Library’s New Manager
Wes Wantland
August 28 saw the end of a long and memorable chapter in our library’s history. On that day a going-away party was held for Karen O’Quinn on her last day as library manager. After 18 years of dedicated service she was moving on to a new life in Sacramento.
The following day Wes Wantland took over as the new library manager. It had been his dream as a kid to work in a library, and for the past nine years he had fulfilled that dream by working as O’Quinn’s assistant.
Wes, at 40, is undoubtedly one of the youngest library managers in our 136-year history. He is taking the reins during a period of financial uncertainty (see accompanying article on next page), but seems ready to meet that challenge with confidence and a cool and calm attitude.
In his off hours Wes (no surprise) enjoys reading, mainly fantasy and mystery books, as well as listening to a wide variety of music.
Wes’s mother, Joannie Hite, a longtime volunteer at the library, will be Wes’s assistant and will fill in for him when he can’t make it to the library.
Open House Set For Oct. 10
It’s time for us to show off our library and enjoy some fun activities at our Open House on Saturday, October 10 from 2 to 5 p.m.
For the kids, Straw Sally will read an autumn story, and there will be a crafts project that involves dressing a scarecrow with colorful apparel.
Ron McCloud and Bruce Deutsch will continue their series of talks on Dunsmuir’s history. Kevin Tynsky will perform on the guitar.
Tickets for the Open House Raffle can be purchased at the library and at Dunsmuir Hardware for $1 each or 6 for $5. Raffle prizes will be given out at a drawing at 4:30. Prizes include donations from Dunsmuir Hardware, Unexpected Treasures and the Ted Fay Fly Shop.
Refreshments will be provided.
Library Finances
The board of the Friends Of The Dunsmuir Library is engaged in a month-to-month effort to maintain our current level of service and hours of operation.
The city of Dunsmuir has guaranteed the library $31,000 per year from the city’s general fund, but with $61,000 in annual expenses we are scrambling to make up the difference.
Donations from library supporters, fundraisers, and book sales are helping to close the gap, but we are looking at some-thing like a $10,000 shortfall after those other sources of income are taken into account.
Fortunately the City Council, at the urging of the new city manager, Matt Cohrs, granted us an additional $5000 in September and will consider another $5000 contribution at a future Council meeting.
Meanwhile, we will be conducting a survey of other rural libraries to find out how they are coming up with the funds to keep their doors open. Hopefully this survey will give us some new ideas to improve funding for our library.
Upcoming Events
The library will be featuring two talks this month as part of its “Voices In The Canyon” series: On October 17 at 2 p.m. Tim Holt will give readings from his newly published memoir: “Moving Pictures: The Life And Times Of A South Sac Homeboy.”
And on October 24 at 4 p.m. Sergeant Richard Ortiz of the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department will talk about his experiences as a law enforcement officer.