Upriver, ID

Have you checked the UpRiver website lately for upcoming events? The calendar lists things happening throughout the month with dates, times, and places. If you live here or are visiting someone who lives here, you are invited to check out these activities for this week:

Monday, August 4–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. 7am at Drifter’s Cafe in Emida. For more information contact Fred or Rosemary Niemier, 245-1459 or Rudy Heicksen 245-5615.

Tuesday, August 5–Fernwood Rural Fire Protection District meeting on the second Tuesday of each month (usually) at the firehouse at 7:00 p.m. The meetings are open to the public. If you have any questions, please call Jay Trueman at the Fernwood Merc, or Carolyn Dudley at 245-6500

The calendar has details for other events coming up this month including a benefit for Joey and Sheri Gray on the 15th, the Friends of the Library meeting on the 18th, the UCU Board meeting on the 25th, Community Pride meeting on the 27th, and regular weekly meetings of the church, youth groups, bingo, flea market, etc.

Keep up with everything by visiting the calendar regularly.

The Entrepreneurial Development Team is trying to get a grant to offer classes in the UpRiver area. At the last meeting on July 29, the team discussed many possibilities. We decided to do a survey to pinpoint the areas of greatest interest to the people of the community.

The survey we created lists classes in household and family care, business, computers (from beginning to advanced), job skills, and junior classes for the younger set. There are about 45 different classes listed, with plenty of space to add others. There is also space to offer your services if you are willing to share your expertise

This survey will be printed out, attached to the UpRiver newsletter, and available in all of the local communities wherever we can find a place to put it. Be sure to fill out a survey and get it returned to us as soon as possible. We will be collecting them and compiling the results so that the grant application can be turned in by September 1.

Our next meeting is on August 12, at 7:00 PM at the Hideout. We will be discussing this important topic then and you are very welcome to attend!

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.

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

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.

Tuesday evening, March 11, the Entrepreneurial Committee met at the Hideout in Fernwood. I must say, they are a friendly group! So friendly they have taken me in wholeheartedly! The regular attendees at the meeting seem to be Jane Alley, co-chairperson, Rosemary Niemier (co-chairperson for the Communication Committee), Fred Niemier, Rudy Heicksen, and Richard Pullman. It looks like I will be a regular from now on as well.

Jane was unable to attend this meeting so Richard acted in her stead to cover a short agenda of business. One pressing item was the need to refill the position of co-chair to help Jane Alley since Brian Primer is unable to attend meetings with the change of time to evenings. Judi Heicksen (that’s me) was asked to fill the position. Richard was also looking for someone who would be willing to blog on the website and I got that job as well.

Next on the agenda was my report on the IRP’s Community Review resource. I spoke with Shelby Kern at the Idaho Rural Partnership in Boise and she said that they are taking applications, they do not turn down any applications, but they provide the services to the communities on a first come first served basis. Right now they are about a year out in getting to the next applicants. They have about four of them in line now. She says we need to pick three key areas we want to look at more deeply and focus on those in the review. It is a lot of work once it is begun with surveys going out to community members, meetings of interested parties, touring the area by the group of reviewers and additional research. The community would need to provide payment for transportation within the local area, the cost of 7 meals, and provide a list of area lodgings so that the reviewers can decide where they want to stay. In the end they would present the community with a full-report of their findings and suggestions. These can be used to help lay out a strategic plan for the future.

The Hingston Roach Group offers services to communities as well. These do not include community reviews. They are more interested in helping communities with economic development and strategic planning. Their services begin at about $10,000 and go up from there. The process they go through also involves the community with meetings, individual interviews, surveys, etc. to determine the vision, strengths, and wishes of the community as a whole. They recommend funding from the local chamber, the private sector, which has an interest in these activities, and grants.

The Entrepreneurial Committee decided to continue to consider these possibilities as our other action plans develop and come together. In the meantime we will continue to encourage you, the business people (yes, you are a business person if you are operating a greenhouse from which you sell plants and seeds and produce locally, if you are selling baked goods at the farmer’s market or on a local route, if you are selling arts and crafts even to friends and family, or if you WISH you were.) to come out to our meetings, email us, or drop in at the Networking Breakfasts on the first Monday of the month (at 8:00 at the Drifters in Emida.)

For those of you who are interested in getting a small business started there are some small business workshops coming up in Plummer on APRIL 9, 14, and 23, from 5:00-8:00 PM at the Wellness Center. Workshop #1 is Starting a Business, #2 is Marketing, and #3 is Finances. The sessions are $15 each or $40 for all three if paid in advance. Registration deadline is March 15. You may get more information at 686-1716. Laura Laumatia (llaumatia@cdatribe-nsn.gov) is the local organizer. The same workshops are being offered in Kendrick starting April 8 and in Kamiah starting April 29. Further information on those may be obtained from UI Extension Horizons Program. Elizabeth Carney’s (ecarney@uidaho.edu) phone number is 208-596-5975 or Lorie Higgins (Higgins@uidaho.edu) is at 208-885-9717.

The next Entrepreneurial Committee meeting will be at the Hideout on April 8 at 7:00 PM. See you there!