Fundraiser helps Plains parks

It was a one-woman crusade to help make Plains parks a cleaner place for residents and visitors, especially the four-legged kind.

Cori Kerner spent four days on her "Dollar Days Sale" fundraiser at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion last week. Her goal was to raise money to purchase several dog waste dispensers for the greenway along Railroad Street and the town's two parks.

The sale reached just over $1,000 by Saturday and after her four-day sale, Kerner was able to raise almost $1,400 to purchase eight waste stations, four to go along the greenway, two for Greg Welty Memorial Park and one or two for Fred Young Park. Kerner said that she was surprised and pleased at how much she raised.

Kerner started last summer as a seasonal employee for the Plains Public Works Department, taking care of the lawns of the parks and greenway. "The mower tires were constantly getting caked with dog poo, something she found disgusting. And once, I hit a pile with the weed eater and it splattered everything in the vicinity, which included me, unfortunately," said Kerner. "It was at that moment that I knew we were getting dog stations."

Kerner has done some research and is considering a style she discovered on Amazon for about $227 apiece. She said the people at last week's sale were very receptive about her endeavor. She even raised a couple hundred dollars with a donation jar she had out for a portion of the time.

"The dog waste stations are all-in-one, easy to access, and provide what animal owners need. There's a galvanized steel pole that has a metal wire receptacle holder with a lid that the trash can goes in and locks and above that is a metal box that you put dog bags in to dispense," said Kerner. It would be permanently cemented into the ground and bags would be replaced as needed.

Kerner accumulated thousands of donated items for the sale, including more than 40 tables of clothing from baby sizes to 5X adults and a lot of name brand pieces, such as Carhartt, North Face, Columbia, and Coldwater Creek, along other items, ranging from 50-cent size toys and jewelry to an air conditioner, a horse saddle, and even a used toilet that fetched $20. The biggest ticket items were a set of windows that went for $40 for four small ones and $175 for seven large ones.

"I was surprised at the amount of boys' pants especially and men's clothing that we received," said Kerner, who was born and raised in Plains. The sale ran for three hours on Thursday and all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As a fundraiser, the fair officials donated the use of the pavilion and Horse Plains VFW Post 3596 donated the use of several tables. She said that people were leaving items even during the sale. "There was never any real plan since things just fell into place. My hope is that this helps those in the community and they can get the things they need," she said.

Thursday and Friday were a little slow, but Saturday and Sunday saw a constant flow of people throughout most of the day. On Sunday, she had a bag sale, where people could fill a 20-gallon plastic bag for $5. Sunday was the busiest day and one of the better days.

She got many of the items from Twice But Nice Thrift Store in Ronan, where Gayle Mock, manager of the store, had so many donations that she had become inundated and had to turn people away.

"It was a win-win situation as I would take the donations and she got her space back. But the only way that I was going to do anything with it was if it benefited the people of Plains," said Kerner. "With the cost of things constantly increasing and being close to the holidays I thought it would be nice for people to have an opportunity to maybe pick up some needed items at really low prices," she added.

"This is not the Plains that I grew up in and it's sad. To me, there has been a real loss of community. As I work to create open spaces that are inviting and welcoming to everyone, hopefully pet owners will take pride in the town and be responsible to pick up after their pets," said Kerner.

Her mother, Bonnie Morrow, who she said was retired and mostly bored, was her biggest help during the week and helped her sort items over several weeks time and assisted with setting up the tables. She also handled the cashier job during the sale. Donna Owens of Plains also assisted during the week. She said that if the nursing homes in Hot Springs or Plains needed clothes, she'd gladly let them have a lot of the leftover items.

Kerner plans to hold another fundraiser next year and a silent auction with some higher dollar items, but she will probably not have it during hunting season or during the holidays She'd like to raise funds for additional park benches. She said she'll spread the word once she gets a confirmed date for the next fundraiser and she welcomes any help.