In 2014, Deb Bronnes Sturgill was volunteering at her grandson's school in Portland, Oregon, when she saw a semi-truck pull up full of food. Curious about it, she learned the truck came from Northwest Harvest and supplied food items that school staff members and volunteers used to fill backpacks for kids who didn't have food on weekends.

"I thought what a wonderful idea," Sturgill said.

More than 30 percent of South Bend's population live below the poverty level, including an estimated 187 students in the South Bend School District. In 2016, the South Bend school board voted to provide breakfast and lunch meals to all students, regardless of income, said Schools Superintendent Jon Tienhaara.

The South Bend Timberland Library is in the middle of launching a pilot program for kids on the Autism Spectrum. On Friday, October 18, they will be hosting their second Sensory Friendly Movie Night. All kids are welcome between the hours of 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m to join in socializing while viewing a new-release animated movie.

"We had a pretty good crowd for the first one," said Library Manager Jenny Penoyar about the first movie night that took place on September 20. "It was an early release day for South Bend. So we had a bunch of kids in the library already, and they were happy to stay after hours for the movie. We ended up with about 10 kids."

Last year over 1.3 million Washingtonians participated in the nationwide ShakeOut drill in October. This year, the 2019 Great Washington ShakeOut is scheduled for October 17 at 10:17 a.m. Be prepared for the All Hazard Alert Broadcast (AHAB) sirens to go off, as millions of people Drop! Cover! And Hold On!

South Bend City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, September 23, at 5:30 p.m. at South Bend City Hall.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, South Bend resident Joseph Stepp addressed the council regarding motorists who do not use their signal when exiting Highway 101 on to Water St.

"I've almost [been] hit a couple of times," Stepp said. "I thought I'd bring it up before something does happen and someone gets hurt."
Mayor Julie Struck responded to Stepp's concerns, saying "the only thing we can do is just watch for it."

South Bend Police Chief Dave Eastham responded by saying, "The guys that are doing that, 98% of them are local. We'll write one or two of them some tickets and they'll start spreading the rumor."

The celebration of 50 years of tradition will take place on October 5 with the 50th Annual Oktoberfest hosted by the Lewis Pacific Swiss Society at the Swiss Park located at 19 Swiss Picknik Road in Frances

The Washington Department of Ecology is hosting two public workshops and hearing on the draft permit for removing noxious weeds from Willapa Bay commercial clam beds. The workshop and hearings will give the public the opportunity to learn more about the permit and ask questions. Formal oral testimony and submitted written comments on the draft permit will be given the same consideration.

MENLO - Pe Ell-Willapa Valley's defense did not allow Raymond much of anything and Max Smith provided the brunt of the offense behind a brutal Titans offensive line during a 49-0 homecoming shellacking Friday night at Crogstad Field in Menlo. Smith rushed for 4 touchdowns and scored another on defense and galloped for 154 yards on 11 carries (14 ypc). The Titans mashed their way to 356 yards rushing and averaged nearly 9 yards per carry. Pe Ell-Will apa Valley's (PWV) defense recovered 4 fumbles.

The Forks Creek Hatchery is presently under a large construction project, and local fishers and retailers are concerned about whether or not it will be collecting fish this year. Losing a spawning season would result in lower future salmon returns which, in turn, would affect the local commercial fishing industry, sports fishing, and the local retail economy. The effects on the local retailers would be losses in the sales of fuel, gear, groceries, restaurants, and such.

A truck hauling a classic truck on a trailer slid off the roadway on US 101 Sunday, September 8. The truck and trailer were headed northbound when they lost control and slid across both lanes coming to a rest in the southbound ditch after rolling over.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources released an updated tsunami simulation model on Tuesday, August 27. The model shows the potential scenario if a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake were to erupt. The updated information has provided both state and local agencies along with residents on the coastline a glimpse of what to expect.

Minutes expected to matter

The new model shows that should a CSZ quake strike off the coastline the Long Beach Peninsula would have a 15-20 minute window before a large caliber tsunami would strike the area. Areas such as Tokeland would be in the same window of time but further into the valley, those near Bay Center may have up to 45 minutes. Raymond and South Bend both are anticipated to have approximately 60-90 minutes before being impacted.