January, 2000
Our Oljato Fund's initial in-camp project is complete. At the request of the Pacific
Skyline Council we funded the removal of granite to allow drainage from behind the
Stern Lodge. This will help eliminate winter/spring flooding inside the Lodge by
draining away the snow melt from it's back/uphill corner. This type of preventative
maintenance is important, but difficult for the Council to fund. Although the Lodge
is the visual focal point for Oljato it is not central to the program needs of camp
and so the limited camp budget must be used for more critical program areas. Skip Nall is the Council Property Manager in charge of maintaining
the Council's many facilities. He contacted us with the need for this work at the
Lodge and said he had located a contractor in Fresno area who is experienced in this
type of work. The Contractor, Rich Bailey, is a Ski Patrol member at Sierra Summit
(China Peak) and was also a Scout. Rich's job was to remove enough granite along
the back/uphill sides to create a drainage ditch deep enough to drain water away
from the Lodge's foundation. He drilled numerous, strategically placed holes and
filled them with an expansive chemical to shatter the granite. He finished with a
jackhammer to chip and shape the drain channel. They found where they think the leakage
was occuring in the foundation near the shower and sealed it for the winter. Next
summer some sort of permanent concrete drain channel will be installed. This year's
project cost $2300 which was paid entirely by the Fund. With this small but necessary project complete, we are ready
to continue the Fund's Mission Statement. There is one vision that it would be appropriate
for the Oljato Fund to assume an informal "guardian" role for the Lodge,
in which we organize/fund annual projects to protect and upgrade it's condition.
This would be in addition to supporting other Camp projects as well. This is open
for discussion, of course, so please register any comments/suggestions via email. By March
2000 we will need to identify a project(s) for next summer so we can begin preparations.
The list is endless, but we should get ideas and prioritize.
Who walked around Camp last summer? Please check out the Mission Statement again and register suggestions/comments
so there is a consensus on what projects are deemed appropriate. E-mail/call/fax
to Bruce, Pip, Phil or Doug. We are going to enlist Brendon Bloom and Bill Sharpe
to help organize some future construction projects....anybody else able to lend a
hand????? Yours in brotherhood, Doug AitkenYipYo Alumni,
Possibilities:
Lodge
Campwide