Grange Cooling Center

The Twisp Valley Grange cooling center will be open during the hottest part of the day – from 3 to 5 pm. ALL WELCOME.

Monday and Tuesday (5 and 6 August)

The Cooling Center will be open.

We are using NOAA’s new HeakRisk tool to determine days of extreme heat and when to open the center.

As the summer progresses, and volunteers are able to staff the cooling center, the hours may expand. Stay tuned.

Twisp Valley Grange mid-life refit

The Twisp Valley Grange has been transformed. A grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce funded an energy retrofit to the 60-year old Grange Hall.   A heat pump was installed on each floor, the basement was insulated to two feet below grade, and the exterior walls were covered by insulated panels - bringing the Grange Hall from about ~R-1.5 to about R-21. A load management sequencer was installed to minimize peak electrical demand.

Costs were kept under control by all the work preformed by Dwight Filer and other Grange volunteers. A big thanks to our contractors for all the excellent work they did to make the Grange Hall beautiful, cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and energy efficient.

Paul Soodak and Wildcat Excavating

Kris Erickson and Methow Construction

Pat Norwil and Norwil Electric

Cascade Mechanical

Now that the work is completed, the Grange Hall will serve the community as a refuge from extreme heat.   We are also seeking additional funding to install air filtration to serve the community as a refuge from unhealthy air conditions due to wildfires. 

Listen to the interview with Mary Jane Perry, Special Projects Director at the Twisp Valley Grange, about the Grange’s plan to make the Grange Hall a safe refuge from extreme heat for the local community.

The interview about the Grange begins at minute 24:08.

The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner’s Climate Summit Series interviewed the Twisp Valley Grange and others about how valley residents are working on the Methow Valley Climate Action Plan.

Backstory on the back stairs

In 2023 Liberty Bell High School students began construction of the first of two exit stairways, after cutting the wood at the high school and then spending a day working to erect what had prepared.  The stairs were then completed over the summer with Val Hecker as project manager and working with other Grangers to complete both of the new back stairs.  These stairs now allow safe emergency egress from the upper hall.  The stairs were largely funded by the Methow Valley Fund of the Community Foundation of North Central Washington and the beautiful hand rails were built, installed and donated by Barry Stromberger.   These stairs are beautiful, functional and are so sturdy they will last for decades.  This work is what the Grange is all about – working for the community to provide a safe, beautiful and affordable rental venue that all in the Methow Valley can enjoy.  Please come check out the new stairs.