Harrington news

Harrington

Opera House Society

The Harrington Opera House Society met Monday, April 4, at 7 p.m. with Carol, Sheryl Stedman, Billie and Gordon Herron, Ed and Bunny Haugan, Linda Wagner, Marge Womach and Karen Robertson present.

Gordon Herron of the building committee reported on the present status of the progress of remodeling and alterations for installation of the elevator due to be delivered April 18. It is anticipated that the installation will require seven to 10 days. The building committee had met with Avista, Herron said, and the electrical work is progressing on schedule. The cleaning by Serv Pro has been scheduled. The majority of the new molding is stained and varnished, and the painting projects are nearly completed.

Upcoming events scheduled include the May 21 quilt show and rummage sale and other events to be held after that date by Bridges Home, the Bel Conto (Women’s Choral group), Nu Blu, Needhams, John Nillson on the piano and Scott Kirby. A wedding has also been scheduled in October. Another three or four engagements in the fall are possible if details are worked out. Many dates remain open for additional events.

Some discussion was held regarding a “ribbon cutting” event following completion of the elevator project and to “show off” the new grand piano. In spite of minor set-backs and revisions, the project is continuing on schedule, and the opera house will be ready for the Cruizin’ Harrington event. There is no guarantee that the state will have the elevator inspected prior to that date, so it may not be available for use.

Harrington Historic

Preservation Commission

On April 5, the Harrington Historic Preservation Commission met at city hall withchairperson Celeste Miller, Karen Allen, Amy Foley, Aileen Sweet and Marge Womach in attendance. The major topic of discussion was the interest in the pillars at the north end of Harrington which the commission wants to remodel, restore, rebuild or completely re-do from below ground level to the top caps. The owners of the property on which they are situated have not yet been contacted. An estimate had been given that it would cost between $8,000 and $10,000 to move them from their present historic location (which marks where the original highway entrance to town had been) to a more visible site. The members are looking for a grant for this project, as well as other grants for “activity projects” rather than research and organizational grants. The Hotel Lincoln “windows project” was discussed, which will cost an estimated $5,750 for the 71 windows; four and s half have already been purchased. Mention was made of the April 14 “How to Sell Your Non-Profit” EDC training session.

Chamber meeting

Harrington Chamber of Commerce met with Cindy Haase, Jill Plaskon, Paula Pike, Cassandra Paffle-Dick, Bunny Haugan, Marge Womach, Mark Stedman and Tim Tipton present. Of primary concern was organization of the clean-up, activities and events for Cruizin’ Harrington on May 21. New options for the event were a Bounce House and a Pinewood Derby. Six specific vendors are committed for the event. The Harrington Golf and Country Club will have special golf rates and a prime rib dinner. Yard sale applications are out. Stedman expressed his concerns that the opera house would not be available for the quilt show. Womach, who had attended the society’s meeting, addressed his concerns that the opera house is definite, that the quilt show will occur in the opera house auditorium and that the quilt club is arranging for the grand piano to be played during the show.

Mention was also made that there will be live music at the Studebaker Garage during the day. The next work meeting for the car show will be April 16 at 11 a.m. at the garage for people interested in helping Barth make the event a success. Jackie Bennett will be providing cupcakes for the car show. Some discussion was held regarding the sign or directory at the north end of town.

Haase announced that the shred bin project went well. Pike announced that the PTA has nearly reached their goal of $15,000 for playground equipment.

Open meeting

April 7, at 7 p.m. at city hall, an open general information session was held to gather information on the topic of “Chickens within the city limits of Harrington.” Members of the committee were Mayor Dillon Haas (moderator), Rick Becker and Levi Schenk. Although minimally advertised, nearly 20 others were present including Dick and Priscilla Derr, Betty Warner (high school ag teacher) and daughter Hannah, Loren Howe, Dan Fromm, Ellen Evans, former mayor Paul Gilliland, Kevin Moeller, Randy Behrens, Bunny Haugen, Ashley Schenk, Tom Campou, Ruthie Fromm, Elaine Cronrath, Sharon Schultz, Marge Womach and Scott McGowan.

Haas gave a short overview of what the committee is grappling with in terms of current Ordinance #319, which forbids poultry, and its predecessor #106, infringement of property rights, additional administrative costs (since the city is already strapped for time and money), permit processes, disease potential and loose chickens. Roosters will not be permitted even if chickens are allowed in town. The mayor asked Councilman Schenk to report on his findings since the last council meeting.

Schenk presented a page of findings, half of which were the standards in other local communities: Creston allows the licensing of six chickens per lot; Wilbur has no limit on the number of chickens allowed, but by city permit only; Reardan has no limits except only for FFA and 4H projects; Odessa does not allow chickens within their city limits; Ritzville allows three chickens per household with “a condition of use” permit; Sprague allows eight animals/fowl by annual permit and Davenport allows flocks only in commercial areas. Additional information that he presented included noise, manure, pests, odor and disease data obtained from blogs on the Internet and a report by USA Today. He concluded with his personal interest and experience with chickens and deems that, with responsible owners, chickens can be managed in town. On the topic of pests, he said, “excess chicken feed can attract vermin, but chickens are excellent mousers, and they manage weeds and bugs very efficiently.”

Each attendee was allowed three minutes to give their concerns and preference. A major concern expressed by several was the difficulties the city already has in enforcement of current ordinances, in particular the unkempt yards and dogs being unlicensed and allowed to roam at large. Hence, “Do we need another problem in Harrington?” and “if dog owners are not responsible why would chicken owners be any different?”

Long time property owners said the ordinance has been in effect since 1989 and that a few interested in having chickens should not negate their rights; people who want chickens can buy rural property. One chicken enthusiast felt as though she was being told to “go away” if she wanted chickens in town, since the current ordinance prevents her from having them. (The ordinance was in place long before she moved into town.) Some expressed the “right” and desire to have the freedom to have chickens while others indicated that one person’s freedom infringes on another’s freedom. Attributes of having chickens were free fertilizer, city-fresh eggs and weed control.

Betty Warner, the ag instructor at the high school, claimed that her students didn’t know that bread comes from the grain that is growing in the fields near the school, nor that chicken nuggets come from poultry. She is in favor of raising chickens on the school property, as a teaching aid, which is in the city limits. She wants to be able to teach her students where feathers come from and where eggs come from. She offered a willingness to provide education in the evenings to citizens wanting to learn how to care for chickens properly. Her daughter, Hannah, is currently in a WSU Master’s program in agriculture, and she stated that clipping the wings is not harmful, chickens have short life-spans, movable cages are readily available, building coops is not difficult and that chickens need supplemental feed in addition to what they might get in one’s yard. No mention was made that clipping wings makes chickens defenseless against predators.

Paul Gilliland, former Harrington mayor, spoke succinctly of the history of the present ordinance, saying that it came out of the 1960s and 1970s Growth Management Plan, which is state mandated and would necessitate revisiting this plan if the present ordinance is changed. This plan was the basis of the city of Harrington’s map which provides a limited livestock area.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Haas thanked all for coming and adding their input to the information that the committee is compiling. This issue will be addressed at the next City Council meeting on April 13, 7:30 p.m. at city hall. Citizens are encouraged to come to these council meetings.

Zion Methodist

Interest shown in the Zion German Methodist Church, now known as Zion United Methodist Church, has spurred the addition of more details. Although the Articles of Incorporation were not filed until 1886, the list of charter members was dated June 13, 1884. Those members were Adam Buehler (pastor), Ludwig Hoffmann, Henrietta Hoffmann, Julius Hoffmann, Emil Kruger, Henry Kruger, Albertina Kruger, Gottlieb Mielke, Minna Mielke, August Bursch and Henrietta Bursch. One might have anticipated that the name of Susanna Kruger, mother of Wilhelmina Kruger Kruger Mielke (Minna), would have been on this list; however, Susanna died May 22, 1884 at the age of 81 years.

Members added in 1885 included Ida Hoffman, Thomas Hubenthal, Bertha Huesman, Roman Kruger, Minne Kruger, Augusta Kruger, Luise Knack and Henry Krueger. In 1887, Herman Kruger and Herman Knack joined the growing church. In 1888, G.D. Kunke, Augusta Kunke, Cherlotte Kunke, Edward Kunke, August and Emilie Kron, Magaretha Kurtz, Albertine Mielke, George and Ana Maurer, Michael Maurer, Sophe Maurer, Magareta Maurer, Will Maurer and Ana K. Maurer. All joined prior to Washington becoming a state. (Spellings herein were found in the church ledger.)