Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two set to appear in Sunday’s Tribune.
———
The building that formerly operated as The Pancake House in McCall will be turned into a Natural Grocers store, the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission was told Tuesday.
Commissioners unanimously approved plans to remodel the 14,600-square-foot building at 209 N. Third St. (State Highway 55) into a grocery store.
“It’s a good addition to the city of McCall,” P&Z commissioner Tony Moss said. “It’s good to have another grocery retailer coming into the city.”
Natural Grocers was started in Colorado in 1955. It now has more than 160 stores in 20 states, with Idaho stores in Boise, Hailey, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene.
The application was presented by Kevin Beck of Equity Ventures Commercial Development, an investment firm with offices in Denver and Topeka, Kan.
The firm purchased the building in December from George and Bonnie Bertram, who operated The Pancake House from 1983 until December.
Natural Grocers sells all-natural products, including 100% organic produce and meats from free-range animals, Beck said.
“They are very selective in what they put in their stores and what they sell to their customers,” he said.
The company hopes to open the McCall store “as soon as possible,” Beck said.
Interior renovations will include changes to the layout to create a check-out area, product shelving, coolers and new office space, according to the application.
Exterior renovations will include adding a handicapped ramp to the front of the building and installing automatic sliding doors.
The company also plans to widen the parking lot and move handicapped parking spaces closer to the front entrance, the application said.
The entrance into the parking lot off Third Street will be expanded to more easily accommodate semi-trucks and box trucks making deliveries, Beck said.
“All the glass, all the dormers, everything else that you see we would like to keep as true to current conditions as possible,” Beck said.
However, many of the windows facing the parking lot will be covered by a black film to hide produce cases or shelving, he said.
Commissioners required the store to leave windows facing Third Street uncovered as a condition of approval.
The company will also be required to build sidewalk, curb and gutter along the property frontage on Third Street.
The grocery chain could be required to install a fence or landscaping to muffle noise, if deemed necessary by a study of noise near loading docks in the rear of the building.
“One of my big takeaways from the public comments was about the noise and the potential of creating more of a sound barrier,” P&Z commissioner Liz Rock said.
— Drew Dodson, The Star-News, (McCall), Thursday
Friends of Denny Ashby Library receives $2K grant
POMEROY — The Friends of the Denny Ashby Library received a $2,000 Humanities Washington Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant award, specifically designed for nonprofit organizations affected by COVID-19.
Nonprofit Humanities Washington, Washington State’s affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has awarded over $1 million in relief funding for Washington State cultural organizations affected by COVID-19.
The grants will support Washington State nonprofit cultural organizations that provide humanities programming and that are facing financial hardship because of the coronavirus. The grants are funded by the American Rescue Plan via the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“It was quite the process (government grants) that we had to go through and involved,” said Friends of the Denny Ashby Library Chair Barbara DeHerrera. “We were pleased to see we were among those selected this year as a recipient for an award. The grant is intended to be used for specific activities such as humanity speakers who will be invited this year as a free public event.”
A total of 122 organizations were awarded $1,024,139, ranging from $2,500 to $15,000 per organization. The funding supported either general operating or specific projects. Organizations serving and led by members of communities traditionally under-resourced in the humanities were given priority, especially those organizations serving people of color, immigrants and refugees, those who identify as LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and people whose first or only language is not English.
This was the second round of grants awarded to cultural organizations from Humanities Washington during the pandemic, the first being in the spring of 2020 via the CARES Act.
“The pandemic has brought isolation, uncertainty, and loss to so many,” said Julie Ziegler, CEO of Humanities Washington. “The humanities, with their ability to provide connection and perspective, are an essential part of our recovery. The sector, however, is far from whole compared to pre-pandemic. It is our hope that this investment from the federal government will be further leveraged with state investment for the benefit of the sector.”
— East Washingtonian, (Pomeroy), Thursday
