FYI

The Father’s House Community Food Bank is open the first and third Fridays of each month. Hours are 1-1:30 p.m. for people 65 and older and those with physical handicaps, and 5-6:30 p.m. for low-income working folks.

There is a home delivery service for shut-in seniors and homebound handicapped people.

Donations for the food bank can be left at Granite Falls City Hall, 206 S. Granite Ave. Cash donations may be mailed to The Father’s House, P.O. Box 2013, Granite Falls, WA 98252. For more information, call 360-691-5290.

Meerkat sightings reported in Everett

There have been two sightings in Everett of a trio of critters that look like meerkats. Whatever the animals are, they look like cats with rounded ears. Anybody keeping meerkats, and letting them roam at night?

Please call 425-339-3451.

Keep Christmas tree well watered

It’s possible your Christmas tree stand doesn’t hold enough water for the tree.

Gary Chastagner, a Washington State University scientist who has done Christmas tree research for 24 years, said tree stands probably don’t hold as much water as you think.

“I suspect the biggest problem people have in caring for their tree is their stands don’t have adequate water-holding capacities,” Chastagner said. “Stands should hold one quart of water for each inch of stem diameter. If you have a 4-inch-diameter stem, you would want to have a stand that holds at least one gallon of water.”

He said water additives and gadgets designed to deliver water directly to stems don’t significantly extend the life of the tree.

About 40 percent of the nation’s Christmas trees come from the Pacific Northwest. Oregon led the nation with a harvest of 7.3 million trees in 2004. Washington is tied for fifth, with a harvest of 2 million trees.

Correction

Fred Beilfus, 83, was from Lake Goodwin. His hometown was incorrectly identified in a news brief that appeared on Page B2 on Tuesday. Beilfus died of hypothermia following a car accident. His body was found Saturday.