Tekoa Washington

                                   Tekoa Park and Rec. News***********

Let’s light up the city for the Tekoa Holiday Lights Contest. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes will
be awarded. Sign up at AmericanWest Bank to ensure your home is judged. Homes will be
judged by December 17. Best wishes for a very happy holiday season from theTekoa Parks
and Recreation District #6 Board.    Next Park Board Meeting will be in January 2012.   


       ****************Tekoa Library News

     The Tekoa Library’s Third Thursday Kids Craft Club was all about
“Giving Thanks.” Gather with friends for the next program on December 15, at 4:00 p.m. The
theme will be “Holiday Fun,” so come join the festivities! Don’t forget to bring in your little
ones Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. for exciting stories and crafts at Story Time.
     Adults are invited to a craft class this month on Wednesday, December 14. We will be
making creative holiday ornaments to decorate your trees. Bring a friend and join the fun!
Contact Librarian Patti for more details at 284-3121.
The electrical project is complete. Thanks to Gabbard Electric for the amazing job, and to the
City of Tekoa for funding this project. Another big thank-you goes to the American West Bank
and Joe and Becky St. John for their generous donations to help purchase the library’s new
computer stations.
     Have you ever thought about learning a foreign language? Visit the Whitman County Library’s
website at www.whitco.lib.wa.us for details on how an online resource can make the process
easier. The library is offering Livemocha Language Learning courses. All you need is a WCL
card to begin learning at your own pace. Call the Tekoa Library for more information at
284-3121.
                                    
                    VOLUNTEER IN FOCUS*********** 

One of downtown Tekoa’s greatest assets is the Tekoa Empire Theatre.  It is a historic part
of our community that has been restored and maintained to reflect Tekoa’s proud past.  When
the marquee is illuminated, it takes you back in time and casts a beautiful glow on the downtown
area.  A group of hard-working volunteers is behind the success of our Theatre restoration
and maintenance.  This group of community members has applied for grants, organized
fundraising, managed restoration and maintenance efforts, booked great performances, helped
community groups with performances and promoted the Tekoa Empire Theatre to the outlying
area as a “diamond in the Palouse.”    The theatre is funded in large part by donations from
Tekoa Empire Theatre members.  Without the support of Theatre members, we would lose
this important part of our community’s heritage.  Thanks to all of you who support the Theatre
with your membership.  Empire Theatre has a new telephone number (509-284-2000).  Also,
very soon they will have a new website www.tekoaempiretheatre.com. Please leave a message
if you need a ride to a performance or if you know someone who would like a tour of the theatre! 
The next performance will be on Wednesday, December 7, at 7 p.m.  It will be EWU
Chamber Choir.  Some of the volunteers that go above and beyond to preserve the Empire
Theatre’s heritage are Larry Arnold, Carol Fischer, Karen Gendron, John Heaton, Dean
Kiefer, Sherry Klaus, Cheryl and Monte Morgan, Terry Thomas, Dick Warwick, Marilyn
Weatherly and Carol Wichmann.  PLEASE GIVE THEM THANKS!!


                                   ***********Construction Projects Status

The water main project is shutting down for the winter.  This year’s construction included
5,000’ of 8” and 16” water main throughout the north part of the city.  Five new fire hydrants
were installed along with new water services to the homes in the area of the new water main
construction. 

The well and reservoir rehabilitation project is nearing completion.  The project replaced the
roof of the reservoir and strengthened the walls of the structure.  The project also drilled a new
well and installed a new pump to supply the city with water.

The sidewalk project along Poplar and Crosby Streets is complete.  The new sidewalk provides
a handicap- accessible route connecting the upper and lower parts of the city.

We would like to thank you for putting up with several scheduled shut-downs and a couple of
unscheduled emergency shut-downs.  The existing water system has very few valves, so
construction or repair in one area often requires a shut-down of water to a large part of the
city.  When next year’s construction is complete, there will be 73 new water valves in the
system.  This will allow small segments of the system to be shut down without affecting water
service to other parts of the city.

Construction will begin again in the spring for portions of Jackson, Alder, Sherman and Poplar
in the northwest part of the city.  There are a few small areas within this year’s construction
area that will need additional asphalt, to be completed in the spring. Water main construction
south of Poplar and road reconstruction in Henkle Street will also be completed next year.
We will give advance notice when the work is starting up again and who may be affected when
the equipment starts up.

Once again, thank you for your patience during construction!!




Messages from the Mayor****************


Our town can now return to some form of normalcy! Construction has basically ended until
spring. Then, hang on as water lines, some sewer lines and paving will disrupt our quiet life
again!!

We put up a notice at the post office notifying residents on the north side of town to contact
city hall if their property was damaged as a result of replacing water lines. There is not much
the contractors can do this winter, but come spring, they will rake damaged lawn areas and
then hydro-seed those areas. Again, please let us know about any damaged property!

Our street levy passed, and I must pass on some good news/bad news relative to the levy.
First the good news—because of a lack of communications between city hall and the county,
the levy amount was inaccurate. The good news is that what passed was not a $55,000 street
levy but one for only $25,000! So, even though you passed a levy for a larger amount, we will
collect the lesser amount!! The bad news is that we will probably need to request the $50,000
next year. As I have mentioned before, the council voted to pay for street lights out of the
general fund. This amounts to about $25,000 a year. We already know that our portion of the
liquor sales tax-which amounts to over $8,000 a year, probably- will not be coming from the
state anymore. We are finding that our cemetery maintenance costs that used to come from
interest on the endowment fund, now comes from the general fund. So, we expect fewer
monies from the state and new expenditures from other departments.

On to other subjects: The council discussed the continuing trend of people making a U-turn in
the middle of our main streets. Personally, I view this as a sign of disrespect for our small
community. Would you make such a turn in Colfax, Spokane, or Pullman? We have requested
that the Sherriff’s Department begin issuing tickets ($124.00) for such a violation so be aware!!

The council also has activated Ordinance #439 that makes it unlawful to park campers, mobile
trailers, boats or boat trailers, or other units that are incapable of moving under their own
power on public streets. This will assist our city crew with plowing this winter and also give
the council time to rewrite this ordinance, so it takes into account the needs of residents to
have access to such items in the spring, summer or fall months. We also want vehicles that are
not operable to be removed from city streets for the same purpose.

The council voted to allow Melton Fabrication to use the city shop. Hopefully, their enterprise
will bring jobs and people to Tekoa. So what happens to our recycling effort? Right now, we
have no covers for the two containers that are used for both paper products and cardboard.
We are told that if water damages the contents, their value is not only diminished, but also it
could cost us to have the containers emptied. Bottom line: until we can find a way to protect
the paper/cardboard, we may have to discontinue this project until weather permits. If you
have any ideas to salvage this project, please call city hall.

To quickly touch on a few other items of interest, we are involved in a project/plan to
drastically update the Willard Airport. See Roy Schulz or Eileen Soldwedel for more
information. The council is studying ways to more economically heat both the city hall building
and the community center. Also, we are going to consider whether to contact the Department
of Ecology to have them do some soil sampling in areas that the city may purchase from the
Union Pacific Railroad.

And finally, we hope that all had a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving!!