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MEETING NOTES:
Railroad Committee News
The tinted polyurethane (paint) for the floor of the coach car is ready to put down. The ceiling has been painted (looks good!) and the holes in the floor where the old seats were bolted to the floor have been filled in. The floor has been sanded, vacuumed, and mopped lightly to remove any dust or dirt. The seats will be cleaned sometime after Down River Days due to schedule conflicts. Seats from the Fox Theatre will be placed in the main part of the coach cabin, with the nicest salvaged bench seats installed in the rear of the cabin where the EMTs usually sit.
Paul Mackey powerwashed the outside of the other coach car on June 1st and expected to paint the outside of both remaining coach cars sometime soon, weather permitting.
Mike Caldwell and Bob Shanklin are working on the maintenance needed on the train potties.
Paul Mackey will paint the outside of the two coach cars when weather permits.
Depot Management
Newly inducted Lion Ron Waller has volunteered as co-chair for the Depot Management Committee! He will assist Lion Curt with managing the work parties at the Depot. Thanks so much for the assistance, Ron!
Many members have worked very hard to complete the repairs to the men's restroom in the trailer. Special thanks to Nick Anderson, Curt Lynn, Ron Waller, Jody Rogers and others for all of the hours they have spent on this project. Only the floor covering needs to be completed as of June 26th.
Myrna and Bob Miller have agreed to take on the concession duties for all of the fall color train rides! They will have their facilities outside of the main Depot building, perhaps even utilizing the small depot building. Lions will be selling pop, water, and some snacks at the Depot during Down River Days, but otherwise we will refer all train passengers to the food vendors at Ione Park that weekend.
Mike Caldwell indicated that the walkway and railing of the Depot need stain and paint. Dick Norton also proposed that we extend the deck on the depot walkway adjacent to the front door to relieve traffic around the doorway and ticket window. After the meeting, Dick Norton and Dick Ashton took measurements and waved their arms in the air to discuss the parameters and possibilities of this proposal. Bids on these projects are expected to be received in July.
Carolyn Myers mentioned that one of the flower boxes on the railing needs to be repaired. If you can do some minor woodwork to repair this flower box, please contact Carolyn. Curt Lynn worked on setting up the drip lines to water the plants in the boxes, this is on the same system as the tree sprinklers. Mike Caldwell and Curt Lynn installed the swamp cooler - what COOL guys!
The parking lot needs to be repaired and smoothed out. Mike Caldwell suggests that we contact Maupin or Dawson to get gravel to cover up the grassy area on the east side - it looks bad and is not really necessary and could be used for additional parking. Kevin Kinsella reported that there is a material that is being generated from the Highway 31 construction. This material is ground asphalt and it will keep the dust down and form a compacted surface. Calcium chloride is expensive at first and must be reapplied. Kevin will follow up on these options.
Down River Days
The costs for producing the special trading pin to commemorate the 50 th anniversary of Down River Days have shown a great increase in the costs. The cheapest vendor will still need more than $5.00 to produce EACH pin, assuming we ordered a minimum of 300 pins. Members agreed that most people would not be interested in paying more than $5 or $6 for a pin and the effort to produce a pin for this price would not be beneficial and not likely to be a profit for the Club. Members indicated that they would be interested in a T-shirt with this design, so a small number of t-shirts will be printed for Lions Club members showing the lovely design by Lee Stark. This will be a very limited edition t-shirt.
Marita Norton noted that the Club still has a large stock of pins from previous years that have not been sold and we could develop another pin promotion using existing stock.
At the June 1 st Board Meeting, Kathy Mondich gave a report on the status of Down River Days:
- T-shirt design was passed around. Colors will be white and gray only and are estimated to cost $10 regardless of size. There is $1,100 in the budget for t-shirts. Kathy has not ordered them at this time, but the design has been completed and the total number of shirts is expected to be similar to last year. Members indicated that they did not want any t-shirt inventory remaining after the weekend.
- The Carlsen Brothers Band will play at the Street Dance from 8 to midnight Saturday. The cost is estimated to be $600. Kathy indicated that money will be solicited from local businesses to support/supplement the band costs. Some board members expressed concern as to why the street dance is held, since it does not benefit the Lions and seems to be a potential liability, a high cost output, and there has been no assistance from the Town of Ione.
- Kathy reported that the cost for the Little Miss Contest is estimated to be $100 for sashes, awards, etc.
- The raffle prizes will total approximately $1,000. The cash prizes total $850 and Kathy will purchase a BBQ grill for approximately $100, and some other "trinkets" to make up the difference.
- There will be a Royalty Luncheon at the Community Center given by the Newport Rodeo Queen with Newport businesses. There will be no Lions funding necessary for this event.
- Trophies and ribbons for parade and plaque for Grand Marshall will be approximately $275. Last year decoration costs totaled $320 and may be similar this year. Kathy was not sure what the decoration costs referred to.
- Vendors pay $25 for a spot in the park, plus $35 if they want electric power for the weekend.
White Cane Days
The total donation collected was $1,165, with $400 obtained from corporate sponsors. Kim McNaughton sent out letters to local businesses and this generated a nice return. It was requested that Kim share her list of business contacts so a similar program may be conducted next year also
Projects
A special meeting was held June 8 to review the special project applications and develop recommendations for distributing the requested funds. Over $18,000 in project requests were reviewed, with recommendations to fund approximately $13,500 in projects (including one . The membership is scheduled to vote on these project requests at the July 6 th meeting.
Dick Norton reported that the total amount approved for special projects for the 2005-2006 fiscal year was $4,647, with $2,960 already funded. The remaining payments to be made include $400 for Mill Creek maintenance and supplies, $600 for the Metaline sprinklers in the ball park, and $400 for the banners for Affair on Main.
Tail Twister Times
Tail Twister Marita Norton has done it again! At the May dinner meeting, members were treated to Marita singing some Cinqo de Mayo themed songs with the karaoke machine. Characters from the song made unexpected appearances -> A very sexy Mexican lady, Mamasita (aka Dick Norton), and Bad Man Jose (aka Karen Kinsella) collected over $55 during the length of the song "Come a little bit closer". To answer one of the questions from members: NO, Dick says he did not shave his legs for this performance! A short video is available if you wish to have blackmail opportunities.
Scholarship
Two scholarships were awarded to Selkirk seniors at the Graduation Ceremony on June 10 th . Mindi Williams and Alexandra Vermeulen were awarded $1,000 each to go to the higher education facility of their choice. According to the members of the Scholarship Committee, the other applicants were also highly qualified and it's just too bad that we only award two scholarships! We congratulate all of the 2006 graduates on their achievements! Special thanks to Scholarship Chair, Gayle Pollock, and the rest of the Scholarship Committee for their objective review of the candidates' applications and interviews.
At the June 15 th meeting, Jessica Pichette gave a short summary of her first year at Washington State University. She was one of the recipients of the Lions Scholarship in 2005.
Health
Gayle Pollock reported that the Health Van will be here September 27 th and we will only screen students this year. Cost for this is estimated to be $300 or less (similar to last year) .
Sight
Karen Cox reported that there are two students (one high school and one community college student) that are in the process of being assisted with eyeglasses.
Kelly Croft from the Lilac Foundation was our guest speaker on May 18 th . In addition to her informative presentation, she provided a variety of interesting props that demonstrated the devastation of macular degeneration and other sight-related problems.
The June 15 th meeting included a brief message from ZC John Bowles regarding Campaign SightFirst II. This program is an extension of the original Campaign SightFirst that began in the 1990s. As a result of Campaign SightFirst, over 25 million patients had their sight restored or were able to prevent severe vision loss. There were 70 million treatments for river blindness and the establishment of 250 eye care clinics throughout the world. Campaign SightFirst II will continue this work, with the intent of eradicating river blindness from Latin America by 2010, including the establishment of additional eye care clinics. Donations should be made through MD 19 and can be credited towards a Melvin Jones Fellowship.
Other News
Karen Kinsella accidentally left a stainless steel thermal mug at the Post Office on Friday of White Cane Days. If you know the whereabouts of this item, please contact her at 442-0581.
A proposal was made by Karen Kinsella to purchase equipment (including a digital camera and photo printer) to produce train souvenir photographs. It was suggested that photos be taken prior to the train ride and processed while the train is out so that passengers may see the finished product on their return. Railroad props will be obtained from the Port and other sources for background interest. The Club agreed to allocate up to $400 for equipment to produce souvenir photographs.
$1,500 was allocated to NPOV Lions by the Hotel-Motel Tax Board to cover the costs of the posters and the tri-fold color brochures that were recently created. This Tax Board was created to promote economic development in Pend Oreille County. |
The June 15th evening program was presented by Sara Larson, Mindi Williams, Autumn Rice, and Samie Dunn. These young ladies shared slides and stories about their trip to attend the National Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, DC., which was partially funded by our Club. They had an exciting and very informative trip and are probably now more educated in the workings of our government than most of us. 
The Roster for the 2006-2007 Lion year is in progress and will be distributed in July. 
