South Bend HS senior Jessica Sanchez and Ocosta HS senior Kaylee Barnum were named co-Most Valuable Players for the Pacfic League by a vote of the league's coaches. Ocosta head coach Barb Rasmus was awarded as the Coach of the Year after directing the Wildcats to an undefeated league championship.

Voter turnout across Washington state reached record numbers in 2018. The Pacific turnout alone reached 73.75% with 10,859 of the 14,724 registered voters casting in their ballots. Many voters were still dropping their ballots off at the post office, ballot boxes, and auditors office just seconds before voting closed. Most of the incumbents inside the county have won their reelection bids.

Sparks flew at the November 5, Raymond City Council Meeting when the council addressed reports of a rental rate increase for Willapa Harbor Business Week that's held at the Raymond Theatre. It was reportedly raised from $500 to $2000 this year and implemented by the new Theatre Manager Diane Ziel.

Gordon L. Aleshire is a well-known member of the Raymond VFW Post 968 and the American Legion Post 150. Instead of risking being selected in the draft he willingly joined the army. While deployed to Vietnam with the 132nd Assault Support Helicopter Company he earned the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service. The 132nd ASHC was deployed to Chu Lai, Vietnam for 42 consecutive months and managed to only lose two aircraft.

The Pacific County Commissioners passed a State of Emergency Declaration for the oyster industry on October 23 due to the increasing pandemic of ghost shrimp in Willapa Bay. For the past several years the population has steadily increased and shellfish farmers have been left with no options to combat the issue.

Continued Battle
Pacific County and the Washington State Department of Ecology have been in a heated back and forth for approval to use the pesticide carbaryl for aquatic uses. The Department of Ecology then made a suggestion to use imidacloprid as an alternative. They then quickly backtracked on the recommendation sighting a concern raised from non-spray groups of the impact it would have on bee populations. A concern the Pacific County Commissioners are disagreeing with.

Friday, October 30 around 1:30 p.m. the Raymond Fire Department responded to a fully engulfed RV in a backyard on 8th Street in Raymond. Once on scene crews discovered flames erupting from the RV and heavy dense smoke.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend ended its gridiron season on a positive note by dumping winless North Beach 26-8 before a homecoming crowd of about 350 Friday night at Millam Field. After the game, Joshlynne Johnson was crowned SBHS Homecoming Queen.

"The North Beach game was a great way to end the season," SBHS head coach Shane Byington told the Herald. "To finish with a win is well deserved for the kids. They have been working hard all season. The players have been improving everyday; so to see them rewarded with a victory is great. This group of players will be remembered as special. They were competitive, tough and a fun group to coach."

The iconic Slater's Diner in Raymond is indeed up for sale, but the owners David and Tammy Slater are in no rush to hand over the keys. Word quickly spread around the county that the diner was for sale and would be closing its doors indefinitely. Fortunately that's not the case. Locals can sit down and relax with the knowledge that the diner will be open until it sells.

The diner opened in December 1999 after its previous location closed months prior and the operation was moved to along US 101. It was first known as The Pizza Loft at the corner of Duryea and 3rd Street in downtown Raymond where Sheila's Kountry Kitchen now sits.

Thursday, October 11 a wildfire erupted roughly 2 miles up Elk Prairie Road at a recently logged site. Piles of brush that were burning set nearby debris on fire but did not endanger a nearby residence. Multiple units from Pacific County Fire District 3 and Lebam Fire Station responded to the fire.

Friday, October 19 at approximately 12:53 p.m. a bomb threat was called into the Pacific County Communications Center (PacCom). The caller stated that a bomb was set to go off at 1:00 p.m. at the Pacific County Courthouse. The caller also stated that two additional explosive devices would be detonated every 45 minutes.

According to Pacific County Sheriff Scott Johnson the caller was believed to of used a 'Spook' phone with an untraceable phone number. "We take these things very seriously," Johnson said. "I feel we were very prepared for it and things went smoothly. We have already met and talked about things we could have done better."