Grand Junction, IA

School’s Out for the Summer

Fran Teagarden — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:21:02 +0000

The Horizons after school tutoring program finished the year with 7 students involved and with big plans for the coming year. The program received a $3000 grant from the Greene County Community Foundation and plans are to use it for a computer, educational materials and games and nutritious snacks for the students. A field trip may also be funded by the grant money.
The program was staffed with nearly 30 volunteers of all ages. Since it took place during daytime hours, some who would have liked to help were unable to because it conflicted with their work schedules. Most of the volunteers have agreed to help during the next school year.
The local school district provided a program advisor, saw that each student took home an information sheet provided by the program, provided weekly spelling lists and provided transportation from the school to the library where the tutoring program was held. An informational article about the program was included in the school newsletter.
The program is set to begin again in September and run thru May 1 when little league ball practice begins. The core planning committee will meet to review last year’s program and again later this summer to plan for the ‘08-’09 school year.

Community Garden Sprouts

Fran Teagarden — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:12:10 +0000

Area farmers have partnered with Horizons member David Higgins to plant several acres of sweet corn and tomatoes and other produce which will be offered to anyone in the community as soon as they are ready for harvest. This is our first effort with a community garden which hopefully will be a success and in the future will be expanded to include more sites and more crops and the development of an efficient food distribution plan.

Angelfood Takes the Cake

Fran Teagarden — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:06:54 +0000

The AngelFood ministries program has recently been introduced to Grand Junction residents. Horizons board member Pastor Dan Emmert of the Grand Junction Presbyterian Church, working in conjunction with another county church, is leading the effort to aquaint the community with this program which can take a giant step toward reducing hunger among needy families in our town.
The Georgia based program provides quality groceries at an excellent price to anyone who orders them. Food stamps are accepted and the food is delivered monthly to a nearby town. Horizons has volunteers who have offered to pick up the food for those unable to do so. This program is a great weapon in our battle to provide food for the hungry. We need to strive to make all who could benefit from it aware of it and encourage their participation.

Visions of Sugarplums

Fran Teagarden — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:00:55 +0000

Participation in the Horizons program provided Grand Junction with the information and impetus to apply for a Community Visioning grant funded by Trees Forever and the Iowa D.O.T. And, our Horizons participation played an important role in Grand Junction being selected to receive this grant. There is considerable overlap in people active in both efforts as enthusiasm for community improvement grows.
Through the Community Visioning grant, Grand Junction is receiving creative and technical assistance to help us make plans to make our community more livable and our Main Street more viable and attractive. Thru this effort, we may have the potential for more services and more business development in the future which would lead to more jobs, less poverty and more community pride. People from all age groups and income levels are enjoying working together and sharing ideas in this effort.
An additional aspect of the grant is to inform us of and encourage us to apply for more grants which will enable us to carry out some of the visions we are creating for our community. The Horizons 501c3 non-profit status will provide a place to deposit the funds donated or granted to us for the projects.

Grand Junction: Home of the Naked Ladies

Fran Teagarden — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:51:45 +0000

The Naked Ladies Garden Club, formed as a direct result of Horizons opening doors to new relationships between people of all economics levels and age groups, has become a force to be reckoned with in Grand Junction. With fund raising as our focus in this our first year, we are hoping to soon begin fulfilling our mission statement of “improving the biopsychosocialspiritual life of Grand Junction residents through Earth-friendly actions and deeds”. With this goal in mind, the Naked Ladies have published and sold a calendar featuring numerous local citizens, worked together to make an awesome quilt to raffle for Fun Day, and are planning a breakfast booth in July when thousands of people pass thru town on bikes in the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.
The monthly meetings and project work days provide time for interaction and mentoring opportunities which most likely would never have occurred without the formation of this group. In addition, garden club members have assisted the elderly with plantings and have worked with the Municipal Light and Water Plant in developing landscaping plans for their new facility.

More Fun

Fran Teagarden — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:42:50 +0000

The second annual Grand Junction New Fun Day will be held on July 5, 2008. Horizons member Pam Davis heads up the planning committee again this year. This year’s community celebration is being held in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of the Grand Junction Volunteer Fire Department. Many of the day’s activities will focus on the fire department, including the firemen’s pancake breakfast, participation of many area fire departments in the parade and the bell ceremony honoring past firefighters who served with the department. Other booths and activities for young and old are planned throughout the day and evening.

2-1-1 System on the Launch Pad

Fran Teagarden — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:47:51 +0000

Beginning July 1, Grand Junction will be served by the 2-1-1 phone assistance system, funded by the Iowa Department of Human Services. Any Grand Junction resident can receive information about numerous essential community services available to assist them, simply by dialing 2-1-1.
Horizons committee discussions identified the need for this service in our community because we have no way to share this information with those who need it, and had no comprehensive list of services available.
A letter was sent to every Grand Junction address explaining the service. In addition to the letter, a colorful postcard with the essential 2-1-1 information on it was enclosed with the letter, for each household to post in a prominent location in their home for future reference. An article in the free county shopper newspaper will also briefly explain this new valuable service.
All area phone numbers residents may need to access are also published in a new Greene County Community Resource Directory which is available in several location in the community. These locations were also listed in the letter each resident received.
A dispatcher with the county sheriff’s office has asked that their office be supplied with a copy of the directory to use when they receive non-emergency 911 calls or other calls requesting this type of information.
Information in the Greene County Community Resource Directory was compiled through the efforts of the Greene County Extension Office and the Greene County Resource Council. So many lives can be helped by having this useful and valuable information in one easily accessed location, readily available to all who need and seek it.

Search and Destroy

Fran Teagarden — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:36:34 +0000

Progress continues in Grand Junction’s mission to demolish and clean up abandoned, run-down properties in the community. With leadership from Horizons members Pierre Kellogg and Pat Fagen, who are now city council members, three buildings have been or are scheduled to be torn down and removed this summer. The Grand Junction Fire Department is also cooperating in this effort and has burned down an additional abandoned property.

Sprucing Up Main Street

Fran Teagarden — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:33:47 +0000

A downtown Main Street painting project is planned for this fall in Grand Junction. Some of the former business sites have fallen into disrepair which detracts from the appearance of the community, so Horizons volunteers have begun contacting building owners to get their approval to have their buildings painted. Several of the downtown buildings house low income families who will benefit from a fresh coat of paint on their residences and also from realizing that volunteers from their community are willing to lend them a hand.

Second Clean-Up Day Goes Well

Fran Teagarden — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:29:49 +0000

Grand Junction held its second annual clean-up day on June 7, 2008. Horizons board member Pat Fagen organized the event and coordinated the efforts of dozens of volunteers who collected 270 discarded appliances, 3 1/2 dumpsters full of scrap metal and filled 12 9-ton dumpsters with trash and waterlogged refuse from recently flooded basements in the community. Volunteers ranged from senior citizens who manned the check-in table and provided snacks and refreshments to elementary students who accompanied their parents, and all ages in between. It was a great cooperative effort for the entire community to assist in the clean-up.