|
 Accomplish it they have! The Oasis announced this week that they
will shut down their temporary home at St. John’s United Church of
Christ on June 16. Between the 16th and 20th they will officially be
moving into their new location in the former Rusty’s Clubhouse on
the city’s far west side.
On June 23rd, one year and two days after the fire, the organization
will open the doors of the new location to the Oasis membership.
An official celebration of the new location with a Chamber ribbon
cut and open house has been set for Saturday, July 12th from 1 to 4
p.m.
It was on Friday, June 21, 2013 at approximately 4:20 p.m. a storm
with heavy lightening was passing through Logan County. In the city
of Lincoln, business owners around the downtown square reported
hearing a loud noise and some said they felt the earth move as a
bolt of lightning arced and hit the roof of the Oasis.
Located in the heart of the city, and sharing walls with other local
businesses, the prospect of a fire at the Oasis held the
possibilities of dire consequences for an entire city block. Fire
units were called in from Sherman, Atlanta, Middletown, Emden,
Latham, Lincoln Rural, Beason and Hartsburg.
The city of Lincoln Fire Department led a battle against the fire
that included multiple sources of water going onto the Oasis as well
as adjoining buildings. Water tankers from other areas worked a
methodical relay, filling and dumping water into portable holding
ponds to keep everything flowing seamlessly.
The fire raged, with flames often visible from more than a block
away, and smoke filling the downtown area and beyond.
It took several hours and a large number of people, but by 7 p.m.
the worst was over. Firefighters stayed on the scene throughout the
night watching for flare-ups and hot spots.
In the morning light, the devastation to the Oasis looked pretty
bad, but the downtown business area had otherwise been spared.
For the board and executive director of the Oasis, the knee-jerk
reaction was to say, “We will rebuild."
In September, Ellen Burbage wrote in the Oasis newsletter an account
of the days that followed the fire and the decisions that had to be
made. Time was spent finding a temporary home so that much needed
services for area seniors could continue.
The board had to deal with insurance adjusters, structural engineers, and
many others.
Even though the hope had been to repair the Oasis, the board soon found there
were many hurdles that were going to be insurmountable in the end. With the
deluge of water used at the fire, and the time of year being warm, mold quickly
developed inside the building. The west wall of the building was unstable and
was going to have to be shored up before anyone could really start restoration.
In addition, they learned the building was not up to current city building and
safety codes. Up to this point, they had not been required to upgrade to meet
city code because the codes were adapted after the building was built. However,
now that they were going to rebuild the interior, those codes would have to be
met.
A special committee had been formed to investigate the Oasis options, and soon
after all this was discovered, it was determined that the more financially
responsible thing would be to check into buying or building a new site.
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In October, the committee announced they would be purchasing the
former Rusty’s Clubhouse on the city’s far west side. The committee
said they had looked at all the options before making their
decision. To build new was going to be extremely costly, and they
opted to look at what was already available.
There were several locations in Lincoln that had some potential. But
with each one there seemed to be some kind of draw-back, until they
reached Rusty’s.
As the committee looked at the building, it had much to offer.
Plenty of space for growth, restroom facilities that were already
ADA compliant, easy entry for wheelchair traffic, and for some the
most important thing was it had tons of parking.
But even with all it had going for it, the site wasn’t exactly
perfect. A former restaurant, the building contained an industrial
sized kitchen and was partitioned off into dining areas as well as a
sports bar.
On February 24, 2014, volunteers gathered at the new location and
conducted a sale of restaurant equipment and other fixtures. Then on
March 13th at the monthly potluck, executive director Dom Dalpoas
announced that Webster Construction would be re-designing the
interior of the building to fit the needs of the Oasis group. The
blueprints for a new floor plan were on display and included office
space, a workout room, computer lab, gift shop, dining area and a
social area complete with fireplace.
At that same potluck, it was announced that Fricke Calvert Schrader
Funeral Home would be donating the exterior signage for the new
location.
With the announcement this week that the Oasis will be moving into
the new facility starting on the 16th and will open its doors to the
membership on the 23rd, a long year is quickly coming to a
triumphant end.
Be sure to mark your calendars for July 12 when the Oasis invites
everyone to come out and celebrate their new home. The Lincoln Logan
County Chamber of Commerce ambassadors will hold a ribbon cut at 1
p.m. and the open house will then run to 4 p.m.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related stories
06/22/2013 -
Blaze causes considerable damage to Oasis Senior Center
Photo albums from June 22, 2013
Album 1 |
Album 2 |
Album 3 |
Album 4
Album 5 |
Album 6 |
Album 7 |
Album 8
09/03/2013 - A FIRE TALE
The Oasis will rise from the ashes
By Ellen Burbage
02/25/2014 - Sale of restaurant
equipment and accessories will benefit Oasis building fund
Album 1 |
Album 2
03/15/2014 -
Webster Construction to remodel new home for Oasis --
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader to donate new lighted sign
03/15/2014
- Photo albums from 03/15/2014
Album 1 |
Album 2 |
Album 3
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