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Wednesday, January 22, 2013
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Planning pushes for safer pools The first Harrison Planning Commission meeting for 2014 was short, but loaded to the jawad@registerpublications.com hilt with an ambitious agenda that will affect the leisure hours of homeowners and working hours of businesses. The city’s planning department wants the planning commission to take a serious look at private pools, and also at permitted and conditional uses in the city’s in M1 manufacturing zones and B-4 business zones. The pool issue, which has nothing to do with the debate five years ago over construction of a public pool was raised more than a year ago, debated by city council, then left hanging. Building Department Commissioner Dan Brooks in a staff report said the largest objection to new safety and maintenance rules for private pools stem from the belief they would “infringe” upon individual rights. Brooks said he does not necessarily agree with that position but stressed safety is his major concern. “This item is a major concern with all of us within the building department because the current code does not address the immediate dangers presented by the inflatable pools that are small enough in area not to require a permit or fencing but yet deep enough to have a small child easily drown. Those kinds of pools were not in existence when the code was written, explained Mayor Joel McGuire. Brooks wants the planning commission to re-examine the matter as quickly as possible even though its not at the top of members’ brains during this snowy, cold winter. Changes could ban pools containing 18 inches of water or more from all residential districts unless owners met several conditions, including mandatory walls and fences to keep a child from wandering into the yard and pool. A new code also could require anyone who plans to build or install a pool, even a store-purchased plastic model, to obtain a zoning certificate. Also, a fence and a pool permit would be manditory. Residents also would be required to pay for all permit fees. The proposal also addresses lighting, elevated decks, and maintenance. Joe Awad Harrison Press Editor
First of Two Parts
PHOTO BY BOBBI LEPHART /HARRISON PRESS
About 20 chili slingers will compete at the Whitewater Valley Chili Cook-Off Sunday, Jan. 26.
Don’t be silly; embrace the chili Patricia Huelseman Harrison Press Staff Writer phuelseman@registerpublications.com
It is said that on his dying breath, Kit Carson, frontiersman and mountain man, uttered, “Wish I had time for just one more bowl of chili.” Carson knew the rich, wonderful goodness of a slow cooked, steamy bowl of chili, and in Harrison, residents have an opportunity to experience it too. On Sunday Jan. 26, from 1-4 p.m., Whitewater Valley Elementary PTA is hosting its fifth annual Chili Cook-Off, and you are invited. Though the typical crowd comprises of students and staff and their families, anyone from the community is welcome to participate. Those interested in entering the contest should contact Holly Schultz, head of the event, at 289-3413.
Lots of chili slingers
Typically, about 20 cooks enter their chili. Three judges, usually Principle
Dan Rouster, the home economic teacher, and one other judge, test all the chills and determine a winner. “We set it up so you can either buy a bowl or a sample,” said Schultz, so everyone can have an opportunity to taste all the different chilis. Though the chili cook-off is at the center of the event, there are also many other festival-like activities. Students from the elementary get to be in charge of games like pick the duck out of the water, the sucker pull, ring toss, basketball, and corn whole. “We have a lot of young kids volunteering that day and they love it, they feel very official,” said Schultz. The kids also participate by preparing a raffle beforehand. Each classroom gets a theme, Eat Dessert First or The Great Outdoors, or Pasta/Italian Dinner, to name a few. Students then donate items to fit the theme. Eventually, there are so many contributions they literally fill a laundry basket. According to Schultz, the dollar value of these baskets is in the hundreds.
“It’s fabulous and the baskets are gorgeous when we wrap them up, and it’s huge,” she said. Baskets are raffled and proceeds go to the PTA fund, which, in turn, donates to the sixth-grade dance, finances the purchase of fans for the rooms, games for indoor recess, and many other causes. Last year, the PTA helped with the new playground fund. “Anything that benefits the school and the teachers,” said Schultz. Preparation for the event begins with the start of the school year. “At the first PTA meeting in September I’ll bring it up,” said Schultz. “November, December and January are very busy months. It’s like a part time job.” Though the cook-off does raise money that contributes to many important things, Schultz said the focus is community. She sees the event as an opportunity to encourage parents to come to the school. “I think it’s been really successful, we have a lot of people there so it’s great.”
Next week: sorting out the zoning
Home Depot & others remodel Harrison E teachers’ lounge phuelseman@registerpublications.com
received wonderful gifts.
For teachers at Harrison Elementary, Christmas wasn’t the last time they
Upon coming back to school, they were surprised with a renovated teacher’s lounge. That’s because Christina Stacy, the mother of two students, grades 1 and 3, at Harrison Elementary, planned and executed the renovations as a thank-you to the teachers who give so much to her children and their school. “The teachers there are just awesome,” said Stacy. “They do so much for my kids and it’s just one way to say ‘thankyou’ for everything they do, and all the extra time that they put in to make it such a great school.” The plans for this surprise had been in the making since October when Stacy first realized the condition of the lounge. “I had signed up to bring dinners for a parent-teacher conference one night, so I supplied all the food. ... It was my first
INSIDE, PAGE 8
Two Wildcats make it to finals Copyright Register Publications, 2014
89th Year, No. 5
time in the teacher’s lounge. I was like, wow, this place is a drag, it’s depressing. … It really needs a face lift. That’s when I approached Mr. Mangus.” The walls were an oppressive mustard yellow and the floor, monotonous tile. Nothing was coordinated; the room was a hodgepodge of utilitarian items. The adjoining bathroom was just as depressing. Ron Mangus, principle at Harrison Elementary, thought it was an excellent idea and Stacy set to work. She contacted Paula Suttman, store manager at Home Depot in Harrison and many other local businesses; all responded with generosity. Home Depot provided a new refrigerator, a new wood floor, and paint for the space. It also provided an install team and offered advice for decorating and utilizing the space appropriately. It’s total donation came to approximately $2,000. “Home Depot is a company that really supports the community and the giving back to See Lounge, A Home Depot employee installs a new floor in the Harthe community,” said Suttman, Page 10 rison Elementary Teachers’ Lounge. “So pretty much all I had to do
Some folks can’t afford diapers Diapers may seem like a small necessity, but many families throughout Greater Harrison need your help to afford them. According to the American Pediatric Association, the average infant requires 10 to 12 changes a day up until about 2 years old, resulting in about 8,030 diapers used in the first two years. Toddlers use an average of four diapers, so they’ll go through up to 1,460 diapers in a year, said Ginny Hizer,
executive director for Services to Adults and Youth, Inc., serving Greater Harrison. This basic need is a major cost, but for those on limited incomes, it can become a financial hardship, said Hizer. Disposable diapers cost an average $18 weekly, or $936 per year, per child. Yet diapers are not an allowable expense for SNAP, WIC, or other federal and state child assistance programs. For a single parent, working full-time
at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 makes $15,080 annually. The cost of diapers represents more than 6 percent of the household’s gross pay, said Hizer. “For many of our clients, purchasing just the basics can be a burden, week after week. Any support from the community truly helps make a difference for Diapers, Page 10
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