Harrington news

The Harrington Opera House Society met December 4 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Art Room with Linda Wagner, Carol, Karen Robertson, Cade Clarke, Ed and Bunny Haugan, Sheryl and Mark Stedman and Gordon and Billie Herron present. New officers were voted upon with Wagner taking the helm as president. Bunny Haugan accepted the role of secretary. Carol remained vice president and building manager. Ed Haugan retained his position as treasurer, with Sheryl Stedman as co-treasurer.

The Harrington Chamber of Commerce met December 6 at the Post and Office with Heather Slack, Tim Tipton, Kathy Hoob, Cade Clarke, Paula Pike, Rollie Behrens, Bunny Haugan and Cherie MacClellan present. A special committee made up of Billie Herron, Dave Michaelson and Tipton had met in November to discuss the raising of Chamber dues for the upcoming year, which had not occurred in the past five years. The committee suggested raising the dues from the present $30 to $40, which the Chamber voted unanimously to approve.

Discussion was held regarding successful implementation of the Chamber mailer and newsletter which was again sent out last month. Plans are to continue to do the newsletter and mailer four times a year, as was done in 2017.

A recap was provided of the Hometown Christmas Bazaar events and how well they were received by the community and how successful for those involved. The plan for next year is to build on the event with greater coordination and more involvement of additional groups.

The Chamber had made up goodie bags for the children who were coming to sit on Santa’s lap and have photos taken. Now the emphasis is on Santa’s Workshop which is coming on December 18. Chamber members and students will help hand out food baskets for senior citizens. This project is being organized by Kathy Hoob and Cindy Haase and includes collecting donations from the community to aid in covering the cost of the food baskets.

The Chamber is enthused about the Public Development Authority’s plan for the large sign to advertise annual events such as the Fall Festival and Spring Car Show.

The next meeting is scheduled for January 3, 2018 at noon at city hall.

The Commission met December 5 at the Post and Office with Heather Slack, Karen Allen, Anita Harman, Ron Hall and Cherie McClellan present. Main topics of discussion included creating a database, the empty lot development and elections. Hall and Allen are working on compiling all the data from the survey and inventory to integrate them into a free Cloud database for a wide variety of search tools, including Google. The Commission intends to take a supportive role with the development of the vacant lot on the corner of Third and Willis, waiting for other organizations to say what needs they can fill. Similarly, the Commission will be available to other groups to locate and assist them in completing grant applications.

Elections will be held at the first meeting next year, and the group will also seek to increase its membership.