Village effort helps band

Standing right alongside Martin to get it done was a long list of backers, from The Dalles Wahtonka Band Parents Inc., fellow Boy Scouts and band students — including a handful of volunteers on Saturday — the school district, the Moose Lodge, Jim Carter’s air conditioning business, and even the air conditioning unit manufacturer, which sold the unit to the Boy Scouts of America at a discount.

Getting new air conditioning in the band room has been a years-long goal, said John Westhafer, of the Band Parents.

Carter’s business, Airco Heating and Cooling, paid $1,800 for the discounted unit and also donated his labor to the project.

Between those savings, the overall cash costs to the school district and Band Parents amounted to about $3,000 on what would have been about an $8,000 job.

The Band Parents and the school district evenly split the $3,000 tab.

High School Band Director Paul Viemeister said the school installed a small air conditioner in the room some years ago, but it simply didn’t work. He bought two fans himself to try to cool the room, but they don’t help much and they’re noisy.

The room can hold up to 90 students at a time, which only exacerbates the heat coming from the sun in the warm months, or the boiler in the cold months.

“There was this constant battle whether it was summer or winter, so the kids are comfortable enough to learn in a more temperate environment,” he said.

Westhafer said he first started working on this when his daughter – who graduated in 2007 – was a student.

“This has been arguably in process for 10 years and there wasn’t the avenue to do it,” he said.

Enter the Boy Scouts and Martin Carter, who, as part of his Eagle Scout project, oversaw every aspect of the project, from getting the needed building permits to helping oversee student volunteers last Saturday.

Student helpers included Leon Linebarger, Eli Lupkes, Kolton Tenold, Kyle Tucker, Eli Ferguson, Sam Ferguson, Grace McLoughlin, and Kristine Carter.

The band parents held a fundraising spaghetti dinner at the Moose Lodge in September, and because the Moose donated all the food costs, 100 percent of ticket sales went to the air conditioning project. That, combined with a few other fundraisers, raised $1,500.

The school district chipped in $1,500 to pay for the electrical work to hook up the air conditioner. Band Parent President Molly Rogers lauded the school administration for “partnering with us.”

The air conditioning has been a priority of the band group, said Rogers.

“This is just the first of making their world in here better,” she said.

Other goals are replacing the years-old carpet and painting the walls. They’re also on the lookout for a donated flat-screen TV.

“If somebody would donate us a flat screen TV we would be ecstatic,” she said of the Band Parent group, which has non-profit status. Donors can reach her at 541-296-3770.

They’d eventually like to turn the room into a mini-sound stage for community use.

Carter said his family likes “giving back a little to the community” and he noted his wife Debbie is a graduate of the high school. “I hope it helps the band room.”