NEW DAY: Rainier Community Garden Potluck & Meeting!

Saturday, March 1st - Grape Pruning Workshop March 18th - Monthly Meeting & Potluck March - Garden featured on TCTV Channel 3 Garden Awarded $2,400 FFA Food For All Grant Garden Raises $110 in Grapefruit Sales Mentor Opportunity with GRuB View this email in your browser

Rainier Community Garden to be featured on TCTV Channel 3 in March On Feb 10th, Thurston County Commissioner Sandra Romero came to Rainier High School to film a documentary on community gardens for the local TCTV Channel 3. The show will air in March. Angie Karnes and Trent Stroessner (RHS student and Rainier Community Garden volunteer) were interviewed and gave a tour of the garden and orchard. Sandra commented that this is the only community garden that has an orchard in Thurston County. Garden Awarded a $2,400 Grant from FFA Food For All For the past three years, the Rainier Community Garden has been a proud recipient of the FFA Food For All Grant. Garden raised $110 from Grapefruit Sales last month. Thank you to all who participated. We sold a total of 22 boxes and raised $110. A Huge Thank You to George and Linda Johnson from the Rainier Lion's Club for organizing the fruit fundraisers - we raised a total of $374 for the garden in 2013/2014. Watch for Peaches, Pears and Nectarines later this year! Mentor Opportunity at GRuB (Garden-Raised Bounty) GRuB is an organization that serves Thurston and Mason Counties by partnering with youth and people with low-incomes to create empowering individual & community food solutions. They are looking for experienced gardeners to serve as mentors for first time gardeners. What a fun way to get someone excited about gardening! Time commitment: 2 hour training the evening of April 30 and 3-5 hours per month May - Sept. Contact: liza@goodgrub.org or beth.halpern@comcast.net Mark your calendars... NEW DAY! Monthly Meeting & Potluck We now meet every 3rd TUESDAY at 6pm.  We had a great meeting last week with several new faces. A Big Thank You to Thomas Mani for his presentation on Beekeeping and to his wife Karla Broschinski who came to film it. We will let you know if they make it available for us to share. We covered a lot of information including developing a planting plan for the new season. Please check out the meeting notes here. We are also accepting NEW PARTICIPANTS now for the new season. Please join us for our NEXT Potluck on March 18th, if you'd like to find out how to get involved. Also, our Saturday work parties will be starting soon... Stay tuned.   Here's a great opportunity to go and learn and bring back cuttings for our community garden... Grape Pruning Workshop Saturday, March 1st 10 a.m. Location: Historic Borst Home and the One-room Schoolhouse in Centralia The WSU Lewis County Master Gardeners are offering a FREE grape pruning workshop at their demonstration garden in Fort Borst Park on Saturday, March 1st at 10:00 am. The garden is located between the Historic Borst Home and the One-room Schoolhouse in Centralia. No pre-registration required. Topics covered include: Plant growth as related to grape pruning Pruning equipment When to prune Taking cuttings and planting of cuttings Discuss/demonstrate pruning and training new vine Discuss/demonstrate two pruning systems - spur pruning and cane pruning  Four-post-pruning chores in the vineyard Cuttings will be available. Donations are appreciated for the cuttings and we reserve the right to limit the number of cuttings per individual. Directions to the Borst Demonstration Garden: Take I-5 to Exit 82 “Harrison Street” and turn left at light. Follow Harrison to Johnson Road (approx. ½ mile). Turn left on Johnson Road and go .2 miles to “T” intersection. Turn right and follow the road as it skirts past the school and the ball fields until you get to the Parks maintenance shed. The garden is to your left between the One-Room schoolhouse and the historic Borst Home.

About the Garden: The Garden is located at the south end of the Rainier High School parking lot by the large greenhouse at 308 Second Street West in downtown Rainier.   Our Garden's purpose is to bring the Rainier community and surrounding areas together and provide educational gardening opportunities for everyone while growing fresh food and impacting local hunger issues.   We appreciate donations for garden and building materials, wood chips or plumbing supplies for a new watering system.   We have built 39 raised beds and are growing an orchard. In 2013, the garden produced over 2914 pounds of food and  donated over 2247 pounds to the Rainier Food Bank. In 2012, the garden produced over 1800 pounds of food and we donated over 1400 pounds to the Rainier Food Bank.   Contact us: Angie Karnes | Garden Manager | 360 • 561 • 0990 | karnesa@rainier.wednet.edu Mike Karnes | Resource Developer | 360 • 259 • 6455 | karnesm@rainier.wednet.edu Jeannine Pia | Outreach Coordinator | 360 • 528 • 0923 | rainiercommunitygarden@gmail.com   www.facebook.com/rainiercommunitygarden forward to a friend   Copyright © 2014 Rainier Community Garden, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have either signed-up on our mailing list or have expressed interest in our community garden project. Our mailing address is: Rainier Community Garden PO Box 98 Rainier, WA 98576 Add us to your address book We are located at: Rainier High School 308 Second Street West Rainier, WA 98576

Thurston & Mason County Community Services List

THURSTON COUNTY

MASON COUNTY

NEW!!! LERC Drive-Up Drop Off Box in Rainier

Got any old, used eyeglasses that you don't need anymore???  LERC cleans and reads the lens prescriptions and sends them out to needy people in third world countries.  You can drive up and drop off your old eyeglasses in our new donation box. George Johnson made and attached it to our sign that is located in the parking lot of Rainier Chapel.

THANK YOU, GEORGE!

A Little FAITH in Rainier....

Friday Night Bingo Hollering in Rainier 

The Rainier elementary boosters club sponsored the annual  family fun night”  BINGO” Friday evening, in the elementary gym. Over a hundred families and lovers of BINGO filled the gym to standing room only while hundreds of prizes were won by excited children and parents. School Booster Club members: Kelly & Richard Hill, Terri Rendahl, Dawn Kenney and Rainier City Councilperson Kristin Guizzetti, to name a few, joined the exciting BINGO calling by school superintendent Tim Garchow.

This has turned out to be a very entertaining community event filled with fun and excitement. If you needed a smile this was the place to be as number caller Garchow kept the gym filled with humor and anticipation. Winner after winner lined up at the prize table for over an hour and a half.

“Where can a family of four get a night out for $10” Garchow said when asked why it is such a successful night. Slice of pizza and a drink only $2.50 as well as water and cookies, for a small charge, to go along with two free bingo cards. The purpose was family fun and no one left disappointed. 

“Faith” in Rainier

 A Seahawks gift basket was auctioned off and with a little added by the boosters brought in $500, donated to the playground fund.  Ida and Faith Boesch (third grader Faith started this campaign) were given the microphone at intermission and updated to crowd on the drive underway to construct a larger play area for the grade school. The Boesch’s said there has been over $15,000 collected, so far, in a little over three months.  Almost halfway there to have a play area suitable for the school population and community.  It was added that if any area businesses, or caring people in our community, would like to be a part of this community endeavor -  they can send a donation to Rainier Elementary School P.O. Box 98, Rainier, WA 98576.  (Please add a note on the check or in a letter with the word “PLAYGROUND.”)

Rainier is a community that getting  things done by pulling together to make things happen. It’s really great to be a part of this community and see what small town Americans with determination can do. What seemingly was impossible looks to be happening with the drive of one third grader – Faith - and a community getting behind her. 

The Booster Club did a fabulous job and added that they can do more if more if they can get additional volunteers. It’s wonderful to watch dedicated individuals working together to better our school and community.  If you want to join the Rainier Booster Club, call Rainier Elementary School (360) 446-4020.

The playground at Rainier Elementary School is surrounded by three housing developments and is the main place that children play all year around.  The Nisqually Indian Tribe and Fairpoint Communications have donated to the playground extension.   Faith is still waiting to hear back about her requests from Ellen DeGeneres and the Seattle Seahawks.  We have Faith!

MEETING AGENDA 02-24-2014

MEAL 6:30-7 P.M.

7 P.M. MEETING

Pledge of Allegiance

Sing:  AMERICA

KL George:  PRAYER

“You may not have4 saved a lot of money in your life, but if you have saved a lot of heartaches for other folks, you are a pretty rich man.” 
― Seth Parker

“It wasn’t the reward that mattered or the recognition you might harvest.  It was your depth of commitment, your quality of service, the product of your devotion – these were the things that counted in life.  When you gave purely, the honor in giving, and that was honor enough.” 
― Captain Scott O’Grady

KL George Johnson:

Guests:  Autumn Kenny

1.  Cataract Surgery: 

2.  Rainier Community Garden

3.  City Council Meeting Tues. Night

• Crossing Flags
• Concession Stand

4.  Burger Den – Concession Stand / Roof / Canopy

5.  Scholarship Apps Received

6.  Recent Activities:

• Handrail in Senior Center
• Wheel Chair Ramp
• BINGO at RES
• Coffee with a Cop
• Valley Heart FREE Breakfast

7.  Club Officers

•  President  - Evan Burnett
• Vice President  - Bud Green
• Secretary - ?
• Treasurer - Dawn Kenny  
• Lion Tamer - Walt Dohring
• Tail Twister - Chris Beck
• Blogger - ?

8.   Family Fun Day

9.   White Cane Days

10. School REF Auction Donation?

11. Dinners: Cook, Potluck, cater

12.  LERC

13.  Rainier Lions Club Logo

14.  Tail Twister

INFORMATION:

Together:  1^st & 2^nd Wed 5 PM City Hall

Rainier Community Gardens 1^st Monday RHS

Senior Center Lunch:  Mon & Wed at noon - $2.50 each

City Council meets 2^nd & 4^th Tues at 7 PM

Rainier Community Cares – 1^st & 2^nd Wed. 5 PM @ 2^nd portable by RMS

Sportsman’s Club – 1^st Mon @ 7PM

City Council – 2^nd & 4^th Tues. @ 7 PM

Rainier Food Bank:  Wed & Sat 9 – 12 noon

Historical Soc. – 3^rd Thurs. @ 6:30 PM

Valley Heart Breakfast – LAST Sat 9 – 11 AM – Free – farm fresh sausage & eggs, fresh fruit, homemade biscuits - great food!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feb 25:  City Council Meeting

Feb 27:  LERC 5:30 PM

Mar 15:  Eagle View Auction

Mar 22:  R.E.F. Auction

Support Our: Rainier Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts

Owen & Haachi

This film shows how incredible rescue dogs are.   Owen has Schwartz Jampel Syndrome.  His muscles are always constricted.  His dog, Haachi, is his best friend..........

Susan "Sue B" Badertscher

We lost a Great Lion on February 10th, 2014, from Lakewood First Lions Club.  

Sue's Memorial will be on March 15th in Steilacoom.   

This all we have at this time,  we will post more information as we receive it.