During the grand finale of the Sportsman’s Holiday fireworks display Saturday night, remember Caroline Huss.
Western Display Fireworks of Canby, where a relative works, has donated a portion of this year’s grand finale in her honor.
Huss, a 16-year-old student at Sweet Home High School, lost her life in a Dec. 22 car crash on Highway 228 just east of Brownsville.
During a vigil in her honor, she was remembered as a “sweetheart,” “a great kid,” “funny and with a great sense of humor.” She played soccer and loved music, nature, being with her friends and family and camping. She loved to laugh and make others laugh.
She was the daughter of Peter J. Huss and Angela N. (Fleming) Huss. She lived on the outskirts of Crawfordsville with her mother and siblings. She often helped out at her mother’s nursery.
“She is buried at the Sweet Home Valley Cemetery overlooking Foster Lake,” said family members in an e-mail to firefighters about the donation. “It will be a special day for her family to remember a wonderful young lady who is greatly missed.”
“It’s cool to see that people are going to essentially celebrate and remember her,” said paramedic Zach Lincoln.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Shannon Strubhar, a medical first responder and a member of the fire department support team. “It’s a nice way to give a tribute to her, and it benefits the whole community.”
Western Display provides fireworks to the Volunteer Firefighters Association each year.
“We’re just honored they’re willing to help us out,” Lincoln said. “We appreciate all they do to help us out and provide such a wonderful fireworks show.”
The fireworks display is scheduled to begin at about 10 p.m. on Saturday at Foster Lake.
Kicking off activities this week is the Sweet Home Auditorium Remodel Committee with its first fund-raising event, the SHARC Showdown talent contest.
The show begins at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Sweet Home High School Auditorium. Admission is $5. For students with ID, it’s $3.
Participants are competing for a pair of three-day passes to the Oregon Jamboree, Aug. 1-3, featuring Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Jake Owen and Billy Currington, as well as passes to the Guitars Under the Stars festival in Lebanon, Aug. 8-10, featuring Lita Ford, Ty Curtis, Floater, Pat Travers, Gary Hoey and Tony MacAlpine.
Proceeds from the show will help pay for repairs, painting, new curtains, sounds equipment and new lighting in the high school auditorium.
The Sweet Home Elks Lodge will serve dinner during the event. Proceeds will help the SHARC project.
A People’s Choice Award will go to the contestant receiving the most votes from the audience. Votes cost a quarter each, and spectators are encouraged to vote and vote often. All of the voting benefits the project.
Friday, the East Linn Museum Annual Yard Sale runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the museum, 746 Long St. Don Ross will demonstrate watercolors and Jan Bucot will demonstrate wool spinning from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, the sale runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the Elks Lodge, 440 Osage St., will host the Elkettes “Buckaroo Breakfast.” The cost is $5. Children under the age are half price. The breakfast includes all-you-can-eat pancakes, biscuits and gravy, eggs, ham and sausage with coffee and juice.
The Sweet Home Veteran’s Club, 580 Main St., will host its regular menu from 8 a.m. to noon both days.
The Chips ‘n’ Splinters Variety Show and 2014 Sportsman’s Holiday Queen Coronation begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday. This year’s festival theme is “Legends of the Wild West.”
Admission is free, though donations for the SHARC auditorium remodeling project will be accepted. The Waste Connections Duck Truck will grill burgers and hot dogs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with proceeds benefiting SHARC.
The colors will be presented by the VFW, Post 3437, Sweet Home. Gavin Gardner, 7, will perform the National Anthem. Featured talent includes Markus Thedford, Jacquline Ohmer, James Brown, Brandi Vinson and more.
A meet-n-greet with the princesses, Faith Black, Kayleen Keeney, Sierrah Owen, Lilly Parker and Isabelle Stratman, follows the show in the high school commons. The Point Restaurant is providing brownies, and the Husky Den is providing frozen yogurt
The “Legends of the Wild West” Sportsman’s Holiday Grand Parade begins at 11 a.m. and will appaer on Long and Main streets.
The Sweet Home Singing Christmas tree arts and crafts show runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sweet Home High School.
The Logger Olympics run from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sweet Home Events Center, 4000 Long St., followed by the Lawn Mower/Tractor Pull from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Knox Brothers Gospel Jamboree runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday at Sankey Park.