This week the renovations to Meota School got underway. The building is owned by the Village of Meota and is now going under a transformation to house the village offices. I took a moment to take a look around at the renovation work being done Monday to get an idea of what was being planned. At that point, some interior walls had been framed by Mark Carlson and his crew who were finished until the electrical work that is needed could be completed. This work has sectioned areas off for the village office, a meeting room and a hallway to connect the outside world directly to one of the former classrooms that is now going to be the new location of the library.
That room is going to need some renovations as well to clean it up and make it ready to use. From my point of view it would be best to redo some of the walls to make it an aesthetically appealing and inviting place to spend some time. I think the only thing holding back properly renovating the space is money, as is often the major stumbling block. I don't know if it is possible or if there are others in the community who, like me, would be willing to work towards raising/donating some funds or supply some volunteer time to get the job done and give us a new larger library that we could really be proud of. I think it is something that could be done and wonder what the other residents of Meota think. I also feel doing it now, before everything is moved in, makes the most sense.
At this point, some of the space in the building has not been earmarked for anything specific but, as we all know, over time the needs of the offices and the community will definitely find uses that have not even been thought of now.
This past week Meota ADRA had planned its annual general meeting. This meeting is open for anyone with any interests or concerns to join in deciding directions of the organization. Unfortunately, there were only three of us who showed up thus the meeting could not go ahead. As with many groups, ADRA is suffering from a lack of interest or activity by members of the community as a whole. At best we have six members who will show up at the monthly meetings to brainstorm and plan events and, as we know, some of the time there will be some of these committed folks who are tied up with other commitments and are unable to attend these meetings. As it is those who are there are also active in many things and are, in my opinion, starting to burn out. It is possible this worthwhile organization will be entered on the list of endangered species if some new people don't come forward to throw their efforts into the ring and give a much needed injection of energy into the fray. So, this is a call for help and a request that, if you can see your way clear to give some time to attend meetings, come out to the general meeting that is being re-scheduled for the second week in April at the community center (the actual time and date will be published next week) and give us a hand.
Now for those who are card players I must play catch up on reporting on all of the events that have taken place since I got side tracked with travelling and telling the story of our adventures. In Kaiser Jan. 24, Ken Tucker came first, Linda Ard took second, Fred Gansauge came in third and Muriel Tebay followed in fourth place. Jan. 27, it was Jean Gansauge in first, Shirley Tebay in second, Beulah Corbeil taking third and Muriel Tebay in fourth. Feb. 3, Jean Gansauge took first, Irene Carlson took second, Muriel Tebay came third and Beulah Corbeil came fourth. Feb. 10 saw Beulah Corbeil in first place, Herman Hoogland came second, Linda Ard and Murray McCrimmon tied for third and fourth. Feb. 17, Beulah Corbeil came first, Adele Feschuk took second, Shirley Tebay cornered third and Gladys Lehman came fourth. March 3, Fred Gansauge took first, Jean Gansauge took second, with Shirley and Muriel Tebay tying for the next two spots. The next report I have is for March 10 where Ken Tucker placed first, Muriel Tebay came second, Fred Gansauge took third and Jean Gansauge was in fourth place.
In Canasta play March 4, Muriel Tebay and Barb Solominko came in first with Carol Schmaltz and Jean Gansauge placing second.
In duplicate bridge March 1, winners were Jette and Terrence DaSilva and Robert Iverson with Joyce Antoine. March 8 it was Eric Callbeck with Ross Morton and Robert Iverson with Joyce Antoine. March 15, in the ACBL charity game, first went to Jette DaSilva with David Sharp and a tie for second between Marg Duck with Connie Gramiak and Glenn Moore with Trudy Iverson.
The shuffleboard tournament held Feb. 26 was again a well attended event with Anna Tucker and Joyce Antoine taking first, Ken Tucker and Linda Ard coming in second, Eric Callbeck and Muriel Tebay placing third and Robert Iverson and Josephine Nedelec finishing in fourth place.
Just a thought: "It is only by visiting and taking part in daily life with other cultures that we can come to realize that we all have different ways of doing things and different beliefs in life. It is not that one group is right and another one wrong, but that events, climate and history have created these differences which are all right for some people. Prejudices are only our unwillingness to admit that our ways are not dictated by God and that maybe we could learn from someone else."
