Maximus was the most popular dog, Wolfie led the cat contingent and Turbo, an Australian rat, was a landslide winner in the “other” animal category. The contest raised almost $6,400 for ARF. Some of that money will be used for pet owners who cannot afford health care for their animals. ARF had received a grant for this purpose and nearly half the funds have been used, according to Janice Murasko, ARF director.

Reading is usually a solitary activity, just you and the author having an intimate conversation. But in Idyllwild, that’s not always the case. Though we do have an unusual number of readers in our small community, we also have a long history of groups of people meeting on a regular basis to share their love of reading, literature and the written word. I recently put out the word that the Idyllwild Library would like to support the many book groups in our area by requesting several copies of their next book choice from other branches of the Riverside County Library System and its Inland Library Network partners. We offered to make them available for check-out here at the library. The response was exciting and warmed my librarian’s heart.