The Ridgefield Food Project (aka Green Bag Project) was very happy to receive a donation from Reser’s Cares, the charitable arm of Reser’s Fine Foods of Beaverton OR. The money will be used to purchase food for the Ridgefield Family Resource Center and Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

The donation was initiated by Drew Bleth, of Ridgefield, who is employed by Reser’s Fine Foods.

Thank you Reser’s and Thank you Drew!

Reser’s is a privately held company located in Beaverton OR that employs over 4,000 people at over 14 major facilities and in eight communities across the US and Mexico.

Bill Baumann, receiving check from Drew Bleth; Chris Poppert of the Resource Center looking on.

The Ridgefield Lions Club will be selling Christmas Trees at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex (RORC) 3101 S. Hillhurst Road, from November 27th through December 6th.

The site will be open weekends from 8:00am to 5:00pm, and weekdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

The Ridgefield Lions Club supports many local activities.

Information: Don Stose, 360-334-1413.

The Ridgefield Community Library Building Team is looking for photographs showcasing Ridgefield’s history. We’re also extremely interested in any photographs of the dedication, ribbon cutting, or grand opening of the Ridgefield Community Center.

We would scan the photos and return them. They would be handled very carefully and are not damaged by the process. Each image is then digitally cleaned up and sized. We plan to use selected images on certain windows of the new Ridgefield Community Library. An example of the end product comes from the Rifle Public Library in Colorado, shown above. Note the etching on the lower window.

Please stop by the Ridgefield Community Library’s temporary location (228 Simons Street) if you have photos. Feel free to email the librarian with questions at smcgill@fvrl.org.

Contact a local artist if you’re interested in seeing their work.

Hallowe’en Display by the Ridgefield Art Association

Come join the fun in downtown Ridgefield. There’s a scavenger hunt going on until tomorrow at 9pm.

Thanks to the Ridgefield Art Association who sponsored the display at Overlook Park and all the other folks involved in putting up displays outside their businesses. Ridgefield Rocks!

The City of Ridgefield and Ridgefield First Saturdays is launching our first ever Make A Difference Month starting with Make A Difference Day Saturday, November 7th and ending with Hometown Celebration on Saturday, December 5th.

Make A Difference month is a community wide challenge with weekly themes and activities that emphasize the importance of caring for and appreciating our community. Each week will have its own theme, activities, and challenges. Complete all the challenges and receive a “I Made A Difference” certificate and thank you card from Ridgefield Mayor Don Stose. Weekly themes include: Stewardship, Small Acts of Kindness, Gratitude, and Community Connection. All activities and content can be found on our website, at bit.ly/RIDGEFIELDCARES

We recognize how challenging the past year has been for our community, and have seen an incredible demonstration of resilience and community among our residents and businesses. The Ridgefield community has stepped up to the plate to help one another through difficult times. With Make A Difference Month, we want to recognize and promote those actions in our community as we enter a time of year that can be tough for many. Come together with your community and Make A Difference in Ridgefield!

Make A Difference Month begins November 7th and there will be many opportunities to participate in the event throughout the month, but before then we want to ask the community for help in preparing a video. One of our weekly themes, is Gratitude, and we are asking: “What are you thankful for in Ridgefield/the Ridgefield Community?” If you have an answer to this question, and are willing to be featured in a video produced by the City of Ridgefield for Make A Difference Month, please email Events@ci.ridgefield.wa.us by Monday, October 26th for information on how to participate. Ridgefield community members of ALL ages are welcome to participate.

I have several clean, white five gallon buckets with good handles and lids to give away. They’re great for a number of uses around the house and garden, and too good to throw in the trash. Let me know how many you want and I’ll leave them on the front porch for pickup

SORRY THE BUCKETS ARE ALL GONE

Each year the Vaux Swifts roost for several nights in a chimney on the house across the street from my house. The population this year is the largest one yet, possibly several hundred.  The birds seem to be retiring a bit early these past few days, possibly because the fog and smoke make it dark sooner.  They will be here for another few weeks and then continue their migration to South America.  The residents in the house are new so I wonder if they knew about these birds.  Several came out of the fireplace and into the living room. They had the front door open and were coaxing these birds to leave.  It was a little like Alfred Hitchcock’s movie

I’ve worked with Les Greear for several years with operating remote site incubators in Gee Creek and Allen Canyon Creek.  The photo above was taken yesterday morning and then this fish was released back into the pool where it was netted.  I’m positive it is a juvenile Coho.  The bars on the sides are typical of young trout and salmon.  The white leading edge on the dorsal fin and anal fin is characteristic  of Coho.  This fish is about four inches long.  This year, the Lewis River Hatchery did not have any eggs available for the incubator on Allen Canyon Creek.   I’ve been trying for most of the summer to ID the fishes seen earlier in this creek.  I was able to net this one as the pool it was in has been shrinking with the summer drought. It is strong evidence that Coho are returning to the creek to spawn since there were no eggs for the incubator.  I will send this photo to a state biologist for conformation.

I also took a picture of a fry from under the Division Street Bridge in Abram’s Park earlier this summer.  The state said it was also a Coho.  Last year, the incubator on Reiman Road was moved to a  tributary east of the Carty Unit of the federal refuge. This tributary drains into Gee Creek below North Main Avenue.  The state biologist stated that it was unlikely that the fry would move so far upstream as to be in Abrams Park.  Her conclusion is that Coho are also spawning in Gee Creek.  That is the goal having incubators; to get a self sustaining population in both creeks.  There are lots of problems with both creeks but if improvements can be made to protect the flow and water quality of both creeks we may see an annual return of these fish.

The library has moved to its new location on Simon Street. The good news is the collection drop boxes for books are now reachable from the driver’s side of your car. Enter the alley at Mill Street and you’ll be aligned with the openings.

Curbside pickup is still being used until the state enters a new phase of COVID treatment.

The above graph is from Worldometer’ s dashboard for Covid 19. For the first time, it shows cases for the US as being above 70 thousand/day.   The number is higher than John Hopkin’s dashboard and Wikipedia’s  .  However. the sources all show that Friday, July 10th  was the highest single day ever.  Many states, especially in the south,  are at crisis levels now.  

The US failed to get this disease under control when it had the chance back in March and April when other countries did.  We are going to pay a heavy price for that with many epidemiologists saying it is going to get worse.

As individuals, our responsibility is to protect ourselves and others as best we can.  Wearing a mask,  practicing  safe distancing,  and other recommended means need to be followed.  It may be a while before things get better.

By Paul Snoey