Dr. Kenneth Olson DVM has decided to retire from his veterinary business after 35 years of local service. Olson was the owner/operator of Willapa Veterinary Service at 230 Ocean Avenue in Raymond. The new veterinarians and owners of the business are Dr. Eric and Dr. Kathleen Sutten.

After 37 years overall, Olson believes it is the right juncture in his life to leave what he's loved so much, and enjoy retirement.

Raymond HS standout basketball student-athlete Kyra Gardner scored her 1,000th point during the season opening 86-15 victory over Ocosta last Tuesday night (May 4) at Seagull gym. Gardner scored 38 points on the night.

On the last day of the month, Friday, April 30, there was another food give away, this time it was located in Bay Center in front of the Chinook Indian Nation Office. Altogether 480 USDA food boxes, 1,800 plus bottles of hand sanitizer, and 150 steelhead were distributed.

The boxes contained meat, cheese, vegetables, and dairy products ensuring each family would have a couple of meals from the boxes.

"Growing up in a tribal community, we are raised to take care of our community and give until it hurts," said tribal community member Bethany Barnard.

Standout athlete Kyra Gardner closed out the track and field season with four firsts at the District IV Championships at Rainier HS Thursday. Gardner, a junior at Raymond HS, who jumps and runs with the gracefulness of a deer, won the triple jump with a season record effort mark of 35 feet, 3/4 inches, 100-meter high hurdles with a PR time of :16.32; high jump (5 feet, 6 inches) and long jump (15 feet, 11¾ inches). Gardner was the only competitor among the girls and boys to win four events.

Raymond HS three-sport sensation, Kyra Gardner, won three events and finished second in another at the District IV Pacific League Sub-District Championships conducted at Leo Rubstello Track on the campus of Raymond HS Thursday.

Over the last week, COVID-19 cases have steadily increased to a high level that may push us back into Phase 2.

"This is the highest case rate we have been at since early December," said Pacific County Department of Health and Human Services Director Katie Lindstrom. "[This spike is the] second highest peak since the beginning of the pandemic. This is the second biggest surge since the pandemic began. We are extremely hopeful that this will go back down, because it starts getting unmanageable at this point. It is a lot of work for our staff, and it becomes difficult to keep up when the cases get this high."

On Thursday, April 15, the quiet of the area was broken by sirens racing north on HWY 101. Just passed Smith Creek Road, multiple structures were on fire which burned hot and spread quickly.

Pacific County Fire District 3 and Raymond Fire Department were the first on the scene. Additional units from South Bend and Artic were toned for water supply and manpower. WSDOT was used to shut down a lane of traffic during the emergency. Other departments that assisted were Montesano FD, Pacific County Sheriff's Office, South Bend Police Department, Raymond PD, PACCOM, and Pacific County Emergency Management.

Within Washington, there are only 12 official Creative Districts. Tokeland North Cove Chamber is checking into the state-run program to see if it is something that will help promote the Tokeland area.

During the last chamber meeting in Tokeland on April 13, Washington State Program Manager for Creative Districts Annette Roth presented the program to the chamber. The Creative District Program is categorized as an economic development program for communities and run by the Washington State Arts Commission.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend School District will receive a plaque from the architects that designed the Mike Morris Elementary school building. The building was designed by the architecture firm Erickson McGovern Architects (EMA) out of Tacoma.

"When we started the planning for the new school, we knew we wanted to design and construct a school our community would be proud of for years to come," South Bend Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Tienharra told the Herald. "Our architects at Erickson McGovern nailed it, incorporating a beautiful, yet unique design with all the function demanded by an elementary school. We do have a plaque coming as part of this design award, it will be displayed in the school district office."

In honor of Child Abuse Awareness Prevention Month local community groups like the Crisis Support Network have created pinwheel gardens throughout Pacific County. Each pinwheel represents the happy, carefree childhoods all children deserve.