The Year in Review

A month-by-month summary of the year’s activities as they appeared in The Odessa Record continues below for the months of September, October, and part of November.

September

Odessa resident Jakob Knoell turned 100 September 4. His children, Marianne Saltz (Soldotna, Alaska), and Vern and Joni Knoell (Colbert and Lamona, Wash.), as well as grandchildren Jeannette Ducker (Kasilof, Alaska), DiAnna Leaders (Soldotna, Alaska), Tami Knoell (Spokane), Kristi and Mark Lupton (Spokane) and greatgrandchildren Rylee Lupton and Sam Lupton were on hand for the occasion.

Restoration work began on the building that is home to both The Odessa Record and Any Occasion Banquet Hall. Peter Cooper, a specialist in brick walls and masonry will be removing multiple layers of paint, replace decayed bricks, tuckpoint and then seal the walls with a protective layer. The north-facing wall of the building will be completed this year, with the east-facing wall to be done in spring 2012. Visitors to the school's open house September 1 learned that the Odessa School District is now fully compliant with the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Handicapped-accessible bathrooms have been installed in both the kindergarten and first-grade rooms, and a wheelchair ramp now leads from the elementary wing to the upper hallway.

Advanced Science Research student Kira Powell was selected to receive the Washington State Academy of Sciences Award to participate in the American Junior Academy of Sciences (AJAS) Convention in Vancouver, Canada. Kira is one of two students selected from Washington State.

The Chamber of Commerce and Biergarten chairman Ted Bruya were still calling for volunteers in the edition of The Record that hit the streets September 15, the first day of Fest-ivities.

The following week, The Record reported that the 2011 Fest was another success, with most vendors of food, crafts and souvenirs appearing to have done well. Biergarten chairman Ted Bruya reported to the Chamber of Commerce that gate receipts and kitchen sales were down, but that due to some price increases instituted this year, overall Biergarten profits remained about level with the prior year.

The town council heard that a lawsuit brought against the Town of Odessa in 2004 was voluntarily dropped by the plaintiffs.

Harrington's fall festival, coming just a week after Deutschesfest, included lunch in the park, a parade, high school football game and a folk music concert at the Harrington Opera House.

October

As a result of her first-place finishes at science fairs held earlier in the summer, Kira Powell was eligible to join 10 other high school students from all parts of the United States who attended the London International Youth Science Forum. Kira said that some of the highlights of the Forum were listening to speakers from all over the world, touring the research facilities and labs, visiting Stonehenge, the National Oceanic Center in Southampton, and the surgical theater at a London hospital. She also added a separate trip to Paris and Geneva, where she toured the CERN facility, which operates the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator.

Lloyd Tebow, longtime Odessa resident, traveled to Washington, D.C. as a participant in the Honor Flight program. Honor Flight provides (free of charge) transportation, accommodation and meals for veterans who wish to travel to Washington, D.C. to visit the World War II veterans’ Memorial.

The Odessa Aquifer Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was a key issue discussed by the Columbia River Policy Advisory Group. The EIS was a preliminary step in the process of providing surface water to irrigators in the Odessa Subarea. The original draft of the EIS was issued in October of 2010 and continues to evolve as more information becomes available and as more input from individuals, communities, stakeholders and other groups is taken into consideration.

Given the critical situation concerning the rapidly declining aquifer, the option of allowing irrigators to form Local Improvement Districts (LIDs) will provide the quickest and most cost effective solution to quickly deliver surface water to depleted areas, according to various agency officials.

The Odessa-Harrington Athletic Booster Club, with assistance from the Odessa Riders Club, put on a dinner and auction to raise money for warm-up jackets and other gear for all of the O-H sports teams. The organization netted over $18,000 from the event.

November

The Odessa Chamber of Commerce was awarded $10,000 toward the completion of its commercial kitchen project, and the Odessa Lions Club will also be awarded $10,000 toward its Festplatz project by the Lincoln County Commissioners. The grants from the Lincoln County Economic Development Fund were among several awarded by the commissioners. Funding comes from the Lincoln County sales tax.

The Lincoln County Economic Development Commission (EDC) has partnered with students from Eastern Washington University to gather and analyze data to be used in a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the county. “Listening posts” were set up at various locations and residents were asked to participate in two brief surveys.

Women’s Health Night was a rousing success, with more than 100 area women taking advantage of the dinner and information that were provided. The theme for the 2011 program was “Knowing is not enough. Get informed; pass it on,” which was created by Charli Moffet, OHS senior, as part of her senior project.

To be continued next week