The Toppenish Community Chest food bank was the local staging area last week for the annual homeless count.

Students at Valley View Elementary School in Toppenish collected more than 1,500 food items during the school’s annual food drive. According to Kari Breeden, Valley View’s canned food drive coordinator, it is the most food items ever collected by the students. “Our students are working hard at becoming good citizens and this was a good community service project for them,” Breeden said. All Valley View students in kindergarten through fifth grade participated in the community service project. The food items have been donated to the Toppenish Food Bank. Valley View Elementary students load items from the school’s annual food drive into a pickup bound for the Toppenish Food Bank. Pictured front row Carlos Urcino, Everardo Silva, and Daniel Venancio. Back row: Leonel Reyna, staff member Kari Breeden, Eddy Silva, Miguel Magana and Cesar Robles.

Fourth graders in Marco Yolo’s class at Valley View elementary School in Toppenish got a lesson in the practical application of math, and did a very good deed at the same time recently.

It seems lately that every time I hear more about the congressional health-care push, I find myself remembering Cool Hand Luke. I’m talking about the scene where the warden tells the assembled prisoners that the relationship between himself and Luke is marred by “a failure to communicate.” He feels that, despite his, that is, the warden’s best efforts, he has not been able to communicate important information to Luke. Information that is for Luke’s own good, if he would just take it to heart.

About 50 people from the Buena and Zillah area attended an information meeting and potluck Jan. 21, at Buena Grange to learn more about establishing a block watch program.

Workers unload an overturned semi Jan. 21 on Buena Way near Toppenish. The truck apparently overturned when it left the east side of the roadway, went down a steep shoulder and into soft soil. Two wreckers were standing by to remove the truck and trailer after the cargo had been removed. At press time, there was no information about damage or possible injuries.

No one can argue that Kirkwood Elementary fourth graders in Debbie Irving’s class aren’t on the ball.

There sure were a lot of people talking about what actually caused the majority party to lose the Massachusetts senate seat to the minority party in the special election last week. In the world of politics, and in the world of odds makers, it was a pretty big deal for Scott Brown to beat Martha Coakley.

The Toppenish City Council is again at full strength, after the appointment of Mark Oaks on Jan. 11, during the council’s first regular meeting of the year.

I’ve heard a lot of lip service being paid to the need for creation of jobs by the administration and the majority party in congress.