Lions build shed with donations

Members of the Plains Lions Club gathered at the Glenn Hadley Wading Pool last Thursday and Friday to erect a shed to store its lawn mower and other supplies on site.

All of the materials for the 4-foot by 8-foot wooden shed were donated, said Marv Tanner, the club's vice president and chief builder of the shed. Longtime Lions member Alvin Amundson, formerly of Plains and now a Missoula resident, donated $500 and Plains resident Doug Bratz donated $250 to the project, said Duane Highcrane, the club's former president.

Tanner worked about 50 hours prefabricating the shed at his house, moving the 16 pieces to the pool site Thursday morning. Thompson River Lumber donated 56 12-foot 2x4s, which were also used for four benches Tanner built last year for the wading pool. The crew fashioned a wooden roof, which will be covered by metal, but the metal had to be ordered and would probably arrive this week.

The Town of Plains owns the property where the wading pool is located, but the actual pool is owned by the Plains Lions Club, who maintains the pool and spends around $3,400 on a lifeguard each year, said Steve Spurr, who took over as the club president earlier this month from Highcrane. The E.L. Johnson Memorial Pool couldn't be open this summer due to major leaks, but the wading pool is open 1-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission is free to the wading pool. It is closed on Sundays, but Spurr said it can be reserved for parties for about $50, which pays for the four hours of lifeguard time. The pool will be open until Aug. 17. Highcrane said the Sanders County Health inspector recently gave the pool a perfect score.

Six Lions members and 16-year-old volunteer Adam Aguilar worked on the wading pool shed last week. Lions members included: Spurr, Highcrane, Tanner, Ken Matthiessen, Ron Robinson and Dan Rowan, the town mayor.

The club formerly stored its materials at City Hall but having them at the pool will be more convenient, said Spurr. "Due to Marvin's resources and his skills, the shed was easily put together," said Spurr, Tanner's son-in-law. 

The Plains Lions Club has about 20 members and meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District Fire Hall. Anyone interested in donating to the club or becoming a member can contact a Lions member.