Amy Smith, owner of Boss Hogg's BBQ in Winlock, has been helping to put Winlock on the map. With her sense of community and tasty food, she has brought many new people to Winlock to listen to live music or just to eat her famous BBQ. She is all about Winlock and Winlock is lucky to have her.

Amy was asked about why she chose Winlock, she stated, "Honestly, I didn't choose Winlock. Winlock kind of chose me, in a way. When I moved to Toledo in 2016, I was an insurance agent with American National Insurance and there were no office spaces for lease in town. I looked at a space in the Roundtree Building in Winlock and just fell in love with the town. So I moved my office from downtown Vancouver to Winlock in 2017. After a year, I bought Taylor's Landing and relocated my office to a little space up front, not knowing what I was going to utilize the building in its entirety. In 2019, my significant other and I started catering on the side and decided to jump through the hoops and put in a commissary kitchen and Boss Hogg's BBQ and Catering evolved.

On Wednesday morning at 3:11 a.m firefighters from Lewis County Fire Districts 15- Winlock, 2-Toledo, 20- Vader, 5- Napavine responded to the report of a commercial structure fire threatening an additional structure in the 400 block of Hale Rd. East at Winlock Fiber Lumber Mill. First arriving units found heavy fire conditions from a very large mill structure threatening an additional structure and upgraded the incident to a third alarm and fourth alarm. Additional units from LCFD 1- Onalaska, LCFD- 13 Boistfort, RFA- Centralia, LCFD 8- Salkum, LCFD 3- Mossyrock, LCFD 6- Chehalis, Cowlitz 6- Castle Rock, Cowlitz 2- Kelso and Department of Ecology responded.

There is a new business in the Toledo area and it fits right in with the country life. Emily Marshall opened High Tail Tack, which is definitely a tack shop. This one is a little different, it is consignment and the items are new or gently used. You will find many things in the store.

Emily Marshall is a former teacher from Winlock, but her love for horses and tack is why she started her business.

The Lewis County Republican Party is having their summer Republican picnic. It will take place on August 2, 2021 at The Orchard at Sunshine Hill located at 2178 South Scheuber Rd, Chehalis at 6:00 p.m. The dinner has a small cover charge of $5 including dinner and entertainment by Chris Guenther. The picnic also includes special speaker Tiffany Smiley, who is running for Senate against Patty Murray. The Lewis County elected officials will speak briefly.

We finally had the chance to get the updates from the City of Vader. Joe Schey, mayor of Vader, has taken the time to let us know all that has been accomplished in Vader in the past few years. One of the big issues has been the Water Treatment Sewer facility and other public facilities.

Mayor Schey stated, "The City of Vader has had tremendous momentum in recent times. As a result, the city is in compliance with all State requirements and has repeatedly passed intensive financial and procedural audits from the State. The city has met virtually all requirements to again regain ownership of the water system if it so chooses. After these many years of efforts to modernize, the city is finally able to qualify for a variety of grants that were previously out of reach."

Joe Schey has been in city government since 2014, a task he has taken very seriously. He knew that he had to continue his efforts for the water wastewater treatment plant, roads and the parks. In February of 2020, the Vader City Council voted unanimously to appoint Schey to fill the vacant mayor seat.

The string of successful grants continued through 2020 and 2021 with $30,000 more for street work taking place this summer, $4700 for an employee policy update, $11,200 for a Shoreline Master Plan update, and $20,000 expected to be approved for an Urban Design Standards update in the coming weeks.

"By applying for a variety of grants, we've been able to reallocate budgeted funds that were replaced by grants towards other necessities, like a new tractor," said Mayor Schey. "Currently, there's over $8 million in grants that have been applied for, mainly for street related work. If even a small fraction of that is approved, it will make a big difference to the city."

Cheese Days was a success again this year. The 100th anniversary was celebrated by all. The crowd was excited to be out and the parade route was filled with a few thousand spectators. It was a fun weekend and Saturday was no exception.

The festivities started with the Car Show at the Toledo Middle School early in the morning. The area was packed with cars and vendors. Then at 10:00 am before the parade, Winlock Dance Center performed as parents watched their dancers perform.

At 11:00 am the parade started and there were quite a few entries. Toledo Police started the parade off, with Mayor Dobosh sitting with Chief Brockmueller. Chief Mike Dorothy followed right after with the Toledo Fire Department. Toledo Big Cheeses Ron and Sue Smith and Dale and Jeanette Koth were in Ron Smith's classic car, followed by the Cheese Days float. The Toledo High School Band did an excellent job.

Napavine FunTime festival is Saturday the 17th of July. But the events like most start on Friday with the festival ending on Saturday.

Starting the activities off is the Rebecca Lodge. They are hosting a lunch on the 16th along with a bazaar. On Saturday, the Rebecca Lodge will have breakfast available from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Cheese Days is this weekend and everyone is getting ready for the big event. This year it's packed with events, so let's take a look at what is happening.

We have recently seen many comments on Facebook about what is happening with the Lewis County Senior Centers and their opening in the near future.