www.OthelloOutlook.comA6 The Othello Outlook – Thursday, March 29, 2012 COMMUN IT Y

branch usbank.com/refinow

800.209.BANK (2265) m.usbank.com

Find the home refinancing option that’sright for you. With historically low rates, there has neverbeen a better time to refinance your home. Apply to shorten yourterm and you could pay off your house faster! Or apply for a lowerrate, and free up some cash every month. Learn more about yourrefinancing options at any U.S. Bank, online or on the phone.

3.99% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is available for 15-year first position home equity installment loans $40,000 to $250,000with loan-to-value of 70% or less or 80% or less depending on market. Higher rates apply for higher LTV or other loan amount. Automaticpayments from a U.S. Bank Package required. Loan payment example: on a $40,000 loan for 180 months at 3.99% interest rate,monthly payments would be $295.67. No customer paid closing costs, APR is 3.99%. Payment example does not include amounts fortaxes and insurance premiums. The monthly payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included and an initialcustomer deposit may be required if an escrow account for these items is established. Loan payment example is for first position

home equity installment loan only. Contact us to discuss other refinance options and payment examples. Offer is subjectto normal credit qualifications. Rates are subject to change. Property insurance is required. Consult your tax advisor regardingthe deductibility of interest. Home Equity loans and lines of credit are offered through U.S. Bank National Association ND.©2012 U.S. Bancorp, U.S. Bank. Member FDIC.

We started with a 30-year mortgage. But 15 is the new 30.

Tri City Quilters’ Guild 29th AnnualQuilt Show & Merchant Mall

“Stitching Stars”

March 30 & 31 Fri. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.Sat 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Three Rivers

Convention Center

7016 West Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick

$5 good for both days & Free Parking

40 + Vendors from the Pacifi c Northwest, Silent Auction, Quilt raffl e tickets $1

& much more

National Featured Artist: Sally SchneiderLectures: $5

Friday at 11:15 a.m. “Savvy Settings” Saturday 31 at 12:45 p.m. “Confessions of a

Scrapmaniac”

Guild Featured Artist, Sue White

Sally S

chneider’s

“Chris

tmas

Eve”

Dinner Show | ‘I can’t believe all the talent in Othello’From page A1

Ghana | The trip allowed the people from Othello to see a di� erent culture, a unique way of lifeFrom page A1

which means ‘Caution, Wet Floor’).The women’s choir performed

“Funga Alafi a” and invited the audi-ence to join in with its plentiful hand movements and others, including “Lean on Me” and “Thunder,” which ended with a large cymbal crash ring-ing out from the back of the theatre.

In addition to the choir performanc-es, Brian McDougall, who will star as Curly in the upcoming Othello The-atre Guild production of Oklahoma, performed one of the show’s main numbers, Kurt Braunwart did a part spoken, part sung story about good-night songs for his family and Donna Reichert sang “My Favorite Things” (senior edition). Set to the tune of the song from The Sound of Music, this humorous song substituted things like achy joints, fragile bones and gray

hair for puppies and packages tied up with strings.

Johanna McDougall performed Nocturne in C Minor on the piano, Pastor Nan Riddle performed “Amaz-ing Grace” both by voice and piano and Steve Agenbroad sang “Glorious Day,” something that fi t very well with the upcoming Easter holiday, he said.

The principals trio, Gary Street, Dennis Adams and Stewart Ander-son, sang “Soul Man,” Joanne Peters sang “When I Fall in Love” and bird-caller Nicole Perretta showcased her unique talent.

To end the show, all the per-formers stood together to perform “God Bless America,” with some help from the audience.

It’s different every year, D. Reichert said. She directs the children’s choir

and this is the best group of kids she’s had yet, she said.

Many of the adults in the show are in it year after year. The experience helps the show run better, even if there are minor mistakes. The performers take glitches in stride, D. Reichert said.

Because the performers practice so long before the show, it’s kind of a let-down once the performances are fi n-ished, she said. It’s going to be weird not to have the kids to sing with on Saturday mornings.

This event was B. Reichert’s idea all those years ago, she said. He is always coming up with innovative ways to provide entertainment to local people.

Phyllis Lowther and Audrey Schutte made the trip over from Moses Lake for the show. This was Lowther’s fi rst year and she hopes to

return for future performances.“I can’t believe all the talent in

Othello,” she said.Schutte has been a few times in the

past and was, once again, blown away.“I loved it,” she said. “It’s always

something different.”Lowther also enjoys checking out the

cantata performances at Christmas time.The two are already planning on

coming back next year.Richard Ovrid, Kenmore, Gloria

Mears, Othello, and Gary Weaver, Othello, also came to the show.

They have all been before and Weav-er’s wife is in the women’s choir.

Mears said the show and food are both excellent.

Ovrid also enjoyed the show and it’s great to have local entertainment to come and see, Weaver said.

The fi rst team of Othello resi-dents visited four years ago.

At that time, the chief in Wu-lensi gave 600 acres of land to Othello. The Othello diplomats set up a Friendship Farm. Their goal is to use this land to intro-duce more modern farming methods to the Wulensi people.

As of right now, there are eight or nine months of the dry

season and three months of a rainy season. The crops grow well during the rain and then the people of Wulensi store the food up for the rest of the year. By the time the dry sea-son has stretched on for a sev-eral months, though, the food starts to get pretty scarce.

Hopefully, the Friendship Farm will provide a way to

teach the Ghanans about irri-gation techniques.

“It could bring prosperity and a more stable food supply,” Luhn said. “It will be a great fi t to be able to give them.”

There is still a lot of work to be done, though, he said. Be-cause electricity is unreliable and not readily available, the team from Othello is working

to secure diesel-powered irri-gation equipment.

The group also has to ask permission from the Ghana government to draw water from the local Volta River.

The electricity isn’t just un-reliable in Wulensi. Through-out Ghana, the demands on the power grid are greater than the ability of the country to supply it. Power would go out in the bigger cities for days at a time.

In Wulensi, the group met with the chief and presented him with gifts they had brought. They also met his advisors, in-cluding one called the Soul of Wulensi. His job is to absorb any evil spirits coming at the chief.

In Wulensi, 99 percent of the population is Muslim and they speak a language called Twi. Their primary food is called fufu, a sort of yam that they pound and pound before eating. After the pounding, it forms a

sticky paste that is rolled into a ball and dipped into soup.

The women work hard to make this paste for many hours a day, so they are all very mus-cular, Luhn said. The women wear clothes that are incred-ibly bright and beautiful, he said. It was impressive they managed to keep them spotless and stunning, even surrounded by dry, dirt-covered land.

The homes are generally made with thatched roofs and running water is not readily available.

The people were so easy-going and wonderful that it was cer-tainly hard to say goodbye, Luhn said. Still, they had to move on.

The next city they visited was called Tamale. Here, Luhn was able to talk to the regional director of the local Church of the Nazarene.

Then, they visited a village called Kwahu Praso, where

Luhn was given a great honor.He was named Nana Kwa-

bena Luhn Buofo I, mean-ing Chief Tuesday Luhn, One Who Advances Things. He is the chief responsible for the development of the village. Part of his chief name comes from the day he was born, a Tuesday. Naming someone after the day they were born is common in Ghana, he said.

When being named a chief, he was given a traditional robe to wear. He hopes to visit again in the future, hopefully, every year or so, to help the people out.

“I just feel a great love for that little village of Kwahu Praso,” he said.

The whole trip was just fan-tastic, Luhn said. The people and culture are very different and fascinating to learn about. Ghana is a very peaceful coun-try and one that offers a great learning experience.

COURTESY PHOTO

Pastor Bob Luhn dons some native clothing as he attends a ceremony naming him a chief of development in the small African village of Kwahu Praso, in Ghana.

PHOTO BY BRIANA ALZOLA

OHS student Michael Gerber performs with the school’s band at the dinner show.