PEA RIDGE — Each week as I sit down to write my column I try to remember the happenings of the past week for inspiration - the children’s story hour (which is going very well), the sign-up for the summer reading program (not nearly as many signing up as we had hoped), lots of books being checked out - but, the one thing that really surprised me is that there are still a lot of people in the Pea Ridge area that are not aware of our plans to move into a different location by year’s end. Perhaps it is time to devote this column to bringing everyone up to date on our progress.
Approximately one year ago, Mercy Health Systems donated the former Mercy Clinic building to the City of Pea Ridge for use as a library. We were, and are, thrilled as we long ago outgrew the building the library has occupied for years. With the help of volunteers and inmates from the Benton County Jail, renovation began.
The roof has been repaired, the gas lines replaced at no cost by Town and Country Plumbing inRogers. New water lines have been installed. The building has been gutted.
Plans are to reuse as much of the fixtures, lumber, etc. as possible that was removed. Volunteers spent hours removing cabinets and trim and then removing nails from the trim in order to reuse some of these items. Materials that we knew we could not use were sold at public auction. Scrap metal has been sold and much has been recycled in an effort to keep it out of the landfill.
Electrical and plumbing work will have to be done by licensed contractors and should begin in the next few weeks. Lighting from the clinic will be reused.
We are hopeful that we will be able to use inmate labor to frame, hang drywall and paint.
Current library shelving will go to the new building, along with some shelving that was formerly used bythe Bentonville Public Library and Crystal Bridges in the Massey Building.
Two large screen TVs have been donated - one to be used in the children’s area and one in the seating area of the library where there will be sofas, chairs and tables. A gas fireplace has also been donated for this area. A multipurpose room that could be used for meetings, etc., is proposed.
This room will have a micro-wave, an under-counter refrigerator, sink and a restroom. This will be roughed-in and completed at a later date when additional funding is secured.
It was anticipated that the project could be completed for approximately $150,000. The city and the Library Board began looking for grants, donations, etc. We soon learned that grants are not easy to obtain as there are many other deserving applicants.
We gratefully accepted a $3,000 grant from the AR Economic Development District earlier this year.
Arvest Bank and the Walton Family Foundation gave the library $2,500 toward the purchase of public-usecomputers for the new facility. Several of our patrons continue to make generous donations.
However, as you might expect, the expenditures are exceeding the income and now we need our patrons’ help. We have tried to make this library something that our patrons can be proud of for years to come. We understand the state of the economy and, we have been, and are, doing everything we can to keep our costs low. A donation in memory of or to honor someone special would be a lasting tribute.
Please help us make this new library a reality by making a donation to the Pea Ridge Community Library Building Fund.
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Peggy Maddox is the librarian of the Pea Ridge Community Library. She can be reached at the library at 451-8442 or by mail at P.O.
Box 9, Pea Ridge, AR 72751.
Library hours are 4-8 p.m.
Tuesday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday.
The library web site is www pearigecommunitylibrary.
org.
Opinion, Pages 6 on 07/18/2012