Railbelt Mental Health &amp; Addictions

October 18, 2005

Wellness minutes for Oct 18^th 2005

Taken by Miles Martin

Attending

Blaine and Bonnie Reed, Miles Martin, Tim Horn, Karen Lord, Ray Fox, Donald Charlie, Endil Moore, Traci Wiggins, Vickie Moyle, Wayne Walters, Bud Krause

Started at 12:20 Orchestrated by Bud

We heard a payer by Bonnie and said the pledge of allegiance. The mission statement was read by everyone out loud.

Wayne gave a hockey rink update. Work has been done getting the ground more level.

Ray Fox was commended for his work as well as the children from the school. The hope is for a hard surface to go down maybe next summer. Also more equipment might be able to be acquired. Much of this is just in the talking stage but tentative talks are taking place with individuals and organizations able to help. The ice machine used to finish up the ice for games needs new blades and this is a $900 investment but it looks like the school can help with that and the blades will be the kind that can be re-sharpened. This can be done in Fairbanks. We all gave a hand to Wayne and Ray for their efforts with this project.

Vickie Moyle spoke next on the subject of the new policy for use of the senior center. She had been asked to attend by the group to go over this new policy as there seemed to be misunderstandings or lack of agreement on what is expected and why. The discussion that followed is difficult to quote or even sum up as it was emotionally charged and confusing, though on the surface so straight forward.

Vickie pointed out this new policy is not her policy but a directive from the board she works for. The new policy is basically that every user of the building is expected to help take care of it. A $25 user fee for each use is expected, to cover the various building costs. Likewise the building is expected to be left the way it was found- with trash picked up floor swept and any food issues dealt with by the group- in terms of who would prepare and clean up after. The seniors are willing to take their turn along with everyone else but not be solely responsible. There had been issues in the past of various groups (not necessarily Wellness) expecting the seniors to provide food cook and clean. Vickie stated that her first objective is to take care of the seniors, which is her job, and secondary would be use of the building for other activities. The list of what is expected is posted on the wall for all to read and a contract was agreed to and signed by Traci –on behalf of WIN agreeing to the new policy. The money paid ahead got used up and Vickie had sent a notice asking how we wished to be billed in the future. Endil- who is on the senior board- verified this is a board policy not a personal policy. Endil pointed out the dire straights the senior program finds itself in. Vickie pointed out that if the money is a burden then in-kind trade of services is an option—things like mowing, shoveling, donations of coffee, printer paper, services of any kind. Vickie pointed out that a church group meets every Sunday with no problems and are very happy with the policy and willingly pays and does a good clean up job. So what’s the problem here?

Things had been quite different in the past. It was pointed out the senior’s were members of the Wellness group, and what they had contributed in the past was a place to meet. In return the various entities represented by the Wellness coalition had done various kind of work on the center and helped out in a variety of ways. Mostly there had been good feeling and no one had felt used and there seemed to be no issues. Miles expressed the idea that all groups in Nenana are hurting financially, these are hard times all around. Do we all want to start charging each other for everything now? The old way was really not working too well anymore even if it had worked for many years. Endil understands that part of the issue with the Wellness group is we have no budget, no money, no officers, and are a loose collection of the entire community with no one in charge. Don wondered why we could not just all pay, and it might come to something like $2 a person per meeting. Bonnie pointed out that we could not get $2 per person to cover food cost in the past. There had maybe been an assumption of the Wellness group that Mental Health had money in its budget to cover such costs and would cover this new policy fee, so it had been off the rest of the group’s minds when Traci stepped forward to have Mental Health pay. Certainly Vickie believes Mental Health has the money, so it should not be a money issue here. A policy was read, agreed to, signed and considered a done deal according to Vickie. Someone suggested maybe there was a misunderstanding of the contract. After all, things had been so loose in the past that signing something might have been seen as a formality to be loosely worked out one way or the other, not strictly adhered to. The senior Board and Vickie’s request seems on the surface straight forward and easy to understand. The only question being how will we pay, and if we have an issue we need to bring it to the board and or we should not have signed an agreement. But having singed we need to live up to it.

Traci spoke up, very upset, saying this is becoming a personal issue with her and she is being slammed. There had been some question (alluded to at several meetings) as to if the problem was personal between Vickie and Traci. (If so a solution could be to have others deal with the issue. It is not who might be right or wrong but how can this be resolved). Is the problem about money and budget? Miles pointed out this had been true for the Chamber of Commerce when the new policy was presented. The $25 fee represents a year’s membership in the Chamber. We have maybe 5 people getting together for an hour. For the amount asked for we can go to a restaurant and each have a meal. But there were no hard feelings about it. The Chamber did not want to get something for nothing and if we can’t afford to meet at the Senior’s we do not want to be a burden. Vickie had been very nice and understanding and pointed out we could trade. I wished we had more money or more time to offer but could not see it as realistic at this time.

Traci had said at the previous meeting she had no real problem with just donating that amount of money yearly to the seniors and not call it a fee of any kind. Traci asked about the city doing ‘in kind’ trades and feels Mental Health is in the same situation and has helped out over the years in various ways. How can the policy be different for one group then another? Is WIN then being singled out as a target- being given blame where it is not justified? Vickie herself had named various WIN attendees who had volunteered tremendous time in working on the building – so why is that not ‘in kind trade’?

Don agreed he thought Traci was being slammed and even if the facts spoken are correct there could be a nicer way to present them that was not hurtful. But Vickie feels that it was she who had been slammed when the Wellness group talked about her without her being present, at our last meeting, and the report she got back from someone present was that she had been slammed- and so feels hurt angry and defensive. This is further exasperated by the fact that Vickie has repeatedly asked for WIN minutes to be emailed so she can stay informed, and had repeatedly given her email address and never got the minutes. It seemed like a personal issue to her, when anyone else requesting to be emailed minutes seems to have got them. (There were other perceived personal slights.) Traci had previously addressed these slights but felt she should not have to defend herself publicly- and stated there was not a problem and she had been totally professional and considerate in all her dealings. Traci was so upset by the direction of the meetings proceedings she could not discuss it further, was against paying the money and walked out.. What seems like it should be a fairly minor issue requiring 5 minutes of discussion has escalated into who knows what. There was no resolution to the problem. This sums up the basics of the issue as discussed. Mostly at this meeting it was Vickie and the Senior’s perspective being explained, as she had been invited to speak. There is a great deal ‘behind the scenes’ strong feelings and this discussion, as stated, is like a tip of an iceberg but probably will suffice for a minutes report. It was good to at least get some of it out in the open, enough that we can fill in the blanks, and this should help the group make a good decision.

Kim gave a report on the Wellness Fair. She was trying to find out what it would take to have one. She talked to someone named Phyllis, who is in charge of health fairs and found out a 2 day training needs to be attended in Anchorage. But it might be good to have such a fair at the school and involve total wellness. Kim will find out more.

Bud asked for a report from all the entities represented. Miles said a scheduled Chamber meet for this Thursday the 20^th had to be postponed and should be help the following Thursday the 27^th.

Karen Lord gave an update from the school. They got a grant to reduce alcohol abuse. Rita got her funding for Native language. Next week is ‘Red Ribbon’ week. Someone named Earl is to be a guest speaker flying in the 25^th and out the 27^th. There will be a fire fight class at they end of the week that is expected to go around the community and test fire alarms , starting with elderly , moving on to families with kids and the rest if time permits. Some sort of statistics will be gathered- about who needed batteries changed and such. The student council is in charge of Red Ribbon Week. On another subject there will be a dance at George Hall November 4^th with DJ music On the 18^th will be a Jr high lock in. 9pm to 9am at the school. There will be music and good but also so regulations to follow. On the 31^st is a carnival. Anyone wanting more details on any of these events can contact Karen at 832-5400.

Don said there were no poster entries for the poster contest but thinks it had to do with not enough advertising and announcements, but thought there were kids interested. There’s a potluck at ‘6’ but gosh golly didn’t get the day (smile)

2005 10 18

WIN minutes 10-11-05

Nenana Wellness Coalition
Minutes
October 11, 2005

The Nenana Wellness Coalition is an alliance of representatives from various organizations, government agencies, community groups and individuals that meets weekly to discuss, evaluate, coordinate, consolidate and help implement plans for improving the wellness and quality of life in Nenana Alaska.

Meeting was attended by 11 people including Kat McElroy, Bonnie and Blaine Reed, Tim Horn, Karen Lord, David Poppe, Miles Martin, Rita Pierce, Rob Thomason, Michael Shaw and Roy Smart.

WELCOME (By this week’s chairperson). Tim Horn

MISSION STATEMENT: was read aloud by Tim

PRAYER: Was led by Rita Pierce

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE: was recited by all.

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: Two amendments noted—Rita Pierce asked to speak on Neighborhood Watch and Miles Martin requested an opportunity to speak about the election results.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Kat e-mail electronic minutes to all on the WIN list. She provided hard copy minutes if anyone wanted to see them. People who want to be put on the WIN e-mail list should let her know. She will provide printed minutes to anyone who asks.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: One newcomer, Michael Shaw. Stated he is new in town, having just come from Louisiana. He stated he was from the northern part of that state and had not experienced the devastation of hurricane Katrina.

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

Billy Sunday – Kat McElroy stated that she had picked up a gentleman who was hitch-hiking to Cantwell two weeks ago. His name is Gene Amondson. He is an artist, a minister, a political activist and has a self-proclaimed mission to end the use of alcohol in our nation. He has a very interesting web-site: www.geneamondson.com and if you check it out you will see that he is very serious and busy in his mission to end alcohol use. He speaks at churches all over about alcohol, drugs and tobacco. He has youth sign pledges never to smoke or drink or try drugs. He is very enthusiastic about his work with churches and young people. He recites Billy Sunday’s famous sermon about the evils of alcohol. He would like to be invited to our community to speak to church and other youth groups.

Recent Visitors to the Court & RMHA – Paul Verhagen was unavailable to tell us how the tour of Nenana went with the judges. Hopefully we will get an update from him next week regarding that.
Kat reported that the visit last Wednesday with the Mental health Trust Fund and Denali Commission representatives went very well. They talked to Vickie from the Senior Center, toured Nenana, ate lunch at the Mondo, spoke with Edna Hancock and learned about Nenana Native Council and the tribal administration. Edna took them on a tour of the groundwork and foundation just being finished for our new Youth Center and talked to them about the funding shortfall on that project. They went next to the school where they meet with teachers, grant project coordinators and administrators. Paul Verhagen graciously did a walk-through of the old Corner Bar and they got a chance to see “Auntie’s Place,” and discuss the various possible funding streams we might be able to access for community-based recovery support services. Finally we went to the Nenana Student Living Center where students toured them through the facility and they got a chance to speak to youth as well as staff.
Due to an unexpected death in Minto, the three people who were to tour that village came to Nenana along with the three originally assigned to cover Nenana, so our community got an opportunity to shine with all six. We got some good feedback regarding our sober housing project and were assured that we would be getting copies of the final reports when they are generated.

Neighborhood Watch Rita Pierce stated that she has talked to the judge, called Fairbanks Police Department and talked to people from VIP (Volunteers In Policing) and has been playing phone tag with the Trooper here in Nenana all in attempting to get information about Neighborhood Watch programs. She wants someone to come here and talk to us about this kind of a program for our community.
Karen stated that she had made a call the other night to report a concern about a bear wandering through town. Her call got dispatched through to the Fairbanks troopers office who could do nothing for her. The bear had been reported over by 2nd and Front streets and Karen has a large quantity of fish stored on her property. She didn’t know who would be in charge of animal control in a bear emergency. “Who would we call?” she asked.
Tim shared these concerns, stating, “We need a VPSO, or something.”
Rita stated that she had noticed a small white car “Just circling and circling the school, driving very slowly. People I’ve never seen, a car I don’t recognize.” She said she observed it for three days. “Who do we call, with information like that? If you write down a license plate number, what do we do?”
Miles noted that he had heard kids screaming very loudly one night in the ballpark across from his cabin. “I couldn’t tell if they were just playing around or if someone was getting hurt.” He said it was late, past curfew. “So, I called the Student Living Center and reported it, thinking maybe it was some of their kids.” He asked of we could have designated safe houses. He said we don’t need a formal program, we just need to come together as a community and decide what we want or are willing to do to help everyone stay safe.
Kat stated that someone had come and told her they had intervened last week when her grandson Leon was throwing rocks at a house. He stopped the kids, told them not to do that. Kat says she thanked this person. “We all need to feel empowered to stop kids if they are up to mischief.”
Miles said that sometimes people will get angry with you if you scold their children. Kat agreed but said it is a risk we have to take.
Roy said, “We like it at NSLC, if we get calls.” He described an event last year where a community member report unsafe behavior. “If we hadn’t heard about and gone and got them, we might have lost a kid,” he said.
Karen related an incident where she intervened in a young person’s smoking a cigarette last Friday night at the pot latch outside the Tribal Hall. She said that the other kids applauded when she talked the young man into putting out the cigarette.
Rob said, “It’s all about relationships. There’s different ways to get kids to respond. Belittling them doesn’t work.”
Rita affirmed that she will continue looking into getting someone to do a presentation for us on Neighborhood Watch.

Election Results Miles stated, “looking at the election results, it’s apparent that a large percentage of the population of our community doesn’t know what we (WIN) are doing and isn’t aware of what our aims are.” He asked how we could broaden our base of support. He mentioned that previously we have made efforts to get larger segments of the community involved in our efforts. “How can we pull more people in?” He stated that people don’t necessarily look at the new ice rink and know that it is the result of WIN efforts.
Michael said he thought it would be a good idea if we put up flyers around town. He mentioned specifically the Civic Center. Others affirmed this idea. Kat said she thought that Brian would announce WIN meetings as a public service on KIAM.

WELLNESS THOUGHT
Be aware of wonder. –Robert Fulghum
We have days when we experience the small coincidences in life — our car breaks down and we run into an old friend at the service station; we’re thinking about someone and she calls just because we’ve been on her mind; we ask ourselves a question and the answer appears on the side of a bus or out of the mouth of a stranger at the bus stop. These serendipitous events usually leave us with at least a bit of awe.
The more serendipity we have in our life, the more spiritually connected we are. We’re turned in, attentive, aware, and detached. We’re getting responses to questions and meeting the people we need to be with at just the right moments. We couldn’t have planned it better. We couldn’t have planned it at all. Serendipity is a sign that we’re letting the universe organize the events that lead to answered questions and fulfilled dreams. Life becomes a process of unraveling a mystery. Today I will recognize the serendipity in the day’s events.

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Rob announced that he was out of town last week for a superintendent’s conference. He said that the judges toured the school and the students represented themselves very well. They held a mock trial and discussed the community justice program. He said school is going well, everyone is getting settled into their routines. The NSLC has 85 in residence now. The Kitchen project will be done this week and the new boiler will be signed off next week. There is still no bathroom in the new building which has been a challenge for all. Athletic events have begun, volleyball and basketball. He said that the school web-site will have a school and community events calendar that will be able to coordinate school, sports and community events for all. There is still no firm date set for the Open House.
Kat read a letter requesting support from Jay Moore with Cooperative Extension regarding a grant he is writing to put orchards into Tanacross and Nenana. This is the second time he has requested funding for this project. He wants to make it so we can grow fruit and berries. Specifically it would create a job and provide us with a High Tunnel Greenhouse. It was agreed that we will sign a letter of support for him. Kat will email him that information.
Rita said she is getting ready to take students and Elders to the Alaska Federation of Natives youth/Elder conference Tuesday and Wednesday, the 17th & 18th. There will be a dance Tuesday night at Pioneer Park, 8-11 PM. Kat agreed to help chaperone and will try to find others willing to chaperone. For more information about this go to www.firstalaskans.org and click on the AFN link.
Karen announced the last week in October we shall be celebrating Red Ribbon Week. Anna Lee Coy is in charge. Earl Polk will be coming and will spend Tuesday with the high school students and Wednesday with the elementary students. She noted that this is a tentative schedule contingent upon any conflicts. She noted Earl Polk is a high energy presenter; the kids are excited to have him coming back. She said she is planning a Jr. High Lock-in; no date set yet. Activities the students have said they are interested in for this include glass beads, tie-dye, pottery scrap-booking, and, of course, basketball. She will need chaperones for the different groups. Lastly, she said that they have increased the number of students for driver safety/driver’s ed class from 25 to 30, due to demand. Kat said we need to look now for funding, mini-grants, to continue with this after her funds run out next year as the students are very motivated to take this class.
Miles announced that Vickie from the Senior Center has requested that she be put on the agenda for next week.
Rob suggested we need to add the WIN URL to our agendas and minutes. That URL is: http://www.railbelt.com/WellnessCoalition.html

Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

2005 10 11

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey & Martha Vanceburg

October 4, 2005

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Minutes

October 4, 2005

The Nenana Wellness Coalition is an alliance of representatives from various organizations, government agencies, community groups and individuals that meets weekly to discuss, evaluate, coordinate, consolidate and help implement plans for improving the wellness and quality of life in Nenana Alaska.

Meeting Times:

Every Tuesday at Noon at the Nenana Senior Center

Meeting was attended by: Kat McElroy, Rosemary Allen, Bruce Boschert, Traci Wiggins, Tim Horn, Miles Martin, Blaine Reed, Bonnie Reed, Karen Lord, and David Poppe for a total number of ten participants.

WELCOME (By this week’s chairperson). Rosemary Allen

READING OF MISSION STATEMENT (By this week’s chairperson)

PRAYER was led by David Poppe

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE recited by all.

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS One modification requested: Use of Senior Center for WIN meetings.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES—One correction was noted and minutes were forwarded to Traci for posting on the WIN web site.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS No guests were in attendance today

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

Chamber of Commerce Nenana Website – Miles Martin spoke at length regarding the Nenana web site, how it historically came to be, the purpose thereof and how that purpose has shifted over the years. Miles suggested that the Nenana home page could be used as a potential link to local craftspeople and vendors who are interested in using it to generate national and international sales of their goods or services. He used as an example people who use E-Bay to sell items they have purchased from him. He suggested local artisans and craftspeople could have a “Nenana Store” on E-Bay representing arts and crafts of the Interior. Alternatively, he suggested we could look into operating an independent web-site, stating, “For 20 bucks a month you can generate the same sales exposure as owning a New York City commercial site.” He stated that the person who organized such a venture would have to be a hard worker to develop a co-operative venture. He mentioned a man who has done this to showcase Alaska Native arts and crafts who has experienced some success.

Traci suggested we could ask Annette McDonald to teach a class here in Nenana. She said that we would need to figure out how to make good technical assistance and advice available to encourage people to utilize this kind of resource.

There was discussion regarding having the Chamber of Commerce as a potential host for this kind of endeavor, describing a web-ring linking everyone interested in utilizing such a site for e-retail. Miles explained some of the difficulties the Chamber has encountered with their web-site.

Traci pointed out that work-force development is needed to grow entrepreneurial endeavors.

Tim asked if we could liaison with Rita to get a partnership with Nenana students. It was suggested that Miles talk to The Fantastic Four at NSLC.

Karen stated that the school has lots of photos they could share of project activities with the students over the years which would enhance a web-site.

What have we accomplished so far? – general discussion regarding status of projects and current accomplishments. This was postponed so we could address concerns regarding the use of the Senior Center for WIN meetings.

Use of Senior Center for WIN Traci says that there is some confusion regarding use of the Senior Center. There has been a letter generated by Senior Center staff inquiring whom to bill for the use of the building at $25.00 per week. Her understanding was that the monetary donations made by RMHA to Senior Center were to cover the costs of the use of the building and per her previous conversation with Endil would be used through the end of the year in lieu of the new 25 dollar per use fees initiated recently. There have apparently been complaints: the primary issue seems to be cleaning up after meetings.

Rosemary said that she is only aware of one week that clean-up hasn’t happened. Discussion ensued in regards to the specific tasks that entails.

Miles suggested that perhaps there has been miscommunication between Vickie and the Senior Center board of directors. He volunteered to speak with Vickie to get clarity on the issue.

All agreed that we would like to keep the meetings at Senior Center. There was discussion in regards to the 25 dollar fee per use of the building; consensus was that WIN is not able to fund that cost.

WELLNESS THOUGHT

With history piling up so fast, almost every day is the anniversary of something awful.
– Joe Brainard

“History” is mostly a record of awful events - war, famine conspiracy, oppression, betrayal. But surely, every day is equally the anniversary of something wonderful. It’s all in how you look at it.

Perhaps a calendar of wonderful anniversaries would be an antidote to depression: this is the day I first heard tender words from someone dear; this is the day I stopped smoking; ten years ago on this day I committed myself to a program of positive living and spiritual growth.

Keeping such a calendar, even for a short time, gives us a record of spiritual progress. Even to be able to say, “How different I am from what I was five years ago” can be a truly cheering thing. Why let the tyranny of history depress our spirits? Let’s make our own.

I will treasure the private record; the public one will keep track of disasters.

You are reading from the book:

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Baha’i Study Circle Tuesdays at 6:30 in the purple house, Tim and Carl Horn. They also are having Sunday activities for students and children at 3:30.

Nenana City Public School Interior Youth Basketball teams are playing two nights a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30, at Lathrop High School in Fairbanks. Karen Lord is transporting them in the NNC van. The boys team won their first game last night. Soccer regional are this week. High school qualifying exams are this week

Nenana Sports Association has their web site up and running. You can view it at:

http://www.motorcross.nenana.net/nenana/

The URL is posted on the Nenana web site which encourages other Nenana organizations and individuals to link their web sites to this page.

Funeral services for Frank Jacobs will be Friday 10-07-05. Visitation at 1 PM, funeral services will be at 2 PM. Funeral pot latch will begin at 6 PM. All will be held at the Tribal Hall.

ADJOURNMENT at 1:45 PM Next meeting Tuesday 10/11/05. Karen Lord will make lunch.

2005 10 04

September 27, 2005

Nenana Wellness Coalition Meeting Minutes

September 27, 2005

Attendees: Bonnie and Blaine Reed, Paul Verhagen, Rosemary Allen, Bruce Boschert, Kat McElroy, Miles Martin, Norma George, Tim Reed, Karen Lord, Roy Smart

LOCATION: Nenana Senior’s Center. Meal provided free of charge by members.of the Nenana Wellness Coalition

Meeting was called to order at 12:32 P.M.

WELCOME (By this week’s chairperson). Rosemary Allen volunteered to chair the meeting and led by reading the Mission Statement:

PRAYER: was led by Mr. Roy Smart.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE: was led by Chairperson Allen.

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: Paul Verhagen asked that one item be added to the agenda, to speak about the upcoming judicial visit.

APPROVAL OF LAST WEEK’S MINUTES: the minutes last week were written by Miles and forwarded to Kat. She posted them via e-mail. She reminds everyone to let her know if they want to be added to (or deleted from) the WIN minutes e-mail list. Minutes can be accessed on the Railbelt web site as well, www.railbelt.com for anyone interested in reviewing our activities to date.

GUESTS: no guests present this date.

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

FAS Summit – Kat McElroy. Kat announced that she has printed off applications to the FAS Summit which will be held at the Egan Center in Anchorage November 1^st thru the 3^rd. The applications say that there will be a limited number of scholarships available. These scholarships will be allocated by lottery and cover travel expenses, lodging, registration and meals. Kat encourages anyone who is interested in attending to get an application and fill it out. She noted that the Summit is described as being for “educators, para-educators, parents, foster parents and care-givers dealing with FAS/FAE.”

Paul mentioned that the court system has one Mental Health court, in Anchorage, which is running on a trial basis, and that the court system won’t expand mental health courts unless people are talking about it, advocating for the demand. He urged people from Nenana to make an effort to attend the FAS Summit to gain information and network with others who are learning to deal with these issues, to strategize how to advocate for our families and communities.

Rosemary stated that everything she has learned about FASD indicates that there are ways to deal with FASD, to help assure that people who are experiencing an FASD can succeed. She mentioned the need to put an “external brain” into place in the lives of people who have brain damage due to maternal alcohol use, to help with the lack of cause-and-effect thinking. Another strategy is breaking down information and instructions into small bits, one thing at a time.

Miles questioned if Auntie’s Place might not end up as a setting for FASD adults, a kind of adult assisted living to keep 24/7 structure. He suggested this would be far more cost-effective in the long run than incarceration and repeated treatment episodes.

Roy stated that when he was working at Presbyterian Hospitality House, a unit was opened for precisely this purpose, to provide intensive structured environment for up to five teen-agers. He said the residents were generally court-ordered, highly troubled, sometimes with FAS/FAE, sometimes with other issues.

Tim suggested that she thought Norma would be a good candidate for an application to the FAS Summit.

Norma stated that she had a family member who is likely affected by an FASD. She said that she had talked to a probation officer who said that she has been dealing with this issue with the youths in her supervision for 30 years. The probation officer had said to Norma, I knew it right away;” (in regards to the FAS/E) “the way they do things is so impulsive.” Norma said when she was first hearing these things, “I was just crying.” She would like to invite that probation officer down to speak to the students at school.

Miles said she might be a good speaker for WIN, too.

Roy said he thinks we should have another FASD training like the one we had last year as he had learned so much. “New information all the time.”

Public Health Information/How Do We Promote Wlelness? – Rosemary Allen suggested that we take the next two topics out of order as they all fit together. She said that we had just completed our annual Universal Precautions training at Railbelt, taught by the public health nurse from Fairbanks, who had asked us to brainstorm with her in regards to how can she get more public health information out into our communities. Rosemary used birth control as an example. Because many people have very strong personal beliefs about sexuality, there is a hesitation to broach subjects such as family planning, birth control and prevention of STD’s. The public nurse also mentioned the issue of domestic violence. How can she get more community involvement in regards to prevention? The public health nurse mentioned that dorm parents are bringing NSLC students up to the clinic one at a time to deal with these issues. It would be better if she could provide informational services to all of the students on a regular basis, in age-appropriate units. Rosemary stated that she thinks that the fear is that “prevention information” condones “bad behavior.” Information can help us stay safe, no matter what your beliefs.”

Paul asked Karen, “So what is going on? How can we get good information out to the students?”

Karen suggested we set up Health Fairs, “Like we used to have.” She said we could invite people from all over, if we planned it ahead of time.

Roy stated that he is implementing Wellness Nights at the Student Living Center. He said they will be mandatory for all the students and that he wants to cover a wide range of topics. He intends to use videos and speakers, to explore a wide variety of Wellness issues. They have been doing Talking Circles already.

Rosemary stated that we could invite various entities to our next Wellness dinner, to have them put our packets with age-appropriate information.

Paul stated that he knows there are lots of people like his family who home-school and urged us to make a special effort to get those families also involved.

Karen suggested something like the Muffins For Moms and Donuts for Dads which ws successful last year in getting many parents into the schools. She said it would be good to get small gift certificates and other incentives to get people to attend.

Paul said it would be good if an activity like that could be extended into the evening hours as well sp that parents ho work during the days would be able to also participate.

Tim said we should contact Margaret in Fairbanks to find out who we should ask to help us set up a Health Fair, as she (Margaret) had dome this for the Senior Center previously.

Paul said that there are many different religions represented amongst our community members, some of whom feel that even talking about such issues is wrong. He prompted us to try to get these people also involved.

Karen interjected that we would need to use the Civic Center rather than the school, if we have religious groups represented. She agreed this would be good.

Rosemary suggested perhaps we could get Donald Charlie to speak about Wellness issues at the Sobriety Potlatch in October. Paul told Norma, “I think you should speak at the potlatch about FASD issues. You are well respected in this community.” Norma told a story about when she was young just before her father died, how he tried to explain to her the importance of taking care of oneself, of having respect for yourself. She says she didn’t understand at the time the importance of what he was telling her. “Things are changing.” She said. “People didn’t used to know. Now we are learning, about drinking, about smoking, about health. Used to be you’d see pregnant women, walking home from the store, with a six-pack in either hand. No one knew.”

It was agreed we should keep bringing this issue to the agenda.

Town Meeting To Discuss Borough Options - Paul Verhagen reported that he called Dan Boekhorst to find out if anyone from Nenana has asked him to come speak to the issue of formation of a borough. Dan reported that he had one inquiry way back in July but nothing since. Paul stated he feels it would be important to bring this issue forward in a public forum. “If you are in favor of a borough or against the idea, it is still important to have information,” Paul said. Paul mentioned that Delta Junction has a web-site that details the public process they have had in regards to this issue. Delta has the Pogo mining operation in their district and so they are also facing possible annexation from Fairbanks as Pogo makes it a very attractive move for expanding the borough tax base.

Tim said that originally this Spring we had talked about having two meetings, one for Boekhorst to speak and a second to bring John Coghill down who has some other ideas about borough formation and unincorporated areas. Mr. Coghill has a different perspective on the issue. Is this still our intent?

Paul agreed. He said that Boekhorst has no desire to go head-to-head against a state legislator. He reiterated that Boekhorst has no opinion on the issue; his function is to provide information about the complicated process, the state mandates and the legislative process. Discussion ensued regarding timing.

During this discussion, it came to light that our Wellness dinner which is slated for November 11^th would be in conflict with the Ice Cream Classic. It was decided to change the dinner to Thursday, November 10^th to avoid that conflict.

Ultimately, it was decided that if we want to do a town hall type informational meeting on the issue of borough formation, Wednesday, December 7^th would be the best date. Miles said he thought we should make an effort to get this on the agenda for the City Council meeting. Paul suggested approaching Endil Moore or Jack Coghill. Miles said he would talk to Jack about this.

Lastly, Paul brought forth an architectural rendering of a proposed new multi-purpose building for fire department, court-house, public safety, the city offices, etc. He said maybe the Tribal Administration would be interested, as they had been looking at relocating to make more room for the clinic there. He showed some video footage of a new building in the Denali Park area and talked about the sort of revitalization process Skagway has created. He said that Jack Coghill has photos of the old Nenana main street and that they had been discussing the project.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Karen Lord announced that her grant has been approved as of Thursday, October 22, and so she is moving forward with various prevention activities at the school.

She said that Taylor Duggar is going to State for Cross-Country Skiing. Hurray Taylor! She has begun Interior Youth Basketball and will betaking the first IYB team to Fairbanks this night.

The Driver’s Ed class will be starting in mid-October with a total of 25 students. Thy will teach half the students this semester and the other half in the spring semester.

She reminds us that October is National Fire Safety month. She intends to get a group of students to visit homes and check fire alarms and batteries. If families or homes don’t have alarms, they will try to provide them.

Our fire chief, Gene Jensen, will be a guest speaker and will visit all of the elementary school classrooms to promote fire safety awareness,.

ADJOURNMENT—2PM

2005 09 27

September 20, 2005

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Minutes for Sept 20^th 2005

Minutes taken by Miles – presented to Kat.

Meeting started 12: 30 Pm

Present were 10 people –Paul Verhagen, Blain and Bonnie Reed, Rob from the school, Miles Martin, Karen Lord, Tim Barker, Laura Vance, Kat, and Norma

Mission statement was read By Paul

Prayer by Bonnie Reed

The Pledge was recited

Food was provided by Mental health prepared by Kat- and was much appreciated by all.

Laura filled in till Kat arrived from Mental Health and reviewed the Sobriety day events put on last week. The dance went well and closed down about 1am. Karen Lord stayed till closing. Big Brother and Sister organization said they were pleased and will be back. Lt Governor was present and gave a speech at the dinner and said he felt good about Nenana and what we are doing. The participation of the boarding school children was especially impressive. About 75 People were at the dance in Paul’s estimation – who tried counting at the door. There seemed to be good relations with the bar across the street which we agree is important.

Karen Lord pointed out she had to talk to some children who hung out by the train tracks wanting to put pennies on the track while the train was coming. It was not a problem after she talked to them but this initiated a brief discussion on the train. Norma related how it was in the old days when the train stopped here. Karen thought the train bypass project is not so great for Nenana as Nenana has such history here being bypassed, like the starting of the serum run the Iditarod is based on. In the 50’s it was a big event to see the train come and stop.

New topic Miles – A London based film company has contacted Miles with interest in doing a Discovery film about Nenana homesteading. Miles is to try to locate a specific situation they seek. A family ideally not in the state yet who plans to move here and homestead (or more just move out in the wilds) Other options might be of interest like someone here who is moving out or someone out the road with no power or city water. Anyone who might know of a family in this situation should contact Miles

New topic Paul gives an update on the court system. The State court system wants to upgrade the Nenana facilities. A presiding Judge and administrator are expected to come to Nenana to look over our situation. There is an interest in a tour of the school and a chance for the judge to talk to the children in a classroom as an outreach program. This would be Oct 6^th or 7^th but does not know which day as Healy will be visited as well. Paul needs to know if dates will be in conflict. Maybe there is also an interest in a tour of the living center. We might think of a social event like the native dancers?

Karen points out this time in Oct is high school qualifier exams and applies to the region and might effect Healy as well. Paul points out how good it is to know this and why we get together to talk .

New Topic Paul Community calendar. Various calendars being used need to be coordinated. There is a school calendar and the one on line the Wellness group through Mental health uses and the Native Council has one and we should have something universal so we all know what everyone else has planned. Discussion among all of us followed. We might use the web calendar- or maybe have Diane with the news handle it. There was discussion on the ability to do ‘overlay’ to make the calendar more readable. Karen was looking at the school calendar and thought the community might like to see events the kids do just for entertainment like the Halloween celebration. Rob was asked about the school open house but no firm date is set yet only know it should be in Oct. The walk in freezer at the school is still being worked on holding up the open house. Bonnie says she does the senior news and wants to print more of what is going on. Paul suggested we explore the program presented to us last week where we can get a elder who is being retrained for work at a non profit. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce could apply and use this person to keep a calendar. Or the library (that handles dissemination of information)

Reports

Rob gave a school update. There was a student council celebration of the signing of the constitution which was combined with a 9/11 presentation. What was different about this is the student council made decisions on how it would go and not the teachers. Grades 1-2 did the preamble in sign language.

School boiler work should be done by the end of Sept. At the Living center the office is still moving and this is expected to make room for 5-6 more students. There are now 79 students there- but over 80 expected which will exceed expectations. Tim pointed out that 15-20 more kids adds a lot to the logistics. This makes 45 juniors and 35 seniors for example, and the new cafeteria is already full.

New report Karen National Fire Safety week in Oct and Gene will come to the classes. This will be Red Ribbon week. Tim will have fire drills. Karen’s grant allows 3 Nenana teams to go to Fairbanks. Two boy’s teams and a girls team. The first event for the girls is Sept 27^th in Tanana. The boys go to Lathrop in Fairbanks.

New Report Norma- Norma tells us of a field trip she went on with an elder- Ida from Ester. They picked wild sweet potatoes and talked about survival skills. This is great to do with kids.

New Report Bonnie The Bahai community has a celebration of World Peace at 7:00 Sept 21.

Paul reads 2 reports having to do with the hurricane disaster. One was called ‘Inside the Trenches’ and was written by a reporter who had been in Baghdad and said this looked similar. It was positive in that there were many planes taking off and landing – more then could be coordinated all filled with volunteers who set up help stations in wings at the airport. The next report was written by a reporter named Robert who wrote about that 4 days it took to respond. He called it ‘An Unnatural Disaster’ and pointed out that the prisons were opened and the streets were filled with convicts as well as ‘street people’ who had no homes . The majority of those who could leave had already left. First arrivals to help faced criminals and the homeless who had nothing to loose and were for the most part ‘hostile’ but did not represent the rest of society but the welfare state.

We discussed how this relates to Nenana. How we need to be prepared for disaster. Paul mentioned the 72 hour emergency kits discussed a year ago, followed by a personal story of how the Mormon church stockpiles and has warehouses filled with food and supplies. These supplies and food were made available during the hurricane disaster. Tim from the school pointed out how stockpiling is kept in mind at the school and noted how the school is high ground if there is a flood and could house the majority of our population in an emergency. . Likewise there is always extra food for such emergencies being stored. (enough to feed the entire community for 4 days) We decided it is good to go over this so we have ideas and have things in place if any disaster hits. We mentioned problems in other remote villages where the community cannot pay the fuel bills and such. This becomes an economic disaster. The IRS seized grant money destined for one village for example. Nenana wants to be sure we are never in that position. The discussion was an open one to pass the time till the meeting ended

Kat announced that she has just received information about the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Summit which will be held at the Egan Center in Anchorage this year, November 1-3. There are scholarships available for teachers, para-educations, parents and care-givers dealing with FASD which includes transporation, housing, meals and registration fees for the Summit. Anyone interested in attending may contact her at Railbelt.

Meeting ends at 2:00pm.

2005 09 20

September 13, 2005

Wellness In Nenana WIN Coalition Meeting Minutes 09/13/05

There were 12 in attendance including Blaine & Bonnie Reed, Kat McElroy, Miles Martin, Paul Verhagen,, Norma George, Traci Wiggins, Karen Lord, David Poppe, Theresa Shields and Lisa Richards of TCC/Home care services.

We ate lunch. The meeting was called to order about 12:30 by Paul Verhagen who volunteered to be chairperson. The mission statement was read aloud

Prayer was led by Tim Horn

We said the Pledge of Allegiance.

Paul called for modifications to the agenda. One modification noted, an update on Merrily Verhagen’s outreach to hurricane Katrina victims. No minutes were presented for approval.

Mike Anderson made a brief report on preparations for the community WIN dinner this Friday. The food has been ordered, menu planned: beef stroghenoff, spaghetti, scalloped potatoes, green salad, rice salad, and salmon. He has volunteers for cooking and other preparation are in place and he anticipates no problems. He was unable to stay for the meeting but wanted to give us that update. He also noted that he would be helping the Nenana school band have a Pig Roast for a fund raiser to help defray expenses for their proposed trip to Hawaii. The pig roast will be at the end of September.

Paul made mention of the Wellness Thought for this week Look For The Good which was about positive thinking. He stated that he liked the reading particularly well be cause he sees that as part of what our coalition has been doing, looking for the good in our community. “We can have a negative or a positive presentation of any issue and positive is better,” he stated. Miles stated that he wants to focus on the things we have accomplished rather than things that have not been accomplished. Traci noted that anyone who wants can get the Wellness Thought for the Day by logging on to the Hazleden Publication web site.

Traci Wiggins made a report on the Dancing in the Streets Recovery month celebration. She said that Karen Lord and Tim Horn have been working on parade organizational activities with the kids at school. Tim commented that she had made a sign “I’m a dog-gone alcohol and drug-free mom.” She hopes youth will bring their pts to the parade. Karen noted that they have acquired canvas for the grade school kids to make banners for the parade. If we are going to send flyers home with school children, they should go out Thursday. Staging area will be in the empty lot next to Rhonda Coghill’s house at 3:15 PM. Parade is scheduled to begin at 4. Interior Youth Basketball teams are helping with the floats. Karen announced that “Elvis” will be riding in a corvette. Tom Titus is bringing his Bikers for Recovery. This will be their last official ride of the season. Nenana Student Living Center is working on a float. KIAM is also planning a float. Traci noted that Laura Vance will be picking up the Lt. Governor and sheparding him on his tour of the NSLC and Nenana. He is scheduled to speak briefly, three to five minutes at the dinner about recovery and community involvement. It was undetermined if he would be in the parade. Anyone needing to speak directly with Laura while the Lt. Governor is with her can reach her at her cell phone: 347-8093. Karen said that Big Brothers/Big Sisters will be here, have volunteered to help out, and will have information about school-based mentoring programs.

Discussion ensued regarding smoking. Traci said we will make a designated smoking area outside. There will be No Smoking inside the old Corner Bar/Auntie’s Place for this event. Tim suggested we get chairs from the tribal hall. She said that we need to make sure the chairs are returned immediately after use as it is a problem when they have events there and the chairs are MIA. Amy Whitmore will be in charge of cleaning up the civic center after dinner. We will have a Wellness Wall, as usual, and tables set-up for anyone wanting to display literature. Traci will talk to Scott at Gold Pan Pizza and Marilyn Coghill at the store to see about using their dumpsters for clean-up. She noted that we have “wellness necklaces” (Mardi Gras beads) to throw instead of candy for the parade to minimize trash and as a healthy alternative to candies as well as blow-up balls and assorted other trinkets. We have proclamations from the governor, from the mayor and from the NNC chief declaring September to be Recovery Month. These will be blown up and posted on the walls at Corner Bar. The band says they will play until as late as there are people dancing.

Traci and Paul will tour the Corner Bar at 4:30 to see what needs to be done to make that venue ready.

Update on hurricane housing. Merrily Verhagen has explored what’s happening in and around Alaska to provide relief for those families affected by the hurricane. She found that up to eight families had already arrived in the Fairbanks area. An unknown number have also landed in Anchorage. It is her understanding that all of these are people who had previous Alaska connections. She has registered information about Nenana with a relief organization per discussion with Nenana residents who have come forward offering shelter and other accommodations.

Miles asked if there is any housing available for Ray Fox who is being treated outpatient at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for 2^nd & 3^rd degree burns to his hands and face sustained in the propane explosion that also caused Jerry Riley and another man to be medi-vac’ed to the burn center in Seattle. Ray has no running water in his present cabin and will need to headquarter for the duration of his recuperation somewhere that has running water. Discussion ensued. The Safe House was mentioned, as one possibility. The Native Council would need to be asked for permission. Tina at the store will be spearheading this so suggestions should be forwarded to her. It was noted, Jerry Riley is reported to be up and walking about and already talking about coming home at the burn center.

Norma mentioned that she has a friend who took a 3-day Red Cross training in Fairbanks and will be flying out to Louisiana for three weeks help with disaster relief. She urges anyone who has the time and interest to do this.

Karen reported that the new Head Start program has begun at Nenana School. She said that it is four days a week, Mon.- Thurs., 11 A.M. till 2:30 P.M. She also noted that her grant has applied for a no-cost extension to run funds out into next year but have not been notified if it has been approved yet. She said that she will be sponsoring Interior Youth Basketball, IBY. She said there will be two boys teams and one girls team. Nenana Native Council is providing use of their 15 passenger van and they will be splitting the costs of fuel for the events. Lastly she stated that Community Schools will again be hosting open gym nights starting October 1^st to include men’s night, elementary school night, high school night, etc.

Miles reported that the Welcome To Nenana Dinner hosted by the Chamber of Commerce went well last week. He said that their next meeting with be Thursday, September 22^nd. He noted that they have two vacant board seats and said that it has been difficult to establish a quorum at meetings because of these empty seats. He encourages anyone interested to come to the meeting and see what the Chamber has been doing,

Paul reported that the Nenana Sports Association has hired Ken Eggleston as Executive Director. He will be following the recently completed feasibility study guidelines which set out a concise plan of action. They will be having more frequent meetings. Bear and Ken had a meeting with the Corps of Engineers yesterday to initiate the process for getting a wetlands permit. Paul explained that the Corps will take pint of all the agencies and entities that could be involved in this process to make sure that all their bases are covered. They had a meeting with the Fairbanks Racing Lions to introduce Ken to them.

Bonnie Reed announced that next Wednesday, 21^st September, at 7 P.M. there will be a meeting at the Baha’i Center here in Nenana to recognize he International Day of Peace.

Traci announced that October 17 & 18 Railbelt Mental Health & Addicitons will be having their second annual federal review. The site review person will be attending our WIN meeting that Tuesday and will be available to speak to anyone who wants to share information with her regarding RMHA’s integration of mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

Paul added that Tom Howard has left flyers for anyone interested in the Alaska SCSEP program, Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training (MASST). This program is specifically designed to subsidize job skills training for Seniors. It will pay full wages for up to 20 hours per week for training type positions for applicants 55 and up

WELLNESS THOUGHT

Look For the Good

.Life is an interpretive experience. What happens is less important than how we respond to our circumstances. An intense stimulus that some people report as pain others report as pleasure. It is we who decide what the interpretation will be.

Are you a “goodfinder”? a recent study of the country’s millionaires showed that the most common trait they all shared was the ability to discover good in any situation. This trait is also common in “triumphant survivors”—those individuals who overcome adversity and emerge strengthened and renewed.

A sincere spiritual seeker suffering from a chronic illness, “Why haven’t my prayers been answered?” One day, in deep meditation the reply came: “Look for the good in your situation and you will see that the answer has already been provided.” Suddenly this woman realized that her crisis provided a wonderful opportunity. She embarked on a program of nutrition, exercise, and yoga, which led to a dramatic improvement in the quality of her life.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Your state of mind is up to you. Choose now to look for the good.

From Listening To Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch

Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM.

2005 09 13

August 30, 2005

Wellness In Nenana WIN Coalition Meeting Minutes 08/30/05

There were 19 in attendance including Blaine & Bonnie Reed, Kat McElroy, Miles Martin, Paul Verhagen, Diane Jensen, Gene Jensen, Norma George, Traci Wiggins, Laura Vance, Andie & Bruce Boschert, Karen Lord, Wayne Walters Rob Thomasen, John Abrams, Roy Smart, Tim Barker. and Donald Charlie.

We ate lunch. The meeting was called to order about 12:30 by Paul Verhagen who volunteered to be chairperson. The mission statement was read aloud

Prayer was led by Bonnie Reed

We said the Pledge of Allegiance.

Paul called for modifications to the agenda. One modification noted: Diane asked to speak about a request for letters of interest for a Youth Success Initiative. Minutes were approved.

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

Nenana Valley Fair – Diane Jensen said that she is asking today for volunteers now for next year’s Nenana Fair. She noted that the focus of the fair has shifted from agriculture to highlighting all of the many “products” of Nenana. She passed around a sign-up sheet for people to indicate what interests they bring to volunteering to make next year’s fair bigger and better than ever. Diane said she is planning to have the fair hosted at multiple venues next year including the pavilion for the cook-off. She gave a brief overview of the challenges and successes of this year’s fair and encouraged everyone to pitch in next year.

Diane then spoke to a Request For Letters Of Interest that she had previously e-mailed to the WIN list. She had copies of the RFLOI she passed out for those who do not have e-mail access. She said that she feels Nenana is uniquely qualified to submit a letter of interest for the Youth Success Initiative due to our historic success with the NSLC, our WIN coalition, strong working relations between the tribal and city governments, the influence of RMHA in the various communities they serve and our efforts to effect Youth Justice Circles and other innovative intervention and prevention efforts.. Discussion ensued. This might be an opportunity not only to keep funding in place for the projects our community has begun but to begin to build upon those successes across other communities in our area and across the state. Paul offered to draft a letter of interest detailing our dialogue with signature lines for all entities represented at WIN.

It’s time to talk about a Borough for Nenana – General discussion regarding this ongoing issue. Paul stated that as of yet the city assembly has not followed through with their stated intention of bringing this issue forward. He said that although people talk about the issue, there has been no forum established for general citizen comment to begin consensus building. He noted the meetings last week in Fairbanks regarding the natural gas assets across the river. No entity from Nenana was represented in those meetings because we do not have a body to speak to our interests. He suggested it might behoove WIN to ask Dan Bockhoerst from the borough commission to Nenana again to speak to the issue of borough formation, and to create a venue for discussion pro and con.

Diane Jensen said that she feels that WIN must make every effort to work with the city to bring this issue forward. She suggested contacting the mayor and the city assembly people who said they would form a committee to advance this issue. Those assembly people are thought to be Alan Baker, Mark Adams and Edna Hancock. Diane feels it will be vital to make sure that the city assembly does not feel circumvented in this process as they had previously intimated last time we had Mr. Brokhoerst speak at a WIN meeting.

Wayne spoke advising people need to not act hastily. He is concerned about taxation issues, the hidden expenses of running a borough. “We want to subsidize our communities, fire, ambulance, roads, mental health services, schools, all that, but be aware of the costs.” He cited Denali Borough as an example.

Paul interjected he agreed with this, not to be hasty. He warned of the concern that Fairbanks North Star or Denali Borough might be prepared to step in and subsume our region, adding “This is another reason it would be good to have Mr. Bockhoerst speak.”

Tim stated that he was originally opposed to the idea of forming a borough but said that after multiple breakfasts with Representative Gary Wilkens, he is aware that the mind-set in Juneau is that everyone needs to start paying their own ways and that the unincorporated areas are a burden. “We can be incorporated with no say,” he stated, :Fairbanks wants to expand north as far as Hess Creek. They want that tax base. And rural people will not be receiving services for that (expanded) tax base. What return will we see? None. Maybe we should bring Wilkins in, too, as his opinion is that we are being carried by the urban centers.” Tim noted that Alaska is one of only three states that doesn’t divide state education funds by district. All education monies go into a central fund. And it is not equitably divided by population base, $4900.00 per student. “It’s a constant challenge. How do we fund the programs that we are building? When grants go away, we need to have money (a tax base) for sustainability.”

Diane said she had one short statement on this issue. “Call the mayor. Get him involved, and co-ordinate with the committee. This is a people’s issue.” Paul stated that this is his intent, “How do we get the city to act on this? They’ve said it is their intent but so far no follow-through.” Miles asked, “If the answer isn’t forming a borough, how DO we get on board so we’re not left in the dust?” He noted that at the meetings in Fairbanks last week Nenana’s interests were not being represented by anybody.

Correction. Diane Jensen has ascertained that in fact the meetings in Fairbanks were attended by Mayor Jason Mayrand, and city council members Edna Hancock and Jack Coghill. She provided a web-site that has further information for those who are interested.

Discussion ensued on timing for such a Town Hall Meeting. Consensus opinion: November. No one volunteered to approach the mayor or city assembly.

Dancing in the Streets – Traci Wiggins reported that plans are moving forward. The Lt. Governor has agreed to attend our event. He has requested a tour of NSLC which Traci is arranging. He will also tour the Corner Bar building per our conversation with him in February regarding our proposed Auntie’s Place project. Karen Lord is in charge of the parade and we’ll have good participation of the school kids. Bruce Boschert is the Go To guy for the dinner, with the able assistance of Mike Anderson. Traci also reminded people that we have a work session at the city library, 08/31/05, 10 A.M. to complete the Mental health Trust Authority Survey, per their request.

WELLNESS THOUGHT

Our doubts are traitors,

And make us lose the good we oft might win

By fearing to attempt.

–William Shakespeare

Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the way to unlocking and using our potential.

Most of us, however, have convinced ourselves we do not have what it takes to achieve our life’s dream. We complain about our lack of this and that (education, opportunities, money, health, and youth) or we stubbornly cling to our comfortable (if joyless) securities as the reasons for not pursuing greater satisfaction and fulfillment.

Trapped by our doubts and fears, we blame the social system or others for our own lack of effort and initiative.

Those of us, however, who have challenged our fears and taken the necessary risks to find our life’s work, have never regretted it. Our few defeats have made our numerous successes well worth our persistent efforts.

Today, I will work toward my dream no matter what obstacles face me. In persevering I will attain my goal.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Miles announced the Welcome To Nenana dinner is slated for Wednesday, September 7^th, 6 P.M. He has poster board available for people wanting to make a display highlighting their business or service. It will take place at the Civic Center, and they are providing cole sale, fish and beans but it is a pot luck as well.

Norma George was welcomed back. She said that she’s busy at the school, getting to know the new kids, helping them to feel welcome.

Donald Charlie said he’s working full steam on the Sobriety Pot Latch which will be at the Tribal Hall October 28. He is holding a poster contest at the school for all classes K thru 12. There will be three prizes per class. The theme for the poster contest will be What Does Sobriety Mean To Me? Donald said the school, Ch’eghutsen; Railbelt and the Native Council are all working on this pot latch and it’s going to be a good one.

Paul announced that Nenana is being considered as a possibility for an upgraded felony court site. He spoke to some of the issues the court has had over the years and said that he had written a long paper to the District Court system explaining some of the issues and had been surprised when they asked him for more information. He provided that to them in an expanded paper. Judge Steinkruger from Fairbanks will be leading a tour of other judges, looking at both Healy and Nenana the first of October as possible felony court sites. He mentioned also that this might fit well with previous discussions we’ve had about the advisability of building a multi-plex to house fire, EMS, court, police, etc. as the operating expenses for all would come down.

Roy Smart announced that he is swamped with work right now after taking the summer off . He says they have a new grant writer who will be coming from the Rasmussen Foundation to work with them to assure future funding streams for Project Success and their Real Justice programs.

Diane announced that The Fire House B & B is open for business and invited people to come take a look..

Miles also announced that Alex Ketzler has the Cultural Center open for the time being and has been doing inventory. Discusson ensued regarding problems the Cultural Center has experienced in staffing and hours of operation. Miles said he understood the city took over because they think the lease has been violated. Norma indicated that there have been hard feelings due to the City stepping in. She stated that many people have worked hard to make the Cultural Center a place we can be proud of. Paul stated she should encourage Totchacket board members to enter into discussion with the city to get this ironed out, that there are legal mechanisms to resolve these sorts of issues.

Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM.

2005 08 30

August 9, 2005

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Minutes

August 9, 2005

Meeting began at 12:15

Meeting Officiated by Rose Vance

Prayer was offered by Bruce Boschert.

The meal was provide by Bruce Boschert. Bonnie Reed and Tim Horn provided cake and salad.

Paul Verhagen agreed to take minutes.

Kat McElroy read the mission statement

Agenda was approved with no modifications

We welcomed Laura Vance and Andie Withrow Boschert as returning guests.

Update on Nenana Valley Sports Association - Paul Verhagen

It has always been the goal of the NVSA to get a zamboni for maintaining the ice in our new ice skating rink but we did not expect to get one before we even start our first official season. We expected it to take at least a couple of years. However, with help from many people we fortunate to have one donated to us by the University of Alaska - Fairbanks.

Much effort went into getting it and many people should be thanked. J.D. Mansel (of the Fairbanks Racing Lions and who works for UAF) informed us that UAF had a surplus zamboni. Scott Maxon also informed us that UAF had a surplus zamboni and contacted them about donating it to us. Wayne Walters followed up on the information and continued to pursue it from our end while J.D. continued to assist us from within the system.

Eventually J.D. notified us that he had been asked to get it out of storage because it was going to be surplused and Wayne was quick to follow up and make sure that nothing went awry. Arrangements were then made with the city to pick it up and Mayor Mayrand authorized Roger Knutsen or Gene Jensen to go up to Fairbanks with a city truck to pick it up.

Wayne took Josh Verhagen along to help with the loading and unloading but unfortunately the trailer that was scheduled to be used wasn’t available when they got there so, rather than risk somehow not getting it, Wayne made arrangements for it to be delivered at a reduced rate by Badger Towing which occurred early the next week.

In addition to the good news about getting a zamboni Wayne was able to make arrangements with Mayor Mayrand and Roger Knutsen for it to be stored in the garage at the water plant which is less than 100 feet from the skating rink and which is also where it needs to be filled up with water.

Much gratitude is owed to all those who helped us get a skating rink and a zamboni to maintain the ice!

Another goal of the NVSA is to continue developing the property across from the visitors’ center into race tracks for year-round racing events.

Although we haven’t reached our goal of sufficient progress to have mud bog or dirt bike/4 wheeler racing events held there this summer we have made progress as evidenced by the fill that has been brought onto the property.

It may not appear to the untrained eye that the fill represents much progress but it actually consists of hundreds of loads of gravel having been delivered to the property and spread out as the beginning of the gravel pad that will eventually accommodate the race tracks that people are excited about.

Through the efforts of Endil Moore, Jerry Sadler offered the free use of a brand new and very expensive dozer. Once again Mayor Mayrand authorized Roger or Gene to go up to Fairbanks and pick it up and it was brought down in time for weekend use.

Endil Moore, Scott Maxon, Roger Knutsen, Paul Verhagen, Joe Verhagen, Mike Hill, and Milt Haken donated 77 hours of their time to the project over the next three days.

In addition to local help we’ve even had help from people not from Nenana. Paul approached a truck driver who was stopped at the A-Frame standing next to his empty load and asked if he had time to donate a few hours of his skill as a trucker helping our community with a project for our kids. He responded that he would be happy to and ended up spending about three hours helping out! His name is Walt and he was thanked by inviting him to join us for lunch.

If anyone you know is willing to help NVSA with our goal of providing more activities for our young people please have them contact Paul at 907-378-5454. Also, if you know of anyone with heavy equipment or who is trained to operate heavy equipment who would be willing to donate the use of their equipment or their time please have them call Paul.

Rose Allen said that she will call the laborer’s union and also Wilder Construction and ask if they are willing to donate some time or equipment to the project.

Kat stated that she gets excited every time she sees the ice skating rink or that things are happening at the race track because she knows that if it were not for our Wellness in Nenana meetings and all the hard work of local people that neither of those things would exist and she believes that many of NVSA’s other goals will become reality as we continue working on them.

Dancing in the Streets/3^rd Annual WIN Dinner - Kat McElroy

Kat reported that the week of September 12^th has been designated as National Recovery Month and that RMHA wants to do something in the community that makes the community more aware of this. They are considering having a street dance on the night of September 16 that would be preceded by a parade down A Street. They would ask to close A Street from the visitors’ center to the depot during the parade and from Coghill’s store to the depot for the dance.

When they learned that no one had invited the governor to attend any activity or program during that week they got busy and sent out invitations to the governor, Senators Coghill, and Kookash, and several others. They have not yet heard back from any of them but hope that one or more of them will choose to attend.

Public Intoxication Issues - Kat McElroy

Kat informed us about several incidents of public intoxication that she and the rest of the RMHA staff are concerned about and want the rest of the community to be aware of because it is clearly a wellness issue.

She told about finding a woman laying unconscious on the side of A street. She was able to rouse the woman and try to help her but it was obvious that she was heavily intoxicated. She called the troopers but no one was on duty near by so they dispatched a trooper from Fairbanks. By the time the trooper arrived the woman was no where to be located. Kat later heard reports that the woman had been staggering down Front Street wearing a heavy backpack (which tends to make it difficult for even a sober person to walk) and later learned that it was the same woman. She also learned that 2 boys were later found passed out due to intoxication between the seniors’ center and seniors’ housing. One boy was found by someone just passing by who contacted EMS. It wasn’t until EMS responded that the second boy was discovered in the ditch off the side of the road.

A discussion ensued about what to do about the problem of public intoxication because it is only a matter of time before someone dies as a result of the kinds of things described above. The EMS response after the fact undoubtedly helps save lives but it is responsive not preventative in nature. What if it had been winter or they boy in the ditch had been overlooked. What if it was night and the woman near A street had been in the middle of the street? She may have been run over. The troopers policy is that they will respond if they can but as seen above they may be dispatched from Fairbanks and not arrive in time to be of much help.

Tim Horn asked if other substances aren’t also a problem such as drugs, specifically crystal-meth, and asked what could be done to keep our kids from ending up passed out in the streets.

Paul reminded us of the concern expressed to Ken Eggleston by the school psychiatrist who comes up each year from Colorado. They psychiatrist said that he was alarmed at the increase in alcohol and drug use by the kids in school this year compared to last year. When he asked the students why there was such an increase they responded “Because we long longer have cops in town”.

Paul stated that alcohol use by our children is relatively easy to detect but drug use is not so easy to detect unless a person has some training. He suggested that one way to help keep our kids safe might be to ask Milt Haken to share with us some of the information that he learned at the Drug Recognition Expert class that he attended last year.

He stated that before the courts accept a criminal complaint alleging that a person has been driving intoxicated the police officer must first convince the court that it is PROBABLY TRUE that the person was intoxicated. He suggested that perhaps we could give parents the same kind of tools that judges use to make a probable cause determination.

In order to make sure that they have enough information to bring the case to the court many officers use a checklist to help them. The officer goes through the list and checks off the things that indicate that the person has been drinking.

For instance the officer might check the boxes next to the following statements: strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, watery eyes, slurred speech, wobbly stance, staggers while walking, falling down, stumbling, unable to stand up, slow response to external stimulus, etc.

He wondered if Milt couldn’t help us create similar checklists for parents who are worried that their children are drinking or using drugs. With the help of such a list they could check off the boxes that apply and get a pretty good idea of whether their children need help and, if so, what kind of help they might need.

This need not be done in a confrontational manner. Parents could simply pay attention to what they observe as they interact with their child and once the child has left the room they could pull out the list and check off everything that applies.

If parents discover from using the list that their child is probably using alcohol or drugs they could then consult with another parent or friend and discuss what to do without having to call the troopers for help.

Paul agreed to contact Milt to see if he is willing to talk to us about it and perhaps help us make up some forms for parents to use.

Kat expressed concerns that if we don’t do something to help parents keep their kids safe and also deal with public intoxication that we might end up with some form of vigilantism.

Paul agreed. He stated that last week a man who was passing through Nenana was robbed of everything he owned. He was passing through Nenana on foot and had set up his tent by the pavilion near the railroad bridge. He then went over to patronize one of our local businesses, the Riverfront Diner, and when he got back his tent, his backpack, and everything he owned, except the clothes on his back, was gone. He tried to get a hold of the troopers but no one was at the station. Fortunately, some local citizens have been trying to help him but in a situation where a person has lost everything they own and can’t get any help from law enforcement or other government agencies they, or others on their behalf, could end up taking the law into their own hands.

Consequently it may be wise to take some action to help people realize that there are other options available to them than resorting to vigilantism.

Perhaps providing parents with some detection skills and perhaps some parenting classes in which they could be taught some ways to deal with the problem of alcohol and drugs in the schools would be a start in the right direction.

It was agreed that we will contact Milt and see about putting together some checklists for parents and that we will bring the subject back up at another meeting where people from the school are present for further discussion.

The next meeting will be held next Tuesday, August 16^th, 2005 at noon at the Senior’s Center.

There were 9 in attendance from the following organizations (and various interested citizens):

Alaska Court System, Nenana Valley Sports Association, Bahai church, Railbelt Mental Health and Addictions, LDS church:

Kat McElroy, Blain and Bonnie Reed, Tim Horn, Paul Verhagen, Rose Allen, Laura Vance, Bruce and Andie Boschert.

Please send corrections or modifications to paulverhagen@prodigy.net or call 832-5430 or 378-5454.

2005 08 09

August 2, 2005

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Minutes

August 2, 2005

Meeting began at 12:15

Meeting Officiated by Traci Wiggins

Prayer was offered by Roy Smart

The meal was provided by Kat McElroy today. Bruce Boschert agreed to make the meal for next week. Bonnie Reed and Tim Horn will bring cookies or other extras.

Traci asked for a volunteer to keep minutes for the meeting. Paul Verhagen said he had to leave early but agreed to take minutes until then.

Kat read the mission statement

Agenda was approved with no modifications

Brian Blair, John and Pat Fenton, and Susan Thomason were welcomed as new, or returning guests.

Brian, John and Pat were here from the KIAM radio station and Susan is our new superintendent, Rob Thomason’s wife.

Choose to Live Gathering - Kat McElroy

Kat gave a report on the Choose to Live project. The idea for this project was conceived by Shirley Demientieff and put on by the community of Nenana. Shirley has been concerned about the alarming rate of suicides in Alaska and particularly concerned about the young people in Interior Alaska. She decided to take a trip by boat from village to village starting at Evansville on the Koyukuk River. She proceeded to travel down river visiting the villages along the way until she arrived at the Yukon River where she began working her way up river to the junction with the Tanana River. She continued up the Tanana River to Nenana where the Choose to Live gathering took place for three days. As Shirley visited with people along the way she asked people to sign a commitment to themselves that they would choose to live for ten years. 152 people officially signed in. Because there were several who didn’t sign in it is estimated that close to 200 people participated in at least one session of the gathering or another.

Tim Horn felt that it was great that some of the presenters stayed all three days. She believes that sends an important message. She felt that people left with a real sense of hope.

Traci Wiggins felt that the gathering served several important purposes one of which was as an outlet for the processing of pain. She felt that many people don’t have an outlet for the pain they feel as a result of the suicide of a close friend or family member and that this gathering provided such a place.

Paul Verhagen agreed that it provided for those affected by suicide what we now routinely provide for service providers such as EMS personnel but that has not been available before to people in our area.

Traci suggested that perhaps we should make that a part of the first day’s events beginning next year. She described it as being like having a family meeting where people could just talk about what they can’t talk about elsewhere. She thought it would be even more conducive to that feeling if we had easy chairs in the circle.

Kat thanked Donald Charlie for going hunting to provide moose meat for the gathering and Don thanked those who went with him and those who prepared the moose.

Paul said that he liked what happened because he sees it as one more piece of the puzzle that we have been putting together for our community in terms of wellness and also as one more thing that perhaps could become a part of the Learning Center that we have discussed developing in Nenana where people from other communities can come and learn how to do similar things for their communities.

Kat felt that young people were missing from the event. She recognized that there were some young people here throughout the entire gathering but felt that we should strive to get more participation from young people in the future since it is largely the mid-teen to mid-twenties group who are most susceptible to suicide.

Tim Horn suggested that we consider asking Earl Polk’s help with organizing the youth component of next year’s gathering.

The question was asked if the Wellness Coalition will support making this an annual event to which Donald Charlie responded “Isn’t suicide prevention the ultimate wellness issue?” The consensus was that the Wellness Coalition supports making it an annual event.

Mike Anderson, on the part of everyone present, expressed thanks to Railbelt for taking Shirley’s challenge to get the community involved and making it happen.

Roy Smart said that he was out of state and had just gotten back into Tok where he saw that Nenana had made the front page of the Fairbanks Daily News Miner because of the gathering. He felt proud of our community and our coalition and Railbelt for making it happen. He said it was interesting that he was able to read about a suicide gathering and still feel delighted as he read the article.

Traci mentioned that the story was also reported on PBS.

Community Organization Reports

Nenana School - Rob Thomason

The remodel of the office is coming together nicely. The old dark room will be used by the school counselor, and the functionality of that corner of the building will be greatly improved.

Headstart will begin in the school this year across from the cafeteria.

Our new principal, Joe Krause and his wife Christine arrived in town yesterday at 5:00 PM and attended his first staff meeting this morning at 10:00 AM.

We will be implementing a new computer program for the school called Power Technology which will make access to school records available to parents over the internet! It should be a great improvement over what has been available in the past.

- Tim Barker

My staff has done an excellent job this summer and I want to acknowledge them. Steve Jones handles all our maintenance issues. Mary Alexander is our cleaner and has done a exceptional job of deep cleaning over the summer. Kevin Schubert is her right-hand man. Ricky Martin and Donna Schneider have done an excellent job of repainting the exterior of the school. Mike Anderson has gotten the steam back up and running and has also worked on a fire pit and other projects for this school year.

Sub-contractors who have worked for us include John Grimes, Ron Brown, Jerry Duyck, John Peter, Wayne Walters, Nick Monroe, George Albert, Henry Jones, Thomas Albert, …

****INSERT REMAINDER OF MINUTES HERE****

[Paul had to leave the meeting at this point and the remainder of the minutes should be added here]

The next meeting will be held next Tuesday, August 9^th, 2005 at noon at the Senior’s Center.

There were 19 in attendance from the following organizations (and various interested citizens):

Alaska Court System, Nenana Valley Sports Association, Bahai church, Tribal Mental Health, Chamber of Commerce, Railbelt Mental Health and Addictions, LDS church, Nenana School, Nenana Student Living Center, KIAM radio, Nenana Library, Nenana Assembly of God church:

Roy Smart, Mike Anderson, Jack Kempen, Rob and Susan Thomason, Tim Barker, Donald Charlie, Brian Blair, John and Pat Fenton, Bruce Boschert, Kat McElroy, Blain and Bonnie Reed, Tim Horn, Miles Martin, Marty Martin, Paul Verhagen, Jim Withrow.

Please send corrections or modifications to paulverhagen@prodigy.net or call 832-5430 or 378-5454.

2005 08 02