Palouse Food Bank & Pantry Day Dates During October and November 2013

 

The Palouse Food Bank will be open this Wednesday, October 22, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. -3:00 p.m. at the Palouse Community Center.

 

In addition, any resident of Whitman county is eligible to access the food pantry in Colfax on the second Tuesday of each month from 4:00 p.m. -  6:00 p.m., so the next pantry day is November 12, 2013. It's located in the basement of the DSHS Building at 418 Main St., in Colfax, and you can access it at the rear down a ramp.   

Thank you, and please contact Amy Browse at 878-1251 with any questions.

Discussion of Location for Proposed Skatepark October 19, 2013 in Palouse, Washington

There will be a public meeting on Saturday, October 19th at 3:00 PM to discuss location options for the proposed Palouse Skatepark.  Anyone interested may join us at the main parking lot of the Hayton Green City Park, nearest the swimming pool, to go for a short walking tour of two proposed sites.  For more information contact Aaron Flansburg by email at palouseskatepark@Gmail.com

If you cannot attend but have feedback, please contact either Aaron Flansburg at above email, or City Hall.

Lift-Lid Levy Information from Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove and Palouse Fire Department Chief Mike Bagott

VOTE * VOTE * VOTE *

From Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove:

In the next few weeks voters will begin to receive their ballots for the November 5th general election. Along with our annual Street Maintenance and Swimming Pool levy requests, voters will be asked for the first time to consider a “levy lid-lift” measure.

“Lid-lift” measures reset the baseline folks pay in property tax. Currently the city of Palouse collects approximately $2.49 per $1,000 of assessed value. The ballot request seeks to “lift” that value to $3.10 per $1,000 - an increase of 60 cents.  In everyday terms it would mean that a home with an assessed value of $100,000 would see a $60 increase in their yearly taxes.

A similar measure was passed by voters in Pullman just last month.

Monies generated from this request will be utilized in two basic areas - our Current Expense fund and a proposed new effort to recapitalize our local Fire Department.

Support from Olympia with state shared revenues (monies collected statewide and re-distributed back into our communities) has been on a steady decline over the last ten years. These funds have historically gone into our Current Expense fund. Our Current Expense account funds a host of city programs including our cemetery, a portion of employee wages, our parks, our Police and Fire Departments, etc. A good example of belt tightening that has occurred in this area is when our employees were asked to take a 3% salary reduction several years ago. Revenues generated from the proposed lid lift will help keep the programs and amenities we enjoy in Palouse strong.

The city is also proposing a new long-term strategy of setting aside up to 10% of our local property tax monies into our Fire Department Equipment Reserve Account. Chief Bagott has done a tremendous job leading our Fire Department, and has developed a long-term strategy to keep the Fire Department strong. This will require a commitment of approximately $150,000 from the city to be set aside over the next ten years. The proposed levy lid-lift measure enables the city to meet this objective.

Thank you for your consideration of our upcoming ballot measures and please remember to mail in your ballot by November. 5, 2013.

From Palouse Fire Department Chief Mike Bagott:
The lid-lift proposal is very important to the future of the Palouse Fire Department. We are anticipating the need for approximately $300,000 ($150,000 each from the City and the RFD) by the end of 2020 to replace two fire trucks and our air packs.

The lid-lift proposal allows the City to collect these funds gradually over this time span. This will be much less burdensome to the taxpayers than larger levies closer to the time when the equipment needs to be replaced. The Fire Department has worked hard over the past decade to improve our capabilities by purchasing better and safer equipment and we want to be able to continue to do so in the future.

The fire we had up on Cannon Street last February likely would have had a much worse outcome had we not made the equipment upgrades we did over the past decade. When I started with the Fire Department in 1995, we could bring less than 4,000 gallons of water to a fire, and we had very little capability to pump it in large volumes. By comparison, we now bring 8,500 gallons of water to a fire. We also have the capability to pump large volumes at high pressure for an extended period of time before we even need to be concerned about accessing the City's water system. Fortunately, structure fires of any consequence have only been happening about once every 5 years recently - but we still need to be prepared to hit them hard when they do happen.

Your support of the proposed levy lid-lift measure will keep your Palouse Fire Department strong for years to come.     Thank you.

 

Rosalia Library Third Thursday Series October 17, 2013 with Kathy Wilkes

October 17, 2013, the 2^nd of the Third Thursday series at the Rosalia Library with Kathy Wilkes and Picture Books on Parade.  The topic this time will be “Let’s Celebrate:  Fall and Winter Holidays”.

October 19, 2013,  Fall Festival in Rosalia, look for the Library’s Friends of the Malden and Rosalia Library Used Books Sale. 

Balloons will be given out to all children.  Book prices range from $0.25 to $1.00 for paperbacks and hardback books.  Other Friends of the Library merchandise will be available for sale as well.

Colton Branch Library October Events

Storytimes for October will focus on the alphabet at the Colton Library.  Each week children explore a different letter through color pages, crafts, stories, and a snack.  On October 28, the program will have a Halloween theme with funny trick or treat stories. Storytime is held every Monday at 10:30 a.m. for children ages 1 – 6.

Third Thursday, the after-school program at the Colton Library, is on October 17 and will also have a Halloween theme.  Join Librarian Holly Meyer for a Halloween craft, puzzle sheets, stories, and a scary snack.  Children ages kindergarten to 6^th grade are welcome to join in the fun at 3:15 p.m.

The Uniontown/Colton book club will be reading The Others by David Guterson during the month of October.  Pick up your copy at either library, and join in the discussion of the book on Wednesday, October 30, 2013, at 6 p.m. at the Uniontown Library.

The Colton Library is open on Halloween evening this year, and children are encouraged to stop by for a treat from 5-7 p.m.  Miss Holly is looking forward to seeing all of those cute costumes!

Wacky Wednesday at Malden Library October 9, 2013

October 9, 2013, Wacky Wednesday Early Release Programming at the Malden Branch Library, 205 South Moreland, Malden, Wash.

Grandma Cathy and Librarian Mel will be hosting a Halloween themed after school program beginning at 1:00 p.m.  Cookie Decorating will be part of this fun and free event.

October 6, 2013, Reception for Palouse Watercolor Socius Artists Exhibiting at Dahmen Barn October 3-27, 2013

October exhibit at the Dahmen Barn is Palouse Watercolor Socius

Each year Artisans at the Dahmen Barn features an exhibit and sale of original watercolor paintings by members of the Palouse Watercolor Socius.

 

This year the exhibit runs from October 3 through 27, with the opening reception scheduled for Sunday, October 6, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The show will offer paintings in a variety of sizes and price ranges.

 

Some PWS members are well-known Northwest artists with works featured in collections throughout the United States and abroad.

Artisans at the Dahmen Barn is a non-profit creativity center in Uniontown on highway 195 in the big white barn behind the famous iron wheel fence.  The three storey facility is fully handicap accessible, has no daily admission fee and is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.  Information:  www.artisanbarn.org or 509-229-3414.