Harrington News

By MARJORIE WOMACH

Harrington Public Library

The Harrington Library has received a new shipment of fiction paperback books. The authors include J.A. Jance, Lee Child, James Lee Burke, James Rollins and Stuart Woods. The library is awaiting Mayor Paul Gilliland to order the necessary equipment for the library to begin its training with the scanning of bar codes. Gary Bortel of the State Library is planning to come this month for that purpose. Donations continue to come in to the library, some of the more recent items included children's DVDs and Janette Oke's DVDs.

Harrington Opera House Society

President Mark Stedman opened the HOHS meeting in the Art Room at 7 p.m. on May 5 with a growing number in attendance which included Peter Davenport, Paul Charlton, Jen Mallery, Rick Smith, Bonnie Hardy, Karen Robertson, Gordon and Billie Herron, Ed and Bunny Haugan, Sheryl Stedman, Linda Wagner, Mr Wines, Carol and Marge Womach. The Opera House received a donation from the Stitchin' Chicks for their use of the Opera House auditorium. Discussions were held on the continuing building projects. The bare bricks in the auditorium need to be sealed to prevent deterioration. The stage curtains from EWU remain a work in progress with the overhead framework and track being priced. Hanging and altering the curtains has not yet been decided. The work on the sidewalks has made good progress and the cement will be poured shortly. The new blue curtains for the Art Room windows were donated by Rollie Behrens. Last minute organizing of the Lions Club dinner on May 7 occurred, planning for a barbecue with the trimmings.

The Artisan of the Month program has been successful and will continue to be offered. Mark Stedman has spoken with Les LePere to offer Les and his sister Louise Kodis an opportunity to display their art. No date had been arranged.

Discussion of the Spring Festival brought the news that the Classic Car Show sponsored by Allan Barth of the Studebaker Garage will have his function the third weekend of May next year and will in all likelihood include an "all wheel show" and a swap meet. Hope was expressed that the Chamber of Commerce would change their date to combine the activities and increase the size of the crowd. Albeit, no one would stipulate that the rough estimate this year of 3,000 to 4,000 was accurate, just an enthusiastic suggestion. Upcoming events were noted such as the Sept 13 wedding and the performance of Tayla Lynn (granddaughter of Loretta Lynn) and Eric Tingstad (Grammy Winner) on Oct 12.

Harrington

Chamber of Commerce

President Cassandra Paffle-Dick called the meeting to order Wednesday noon, May 7, at the city hall with Allan Barth, newly appointed PDA board member and owner of the Studebaker Garage, Paul Charlton, Kathy Hoob (Harrington Food Market), Summer Clark (U.S. Bank), Cindy Haase (Ott Insurance), Sharon Nighswonger, Bunny Haugan, Billie Herron (HOHS member), and Marge Womach present. Dues for membership are $30 per year. The purpose of the Chamber is to improve the quality of life in Harrington by helping to maintain the current level of services and recruit new services to increase community pride. Emails are sent to all business owners in Harrington with updates for meetings. Minutes and treasurer's reports were read and approved. The Chamber seemed pleased with the new acquisition of garbage cans, one of which will be moved to Harrington Truck and Auto. A commitment was made toward the picnic tables project of the Lions Club, and the Chamber of Commerce then voted to support the commitment and purchase three tables. Some discussion was held about closing the Restroom Account but since money continues to come in earmarked for that project, the account was determined to be needed.

September 13 is the large wedding in Harrington. The wedding reception will be held at the Studebaker Garage, the wedding at the Opera House, and Allan Barth is having the next car show in conjunction with the wedding. The donations from the event will go toward the Honor Flight Program. Barth also addressed his plan to have his Spring Classic Car Show on the third weekend of May next year. His enthusiasm was contagious as he advocated "advertise now until the event", "get organized now", and "aim for greater coordination" among the civic groups.

Fall Festival was briefly mentioned, with the date of Sept 27. One vendor has already contacted the Chamber. In spite of much enthusiasm for the mud bogs races, the issue of insurance is posing a threat to its occurrence.

Changes in Food Bank

The Harrington Food Bank was begun about 2008 by Pastor Bill Bull (Nazarene), Mike Korby, Tony Bellotti, Tony Hamilton and others with an eye for making available additional food for the needy. This endeavor was begun with many naysayers in the background suggesting that our area did not have a sufficient need to warrant the time, energy, expense and space that a functioning food bank would require. Initially all of the local churches took part in the cooperative process of obtaining the food, handling and preserving the food, obtaining refrigeration, and learning to dispense the goods to those willing to come and have their needs met. Lives change and people move; Darren Mattozzi became the second director of the Harrington Food Bank with its main location remaining at the Harrington Church of the Nazarene. Presently Jen Mallery of Davenport is the director having this position two years this next August.

The Harrington Food Bank receives donations that average between 4,500 and 6,000 pounds per month from Second Harvest and about 1,500 to 2,300 from Northwest Harvest. State commodities are generally about 150 pounds per month. Davenport Safeway donates between 60 and 80 pounds of bread per month. The donations are available to anyone that comes in with the exception of the State commodities, which are not allowed to be given to those from Sprague or Davenport, due to the EFAP grant. The Harrington Food Bank receives $3,200 a year from this grant, and Sprague and Davenport also receive a grant from the EFAP, hence the restriction. To make the system flow more smoothly, the State controlled commodities are placed on the first table, and can easily be bypassed by people from Davenport or Sprague. This is not as confusing as it might sound. With an average of 18 or so volunteers the system is well organized and each volunteer has a function to perform, some are working outside, others inside to continue filling boxes. Current volunteers include 10 from Davenport and nine from Harrington. This year to date (July to May) the food bank has served 2,385 individuals with a monthly average ranging from 109 to 140 patrons. Addresses of the patrons include Almira, Creston, Davenport, Edwall, Harrington, Lamona, Lincoln, Mohler, Odessa, Reardan, Sprague, Wilbur and Wilson Creek. The Harrington Food Bank owns a Pepsi 3-door refrigerator and two chest freezers in use and another combination refrigerator-freezer that is not in use.

The Harrington Church of the Nazarene charges the Harrington Food Bank $135 for building rent, insurance and garbage per month, which totals $1,600 per year. The State commodities that the Harrington Food Bank receives must be picked up in Moses Lake, and two trips per month are made to Northwest Harvest on Thursdays and the same for Second Harvest on Fridays. The total expense for gasoline has been about $200 per month, or $2,400 per year. If nothing goes wrong, the budget operations run just over $4000 with the grant only covering $3,200. The Harrington Community Church donates at least $100 per month toward these expenses, and various individuals donate with no predictability for the budget. The Mielke concert has donated tremendous funds which allows the Food Bank to meet unexpected expenses and its budget.

A notice by Jen Mallery reads: "Due to changes at the Second Harvest donation center we as a food bank will no longer be able to use the Second Harvest truck. With this said we will not have as much room to keep items refrigerated. We will be moving food bank to Fridays starting June 13. We will start with our new hours being 5-7 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays." This unexpected change will necessitate use of insulated blankets to cover the produce, which Second Harvest will provide. These blankets are effective for 3 to 7 hours depending upon the temperature.

The Harrington community can assist the Harrington Food Bank with donations toward the purchase of a truck or the donation of a truck, which would be tax deductible. Funds for that purpose need to be earmarked as such. The Food Bank owns a small trailer which is insufficient for the refrigeration needs and the overall gross weight of the produce. The Food Bank is always eager to accept funds which allow additional purchases of meat and other menu items for holidays. The Food Bank has been fortunate to receive some quality donations from people who had been helped by the Food Bank and when life conditions improved they donated ten-fold more than they accepted. Volunteers and donations are always welcome.

The Harrington Food Bank has considered finding a new location for the Food Bank, where it would be able to save time and energy by not needing to be set up and taken down each week. At a minimum the Food Bank would require 1,500 sq. ft. for storage and serving space, and it must be wheel chair accessible. If the Harrington Food Bank had its own house or building, it would be willing to house the God's Closet (clothing bank) which is presently at the Harrington Community Church. Jen Mallery is grateful for the space that the Harrington Church of the Nazarene allows them, but the convenience of having one's own space is a consideration. Perhaps someone in the community would like to donate a building or space for this purpose. Jen Mallery, volunteer director, may be reached at 509-725-8445.

Harrington City Council

Mayor Paul Gilliland called the city council meeting to order Wednesday evening, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. with council members Terry Howe, Mike Cronrath, and Rick Becker present. Others attending included Alan Gay, Bunny Haugan, Sharon Schultz, Madison Charlton (high school student), Scott McGowan, Allan Barth, Marge Womach and Jerry Allen.

Much of the meeting was taken with discussion concerning the needed dike repairs, potential grants for that purpose, environmental reviews, drainage ditches and a weakened retainer wall. Maps were presented and Alan Gay of the design firm USKH discussed the requirements of various grants.

Other topics of discussion included the lack of a back-up system on the computers, an update on the damaged street at Douglas and Second, the order of 23 new road signs for repair and replacement, tree trimming proposals for the city park and cemeteries, and the need for the sidewalk to be repaired at the Lincoln Hotel.