she would come stay with us and help with the children”. Thinking Emelda was soon to be wooed back into the Catholic Church by me and my children, I felt confident God had sent her to us for that very reason. But something went terribly wrong with my plan.
Within three days, Emelda had showed me so many scriptures in my own Bible that I had never known about, that instead of convincing her to return to the Catholic Church, she persuaded me to accept Christ as my Savior and I’ve never looked back!
Romans 10:9-10 was the clincher: “If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved – for it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God and by confessing with his mouth that he confirms his own salvation.”
Finally, I knew for certain I was headed for heaven! In twenty-seven years of attending Catholic Church services, I’d never once heard how to be saved, or born again. Emelda’s words made sense, and she kept referring me back to my own Catholic bible for scriptural answers to my many questions.
Now, almost 35 years later, I am more convinced than ever that every jot and tittle of the Bible is true and all religions are false, other than what James 1:27 calls “true religion and undefiled…: to care for widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted by the world”.
Thanks to Herkimer and his squeaky treadmill, we were saved from a devastating house fire; and thanks to Emelda Quigley sharing her faith in God’s Word and in Jesus Christ, we were saved from the fires of hell! God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform! Thanks Lord, for noble nannies and hero hamsters. You always know best what we need.
Comments? Questions? Be sure to Chat with us via eMail, website or Snail Mail!

Annual Pug Parade set to strut down Commerce Ave on Friday, July 22nd

It is an event that has received a lot of attention from pugs and their owners, as well as dedicated pug fans. Even pug wannabees attend because of the fun of it.
If you aren’t familiar with pugs, the short, fawn or black smooshed in nose dogs with the curly tails, let us fill you in a bit. Pugs are considered the clowns of the dog world. They are conniving, sneaky, and a laugh a minute. They each have their own personality, but they all are funny.
The Pug Parade originated almost seven years ago, under the careful eye of former Valley Bugler editor/publisher Candy Richey and her husband, Bill.
It has been well attended ever since. The annual trek begins on Commerce, and parades along Commerce during the Downtown LIVE evening.
Fun contests and super cool prizes await everybody once the parade is over. Sponsored this year by The Pet Works, Lynn’s Ice Cream Yogurt & More, and Natura Pet, everybody is sure to enjoy this family friendly event and activity.
We never know who will be reading this, or where they will ‘share’ it with friends on FaceBook or eMail, so it’s quite possible people may travel all day just to attend!
One year, we even had a FLOAT created by a family all the way up near Marysville, WA. Costumes are highly encouraged, and ‘themed’ pugs can proudly display their matching themed owners.
Don’t have a dog? That’s ok! You can come and watch this lively procession of four legged friends tugging their owners down the street during Downtown LIVE, happening Friday nights in Downtown Longview @ 6pm.
Whether you are a pug family, or just a pug fan, plan on enjoying the Pug Parade Friday evening at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to walk and talk as we watch these “lights of joy” strut their stuff!
You can sign up for the Pug Parade at the Pet Works, 1257 Commerce Ave in Longview, WA or at:
www.thePetworksinc.com
All breeds welcome!!

Rubik Cube Quote

‘Our
whole
life
is
solving
puzzles.’
~Erno Rubik

Adorable Adopt-ee of July

By Georgia Butterfield
Meet ‘Chaquita’ mama!
When employees arrived at work recently at a local big box store, they found a banana box, duct taped shut, with several holes poked in the sides. As they neared the box, they heard frantic meowing. This could not be good. When they opened the box, they were not prepared for the pitiful sight that greeted them. A skin-and-bones momma cat and 4 tiny sickly kittens, huddled around her for warmth. What kind of human being does this to helpless animals? It was obvious that momma cat had done her very best to care for the babies, and the lack of food and water had taken it’s toll on her body. You could count every bone.
Our rescue was called, and we immediately rushed them to a local Vet clinic, where they were given subcutaneous fluids to rehydrate them. They had Upper Respiratory Infections, and were given antibiotics. Two of the little kittens were so weak they couldn’t even hold up their heads. An emergency call went out for a foster home. We were blessed by the response, and placed the little family with a registered nurse, who hand-fed the little ones every 2 hours, and made sure they had their antibiotics on time. How lucky we were to find this woman.
Now the little family is healthy, the kittens are playful and energetic. Momma cat Chaquita now has beautiful long silky hair. She’s still a bit on the thin side, but with continued good nutrition, she will be soon be ready to appear of Cat Fancy magazine; she’s a beauty! And she has a sweet disposition.  There is one female kitten still available – Chunk – who has a unique smoke-color coat. If you’d like to adopt both momma Chaquita and her darling kitten, come by Petco and meet them.
*Find us on FaceBook!

For the animals,
Georgia Butterfield
Rescued Paws
1105D – 15th Avenue, #118
Longview, WA 98632
wwww.rpaws.petfinder.org
360-673-7373

Sudoku

How to solve sudoku puzzles
To solve a sudoku, you only need logic and patience. No math is required.
Simply make sure that each 3×3 square region has a number 1 through 9 with only one occurrence of each number.  Each column and row of the large grid must have only one instance of the numbers 1 through 9. The difficulty rating on this puzzle is easy. Answer same page.

Actual Police Trooper Statements

These are actual comments made by South Carolina Troopers that were taken off their car videos:
1. “You know, stop lights don’t come any redder than the one you just went through.”
2. “Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch after you wear them a while.”
3. “If you take your hands off the car, I’ll make your birth certificate a worthless document.”
4. “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”
5. “Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that’s the speed of the bullet that’ll be chasing you.”
6. “You don’t know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?”
7. “Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I’m the shift supervisor?”
8. “Warning! You want a warning? O.K, I’m warning you not to do that again or I’ll give you another ticket.”
9. “The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”
10. “Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy and corn dogs and step in monkey poop.”
11. “Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven.”
12. “In God we trust; all others we run through NCIC.” ( National Crime Information Center )
13. “Just how big were those ‘two beers’ you say you had?”
14. “No sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we can.”
15. “I’m glad to hear that the Chief (of Police) is a personal friend of yours. So you know someone who can post your bail.”
AND THE WINNER IS….
16. “You didn’t think we give pretty women tickets? You’re right, we don’t. Sign here.”

Post & Parcel relocated, not closed!

Post and Parcel was established 8 years in West Longview but recently moved to downtown Longview in early May. Their new info: 1508 12th Ave.
They are OPEN for business, and want to clear up some rumors that they closed shop and/or a new owner came on the scene. Tracie Schmidt, owner extraordinaire contacted the Bugler when she heard these rumors.
We’re glad to help put them to rest and provide correct information.
Mon-Fri 9/6 and Sat 10/3
Call 578-1700
Post and Parcel is authorized to ship FEDEX, UPS and USPS domestic or international.
Three sizes of Private Mailbox Rentals available, call to see if mail or parcels have come in before making that trip.
They also provide a Notary Public (most documents), Packaging Services, Greeting Cards/Gifts, Faxing/ B&W Copies, Custom Rubber Stamps and new to their offerings is Customer Computer Rental.

Bark for Life! Canines fight back at cancer July 16th @ Expo Center

Canines get a chance to fight back at cancer. Dogs can now officially put one paw in front of the other to help stomp out cancer at The Bark for Life is on July 16 at the Cowlitz Expo Center.  It is a great opportunity to get some exercise and to help the Relay for Life/American Cancer Society.
The American Cancer Society Bark For LifeTM is a noncompetitive walk event for dogs and their owners to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer.
By supporting Bark For Life, you help the American Cancer Society save lives, and that helps us move closer to our ultimate goal of a world with less cancer and more birthdays.
“Like” Cowlitz/Wahkiakum County Bark for Life on Facebook
So bring your best canine friend and join us for a fun-filled day starting with a walk, and then continuing with demonstrations, contests, and games.
BFL was started to give people who did not have 24 hours to spare have the opportunity to be part of the Relay for Life.  People also ask if they could take their dog to RFL and the answer is “No” because there are just to many people and to many potential problems.  Therefore, Bark for Life came to be.  If you would like to know more about the Event and how you can get involved, check out Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/CowlitzWahkiakumBarkForLife

For more information or to form a team, please call Brenda Courser at 425-6962 or 430-7330 or Laura Maria Morrison @ 360-751-1416

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