Harrison Eagles Club Cleaning Up and Moving Forward

It’s hard not feel like a fascinated child at a construction site as you watch Cody Beemer of Beemer’s Sand and Gravel use his dexterity with a large excavator and clean up what remains of the Harrison Eagles Club.

Since a fire on July 5 that was a total loss, the building site has sat taped off.

It’s not as simple as tearing it down and carting it away. Beemer also had Mid State Asbestos Removal Inc. on the job. Gary Church of Mid State explained the less than ideal process to get his job done.

“In a building like this we normally do a pre-demolition inspection, but in a situation like this all we can do is go through and surface sample, which we did a few weeks ago,” Church said. “Now as he removes debris, he’s exposing things we need to make sure they get sampled and cleared.”

That process is relatively quick with samples sent out the same day for a less than 48 turnaround time. If materials are hazardous, they are put in a separate dumpster for proper disposal by Waste Management.

A third dumpster goes to Fair Salvage where any metal or other materials can be recycled.

The recent fire isn’t the only challenge the Eagles have faced in the last few years. For the last four years, under the leadership of Randy Chamberlain, they have been current on their property taxes for the first time in 15 years and have come out of financial hardship. Membership has tripled too; the club now has more than 300 members.

Those members worked hard all summer on their popular fish fry. They’ll now focus their efforts on fundraising for a new building.

A fundraiser several weekends ago raised more than $1,000. Members and the community came together to help, with the Harrison Moose Lodge donating the use of its tables and chairs.

Future fundraisers may include casino fun trips since the weather is getting cooler and outdoor fundraisers will not be possible onsite.

Insurance coverage will rebuild most of the building and contents to the price tag of more than $850,000. The building will be slightly smaller than the original building but large enough to accommodate groups and banquet rental. The club will soon be seeking out an architect and a building contractor.