With the help of a Rotary District 6040 grant, the Tarkio Rotary Club was able to purchase fencing and install it around the east side of Tarkio Rehabilitation and Health Care. Those helping to put up the fence included Jayne Scott, Anita Sutter, Nyla Krabbenhoft, Bob Koch, Nathan Peters, and Darryl Lowrey.

Submitted By Jayne Scott, Tarkio Rotary Club

Tarkio Rotary Club applied for a District 6040 Grant last summer and was awarded funds to complete a community project. The project included fencing an area at Tarkio Rehabilitation and Health Care and providing raised garden beds for the residents to plant vegetables and/or flowers. Petersen Health Care also assisted with some of the cost when a sidewalk was added to the plan to provide an adequate four foot paved escape route in case of a fire. The fence was constructed of black vinyl chain link by Rotary members, staff from the nursing home and community volunteers. A trailer was donated by Steve Irvine to store the fencing supplies while the project was underway. The sidewalk is scheduled to be poured later this month and the raised garden beds were delivered last month by Dustin Lambertsen. Mr. Lambertsen’s Tarkio high school agriculture students constructed the raised garden beds as a contribution to the project. Over 300 volunteer hours helped to make this project complete.
This grant fell under the Rotary guidelines of disease prevention and treatment. The fenced area will allow residents at Tarkio Rehab to experience the outside without the risk of wandering off and getting lost. The cost of this project (over $5,000) was paid from District Grant funds, Tarkio Rotary Club and Petersen Health Care. The fence will be a nice addition to the care provided at Tarkio Rehab and Health Care. This addition will be a definite asset as Tarkio Rehab plans for a future Memory Care unit.