Reardan dedicates Broadway Avenue readerboard

REARDAN-The new readerboard that was constructed this summer was officially dedicated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony here Thursday, Nov. 4. The electronic readerboard, which was first publicly discussed at a town council meeting in October 2020, is located at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Aspen Street down the road from the west side of the high school.

The board was constructed as a partnership between the town, school district, athletic booster club and STCU. Mayor Gail Daniels and superintendent Eric Sobotta thanked the sponsors to open the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Sobotta made special mention of Peggy Smet, who provided the property for the readerboard, and Daniels for her work in acquiring the property easement.

Other sponsors include STCU and Traci McGlathery, which provided a plaque that was unveiled at the ceremony. Brian Graham, Jim Porter (who unveiled the plaque), Martin Bigelow, Judy Samek, Mark Kalous and Josie Fitzpatrick with the school district were mentioned, as was Krissi Bell with the booster club.

Sponsors also included Phil Dobson (masonry), Highline Grain and Geoff Schulz (financial), Avista and Jan Hoogstad and Joshua Tanninen, Valley Ag and general manager John Merkel (parts support), Star Steel Fabrication and Brian Anderson (steel structure) and Dan Halme of Halme Builders, who provided concrete work.

After thanking the sponsors and revealing the plaque, Daniels used a massive pair of scissors purchased from Amazon to snip the red ribbon and officially open the readerboard for the town to enjoy.

The readerboard has already been busy, informing the town of the soccer team's berth to the state playoffs, welcoming new reserve officers to the police department, announcing the filming of movie scenes in town and simply reminding locals the current time of day.