Instead of treating your mother to flowers and a buffet, give her what she really wants this weekend: A front-row view of the bloodiest war in U.S. history.

That's right, her heart will melt at the Historic Fort Steilacoom Association's reenactment of the Civil War this weekend. All kidding aside, the event is intended to allow visitors "to travel back in time," according to a press release from the Lakewood Parks and Recreation Department.

After a 5-year hiatus, the event will bring hundreds of actors (or reenactors?) to the open meadows area, pitting the soldiers of Dixie against the Yanks from the North.

With a keen eye to historical accuracy, the association organized actual battles - cannon blasts and all - scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. (Here's a TNT archived photo of the event in 2001)

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It’s time again to mail food for the hungry in Pierce County.

The 16th annual Letter Carrier’s Food Drive will be held Saturday throughout Pierce County and elsewhere in the country. It is the largest annual food drive in the county.

On Thursday, letters carriers will deliver food drive bags along with regular mail. All postal customers need do is fill the bags with food, place them by their mail boxes by 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Both carriers and volunteers will make sure they are picked up.

Non-perishable foods are requested such as canned meats, fruits and vegetables, pasta, rice or beans and other items not in glass containers.

The food will go to local food banks or the Pierce County Emergency Food Network which distributes food to most of the food banks in the county.

Since the drive began in 1994, Pierce County residents have donated almost four million founds of food. Last year 330,529 pounds of food was collected.

The goal this year is $400,000 pounds of food.

“The United States Post Office and the Letter Carriers are proud of the way out community responds each year,” said Dennis Shimomura with the Tacoma Post Office.

Helen McGovern, executive director of the Emergency Food Network, said food bank visits are up 40 percent compared ot the same time period last year.

“We’re counting on the Letter Carrier Food Drive to assist us in filling food bank shelves to ensure that no child, adult or senior is turned away from a local food bank due to lack of food.”

Evening Magazine watchers have spoken: Sumner is one of the best tiny towns in the Northwest.

The northeast Pierce County town came in third in voting for the Best Tiny Town. First place went to Leavenworth and second place to La Connor.

KING 5’s Evening Magazine announced Monday the 2009 winners in their annual Best of Western Washington Escapes contest that covers everything from the best bed and breakfast and scenic drive to best tourist town and outdoor adventure. There were 20,704 voters in the many categories.

“This is a great honor,” Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow said in a press release today. “We know we like Sumner, but it’s great to hear from other people that they enjoy visiting. They commented a lot about how friendly everyone is in Sumner, and that’s exactly what we want people to experience here.”

As Sumner works on reclaiming its traditional designation as the Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World, this vote of confidence from the people who live, work and visit Sumner reinforces the popularity of this little town, said city spokeswoman Carmer Palmer.

Among the postings on the voting Web site (http://best.king5.com/winners/northwest-escapes/4261) was this one:
“Sumner is complete charm. A lot of my favorite shopping spots are in Sumner. It is the perfect mix of modern and vintage with a friendly homespun feel. Sumner also has some of the best restaurants around. A day spent in Sumner is a happy day for sure.”

Another Sumner fan wrote: “Sumner is absolutely adorable. Main Street is covered with great mom and pop shops where you can find almost anything. … Mostly though I love the people. Everyone is warm, welcoming and inviting. Walking down the street or enjoying music in the park makes me feel like I’ve stepped back to a time when neighbors knew one another and kept an eye out for each other’s children. Sumner is an ideal place to spend time.”

Upcoming events in Sumner include the Sumner Arts Commission's Music Off Main, every Friday in July at 6:30 pm in the gazebo at Heritage Park plus Sumner Downtown Association's Mutts Off Main dog show on July 11, Classy Chassis car show on August 23, and Mystery Wine Walk on September 12. The wine walk will feature Sumner's recent "pairing" with the city of Prosser in Eastern Washington.

Puyallup City Council members killed a proposal to eliminate the city’s three council voting districts Tuesday, and now say they’ll support letting citizens decide the issue.

Mayor Don Malloy said he plans to propose a ballot measure to determine whether Puyallup should hold citywide elections for all council positions or stick with district representation.

A majority of the council said they’ll support the ballot item, which Malloy said he’d like to see go before voters as soon as November. Malloy said the proposed ballot measure will come up for discussion at an upcoming meeting, possibly when the council next meets May 19.

Currently, six members of the Puyallup City Council are elected by residents of the council district in which they reside, while one at-large council member is elected by voters throughout the city.

More than 100 people attended Tuesday’s meeting to oppose a proposal to make all seven council positions at-large, which was introduced at the council’s April 21 meeting.

A majority of the Puyallup City Council approved the proposal when it first came up for consideration. But Malloy and Councilman Mike Deal said Tuesday that they reconsidered their position after hearing objections from citizens.

The proposal to switch to citywide elections for all council positions was greeted by angry shouts from citizens when Councilwoman Kathy Turner first proposed it April 21, causing police to call extra officers to the council chambers for backup.

About 25 citizens spoke against the at-large proposal again at Tuesday’s meeting during a citizen comment period. City staff had to set up about 30 additional chairs outside the council chambers to accommodate an overflow crowd.

“I have yet to have someone come to me and say they want at large,” Councilman Rick Hansen said at Tuesday night’s meeting. “Tonight I did not hear it either.”

Read more later this week in The News Tribune.