A Message from the Boss

 

Hello there fellow HPG-ers and Depot Volunteers!

The materials for the east depot platform have been ordered and all the lumber should arrive in Potlatch on Friday. This is being paid for with money granted by US Bank to the HPG over the past three years for this specific purpose.

Doug Wasankari and crew will be onsite tomorrow to begin work on the platform post foundations. Former Habitat for Humanity leader, HPG member, and X5 Caboose project chair, Bob Behal, will be onsite to help Doug do layout, and to observe the work.

Atlas Sand & Rock will donate half the concrete for extending the west platform south 10' and north 20' to the street. We also need a sidewalk and stair case pads. We would appreciate the help building the forms this weekend, and pouring and finishing the concrete next week.

When we finish with the platform and concrete work, we'll have an Elite pressure treated wood platform in Merlot stain, picture-frame trimmed with Driftwood stain (Hey! I didn't name the colors!!) that will extend out from the depot 9' on the north and east sides, with a diagonal staircase on the NE corner and a square staircase on the SE corner. The platform will extend only 4 1/2 feet on the south end, with a 4 1/2 foot wide sidewalk from the house track to the west platform.

And this is only the beginning of many substantial improvements that can be accomplished in the near future with your help.

 

On Saturday, we will have several community service youths from Moscow available to perform labor for us, as needed. Besides their supervisors, we will need one of us to help direct their work parties and keep them on task. In addition to moving materials for building the platform, or for working on the X5, we need the salvaged depot wood moved from the annex into the lean-to. Bob has built some storage racks for storing this old wood. I've also asked the City for use of their semi-trailer van for lath storage--more toting.

While the kids tote, we will need someone to direct their sorting of the old wood so it is stacked well and unsalvageable wood is tossed onto the STMA log car for disposal. No matter your skill level, there is something you can accomplish that will assist our tasks and further our mission. And you might have fun,too!

Last weekend, Kenny and Caryn were working in the second floor, with Bill Warner and Jon Anderson assisting. Bob Behal and I were outside figuring workplans for the platform and the X5, when Joel King stopped his locomotive at the platform and offered cab rides to Kennedy Ford. Kenny, Bob,and Bill clamored into the cab, took turns at the throttle, and returned a half an hour later all smiles.

It's not all work at the depot. A course, you ain't gonna know unless you show! Even if you put in an hour, it makes a difference. Thanks for reading this. See you Saturday? I look forward to it!