Cash donations also help music program get back on track after March 25 fire
Enough donated musical instruments poured into Meadows Valley after the March 25 fire to put the band back in action the day after school reopened, MV music teacher Jeff Parnett said last week.

Since school reopened April 1, band students in just walk to the New Meadows Senior Citizen Center, where the school has rented space for music classes.

Practice will likely continue at the senior center until the end of the school year in June, Parnett said.

Parnett has gathered about 45 instruments through donations since the fire that started in a faulty power strip gutted the band room. Instruments arrived daily, and financial contributions have flowed in too.

"Every day, we're getting two or three horns," he said. "By the time this is all over, we'll be fine."

The two largest money donations were $1,000 each, one from Whitetail Club and the other from a New Meadows resident who wished to remain anonymous, with most donations being $50 to $100, he said.

"We felt compelled to assist with (MV's) loss," Whitetail President John Sabala said. "Albeit it's not much, we felt if everyone can pitch in with something, it helps a lot."
Teacher thanks `good people' for the people who have helped out, noting most instrument donors have not asked for those items to be returned.

"Part of it, I think, is a small town; part of it is good people," he said. "It's nice to know there's good people around."

Principal John Preston also sent his thanks to people from far and near who helped. Preston said he was picking up some instruments from Lewiston.

"The community has been great overall," Preston said. The school's two pianos were destroyed in the fire, one of them brand new when donated that retails for about $8,000. But there is no shortage of replacements; six pianos have been promised so far, Parnett said.

Drum sets have come in droves; the school previously had one set but now has four. A friend of Parnett's drove from Seattle to bring a set of drums.

By the end of last week, 15 trombones were donated to the school. The school has also received trumpets, flutes and clarinets, among others, but there are still shortages. For example, three students are sharing one trumpet.

Parnett has also been given a CD player to replace the one burned in the fire, and has an electronic piano on loan.

Preston sees the instrument glut as a good thing. "It's good to have more instruments on hand as the band grows, which gives kids the chance to try out more than one instrument," he said.

The school's insurer has already issued an initial payment of $125,000, part of which will be used to purchase new instruments. Parnett said insurance money will likely go toward replacing the pianos, purchasing an electronic piano and buying newer quality brass horns and woodwinds.

Parnett spent 25 years assembling the stock destroyed in the fire, and he still had not made an accounting as of Friday as he waited for clean up of the charred band room.
High on Parnett's wish list is what he has gotten the least of - sheet music.

The music is needed as the school's spring concert draws near, and he has little to build a concert program.

For inquiries or to make a donation, call the school at 208.347.2411.