My name is Niki Cantrell and as your new local lender, I wanted to take the time to introduce myself to the community. My family now has five generations born and raised in Ridgefield. My brother owns TLC Towing and my dad, Lee Wells, is on the City Council. This last January, I opened the Camas, WA branch of First Centennial Mortgage and now have proudly opened the downtown Ridgefield branch at 418 Pioneer Street.

What brought us to First Centennial Mortgage was their core values. They focus on the customer experience more than filling their own pockets. They don’t spend the money that customers worked hard for on marketing or having high rise offices. Keeping our overhead low allows us to have lower fees than our competitors. It’s been said we’ve got the Nordstrom service with the Walmart pricing!

As the market is shifting, not everyone is. We at First Centennial Mortgage have not experienced it. In the interest of our customers we compared rates to a few other mortgage companies and found ourselves consistently less expensive across the board. To you as the borrower, this means that by using First Centennisl you can keep your costs down and keep your loan process local.

A little about me. It has been a long-time goal of mine to bring my business to the community I grew up in. I have worked in this industry for 14 years and have over 30 years in customer service. Coming to First Centennial Mortgage, I found a family-oriented company that loved the idea of expanding into my hometown. So we have now opened our second branch in the Pacific Northwest in only nine months. My goal is to always make myself available to provide education as well as support in achieving personal and financial objectives.

We have an amazing staff here and would like to get to know everyone in the community! Please come stop by for your free mortgage evaluation, a personalized preapproval plan or to just say hi! I can be reached at 360-601-4054.

My Epson printer has finally given up after years of hard use, and I have ink cartridges to give away. They fit the Epson Stylus Photo R260, 280, 380 / RX580, 595, 680 / Artisan 50. I have all the colors, and most of the cartridges are high capacity and were purchased within the last month. Total value of the cartridges is almost $160.

You can have them for nothing by calling 360-887-2160 or emailing me at kathywinters179@gmail.com.

If you would like to donate a percentage of the value to the Friends of the Library it would be much appreciated.

The photo above is the ballot box located just east of the freeway.  It’s in the middle of the cul-de-sac just North of Pioneer Street by the restaurant and gas station.  Ballots can be deposited until 8 PM this evening.  Mail in ballots need to be postmarked with todays date to be valid.  Ballots need to be in the Ridgefield post office by 5 PM today.  People with mail delivery need to have their ballots in the mail box before the regular delivery time.

I have created a brochure listing volunteer activities in Ridgefield. If you work with new-comers in our community, you might want to get a copy. There are some on display at the library, City Hall, and in the spinner at the Sportsman’s. I can also email you a copy.

If you have a volunteer organization that’s not listed, send me information about it and I’ll include the data when the flyers are re-printed. Please include a description of your activities, meeting place, and contact information.

I howled when I read this. Hope you like it too.

“My granddaughter wanted a Cinderella-themed party, so I invited all her friends over and made them clean my house.”

This month’s auction item at the library is actually two baskets, to be bid on separately. They both contain two bottles of local wine as well as various chocolate items to go along the First Saturday’s theme of Wine ‘n Chocolate.

Money raised from the auction goes to fund the Friends of the Ridgefield Library’s many projects, including the new building. The baskets are displayed in the library, and bidding closes on Saturday, November 3. Put in your bid and enjoy some great goodies!

 It’s easy to donate to the library building fund. Make your check out to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library and mail it to PO Box 534, Ridgefield, WA 98642, or take it to the library. Contributions may be tax deductible.

If you want to be a Cornerstone member by donating $1000, the money can be paid in regular increments, but you do need to sign a form in order for the Treasurer to track payments. There are other levels of giving also. Each major donor will received recognition on a display at the new library. You can designate your donation be used only for the building fund if you like.

Billy Griffith was struck by a vehicle and killed October 11, 2018.  Billy was a 2017 Ridgefield high school graduate who was attending school at the University of Washington.  A Memorial will be held October 20, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at Faith Baptist Church in Hazel Dell.  A Go-Fund-Me Campaign has been set up in Billy Griffith’s name to help his family with funeral costs.  Please donate and keep Billy’s family in your prayers.   ~ Contributed by Pamela Lehto

The best thing about the good old days is that we weren’t good and we weren’t old.

Unleash your creativity! Expand your horizons! Challenge yourself!

Come paint with us, Tuesdays from 9 to 11 am at my home studio, 114 North 4th Avenue right in downtown Ridgefield. Class size is limited to five people, so there’s lots of individual instruction and a short lesson each day.

All materials are provided for this amazing watercolor class, which runs for six weeks. Beginning artists are welcome and encouraged. We’ve even had people who said they’d never held a brush before and they were amazed at the art.they created.

Cost is $99. Call today to reserve your spot. (360)887-2160) The class fills up quickly so act now.

The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has awarded the Ridgefield Police Department a grant for 15 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to have in police cars and city buildings. An AED is a sophisticated but easy to use medical device designed to help someone who is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. It can analyze the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.

In 2017, a student at nearby La Center High School, located in Clark County, began experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The local fire department and police department were present at the high school for an unrelated event. Both had functioning AEDs and were able to save the life of the student before additional emergency personnel arrived. Had the police and fire departments not had AEDs, the outcome could have been tragically different.

Since the incident, the City of Ridgefield has made equipping the police department and City facilities with AEDs a priority. In 2017, the department received 10 call requests for AEDs. At the time, the department had only one AED and was not able to provide assistance at all of the calls. The acquisition of the additional AEDs will allow the department to quickly and efficiently respond to all AED related calls, as every patrol car will be equipped with one.

The 15 AEDs provided by the generous grant from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation will help the Ridgefield Police Department better serve the community. Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation was founded in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Firehouse Subs co-founders, Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen, traveled to Mississippi where they fed first responders as well as survivors. As they traveled back to Florida exhausted and exhilarated, they knew we could do more and the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation was born, with the mission of providing funding, life-saving equipment and educational opportunities to first responders and public safety organizations. Since its inception, the non-profit organization has granted more than $35 million to hometown heroes in 47 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, including more than $365,000 in Washington.

Garden season is underway, and soon you may have more vegetables and fruit than you can handle. When it happens, call the Ridgefield Community Gleaners, an all-volunteer group that will assist getting your extra garden produce to the Ridgefield Family Resource Center, which supports families in need in various ways.

Gleaners will harvest and/or deliver your produce, and can provide you a tax-deductible receipt.  Call ‭(360)931-9573‬ or (918)766-2025 to schedule harvesting, or pickup and delivery of your extra garden vegetables and fruits. Thanks for your support!!

The Gleaners are also raising money to buy fresh produce this fall and winter after gardening season is over. They are selling raffle tickets of a watercolor painting of an original historic Ridgefield barn. Tickets are $5 each and many be purchased by calling one of the above numbers.

‘Summer Evening’, by Kathy Winters