February 2019 Newsletter
Calendar of Events....
February 1 - Chamber Meeting, 7:30 a.m. - Eclair's
February 5 - Ambulance Meeting, 6:00 p.m. - Ambulance Building
February 5 - Senior Pinochle, 1:30 p.m. - Tekoa Community Church
February 5 - Hospital District Meeting, 6:30 p.m. - City Hall
February 5 - Empire Theatre Meeting, 6:00 p.m. - McGuigan Home
February 6 - Tekoa Bike Club, 8:30 a.m. - Eclair's
February 6 - Celebrate Recovery, 6:00 p.m. - Tekoa Community Church
February 12 - FD# 1 Commissioners Meeting, 7:00 p.m. - 101 N Crosby
February 12 - HTC, 9:00 a.m. - Kathy Kramer's Home
February 13 - Celebrate Recovery, 6:00 p.m. - Tekoa Community Church
February 19 - Park and Rec. Meeting, 7:00 p.m. - City Hall Office
February 19 - Senior Pinochle, 1:30 p.m. - Tekoa Community Church
February 19 - City Council Meeting, 7:00 p.m. - City Hall
February 20 - Celebrate Recovery, 6:00 p.m. - Tekoa Community Church
February 20 - Slippery Gulch Meeting, 7:00 p.m. - Eclair's
February 25 - Ambulance Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m. - Ambulance Building
February 27 - Celebrate Recovery, 6:00 p.m. - Tekoa Community Church
February 27 - Neighbors' Watch Meeting, 6:00 p.m. - Feeding Station
February 27 - School Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m. - District Board Room
February 28 - Tekoa Food Bank, 8:30 a.m. - City Hall
*** City Hall will be closed on Monday, February 18, 2019, for Presidents’ Day. The city council meeting has been changed to Tuesday, February 19, at 7:00 p.m.
***GARBAGE NOTICE: Empire Disposal notified us that garbage rates went up beginning January 1. Rate increases were from $.05 - $.40 for regular residential service. Commercial and dumpster rates increased from $.17 - $3.56.
***Reminder: Don’t forget to renew your dog license for 2019.
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The Tekoa Christmas Fund committee would like to thank ALL the businesses, and individuals who so generously supported the Christmas Fund again in 2018!! We were able to assist 170 adults and children – which represented 70 households in Tekoa. A donation was also made to the Tekoa Emergency Fund. Thank you again for your generous support of our annual Christmas Fund collection! Liz Smith & Shannon McHargue
Healthy Tekoa News!
Family Night Out focus is strengthening the bonds between students and community…and school… and family. Have a fun Friday night out for Coffee & Cards (and Games) at Éclair’s on February 15th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Students and family join coalition volunteers and local card enthusiasts to play and learn some fun card games – Hearts, Rummy, Cribbage, and even Go Fish! Increasing a young person’s bond to school, community, and family can help him/her get better grades, have higher test scores, and make that person less likely to have emotional distress, drink or use drugs.
The Slippery Gulch Committee will be taking nominations for the parade’s Grand Marshal until March 15, 2019. Nomination forms are located at City Hall, Éclair’s, and on our website. www.slipperygulch.com. Tekoa Slippery Gulch Committee, Mary Marsh-Treasurer, PO Box 812, Tekoa, WA 99033.
Tekoa Community Church Summer Camp Fundraiser: Please join our congregation for a Valentine’s Waffle Breakfast for lunch on Sunday, February 10th. Service begins at 11 a.m., and lunch directly following (12:30) in the Fellowship Hall. All donations go to the Church Camp Fund. Every summer our congregation sends 10-15 youths from our community for fellowship, play and worship to beautiful Camp N-Sid-Sen, outside of Harrison, ID, on Lake Coeur d’ Alene. Please contact Kim Schulz at 284-6145, Melinda Wilkins at 284-5810, or Jennifer Olson at 284-2150 if you have any questions.
Library Happenings in February
For a short month, February packs a lot of fun. Kids Club (Early Release Day) on Wednesday, February 6th, will be all about the celebrations of February including Ground Hogs Day, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day. Kids Club is from Noon to 1:00 p.m. Parent and guardian volunteers are always welcome. Also in February, Cookies for Teens will continue on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m., and Wii Wednesday happens on Wednesdays, also at 3:00 p.m. For the ladies in the community who like to craft and/or want a place to connect, join us on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. The biggest event of the month is Food for Fines. Stop by the library to find out how you can bring in canned goods to pay off up to $10.00 of fines. Finally, our food pantry shelf serves many in our community, and we always welcome donations of nonperishable items. See you soon at the library!
Messages from the Mayor ****
Greetings! I’m writing to you on a very snowy January afternoon. I cannot believe that we’re already into the year 2019! How does it feel to know that you’re not only in the 21st Century…but you’re almost 20 years INTO IT?! Bizarre… I often reflect on how grateful I am to be here in the Pacific Northwest and in this wonderful city of Tekoa, Washington. Love it! In the meantime, please enjoy the next three months (I’m speaking for myself as well!) correcting the date of “2018” on your checks, your correspondence, your… everything. Ha ha!
The snow this year isn’t what I expected it would be… but some did arrive (today, actually…)! Winter isn’t over yet, so there’s a very good chance we’ve got more in store in the future. I absolutely do love the four seasons we enjoy in this wonderful slice of Washington State. Our slice is a small one, but I sincerely hope all of you enjoy this slice as much as I do.
That said, I’ve had some questions from citizens (and council members) about snow, specifically regarding our snow plows. I’d like to address those now:
The City is very engaged in taking care of the snow when it falls. What you need to know:
- When the snow falls, there’s a measurable amount of snow that needs to fall before the snow plows will roll. Most times, the city will wait until the snow stops falling, because if it keeps coming, we will spend more time than necessary re-plowing already-plowed roads.
- There are some situations when/if we experience an unusually large amount of snowfall, in which case the plows will roll during the storm.
- The city typically arrives very early to clear the streets for you, so you can arrive to work on time on a snowy day. We had an exception a few weeks ago when our plow operator was stuck in the snow on the way to the plow. Believe me, that wasn’t planned!
- The first priority is the school bus routes. If your road is paved, the snowplow will be there as soon as possible.
- Since this is an unusually warm and wet winter, we cannot use the snowplow on roads that are not paved, because the plow would remove the gravel on those roads. I agree this is an inconvenience, and I’m very sorry I cannot provide a different solution for this situation.
I hope all of you find time to enjoy the truly unique outdoor (and indoor!) opportunities we have here in Tekoa. Did anyone try out the sledding hill behind the grade school? I had knee surgery this month; otherwise I would have jumped on that one. After all… there’s a certain fence at the bottom of that hill that I’m destined to crash into.
Troy
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