Harrington news

Grand piano arrival

Tuesday, March 15, two men from Big Al’s Moving arrived at the Harrington Opera House with the new Boston 7’1” grand piano by Steinway which they disassembled, wrapped and carried up the wide, old staircase (about 30 steps total) to the opera house auditorium. Should anyone really want to know what that process looked like, one observer commented that “these two men were like a well-oiled and high-powered machine, with a ‘whoof’ at each and every stair which seemingly set the cadence to the motion with Big Al’s voice.”

Onlookers had been advised before the ascent that if for some reason the grand appeared to be descending the stairs under its own steam, “just step back.” The Opera House Society members present were rather apprehensive at that admonition, and most scurried up the new staircase to wait out of view, where stress levels were not fluctuating so rapidly. With no catastrophic sounds, the “grand” was placed on the stage and reassembled.

Members sighed in relief and expressed pleasure at the grandeur of the acquisition. The entire process was completed in under two hours. The Society has accomplished this goal, paid for in full, due to the generosity of the community and supporters of the opera house. Members are helping the grand to “settle in” at its permanent home by playing it regularly prior to having it tuned.

As a footnote to this accomplishment comes the news that the elevator project has “jumped through the L&I hoops,” and the Society has been allowed to order the elevator. The woodwork project continues, as does the painting, all according to schedule with an eye to the May 21 date for Cruizin’ Harrington.

Harrington Public

Development Authority

The monthly meeting of Harrington Public Development Authority was held Tuesday evening at city hall, led by president Josh Steward and with Heather Slack, Jay Kane, Paul Charlton, Dillon Haas, Allen Barth, Bob Iverson (of Spectrum on Line) and Bunny Haugan present. An update on the NoaNet project of the state’s broadband communications consortium included Haas having contacted Crayton Oestreich of the Lions Club regarding use by NoaNet of the club’s cable lines that cross Third Street for Christmas lights, and Iverson stating that he was providing conduit for the fiber and cord and that the Lions Club could use the conduit to attach their lights.

Other topics of discussion included activity in Harrington’s business district. The Harrington Community Church now has the keys to the former Landmark Apartments property. A recent “walk-through” of the building showed it was in excellent condition.

Progress is being made on the storefront portion of the Hotel Lincoln on Third Street with considerable volunteer assistance from the local community. When renovation is completed, Amy Foley will be opening the space for her business of repurposing furniture and collectibles. Owners Karen and Jerry Allen, in partnership with the Institute for Washington’s Future (IWF), are also marketing a promotion for window replacement starting on the Third Street side of the building. Some donations have already been made through IWF, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. (When contacted, the owners suggested finding more information on the Hotel Lincoln at http://www.theelectrichotel.com or, to see the progress made to date, check out the Facebook page, Hotel Lincoln the Electric Hotel. The owners can be emailed directly at electrichotel@gmail.com with specific questions about the project.)

The former A & H Supply building, which is having its floor replaced, will be used by the 4 X 4 Club as a Beer Garden during Cruizin’ Harrington on May 21 if the cement floor has been poured by then. Harrington Food Market wants to make available a service of “bulk shopping locally” and is beginning the process of trying out the service.

Heather Slack is in charge of recruiting vendors for the Chamber of Commerce for the Cruizin’ Harrington event. She left sign-up copies with the Public Development Authority.

The next meeting will be April 19 at 7 p.m. at the City Hall.

Training Session Available

On April 14, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Public Works Building at 27234 SR 25 N in Davenport, there will be a training session sponsored by a partnership of Washington nonprofits and WSU Extension for Lincoln/Adams Counties entitled “Electrify Your Marketing and Special Events.” This workshop is intended to give individuals “a plan and tools to communicate better with your community and create pre-event buzz and post event follow-up.” A modest fee of $15 covers the cost of materials and a continental breakfast with pre-registration. Kari Anderson of Incite! Consulting Group is the presenter and has spent 20 years in key leadership roles with seven nonprofit organizations.