Railbelt Mental Health & Addictions

Nenana Wellness CoalitionMINUTES

January 27, 2009

 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, celebrate and help implement plans for improving the wellness and quality of life in Nenana Alaska.

There were nine participants at meeting today, including: Scott Axford, Bonnie Reed, Tim & Carl Horn, Kat McElroy, Tara, Paul & Merrily Verhagen, and Jason Mayrand. We had bar-b-que’ed chicken wings, mixed greens salad, cheese and crackers, multi grain bread and fresh baked cinnamon bread for lunch.

 

WELCOME and READING OF MISSION STATEMENT, by this week’s chairperson: Bonnie Reed

 

PRAYER: Was lead by Merrily Verhagen, followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: No modifications requested

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes were sent electronically last Tuesday by Kat and also posted to the win link at www.railbelt.com

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: None

           

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

Community Infrastructure & Wellness—Nenana city mayor Jason Mayrand spoke about how communities have come to see that wellness is very much tied to infrastructure. He provided a hand-out:

Quality Community Elements of a Small Town (towns with less than 2,000 populations).Governance

            Realistic budget adopted annually

            Council governs for the whole community         

            Goals match community’s resources/capacity

            Residents confident about council

Services             Power system reliable

            Water and sewer systems reliable

            Services match community needs

            Enterprise funds solvent

            Streets, culverts, equipment maintained

            Staff trained to operate and maintain equipment

            Landfill in compliance with local, state and federal requirements

Physical Characteristics.

            Clean water & air

            Clean yards

            Houses and buildings maintained

            Abandoned and hazardous buildings removed

            Junk cars removed

Land Use & Transportation

            Incompatible land uses separated

            Land available four houses, business & industry

            Land use and transportation linked (where people live and how they travel, roads          and trails)

            Growth anticipated in advance

            Developmental standards in place

Amenities

            Recreation areas identified/dedicated

            Design standards

            Cultural facilities

            Community pride

            Sense of ownership/inclusiveness

Public Safety

            Rescue boat

            Fire engine maintained

            EMS certificates

            VPSO/police presence

Nenana has two governing bodies, the city and the tribe. They work together well at this point. The city has general funds that support fire, the library, roads, etc. Enterprise funds include port authority, airport and municipal services. Our utilities (water and sewer) do not pay for themselves. We have done strategic planning with the tribe. Nenana, along with Alaska, has a boom/bust cycle. In the 1920’s, Nenana had a larger population than Fairbanks. Jason mentioned the railroad boom, the transportation boom in the 40’s, and the boom in the 1950’s/60’s due to Clear Air Station. We depend upon outside funds; we are not self-sufficient.

Jason said Nenana used to have our own power system but we’ve been a part of GVEA since 1968. We receive power from both directions on the grid and so are less likely to experience a major outage. Our water/sewer system is over 30 years old; it has problems and is due for an upgrade. Jason has nine hundred thousand dollars for paving the streets. Chip seal is the easiest to maintain and he would like to get the areas that experience the most use paved first: Front Street, First, Second, Market Streets, around the school, and 6^th street which gets a lot of traffic due to the student living center. In response to a question from Paul, Jason said that the man-hole covers will have to be built-up to the new level of the streets when they are paved. Jason explained that the port authority generates funds but that is offset by the costs of maintaining the airport which does not generate much income. The airport, however, qualifies us for grants that have paid for snow-removal and road maintenance equipment.

Jason said THAT Nenana has hauled over 30 junked cars off so far. Anyone wanting junk vehicles removed can do so by going to the city office and filling out a simple form. He is also pushing to get abandoned buildings cleared. Some of these buildings are owned by people who no longer even live in Alaska, who have no idea how debilitated the properties have become over the years. There are residences that are problematic due to huge build-up of trash; they are an eyesore but also a health hazard. They get cleaned up after every spring on Clean-Up Day but that doesn’t solve the ongoing problem.

In 1921, when Nenana was incorporated as a city, no provisions were made to designate land parcels into specific uses. There are no zoning restrictions in place. No building permits are required although Jason does ask for building plans. There are 197 thousand acres of agricultural land on the other side of the Nenana River, divided into parcels from 160 to 320 acres in size. This area also has natural gas leases that have been let although there is no actual development of either in place as of yet. IN response to a question from Tim, Jason said that the TCCC campus is closed up, the heat is off, the pipes have been drained. Yes, there are minor problems with the sewer system, which are not likely to be addressed so long as the buildings are not in use. There are no current plans for utilization of that facility. Paul asked about the Alaska Railroad: Is there a plan to build a RR depot coupled with an airport terminal? Jason said no, although the railroad has agreed to allow trains to route through town, if needed, for the purpose of passenger service.

In response to another question, Jason gave us information about the current status of the student living center. He said that it has an annual budget of about a million dollars, without servicing the original loan. Student stipends bring in about four hundred thousand, leaving an approximately six hundred thousand dollar shortfall each year. The center provides employment, and it brings money for the students into the school district, but it has always been under-funded. He and the new superintendent of schools are working on a proposal to USDA to have the loan deferred.

Jason said his current projects are to complete the new soccer field on 6^th and E streets, to repair the air strip (which has a large divot in the middle of it due to the melting of an ice lens beneath the surface), pave the city streets and a major upgrade on the water/sewer system. These are all projects that will benefit the wellness of our community. He feels that the Community Pride/Village Safety meetings have been good as they create a feeling of stronger community.

  

WELLNESS THOUGHT:

Inch by inch, row by row, that’s the way our gardens grow. Dave Mallet.

 

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

The contact address to get information put onto the Nenana Calendar is merrilyverhagen@gci.com

The Seniors Annual Meeting and Elections will be held Wednesday, February 18^th, at their noon luncheon.

 

OPEN FLOOR FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION: None

 

ADJOURNMENT: 2:15 P.M.

Nenana Wellness Coalition

MINUTES

January 20, 2009

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.

There were 15 in attendance today, including: Kat McElroy, Virginia Young, Bonnie Reed, Tim Horn, Bill, Rebecca, Earin, and Ethan Troxel, Walter and Andrea Tommy, Mike Anderson, Merrily and Joe Verhagen, and Miles Martin. We had chicken & pasta with green salad for lunch.

 

WELCOME and READING OF MISSION STATEMENT: By this week’s chairperson, Tim Horn

 

PRAYER was lead by Walter Tommy followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE.

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: There were two additions to the agenda.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Kat submitted minutes electronically last Tuesday and posted them at www.railbelt.com on the WIN link.

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: None

           

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

Weight machine: Mike says that the NSLC powers-that-be discussed housing the weight machine that Kris Capps has so graciously arranged to be donated to WIN by the Denali School District and have agreed to give this a try. Kat will contact Kris to arrange receiving it. Mike says that he can get student volunteers to assist in moving the machine from Healy if needed.

 

Freecycle: Rebecca reported that there were 52 people at the Freecycle Saturday night at the Tribal Hall. There were seven kinds of chili represented in the chili contest. The judges were Innoko Chapman, Bill Troxel, Terry Thompson and Eric Gephart. Jeff Coghill won for “Spiciest,” Kevin Schubert won for “Prettiest,” and the Verhagen’s won for “Tastiest.” Rebecca cooked a big pot of chili for everyone to share. We tentatively scheduled the next Freecycle for Tripod Days weekend, Saturday, March 7^th.  Miles suggested that next time we might want to make up “Care” boxes of leftover Freecycle items for giveaway to people we know who may need clothing or want videos but who did not attend the Freecycle. Un-taken items this time were transported to Fairbanks by the Verhagen’s and donated to the homeless shelter. Merrily suggested that WIN provide beverages of some sort for the next Freecycle.

 

Envisioning Wellness: Mayor Jason Mayrand has agreed to be our January presenter and is scheduled to speak to WIN next week, January 27^th. Tim will make flyers and email them to Kat, who will get them posted. Next month Kat will present Addiction 101. In March Paul Verhagen will present, probably on Emergency Preparedness.

 

Health Fair: We had our second organizational meeting for the Spring Health Fair this morning at 10 A.M. Rebecca will be our site coordinator; Bill has agreed to act as secretary. We have tentatively scheduled this for April 1^st, to accommodate the schedules of various presenters, although the school has not confirmed this date yet. We discussed fund-raising strategies to get funds for the site fees, food and travel expenses, potential donors for door prizes, and exhibits we would like to see. Cathy Gephart has volunteered to do one on the world health crisis. She is also arranging a dance for the 1^st - 4^th graders to occur directly after the health fair concludes. Our next meeting will be in two weeks, Tuesday, February 3^rd at 10:30 A.M. at the Living Center.

 

Sober Housing: Walter and Andrea were able to spend some time on his 7 acre property out on 4- mile slough this weekend. They are considering building shelters to be used for sober housing. There are so many people who need to have a place to live so they can stop drinking. They have been discussing this for a year. Miles suggested seeing if students would be interested in helping. He knows NSLC youth want to learn about subsistence and life skills; this would give them an opportunity to do service work while learning. Walter says that the road out was upgraded when he sold off some timber; it has good access. It would be a good place for retreats, too.

 

WELLNESS THOUGHT:  

Building a better nation is our collective responsibility.

 

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bonnie: The Seniors bought Vickie Moyle a digital TV for her birthday. The Seniors Annual Meeting will be held during lunch hour on February 23.

Kat: Laura and Liz are at their Rural Human Services training in Fairbanks for the next two weeks. RHS is a very intensive counselor training done in a cohort model.

Virginia: W-2’s are out for all the school staff.

Bill: The Troxels will be on vacation and will not be here next week. They are leaving today after WIN.

Merrily: Has an email address for people to send information for the Nenana calendar. That address is merrilyverhagen@gmail.com . People can also reach her at 832-5238. Paul has the calendar site almost finished with the web site.

Miles: Suggests that they link the Nenana web site to the Nenana calendar site.

Tim: Spelling Bee next Tuesday. Sat. 01-31 is the first home game for our basketball team against Hutchinson. NIT is Feb. 5^th and 6^th so no school those days. Feb. 11 is parent/teacher conferences.

 

OPEN FLOOR FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION: None

 

ADJOURNMENT: 1:20 P.M.

Nenana Wellness CoalitionMinutes

January 13, 2009

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.

There were eight at meeting today, including: Miles Martin, Rebecca and Bill Troxel, Maryellen Robinson, Bonnie Reed, Kat McElroy, and Merrily and Merry Verhagen. We had Tex/Mex beans, mixed green salad, sliced apples, cheese and crackers for lunch.

 

WELCOME followed by the READING OF MISSION STATEMENT: By this week’s chairperson, Bonnie Reed.

 

PRAYER: Was lead by Bill Troxel followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE.

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: There was one addition to the agenda.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes were submitted electronically last Tuesday by Kat and then posted to the web site. One change was made to the posted minutes.

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Merry Verhagen was introduced; she is the daughter of Paul and Merrily Verhagen.

           

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

Calendaring: Merrily says that they have enlisted the assistance of one of their friends who is knowledgeable about calendar web sites. Paul is learning a calendaring progr4a. Merrily needs a dedicated email address. Anyone can send her information to go on the calendar telephonically: 832-5238. Bill suggested they get an RHS feed for the web site which will allow them to notify by email anyone who is interested in knowing whenever an update to the calendar has been made. Miles asked if hard copy could be made available for people who do not utilize email. Bonnie will put contact information for the Verhagen’s into the Senior newsletter so people can contact Merrily if they have items of interest for the calendar. Merrily says that she is willing to add stuff for sale to the calendar and links to stuff. She is particularly interested in any housing available as she is often asked about that. Free-cycle: This is set for 5 P.M. at George Hall this Saturday, January 17, starting at five P.M. Rebecca will get the key from Robin Campbell and will meet Miles at the hall about ten A.M. Miles will meet her there with a load of firewood to start fires in the wood stoves there so the building will be warm by evening. Bill wrote a “begging letter” to Chili’s Restaurant in Fairbanks soliciting a gift card for a prize for the chili cook-off, in addition to the gift card that Rebecca bought. Bill will supply electronic copy of the letter to Kat to use as a template for future solicitations as it provides concise back-ground on the history and mission of WIN. Merrily suggested that we contact Reds Cross to take items not taken from the Free-cycle, as they have been requesting donations of clothing and household items for the many house-fire victims from this recent cold snap. We are still looking for other prizes for the chili cook-off. Acquired so far are: a free bag of hot chilies, a soup pot, and a salsa maker.  

Health Fair: The health fair is tentatively scheduled for sometime during the week after Spring Break (March 17^th-22). We have not heard back from the school as to exact date yet. We had our first organizational meeting Thursday afternoon at the school. Rebecca has agreed to be the site coordinator this year. Bill has agreed to be secretary. We brainstormed booth ideas. We want the high school students to get involved with the younger kids; we came up with a couple of strategies to that avail. We are soliciting suggestions for booths. We are asking Maryellen to do something on spit or chewing tobacco as so many youth believe this to be somehow less dangerous than smoking tobacco. Our next meeting will be Jan 20^th, 10 a.m., at the YERC, before WIN meeting.

  

WELLNESS THOUGHT:  God don’t make no junk. Anonymous

 

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Bill: The Troxel family will be on vacation January 21-28. The church’s financial study unit is over on the 18^th. Sunday, February 1^st they will begin studying “Evangelism and Discipleship.” The church has voted to approve funding for a projector and screen for movie nights. The venues would be the Civic Center, the Tribal Hall and Senior Housing. Some films would be of a religious nature; some will be secular. They will advertise this so no one will be caught unawares.

 

Kat: Railbelt finished the tobacco and prevention quarterlies and are working on the behavioral health quarterly. We received the latest grant information so have begun the process of putting together our next grant cycle funding request.

On a personal note, Mara and Clara are producing remarkably copious amounts of manure. People wanting to gather manure for summer gardens ought to contact Kat or David (832-1078) to arrange a pick-up of same. David points out that this stuff is much easier/nicer to handle when it is frozen tight. Words to the wise.

 

Merrily: Paul is preparing for the March Envisioning Wellness presentation. He is thinking he would like to present on Emergency Preparedness. Paul is now a certified energy rater; he has been working with the state energy raters, and through Interior Weatherization. He can now do the door-blower tests, energy rate homes, and provide suggestions for upgrading to obtain a higher rating.

 

Miles: On the note of emergency preparedness, every Thursday, local ham radio operators take part in a region-wide ham radio emergency broadcast test. This is information people should know; we have qualified radio operators available locally if needed for emergency communications. Also, in regards to the community garden, he ran into Brent Mitchel who reminds us that there are fruit trees and berries planted at the TCCC campus. These will need to be tended. Miles suggests that we put this on the agenda to talk about come spring (maybe march?) so that the ongoing task of tending this “farm” will not fall solely to Brent.

 

Rebecca: Marilyn at Coghill’s Store is trying to update the community birthday calendar. Anyone who wants to be on the calendar or who knows of people who have moved or are deceased should let Marilyn know. The Nenana Patchers quilting group meets tonight at 7 P.M. at Karen Harvey’s house. They meet the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday evening of each month. Rebecca reports she is walking evenings at the school. She walks Mon. and Wed. at 6 P.M. (during Tae Kwan Do) and Tuesdays and Thurs. during Open Gym at 7 P.M. She has several others who are walking with her. There is a school board meeting tonight at 6:30 in the Pit. Her composting worms are doing well; she is ready to split them. Anyone interested in getting worms should call her at 832-1000.

 

Maryellen: Has been coordinating with the TCC tobacco prevention specialist, towards their goal of educating youth about tobacco cessation. She reports that the Anderson Senior Community Lunch will be held Noon-2 P.M. at the city building on Thursday, January 22^nd. The Movie Night for Adults will begin 7’ish the evening of Friday, January 23^rd, also at the city building.

 

Bonnie: Benny Albert’s 105 birthday party will be at his house this Wednesday evening, 6:30 P.M. The Senior bus went to town today. Friday, Jan. 9^th, was their first meal since the beginning of this cold snap. The building had heating issues and their propane was frozen. They are back to their regular lunch schedule now of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Noon.

 

OPEN FLOOR FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION: None

 

ADJOURNMENT: 1:30 P.M.

Nenana Wellness CoalitionMINUTES

January 06, 2009

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.

There were eight at meeting today, including: Tara, Tim Horn, Bonnie Reed, Paul, Merrily and Sam Verhagen, Kat McElroy and Miles Martin. We had chili, six-grain bread, pecans and raisins for lunch.

 

WELCOME: By this week’s chairperson, Tim Horn.

 

PRAYER: Was lead by Sam Verhagen, followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE.

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: Due to multi-tasking malfunction today, Kat did not generate an agenda, so we had to wing it.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes were posted to the WIN e-list last Tuesday afternoon, as well as on the web site for WIN linked to www.railbelt.com

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Tara introduced herself. She lives a couple of miles on the other side of the Nenana River. She has a concern about safety issues regarding the drilling in that area for natural gas. She requested to be placed on the agenda.

           

SPEAKERS/TOPICS Envisioning Wellness: Mayor Jason Mayrand has agreed to be our presenter January 27^th. Tim Horn will contact him to get information needed to do flyers. Kat will contact Andrea to see if she has been able to get Carol Gallo to confirm for February. If not, Kat is willing to do Addiction 101 that month. We asked Paul Verhagen if he would be interested in presenting in March; he said he would consider it. Mara from the Cooperative Extension has agreed to present in April; her topic will be Community Development. Health Fair: Our first organizational meeting Monday was cancelled due to extreme cold. We plan to have the Fair in March, in the school, with a focus on youth issues. Tim has emailed Joe Krause at the school to get an idea of when to schedule. We are presuming it will be sometime after Spring Break. Cathie Gephart is back and our next (first) meeting is now tentatively scheduled for 3:30 P.M. Thursday, 01-08-09, in the superintendent’s office at the school. Miles suggested we might want to do a booth about the medicine wheel for wellness.  Calendaring: Merrily Verhagen said that she is interested in getting some manner of community calendar going; she is volunteering to try to do this. Kelvin used to do regular e-mail calendars of Nenana events. She wants to know what is going on in our neighborhood. She is thinking of some kind of web-based calendar. Kat mentioned that the Railbelt web site could easily host such an item, if that would be helpful. The web site is Word Press and Kat is not particularly skillful at the various applications it offers. Tara said she noticed the Railbelt web site was on Word Press and that she has some knowledge of that. 

Sober Housing: Nothing new to report. No sober housing meetings held in December. This segued into our ongoing concerns regarding possible health risks associated with lack of running water at the Old House on 1^st street. Kat has been in contact with the residents who have been hauling drinking water from the tribal hall as well as from friend’s houses. They have been dumping human waste down the old outhouse hole. The primary worry seems to be: will this create a health hazard come break-up? Discussion ensued regarding enabling what seems to be “dysfunctional” behaviors by trying to fix this “problem” versus ignoring the perceived health risks of untreated human waste in so high traffic an area. Various people have offered to lend a hand by helping dig a better outhouse or assisting somehow in getting the water turned back on. Paul suggested Kat ask the residents what skills or talents they feel they possess as this could allow us to more effectively help them to help themselves. This engendered a larger discussion regarding potential opportunities in our community and barriers to availing those prospects. Miles pointed out the Open Market which he has tried for several years to get other people interested in doing. He has made money vending his books and crafts at that site by the highway for several summers, but a larger market could be developed if other vendors would consistently participate. Tara said it could be a good way for people, who, like her, live in the woods, to be introduced into the community.   How can we encourage economic development? It was suggested that we put Open Market as an agenda item on a regular basis as springtime approaches.

 Gas Drilling: Tara passed out a hand-out (see attached) she put together itemizing concerns she has about the proposed natural gas drilling on the other side of the Nenana River. She bought a cabin and has been living over there. She is concerned about possible damage to ground water, contaminants and associated health hazards, environmental damage including noise pollution and the actual effective “footprint” of the proposed project.  Miles mentioned some of the concerns he has heard voiced and felt; he itemized pros and cons. Paul said that everyone can agree that any drilling needs to be done safely. Tara will be posting her concerns sheet around town. She would like to organize a wide-based community process to help hold the various entities involved in the project accountable for health and safety concerns.  

 

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Kat: Railbelt has to do quarterly reports. It has been quiet. Rosemary is in town with Emily; so far, no baby yet.

Paul: LDS Church is holding meetings in Nenana now each Sunday at 11 A.M. in the old Corner Bar building (Kristi’s Quisine).

 

Sam: The Verhagen’s are considering doing some kind of language study program. They have Spanish speakers, Portuguese speakers, even some Chinese and some Hebrew.  In their mission work they taught English as a second language. Now they are hoping to be able to teach world languages here. They have talked to the school about interfacing so that students could get credit.

 

Miles heard that Hal Chapman might be thinking about opening up a second hand store.  Also, he is interested in getting a hold of Mr. Fudge to see if it is still possible to order ten cord loads of firewood. He thinks this would be a good idea to go in on with others.

Merrily said it would be nice to know if anyone is in need of firewood. She remembers what it is like trying to heat an under-insulated place at fifty below zero. Miles wondered if Darcia may be n need of firewood

.

Bonnie: There was no meal Monday and will be no meal Wednesday at the Senior Center due to extreme cold: their propane has frozen. Hope this resolves itself by Friday. Also, do not forget, Benny Albert’s 105th birthday at Grandma Edna’s house on third street, January 14, 6:30. Soup and cake and ice cream will be served. People are welcome to bring a dish. Lastly, Bonnie heard there would be a Minto moose hunt permit drawing at George Hall, date and time unknown.

 

Tim: Don’t forget the Freecycle January 17^th, around 5 PM. Rebecca will be putting flyers up. It will probably be at the tribal hall, barring any emergency use of the hall that would pre-empt the free-cycle. There will be a chili cook-off. Eric Gephart will repeat his presentation about how communities can support their youth.

Lastly, The Bahai’i are hosting Reflections on Life After Death at Bonnie’s house, Wednesday, 7 P.M. Everyone is welcome to attend and people are encouraged to bring stories, information or beliefs about life after death for discussion.  

  

OPEN FLOOR FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION: None

 

ADJOURNMENT: 2:10 P.M.