Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A tennis ball shorn of its felt lies in crumbled asphalt where it stopped rolling. Strewn next to it are pine needles and an errant branch.
A tall weed breaks through the surface a few feet away.
But the Oakesdale tennis courts will soon be served again.
Last week, the school district received a $13,000 donation from Wilbur-Ellis to build a greenhouse on the site as part of their revitalized agriculture program.
“We’ve just got a growing interest,” said Oakesdale Superintendent Jake Dingman. “More and more kids are going to Tekoa. There was a need to have our own program.”
Lindsey Brown, a former history and civics teacher for Oakesdale, will teach the classes.
The greenhouse is expected to be built from a kit in late fall to be ready for growing season next February.
“There are plans to have an FFA plant sale and everything else,” Dingman said.
Construction may involve some volunteers but it’s not clear yet. The court’s original playing surface was torn out in the spring by an excavating crew, after which weeds quickly broke through.
Classes to be taught for middle and high school students include agriculture science, horticulture, animal science, agriculture business and agriculture mechanics.
The school’s existing shop will be used as a classroom.
To add to the shop tool inventory, Oakesdale farmer Waverly Warwick donated a wire-feed welder.
The Wilbur-Ellis offering came from their Impact Funds program, which aims to impact the communities where their employees live and work.
Oakesdale Wilbur-Ellis branch Manager Michael Brown submitted a proposal for the donation in January after being contacted by Dingman.
“I just put in for it and waited on the decision by the board of directors, senior management team that votes on it,” Brown said. “They like to help out the FFA, 4H, agriculture type of non-profit projects.”
Michael Brown’s cousin is married to Lindsey Brown.
Other recent projects by Wilbur-Ellis’ Impact Funds include a pig barn built for Rosalia’s FFA program and the gazebo building at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds.
“We just want to thank Wilbur-Ellis for their support,” Dingman said.
The precise size of the new greenhouse is yet to be determined.
“It’ll probably be one court’s worth,” said Dingman, of the two-court tennis site which was built in the early ‘80s as a joint city and school project. “And we’ll use the rest of the space for the program as well.”
The Oakesdale District announced plans last spring to start their FFA chapter and agriculture program again.
“It’s taken me about eight months to get the whole thing up and running,” said Lindsey Brown.
At the end of last school year 30 kids were signed up with more this week as school starts.
“With the junior high we probably have 45 signed up for ag classes,” Lindsey said.
Now that Oakesdale has brought back their program, the district will no longer transport students to Tekoa ag classes.
Three Oakesdale high school students will show animals at the fair this year under the guise of the new program. They are Tanner Dingman and Austin Rutledge with pigs and Tatiana Mendoza with a steer.
“With us not offering as many sports as in the past, it’s a good opportunity for the kids to be involved in another activity,” Lindsey Brown said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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