Grays River Grange #124

Booster Night - Membership Pins Awarded

Norman Anderson receives his 75 Year Membership Pin. He joined the Grays River Grange in 1933. Norm recalled those days and how he played in a band in the hall. He also remembered Grangers from over the years. Norm is a Past Master of our Grange.

 

Robert Larson, Tom Irving, Cora Irving and Gordon Oman received their 60 Year Member Pins from current Master K. Novoselic. Seated is Merlin Durrah - 55 year member.

Grangers and friends enjoy another great meal at the hall. After the presentation, there was a fun sing-a-long! 

 

GRHED Election: OFFICIAL RESULTS

April 27, Grays River Habitat Enhancement District 

Board of Commissioners Election. 

Position 1.

Delvin L. Fredrickson* 380

Kurt Stienke 186

 

Position 2.

Teri M. Satterlund   204

Poul K. Toftemark*  386

 

Position 3.

William J. Karwoski*  417

Karen Bertroch    147

(* Winner)

Booster Night April 27th

April has been proclaimed as Grange Month.  “Now is the time for Granges to welcome new members, share benefits and advantages that Grange membership offers to everyone” states National Grange President, Ed Luttrell. 

In honor of Grange Month, Grays River Grange will host Grange Booster Night on April 27, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at the Grange Hall.  Members having 25, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, &75 years of Grange membership will be recognized.   This is also a time to come and learn about the Grange and what Grays River Grange members have done throughout the year.  New members are always welcomed and encouraged to join the Grange. 

Members that will be recognized for their many years of membership are:

50 Year Member: Nora Lee McCulley, Bobby Miller, James Schlesser,

55 Year Member: Mrytle Anderson, Merlin Durrah, Ray Prestegard, Donald Raistakka, Stanley Sorenson

60 Year Member: Cora Irving, Tom Irving, Robert Larson, Gordon Oman,

75 Year Member: Norman Anderson – That’s a lot of years!

 Grange Booster Night will begin at 6:30 p.m.  The potluck dinner will feature BBQ hamburgers. If you are planning on attending, please leave a message at 360-465-2268 to assure there are enough burgers for everyone.  It will be a casual evening; a time to meet and greet your neighbors.  

Grange Will Vote In GRHED Election

Grays River Grange, as an eligible entity, will vote in the April 27^th election for the board of the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District. The Grange, as a property owner in the district, has a civic duty to participate in the election. At issue, within the group, were the rules of our order that prohibit endorsing any candidates. Grangers decided to conduct voting within the organization in a way that would respect the prohibition.

There will be a Grange poll for members set up in the hall that’s open from 6 to 7pm on the 27th. 

That’s the same evening as our booster night. (More information will come as Booster Night planning progresses.)

Members can request the rules for the balloting in the hall with the email link on the left of this page under the logo.

Grange, Partisanship & Elections for Public Office

Master's Station No. 3 

By Krist Novoselic

There was a good discussion at the last meeting regarding how the Grange should proceed with voting in the GRHED election. Members in attendance will recall that I left the Master’s Station to share my thoughts on how we needed to proceed carefully in participating in this election. Speaking from the floor, among my concerns, I briefly mentioned unfortunate incidents in Grange history where our order collided with partisanship and elections for public office. With the GRHED election, our group had arrived at this intersection. I’m happy members chose to avoid causing any wreckage by keeping the results of how the Grange will vote a secret. Let me now elaborate on some of the history I mentioned and why it’s important to remember Grange rules about steering clear of elections for public office.

Grange Meeting Tuesday - April 13th.

6:30 Locavore Dinner - 7:30 Meeting. 

Agenda: GRHED Election Discussion, Building Committee Report, 

Booster Night Planning, New / Old Business. UPDATE - Choosing delegates to State Grange Convention.

GRHED Election: Voting Procedure and Voter List

Another distinctive feature of the weighted ballot system used in the April 27th election is; landowners / taxpayers will not get specific ballots for their share of votes. This could violate the secret ballot. Instead, voters get as many ballots as they do votes. For example – if a landowner gets 10 votes, they have to mark ten individual ballots. That’s why there’s poll voting, to accommodate all of the ballots.

There is a list of  property owners in the district that includes each share of votes. This list is available from the Wahkiakum County Auditors Office. Mrs. DianeTischer is happy to answer questions.

GRHED Election: Property Trust's Need To Designate Voter

Here are some important details about eligible voting properties that are organized into a trust. A trust needs to designate an individual who will vote on the trust’s behalf. The members of the trust need to sign a document stating who their voter will be. The voter must bring this document to the poll, or mail it in with their absentee ballot form. Wahkiakum County Auditor Diane Tischer is happy to answer any questions 360.795.3219 – west end 465-2654.