|
Become a friend of the Klamath Bucket Brigade All donations are tax deductible |
|
This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
A
view looking north on
A
family town
Tulelake
takes pride in its sense of community, history
By
LEE BEACH
H&N's
Staff Writer
March
1, 2008
Abroad,
quiet Main Street belies the old nickname of Tulelake, Calif. —
“little Reno” — once a bustling town that sprang up to serve
homesteaders and their families who settled Reclamation A family town
Tulelake takes pride in its sense of community, history
Project lands.
The town and its fairgrounds are still the center for
community members to gather, shop, attend school, worship, honor history
and agricultural roots and support local sports — a family town.
The volunteer fire department, established four months
after Tulelake voted to incorporate
|
|
|
Tony Giacomelli, owner of Jock’s Supermarket in Tulelake, bought the grocery store from his parents in 1986 and continues to serve the town’s needs. |
“We’re
unique in
Mike McKoen, an EMT and intermediate medical officer
explained they do life-saving care at the scene and Basin Ambulance
transports patients to care centers.
|
|
|
Mike Hickman is the assistant chief and a first responder with the volunteer fire department. |
“We
had 160 medical calls in 2007, plus fire calls,” he said.
The
department has six pieces of equipment in Tulelake and three in Newell,
and a set of Jaws of Life at Tulelake and one at Newell. Maintaining the
department is expensive, and Scott said it takes a combination of
fundraisers in addition to the tax base.
“We
have tremendous community support,” Scott said, “and we have to
thank our city council and commissioners too — Nick Macy, John
Prosser, Richard Takacs, Earl Danosky and Craig Bettandorff.”
Patriotism
City
treasurer Elona Bunch is a native of Tulelake, and her husband was mayor
for 10 years.
“I
was elected a little over a year ago,” she said. “In the last year
and a half, we have also had a new mayor and moved into a new
building.”
She
takes special, and personal, pride in the fact that “we have 12 kids
from here in the military, Marines and Army. It’s a very patriotic
community. My son’s leaving in May to go to
An
outstanding fair
Mayor
Jennifer Cooney sees local businesses that support the agricultural
community as important contributors to the city’s economy.
Tulelake
maintains close relationships with Malin and Merrill because of their
common interests in agriculture.
“I
definitely want the city to grow, to draw more businesses, but still to
promote a small-town atmosphere,” she said.
As
a parent of two children in the school system, she sees an awareness on
the part of the youth of the importance of college and the need to
maintain grades, participate in sports and perform community service.
“One
of the most unique things about Tulelake is the Tulelake-Butte Valley
Fair,” she said. “The fair has free admission and is alcohol free.
It’s the only one in
Concerns
 |
|
Tulelake
police officer Adam Cardona Jr. recently returned from
six months in |
At
the police department, officer Adam Cardona Jr. was getting ready to go
out on patrol. He spent six years working for the Fresno Police
Department before hearing about the opening in Tulelake.
“I
like helping people and making a difference. Being bilingual, I can help
all the different sides,” Cardona said. “There are seasonal workers
who come here, and I can talk to them and they trust me.”
Cardona
is one of the members of the 173rd Fighter Wing Security Forces from
Kingsley Field who recently returned after serving six months in
The problems he encounters in law enforcement in
Tulelake include poverty, drugs and gangs, which he thinks are
intertwined.
Support for
youth
 |
| Celeste
Wedmore is the office manager/administrative assistant at |
The
high school has 235 students, and the elementary school, 173.
Youth sports are strongly supported — soccer,
football, volleyball, Pop Warner football, AAU basketball, Y-ball
(through Klamath County Family YMCA), T-Ball, Little League, and track
and field. The school has the only all-weather track of the small
schools in the area, so the district meet is held there.
“I love the team spirit here,” said Jeri Prosser,
who works in the high school office.
“We played Friday night in Arbuckle, and there were
more fans there from Tulelake than the home team.”
Prosser transferred her sons from
“It was the best thing I ever did,” she said.
“They’re doing so well here.”
The community building next to the high school, the
Honker, is the site of many youth and community activities.
It’s temporarily closed while repairs are being made
caused by water damage from a defective sprinkler system valve in the
ceiling.
Getting health
care
 |
|
Virginia
Walsh commutes Tuesday through Friday from Keno to Tulelake,
where she is a family nurse practitioner at the |
In
a modular building on
Walsh, who has 30 years of experience, has served the
clinic four days a week since October, after a number of different
medical providers came and went temporarily.
“I live in Keno, and I retired, but I hated it,”
Walsh said. “Tulelake’s a nice little community to work in. They
seem happy to have health care here, and to see the same face each
time.”
Pharmacy
wanted
It’s a busy office, according to Walsh, and three
people in the office are fluent in Spanish, which is helpful in serving
their patients. If she could have one wish, she said, it would be that
Tulelake had a pharmacy. A patient in the clinic at the time agreed
wholeheartedly.
‘Crossroads of history’
At the Chamber of Commerce kiosk at the entrance to
Tulelake, the town is described as being “at the crossroads of
history.
Singled out are its Modoc Native American ancestors
from 12,000 years ago, the early pioneer trails, the Modoc Wars, World
War II segregation and POW camps and the 2001 water shutoff that so
deeply affected those descendants of homesteaders who carved out the
farms that gave the town life.
The
water tower in Tulelake can be seen from the entrance to town from
Highway 139.
The
water tower in Tulelake can be seen from the entrance to town from
Highway 139.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those
who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Source: http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Daily/Skins/heraldandnews/
navigator.asp?skin=heraldandnews