The Clearwater Tribune is the official county newspaper of beautiful Clearwater County, located in north-central Idaho. Orofino is the county seat. Other towns in Clearwater County include Weippe, Pierce, Ahsahka, and Greer. We at the Clearwater Tribune are dedicated to providing interesting, informative hometown news.
Showing posts with label Clearwater Memorial Public Library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clearwater Memorial Public Library. Show all posts
The Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) Foundation will launch a major fundraising campaign on Friday, June 30, at the High Country Inn, outside of Orofino. This kick-off event is a “Whiskey Shindig” and will award free engraved copper mugs with each ticket sold.
The purpose of this newly formed foundation is to build a much-need expansion to the Orofino library, which has not had a remodel in more than thirty years. Volunteers of the CMPL Foundation hope to raise $225,000 in the near future, which will be enough for Phase 1 of the expansion project.
The Whiskey Shindig event, with an old-time saloon theme, will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, June 30, and will include a sampling of various types of liquor, a bar featuring lots of kinds of “Mule” drinks, as well as non-alcoholic beverages, live music, a photo booth, food, and plenty of fun, as attendees are asked to bid for parcels of square feet of the proposed addition.
Montgomery Distillery will be on hand at the event with products from their small-batch distillery in Missoula, MT. They strive to blend tradition and innovation in their distilling process, and also emphasize a mission of giving and are excited to work with CMPL in our fundraising campaign to expand the library.
Everyone in the community who is interested in the cause for literacy for young and old is urged to support this project. Tickets are $40 per person, $75 for couples, and will include the copper mug with each purchase, to be given out at the door.
Tickets are available at the Orofino library (CMPL) on Michigan Avenue in Orofino, or call 208-476-3411.
Pictured: Everyone who attends the Whiskey Shindig will receive a complimentary engraved copper mug.
Clearwater Memorial Public Library wants to hear from its patrons, and we have provided a survey that can be downloaded and filled out from their website. The first 100 people to return a completed survey between April 1 and April 15 will receive a limited edition canvas library bag, free!
Please take time to download and complete it. We will start accepting completed surveys at the library on Friday, April 1, with a deadline of April 15.
Letters will be going out to our known patrons, asking that they fill out and return the survey. Copies may also be picked up at the library front desk and returned there.
While you are on our website, check out the blog entry on Tumble Books, and feel free to send any ideas or thoughts to info@orofinolibraryproject.com, and these may be added to the on-going blog by our webmaster, Kc Morris. We are seeking input on exciting books to read, or suggestions for making our website the go-to place!
The library’s future
It is with a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm that we inform all our library patrons that a non-profit foundation has completed its official non-profit formation, with the purpose of creating awareness of the need for expansion of our library.
Orofino’s library has been located on the corner of Michigan Avenue, across from the old junior high school, since 1965—50 years now. The last major expansion was accomplished in 1984 with a grant and almost $50,000 in local donations, adding a new wing on a piece of adjoining property which was purchased for that purpose.
It has been over thirty years since the last addition, and many advances in the services offered by Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) have been made. We have been in the computer age with an automated circulation system since the 1980’s, and the electronics boom with hand-held devices has caused a plethora of needed new services offered to the public by CMPL. The problem is: not enough people space! We are studying the future importance and needs for our library, and have come up with a survey to help us determine our future path toward expansion.
Pictured are Margaret and Richard Whitten clothed in specimens from their collections. The yellow tailed specimens on the left are Argema Mitrei, comet moths from Madagascar (now known as Malagasy Republic). The brown months are Attacus Atlas moths – the world’s largest moths from the Philippines.
By Alannah Allbrett
Friday, Feb. 15, marks the beginning of an exciting new nature series at the Clearwater Memorial Public Library. Noted entomologist, Richard Whitten, together with his wife and partner Margaret, spent many years of their lives in Central America and Africa. Richard has put together video presentations from his collection of over 300 hours of nature filming he compiled over a 30 year period.
The first video program, entitled Tropical Rainforest Adventures will cover the following topics: 1) bioluminescence featuring the headlight beetle (Cucujo Click Beetle) with headlights and a landing-takeoff light on it’s underbelly; 2) White Lipped Peccaries – dangerous giant, forest pigs that actually attack the people who live by them in Panama and Columbia; 3), black light insect collecting – the art of collecting beetles with a white sheet, illuminated with ultra violet light.
In what Richard calls “a grab bag of tropical adventures,” many diverse species will be discussed in the series’ future meetings – it’s up to YOU the viewer, however, what will be featured, as Richard promises to let people choose the critter in which they are most interested for the following presentation.
Neotropical adventures
Some tropical species which might be included for future programs are: leafcutter ants; army ants; tropical butterflies; tropical flowers; monkeys; snakes, lizards, frogs, sloths; spiders; scorpions; wasps; bees; and others.
The Great Beetle Fight film is something you might request, or you might want to learn more about the Whitten Museums of Costa Rica.
African adventures
Richard has plenty to offer if one is interested in Africa, as he spent time studying alongside Dr. David Roubik, a hymenoptera specialist (bees, wasps, and ants) through a study partially sponsored by The Tropical Research Institute, a branch of the Smithsonian Institute. The topics of interest about Africa include: the bee forest of Gabon; carpets of butterflies; Umbaya, the sun monkey; African driver ants, forest elephants, and a program called the, “Horror in the Jungle Laboratory.”
Richard said that his time spent in the bee forests of Gabon – located near the Belgian Congo, were some of his most memorable and disturbing. It required the scientists wearing special protective equipment just to walk outside of the research facility there. “It was a scary thing” said Richard “to get used to the millions of bees of all types, because they want the salt from your body which is not available to them in the rain forest.” [This video footage may be too disturbing for younger children.]
The programs are scheduled from 2-3 p.m., on Fridays, so that school children may attend. One need not be a child to enjoy these free-of-charge meetings, but a child-like sense of wonder and curiosity will bring greater rewards.
This exciting video presentation will be held in the Annex Building, directly behind the library at 402 Michigan Ave. Seating is available for approximately 15 people. First come; first served. For more information, call: 208-476-5033.
A collared peccary is pictured in this photograph. Wild pigs are a dangerous nuisance to inhabitants of Panama and Columbia. Richard Whitten said at times he was surrounded by many of the “white lipped” peccaries while doing his work in Central America.
A play filled with local humor and a spoof on football, combined with an all-you-can-eat barbeque dinner awaits lucky fans in just another weekend!
You won’t want to miss this year’s mystery dinner theater presentation; the last one was a sell-out with patrons missing out on tickets! This year’s play was extended to a four-night run to accommodate those who had wished they could attend the popular event two years ago.
Each night’s presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. with a no-host bar and complimentary appetizers, while guests find their seating in the lovely Sunken Garden of the High Country Inn. The play and dinner will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m., and will end before it gets dark.
The dinner menu will include chicken, country-style ribs, and sausages; several hearty salads, cowboy beans, garlic bread, dessert, and beverage. The “tailgater style” buffet dinner will be served during the course of the play, and guests will be entertained the whole time, guessing at some football trivia while wondering about “who dun-it?” This is an event all will want to attend! —an event which will be talked about for days afterward, so don’t miss the action and fun!
Idaho Vandal fans will be spotlighted Thursday, July 12, while Friday night’s event hopes to draw “Always a Maniac” fans. However, all four nights are open for all. Saturday and Sunday evenings will be just as much fun for all.
Tickets are available by the night preferred, at the library. The phone number at the Clearwater Memorial Public Library is 476-3411, or call Jo Moore at 476-7570 for more information.
Raffle tickets will be available at each night’s performance of Fatal Football Fever, with a grand array of prizes being offered, including this beautiful “trophy” autographed Vandal football held by library Director Ellen Tomlinson. The football, along with four tickets for the Vandals’ Homecoming game, sideline passes, deluxe Vandal shirts and cap, all make up the Vandals package.
Other packages include a 12-guest suite at an Idaho Steelheads ice hockey game in Boise along with a deluxe king room at the adjoining Four Star Grove Hotel in the CenturyLink Arena; a set of hand-thrown pottery by Bernie DeLallo, and a deluxe dinner and overnight package at the High Country Inn. Tickets for these prizes are also available at the library for $5 each, as well as the play/dinner tickets.
The High Country Inn’s Sunken Garden is where the second Mystery Dinner Theater will be held in July.
The date for the second Mystery Dinner Theater to benefit the Clearwater Memorial Public Library is just around the corner, (July 12-15) and the kick-off for sales of tickets will be June 11.
In the next two weeks, sponsored tables are being solicited, and those who are interested in sponsoring a table, and who have not received a letter, are asked to contact Jo Moore, chairperson of the event, at 476-7570. The cost of sponsoring a table is $100, this part is tax-deductible,) plus the cost of tickets to the dinner and play, which is $75 a couple, or $40 per person.
Table sponsor responses must be in by June 8, and then tickets for the public will be on sale beginning Monday, June 11, at the library located at 402 Michigan Avenue in Orofino. Ticket purchasers will choose which night their tickets are for, from Thursday, July 12, through Sunday, July 15, on a first come, first serve basis. A limited number of tables and tickets are available for each of the four nights. Each night’s event will begin in the Sunken Garden of the High Country Inn at 5:30 p.m. with a no-host bar and snacks, and dinner and the play will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.
A Great Cast
A great cast is already working on the play, entitled “Fatal Football Fever,” including Jeannie Hood, Kenda Tribble, Eric and Lynn MacEachern, Clayton Tyler, Pat Larson and Will Wiese. Director Tauna Tyler and her assistant, Karen Loranger, are excited to be working with such a talented crew.
The play, which of course includes a murder, revolves around a shyster’s attempt to promote the organization of a pro football team in Orofino. Knowing this cast, a lot of local humor will be inserted in the dialogue! The performance will be presented around the guests, who will be seated in the Sunken Garden of the High Country Inn. A “tailgater” Texas-style barbeque dinner, cooked by Jo Moore, will be served, with help from several other CMPL Friends, between acts of the play.
Raffle Prizes
The football them will be carried out with a tribute to the Idaho Vandals, using the colors of silver and gold, and one of the raffle prizes to be awarded the last night of the play will be a football autographed by Coach Akey of the Vandals, along with a set of four reserved tickets to the fall Homecoming Game in Moscow, and sideline passes as we.
Other raffle prizes include:
A suite for 12 guests at an Idaho Steelheads Ice Hockey game in Boise with a deluxe king room in the adjoining elite Grove Hotel for the winner.
A set of hand-thrown earthenware by Bernie DeLallo including a platter, pasta bowl, and three graduated mixing or serving bowls.
A deluxe overnight package with dinner for two, lodging, and breakfast at the High Country Inn.
Raffle tickets will be sold at the library all during June up until the performance of the play, and are $5 each or a set of 6 for $25.
Proceeds
Proceeds from this 4-day event will be used to buy a new copy machine for the library, as well as any other items on the “List” compiled by Library Director Ellen Tomlinson.
The goal of the CMPL Friends is to raise at least $5,000, which would surpass last year’s net of $4,000. “Every bit helps us with our programs for the community, and we are so grateful for all the work that the CMPL Friends put in for the library needs,” stated Tomlinson.
Work of CMPL Friends
The CMPL Friends is a group of local residents who are dedicated to promote the welfare of the community library, and they work year-round with their projects.
A main project is their Book Sales, which are held twice a year, along with this major event to take place in July. Other projects include all the landscaping around the library, headed by Bernie DeLallo, and the purchase of any new items which they can afford.
One new addition is the wooden bench placed on the front lawn this past year. New members are always welcome, for information about joining inquire on your next visit to the library, which is much more than just books!
Just three years ago, a small group of people came together to see if they could help the Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) to complete some much-needed upgrading and maintenance projects, as well as help raise monies to purchase new equipment.
The group re-organized as the CMPL Friends, formed a Board of Directors, and secured a “Wish List” from the Director of the library. They began meeting on a regular basis each month, and promptly began work on their “projects,” under the leadership of newly-elected President Kitty Geidl.
With some funds remaining from the previous Friends of the Library, now defunct, their first donation was a new commercial vacuum cleaner in 2008. They also donated to the Summer Reading Program.
One of their first goals was to improve the appearance of the library’s grounds, and with the enthusiastic leadership of member Bernie DeLallo, a landscaping plan was adopted, and money was voted to get the first year’s work started. This has been an ongoing project, and with the help of the members doing the summer watering, the library’s lawn is looking its best ever!
In 2009 funds were allocated toward a big new clock for the library, landscaping, and summer reading, while fundraising efforts were focused on book sales during the summer and at the Patchwork Bazaar.
The Friends were challenged to find money-raising ideas which would net them enough to tackle the really expensive needed projects, so in late 2009, member Cathy Jenni came up with the idea of a Dinner Theater for the following summer, and the rest is history.
The first dinner theater was held in 2010 at the High Country Inn, with the facilities and cooking, donated by member Jo Moore. Volunteers from the Friends formed the labor, and the group was able to raise over $3000, enough to pay for replacement of windows in the children’s section.
This year, 2011, due to problems finding a cast and director who could all be available at the same time, the annual Dinner Theater had to be postponed, but in its stead, an outdoor Texas Barbeque was held in June at the High Country Inn, and this time, the net proceeds exceeded $4,000!That money was allocated toward the new heat pump cost for the library, which was $5,000.
Other projects included a Book Cart, donated by Cathy and Don Jenni, which was launched this summer at its outdoor book sale as “Books a la Carte,” The cart was used all summer and will be on display again during the Patchwork Bazaar.The sign for the cart was made and donated by ASE.
A major decision for the Friends was to decide on a new bench to replace the old one which had sat in front of the library for several years as a tribute to former library director Peggy Flowers. The bench, no longer repairable, had to be replaced, and a new one now stands in its stead for patrons to enjoy, thanks to monies raised by the small group.
Ongoing donations include those made to each Summer Reading Program, and “Let’s Talk About It,” the book discussion group sponsored by the library.There are several projects yet on the “Wish List” and it is hoped that the community will continue to support the Friends’ fund raising efforts in the future, as plans are already in the works for a new “dinner theater” for next summer, with many surprises in store!
The group would like to invite those who would like to be active supporters of the library to attend the group meetings, which are held the first Wednesday of the month at in the library annex.
For more information, check with Library Director Ellen Tomlinson.
