The Year in Review

OMHC announced the arrival in Odessa of the newest medical provider. Deborah Fogg, FNP-C, will be offering appointments at the Odessa Clinic and tending to patients in the entire medical complex. She joins Richard Ervin, also a certified Family Nurse Practioner, in providing coverage for Odessa’s medical needs.

The Odessa Athletic Booster Club celebrated the return of the Tigers, following dissolution of the Titan co-operative with Harrington, with a dinner and auction crowd that exceeded expectations. Donors were also generous, and the event made $7,000 more than it brought in at last year’s event held jointly with Harrington.

The Odessa Public Development Authority meeting in November brought out several interested business people, as a potential tenant at the Odessa Industrial Park awaited the Authority’s decision on whether or not to approve a marijuana processing facility there. Board members and visitors alike appeared to be split evenly in favoring or opposing approval of the applicant. No decision was made, but the board made some tentative agreements with the applicant during the executive session.

Bill Crossley became Odessa’s mayor following the election in November. He takes office in January of 2018.

Veterans Day activities included a dinner held at Heritage Church and awards of quilts to elderly veterans by Lise Ott and JoEllen Wollman of Experience Quilts! in downtown Odessa.

The most recent meeting of the Odessa Public Development Authority heard a presentation by Hinrichs Trading Company of Pullman, expressing their interest in purchasing an existing building at the Odessa Industrial Park for the purpose of processing garbanzo beans. A representative of the previous party to show an interest was also present via telephone, and he expressed dismay at the direction the discussion was going.

Engineer Steve Nelson of Century West Engineering, Spokane, had good news for the town of Odessa at its November meeting of the town council. Money for street repairs will be forthcoming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency based on the severe winter weather of 2016/17. While the streets are undergoing repairs, new water lines will be installed to replace aging and/or leaking water lines in those same streets.

The “procedure chair” obtained by the clinic through the fundraising efforts of the Odessa Healthcare Foundation has arrived and is in service.

Christmas Fest filled the Odessa Community Center with vendors and shoppers on December 6.

The Odessa School District was named a School of Distinction for 2017 by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Right on the heels of that award came news that the high school chapter of Future Business Leaders of America had won the Hundred Dollar Project sponsored by the Spokane Teachers Credit Union and received a check for $2,500 which the chapter donated to the Odessa Healthcare Foundation.

An older home on May Ave. in Odessa was gutted by fire on Christmas night. The owners were out of town at the time.