Thursday, May 20, 2010

River District Community Coalition Newsletter




Vol. 1 Issue 3                                    May 13, 2010      
“A unified community.”

Welcome to the third edition of the RDCC newsletter.  We have had three meetings since our last newsletter—two regular RDCC meetings where our group has continued to plan around our vision (above) and three priorities: safe and positive opportunities for children; connecting and protecting our seniors; and connecting our communities.  We met in  April on the 8th to finalize plans for the community meeting we held at Hillside Elementary School on the 29th.  Minutes from those two meetings can be found (below in separate post).
The April 29th meeting was held to inform the community about a project being jointly planned by several groups—Storey County, Hillside Elementary, the GID, Community Chest, Inc., and Lockwood citizens, including RDCC.  The project involves a fitness and walking trail and proposed park area that would include acommunity garden, dog park, and picnic area.  Deny Dotson and Sue Pursel presented the current plans, but more input will be solicited from residents as the plan goes forward.  The fitness equipment, purchased by Hillside Elementary through a monetary award they received, has arrived and will be installed along the back of the existing Louise Peri Park between the school and community center. 
The topic of conversation for our May 13th meeting centered around “communication” or the lack of adequate communication in our region.  The group spent the better part of our one hour meeting talking about strategies that we could implement to connect our communities and residents so that we can begin to meet the needs and interests of residents of all ages, and most importantly, feel confident that all residents know what’s going on and have every opportunity to provide their input on community wide projects and events if they choose to do so.
The group generated the following ideas for getting the word out about RDCC meetings, so look for information on our meetings and events at these locations and through these means:  Lockwooding.blogspot.com, of course.
Storey County’s website.
Flyers in CGID bills.
Postings and flyers at the Sheriff’s office, Lockwood store, school peechees, the Clothing Exchange and the Community Center.
The group generated a list of questions for their upcoming Door-To-Door survey that they will finalize at the next meeting on June 10, 2010 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. at the Community Center.  Join US!


Minutes:
Present at the meeting:
Merilee Miler
Jessica Paz Cedillos (Community Chest, Inc.)
Darren McKay (Community Chest, Inc.)
Faith St. Clair
Bret Tyler
Mary Ann Cuffe
Dennis Bowen
Gunther Prosser
Sue Pursel (HSE Lead Teacher)
Pam Howland
Tim Kelly
Facilitator:  Deborah Loesch-Griffin (Community Chest, Inc.)
Strategies generated for Community Connections priority:
Post events on school signs
Post a sign between payment boxes regarding any events or meetings
Conduct a door-to-door survey of all residents to gather information re: the park project, their interests, volunteering, etc. (see list attached)
Offer Door prizes at events or meetings.
Host an inaugural meeting in the fall (Halloween or Harvest theme) to present what we learned from Door-to-Door survey and to get people to celebrate and invited to get involved.
Incorporate fundraising into any event so that we can pursue priority areas.
Immediate Tasks:
Post minutes to lockwooding.blogspot.com (Tim)
Post flyer (page 1 of these minutes) at various locations:
Sheriffs, store, payment boxes, clothing exchange (Mary Ann)
Send out through peechees (Sue)
CGID bills and Senior Center (Merilee)
Rainbow Bend newsletter and HOA website (Pam)
Write a blurb for the CGID- Pam
Print out flyers for distribution (Bret and Mary Ann)
The flyer for public distribution should include the meeting date, time, location, purpose and a note to check-out the full minutes on the blog and county website.
PURPOSE FOR NEXT MEETING:
To finalize the survey questions and organize the door-to-door survey event for July 2010 in order to solicit community input around a number of priority projects and plans.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Ralph Davis Memorial


Ralph S. Davis Jr. (1928 - 2010)


Ralph passed away March 9, 2010. A memorial service was held May 16, 2010 in the Rainbow Bend Club House.

Early Voting Starts Saturday

Early voting in the River District starts Saturday, May 22nd, at the Lockwood Community/Senior Center on Peri Ranch Road next to Hillside School. Polls open at 10 AM and remain open until 4 PM.
Further voting on the following Saturday, May 29th, same time, same place.

Friday, May 14, 2010

River District Community Coalition Newsletter


Vol. 1 Issue 3                                    May 13, 2010      
“A unified community.”


Welcome to the third edition of the RDCC newsletter.  We have had three meetings since our last newsletter—two regular RDCC meetings where our group has continued to plan around our vision (above) and three priorities: safe and positive opportunities for children; connecting and protecting our seniors; and connecting our communities.  We met in  April on the 8th to finalize plans for the community meeting we held at Hillside Elementary School on the 29th. Minutes from those two meetings can be found on “Lockwooding.blogspot.com.”
The April 29th meeting was held to inform the community about a project being jointly planned by several groups—Storey County, Hillside Elementary, the GID, Community Chest, Inc., and Lockwood citizens, including RDCC.  The project involves a fitness and walking trail and proposed park area that would include a community garden, dog park, and picnic area.  Deny Dotson and Sue Pursel presented the current plans, but more input will be solicited from residents as the plan goes forward.  The fitness equipment, purchased by Hillside Elementary through a monetary award they received, has arrived and will be installed along the back of the existing Louise Peri Park between the school and community center. 
The topic of conversation for our May 13th meeting centered around “communication” or the lack of adequate communication in our region.  The group spent the better part of our one hour meeting talking about strategies that we could implement to connect our communities and residents so that we can begin to meet the needs and interests of residents of all ages, and most importantly, feel confident that all residents know what’s going on and have every opportunity to provide their input on community wide projects and events if they choose to do so.
The group generated the following ideas for getting the word out about RDCC meetings, so look for information on our meetings and events at these locations and through these means: Lockwooding.blogspot.com, of course.
Storey County’s website.
Flyers in CGID bills.
Postings and flyers at the Sheriff’s office, Lockwood store, school peechees, the Clothing Exchange and the Community Center.
The group generated a list of questions for their upcoming Door-To-Door survey that they will finalize at the next meeting on June 10, 2010 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. at the Community Center. Join US!


Minutes:
Present at the meeting:
Merilee Miler
Jessica Paz Cedillos (Community Chest, Inc.)
Darren McKay (Community Chest, Inc.)
Faith St. Clair
Bret Tyler
Mary Ann Cuffe
Dennis Bowen
Gunther Prosser
Sue Pursel (HSE Lead Teacher)
Pam Howland
Tim Kelly
Facilitator:  Deborah Loesch-Griffin (Community Chest, Inc.)
Strategies generated for Community Connections priority:
Post events on school signs
Post a sign between payment boxes regarding any events or meetings
Conduct a door-to-door survey of all residents to gather information re: the park project, their interests, volunteering, etc. (see list attached)
Offer Door prizes at events or meetings.
Host an inaugural meeting in the fall (Halloween or Harvest theme) to present what we learned from Door-to-Door survey and to get people to celebrate and invited to get involved.
Incorporate fundraising into any event so that we can pursue priority areas.
Immediate Tasks:
Post minutes to lockwooding.blogspot.com (Tim)
Post flyer (page 1 of these minutes) at various locations:
Sheriffs, store, payment boxes, clothing exchange (Mary Ann)
Send out through peechees (Sue)
CGID bills and Senior Center (Merilee)
Rainbow Bend newsletter and HOA website (Pam)
Write a blurb for the CGID- Pam
Print out flyers for distribution (Bret and Mary Ann)
The flyer for public distribution should include the meeting date, time, location, purpose and a note to check-out the full minutes on the blog and county website.
PURPOSE FOR NEXT MEETING:
To finalize the survey questions and organize the door-to-door survey event for July 2010 in order to solicit community input around a number of priority projects and plans.

Community Coming Together Over New Park Project

Members of the River District Community Coalition walk the proposed Exercise Trail. They are shown examining the existing vegetation in front of what will become a developed Dog Park. This was following a meeting in the Community Center that covered many topics.
The priorities for the Coalition were discussed, with a unified community being a major goal, children's issues, Senior's needs, and Community Connections also taking prominent  future roles.
A review of the proposed Park design and administrative movement toward its actuality was given by Pam and Deborah. Benchmarks developed  for Vision Components in the next three years was the next subject discussed. Strategies and resource development followed, in context to the next twelve months.
A full outline and the minutes of the previous meeting will be posted here, along with some visual material being developed to enhance and publicize the Coalition's activity in the community. Great work, folks!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Candidate Forums Set

4 Candidate Forums Set for Storey, Dayton
By KarenWoodmansee
Virginia CityNews
Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Virginia City News is sponsoring three candidate forums in Storey County and one in Dayton before the June 8 primary.

The first will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 7 at the Virginia City High School multi-purpose room, 55 South R St., Virginia City.

The second will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 14 at the Rainbow Bend Clubhouse, 500 Bleu De Clair, Lockwood.

The third will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 16, at the Lyon County Utilities Building, 34 Lakes Blvd., Dayton.

The fourth will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 21 at the Meeting Room, Highlands Fire Station, Cartwright and Lousetown Roads, Virginia City Highlands.

All candidates for local, county, state and federal offices in Dayton and Storey County have been invited.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

More About the New Park



From Deny Dotson:
Folks,
Many thanks to the residents who attended the meeting last night. I truely appreciated ALL of the imput. I look forward to working with all of you in the future on County and/or school related projects.

Best Regards,
Deny Dotson, Director of Community Services in Storey County.



From Pam:
Valid observations all. I feel we got too far afield from the intent of the meeting, which was ostensibly to show A proposal for land use, garner input from the potential users, show how/where the $$ was coming from. I do hope that you will come to the River District Coalition meeting on May 13th to flesh out your idea of the berms and relocation of the dog park. That is what we need...thought thru ideas to put forth.

I am also one of the dog owners who pick up stray poop and am quite vocal to owners I SEE who are negligent. I like your ideas about signage. My best friend in Chicago has a wonderful dog park in her neighborhood. There's a segregated area about 15ft square for socializing and intial meeting B4 entry to the main park. There are poop bag receptacles, poop cans and a water faucet with 2 large bowls. The park users (about 80%) are conscientious and do not suffer rude users or behaviors...a good model to follow.

As for the gardens....at this point there are now concrete plans or operating behaviours for the gardens. Extension service and the master gardners has expressed that they will provide help and guidance to come up with the plans...I kinda like the British model of allottments where uses can put a small shed on their portion that can be locked individual for storage. This could be accomplished with the trunk-like Ames garden boxes. This, too, is a project to be fleshed out and there are a number of people who are really interested in the portion of the overall project, e.g., Brett, Me, Michelle.

I agree that the coalition needs to come up with a timeline, which may entail meeting more than once a month.

I also spoke with Bret about putting a sandwich type sign in key yards whenever we need to diseminate info to our neighbor hood. Asking Liek at the store to put a nicely done sign on the door into the store. I am going to contact GID and HOA to find out the percentage of people who pay their bills via the boxes in the clubhouse...do you have the same kind of drop box for LCC? With yours, Bret's and my graphic backgrounds we can come up with professional looking signage. We know people in the hood too frequently dispose, of without reading most of the stuff in their tubes.

I refuse to buy into the idea expressed last nite that not everyone has email or a computer....in this hood I'd guess about 15% that don't. So I think we need to advertise your blog further...perhaps we can get Connie to put a blurb/link in every newsletter and really use that tool!!

So these are my thoughts at this point. And my favorite Groucho line.....time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.