Upriver, ID

Members of our community turned out in full force on the gorgeous Saturday morning of April 26th, to clean up the Streets of Fernwood, Santa, Emida and surrounding highways. A day that also happened to be my daughters fifth birthday, so after shipping her off to town with her dad to get her ears pierced, I went out cruising the highways, snapping pictures of all the happy people, sporting neon orange vests and some of them equipped with long handled garbage pinchers or stabbers. It was a wonderful sight to see our community coming together so well for such a great cause. Joel and Cindy Newsom , from the Upriver Community branch of Horizons, did a fantastic job organizing our community cleanup day. In fact, everyone did such a wonderful job, that by the time my group got started at 11:00 a.m. we were hard pressed to find any garbage to pick up, which I must say was a little disappointing. Groups and people that signed up for miles included:
Employees of Emerald Creek Garnet Mill
Fernwood Church and Boy Scouts
Community Library
Upriver Civic Pride
Scott’s Welding and Fabrication
Halverson’s
Sharon Imes
Upriver Saddle Club
Lorelei Dockery, Jen Dockery, Jewl Kremposki, and Audra Anderson
Monteith and Peterson Family
Newsom Family
Drifters Café
Upriver PTO
Mary Wade
Darla Barden, Bridgett O’ Dwyer, and The Hagen Family

Each group was given ten bags, that works out to about 150 bags of garbage picked up from our scenic highways!
THANK YOU EVERYONE! For a job well done.

The community building commitee met at the Senior Citizen Building on April 17, 2008. Discussions were as follows:

 Received update on survey which is needed to help us with questions on wants and needs of a Community Center by the community.   The cost of the survey was more than anticipated and funds are not available at this time.

Gym - Group met with Upriver School principal and attended school board meeting to discuss needs of a new Gym at Upriver.  School is supportive of whatever the community can do to build a gym but mentioned they do not have funds and have other lists of priorities for school needs at this time.

Discussed touring other Community Centers and Gyms to get ideas and suggestions.   We will get in touch with Deary, Troy, Bovill, Nez Pierce,  and Orofino Community Centers and Gym and Nazarene Church Gym to see if we can arrange tours.

We have had many discussions regarding the need of fixing up the current CAF Building in Fernwood.  The inside and outside of the building needs a face list so it will be more efficient and useful for community use.  With summer just around the corner we hope to join in an agreement with the county so this can be done.

Recipes for the Upriver Recipe Book need to be sent in by May 1st if possible.  They can be emailed directly or dropped off at the Fernwood Library .

Community Clean up date is April 26th.  Lets all help clean up our community.

Next meeting date is May 16th at the Emida Community Center at 6:00 p.m.

Congrats to Mountain Mama of Kendrick/Juliaetta, she’s our weekly winner! Even though she took me to task for forgetting about those of you in remote areas with only dial-up internet access… she persevered after many grueling hours on the scavenger hunt! I will definitely keep in mind your technology limits in the future…

MJ has created a ‘how to blog’ handbook that is now available on our Horizons website at http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/horizons/coaches.htm at the very top of the page… Thanks MJ!

Also, for those communities that may be looking for a little more training, please contact MJ at merijoz@uidaho.edu / 208-885-8949 to see how she can help you.

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 29 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for one of our book titles…

NOTE: Please enter your answers as either a comment to the original question OR as a brand new entry on your blog so that the answers are easy for people to find.

Reflective Questions:
• Looking back, what is one (or more) skill or leadership trait you have developed from participating in Horizons (maybe from Study Circles or LeadershipPlenty or from the hands on work going on in your communities right now)? How has participation in the program changed you? What about your community? Are there specific examples of things happening in your community that wouldn’t have happened without Horizons?
• Bonus reflective question: How has the blogging experienced affected you? (please edit any inappropriate language, hahaha trust me, I feel your pain!!)

Scavenger Hunt Question:
• Which of the Idaho Horizons community blogs has information about April being Child Abuse Awareness month? This website also provides information about Youth Suicide Prevention.

The winner will receive:

Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World: Building Your Resources for a Better Life by Philip E. DeVol
And

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, et al

Yes, We came, we saw, and we blogged, AND we were treated to some of the best cinnamon rolls you have ever tasted! Two of these light, fluffy, sweets were sufficient to provide dessert for the six of us who attended the blogging workshop at the Drifters Cafe in Emida. If you haven’t tried them, I recommend you do! They really are the best I have ever had the satisfaction of letting melt in my mouth. Nancy has the touch to make these fresh homemade pastries tantalizing. I must stop in for more.

Thank you, Nancy for putting up with letting us mess with your computer hookup, take up a whole corner of your restaurant, and monopolize your evening. We enjoyed your wonderful hospitality and wish your business a prosperous year.

This is so global it should be called, “Looking For The Needle In The Haystack!” I have had fun searching Montana, Iowa, and Minnesota. Unfortunately I could only skim when I really wanted to read to learn. There was much to be learned! Now I want to add a counter to the blog site and a calendar. I will play with it when I get a chance.

In the meantime I gave up and finally came to the conclusion (being a librarian) that this whole setup needed an index. Aha! Google! An advanced search using the words “chicken tractor” and searching domains with the words “communityblogs.us” I was taken to the South Dakota Horizons blogsite which revealed that Estelline, SD is venturing into permaculture using chicken tractors.

A search of chicken tractors on Google will also teach you how to make and use your own. You just need some chickens and a little skill at building wooden cages. . . .

Horizons activities are moving right along in our community. In the next two months several visible events are planned and there are behind the scenes activities going on as well. Tomorrow night we will continue the three-part entrepreneurial training in Plummer, which has 8 attendees from the UpRiver area. These workshops relate directly to poverty reduction in that they provide door-opening mentoring, training, networking, and assistance in starting a new business. Any new businesses begun from the knowledge gained here will improve the economy by increasing the business base in our area as well as potentially providing additional employment to others who live here. This training also has the potential of the ripple-effect as the knowledge of resources and networking is shared with others who were not at the workshops.

Added to the above is an upcoming e-commerce training that will offer area residents an additional method of doing business. Both of these opportunities also increase leadership skills.

The Community Pride group is mobilizing the community for a clean-up day on the 26th of April.

The non-profit committee is finishing up the work necessary to gain recognition of our 501(c)3 status in order to keep the momentum going for gaining funding through grants to apply to ongoing activities in all three areas.

The cell tower project is also in the works. Verizon has the information needed for the application to improve communication in the area. This project has the potential to increase business in our communities because, not only will phone service be improved, but Internet access may also improve. E-commerce would then stand a much greater chance of success here (again directly affecting the poverty issue.)

Another project that is in the works is the Community Center project. The Building Committee has had several meetings, the last was with planners who came out to discuss the use of a survey to be sent to every citizen in the vicinity to determine interests and concerns regarding creating a community center. The idea is to mobilize the community by increasing awareness of what is being done and what those who are involved in the Horizons project perceive as urgent needs to improve the existence of those who live here.

The Entrepreneurial Committee plans to meet again in May.
At that meeting we will discuss what needs to be addressed next. The blogging class will have been accomplished, the training classes at Plummer will be completed, and the Business Person’s Breakfast will have met three times. We hope to have a better feel for how we can serve the business community of UpRiver to increase its visibility and viability. We have created some discussion questions to consider then. This meeting will address all of the areas of concern also: Poverty Reduction, Leadership Development and Community Mobilization.

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 22 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for one of our book titles…

NOTE: Please enter your answers as either a comment to the original question OR as a brand new entry on your blog so that the answers are easy for people to find.

Reflective Questions:

• What’s next in Horizons for your community? Are your Action Teams planning activities in the next 2 months? How do those activities relate to the 3 legs of Horizons: Poverty reduction, Leadership Development and Community Mobilization?

Scavenger Hunt Question:

• Let’s broaden our scavenger hunt world a little… Of the other Horizons states, which one has interesting information about using Chicken Tractors to help maintain community gardens? Check out the link section of the Idaho Horizons Blog that lists the blog addresses for Montana, NorthDakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa Horizons. Feel free to explore and be inspired by other community groups just like yours!

This week’s winner will receive a copy of each of the following books:
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler

Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World: Building Your Resources for a Better Life by Philip E. DeVol

What words of wisdom would I share to a community just starting a program like Horizons? “Go for it!!! ” You have everything to gain and nothing to loose, in my humble opinion! My only warning would have to be not to set your sights too high in order not to be too disapointed. Social change happens slowly but it does happen, and one person can make a differance. Personal growth, trusting relationships, lifelong friendships, these can be expected when people choose to work together for a common good. Personal integrity, pride and a feeling of ownership towards ones community are some of the changes I can see happening in myself.

Answer to What community’s chamber os commerce recently met with high school youth to work together to involve more youth in their community? Kooskia!

Six of us met at the Drifters Cafe in Emida on Thursday, April tenth, to learn the fine arts of blogging. Our Horizons instructor, Meri, was kind enough to come all the way from Moscow to teach us the ins and outs of blogging. We are now ready to blog, Yeah! Get ready to read!

Congratulations week 3 winner- Tala from St. Maries!

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 15 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for one of our book titles…

NOTE: Please enter your answers as either a comment to the original question OR as a brand new entry on your blog so that the answers are easy for people to find.

Reflective Questions:

• What words of wisdom would you give to a community just starting a program like Horizons?
• Words of warning?
• What kind of changes in their community and its leadership might they expect?
• What kind of changes in themselves might they expect?

Scavenger Hunt Question:

• Which community’s chamber of commerce recently met with high school youth to work together to involve more youth in the community?

This week’s winner will get to choose ONE of the following books:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John Maxwell

Or

Leadership for the Common Good: Tackling Public Problems in a Shared-Power World by Barbara Crosby and John Bryson

Well here I am trying something new, hope it works out. I have been reading some of the blogs and find them to be very interesting! I do think this is a good way to communicate with others concerned about their communities. In an area where we are isolated geographically it is easy to get to feeling like you are alone. I think the Horizons project has been very beneficial in bringing people together to discuss what poverty looks like in our communities. We as a community are getting to know each other and learning to work together. In the Leadership Plenty sessions and our Roundtable discussions people were able to express themselves through the various exercises and role playing. Trust was beginning to show among the participants as we explored the topic of poverty in our communities, it was an interesting experience and not always easy.

Personally I chose to live and raise our family in a small rural community, not realizing at the time how few jobs there were. My husband and I are from a large metropolitan area and we left the high prices and taxes behind. It hasn’t been easy and it was a big change from where I grew up. However the friendly people and small town felt like a “safe” place to grow. Our children got a good education and I was involved in the schools. For secondary education they chose from University of Idaho, Lewiston State College and North Idaho College, all three institutions within an hour and a half from our home. Now our children are grown and I have time to dedicate to my community. As a whole there is a lot of poverty here and it is difficult at times for me to accept it. I suppose that is why I became interested in the Horizons project, to see what can be done about the poverty here. Living in poverty can be a state of mind and certainly challenges one to rise above it at times. On the plus side, there are unlimited possibilities to what one can do to improve the current state of poverty in rural Idaho. With creativity and ingenuity the possibities are endless!

I see changes happening in the community; more outsiders moving in bringing new perspectives, the resource based economy is changing as the logging and mining industry is declining. There are more entrepreneurial businesses being started as people try to create livihoods. I see positive changes happening as a result of the Horizons project; with the visioning rally came a vision! We as a community are looking ahead and planning what we want for our communities. There is a lot going on with the Action Teams that have formed since Horizons began and we as a community are moving ahead. We have a Communications committee, an Entrepreneurial Development committee, a Community Pride committee and a Community Structure (building) committee. We are in the process of forming a non-profit to further the projects that have been identified, such as a community center, and possibly refurbishing the train depoe. I am optimistic about the future of our communities as we continue to seek out new avenues for improving our quality of life. Our work has just began but if we can continue to get more people involved and make progress I feel our efforts will blossom.

Scavenger Hunt Question: Which community (in partnership with ComBAT (Community Based Access to Technology) will be having a FREE concert on April 23, 2008?

And the answer is: Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer.

joanneo

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 8 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for a fabulous prize.

Reflective Questions: What does the phrase ‘living in poverty’ mean to you? How has your definition of ‘poverty’ changed in the past year? Does your community think differently about poverty now? How can you tell?

Scavenger Hunt Question: Which community (in partnership with ComBAT (Community Based Access to Technology)) will be having a FREE concert on April 23, 2008?

This week’s winner will get to choose ONE of the following books:

One Nation, Underprivileged, Why American Poverty Affects Us All / Mark Robert Rank

or

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community / Robert D. Putnam.

I hope everyone has been paying attention to the upcoming activities. The week of the 7th to the 10th is going to be a busy one for those involved in the UpRiver Horizons group:

Monday, April 7–Don’t miss the Business Persons Breakfast at the Drifters Cafe in Emida at 8:00 AM. It is a no-host affair to connect and network with like-minded people in the area. If you have a business that is running, would like to start a business, are in need of employment and would like to see who the “business people” are, come eat and chat. Or just get a beverage and visit over “coffee”.

Tuesday, April 8–The Economic Development or Entreprenuerial Committee is meeting at the Hideout in Fernwood at 7:00 pm. If you would like to see what is going on in this group, fit the categories mentioned above, would like to get involved in making things happen in the Emida/Santa/Fernwood area come join us!

Wednesday, April 9–The first of three Entrepreneurial workshops for those in this area interested in self-employment will be held in Plummer at the Wellness Center starting at 5:00. For more information contact Lori Higgins, higgins@uidaho.edu, or Meri Jozwiak, merij@uidaho.edu.

Thursday, April 10–A meeting to plan for the beginning stages of building a new community center will be held at the Hideout Cafe in Fernwood at 10:00 AM. You are invited!

Thursday evening, April 10–Blogging Workshop for those who are interested in blogging for the Community website will be at the Drifters in Emida at 6:00 pm.
Be there!

Yes, there are more activities. Starting next week. Watch the calendar, the newsletter, the blogsite, the newspaper, the bulletin boards. . . We try to keep everyone who is interested informed.

The calendar can be found by clicking here.

Scavenger Hunt Question: Which community (in partnership with ComBAT (Community Based Access to Technology) will be having a FREE concert on April 23, 2008?

And the answer is: Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer.

In case anyone in our area is interested in looking into this and the Free Music Editing Class I am posting a copy of their advertisement here in full:

This one was easy for me. I was visiting someone in Plummer on Wednesday of last week and there was a newsletter laying on her floor. It had the Coeur d’Alene Tribal seal on the corner so it aroused my curiosity. Especially since it had the word ComBAT in the return address area. I had never seen that word before even though I work over there. I did not ask about it since our conversation was more about personal and national news than about local activities. But, lo and behold, when I checked my email, here was this question. I had merely to go to the Coeur d’Alene Reservation’s blogsite to get my answer.

The Reflective Questions are: What does the phrase ‘living in poverty’ mean to you? How has your definition of ‘poverty’ changed in the past year? Does your community think differently about poverty now? How can you tell?

These look like questions that must have been discussed at some of those previous meetings I did not attend. So I will just have to give my personal view since I can’t speak as an experienced member of the community.

Living in Poverty? To me, “poverty” has always meant having to do without something you wished you had because you didn’t have the means to acquire it.

There was a time when we were so far below the “poverty level” that someone told us it was impossible for anyone to live on that amount of money. And we had three children. Did we feel impoverished? No. We had what we needed and what we wanted. There were those who felt much more like they were in poverty than we did, including those who had far more.

Poverty can be an actual physical need caused by lack of employment, lack of support, lack of resources, community or regional economics, etc. It can also be more of a poverty of spirit–discontent with what is available or the lack of desire, knowledge, support system, or motivation to improve on what is available. This kind of poverty often results in depression. (Of course there are also moral, spiritual, ethical and other forms of poverty, for which those living in poverty do not necessarily aspire–they are just lacking in the minimal characteristics.) These can be applied to either individuals or communities.

Often outsiders to an “impoverished,” “depressed,” or “primitive” region (or family) assess the situation from their value system and insist that the people conform to their view of what is economically a “better way of life.” They do not see any value in what is happening before them.

True poverty should be addressed. The basics of food, shelter, personal interactions, and warmth should be made available and within reach of all. Employment opportunities with adequate wages to provide these necessities of life is a key to avoiding the depression causing lack of motivation. Access to educational opportunities or apprenticeships that equip people to maximize their potential should be available.

My definition of poverty hasn’t changed in the last year. I can’t speak for my community because I haven’t been in the community dialogue that long. I think my view about how to make a difference has been different than those with whom I have dialogued recently, but I don’t know how that has affected the thinking of those others either.