Jerrilea Crawford has served as Mayor of East Wenatchee since January 2020. Previously she was on the City Council and has represented the City on the East Wenatchee Events Board and RiverCom 911. As Mayor she continues to serve on the RiverCom board as well as the Chelan Douglas Transportation Council, Chelan Douglas Health District, Public Facilities District, and the Chelan Douglas Homeless Task Force. Jerrilea worked for the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce as Deputy Director prior to becoming mayor and facilitated the Chamber’s Community Leadership program since its inception in 2001. Jerrilea was born in Wenatchee and raised in Ellensburg and Spokane. Her and husband, Chris, have 3 kids and enjoy camping and traveling.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
The meeting was conducted at Rocky Reach Dam Visitors Center, and
June 10 - Rotary Party at Historic Wells House, tickets remain
June 25 - Chelan Rotary Bike Rides ($65 early bird until March 01, more below)
ROTARY GRANTS AVAILABLE. Joe St. Jean reminded the members to review this report of his committee.
Your Wenatchee Rotary Community Outreach committee is excited to announce that they will be accepting spring grant applications starting April 1. The committee members, Susan Albert, Eric Nelson, Ray Dobbs and Joe St. Jean, are pleased that, once again, the Club has allocated funds for the intent of helping our local community. We have a tremendous “track record” of doing that in a variety of ways in the past. The ideal projects for your committee to consider are those that provide a needed service or those that support a worthy cause. As always, we are encouraging applications where Rotarians can be directly involved in fulfilling our motto of “Service above Self.”
The Community Outreach updated grant application can be found under “Grants” on the header section of Wenatchee Rotary’s website starting April 1. This year’s deadline for application will be April 30 with awards announced before the end of May.
Rachel Evey bragged about the continued success of the WVC basketball programs in the conference playoffs.
Rachel repeated an important announcement:
The Wenatchee Valley College Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2022 WVC Distinguished Alumni Award. Nomination forms must be submitted by March 31, 2022. Nominations can be submitted by completing the nomination form. These forms can be found at wvc.edu/Awards.
WORLD'S BEST 2022. Click the poster for info, to nominate and vote.
BONUS PHF POINTS. Certain club members (Paul Harris Fellows) are offering PHF points as incentives to attend upcoming district events. The Paul Harris Fellowship award requires 1000 points, from donations or gifts from others. Each PHF point is earned by donating $1.00 to the The Rotary Foundation (TRF). These points can be given to others (their only purpose). Here is how you can earn points toward your next PHF award.
Notify the club secretary if you have accomplished any of the above.
WRF SEEKS BOARD MEMBERS. The Wenatchee Rotary Foundation (WRF) Board of Directors is seeking Rotary Club of Wenatchee members to serve on the Board of Directors, starting July 1, 2022.
Please e-mail or call Tom Ross (tomross@alpineaire.net; (509) 630-5965) or Ken Robertson ( robertson12001@gmail.com; (804) 201-6839, if you have questions about the WRF or express interest in serving on the Board of Directors. If you intend to be a candidate to serve on the Board, please let Tom or Ken know by Friday, April 15, 2022. [View bylaws requirements HERE .]
DISTRICT CONFERENCE. May 13-15, Wenatchee Convention Center. Everyone should attend at least a portion, especially the Saturday night banquet. Conference Registration and info is found HERE.
Consider volunteering as a "Home Host".
PHF points are available for attendance (see above)
Bob Bauer was introduced by President Alice in the Rocky Reach STEM Center where box lunches were enjoyed. A healthy turnout of members and guests enjoyed Bob's enthusiastic and informative lecture regarding the history and importance of the dam and the overall importance of the Columbia River hydro-electric power-generating system, the greatest in the western hemisphere.
He illustrated the power-generating capacity by comparing the vertical drop of river water with the height of 4-1/2 Space Needles (about 1/2 mile), from start to finish. After lunch, most attendees walked the short distance to the Discovery Center and wandered through the fascinating exhibits.
Quick facts about the Rocky Reach Hydro Project:
Length of dam: 1694'
Height of dam: 125'
11 generators
Generator nameplate capacity is 1,300 megawatts
Dam contains 12 spillway gates
Original construction started in 1956
Commercial operation 1961 (seven generators)
Four generators added in 1969 - 71
Project license expires in the year 2052
The Rocky Reach site has long been recognized for its hydroelectric potential. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first considered the site in its 1934 "308 Report." In the 1950s, the site became the focus of extensive studies by the PUD. Geological contour maps were studied, construction costs were estimated, and lengthy computations on such things as the forces and stresses a dam would have on the surrounding area were made.
The original site selected for the Rocky Reach Project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was about one mile upriver from where the dam is today. The present site was found to have superior rock for anchoring the dam, and the river channel is narrower at that location. READ MORE
The Discovery Center, previously a museum, has a new focus on education including the science behind Columbia River hydropower.
The Discovery Center was originally built in 1962. With its $7.7 million upgrade, the long-running Museum of the Columbia is no more. That large gallery inside the dam powerhouse closed permanently in 2019, with many of its historic exhibits finding new homes in the Discovery Center, and others at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. New and restored exhibits touch on the Native American history of the Columbia. Moving an antique Native canoe from the old museum to the new one proved one of the most challenging aspects.
A new patio deck offers improved views of the dam and spillway. But the dam’s most popular attraction has to be the viewing gallery on the fish ladder, which allows migratory fish to reach their critical spawning grounds upriver. The window view has been widened and thickened, allowing better views for children and people using wheelchairs. View Facebook page HERE.
--- DEAR APPLESAUCE ---
Dear AppleSauce:So you got asked to join Rotary in a bar? What’s up with that?
-- Nobel Ned
Dear Ned, Don’t get all high and mighty with DA! Word is, Judy Conner was invited into the club by County Auditor Ken Housden while serving time in jail! (Or was she at the courthouse serving on a jury? Maybe she was just relicensing her car? It could have been Ken in jail and Judy was just visiting? No matter, Judy doesn’t remember, so DA says we stick with jail).
Dear Applesauce, Do hummingbirds hum because they can’t remember the words?
-- Flitter
Dear Fllitter, Finally, a question worthy of Dear Applesauce! Not only can they not remember the lyrics, having no sense of smell, hummingbirds cannot tell if the song stinks. You will often hear them hum Afternoon Delight and Can’t Touch This!
Have a question? Click HERE . Watch for your answer in a future Appleseed.