Upriver, ID

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 city of Stites received an Idaho Community Block Grant in November 2007 to upgrade or repair the city water reservoir. In researching this answer I found all kinds of reasons one can get an Idaho Community Block Grant and some other grants also. That is exciting! Now for a grant searching and writing class . . . I’m always “a day late and a dollar short”. . .We will just have to take a lesson from this tiny community and look for what we want done and then find the money!

One of these days I won’t be new to all of this and I will have these answers off the top of my head. If someone walks up to me off the street and asks me a question like this I will be able to fill them in without the bat of an eye. In the meantime I have to go around asking the same questions. In fact I have already been asking questions about where is the money for these projects coming from? Why would anyone want to do a community review for us for free? and so on. I also asked the question about how we will keep up the momentum once the startup money is gone in June.

On Thursday night, March 27, we had a board meeting (my first). There were reports made by all the committees and I learned a lot. Cell towers are in the works. Application has already been made to Verizon and they are sending people out to examine the locations that have been chosen as ideal spots, on top of Crystal Peak and on a mountain near Emida. They have great coverage–Crystal Peak’s site may reach clear up to Avery and Emida’s may go as far as to the Tensed area. It will be to Verizon’s great advantage to locate these towers here because of the tourist industry and also because of the number of people who currently don’t own cell phones because there is no coverage here, but they would like to. These towers could also provide high speed Internet which the school, library and individuals would all benefit by.

A first fund raiser is in the works to help with administrative costs of the board. The 501c3 committee is finishing up work on their application for tax exempt status which would make obtaining grants easier. The Entreprenurial Committee is sponsoring and encouraging people to take classes in starting a business, and blogging, as well as applying to the U of I extension office for a Community Review to help us determine the best direction to go to improve the economic status of the community and strengthen the unity among the various communities that make up The UpRiver Community. From this we will be able to draw up a strategic plan.

We talked about the possibility of a future grant writing committee. In the meantime the bricks for the foundation are still being laid. With the Building Committee looking into the creation of a new Community Center and doing some upgrades on existing buildings in Emida and Fernwood, there will be surveys sent to everyone in the three communities to get a feel for what people think they want, how they feel about the projects in mind, and how best to pay for them. (Land has been donated, or at least promised.) Hopefully this will draw much more attention to what is being done and more people will rise up to help in every area. With a community center and some community gatherings sponsored by the Community Pride Committee, people should begin to develop stronger loyalties to one another and to UpRiver and its vision. This will help keep the momentum going and grow new leaders in the work.

We are optimistic that as major projects are accomplished for the good of the Community, the Horizons group will become more visible and more credible in the eyes of the citizens of the area. People like to be where things are happening and they like to be on the winning team. The people of the UpRiver Community are pioneer-minded and should catch the vision and begin to get more involved. I see great possibilities and I see the groups morphing into different committees both large and small as new projects get under way and those with special talents lend themselves to the work.

Congratulations to Judi from UpRiver, winner of week 1!Rules:
Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, April 1 (no jokes about April Fool’s day!) at midnight and be entered in the drawing for a fabulous prize.  Reflective Question: How is your community thinking about/planning for sustainability after the end of the Horizons program on June 30? What will Horizons-related groups look like in your community in one year? Are you optimistic/worried? (relieved?) Scavenger Hunt Question:  Which community has been approved to receive a $65,000 Idaho Community Development Block Grant for work on their city water reservoir? HINT: don’t forget to check ‘previous entries’ (the link at the bottom of the blog page, or check archives in the column on the right) This week’s winner will receive BOTH of the following books: The Magic of Dialogue : Transforming Conflict into Cooperation by Daniel YankelovichPopulation: 485 –Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry   

A pug mark is really a tiger paw print, however the Juliaetta and Kendrick Horizons groups have a new service club called Pug Marks Community Service Incorporated, or Pug Marks CSI. They are in just beginning and planning to have activities that involve adults and youth together in service-oriented projects. Some random acts of kindness have already started and they are doing other things that reach out to the communities.

Their blog site is full of interesting things and anyone can access it by connecting through Idaho Horizons Blog and clicking on the community listed on the side of the page under blogroll.

I am new to this whole process–the Horizons activities, committees, and blogging (blogging for its own sake as well as for the UpRiver committees. I’m not sure I know what to think so far, but here are some of the things I’ve observed:

1. There are not many who are doing the blogging for our area.

2. There are not many who are accustomed to checking the site or commenting on the blogs.

3. Richard Pullman is faithful with all of the committees and keeps a list of email addresses of members to contact with new information (and I believe he maybe puts them on a listserv? that lets them know when a new post has been made to the blogsite.)

4. For basic writing, blogging is not hard.

5. If you want to “dress up” your blog you should have some knowledge of html and how to use it.

6. I use a Macintosh computer at work and when I am resting at home. I haven’t tried the site on a PC yet. On the Macintosh it is not readily evident that a person can read comments or leave comments. The little notations (indicating categories and comments) following the blog are so dim that they are almost unreadable.

I like

the concept of blogging–I think. It is an informal way of communicating with anyone who wants to read it and comment on it. I haven’t quite figured out what I should include in a blog. I understand that it should be interesting enough to read, that it should have a catchy title to grab the reader and make him or her want to read it, and that it should be informative enough that the reader leaves with a better understanding of what is happening in the community. At least that is what I think I’m supposed to understand. I am not sure of how much information should be included. We do have a newsletter, and, I’m assuming, there are minutes from committee meetings. I don’t know how much of any of that should be included. Anyone want to let me know?

I don’t like

my ignorance of the whole thing. I am looking forward to a blogging class soon and wish I had attended the one that was already held–but, of course, I was not involved then and did not know about it. Anyone else who wants to learn should stay in touch and get connected with the next class offered. I also don’t like the cumbersomeness (is that a word?) of it. I want to add color and underlining so people can know when they arrive at a link that will take them somewhere else–like the headings of the articles that let you see what comments have been made or the words comment or leave a response to let you know you can post your own comment.

I have been playing with it, though, and am learning. I think I will get the hang of it after while and it won’t be so hard.

The UI Horizons Team could possibly have a site or make comments to a blog telling how to make it better with specific directions. Just because someone is attempting to do this doesn’t mean he or she is experienced or has had a class. Classes may be few and far between or scheduled at inaccessible times and places so a reference work that is accessible on the web to give guidance could be a big help. There is also the possibility of giving a web-based class. I have taken college classes that way. They do work.–Other than that, encouragement through comments, or whatever, is also a good idea.

Thanks for making the site and the training available!

Post your answers on your blogsite by Tuesday, March 25 at midnight and be entered in the drawing for a fabulous prize. This week’s prize—the weekly winner can choose from one of these book titles
Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets - John P. Kretzmann

Teaching the Commons: Place, Pride, and the Renewal of Local Schooling - Paul Theobald

The Questions:

1.       A reflective question–What do you think of Horizons blogging? What do you like, what do you dislike? What can the UI Horizons Team do to help improve the blogging experience? 

2.       A scavenger hunt question (visit other community blogsites to find this answer) What is a PUG Mark and in which community would you find them?