Town Tree Lighting Tomorrow - Saturday

The word didn't out so please let your neighbors know. Ruston will have its official tree lighting ceremony tomorrow night, Saturday, December 11th at 5 pm. Santa will still be here for the tree lighting too! So if you can't make it earlier in the day, bring your camera.

Gather in front of Don's Market at 51st and Winnifred for hot cider and music before the big tree comes alive. Hope you can join us!

Santa Visits Tomorrow!

Santa will make his famous ride through town tomorrow on the fire engine with lights and sirens, then hang out to meet the kiddos and hand out treats. Stop in at Town Hall (5219 N. Winnifred) tomorrow between 12 noon and 2 pm to join the fun. Bring your camera and smiles!

Donations This Week

Time to clear out your closets to make room for all the new gifts on the Christmas horizon.

The Ruston-Point Defiance Business District is sponsoring a Goodwill donation truck, which Fuse restaurant has generously agreed to host in their parking lot at 5037 N. Pearl Street. The truck is manned from 8 am until 5 pm this week. If there is enough interest, they will stick around another week.

There are lots more happening with our local businesses... The district is considering sponsoring a shredding party next spring. And the Fuse lot hosted the Cascade Bloodmobile last week, along with the first First Friday for our business district. It was a slow start, but the plan is to continue next month. Shops will be open late until 8 pm on Friday, January 7th. Participating businesses will have red balloons out front and give-a-ways.

In the meantime, shop local and help support our neighbors!

Happy Birthday Bear!

Eagle Fight

Ruston was the site of what wildlife experts say is a common occurrence - two male bald eagles fighting. Although bald eagles are seen often in the skies over Ruston, this time the action landed on the ground. The fight began mid-air and ended up in a local driveway last night. Ruston police chief Jeremy Kunkel said he never expected to get a call like this one.

Kunkel said the call came out about 5 pm and he arrived to find two eagles on the ground with the eagles locked. Each eagle had one of their talons holding the other's talon and the other claw buried in the chest of other bird. They refused to let go and remained quiet on the ground until animal control arrived.

At that point they started fighting again, but neither would let go of the other. Kunkel reports the fighting was intense with what sounded like bones being broken. It was only after being placed in the cage inside the animal control van (with the door open) that the two eagles separated. One flew off and the other was taken to Point Defiance Park and released.

There were no obvious injuries on either bird. One neighbor was concerned that our 4-minute power outage shortly after the first eagle flew off might be related, but there is no sign that either Ruston guest stuck around.

Just another day in the life of the Ruston police - and something to keep the neighbors talking for a few days.

Meeting Tonight

Here is the agenda for the meeting tonight. All the background information is available on the town's web page here... (including minutes from the last few meetings if you want to catch up on the news).

The meeting tonight includes a public hearing to discuss possible revenue sources for the upcoming year and overall budget discussion (budget materials available here...) Stop in and give your input!

Miracle Mali

Our cute neighbor, Mali the tiger cub, has made a miracle comeback from the brink of death. She makes her first public appearance this weekend since her heart stopped beating two weeks ago. You can purchase your tickets to visit Mali and stay for Zoo Lights at a discount.

More details are available at the zoo's web site here... along with lots of other good news.

First First Friday

Ruston businesses are hosting their first ever First Friday today. Local shops will stay open late and most will be handing out holiday treats to shoppers. You can kick off the shopping with trading a pint for a pint donation to the Bloodmobile at the Fuse parking lot. A pint of blood earns a pint of beer at the Fuse.

Be sure to start your holiday shopping close to home today!

Upcoming Events

We have a couple of happenings in town this weekend. Our first First Friday will be held tomorrow, December 3rd. We will have an added opportunity to give blood at the Bloodmobile in the FUSE parking lot. Remember a donation of a pint will get you a free pint (see more here).

Second, Ladies Workout Express is hosting their annual Holiday Festival on Saturday, December 4th. Details on both events are on the flyers below. Enjoy!

New Beginnings

Ruston's most notable corner is getting a makeover - from the inside out. The former Johnson apartments are being completely gutted and rebuilt. Affinity Investments purchased the building about a year ago and has decided to invest in the building despite the economic conditions.

New windows have been installed and everything is stripped down to the studs inside. The revamping will include new paint outside (like was done for Salvage Style). The town planner is hoping for some new awnings, but Affinity said they are not decided on that issue yet.

When everything is done, the building will have 6 new apartments - 4 studios and 2 one-bedrooms. The remodeling should be done by early 2011. The rental rates will depend on the furnishings - so they will be determined later. Anyone interested in getting one of the units can call Melissa at Affinity Investments at (253) 472-5400.

It's great to see projects moving forward in town. Thank you Affinity for your investment ~ we can't wait to welcome our new neighbors!