The Enterprise - White Salmon, Washington

Cascade Creek fire chugs along

Trout Lake News for Oct. 11

October 09, 2012

By the

Trout Lake Newswriters

tlnewswriters@gmail.com

Sarah Burr Arnold, 395-2669

Sean McGroarty, 395-9394

Kira Fogarty

Sofie Brubaker

Fall has definitely arrived in Trout Lake, shorter days and colder nights, 22 degrees one night recently, but the Cascade Creek fire chugs along despite the changes in light and temperature. Luckily the quantity of smoke created by the fire has decreased. Many times in the past few weeks the air quality here in the valley would have made the air quality in Los Angles seem healthy. We were very fortunate to have excellent Fire Management Teams and firefighters take charge of fighting the fire. Containment lines were established that protected the town from a southward movement of the fire and so we felt safe despite the spread. Much appreciated also were the community meetings that were held by the teams to inform the town about the fire and the measures taken to fight it. The honesty, transparency and scope of the information offered created trust in the fire fighting efforts. The Forest Service has excellent fire fighting and emergency response capabilities and the town has gained tremendous safety from this knowledge and ability. Not only do we benefit from the efforts of the fire management teams and the fire fighters on the Cascade Creek fire but we also benefit every day from the efforts the of the fire management and fire fighters at the Ranger Station. In fire season they patrol the forest daily to find and extinguish any small fires that have started in the forest. Each summer these fire fighters put out many, many small fires that, if they grew, could be a serious threat to the town. Without their efforts the town would be at much greater risk of being involved in a Wildland fire. So Thank You fire fighters both local and imported.

With fall comes thoughts of Halloween. To celebrate the day, Destino is planning to hold a Halloween Party on Oct. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m. Come in costume and enjoy the treats, art projects, games and fun for all ages. And the Baptist Church will hold a Harvest Party on Oct. 31 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Jonah Ministries. There will be a hotdog dinner, games, prizes and a cupcake walk. A band named Spilt Milk will play bluegrass. All are welcome at both events.

Before fall started Trout Lake hosted the Community Foundation Labor Day Rummage Sale (the biggest? best? rummage sale west of the Rockies). Again it was a big success earning $19,379.29 or about a thousand dollars more than last year which took in more money than the year before and that year took in more than the year before and so on. A very successful outcome to the primary fundraiser for the Community Foundation scholarship program. Think of how many students in the school will benefit from the money earned by this event. The sale wishes to thank all of its donors and volunteers for the donations, time and effort given to helping make this sale successful. Looking to the future, no donations will be accepted until at least March 1, 2013, but after that date all donations are welcome. So make next year just as successful as this year by donating wonderful items after March 1 and volunteering to help with the sale.

Ray Thygsen has been working on developing a Supplemental Living Project here in Trout Lake. He gave a presentation about this project at the Community County meeting on Oct. 3. The objective of the project will be to "provide and/or facilitate services that enable the ill and/or seniors to remain in or near their homes as long as possible." The project has been divided into two phases. The first phase will consist of developing services: care coordination of medical services, volunteers, meals, transportation and equipment; providing health education; providing respite services; providing in- home physical therapy; training caregivers; providing help and advice about in-home modification and providing information about available services. The second phase should the project get that far would involve finding a facility that could provide temporary living space for the ill or the senior; provide adult day care; and provide space for visiting healthcare providers such as physician assistants, visiting nurses; and provide a space for medial video conferencing. Ray is seeking both feedback about the idea and help with implementing it(so far the feedback has been positive). If you could help implement the project by volunteering in some capacity or by volunteering to be on the steering committee or if you just want to give feedback, contact Ray at 395-2318 or at sandiray@gorge.net.