Embedded Files
Friday, September 26, WATER LEAK REPAIRED. CREDIT GOES TO SNIDER CONSTRUCTION.
When the Comanche County Water District #1 called and said that the water meter reader was concerned because the senior center water meter gauge was spinning like crazy, we knew that the bothersome leak that had been bothering us for the past couple of months had gotten worse. The water bill was going to be horrendous, and something must be done. Tom Spears called the only dirt operator he knew, Jay Snider of Snider Construction in Cyril. "Shut off the water to the building on Tuesday and we have a dance on Friday." Tom told Jay. "Sounds like a crisis." Jay replied. "Don't worry, Help in on the way." At 8:30 on Thursday morning, Jay, a backhoe with an operator, and five guys with shovels showed up at the place where Tom said the buried pip was leaking. "Right there is where the water was standing." Tom told them, even though previous probing by Leo Whitley showed that there was no leak there. When their digging did not expose a pipe and Jeff Richardson from Medicine Park Telephone Company, there to protect their telephone and television cables running through the area said, "I think you should look down there. That's where I have seen the water bubbling up." Jay drove to the meter, turned and ushered the water back through the pipe, and the workers watched it bubble up just where Jeff had pointed. Digging exposed the pipe where a previous break had again failed. Jay brought some pipe repair parts and a length of pipe, had his people make the repair, and covered the repaired pipe, tamping it securely into the soil. The final action was Jay draining the air and dirty water from the water line at the Legion Building. When checked on Friday at noon, the ice machine had made a bin full of ice, ready for the Friday Dance.
Thursday, September 18, FLU SHOTS SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 6.
The schedule for the 2014 Flu Shots at the Senior Center has been set. After the Potluck Supper on Monday, October 6, between 7 and 8 pm, after the potluck supper. The later start this year is due to the schedule at the Heritage Pharmacy, who is sponsoring the shots. Persons wanting the flu shots must have their Medicare card or an Insurance card.
Wednesday, September 17, FLU SHOTS AT LEGION BUILDING BEING SCHEDULED
Bob Dishman has been giving flu shots for the seniors at the Legion Building each fall for several years. He will do that again this year either on the first Monday or the second Monday of October. The shots will be given in conjunction with the Monday Pot Luck supper. He will set up his table to begin giving the shots at 5:30 and will be finished prior to the meal being served. Anyone can get their flu shot that night. Seniors on Medicare will get the shot at no cost to the senior.
Thursday, September 4, ASCOG PLANS MEDICARE ASSISTANCE AT THE LEGION BUILDING DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT
Twice, during the Medicare Open Enrollment period this year, ASCOG will provide counselors at the Center to assist and provide information to Medicare-eligible citizens of the area. The counselors will be in the Legion Building from 9 am until 2 pm on November 3 and December 4. The counselors will not only give advice and explain various Medigap and Medicare supplemental plans, but will also be prepared to enroll seniors not already enrolled or assist seniors wanting to change their previous Medicare selections. Anyone eligible for Medicare, caring for a person who is eligible, or interested in the Medicare program is welcome to visit the Legion Building on either day and consult with the counselors.
Tuesday, August 26, HOLIDAY POT LUCK DINNER IS SCHEDULED FOR LABOR DAY
Normally there is not a pot luck supper on a holiday weekend, but the upcoming Labor Day holiday is an exception. During a discussion last night the folks at the Monday pot luck decided that there would be a special holiday supper on Labor Day featuring hot dogs with chili and cheese and hamburgers with all the fixings along with any of the sides and desserts brought by the participants. People come between 5 and 5:30 pm and play dominoes, table games, or just visit.... and the volunteers get the supper cooked and served.
Monday, July 14, "BEST CLUE YET ON FINDING WATER LEAK" Says Leo Whitley.
Delayed by holiday absences and generous Spring rain, the search for the water leak that has sent the center water bill soaring in the past few months, has resumed. Senior volunteers have walked the entire length of the six-tenths mile long route, looking for pooling water on the grounds surface which might indicate a leak is the source of the water. Tom Spears walked into a ditch near State Highway 49 and saw water standing on Wednesday, July 9, but decided to wait to discuss the finding because recent rains could have left the pool. Returning to the ditch two days later, he found that the water had not receded or evaporated, but sporadic rain might have fed the pool. He shared the information with Leo the following Monday. Leo probed the area, seeking a soft under surface that would indicate the pool was fed from below. He became convinced that, if the center water line is indeed routed under the highway at that point, the source of the pool in the ditch is caused by senior center water. He is taking action now to get the fiber cable company which dug in the area last September to uncover their cable and the center pipe to discover the leak.
Thursday, July 3, WATER LINE IS LEAKING AGAIN, SOURCE OF SEEP SOUGHT
With the arrival of this month's water bill, Cecil called other officers in the center alerting them to the likelihood of another leak in the center water line. With the water meter six tenths of a mile to the north, finding a faulty fixture or pipe is not a simple matter. Tom Spears and Leo Whitley started the search on Wednesday and thought they had isolated the problem to a joint in the pipe that the Lawton Roughnecks Baseball Team had installed as part of their renovation of Legion Field. Further investigation showed that the pipe in question had no water flowing through it at this time, removing those suspicions. Leo and Tom have agreed to meet after the Independence Day holiday weekend and continue the search.
Wednesday, July 2, KITCHEN DOOR LOCK REPAIRED; WORKS NORMALLY
After months of intermittent latch failures of the Legion Building kitchen door, it now works properly. Leo Whitley and Tom Spears finally gathered enough information to isolate the problem. They met at the building this morning, disassembled the key-button lock handle and made the repairs. After several tries, the latch worked normally. The problem where the outside handle did not disengage from the latch mechanism, allowing the door handle to open the door without an appropriate code being entered, had been occurring with increased frequency recently. Several attempts to fix the problem were unsuccessful. Finally the keypad latch was bypassed, and the door has been secured with the deadbolt lock. That was very inconvenient for people who needed access to the building and did not have a key to the deadbolt. Tom had talked to technical support at the regional supplier and maintenance, Uaccess, Plano, Texas and obtained enough guidance to determine the solution. Leo rebuilt the latch flange in the door, making the latch assembly more secure and rigid. He then polished the connecting rod. After the entire locking assembly was sprayed with graphite, the lock was remounted on the door, and it worked like new. Now a period of careful observation will ensue, to ensure the building remains secure.
Thursday, June 26, FAMILY OF GAIL NIX WILL GATHER AT LEGION BUILDING AFTER FUNERAL
The senior center will serve lunch for the family of Gail Nix after her funeral and internment on Saturday, June 28th. The ballroom will be available for family and friends to gather throughout the afternoon.
Monday, May 26, LEO LOOKING TO LOCATE WORKING WATER PUMP FOR FAILED ICE MACHINE
Leo Whitley, struggling with the ice machine's repeated failures recently, has isolated the problem to the internal recirculating water pump. "Easily replaced." Leo said, "We just have to find a replacement we can afford. RRR restaurant supply normally takes care of major equipment repair for the center. In an effort to conserve the center's limited year-end resources, Leo looked at various sources for the replacement pump; the Internet, local suppliers, and a company in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City proved to be the best price and availability for the replacement part. Leo arranged for the pump to be transported to the center, scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, today being a holiday.
Thursday, May 22, EVENTS FACE SECOND WEEK WITHOUT ICE
The members of the Friday Night Dance band, Killin' Time, expressed a modicum of disgruntlement at not having a working ice machine at the Legion Building for their dance night last Friday. The band is responsible for food and drink for the folk who show up to dance and listen to their increasingly popular music. Alice Law, the female singer for the band and chief caretaker of the folks who attend the dance, arranged for purchased ice in lieu of the locally produced product, but asked Leo Whitley to see if the problem could not be solved before the next Friday. The Hope Reformed Baptist Church service was also without ice on Sunday, but their displeasure at that circumstance has yet to be voiced to the center board. Leo got the ice machine to producing ice twice, and each time the machine soon stopped working again. He isolated the problem to the chilled water circulating water pump and deemed it in need of replacement. He hopes to get the ice being produced soon. He said that the weekend events will likely not have ice, and those responsible for the events should consider bringing commercial ice.
Monday, Mar 2, WEATHER CANCELS MONDAY POTLUCK DINNER
The center board has announced that there will be no Potluck Dinner tonight due to the sleet and ice remaining on the roads and walkways from Sunday's storm. The Tuesday activities are still scheduled to occur.
Friday, Feb 21. LEGION BUILDING FRONT ENTRANCE NOW HANDICAP COMPLIANT
A new front entrance to the Legion Building has been installed, another step to make the facility
totally compliant with the American with Disabilities Act has been. With Leo Whitley overseeing the entire project, Larrance Steel company of Lawton had a compliant door and frame structure fabricated and began the installation on Thursday. The first major and unforeseen complication found was that the old narrow two-door frame was deeply embedded in the solid cement walls of the building. The Larrance Steel cfew skillfully cut the door frame out of the opening, grinding out the reinforced concrete where necessary, leaving the opening correctly sized for the new frame. An attractive, single door with a reinforced-glass side window was successfully installed by day's end. Today the crew is back at the building installing the necessary installation and caulking. The grey-primed door and frame will be painted at a later date.
Friday, Feb 14, BUILDING CONTRACTED FOR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN KICKOFF
While the Wichita Mountains Area Senior Citizens Center will not and cannot in accordance with its organizing documents promote any political party, candidate, or program, the Legion Building is open for public use by any person, organization, or group willing to pay the standard published fee. On Friday, February 21, the building will be the site for the Renae Sexton for State Representative political campaign kickoff. The one-hour rally will start at 6 pm with Ms Sexton's guests and supporters on hand as well as members of the press and television. The gathering will be in the Game and Television room and will not interfere with the gathering of people coming to the 7 pm dance in the ballroom. Those attending the dance are welcome to take part in or attend the rally if they desire. Left-over refreshments at the rally will supplement the food and drink provided to the dancers by the Killin' Time band. Those attending the rally are invited to stay on after the rally, pay the entrance fee, and enjoy the music and the fun.
Sunday, Feb 8, DRAWING FOR BABY QUILTS PRODUCES WINNERS
At the end of today's Indian Taco Sale, quilting bee members gathered around the tub of raffle stubs, tossed and stirred the paper pieces, and drew the names of the winners of the quilts. Don Hall's name was drawn first. He was at the time in the center kitchen washing greasy Indian Taco Platters. He chose the larger of the three quilts. The next name drawn, was Shirley Thrasher. She was notified by phone of her winnings and will pick up the two smaller quilts during the Tuesday activity day, next week.
Monday, Feb 3, CANCELLATIONS AND POSSIBLE CANCELLATIONS
Snow has fallen over the area, clogging roads and making travel difficult. The Center board, noticing the phenomenon, has decided that tonight's pot luck dinner must be cancelled in order to protect the safety of the unaware and unwary. With the back roads so risky, Tuesday activities are also cancelled. The forecast for the remainder of the week makes both the Friday Night Dance and Saturday's Indian Taco Sale candidates for possible cancellations, but the two events are still scheduled. The decision on those two events will be made later in the week, and will depend upon the accuracy of the weather forecasts. Notification of future cancellations will be posted on this web site, email will be sent to those registered for that service, and the Lawton Constitution will probably carry a notice of cancellation of either or both of the activities, if cancellations becomes necessary.
Friday, Jan 24 - BABY QUILT DRAWING SET FOR 3pm FEB INDIAN TACO SALE
Although erroneously reported earlier that the three baby quilt drawings will be during the break of tonight's Friday Dance, a new message was sent today to tell the world that there will be no quilt drawing tonight. Chances for the three baby quilts will each be drawn at 3 pm on Saturday, February 8 at the end of the Indian Taco Sale. All chances that have been sold in the past chances that are sold during the dance breaks, Monday pot-luck dinners coming up, and Tuesday activities; and those sold at the Indian Taco Sale will be combined and three drawings will take place for each of the baby quilts. People holding the winning tickets will be contacted by telephone after the drawing when quilt pickup will be coordinated.
Monday, Jan 20 - QUOTE FOR FRONT DOOR OBTAINED
Leo Whitley and Tom Spears met with a representative of Larrance Steel at the Legion Building this morning to o discuss the replacement of the front door with a fully ADA compliant door. The representative suggested a single door, 36 inches wide, with flat threshold and low-pull-pressure closer with a 7 second close period. The door will be hung in its own frame, hinged on the north side of the opening, and the remaining portion of the opening filled with a steel lower half and wire-reinforced upper half. The quote from the company has been received and will be discussed at a special director's meeting tonight following the Monday Pot Luck. Members wanting to participate in the discussion are welcome to attend.
Thursday, Jan 16 - CENTER LOOKS AT ADA-COMPLIANT FRONT DOOR
At a recent directors' meeting, the subject of ADA compliance was broached, and the fact that the front door does not meet the accessibility standards for wheelchair-bound individuals. Leo Whitley has taken the task of determining the standards and making arrangements for the front double door to be replaced. The notion of a self-opening door was presented. Part of Leo's investigation will include the costs, convenience, and need for a motion- or button-activated automatic door.
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