Oakesdale Group plans assisted living center

Ninety-year-old Jeanne Ellis lives in a retirement center in Spokane. Ellis spent most of her years in Oakesdale, and if given the choice, would return to a care center in her beloved hometown.

Today, a group of Oakesdale residents is working to make it possible for people like Ellis to remain in their hometown.

Friends for Living Choices is preparing to buy eight lots of land from the city of Oakesdale to build an assisted living center, located off Second Street and Bartlett Street. The parcel is less than an acre.

“When they can’t live by themselves anymore, they have to move to Spokane or Colfax or Garfield,” said Darlene Rickett, president and founder of the group.

They recently hired a grant writer and are applying for grants and loans from state and federal agencies to help them build a 16-unit center. They hope to purchase the land by February, she said.

The center will have 14 studio apartments, and two one bedroom units, she said.

Rickett said there is a “recognized need” in her town for the elderly to stay nearby once they need special help. Oakesdale’s population is roughly 420 people.

She believes their center could easily fill once it opens and even have a waiting list. The elderly want to stick close to home and to their families, she said.

Rickett and her husband, Oakesdale mayor Russ Rickett, are both in their mid-70s and past the age of retirement.

“I personally will be a resident there at some point,” said Rickett.

Her vision for the center began three years ago when city officials and residents were at a “vision meeting.” Someone asked what she saw as a need in her town, and the rest is history.

Three years later, their group has a board of directors, a business license, and is set up as a non-profit organization.

“It has been a process. This is called one step at a time,” she said with a laugh.

She expects the center will be self-sustaining once they obtain funding to buy the land and construct the building.