Upriver, ID

Our Group met at the Hide out on May 19 with a goal in mind of reassembling the committee.Lorelei volunteered to be note taker for the meetings. Joel had resigned as co-chair and Richard had stepped in, but said that he needed someone else to releive him, as he is already involved in and co-chairing numerous other committees. Lorelei said that she would take over. Community Pride is responsible for History Awareness, Signage, Community Day, and Clean up Day. There was discussion about a Community Day and it was suggested that we try to join up with the two other Upriver Communities and make it a weekend event with the various organizations hosting different activities. It was reported that Bud will be putting fences up around the dumpsters. Nancy asked for someone to take over the sign project as she does not have a phone nor internet access. It was reported that there is still money for restoring and copying historical photos that will be framed and displayed in various places. Our next meeting will take place June 23rd, 6:30 @ Hideout. We are looking for more people to join our committee, pass the word on to anyone you know who is interested in being involved in these important activities.

Several members of the community showed up Wednesday, the 28th of May, bringing with them lawn mowers, weed eaters, pruners, and other various cleaning supplies. Sandy and Daryl Hindman were hard at work by nine O’clock in the morning along with Carol Sheahan and Dawn Ahonan, mowing lawns and sprucing up the trees, bushes and landscape on the grounds of the CAF Building. Later Lorelei Dockery pitched in for a little while and after a lunch provided by Horizons at the Hideout, Carol, Dawn and Audra Anderson returned to scrub the inside of the building. Chris Ashmead and Debby Powell are going to fix up the horse shoe pits with sand. If I left anything out, sorry, feel free to add it in. It is looking wonderful! Thank You so much to everyone for all your hard work.

Our group met at the Emida Community Center on May 16th at 6:00 p.m.  We have been discussing sprucing up the CAF Building in Fernwood and decided to set a clean up date for May 28th from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  The horizons program will purchase cleanning supplies and a meal will be provided to all workers at the Hideout.   We discussed restoration of old pictures of the Upriver Community to display throughout our communities.  A couple of members of our group toured the Nazarene Church Gym Facility to get ideas on building and financing options.  We are making arrangements to tour other community centers and gym facilities and hope to have some dates next meeting.

Congrats to Judy of Cascade, she’s our weekly winner!  Thanks to all the new bloggers who’ve signed up.  If you’re part of the steering committee, hopefully these questions will help you work on the final report that is due June 30. Please let us know if you have any questions about the blog or the report.There is a Blogging Handbook available on our Horizons website at http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/horizons/coaches.htm at the very top of the page… Thanks to MJ for writing this beginner’s guide! 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, June 3 by midnight and be entered in the drawing for one of our book titles… I will be at a conference May 27-30 so this will give you a whole extra week…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:

•  Of all the things you have done during the last 18 months in the Horizons program, of what are you most proud? 

Scavenger Hunt Question:·         Which Idaho Horizons community is working with the University of Idaho to help with their vision to “rebuild a community center to assist local families fight back against the ravages of poverty. They are looking to the future when they will have a center that provides central business offices for the city, a town library and public computers with Internet accessibility, expanded recreational facilities for youth and adults, a hall for future leadership and life skills training.”The winner will receive a copy of the book: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People will Follow You by John C. Maxwell.

Entrepreneur and entrepreneurial seem like such big words to me and maybe not everyone knows what they mean or thinks that the words refer to them. Well, if you like to figure out how to make money (other than printing it) you are an entrepreneur!

The UpRiver Communities decided that you are some of the most important people in our community because you help make it live and grow. Therefore a special committee was put into place to help you and everyone else make a living here and help you thrive.–We call it the Entrepreneurial Development Committee. If you’ve been reading these pages you’ve already seen it, but may not have thought you were invited to participate or that it could do anything for you. You ARE invited to attend the meetings and provide your input. You also ARE invited to attend the “business person’s breakfast” (is there a better name for that?) on the first Monday of the month at the Drifters Cafe in Emida. Watch for times (they will start earlier in June).

At the last committee meeting we decided to propose to the board that we have an UpRiver Flea Market on Saturdays at the CAF building. SHHH, don’t tell anyone, yet, because we haven’t gotten it approved, but we hope to be open on the first weekend in June. Watch for further details. (Yes, there would be a charge for having a booth, which will benefit the UpRiver Community’s ability to fund future trainings and other projects.) We proposed the idea of a flea market to make it more comprehensive than a farmer’s market. Perhaps someone with a budding business can try the market here before going on to bigger things. Let’s see what happens. . .

Congrats to Andrea of Grangeville, she’s our weekly winner!

Thank you all for the interesting responses about your community and what makes it ‘unique’ to you compared to other rural communities in Idaho.

I grew up in a small farming community in Idaho near the Utah border and I still think about it every day, the views and colors and smells and intense farm work we did (pulling rye, driving around and around in a tractor for 12 hours a day, herding cattle, etc) helped shape my life and world view. It’s that sense of place that helps define who we are and how we relate to the world around us.

I hope you’re all getting comfortable and familiar with the blogging process. Mary, MJ and I thank you for all the time and hard work you’ve devoted to this part of Horizons and know it’s just a small part of what you are all doing in your communities.

Please let MJ (merijoz@uidaho.edu) or me (dgray@uidaho.edu) know if we can help you with any questions you might have about blogging.

A ‘how to blog’ handbook is now available on our Horizons website at http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/horizons/coaches.htm at the very top of the page…

Reflective Questions:

As we near the ‘end’ of this phase of Horizons, take a moment to look back on the past 18 months to answer these questions.

Has your community sought any additional resources outside of Horizons for your projects? 

How has your community partnered with communities and/or organizations beyond Horizons?

Scavenger Hunt Question:  Which Horizons community has an organization sponsoring a ‘Volcano Breakfast’ and what IS a Volcano Breakfast?

This week’s winner will receive a copy of:

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

Rules: Post your answers on your blogsite by May 20 (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.

Steering committee members; Judy, Darrell, Sharon, Lisa and myself met at the Fernwood Community Center (or CAF) for those who know it as such. Valdasue was able to join us and her insights were appreciated by all. Even though she has moved on in her career and has gotten married, she did agree to continue to be our Coach through the end of the Horizons project. Did I say the end?? It seems hard to believe that this project is and will be closing on June 30th. When we first began in Sept. 07, 18 months felt like an eternity and a big commitment! We all have worked hard at working together, attending meetings, sharing our experiences, and learning about poverty! Did I say attending meetings?? I think it is safe to say that we are now seeing the UpRiver communities as a “united” community, and hopefully we can forge ahead as one!

It was deceided to go ahead with an appreciation BBQ dinner for all those who participated in the annual clean-up day! It will be at the Drifters in Emida on May 17th from 4:30-6:30 PM. Nancy and Jim will provide the fixin’s and Horizons will sponsor the event. Thank you Nancy and Jim! We anticipate there will be a good turn-out with 10 organizations invloved in the clean-up this year.

The steering committee wants to publish a brochure on what the UpRiver Horizons has accomplished to date (to document all that was done), and to provide the area with further information and contact names. Valdasue will be looking into this for us. We also would like to have some historical photos worked up to help give our communities a sense of identity. We are open for suggestions and if there are some local photos that people would be willing for us to scan, we could reproduce, the original photo would be theirs to keep.

Another note of interest is the E-Commerce Training coming up on May 20-21 in Moscow. When we met there were 10 openings left. Remember, Horizons will pay for the training, $150, and all expenses related to getting there. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone wishing to learn more about having an internet business.

As I wrap this up it is Mother’s Day. So, to all you
Mothers out there in cyber space “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Joanne

In case you haven’t been checking the community calendar, which Richard so faithfully keeps updated, I wanted you to know about the following events scheduled for this week to which you are invited: (copied directly from the calendar)

Monday, May 5, 2008
Businessperson’s Breakfast You’re invited to a no-host breakfast for an informal visit to get to know one another. Swap lies jobs and fairy tales. 8am at Drifter’s Cafe in Emida. For more information contact Fred Niemier, 245-1459.

(p.s. if this time is not suitable–conflicts with your work schedule, etc.–let Fred know. Maybe changes can be made.)

Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Entrepreneurial Development Committee Working to create a business friendly environment. We’ll be meeting at the Hideout Cafe at 7pm. For more information contact Judi Heicksen, 245-5615 or Jane Alley, 245-8801.
Entrepreneurial Training #3: Financial Management by Two Degrees Northwest held at the Kamiah Welcome Center at 6pm-9pm. Contact Meri Joswiak, Horizons Program Assistant, merijoz@uidaho.edu, 208-885-8949 http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/horizons/training.htm

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Communications Committee We are working to inform upriver residents about our community activities, organizations, and businesses. Through our newsletter, website, and blog we encourage everyone to participate. We’ll be meeting at the Hideout Cafe in Fernwood at 7pm. For more information call Richard Pullman, 245-9183 or Rosemary Niemier, 245-1459. Website: http://www.upriverunited.org/

No, this is not a set of minutes for the board, and I don’t even know how everyone will feel about my putting up information on the board meeting when I am not “the blogger” for that group, so it is an informal little head’s up. If someone wants more particulars posted, they may do so or ask me to. . .

The Board (with the approval and votes of the co-chairs of the committees present) voted to include all of the committees under the board in the interest of streamlining the 501(c)3 process. It seemed to be a general consensus that this was only common sense for the sake of unity and resources and that it was pretty much the feeling that this relationship had always existed in spite of a bit of confusion. Now it is official.

There was a good turnout with representatives reporting from all of the committees. A great big Thank You goes out to all who helped with the community clean up. In recognition of your hard work and community spirit, a better thank you should be coming your way soon!

I don’t know if I will get in trouble for this–copyright issues and all–but I copied this whole blog from the Horizons Blog site, because I thought it should be posted on all of the community sites in the interest of entrepreneurship. So, here goes:

Smart Women Grant Applications

May 1st, 2008 by kellum

These days the fastest growing group of business owners is women who use their entrepreneur spirits, leadership and creativity to start businesses. According to Luz Robles, director of the Zions Business Resource Center to the Center for Women’s Business Research, in 2006, 7.7 million firms were either woman-owned or women held the majority share. Women account for 29.7 percent of all businesses in the U.S., a 42.3 percent increase since 1997. Women are having a direct impact in our national and state economy.

Zions Bank is committed to working with women to make their dreams a reality by offering a series of micro-grants for women. The 2008 Zions Bank Smart Women Grant enables deserving women with hopes of starting a community-oriented business or project to have access to funding to make this a reality.

Grants are open to female residents in both Utah and Idaho and are awarded in six different areas including small business start-up and expansion; child and elder care; community development; continuing education and teacher support; health and human services; and arts and culture. Community review panels will select the grant recipients.

Applications are available online at www.smartwomen.zionsbank.com and are due by July 31, 2008.

The difference between our community and “the one down the road” was pointed out to me when I was trying to get us signed up with the University Extension’s Community Review process. Shelby Kern said that they were pretty excited about working with us because we will be the first community they have dealt with that does not have a mayor and other community government.

This difference has, in some ways, been a burden. Usually one expects things to happen in a community because it just happens. This is usually the result of having people in elected or paid positions to look after the needs of the community. These items might include water, sewer, road maintenance, library, playgrounds, community buildings, health, etc. Without such people in place, community members need to be more pro-active if these are things they want, or depend on other providers such as the county, or travel further to access the frills of society, or . . . .

UpRiver community members are a hardy group of people who are very independent, and have provided most of these amenities in the pioneering spirit through volunteerism, etc. This is a strength. One that I would surmise that they wish to retain. Autonomy is a prize to be cherished and the UpRiver people appear to hold on to the desire to forge ahead and be the captains of their own destiny.

Working on the community vision will be done at the grass-roots level without the need to deal with red tape and incumbent governmentalists who feel that they should be in total control of decisions and policy making. We are looking for more people to come out into the open to contribute to the community discussions so that all will have a voice. We also hope that those who join in will be open-minded and consider all viewpoints with equity so that the community will continue to display its characteristic personality when the vision comes to fruition.

Congrats to Christine of Kooskia, she’s our weekly winner! Thank you to all who have recently signed up and started blogging.

Please let MJ or me know if we can help you with any questions you might have about blogging.

Reminder: 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 May 6 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 is something unique about your Horizons community that you’d like to share with the rest of the world? What makes your community different from the one right down the road? Is it a strength your community can capitalize on or a burden you have to bear? Or both? For example, Sun Valley has the beautiful landscape, ski resorts, etc. but the tourism industry has also left behind many local people who are now unable to afford to live in the town they work in…

Scavenger Hunt Question: This week the scavenger hunt is a simple assignment. Find an entry on one of the Horizons community blogs (or even your own blog) and leave a comment to the author. It’s fun to give and get feedback about things we’re doing and talking about.

This week’s winner will receive:
The working poor: invisible in America by David K. Shipler
And
Building Communities From the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets by John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight.