Elks installs new officers during special ceremony

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks installed new officers during a special dinner and ceremony held at Weiser Elks Lodge 1683 in downtown Weiser on Saturday, April 9.

 Members were treated to a potluck dinner and drinks before heading for the Elks ceremonial chambers on the second floor of the lodge where the new officers took part in the installment ceremony.

 Installation is the only time of the year when non-members are allowed inside the chambers. Several guests were on hand to witness Saturday’s ceremony.

 New officers include Ethan Sullender, Tiler; Dick Sullender, Chaplain; Ken Salzsieder, Exalted Ruler; Al Skeesick, Leading Knight; Tom Carr, Lecturing Knight; Carlena Myers, Loyal Knight; and Richard Coronado, Esquire.

 “We have new officers installed every year,” said the Elks’ Cale Harvey. “The Elks fiscal year ends in March and the officers generally take over April 1, but they can’t do that until they are installed.”

 In other news, following a brief re-organization with a new board, coordinators recently announced that Bingo will continue at the Elks Lodge every Thursday, beginning with hamburgers and fries from 5 p.m. to 6:20 p.m., followed by Bingo sign up and games beginning at 7 p.m.

 “Everyone is invited, it’s open to the public,” Harvey said. “People can come in, have hamburgers, and use the bar just like members on that particular night. It will be every Thursday night, with the same format.”

 The cost for Bingo starts at $10.

 “There are seven regular Bingo games,” Harvey said. “The eighth game is a special game, and then the last game is a black-out game. The payout for the black-out game is $290. The more people, the bigger the payouts, but we have to have at least 10 players to play.”

 Also, the Elks members recently installed a new electronic sign on the outside of the lodge building, located at 38 W. Idaho St. The sign is intended to help inform the public of upcoming events.

 “We’ve been talking about it for at least a year, so we are pretty happy to have it,” Harvey said. “We got a grant from the Idaho Elks Association to help put up the sign, and also do some much-needed maintenance on the building. We always want to publicize what we are doing in the community, for instance if we have a special dinner or something. We do all kinds of special meals and events for veterans and kids, and other fun things. It’s in a good spot because it’s right there, near traffic flow and people can see it.”

 The sign took a while to be installed because a special bracket had to be built to hold it.

 “One of our members, Dan Snyter, created a really nice metal framework that’s bolted to the sign, and it’s sturdily attached to the building,” Harvey explained. “It took some time for Dan to fabricate it. It’s really nice; he did a really good job.”

 Fellow Elks member Ken Edwards, a former U.S. Navy electrician, took care of the wiring. The sign operates with a hand-held, programmable wi-fi enabled keyboard. The operator can stand right below the sign and type in any message desired.