New flag pole installed at Corning Veterans Memorial Hall

Julie R. Johnson, Corning Observer, Calif.
·3 min read

Dec. 19—The new flagpole at Corning's Veterans Memorial Hall has been installed in its newly prepared base with the help of Walberg, Inc., and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Veterans and residents gathered on Dec. 6 to see the placement and completion of a community project that included raising the funds necessary to purchase a new aluminum pole, remove the old one, create a new base and place the new pole at a cost of $20,000.

Because the Veterans Hall is Tehama County property, the county's Board of Supervisors had to approve of the project and all its components and donations of labor.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) donated time, equipment and a crew on June 1 to remove the dilapidated old wooden flag pole at the Hall in preparation for the new flag pole to be installed, and then showed up again to install the new pole.

Walberg, Inc., of Richfield donated time and supplies to construct the pole's new base.

The flag pole is just one project being conducted for the 88-year-old, 9,000 square-foot historic building, which is in need of more than $6.4 million in repairs.

A report on the condition of the Corning Veterans Memorial Hall was heard by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors earlier this year and things aren't looking good for the old facility.

The county hired Nichols, Melbeurg and Rossetto (NMR) Architects and Engineers to conduct a feasibility study on the structure in September after the board received public concerns about the hall's condition from residents of Corning.

"The sentimental value of the Hall is worth much more than the cost to repair it. It is a Corning icon," said Supervisor Bob Williams. The Hall sits within his district. "I have been in contact with Congressman Doug LaMalfa who is trying to see if there are possible federal dollars for this project."

Supervisors John Leach and Candy Carlson, both veterans, said they are doing the same.

"It looks like a lot of people are working towards the same goal," Carlson said.

The report stated the top problem is the building's electrical power system, with an estimated repair cost of $245,960.

Second on the list was structural repairs at $87,564. Those repairs included installing new wood-bearing wall below existing joists with rotted ends; seal existing cracks in southern brick wall near foundation and in southern brick wall around window openings; and temporary shoring and repairs to existing roof truss if investigations shows signs of structural damage.

The last on the high priority list was the building's interior, with an estimated repair cost of $353,508. Amongst those repairs is removing and replacing existing wall finish on walls requiring new electrical wiring; existing wall finish at southwestern corner of mezzanine and at lobby near existing drinking fountain to look for possible dry rot/damage and make corrective repairs; and remove existing wall finish at southern walls and ceiling of small meeting rooms, evaluate damage and make corrective repairs.

NMR's vast list then goes on to medium priority repairs and low priority repairs.

The report states the cost of repairs, $6.4 million, which doesn't consider the cost of hazardous materials investigation and abatement — is considerable for a building of the Hall's age and condition.