Happy birthday, Marine Corps

Since there are so many currently active and former Marines living in the Antelope Valley, this week's 231st birthday of the Corps is very special to much of our community. To observe this event, there will be a lunch at noon on Thursday at the Walker Senior Center. The public and all former or active military members are welcome. Reservations are a must, so call (530) 495-2323. Semper Fi!

Women's club bazaar

The Antelope Women's Club Bazaar and Dinner begins at noon this Sunday at the Walker Community Center with vendor and craft booths and all sorts of things to see and buy. Dinner will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and the cost will be $9 for adults and $4 for children 10 and younger. This promises to be a fun event and will be raising funds for their memorial scholarship, given annually to a graduating Coleville High School student.

Antelope Valley art show

Also this Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Walker Senior Center, 16 artists have entered the show in many different categories of artwork. There are paintings, jewelry, ceramics, photography and more. This will be a show where their work is judged, so you know there will be some great exhibits to see.

High school Boosters

Nov. 18, starting 4 p.m. at the Walker Community Center, this dedicated group is having their big fundraising Mexican Dinner Night, with the dinner beginning at 5 p.m. They will have 70 raffle prizes and a silent auction, but the real biggie is their door prize. It has so many rewards, but just a few are free night's lodging and breakfast at a casino, gasoline, gift certificates from Wal-Mart and Costco. They will also have raffle prizes especially for the kids attending. Dinner/door prize tickets are one and the same and are available at the Walker General Store for $10. Since this dinner is for the support of athletics as well as academic scholarships at CHS, it is well worth supporting.

Emergency preparedness

Sgt. Dave O'Hara, of the sheriff's department, Office of Emergency Services, let us know that recently there was a disaster preparedness exercise involving county employees, to ready them in case of an emergency. This particular exercise simulated a flood in Walker. He felt that it really helped to get the staffs informed on their responsibility in case of such an event. The sheriffs are also doing training with the Mammoth Police Department and Highway Patrol regarding school violence.

Since the Walker Community Center serves as our local emergency center and has had no backup power source, a new standby generator was purchased with Homeland Security grant funds obtained by the Mono County Sheriff's Department. It has been installed and is ready for any emergency power needed there.

This and that

n Nov. 2 the Regional Planning Advisory Committee heard a presentation from Mono County Animal Control Director, Nancy Boardman. She addressed the issue of disaster preparedness for our pets, including the need for people to volunteer to be a short-term foster home for any that had to be removed from their homes in an emergency. She handed out some very informative information from the Humane Society of the United States. You can get this by going to their Web site at www.hsus.org and opening the "disaster preparedness for pets" section. It deals with not only dogs and cats, but horses and other livestock .

n Antelope Elementary School basketball kicks off the league season 2 p.m. Thursday at Coleville, against Bridgeport.

n As a reminder to our readers, if there is anything you would like to let me know about for possible column use, please call me by 11 a.m. on the Sunday before the column appears.

n Coleville's volleyball team won the first two matches of the northern regional tournament last Friday; then in Saturday's regional championship, they finished second to Owyhee. Both teams will go to the state championships this Friday and Saturday at Galena High School in Reno. Keep going, girls!

n I don't know how many of our readers are football fans, but we have sure been having fun every Monday night at Topaz Lodge, watching the games, seeing old and new friends, and having a wonderfully big prime rib sandwich for only $2.50. We meet our Gardnerville friends, Doug and Deborah, have a sandwich and a couple of $1 beers, and root for our teams. It makes for a good evening, and the good news is that it's one night I don't have to cook.

n Lynne Katusich can be reached at lynnekat@gbis.com or (530) 495-2552.