Orofino city pool project makes progress

By Amber Hanes-Miller

If you visited this and past Lumberjack Days festivities, you likely were greeted by a menagerie of stimulants: smells, tastes, lights, crowds, and a handful of people working very hard to fund-raise for our city pool project.

Each year, for more than 20, the Orofino Pool committee has operated a bingo booth at Lumberjack Days. In the past the booth’s proceeds benefited the swim team; present day, proceeds fund the effort to build a new city pool. For the third year, the annual ATV raffle ticket sales have also been a large part of fundraising. One hundred percent of money raised from raffle ticket sales and the bingo booth are deposited to the “Orofino Community Complex, Inc.” account. Raffle tickets are $50 and only 600 will be sold. The committee continues to sell personalized tiles as well; all tiles will be placed at the new pool facility on a designated donor space.

Financial overview

The Orofino Community Complex, Inc. combined accounts currently have a balance of $56,783.78, detailed as follows:

Pool tiles: $7,602.41

Regular shares and CD: $35,831.37

2013 RZR Raffle ticket sales, to date: $13,350 

Thank you

The bingo booth is a meaningful fundraising tool, procuring over $1,200 during this years’ event; however, its operation would not be possible without the support of volunteers. We truly appreciate the contribution of our volunteers this year and hope they and others will participate by volunteering for a two-hour shift at next year’s event. Your contribution is so very helpful and appreciated!

For a schedule of meetings, to purchase a tile, or to be added to the bingo volunteer list, please contact Lyn Anderson at 208-476-5908 or lynavon4u@ frontier.com.

To purchase a raffle ticket, visit an outlet: Orofino Body Shop, Valley Motor Parts (NAPA), Barney’s, LCCU, or P1FCU, or a committee member. Visit us on Facebook at Orofino Pool.

Street Committee opens dialogue for diagonal parking

By Elizabeth Morgan

 

The Street Committee met Oct. 2 in Council Chambers once again, to address downtown parking. The meeting opened with a bit of confusion, as Johnson Avenue was repeatedly and mistakenly referred to as Main Street, but as the meeting bore on, emotions grew tense, more information surfaced, and then...

It became clear that the wheels were in motion. It was the very dialogue that the dozen or so in attendance were waiting to hear. In fact, the discussion took a surprising turn in favor of further exploring the options for diagonal parking.

In the attempt to reduce further confusion and discord (there has been too much already), this article will focus on the new information brought out during the last meeting. This information caught the attention of more than a few council members to look closer into many of the merchants’ pleas for solutions other than timed parking, including diagonal parking.

Chief Jeff Wilson announced that he and Public Works Supervisor, John Barton had taken some measurements of Main and Johnson streets, which were 40 and 43 feet wide, respectively. This would allow diagonal parking on one side of the street only. They also discovered that for every car parked parallel to the curb, two vehicles could fit diagonally in the same space.

Wilson remarked that while no significant change would appear in the number of spaces, that those spaces that were available were much easier to access and utilize all of them, in spite of a person’s ability, or inability in this case, to park.

The problem with marked parallel parking is that some cars are more compact, requiring less than the 22-26 foot long space, taking up valuable space that could also be used for others to park. Just one badly parked vehicle can throw parking off right on up the block. The other problem was that marked parking still had to be monitored and enforced, when our police officers already have their hands full.

Teri Bolling commented that the truck route on Johnson Avenue was one of the concerns of diagonal parking and one-way streets. “Ask any truck driver and he’ll tell you the four way stop.” Why? “Because it’s easier and safer to enter Michigan.” This raised a few eyebrows and nods of agreement from the audience as well as the Chief of Police. It seems to be yet another reason to further explore the options.

From there, I witnessed the cooperation of everyone involved. More questions arose and still more dialogue came forth, but perhaps a meeting of the minds finally occurred. It was decided that having a plan on paper in front of the council was essential for the next meeting. It would then be possible to look at several options and how to resolve the issues at hand.

Merchants and residents of Orofino are invited and encouraged to attend this special meeting with any concerns or input. The Street committee and merchants and residents are all eager to have this issue resolved as soon as possible, to better serve all of Orofino.

Adopt a Block Project Launch with Matt Potratz

By Elizabeth Morgan

 

Have you ever known a person who has just been there - whether to chat, or listen, to laugh, to share? Have you ever considered how much it would mean to someone who has no family to reach out and let them know that someone cares – that they still matter? Is there a child or a family in your neighborhood with unmet needs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, here’s one more: Do you have 30-40 minutes on Wednesday evening (6 p.m.), Oct. 16, at the Rex Theatre, to hear how Matt Potratz is planning to bring the community together in his vision of “Adopt a Block” Project for Orofino?

All I knew about Matt was that he was a person of tremendous spirit and he had been miraculously bounced back into life after being in a coma in a close brush with death. He had been caught in an avalanche a few years back while snowmobiling. I’ve ready several of his columns and heard he was an incredible inspiration to others. He hasn’t missed a beat. Matt sports a fierce determination to make the most of his life and the situation at hand.

As I approached the house to learn more about Adopt a Block, a couple of young boys asked who I was and who I was looking for, they sent me to the front door when another young man answered, and invited me in. Eight little guys altogether were playing contentedly around the house. It was noisy, but a happy noise and they all seemed to understand the rules. “Three of the boys are mine,” claimed Matt, “the others are friends over to play.” “They seem to have no where else to go.” he states simply. On this particular Friday and most of the others, “they come here where they know and their parents know it’s safe.” Sometimes they come to eat; sometimes we watch movies or do activities. It’s what we do. It’s just one way I can help.”

Adopt a Block originated in some of the more desperate neighborhoods in L.A. Matt attends church at New Bridges in Lewiston and the congregation has made some big changes for some very needy residents.

Technically, it was a faith based program, but that’s not a priority in Matt’s perspective. Adopt a Block is all about people serving people, and what better way to serve God than by helping those around us who need it most?

“It’s not about me, my ordeal, or my book,” he clarifies, it’s about helping those who don’t really have a choice,” and that’s why he has focused on serving the elderly and youth in our area. “I’ve checked around and identified a few areas of particular need right now. Brookside Landing and Clearwater Health and Rehabilitation are such examples. Both facilities have many residents without family near and who rarely receive visitors. Matt would like to facilitate small groups (two-five people) to go and share an hour once a week with some of the residents.

At the other end of the spectrum, he is working with the schools to help locate the families of young children with unmet needs. Matt would like to pair them up with a family able to help make a difference, in whatever way they can.

“The best part,” he said, “was that while we think we are the ones giving, we are actually the one’s receiving. Once a person feels the fulfillment that helping others brings, it’s hard to stop. Matt considers it a way for him to give back to the community that never gave up on him and gave him a second chance at life.

He tells how his accident helped to open his eyes to being a person and a father. As one might anticipate, priorities shift after such an event, and Matt wants others to know that we are all capable of rearranging our priorities - we shouldn’t need a tragedy as a catalyst to begin.

“If I had the chance right now to go back and be the old Matt, I wouldn’t do it,” he shares. “No way. I had no idea what life was really about." The relationship with his God, his family, and his sons has evolved ten-fold since the accident.

As the days get shorter, darker, holidays lurk around the corner, and our paychecks (if we have one) are having to stretch even farther, it is also a time of loneliness and hardship for many. A visitor with a familiar face an encouraging word, can make a world of difference to those without.

So on Wednesday, Oct. 16, do yourself a favor, see what all the excitement is about, learn how you can help. Meet with Matt Potratz, and others in our community who want to make a difference at 6 p.m. at the Rex Theatre. Refreshments will be served.

City committees face tough decisions

By Elizabeth Morgan

Orofino Fire and Building committees met Sept. 17, to discuss the city’s consideration to relocate their offices to the vacant Health and Welfare building.

The city has budgeted $25,000 this year for maintenance and repairs at the present site. Presently, City Hall is not in compliance with the ADA, nor does the amount budgeted for this year’s maintenance and needed repair, begin to address the fact that the police department, city offices and city chambers are all limited for space.

These were some of the reasons for the council to question whether or not it may be time to seek a larger and more updated facility.

City Administrator, Rick Laam suggested that more information be collected before making a decision. He would like to research the new building further, including utilities, parking and property taxes and compare those to what the city now pays.

The Planning and Zoning Committee also met Sept. 17, to discuss the zone change from (P) public to (C-2), sales and service district for the old Junior High School building.

The committee felt that the building’s change of ownership from public to private necessitated the zone change and felt the new owner could be better served under a C-2 zone. In doing so, a C-2 zone would make the zoning along Michigan Avenue more consistent.

The committee is considering changing the zone from P to C-2, and would like to hold a public hearing before the City Council at the next meeting, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. at Orofino City Hall.

Next on the agenda was the work session and discussion of annexation. There are two areas that the city is considering. Four lots along Hwy. 12, two on Hartford, and two on 105th Street are the focus of one area. It was explained that the last annexation of Riverside which took place in 1969, excluded parcels of five acres or larger. Over the years those parcels have been subdivided, bringing the boundaries to their present configuration. The committee wanted to clean up the lines in the areas mentioned.

The other area the city is considering annexing is Konkolville, and part of the problem is that half the mill lies within the city limits (the area that housed the former bar and steakhouse) the other half is county. “Who will pay what to who for water?” is another question residents would like to know.

Residents and business owners voiced a strong opposition to annexation, most felt that additional taxes owed to the city - (approximately .76 to .8 percent) would be a hardship financially, several to the extent of losing their home or business.

One question heard throughout the meeting was “what benefit of annexation would exist for county residents who are currently not within the city limits?” One person asked “if by being annexed, he would be finally able to run for City Council? A councilmember assured him he certainly could and welcomed him to join them.

The committee is still in session, though it is crucial that any party wanting to address the issues of annexation be present to voice those concerns in the next few council meetings. The public’s input and comments will be taken at those meetings. Building Official Todd Perry will provide the committee with a second draft of the areas involved.

Medicaid Expansion

By Idaho State Senator Sheryl Nuxoll

Medicaid Expansion is the second part of Obamacare that will stifle and destroy our country with its cost, regulations, and “government is the answer” attitude. Expansion would remove citizens from the labor force with inability to move out of entitlement.

A free clinic in Caldwell for healthcare was started by a Bible study group looking to give something to their community. The clinic operates one night a week, serving people who have no insurance and do not qualify for Medicaid—people served by the county indigent program. It saved county taxpayers $500,000 on a 2.5 million county indigent budget. It is so successful that the program is adding another night per week. What a great way to expand healthcare so people have a way to stay in the work force.

To help the poor, we need to help the whole person—material, spiritual, and emotional. The government cannot do that. Why? Because law requires government to treat everyone as the same and equal. But we are not all the same since we each have different needs. People in government, even though working hard, can’t give the personal attention needed for all the different needs for the whole person. These needs are best met outside of government, through churches, non-profits, and families. Our duty is to limit the power of the federal government.

Concern for the poor doesn’t require faith in big government. It requires faith in the fullness of the Christian message, just as the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us. It demands personal attention from us. The free-enterprise system provides this opportunity for us. This is the power of people working together. Freedom is power.

Our present unrivaled health care system came into being through the Christian Churches and private charity who established all of the hospitals, clinics, and healthcare work. Christendom invented the hospital under the umbrella of Christian mercy. The solution of first resort for health care for the poor ought to be private, local charity, where needs are best met locally. Depriving citizens of private means by over taxation is not compassion. How can they give personal attention to the poor at the level closest to the person? Paying taxes limits the resources for individual and local involvement.

Forcing us to pay taxes to support charity may “feel good” to us, but where is the local personal involvement? If we are going to genuinely assist suffering humanity, then our feelings must be disciplined according to reason and common sense. Other private organizations, individuals, charities have a major responsibility to provide the necessary care before the state gets involved.

Trapping people into dependency is not compassion. St. Paul warned against a church not to provide a daily distribution of food to young, able-bodied widows lest they become idlers gossips and busybodies. In place of generous souls animated by love of neighbor, we set up a soulless bureaucracy run by distant bureaucrats and funded by politicians seeking out constituents by promising benefits. Free enterprise allows us to use resources to care for ourselves and others. It allows us to use our gifts to help others needs.

Why do we find resistance to free enterprise? Yes, there is greed, but greed is found in government as well as free enterprise. In fact, government is worse because there is little or no competition to control that greed. The greatest opportunity for greed is government cronyism, which knows how to exploit lists and lists of regulations.

As humans, we have the right to basic care, love, attention, including medical care, but not the right to every single desirable product and service available by demanding the limitless efforts of others without remuneration nor do we have the right to assume that the government is the primary means of fulfilling that right. Some solutions are:

Expand Health Savings Accounts which give the consumer the price sensitivity and flexibility in health care decisions.

Set up a defined contribution method as opposed to defined benefit in Medicare and Medicaid so recipients have a choice how to use it.

Let the consumer pay the provider instead of providers competing for the business of bureaucracies.

Deregulate codes that bind providers to rules rather than common sense and compassion for the patient.

Another successful fundraiser for LCECP and Orofino Head Start

Hanna Johnson, Anson Hanes-Miller and Jenna Johnson advertise last weekend’s dog wash to benefit Orofino Head Start and LCECP.

Friends of LCECP serviced approximately 26 dogs at the dog Wash held Sept. 7, at Orofino Elementary School and raised $845.50 to benefit the new Head Start program.

Friends and volunteers stayed busy most of the day. Many donated more than the suggested donation and some donated without bringing a dog (one person donated $100 and only had a hot dog)

During the fundraiser LCECP sold four “The Works” packages, one door stopper to a non-dog owner, and sold home baked treats. Thank you to all who helped make this a fabulous success.

Kathy Deyo, “dog lover, groomer, trainer and expert” and her group of 4-H members enthusiastically bathed, dried and clipped a myriad of dog species, both small and large during the event.

City Council seeks three new councilmembers

By Elizabeth Morgan

A note to those residents who would like to make a difference in the community by serving on Orofino City Council, here is your opportunity. There are currently three positions open; a councilmember’s term is for four years. Applications are available at City Hall and must be returned by Sept. 6.

A public hearing was held for each of the following items:

Fee increases

Burn permits will no longer sold for $2.50 but will now be available for $5. The permit will be good for 30 days.

The 10-year Wastewater Reserve Program will increase $5 beginning this October, until a $20 Cap has been reached in 2016. Fees from 2013-2016 will be placed in a Dedicated Reserve Program for future renovation of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The new Reserve Program includes 150 Orofino/Whiskey Creek users as well as 850 city users.

The Budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 received a third reading and was passed. Annual Appropriation Ordinance No. 775 passed for the Fiscal Year beginning Oct. 1 2013, appropriating the sum of $15,046,110 to defray the expenses and liabilities for the City of Orofino.

Committee reports

At the city’s Building and Fire Committee meetings held in August, there was a discussion of City Ordinance 704 – Nuisance. Prosecuting Attorney Clayne Tyler was present to assist the council in finding a more efficient manner to dealing with the numerous properties that are repeatedly in violation of the Nuisance Ordinance.

Typically an owner is given 30 days to comply, and although this works for some of those in violation, often the property is cleaned up just enough to avoid prosecution, and allowed to return to its previous condition soon after, requiring the city to repeat the process all over again.

City officials are unanimously asking for a more aggressive approach when it comes to future nuisance violations. Owners will need to be in 100% compliance with the Building Official in cleaning up the property. Repeat offenders will no longer be given a time limit to comply, receiving a citation instead.

The Community Beautification Committee presented awards to the Winners for the Curb Appeal contest. The winner for the New Home Curb Appeal is Carol Crawford, and winners for the Existing Home Curb are Bill and Marlene Feldpausch.

Departmental reports

Building Official Todd Perry declared a building in the Riverside area to be dangerous. The owner received notice and has had 30 days to repair or demolish the property. In a recent inspection nothing appeared to have been done to comply. The owner will now be required to appear before the council to explain the reason for noncompliance.

Also up for discussion was the status of the zoning for the old school building. Now that the owners have been established it is now listed under the category of being owned by a private entity. But the city council still does not know the owners’ plans for the building.

An inspection is scheduled for the old section of the building among the State Fire Marshal and local Building and Fire Officials on Sept. 4. Once plans are made the city can go forward with safety requirements. The building was zoned P for public. Once a private entity purchases the building the zoning would typically be reverted to a C-2 Zone. More information and discussion will be necessary to proceed.

Enhanced patrol

Police Chief Jeff Wilson informed the council that in addition to the enhanced patrols for impaired driving, there was also an enhanced check on commercial vehicles this past week due to the number of complaints from the telephone company regarding lines being pulled down by trucks loaded too high. Several vehicles were cited for being overweight and only one for exceeding height. Patrols will take place later in the fall as well,

The speed trailers will be out throughout town and residential areas, to help remind drivers of reduced speeds and to use extra caution near schools and crosswalks.

Wilson also announced that his department was gearing up for Fair Days. Signs will be posted the night before the parade to help clear cars off the parade route. “We almost always have two to three vehicles that are left on the street. We plan to close Michigan Avenue to through traffic a little earlier this year. It would be nice for once to have the whole parade route from B St. on Michigan, up Johnson, and all the way to Les Schwab, clear for the parade,” he added.

There will be one-way traffic on Brown and Kalaspo avenues during the parade. Everything will be blocked off Michigan Avenue between B and A streets beginning at 9:40-9:50 a.m. for the parade.

Mike Martin, Supervisor for Water/Wastewater informed the council of the continued progress of the new water plant. Work crews will return after Labor Day and leave again before Lumberjack Days. He also mentioned that one of the city’s dump trucks was cited for being overweight, recently.

Fire Chief Mike Lee claimed he would be praying for rain from now till the end of summer. Many of his crew was out helping neighbors fight fires. Lee also confirmed that no fires of any kind would be permitted.

Council comments

It was mentioned that the sound system is still in need of updating, with continued comments of the public not being able to hear.