Welcome to the Northport, Washington Horizons Community Blog

Community Clean-up

2009-07-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

On April 18th and 19th, NCPR and other community members came together to participate in the Northport Community Clean – up. There were a total of 47 people who showed up to help, ages ranging from 7 year old first graders to senior citizens who understand and care about the community.

All participants gathered at the old gas station to receive their assignments. People with trucks were assigned to be section leaders. From there, volunteers were divided into three groups. The ‘green group’ picked up branches, leaves, etc… the ‘garbage group’ picked up trash and other recyclables. And the ‘metal group’ gathered all metal and appliances. The section leaders then divided the 47 different houses amongst the volunteers for stopping and cleaning up.

Around noon, all helpers returned back to the old gas station to be treated to a barbeque of hot dogs and hamburgers to eat and rest while section leaders deliberated on what was still left to do. When the barbeque came to a close, the groups gathered together to continue the community clean – up.

At the end of the day, the garbage was divided into piles for the garbage truck to deliver to the dump. We ended up with 7 tons of trash and over 100 tons of metal! (Which is quite an improvement compared to the 30 tons we collected in the previous two years). All expenses were paid for by the 5078 lbs of vehicle batteries, the 835 lbs of aluminum cans, and by the cash donations.

We would like to offer a thank you to all the participants who donated their entire day for the benefit of the community, and a special thanks to the Godes family for the use of their property for the purpose of disposing several tons of green waste, Bob Baird for Operating ‘Old Faithful’, Candy Baird, Lloyd Monroe, and Art Grobben who spent the better part of a week completing all the little finishing touches, hauling, separating, loading, etc., Ron Sauvola for letting us once again stage on his property, as well as have our barbeque there, Tony’s Market for their thoughtfulness of donating donuts to jump start our day, to KUK’s Tavern and the Mustang Grill for always being so generous and supportive, to Rebecca Middlesworth, for the case of water, and to Ray Fitzgerald for the use of ‘Old Faithful’ the dump truck.

Americorps*VISTA Update

2009-06-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

NCPR was awarded an Americorps*VISTA project for the EMS program. Ed Nichols will be attending VISTA Volunteer Training in Seattle, WA in early July. Sandra Everson will be attending VISTA Volunteer Supervisor Training in Dallas, TX July 21 - 24th. We hope to kick off the project with an information booth at the "Whole Darn Town Garage Sale" June 24th and 25th. Ed will be working with students from the school who would like to take on the EMS for their senior project. Campaign will consist of signage of our rural area for easier location by our EMS Volunteers in emergency situations, education in the Public school about Fire Safety and Fire Safety assessment of your home. More details will be posted after the training.

Community Greenhouse Grant

2009-06-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Norhtport recieved a $12,000.00 grant from "The Washington Health Foundation Healthiest State in the Nation Campaign" for a community greenhouse. The greenhouse was ordered on June 11th, 2009. It will be built at the Community Garden on mainstreet. We are excited about the opportunity to extend our growing season and provide greens late into the season and vegetable starts early in the year. We are linking with the School to assist with their fresh food program and mentoring a couple of students for their senior projects. We will be posting updates as they become available.

Northport Community Center Update

2009-06-11T20:18:00.001-07:00

Friday June 5th we had a community meeting at the CE Bldg in Northport. In attendence was the NCPR Board, Town Council and Mayor, Ecliptixnet, Builder and Electrician, and community members. Ed Nichols facilitated the meeting. Ed presented the obstacles we are encountering with the school site. Out of the $97,250.00 we have to build we would need to put in septic and electrical, that would leave us with approximately $85,000.00 to build. Several builders were contacted and none felt they could build the building for that amount. At the meeting Art and Nina Grobben generously volunteered a site on main street that we could remodel. After much discussion, everyone voted unanimously to proceed with the new site. Sign up sheets were available for volunteers to donate time to the project. A walk through is scheduled for Monday, June 15th. For more information contact Art Grobben at 675-5063 or 732-0443.

Update on the Community Center

2009-06-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

As most of you know the School Bus Barn burned to the ground in early February. This put a hold on determining whether to build the community center on the possible School property location. At this point it seems that the Bus Barn will be rebuilt on the same location across the street from the school. The next school board meeting is scheduled for March 24th and Ecliptixnet has been requested to attend and answer any questions the board may have concerning the project.

We were aiming for a decision by the end of February, but the school sent a letter to Ecliptixnet and the USDA asking for an extension due to the unforeseen fire. Other news behind the scenes, Amanda McKerighan from Steven’s County Rural Libraries submitted a request to the recent stimulus package that was passed by congress asking for $500,000.00 to add unto the existing Community Center. This would allow us to at least add a section for the Library, Youth Center and possibly the commercial kitchen. If you want to keep an eye on this portion of the Community Center go to www.stimuluswatch.com check out the town of Northport. While there you can also vote on whether this is a good/needed project. Our partners in this project are:
· USDA/Ecliptixnet
· Steven’s County Rural Libraries
· Bethel Youth Centers
· TEDD (Business Incubator, Commercial Kitchen)
· WSU
· Community Colleges of Spokane
· Northport Medical Clinic
· Northport Schools

The first phase of the Community Center is due to be up and running by October. If anyone would like to donate or volunteer time to the project you can contact Art Grobben at 675-5063 or Sandi Everson at 732-8847. When the first phase is done we will need volunteers willing to keep the center open for public use.

Northport Community Garden is Coming Soon!

2009-06-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

Spring Fever is in the air! If you doubt it you should have attended the Herb Class at WSU on Thursday, March 5th. The Rendezvous Theater had about 75 eager gardeners listening to Al Kowitz share his passion and expertise for growing and cooking with herbs. Well onto the Community Garden Project.

We are in the planning stages of developing a community garden and greenhouse for Northport. Several people have been spending time brainstorming to make this a reality. Wendy Lantzy has stepped forward to take the lead on this project that was birthed out of the Horizon Grant. Last year the ground was prepared, organic matter added to the soil and some raised beds started, but no one was available to take charge of the project until now. Thanks, Wendy!

Rebecca Middlesworth started writing a grant to fund the startup costs of fencing, a drip irrigation system and green house. Community members Kamiah Goodwin, Sandra Everson, Art and Nina Grobben and Rebecca Middlesworth met to discuss some of the particulars. The location for the Community Garden has been donated by Art and Nina Grobben. The property is located on Main Street next to Buck Jennings, CPA. The location is ideal for access to marketing, proximity to school and community members to use.

Our goal is to link with the school for mentoring via the JR/SR projects and/or perhaps an elective class. The goal of the greenhouse is to give students an opportunity to raise starts for sale in the spring and perhaps to provide fresh greens all winter to local community members and businesses. Space may be made available at a small fee (to cover the costs of heating and water) to interested community members who wish to grow their own fresh greens or garden starts.

If you are interested in participating in gardening, mentoring, weeding, building a fence or setting up an irrigation system, etc. please contact Wendy Lantzy at
732-4249 or Nina Grobben at 732-0443.

Americorps*VISTA Volunteer to Assist Northport in Three Possible Projects

2009-06-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

At the February NCPR meeting, Ruby Page from Americorps*VISTA spoke. She shared about the Americorps*VISTA program and suggested we submit a project idea. Cindy Knapp, Gary and Kathy Jones, Sandra Everson, Art and Nina Grobben, Marti Rosenstiel and Melissa Kahee met at the Grobbens to begin brainstorming projects that we could submit. Three projects came immediately to mind; a recycling station, community garden and an address identification project with the volunteer fire dept.

Marti Rosenstiel and Melissa Kahee have begun investigating the possibility of a recycling center for profit to provide jobs for students and disabled/handicapped workers. It is just in its infancy stage but the following are the ideas submitted for a three-year project:
· Begin a Recycle Center
· Educate the community and school
· Develop a volunteer base
· Develop mentoring program with the school (JR/SR Projects)
· Create Job opportunities for students/disabled/seniors
· Create a Recycle Web Site for local classified ads
· Build a Recyclable Building Supply Center
· Clearing house for tearing down structures

The Community Garden is forging ahead, but some of our ideas for an Americorps*VISTA in this project are as follows:
· Identify End Users of the garden produce
· Develop Volunteer base
· Identify and apply for grants to fence, build greenhouse, etc.
· Develop mentoring program with the school (JR/SR Projects)
· Identify possible partners beyond the school
· Develop ongoing educational program for the school
· Seed Saving Program
· Develop and identify plants hardy to our area
· Plant starts from the greenhouse to sell to the community
· Educate and develop bio-intensive gardening methods
· Survey community on knowledge/needs/volunteers/etc.

The Volunteer Fire Dept. project idea was for the development of a sign identification program. Our firefighters have a difficult time locating fires and emergencies due to the lack of proper signage on driveways in the outlying areas. A similar program was started in Newport and with grants and selling of signs it has been sustainable. At this time we have no one within the Fire Dept willing to take the lead on this project. We were looking to partner with the Northport Volunteer Fire Dept. and Fire District 11 (Onion Creek) to work on this project simultaneously. At this point it looks like Fire District 11 might submit an Americorps*VISTA project of their own. We will gladly assist them in anyway we can.

2009-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Northport in historically rich northeastern Washington. Northport is located on the magnificent Columbia River. Northport was a wild west boom town. Kuk’s Tavern, opened in 1888, is still in business and claims to be the oldest tavern in Washington state. Today Northport is a quiet town with about 340 residents. It is surrounded by some of the most beautiful country in the world. Northport is an outdoorsman's dream with year around recreation. We invite you to visit our beautiful part of the world.

Northport Community Preservation and Restoration Introduction Letter

2009-03-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2009

Hello,

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. Northport Community Preservation and Restoration (NCPR) was created in May of 2008 through the commitment and perseverance of a group of community members. As NCPR we are committed to:

Building relationships and partnerships between Town Council, Northport Schools and existing groups in our community and other communities to educate, improve infrastructure and our economy.
Focus on community leadership, identifying and developing the activities of citizens to strengthen and move our community forward.
Build a foundation of success under the youth that they would not continue in the cycle of poverty of previous generations.

Our mission statement is to “Empower the community with leadership skills, to enhance the quality of life and sustain a healthy community”. At this time we have partnered with:

The Town of Northport on a RCO Boat Launch/Facilities improvement grant. It was applied for in 2008, awarded in November and will begin construction in the summer of 2009.
The Northport School District to host a community informational meeting on the School Levy.
The Northport Chamber of Commerce in building a website (www.northportwa.us) to promote the town, area and businesses of Northport.
Ecliptixnet/USDA to bring high speed Internet to Northport along with a community center.
The Northport Chamber of Commerce, Men of Valor Ranch and the Northport Community to host an annual town cleanup and beautification, which is going into its third year.
Men of Valor Ranch for graffiti removal on the Frazier’s Mill Building

Our goals for the future are:

To establish relationships with the existing organizations in town in order to assist in furthering the sustainability of our community.
We are awaiting the finalization of our 501C3 status from the IRS in order to be a conduit to funnel funds to educate and improve infrastructure in our community.
Addressing the needs from the Senior Surveys, including helping to establish transportation to Colville/Spokane.
Work with AmeriCorp/Vista to establish a mentoring program for the youth working in the following areas: community garden, recycling center, and fire department.
Continue to seek partnerships to expand on the USDA Community Center footprint to include the Steven’s County Rural Library, Community Colleges of Spokane, Bethel Youth/Senior Center, Business Incubator with TED and more.
The continuation of P.A. Jarre Jarret’s goal of educating the community on health related issues such as obesity, diabetes, drugs and alcohol.

We welcome your input, concerns, suggestions and involvement. Community members are welcome to attend our meetings, which are held the Thursday following the monthly City Council meetings. We meet at City Hall in the American Legion/Volunteer Fire Dept. room at 9:30 am. Please let us know how we can assist you as we all move forward to see Northport become a healthy and thriving community.

Respectfully Submitted,

Northport Community Preservation and Restoration (NCPR)

NCPR Board and members: Gary Jones, Art Grobben, Rebecca Middlesworth, Nina Grobben, Cindy Knapp, Sandi Everson, Kathy Jones, John Corcoran and Ed Nichols

Northport Community Preservation and Restoration
P.O. Box 967 * Northport, WA 99157

www.northportcpr.org

NCPR and Northport Chamber of Commerce Work Together for Northport

2008-12-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Continuing our fight against poverty and encouragement of business visability and tourism, members of Northport Community Preservation and Restoration (NCPR) and the Northport Chamber of Commerce(NCofC) participated in a hands on class to redesign and implement the Northport Chamber of Commerce Web Site. Brendon Michael Hall, a web savy relative, worked with 9 community members to create the site using Dreamweaver and Fireworks. The maintenance of the website will be left to the Chamber of Commerce. The web site is scheduled to Go Live by 1/5/09. The address is http://www.northportwa.us/

The class was squeezed into the holiday break. Designing a web site "by committee" is sometimes a challenge, but we perservered. The new web site should serve the needs of tourists and locals alike with local business information along with vacation ideas and resources.

Art and Nina Grobben hosted us. Nina provided LOTs of Coffee, goodies and lunch. Art even took off my tire chains!

Thanks go to our hosts, Art and Nina, and to Brendon for making himself available to support us.

2008-12-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

NCPR Brings Community Together for Schools

2008-12-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Poverty comes in many forms. The higher fuel prices and few local jobs have moved more families out of the area. The fewer children and a mandate from the state governor to cut 10% from the already stretched budget has created a financial decision point for our schools.

Last night Mr. Baribault's 5th grade classroom had standing room only. More than 50 people from the school district got together to discuss the upcoming school levy. The audience included school board members, teachers, staff, volunteers, parents, grandparents and other community members. Mrs. Guglielmino, Northport Schools District superintendent and principal, gave us a comprehensive presentation about the history of the school district and the choices for the future. The community then discussed options and a levy committee was started.

NCPR had a couple of pivotal roles in this. Sandi Everson, NCPR member, worked extensively with Share Marks, financial director of the school, Mrs. Guglielmino, and Julie Simmons, administrator of the school district, to create the PowerPoint presentation. Nina Grobben, NCPR treasurer, called over 900 phone numbers to invite the community to have a part in the discussion. Nina also provided a beautiful drinks and snack station.

Big THANKS! go out to Mrs. G, Share, Julie, Sandi, Nina and any others I am not aware of that helped put this together.

Northport Horizon History/NCPR

2008-11-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

To view the history of our Horizon Project and the transition to NCPR go to http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcsw7397_40dg79wjhk

4-H Mentoring Program

2008-07-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Three adults received training as 4-H leaders from WSU Stevens County Extension 4-H educators recently as they explored the idea of forming a 4-H club as part of the Youth Mentoring Project. It looks like we will start a 4-H club!!!

An additional training will be scheduled for September. If you are interested in attending please contact Sandi at 732-8847.

NCPR Meetings

2008-07-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Northport City Council!! We are now able to hold our meetings for NCPR (formerly Horizons) free of charge at Town Hall. This is a great partnership as we work together on projects to benefit the community.

Grant Application

2008-07-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Community members are working tirelessly on a application for dock upgrades. Our current dock and recreation area could be greatly improved with additional funding, making the area more attractive users and tourists. We have beautiful and usable spot!

They have met with the Recreation and Conservation Organization and have a grant manager they are working very closely with, who is advising and assisting in the preparation of the grant.

LeadershipPlenty

2008-06-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Over the past school year 24 High School students attended and completed LeadershipPlenty as an elective during school. The course was taught by a youth trained in the LeadershipPlenty curriculum as part of the Horizons project.

Northport Community Preservation and Restoration

2008-06-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

The Horizons Steering Committee is undergoing a transformation. This dedicated group of volunteers are in the process of becoming a recognized non-profit called Northport Community Preservation and Restoration.

Our mission will be to empower the community with leadership skills to enhance the quality of life and sustain a healthy community. The group will build relationships with existing groups to education, create infrastructure, and improve the economy. As we look for grants one focus will be to fund projects to combat poverty.

Updating Chambers Website

2008-06-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Northport Horizons group is offering computer classes, including building, designing, and maintaining websites. Please contact Sandi at 732-8847 if interested.

In partnership with the Northport Chamber of Commerce, we will be revamping the community website.

USDA/Ecliptixnet Highspeed Internet Grant

2008-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the informational meeting last fall about getting a grant for high speed internet access??? The town has been selected!!! This grant will provide our town with a small community center and 1o computers for use, especially by those who do not have access otherwise. The grant also provides high speed internet to Northport and opens up opportunity for homebased businesses, online classes for furthering education, and the possibility of expanding a call center job location for our town and decreasing existing commute times.

WSU Students in Northport

2008-04-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ten Washington State University students presented an assembly to all the High School students on April 21. The spoke about going to college and how to make it happen. They talked about admissions, financial aid, and opportunities to take advatage of while in college. High School students were able to interact with and ask questions of the WSU students. Several students came up after the assembly to ask questions personal questions. This opportunity to interact with WSU students made college seem more real and possible.

WSU Service Learning Project

2008-04-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

A group of 25 Washington State University Human Development students worked with the Northport Youth Mentoring Horizons group to develop a life skills curriculum that can be used in an high school elective course. The curriculum includes information on applying to post secondary education, writing resumes, financial aid, and more. They also did some fundraising and donated $400 to the school. The money can be used to buy materials to supplement the curriculum.

The school is planning to integrate the curriculum into a leadership course this fall.

2nd Annual Town Clean Up

2008-04-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

The second annual town clean up will be held April 20 and 22!!! New this year is our partnership with Chamber of Commerce. We hope to lift a few of the faces ofpoverty...depression, lack of self-worth and self-pride helping people unbury themselves and give them a starting point again. Breaking the patterns of behavior and lack of caring.

Remember last year when we rid the town of over 15 tons of trash, recycled 478 pounds of aluminum cans and 177 vehicle batteries??? Let's do it again.

Grant Writing Workshop

2008-03-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

Wow! Over 30 people attended the two-day Grant Writing Workshop held in February at the school. We now have a whole group of potential grant writers just waiting for a grant to write. Do you have any ideas?

We have built capacity among our citizens to seek funding for projects that will reduce poverty.

Town Signs

2008-02-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

Don't forget you can find out about the latest meetings and events by watching for the information at each end of town.

These signs were put up by the Horizons group to make sure everyone had a chance to find out about upcoming events.