One great thing about having the grandsons mow our lawn is that we get to see the boys and their parents on a fairly set schedule. This week the younger one was rummaging in the attic while his brother was weed eating. While doing so, he found a Wi guitar and drum set Cathy had gotten for her girls way back in the day. He was excited about this discovery and asked if he could bring it down. I gave consent. I thought this was perfect. 

You see, as the boys have gotten older, they have outgrown most of the toys we had invested in. Finding the Wi set seemed like a perfect way to entertain these two. We may be back to having noisy toys again like when they were toddlers, but hey, being able to provide grandkids with enjoyment and a way to learn is what grandparenting is all about, isn’t it?

            Switching over to City business, have you noticed the beautiful planters downtown? If not, you need to do so. If so, you can thank the Main Street volunteers, LOR Foundation, and the City Street crew. About a year ago, the Main Street committee decided they would like to take this on as a project. They worked with the City to determine what pots would work best, how they could be watered, etc. Then the committee put a budget together and approached the LOR Foundation for funding. Pots were then ordered. The Street crew went through and installed a drip system tied to the tree watering system. The pots were installed and planted and Wala! there are beautiful planters on State Street! Thank you to everyone involved. The planters really make the downtown sparkle!

            Speaking of the LOR Foundation, all of Weiser should be incredibly grateful for this wonderful, generous, and amazing organization. For those who may not know, the LOR Foundation provides funding for Livability, Opportunity, and Responsibility in select communities in the intermountain west. LOR selects the communities and then spends the next three to five years providing grants of up to $30,000 each for projects to improve the community. There is no application process to become a selected community. The LOR Foundation discretely researches prospective communities and then selects those that they think are worthy. Weiser is only the seventh community in the Western U.S. to be selected. We are so fortunate and thankful!

           To give you an idea of how fortunate we are, in addition to the planters mentioned above, the LOR foundation has helped the City with new equipment for the Recreation Department in order to get ahead of the curve on aging equipment that was wearing out. 

           LOR will be funding flashing crosswalk signals on State Street to help kids going to school. 

Soon there will be shade constructed over the exercise equipment in City Park.

In addition, the LOR Foundation has funded a spay and neuter program for feral cats in order to neutralize this part of the Weiser population. 

            As for other recreation, the Foundation has funded the creation of a pathway from the Weiser River Bridge to the Snake River Bridge as well as new signage that will be installed soon. Another walkway project that will soon come to fruition will be completing the paving on the pathway around the Fishing Pond. 

If you had the opportunity to visit the swimming pool this summer, you may have noticed a new accessibility chair for helping people into and out of the pool. You guessed it, LOR. The new Dog Park, LOR.

These are only a few of the list of twenty-six projects and events that LOR has funded just for the City so far.

Other organizations, like the Hospital, Schools, etc. have had the same experience with the LOR Foundation. 

And so……THANK YOU LOR FOUNDATION! You are truly making a huge impact and living up to your mission of improving LIVABILITY, OPPORTUNITY, AND RESPONSIBILITY in Weiser. We are truly humbled and grateful. THANK YOU!

Well, that’s if for another week. The LOR Foundation has substantially added to making Weiser a great place to live, work, and play!