The Odessa Record -

A Community Forum was held in the Harrington Opera House auditorium October 24. Karen Robertson was the facilitator and gave brief instructions for attendees as to the type of information she expected the guests to provide, namely, their name, the group or business that each represented, their recent achievements and present goals. A preponderance of individuals from the school and/or PTA were present. That group consisted of Justin and Carla Bradford, Mark Kruger, Travis Bradford, Shannon Sewall, Audra Christianson, Heather Slack, Paula Pike, Sharon Kruger, and LaMarr and Susan Larmer. LaMarr Larmer was also representing the Alumni association and his wife is on the library board. Others present included Bonnee Clarke (Nazarene Youth Group and Harrington Food Bank), Karen Allen (Harrington Historic Preservation Commission and Hotel Lincoln), Heather Slack (Harrington Public Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce and Post & Office), Bunny Haugan (Harrington Public Development Authority, Harrington Opera House Society and Chamber of Commerce), Rollie Behrens (Harrington Golf and Country Club), Tim Tipton (Chamber of Commerce, Public Development Authority and Hideaway RV Park), Stephen Hardy (Lions Club and Harrington Community Church), Linda Wagner (Philanthropic Education Organization, Harrington Opera House Society and Homemakers), Jen Mallory (Community Thanksgiving Dinner), Cherie MacClellan (resident), Marge Womach (news) and Dillon Haas (Mayor and Lions Club).

Bonnee Clarke emphasized "to nourish physically and spiritually" the people of the community and surrounding area through food and fellowship. The Food Bank serves at least 20 families on Fridays and has a goal of securing a building to become more visible in the community.

Heather Slack stated that the PDA was responsible for securing funding for installing fiber-optics in the business district and for co-sponsoring UFO speakers at the opera house. The group is working on a permanent sign with removable inserts to promote local events.

Karen Allen addressed the purposes of the Harrington Historical Preservation Commission, preserving history and historic buildings while encouraging economic development. The group is presently reorganizing, meeting quarterly and anxious to become involved with the vacant lot project on the corner of Willis and 3rd.

Paula Pike stated that the PTA is about children and the future of the community. Two recent large projects were the playground equipment and the replacement of the stage curtains. Goals are promotion of a Christmas Bazaar and money for scholarships.

Sharon Kruger reported that the Huff 'n Puff fun run this fall brought in $1,900 for the Future Business Leaders of America chapter at the high school, an effort to support getting the teens to the National Leadership Conference. On November 12, Turkey Bingo starts a 1 p.m. Chili and cinnamon rolls will be served and prizes will be offered. She has students eager to earn credit for community service hours, as well.

Rollie Behrens stated that the Harrington Golf and Country Club is a member-owned golf course for public use. They started with 200 members and are now down to 50 members. Membership is insufficient to cover the expenditures. They were grateful to the community for support which allowed them to end their season in the black.

Tim Tipton mentioned that his business, Harrington Hideaway RV Park, had its busiest year this past season. He addressed the activities of the Chamber, including the newsletters, the new signs coming into town, organizing the clean-up days, providing goodie bags and collecting funds for scholarships for high school students. Goals are to formulate a plan for the vacant lot project and continue selecting a Yard of the Month, which honors those who show pride in their property.

Susan Larmer mentioned that the Library Board is revamping the appearance of the library to make it more user friendly and is holding a monthly after-school program for K-8th-graders.

Linda Wagner reminded the audience that the Philanthropic Education Organization celebrates the advancement and motivation of women to achieve more. They helped sponsor the summer reading program. They also fulfill local needs and provide scholarships. Harrington Homemakers had its beginnings through the WSU extension. They maintain the triangle park at the north end of town, support Lions projects, support the Miss Harrington pageants and respond to disasters/hardships.

The Harrington Opera House Society celebrated its 25th year as a society, recently installing an elevator. The major parts of the building have been refinished and restored. The goal now is to maintain the building and continue to finish the remaining rooms. The Society is hoping to grow its membership, stay financially sound, and continue offering a platform for the arts to be held in Harrington.

Jen Mallery is preparing for another Harrington Community Meal, generally serving between 50 and 75 people, for Thanksgiving. Ninety-five percent of the food is donated by the Food Bank. She is also organizing a "Breakfast with the Mayor" for the end of October.

Mayor Dillon Haas reported that the city is recovering from one of the most intensive construction seasons in a long time. Goals for the coming year are to work on internal efficiency, utilizing potential grants if the citizens filled out the income survey.

Following the conclusion of these remarks, individuals visited and signed sheets in support of activities.

"Unraveling a Mystery: UFOs and ETs in Ancient Art" was presented by Maurene Morgan, Washington Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) State Director and Certified UFO Field Investigator, who was accompanied by Peter Davenport, Director of the National UFO Reporting Center. Eighty-some people were delighted with the presentation, judging from the applause before, during and following the event at the Harrington Opera House, co-sponsored by the Society and Harrington Public Development Authority. Billie Herron briefly introduced Peter Davenport, and the applause began. Davenport has made four prior presentations. He had prepared two collections of data for sale during intermission. A door prize would also be presented, based on sign-in sheets. As he introduced Maurene Morgan the audience applauded with eager anticipation. Davenport and Morgan both expressed that they were honored to be invited to make a presentation.

Morgan's introduction began with acknowledging that her event could be labeled an "oddball presentation." She asserted that UFOs are not a modern phenomena and that in her research the oldest image she has is dated 47,000 BP (before present). She showed and spoke on more than 80 different slides for about one and one-half hours. Images of UFOs, aliens, and interesting archeological finds were shown from Ecuador, Japan, India, France, Utah and Wyoming, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan, Arizona and Colorado, Puerto Rico, French Polynesia, Bolivia, Alaska, New Guinea, Dominican Republic, Peru, Australia, Mongolia, China, Denmark, Israel, Sierra Leone, Sumar (southern Iraq), Mesopotamia, Panama, Costa Rica and Turkey.

Two examples from different areas were shown side by side, for instance, one side of the screen showed modern astronauts with Mayan "astronauts", similarly modern astronauts with ancient Chinese astronauts fully suited up. Morgan simply said of the comparison, "they are eerily similar." Another duo was human-looking figures with their hands at their waist with a cone-like head, one from Japan, the other from Indonesia. Another pair for comparison was a modern picture of a praying mantis next to an image found all over the globe of a being with a flat triangular head. The image from Mesopotamia of a birdlike creature (wings) was dressed and shaped exactly like the Ecuador image of a reptilian (shell across back). A mummy was found in an area of Peru, a truly mummified face. "Whatever these beings were, they were real and also match the pictures that were depicted on walls in caves."

Alien creatures had a variety of different appearance, some were labeled by Morgan as goddesses while others were aliens, Repto-sapiens, Lizardman (7,000 BP), and creatures with human-like bodies with alien heads. Some items were labeled "wondjina" which were sky-beings, found everywhere on earth; these were from Australia. Sky-beings were bringing knowledge from the sky or clouds. Some beings were dressed in clothing while others were in "flying suits" as travelers from space. Some appeared in uniforms, some appeared to have head phones while others seemed to be in energy fields. Some appeared to be emanating energy from their heads and hands. Rarely were teeth shown in carved items. Some of the larger carved stones were in an area which did not have similar stones that were not carved, leading a person to assume that the carved stones were brought to the location. "There is no apparent means to transport these." There were pregnant women, beings with furry arms, beings with spectacles with a nose piece and jewelry. She also showed a mother nursing her infant.

Morgan allowed the audience to form their own conclusions in regards to what she shared, giving descriptions and evidence, but leaving the interpretation to the audience, for the most part, "you can imagine this area of the picture to be a space ship with a being steering it." Her description for one item at Tassili Cave (in the Sahara Desert) was "weird beings with insect heads on sticks." While examining reptilian art work, Morgan asked "Are these self-portraits or images seen by humans?" That question was repeated throughout the presentation. "How could primitive humans who wore no clothing 'imagine' creatures and clothe them or put them in vehicles?" In the sharing of several images from Mexico, Morgan warned that the information was not certified yet, one of those images showed more of a human appearance than most of the others except it had a tail. How would humans be able to carve jade, crystals, huge stones and marble? The audience seemed fascinated the entire evening. Davenport and Morgan were each asked to return by the audience, and both seemed agreeable. After a short "Q & A" the event concluded. The speakers and some of the audience intended to go down the street to the Post and Office for coffee and something to eat; the owners had opened up for the evening crowd.