BRIEFS

WAITSBURG LUMINARY EVENT

WAITSBURG -- The Waitsburg Town Hall Board of Directors invites the community of Waitsburg to our Waitsburg Town Hall Open House during the Luminary on Nov. 8. Your Town Hall Directors will be serving cocoa and cookies in appreciation to the Waitsburg Community for supporting our Town Hall remodel. Check out Town Hall's blog at waitsburgluminaryevent.blogspot.com/

COLUMBIA REA VACANCY FILLED

DAYTON -- Columbia REA announces its board of directors appointed Eric Johnson to fill the vacancy of DJ Frame for District 2. This district encompasses the Touchet River Valley from Waitsburg to just south of Dayton and the foothills of the Blue Mountains east of Dayton including the Tucannon River Valley south of Marengo. Johnson is a graduate from Washington State University in Agricultural Economics. Eric has previously worked in banking and community finance for more than thirty years. Eric has had involvement and held an office in many of community associations, such as Kiwanis, JC's, Moose, Eagles, Chamber of Commerce, Columbia County Community Network and Dayton Historical Preservation Society. Eric and his wife Cheri live on a small farm in Dayton where he is currently self-employed. Frame resigned from the position in July 2011 for professional reasons. Johnson will fill the remainder of the term that ends April 2013.

FUNDRAISING SCAM REPORTED

WALLA WALLA -- Sheriff John A. Turner is advising the public to use caution when making charitable contributions to organizations representing noteworthy community needs. Walla Walla County citizens have recently received both telephone and mail solicitations from charitable organizations indicating they support local Search and Rescue Teams (SAR), Cancer Victim Research and other worthy causes. It appears that certain representations made by an organization called Search and Rescue Charities are untrue. If you have been contacted by a fundraising organization seeking financial contributions, ask questions and request that all information be mailed to you. If your request is refused, hang up. Do not give cash to door to door solicitors, most legitimate charities will provide information packets and allow mail-in contributions after you have had time to validate the solicitation. If you have been contacted by one of the organizations mentioned above, you can contact the Crime Victim Office at Walla Walla Police Department at telephone number 424-4526 or the Sheriff's Office at 509-524-5400 and file a complaint.

SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME SEMINAR

WALLA WALLA -- Julie Price, BS, M. Sc., national and international program director for the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, will visit Walla Walla Valley Nov. 7 to provide training sessions on preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Period of Purple Crying at Walla Walla General and Providence St. Mary's.

These trainings will be held on Nov. 7 for medical providers, hospital staff, community health organizations, and interested community members from1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Providence St. Mary's Hospital, Providence Room. Another training will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Walla Walla General Hospital, Auditorium. For more information about the Period of Purple Crying and Shaken Baby Syndrome, visit www.dontshake.org.

HOLIDAY GRIEF WORKSHOP

WALLA WALLA -- Walla Walla Community Hospice announces a new grief series that will focus on grief and the holidays. The two-part workshop will take place Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, at 6:30 p.m.The sessions will focus on the special issues that arise during the holiday season for those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one.Hospice grief support groups are offered to anyone living in Walla Walla, Columbia or northeast Umatilla Counties, not just the family members of hospice patients. There is no charge, but participants are encouraged to register by calling the WWCH office at 525- 5561 or by email to info@wwhospice.org before Nov.28.

LOWER GRANITE DAM OPEN VETERANS DAY

WALLA WALLA -- If your upcoming Veterans Day weekend plans include a road trip to visit family and friends on the opposite side of the lower Snake River, you may want to keep in mind that most U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams are closed to cross-dam public vehicle traffic on federal holidays, unless otherwise announced.

Lower Granite Lock and Dam, near Pomeroy will be open for public vehicle crossings from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Lower Granite's regular public vehicle crossing schedule allows traffic crossings daily, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for federal holidays, unless otherwise announced. Tour and school busses must contact the dam at (509) 843-1493 at least 24 hours in advance for crossing authorization.

Walla Walla District operations officials want to remind the public of temporary closures affecting their two of their three dams in Washington that allow public vehicle crossings:

Little Goose Lock and Dam, near Starbuck will be closed for public vehicle crossings on Veterans Day. Crossings will resume their regular schedule on Monday, Nov. 14 - open for crossings once an hour, on the half-hour, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and closed on federal holidays, unless otherwise announced. Crossing times are 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 in the morning, and 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon. Tour and school busses must contact the dam at (509) 399-2233, extensions 227, 231 or 252, at least 24 hours in advance for crossing authorization.