Railbelt Mental Health &amp; Addictions

November 23, 2004

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Minutes

November 23, 2004

Meeting began at 12:15 PM

Meeting officiated by Kat McElroy

Prayer was offered by Kat McElroy

Pledge of Allegiance recited

The Agenda was approved.

Minutes from last week’s meeting approved.

Miles suggested that we discuss a comment about inaccuracy in our minutes. He said that the Nenana Messenger has elected not to print our minutes because they have been approached by “more than one person” claiming that our minutes are not accurate. This was discussed and it was pointed out that the minutes are published regularly and that those who attended the meetings are asked to submit any corrections, additions, deletions, etc. at the meeting following publication. After being approved they are posted on the internet where, once again, anyone who was in attendance has an opportunity to submit corrections, additions, or deletions. It was pointed out that changes have been made whenever such corrections have been offered. Consequently, it was agreed that without other corrections being offered there is nothing more that can be done therefore the minutes are deemed correct, and accepted as such, by those in attendance.

[For the benefit of those who were not there when we adopted our policy for keeping minutes here is a review:

RECORD KEEPING

Methods

There are several ways to keep minutes. They range from a word-for-word transcript to a series of very short notes summarizing what was said, and several methods in-between. There are problems with all methods. Verbatim transcripts are very expensive and some people refuse to talk if they know they are being recorded. The short-note method is valuable only to those who were at the meeting and even then for only a short period of time because after a while, when memories dim, those short notes are often insufficient to trigger their memories. They are also of little value in settling disputes because there is usually not enough information to clarify whose memory of what was said is accurate.

Accuracy

On the continuum of accuracy of what was said the verbatim transcript is most accurate and the short notes method is the least accurate because not only are the notes short but the person keeping the minutes is forced to leave out a great deal of what was said and the more a person must leave out the more susceptible to bias the minutes are.

Narrative Style Format

The method that we have adopted lies between these extremes. We have adopted a narrative style format for our minutes wherein the information is put into a flowing form so that even those who were not there can understand what transpired.

We acknowledge that our minutes are biased - because they are not a verbatim transcript of what occurred. Anytime anyone has the responsibility of rendering what was said down into something shorter there will always be inaccuracies and they will always be biased because ALL people are somewhat biased (even if they don’t mean to be).

By acknowledging bias we do NOT mean to imply bias against certain individuals, what we DO mean is that people are biased by how they are raised, by their culture, by their experience, etc. Therefore, our minutes reflect biases even though we don’t intend them to. However, we’re comfortable that the minutes accurately reflect the gist of our meetings for several reasons. First, because we publish them as DRAFT minutes and always ask those who attended for corrections or modifications to them before they are posted on the website.

Second, we allow for more modifications from those who attended even AFTER they are posted on the website for a short period of time.

Third, we ask for the group to approve the minutes at the meetings.

Purpose

Because of these efforts we believe them to be accurate and we believe they are more likely to accomplish their intended purpose - which is

First, to make them more likely to be read (because of their narrative style)

Second, to make it more likely that people who were not there will understand what is going on (which doesn’t occur with short excerpt minutes), and

Third, to apply principles of wellness by being considerate and respectful in how our minutes are reported.

In other words, in keeping with the wellness that we are trying to achieve (people are much more amenable to change if they are urged in a constructive and considerate way) we agreed to ’soften’ things that may have been said in a direct way. We don’t always succeed, but we try hard and will continue to do so.]

Introduction of Guests:

Bruce Boschert was welcomed and thanked for his contribution to the wonderful meal that we enjoyed today.

Speakers/Topics

Financial Wellness - Paul Verhagen

One of the eight areas of wellness that we agreed to discuss on a regular basis is financial wellness. Financial wellness is closely tied in with several of the other areas of wellness. For example, it is difficult to enjoy physical wellness if a person can’t afford to go see a doctor when they are sick. It is difficult to maintain emotional wellness when a person can’t afford to pay his or her bills. In preparation for his presentation Paul has read several books on the subject and urges those who are interested to ask the library to order copies so that they are available here locally. One of the books he quoted from was first published in 1926 and has been reprinted numerous times since including again recently. It has sold over two million copies. He pointed out that the information included in that book that made the national best seller list is very similar to the things that are found in books on the same subject in 2004 and that those books are also making the national best seller list. That is because these books teach principles that are timeless. The same information helped people enjoy financial wellness from the time of Babylon to the present. He noted that the principles are simple but require study and persistent application on a regular basis. Some of the books teach general principles while others get into great detail to show a person exactly how to succeed in such things as real estate investments, Stock and bond investing, or establishing and running a successful business. He suggests that a person should begin by reading the books that describe the subject generally, then pick which of the three asset classes are of the most interest (i.e. Real Estate, Investing, Business) and then read the books that give specifics in the area selected.

He quoted a few of the books as saying that things will get much worse financially in our country in the not very distant future because of the very large number of baby-boomers that are just now beginning to retire. By the year 2012 there will be so many of them retiring that the government will need to come up with 82 billion dollars a month just to fund their social security payments! Most reliable people in the government accounting offices do not believe that the government will be able to do that. He quoted others as saying that the private sector will not be able to fund their retirement programs either. At present General Motors is under-funded by 94.7 billion dollars!, Ford by 46.6 billion, IBM by 25.3 billion, and there are many more in similar situations. This is not something the politicians are unaware of. They just haven’t been willing to do anything about it because both parties consider it political suicide to even talk about doing anything with social security. BUT these books are not gloom and doom. On the contrary they teach people, anyone, what to do in order to make sure that whatever happens in the future does not wipe out their retirement (if they have a retirement program), or if they don’t, what to do now so that when it comes time to retire they don’t have to worry about social security or whether the company they worked for will be solvent.

Paul told about a company that offers a written contract (backed by mortgages and insurance) to double or triple the return that people are currently getting at their banks or in the investments. Returns of 6 - 10% are not at all uncommon and many returns are higher. The company works with cash investments or in many cases can work with portions of a person’s retirement account. The company contacts the person’s retirement account administrators, provide them the information about how their program works, and many retirement programs around the country accept their program.

Paul urges us to share this financial wellness information with as many people as we can in the community because it is extremely valuable for anyone from the age of early teen and up.

It was suggested that a ‘club’ might be formed for anyone interested in learning these things at which people could meet regularly to share ideas and encourage each other in their efforts to implement what they learn. Paul said he would be happy to meet with anyone interested and suggested that teaching these things to high-school kids would be particularly helpful.

Miles Martin suggested that the Chamber of Commerce might be interested in hearing this information.

Endil Moore mentioned that some of the information that Paul shared from the books was recently verified when K-Mart negotiated to buy-out Sears in order to obtain the extremely valuable real-estate that they hold all over the country.

Old Business

Continued Planning for the Community Diversion Panel

- Ran out of time.

New Business

None

Updates/Announcements

RMHA - Kat McElroy

Most of the staff will be gone during the week of December 9^th for training.

Nenana Senior’s - Margaret Sanders

Most of the remodeling of the senior’s center is finished. It turned out very nice and they are very grateful to those who spend so much time helping.

There will be a fair at the Civic Center this weekend from 10 AM - 5 PM

Nenana Ice Classic - Endil Moore

There will be an Ice Classic meeting on December 8^th at 7:30 PM

City of Nenana - Endil Moore

There will be a Source Water Protection Meeting open to the public at the school on December 7^th.

Nenana Library - Miles Martin

The city passed a new ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1000 fine for those who refuse to pay their library fines.

Open Floor for Comments/Questions/Discussion

Some members felt it was wrong to make unpaid library fines into a criminal misdemeanor case with penalties stiffer than many other more serious offenses and some wondered why it shouldn’t be resolved in some other forum such as small claims court.

Next Wellness Meeting Date/Time/Chairperson/Guest Speakers/Subjects

The next regularly scheduled wellness meeting will be held on November 30^th, 2004 at the Nenana Senior’s Center at noon.

A 28 minute video on the new “All Natural” marijuana will be shown at our December 7^th meeting.

Meeting Adjourned at 2:04 PM

There were 11 people in attendance from the following organizations (and various interested citizens):

Nenana Valley Sports Association, City of Nenana, Yutana Barge Lines, Chamber of Commerce, Nenana Library, Nenana Ice Classic, Nenana Visitor’s Center, Alaska Court System, Railbelt Mental Health and Addictions, Nenana Senior’s Center, LDS Church, Nenana Environmental Program.

Margaret Sanders, Bruce Boschert, Miles Martin, Sam Verhagen, Bud Krause, Endil Moore, Kat McElroy, Paul Verhagen, Gary Edwin, Rose Allen, and Mae Edwin.

2004 11 23

November 16, 2004

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Minutes

November 16, 2004

Meeting began at 12:20 PM

Meeting officiated by Milt Haken

Prayer was offered by Milt Haken

Pledge of Allegiance recited

Minutes from last week’s meeting approved with corrections.

Introduction of Guests:

Mike Walsh - Mike was introduced by Ken Eggleston. Mike is visiting Nenana today from the Foraker Group which is working in conjunction with the Rasmussen Foundation in its efforts to help establish long term funding for the Nenana Student Living Center.

Mike said that he is quite proud to be working with the community, the school and the USDA on helping keep the student living center open because he believes that it is providing a very valuable service not only to our community but also to the rest of the state. He described the problem of getting on-going funding as difficult because of incorrect information collected early on about where funding might come from and what kind of funding would be available.

He said that if we had the information that we have now at that time that we would have been in a much better situation - but we didn’t so he likened what we have done in the past to toothpaste that has already been squeezed out of the tube - it is difficult to put it back in - so we need to deal with the ramifications of what has already been done while we work to develop a plan using the more correct information that was gained from actual experience. Their goal is to find the very best source of sustainable income that they can. They will do this in part by using a business plan template to help us design a business plan that will clearly show funding sources that we know we are doing.

Mike said that he is really excited to not only create such a business plan for us but also to help make it a reality.

Miles Martin asked how something like a school can make money like a business does when it doesn’t have a product to sell like businesses have. He went on to clarify that he realizes that some colleges agree to put out students for a particular profession but questioned whether such ideas would be appropriate for high schools because all kids might not want to become whatever field the school chose to specialize in.

Mike responded by clarifying that a school is exactly like a business in that in order to remain open it must follow the same principles that apply to keeping a business open. He agreed that no one wants our school to become a trade school for a particular trade but on the other hand pointed out that there are schools who get help from particular industries if they help interested students prepare for careers in their industry, and that although he is not suggesting that we do the same it is an example of many ways of seeking funding that could be considered as we look for ways to keep the student living center open. He said that they intend to help us develop a business plan that will allow us to convince people, or groups, with money that they should spend their money with us because “social return” is what many of them are looking for. In other words we will seek out philanthropic organizations or individuals who care about the future and are willing to spend their money today as an investment in tomorrow - by helping our school give kids the skills and talents that will enable them to contribute to society in important and productive ways in the future. Such groups or individuals will be only some of the sources of money that we will need to go after but they could be an important source of as much as 30% of our operating capital. He pointed out that the key to sustainability is unrestricted funding (funding where there are few, or no strings attached).

Tim Horn asked whether there would be a grant writing position funded. Mike responded that those kinds of decisions would be made by the local administration after they have more information and have gotten further along in the process they are just now beginning.

He ended by again saying that he believes that the benefits that result from having this boarding school in our community are extremely valuable to both our community and the rest of the state and that he believes they will be able to help us put together the means of securing long term funding that will keep it operating for many years to come.

Speakers/Topics

Sober House Report - Kat McElroy

Kat McElroy began by giving some background information for those who may not be aware of our efforts in this regard. For 18 months now we have discussed the need for a place to help people recover from their addictions. In dealing with people in recovery the staff at RMHA would hear people say that in order to recover they just can’t go back into the environment they came out of because they know they would immediately relapse. When they asked them where they were going to go they would often say to my auntie’s house. She doesn’t drink and doesn’t allow alcohol in her home and she will help keep me from falling off the wagon. Unfortunately not everyone has an auntie who they can go stay with - and as a result many people who came back to the community with intentions of staying clean and sober end up having to go right back into their former environment and in spite of their best intentions very many of them end up relapsing. From these conversations came the idea that such a place for people to come to, where they can begin the process of reintegrating into the community, and to which they can retreat when they face the temptations they are struggling to overcome, and where they can continue to receive follow-up counseling would be a great blessing to those in our community who are returning from treatment. All of the above led to the plan to develop such a place in Nenana and call it Auntie’s House.

There are places like those described above in various areas around the country that we can pattern our facility after. None of them are the same. One such facility is called Oxford house. There are more than 1500 Oxford houses in the country including 8 in Alaska. Another such facility is located in Phoenix and is called Hope House. A third was established in Fairbanks by Scotty Bennett who has came out visited us and shared with us how his program works. His facility operates 180 degrees opposite of the Oxford house in that it is not based on principles of democratic rule. In Scottie’s facility he considers himself to be the “benevolent dictator”. He says, No way am I going to let these guys make the decisions. If they were in a position to be making good decisions they wouldn’t need to be living in my facility and as soon as they get well enough to be making such decisions they should get back out there into society and free up a bed for someone else who can’t make such decisions” (or something to that effect). Regardless of the approach each of these facilities is providing an extremely valuable service to those who would otherwise by very likely to relapse and many people have been helped by their programs. One thing they have in common is keeping the people busy by requiring them to work as part of the fee for staying there. That work includes working on the facilities they live in which often times a almost uninhabitable when first acquired. Working to improve their own habitation seems to have a healing effect on people and this principle of keeping people busy, along with the other aspects of the programs they participate in has resulted in success rates of as high as 80%.

Kat reported that we have not yet found the “ideal” place for an Aunties House in Nenana, because the ideal place would be free and we haven’t found a place for free yet. On the other hand we have become interested in the possibility of utilizing the Corner Bar as an Aunties House. Of course there are those who say that would be crazy because it is right across the street from Moocher’s bar however, it is believed by many that dealing with such temptations early on, while help is readily available and while living in a place that is alcohol and drug free is more effective at helping people learn to deal with their addictions than waiting for them deal with it on their own whenever and wherever it happens to occur. We have not yet ascertained a way to obtain the facility, although we are asking that it be donated to the community. In the meantime we have passed the word to those who know people with money (and who give to such causes) and hope that perhaps one of them will be interested in assisting us with establishing an Aunties’ House in Nenana.

Endil Moore stated that the Corner Bar is in foreclosure and that it is now owned by the bank. The loan, however, was guaranteed by the BIA, which will end up owning it if the property doesn’t sell. If BIA ends up with the property it may choose to dispose of it by giving it to a government agency and could give it to the tribe. If that were to occur the tribe could choose to donate it to become an Auntie’s house so that it really does become the “ideal” or free property that Kat referred to above.

Tim Horn asked whether the AA meetings that were going on in town while Alvina was here have continued. Kat said that they have not, and that some people have expressed a desire to have their own place to meet because the various places that are available all have drawbacks. It was agreed that having their own place to meet would be great and that Aunties Place would be a great place for them to meet.

[Note: if any readers are aware of assistance that might be available for the financing of an Aunties House please let us know]

Nenana Valley Sports Association Update - Endil Moore

Endil Moore reported that NVSA members have met with a family that is considering donating a piece of property to be turned into a racing facility for kids. If the donation occurs it will be developed in conjunction with the larger facility but will be located closer to town.

Endil reported earlier this summer we applied for a mini-grant and that last month we received a preliminary notification of being awarded the grant but that it was contingent upon us getting bids from organizations that are willing to do a feasibility study and business plan. We have now received two such bids, both of which are from reputable and qualified bidders. They have been turned over to the city for submittal to the state and we expect to receive notification of award from the state soon. When that happens we will begin with the feasibility study and expect it to be completed within two to three months and for the business plan to be ready shortly thereafter. If the feasibility study supports proceeding with the project as we believe it will, it will then be given to Representative John Coghill who has agreed to ask the legislature to finance a much larger feasibility study that would be necessary in order to get the amount of funding that will be necessary for this size of a project.

Endil also reported that NVSA has made significant progress towards building an ice skating rink for the community.

To date:

· Nenana School has donated $1500,

· Native Council has agreed to donate $1500 (or the equivalent in building materials)

· The city has agreed to donate $2000,

· C&R pipe has donated the posts for the rink,

· Yukon Fuel has donated fencing materials,

· GVEA has agreed to move the light poles and upgrade the wiring if necessary,

· Woodland Farms has donated the use of its post driving equipment,

· And the following people have donated many hours of their time:

· Endil Moore, Ray Fox, Jeff Coghill, Wayne Walters, Shane Shields, Sam, Josh and Elijah Verhagen.

[Note: NVSA is seeking more donations and volunteers to help. If any reader is aware of either - please contact Endil]

After the NVSA update the subject returned to the need for an Aunties’ House and the need for more to be done regarding the problems with alcohol and drugs in the community.

Ken Eggleston mentioned more problems that came up with local kids over the weekend. He described allegations that several of our local kids traveled south and began partying. Eventually two of our local high school kids ended up staggering around looking for a place to sleep. One of them crawled into someone’s car and passed out and the other passed out right on the side of the road. Fortunately, a motorist came across him and called the troopers. When he was picked up he was hypothermic and if he had not been transported when he was he would have died in which case those who provided the alcohol could have been charged with his death. Once again some of our local kids have been charged with minor consuming and others are likely to be charged with providing alcohol to minors.

Ken said that not only do we have increasing problems with alcohol, but that because we no longer have local law enforcement more serious drugs are coming into our community now than in the past, including more potent forms of marijuana, crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and even heroin.

He said that some of our kids consider themselves “weekend users” but that they don’t realize that there are no weekends for those who get addicted to crystal meth.

He shared his experience of working for five years on a reservation where crystal meth had made its way into the lives of the kids. He said that it wasn’t but a few weeks after it arrived before nobody had to wonder who was using it. He described the massive weight loss that occurred within weeks causing the kids to look like skeletons and their inability to control their muscles that resulted in involuntary spasms. He described the huge increase in burglaries that occurred to pay for the drugs, and he very emotionally described having to attend 42 funerals for young people in the community during those five years. He told about kids ending up with life sentences for raping and murdering other kids while under the influence. He described several kids committing suicide by wearing dark clothes and lying down in low spots on the highways. He was emphatic that we do not want things to escalate to that point in our community and that keeping quiet about our problems is not going to help but will instead help facilitate it.

Paul Verhagen reminded us of Roy Smart’s comment of the week before wherein he shared the analogy of people having an elephant in their living room and pretending that it isn’t there and that ignoring it never makes it go away.

Kat McElroy said that it is not just the cocaine or crystal meth or heroin that should be of concern to us but even the marijuana should be of concern. She recently received a video that explains how modern marijuana has been genetically altered and grown hydroponically in order to produce a drug that is as much as TEN TIMES more powerful than in the past - the use of which produces much more serious consequences than the old marijuana - and the ironic thing is that it is being marketed as “all natural” as if it was more healthy for the user. Kat has offered to show this 28 minute video to our group next week.

Ken Eggleston said that educating the kids about this is very important but that one of the biggest problems is that many of these things occur with the kids parent’s knowledge.

Tim Horn asked if the courts could require the parents of kids who are convicted of minor consuming or misconduct involving controlled substances to attend alcohol and drug education classes.

Paul Verhagen said that unless the parent were charged under a city ordinance that gave the court jurisdiction over the parents it couldn’t be done but that he would make some phone calls to see how other communities are dealing with similar problems.

Milt Haken said that as part of risk management training he was taught “If it’s predictable - it’s preventable”.

It was agreed that at present we have a really good community with relatively few problems compared to many other communities around the country and that we all want it to stay that way through preventative efforts. It was further discussed that although not everyone will agree about what to do about this problem everyone in the community will agree that we don’t want any of our kids to freeze to death in a ditch - and with that as a common concern we will continue to strive to work together on finding ways to keep that or similar tragedies from happening.

Financial Wellness - Paul Verhagen

We ran out of time for this presentation - it will be saved for another meeting.

Wellness Thought

“Critical Thinkers find problems; creative thinkers find solutions” - John McClung

Old Business

Continued Planning for the Community Diversion Panel

- Ran out of time.

New Business

None

Updates/Announcements

RMHA - Kat McElroy

Most of the staff is gone this week for training in Anchorage.

Nenana School - Ken Eggleston

The kids will get out at 2:30 on Wednesday and there will be no school on Thursday or Friday.

As always, the community is invited to join the students for a Thanksgiving meal at the school cafeteria at 11:15 AM.

Nenana Student Living Center - Ralph Lindquist

Several of the students at the student living center will not be going home for the Thanksgiving holiday and still need homes to be invited to for Thanksgiving dinner or to stay the weekend. If anyone knows of homes they could stay at please contact Ralph.

Milt Haken

Thursday through Saturday is the Top-of-the-World games for men at UAF and the following weekend for women - at which Milt will be refereeing.

Nita Marks

Nominations opened today for elections at Native Counsel. There are 4 seats open. Nominations will close on the 29^th and the election will be held on December 4^th.

Open Floor for Comments/Questions/Discussion

None

Next Wellness Meeting Date/Time/Chairperson/Guest Speakers/Subjects

The next regularly scheduled wellness meeting will be held on November 23^rd, 2004 at the Nenana Senior’s Center at noon.

A 28 minute video on the new “All Natural” marijuana will be shown at our November 30^th meeting.

Meeting Adjourned at 2:05 PM

There were 17 people in attendance from the following organizations (and various interested citizens):

Foraker Group, Nenana School, Nenana Valley Sports Association, Nenana Student Living Center, City of Nenana, Yutana Barge Lines, Chamber of Commerce, Nenana Library, Nenana Visitor’s Center, Alaska Court System, Nenana Bahai Church, Railbelt Mental Health and Addictions, Nenana Senior’s Center, LDS Church, Nenana Environmental Program.

Mike Walsh, Margaret Sanders, Miles Martin, Ken Eggleston, Sam Verhagen, Bud Krause, Endil Moore, Kat McElroy, Theresa Shields, Nita Marks, Paul Verhagen, Milt Haken, Ralph Lindquist, Gary Edwin, Blain and Bonnie Reed, Tim Horn.

2004 11 16

November 9, 2004

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Modified Minutes

November 9, 2004

Meeting began at 12:24 PM

Meeting officiated by Bud Krause

Prayer was led by Roy Smart

Pledge of Allegiance recited

No Minutes from last week’s meeting

Introduction of Guests:

Sherry Modrow, introduced herself and told us a little about Information Insights - the company she works for.

Sherry is visiting with us because she heard about our efforts at improving wellness in Nenana and the state has provided funds to their company to help organizations with efforts like ours. Her purpose in attending our meeting today was merely to familiarize herself with what we are doing in order to better understand how they might help us.

Speakers/Topics

Community Diversion Panel/Youth Court - Paul Verhagen

Paul distributed more information about the proposed Community Diversion Panel. He informed us that a member of our coalition approached Senator Ted Stevens and expressed concerns that some of our local youth might be prevented from entering the military because of convictions for minor consuming. He asked Senator Stevens if he would be willing push for a change in the entrance requirements of the military so that such kids not be kept out of service. Senator Stevens was emphatic in his response. He said that he would not work to lower the standard of our military to accommodate young people with numerous convictions. He described reports he has received of kids in the fifth grade showing up at school intoxicated and said that Alaska needs to acknowledge that we have a serious problem and deal with the problem rather than lower the standards for the military.

Paul said that in his opinion both individuals are right. We shouldn’t lower the standards of the military and we should deal with the problem so that kids don’t get excluded from military service. He indicated that the proposed community diversion panel will help address this very issue and is already authorized by the legislature and is contemplated under the Alaska Statutes in Title 4. It allows for youth to resolve charges of Minor Consuming without having to end up with a conviction on their record. He said that he just returned from a week of judicial training in Anchorage and that he took time while there to update the court system’s administration on our latest efforts. They were very supportive particularly because our approach is the one contemplated by the legislature - it both addresses the problem and at the same time allows for avoiding convictions on the person’s record - but is not yet being used very much in the rural areas state. In light of our community’s efforts towards developing a wellness court they were also supportive of the proposal that allows wellness principles to be applied even under the adversarial system and felt that we are likely to receive support from various agencies in our efforts. They agreed that many minors will not be ‘rehabilitated’ by just one experience with a diversion panel and particularly liked the idea of being able to deal with even second and third time offenders as part of on-going efforts of a community diversion panel/youth court to further help with rehabilitation, by using creative approaches similar to those being used with people charged with Driving While License Cancelled or Revoked. It was also appealing to them in the sense that instead of requiring more involvement from the district attorney’s office it would allow many cases to be resolved with very minimal involvement on their part with a potential for no conviction to appear on the person’s record. The fact the program is completely voluntary allows for those who don’t like such programs to proceed under the traditional path and those who like the wellness approach to avail themselves of it.

Paul also pointed out that the court system administration has heard of our wellness efforts from more sources than himself and they expressed encouragement and support. They indicated that they are aware of other agencies who are impressed with our efforts and felt that there is a lot of potential for encouragement and support from those agencies because they are all aware of the growing problem and the increasing seriousness of the affects it is having on society.

The most important thing, from his opinion, is that the other agencies are all aware of the difficulty of getting various factions in communities working together and none of them have the expectation that any community will ever obtain complete cooperation among the various groups in a community. They realize that trying to do so can often be very discouraging and that ANY success at all is commendable. They are particularly impressed that our efforts have continued weekly for as long as it has and that we have demonstrable results indicating that several groups in our community have worked regularly with each other in various projects.

Another important point that was brought up was how much better we are at communicating with each other because of our efforts at increasing wellness. There is an expression that “In the absence of communication - suspicion is king”. Because of meeting together each week and getting to know each other better many of us have become friends and as a result much of the former suspicion has been removed. Now, as Ken Eggleston pointed out, when we have questions - we go to each other more often and ask the questions!

Bud Krause pointed out that because of our improved communication the Senior’s now know that they are welcome to have dinner each Wednesday at the Student Living Center.

Roy Smart mentioned that the kids at the student living center have spent a great deal of time working to establish a student government and that they expect to have elections next week after which it would be a good time to work with them about setting up a youth court.

Gary Edwin expressed concern that a very big part of the problem we are dealing with stems from the parents and without some change in their attitude he doesn’t think they will participate. He feels that in order for our efforts to succeed we need to be working at changing the attitude of adults as well as children or they won’t participate in the program. His point was well taken and it was agreed that without buy-in from the parents they won’t be supportive of our efforts.

Ken Eggleston pointed out that this is where education comes in because the program is completely optional and no one has to participate in it, but that if parents realize that the whole thing is about helping kids (the alternative is to go through the regular court process that results in a conviction) many parents will want to participate.

Gary Edwin commented on the importance of helping get the adults to buy-in because their attitude is so very important in a kid’s life. He also shared a story that when he was coaching last year, and was getting his eligibility list from the teachers, one teacher made the comment, “Let’s see how long he lasts”. This was an example of how we let damaging comments fly off our tongues and aren’t always aware of the damage these comments have. This is a teacher who has been here for years, and it was sad to him that this is the teacher’s perception of our kids. That kind of attitude, Gary pointed out, is what keeps kids in the same situation that has existed for years. He pointed out that in order to break the cycle (that he, himself, was born into) he had to separate his immediate family from his extended family (an option that he is unhappy about but felt was necessary).

Mike Anderson expressed his opinion that if the community diversion panel and youth court are successful at helping break the cycle in even ONE young person’s life we will have made significant progress.

Paul Verhagen said that he has known Gary Edwin and his extended family for most of his life and that Gary himself is an example of someone who broke the cycle in his own life and suggested that if we can help cause whatever it was that helped Gary to change his life to occur in the lives of other young people it would not only benefit them but their future family’s as well. Gary said that he has spent years thinking about it and that he has come to the conclusion that it was the involvement of five people in his life who gave him encouragement when he needed it that made the difference.

Milt Haken said that there are many good people in our community who are willing to help out in similar ways to the way those five adults helped Gary.

Gary also pointed out that the resistance to change in our community will make it hard for the adults who serve on the community diversion panel and that it will also be hard for the kids that end up serving on the youth court.

Traci Wiggins pointed out that she knows from experience with her present job that it will be hard for both the adult and youth leaders at first, and that that there will be many who will criticize them for what they do, but that over time it will become less difficult and that eventually it will begin to become very rewarding as lives begin to be changed.

Roy Smart said that in spite of it being hard it is very important to our community that we begin to really address issues that many people ignore and pretend don’t exist. He likened it to having a very large elephant in the living room. Everyone knows it is there - you can’t miss such a thing - but people get very good at ignoring things that are uncomfortable to deal with and often just walk around it, as it if weren’t there, rather than acknowledge its existence, talk about it, and work to remove it. Some people believe that if they just ignore the elephant for long enough it will go away on its own, but such things don’t just go away on their own. Kids need to know that regardless of how things may have been in their own home (even if it has been for all their lives and regardless of how their parents may view it) it is not appropriate behavior, it is against the law, and is not acceptable here.

Ralph Lindquist pointed out that many of the kids at the student living center came from homes where alcohol and drug abuse are ongoing problems, but that after arriving at the student living center and realizing that it is not acceptable behavior there, it has become easier for them to eliminate usage from their lives and many of them now feel the way Gary Edwin does - they don’t want those problems in their future families.

Traci Wiggins mentioned that Kat McElroy’s presentation would be very helpful for both parents and children to understand the dynamics that are at work in the lives and homes of people whose family’s are struggling with addictions and suggested that we have her share her presentation with us.

Mike Anderson pointed out that sometimes it takes sharing that kind of information several times before people realize that many of their “friends” are not really friends but just drinking buddies and that as soon as they stop drinking together they may not come around any more. A lot of us grow up in that cycle so that what we experience seems appropriate until the cycle is broken. Peer pressure is strong on kids to drink but it can also work the other way to help kids keep from drinking. He said that he’s had some people give him a hard time about being open to wellness but that after he challenged them to 1.) attend some meetings and then 2.) tell him what’s wrong with the efforts of the coalition - they stopped bothering him about it.

Ken Eggleston mentioned the progress that they have made at the Student Living Center by pointing out that for the first couple of years dealing with addictions (and other abuses) dominated their time - but that is no longer the case. He pointed out that they have only lost one student to such problems so far this year.

Report on visit from Barbara Berry and Joseph Grachek (VP of Costco) - Milt Haken

Milt explained that Barbara Berry is the founder and president of WayToWin.com and a well known girls basketball coach. She speaks all around the country and has spoken here in Nenana each year for the last five years. Costco is one of her corporate sponsors and at times Joseph Gracheck travels with her to the locations she speaks at and while she puts on basketball camps he teaches leadership skills. Barbara and Joseph have heard about our wellness efforts and wanted to meet with us and discuss what we are doing. We met with them for several hours on Wednesday October 27^th and had a great meeting. They were particularly interested in our efforts at improving financial wellness in our community and showed great interest in our efforts at bringing racing to the valley. They were also interested in our efforts to help bring in additional funding for the student living center and agreed that it would be well suited for the kind of use that Ted Dodge suggested. Ted has shared with us what is happening at a similar center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Barbara and Joseph expressed similar views that our facility would be very well suited for such use - including soccer camps and basketball camps. They said that they will consider other ideas and get back to Milt with them over the next several months.

Old Business

Continued Planning for our Second Annual Wellness Dinner

Traci Wiggins gave an update on the planning and preparation for the dinner.

Flyers - RMHA has made up flyers and will mail them to all boxholders.

Radio Announcements - Paul Verhagen will get announcements onto the radio.

Food - Mike Anderson has the meal well planned and will have the help of some of the student living center kids. Coghill’s store donated plastic ware and Ice Classic donated paper plates and the use of the Civic Center.

Set Up - TCCC has agreed to provide a crew to help set up tables and chairs.

Child Care - The Bahai’s of Nenana will have a table for kids to keep occupied at playing with play dough, etc.

Veteran’s Recognition - Bud Krause will share a poem about the contributions of our veterans to the freedoms we enjoy.

Ramona Chrisman will prepare a PowerPoint presentation on the contributions of veterans.

Certificates of Appreciation - will be passed out and posted on the walls and RHMA will collect them and the CWS kids at the school will help get them ready to mail out to those who received them.

Guest Speaker on Wellness - Mike Daku - UAF Professor

Door Prizes - The Alaska Railroad has donated 2 round-trip tickets from Fairbanks to Denali Park, Kat McElroy donated 5 potlatch kits.

Take Down - Paul Verhagen will provide help with taking down the tables and chairs

Much appreciation to the above individuals and groups for their time and donations!

New Business

None

Updates/Announcements

Local Churches - Roy Smart informed us of grant money that is available for faith-based organizations to help with alcohol use prevention among kids and said that his church is applying for a grant and will let us know more about it as he gets more information.

School - Ken Eggleston informed us that Mike Walsh of the Foraker Group will attend our next week’s wellness meeting to discuss options of what can be done to help with future funding for the student living center.

Ken met with Diane Kaplan of the Rasmussen Foundation and said that Diane expressed to him that she feels good about the progress that is being made and that she will begin releasing funds from the grant that they awarded. Ken said that we are now “Out of the hole” financially speaking for this year and even ahead to the amount of $300,000, however, we were over-funded for the student count by almost that same amount of money. The good news is that even after the overage is returned to the state we will still be in a positive financial position.

Ken also said that Andre LaTrell has agreed to speak to us about the Assets program at the evening wellness meeting scheduled for December.

Open Floor for Comments/Questions/Discussion

None

Next Wellness Meeting Date/Time/Chairperson/Guest Speakers/Subjects

The next regularly scheduled wellness meeting will be held on November 16^th, 2004 at the Nenana Senior’s Center at noon. (Again, unless the Senior’s center is not ready - in which case it will again be held at the student living center).

Meeting Adjourned at 2:04 PM

There were 14 people in attendance from the following organizations (and various interested citizens):

Nenana School, Nenana Valley Sports Association, Nenana Student Living Center, Chamber of Commerce, Nenana Library, Nenana Visitor’s Center, Nenana Assembly of God Church, Alaska Court System, Nenana Bahai Church, Railbelt Mental Health and Addictions, LDS Church, Nenana Environmental Program, Information Insights.

Miles Martin, Ken Eggleston, Bud Krause, Traci Wiggins, Paul Verhagen, Milt Haken, Ralph Lindquist, Roy Smart, Mike Anderson, Gary Edwin, Sherry Modrow, Virginia Young, James Brown, Ramona Chrisman.

2004 11 09

November 2, 2004

Nenana Wellness Coalition

Minutes

November 2, 2004

Meeting officiated by Traci Wiggins

Prayer was led by Rosemary Allen

Pledge of Allegiance recited

Traci asks if anyone has anything to say before we start discussing the wellness dinner. Bud Krause asks if the city meeting is on the 11^th and is informed that it will be held the following Tuesday. Traci starts discussing the dinner and asks if anyone has heard anything about the speaker. She calls Ken Eggleston to see if he’s been able to get anyone to speak at the dinner.

Kat McKelroy wants to know what’s going on with the food, if it’s been taken care of yet. There’s mention that Miles may have donated some salmon but not sure how many. Rose wants to know if she should cook the scallop potatoes. Traci informs the group that Mike Anderson and some of the living center students have volunteered to cook the food in the NSLC kitchen but that coalition members are asked to bring desert.

Traci Wiggins is looking for sponsors for some of the food. Roy Smart mentions that maybe Karen Lords grant could help out and Rose suggests that Theresa Mayrand’s might be able to also. Traci suggests calling Theresa Mayrand, Karen Lord and Rita O’brian to see if their grants would be able to donate some money for food. It’s mentioned that maybe the Chamber of Commerce or Tribal Council would be willing. Traci says that she has already spoken to the Tribal Council and that they would not be able to be involved.

Discussion starts on who will be able to help set-up dinner. Traci mentions that Jason Mayrand had volunteered his kids and Roy Smart will call TCCC invite them to the dinner and see if they would be able to help with the set-up, clean-up, etc. Traci mentions that we need to see if the school has butcher paper for the tables that could be donated. Roy suggests talking to John Beetle about the paper.

Rose Allen asks what a good day to mail the flyer out for the dinner is. It’s decided that on Monday Bud Krause will come to RMHA offices and get them ready and will mail them out Tuesday. There’s discussion on putting posters up around town. Roy Smart volunteers to make the posters; Traci says she’ll email him the information.

Talk about honoring veterans. It’s decided that Bud Krause will stand up and honor veterans after Bonnie Reed says the opening prayer. There’s discussion on who the speaker will be and the topic they’ll speak on. Mike Daku is suggested and Roy Smart is tasked with calling him. It’s decided that there will be a scrawl wall again for this dinner. The tentative agenda is prayer, honor veterans, dinner and speaker.

It’s discussed who could donate moose. Rose offers ground moose. Ken Eggleston joins meeting and is asked for butcher paper and if the kids will be able to skip study hall to attend dinner. Ken will talk to Ralph. There’s still discussion on food. Mike Anderson will be tasked with ordering food and Kat will call friend to see if he can donate moose.

Traci wonders if anyone wants to have and info table. Ch’eghtsen is suggested. RMHA will, maybe NSLC and the Baha’is will have arts and crafts tables. Traci will put together a list of sponsors. It’s mentioned we should see if the Nenana Dance group wants to perform. It’s reminded that we will need to get a lot of help setting up. Ken mentions some kids have community service work to do.

It’s reminded that food is provided but that the coalition brings desserts, to call TCCC for clean up/set up help and suggestions to call Margaret Sanders for fish are made. Estimated about 150 will show up. Traci asks for anymore sponsors. It’s mentioned to call local businesses. Rose is tasked to get a hold of Marilyn Duggar to see if store can donate plastic ware or cups. Ice Classic is donating plates. Kat will call Sandy Eggleston and see who needs to do community service. Door prizes are discussed.

Gary Edwin talks about recycling grant and the benefits to our community stating that in the next few years a majority of the states landfills will be closed. Discussion takes place on ideas to cut the amount of garbage down. Potlatch kits are brought up to cut down on Styrofoam trash at dinners and other functions where food is served. It’s decided that Gary will give a short presentation at wellness dinner about recycling and the need to look at waste management as a wellness issue. To see how much garbage a function like this produces we will have everyone throw there food in one trash can and there dinner ware (plates, forks, napkins, etc.) in another. Kat volunteers to make up a couple potlatch kits as door prizes.

Sourdough starters and two roundtrip tickets to the park on the train are also mentioned for door prizes. Rose will call Marilyn and ask for a roll of tickets. Ken will call railroad.

It’s suggested that we make a list of what NSLC students will be here over Thanksgiving and houses they could go to.

Meeting Adjourned at 2:05 PM

Next meeting on Tuesday November 9 @ NSLC.

There were 12 people in attendance:

Traci Wiggins, Kat McKelroy, Rose Allen, Laura Vance, Bud Krause, Blaine Reed, Bonnie Reed, Floyd Terry, Roy Smart, Ken Eggleston, Gary Edwin, Tim Horn

2004 11 02