Ashton, ID

The fact that I am responding late, says that these questions have still been up in the air within the community.  It feels like some clarity is coming about at this point…(Tried to just add comment following Saraliz’s, but having system problems!! )

In response to question #2:  I totally agree with Saraliz’s comment above that we really will need to work to keep our new leaders feeling valued, respected, and encouraged.  There are strong personalities involved in the work of the community, who have not always communicated well.  The common experience of having been misunderstood, having been hurt by words spoken or written without first checking things out, and having been judged without the favor of having someone walk in the other person’s shoes–all have been lessons that we have had available to us through our working together.  Hopefully this sometimes painful stuff has helped to forge a wiser, more open atmosphere.  We need to build on the bridges which have begun….and to remember to say our thank-you’s!

In response to question #3:  What structural changes have been made in how the community does its work/makes decisions?  By community here, I will be referring to the insights and aspirations which Horizon’s discussions brought into Ashton.  Looks like there will be a continuation of several committees:  the Revitalization Roundtable with  its structure closely tied with the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Ashton will continue to have open invitations to the public to bring up ideas/concerns.  The City Council itself has closed down discussion at their meetings, so this shared avenue may prove to play an even more positive role for addressing problem areas (most recently recycling, next signage).  The chairperson has extremely good organizational skills and follow through.  The Community Foundation has the strict requirements involved in becoming a foundation which will guide the work of the Board.  Their values and goals are aligned with the conversations held along the route of Horizons activities–focused on enriching and enhancing life for our residents with an eye on finances that will make these hopes possible.  The leadership, again, shows outstanding organizational know-how.

In response to questions #4:   Sustaining partnerships with others is the expectation the Networking committee expects to enhance.  There is a new coalition begun which has asked for assistance, and the original committee itself has several spinoffs which we/they consider partnerships:  focus on cultural divide,   youth activities, and on broadened cultural/recreational activities.   The coalition is building relationships with other communities as a means of mutual planning for better economic benefits to this greater geographic region.

12. Sustaining action and creating structural change around community.

Is a system in place to seek, receive, monitor and report on new resources to support community work?

Our community dynamics seem to have settled into a two part system of focus and energies.  The locus of one is the Revitalization Roundtable  which has its base primarily with the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Ashton.  The nucleus is people who have worked together, established friendships, and share some common ideas.  They are building on established patterns and accomplishments to some degree, and have a track record which indicates that they will continue to be productive with activities they value. The other locus is a newer coalition of people, some of whom first came together through the Horizons sponsored activities, and others who have taken the risk to begin new businesses on Main Street.  Those involved all have good organizational skills, work well together, and have come to recognize and trust one another’s skills and wealth of varied experience.  They are united in the vision of a community working together with openness and transparency.  In anticipation of seeking further resources, each of these groups will move forward with their collective strengths.

Is a system in place to maintain contact with or to continue to work with other communities? With your Delivery Organization? In other partnerships?

Out of the second group mentioned above,  there are plans which include specific cooperation with other small towns.   Some of these are through contacts made through Horizons sponsored opportunities, others are through the Fremont County extension service and still others from broader Eastern Idaho focus groups.

Personal contact has been made with individuals within these systems and a cooperative energy is emerging with concrete plans which should be started by early summer.

What new resources have been secured to assist the work of the community?

The completion and startup of the Ashton Community Foundation will be very important in continuing work in Ashton. It should be a visible and active organization seeking and dispensing funds for the betterment of the entire community.  One resource which will be short term, but will be a positive for the town is the grant which was received for retrofitting the Community Center.  The application for this federal grant (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant) was written by three volunteers –two members of the Networking action team, and all three serving on the Community Center Advisory Committee.  The work will vastly improve the appearance of a major structure on our Main Street, and will make a difference in the city budget for the energy savings it should provide.  The Community Center has much unrealized potential, which we are hoping to address through cooperative efforts.

 (Prior answers from Saraliz and Nancy Bergman are in comments section.)

take-four-two-part-2.pdfOur new recycling center will open this Friday, April 9, at noon with a ribbon cutting ceremony. We have the high school pep band scheduled, and we will be giving prizes for contests within the grade school and middle / high school.

12. Sustaining action and creating structural change around community.

How will your community make decisions about seeking further resources to support its plans?

Is a system in place to seek, receive, monitor and report on new resources to support community work?

Is a system in place to maintain contact with or to continue to work with other communities? With your Delivery Organization? In other partnerships?

What new resources have been secured to assist the work of the community?

Posters are going up, flyers are ready for the newspapers, elementary kids are competing for winning posters.  A bustle of activity is hoping to melt away the big pile of snow still sitting where Ashton plans to place its new recycling bins SOON. Last fall seems like a long time ago, when folks at the Revitalization Round-table asked, “why can’t we have recycling in Ashton?”  Volunteers got a committee going.  We reported earlier that the County Commissioners answered our pleas with a positive–the purchase of recycling bins (on a trailer so they can be hauled to the County landfill in St. Anthony).  The county has continued to respond with action: preparing the signs for bins and for the site.  Things are definitely taking shape at this point.  There is talk of a ribbon-cutting and even a pep band playing to welcome the start of another something new in Ashton.  The date to circle:  April 9th.

“Anger is my friend” gives a clue to the neutral understanding of anger given by presenter Terry Petty.  He was back to help us understand better the undercurrents of conflict.  His definition of anger was “the emotion that lets you know your personal boundaries have been violated.”  Anger has many faces and is tricky to analyze for several reasons.  First, it is a secondary emotion.  It does not occur alone, but covers or seeks to protect some form of pain.  Next, some anger is displaced–unresolved emotions get transferred from a hurtful experience to an unrelated situation.  Sometimes when the displaced anger is long- term unresolved, emotions surface with an intensity which is way beyond what might be expected in a current minor situation.  And further, sometimes anger from the past is spontaneously triggered by something as simple as a word, a smell, a tone of voice or a look–in the present.  The connection is vivid, unexpected and a fresh repeat of raw emotions.

From this base, Petty described anger as the energy called up inside to protect one from the hurt that happens when personal worth is disrespected, the fear experienced when essential needs are not being met or the frustration that comes when one’s basic sense of “right or wrong” has been violated.  One cannot say, however, that someone “made me mad.” Each individual is responsible for his/her own emotion and how it is managed.  Of the five ways of managing anger described by Petty, three were labeled negative and two positive.  The negatives are:  suppressing anger, open aggression, passive aggression.  The positive choices are: assertive anger or dropping anger and refusing to pick it up again.

After exploring the anger patterns, Petty returned to the issue of “taking the hurt out of conflict resolution.” He encouraged confronting issues with confidence by 1) talking directly with one another soon after the conflict appears, 2) checking out what one has heard to make sure it is what the other person meant, 3) being ready to give a sincere apology.  The apology segment includes more than saying one is sorry.  It means also accepting responsibility, making restitution, genuinely pledging intent not to repeat the hurting action, and asking for forgiveness.

The training kept the focus on individuals coming to understand basic concepts and their own personal interactions with others.  For a community which has struggled with divisions, this was important training which may help lead to better understanding and cooperation.  Conversations on the topic continue.

The Ashton community had a great opportunity to take a neutral look at the challenge of conflict–and how to get beyond it at a training held this month.  Terry Petty, presenter, led out with the statement that the only possible time we can look forward to being without conflict in life may be after death!   That caught everyone’s attention, for sure. He went on to say that conflict is not good or bad–it is how we choose to handle conflict that makes all the difference.  Adversarial conflict, the argument culture, is what comes to mind most often when we hear the word; and it seems to be the one in vogue at the moment in our society generally. The familiar pattern includes: attacking personalities, distorting truth to make one’s point, leaving out vital information, debating from extreme polarized viewpoints.  After animated discussion on the absence of  mutual respect in much civil discourse and a video clip of a commentator on national television demonstrating the point, we were ready for a break!

The group was then led through conflict models which can be chosen to address conflict.  They include: withdrawing, yielding, compromising, competing, and problem-solving.   Petty pointed out that conflict actually increases when we choose to “use the wrong tools in the wrong way at the wrong time.” Petty then led the group through a matrix which demonstrated the possibility of thinking through options based on one’s own concern, and the other’s concern.  The one which came out best addressing both was–problem solving.  The participants are the problem-solvers, the goal is to meet needs and build relationship.  In yielding to principle, not pressure, there can become a win-win situation.  The biggest roadblock to getting to focus on solutions is broken trust.  We all experience it, we all know how it feels, and generally what happens is we choose to see ourselves as the victim–and get stuck there, on both sides!   Petty asserted that the only way out of this bind is by working to rebuild trust.  The starting point is taking responsibility for and dealing with the violator role each has played in the victimizing.  Ouch.  Does that mean someone might have to say “I’m sorry,”  and mean it?

A second session will be coming up on March 9th, with a look at anger issues and how those play a role in our conflict.  With the insightful teaching role Mr. Petty has played, we are hopeful that we can indeed begin to “take the hurt out” of much of our community interaction.

Copied from Barbara Petty’s post:
8. Sustaining action and creating structural change around leadership

What is your community’s plan for maintaining a strong community leadership system?

How can your community sustain the changes it has already made in its leadership?

What structural changes have been made in how the community does its work/makes decisions?

What structural changes have been made so that your community leadership sustains partnerships with others?

These questions are a bit tougher than previous months. Until last month, we had been barrelling ahead addressing various types of poverty beyond the scope of “fiscal poverty.” Last month, we learned that the program in fact views fiscal poverty as far more important to address than other types. Previously I would have answered these questions in terms of the great job the Networking Committee is doing to ensure Ashton residents know where to turn in a crisis, or how the Ashton Community Foundation will benefit all residents over the long run. However, none of these items are directly working to reduce fiscal poverty. As we build up the Horizons action committees to continue into the future, they clearly have to focus more intently on fiscal poverty. I can offer the following observations:

The Ashton Community Foundation will allow Ashton to create and fund programs to reduce poverty in the long run. The current efforts are based in forming this foundation.

The food pantry, not a result of Horizons activities, is indeed helping to alleviate hunger issues which result from fiscal poverty.

The efforts to encourage business in Ashton, through the Roundtables which are jointly hosted between Horizons, the city government, and the Chamber of Commerce, can help reduce poverty by bringing more jobs and income to Ashton.

Somehow one of the areas which had not made it to the top of our Ashton action items was focus on youth.  We all value them as our future, we included them in our vision statement–the desire to help them “develop their voices and begin making decisions about the future.” What we had not done, was make a definite invitation to a definite event at a definite time.  Well, better late than never, the networking committee ventured into the youth arena this past week.  The gathering was billed as part of a Words Connect series–this one “Teens * Speak Your Mind * Talk Back.”  We invited them to come share ideas of what they would like to see happening for youth in Ashton– those not already heavily scheduled with school involvement.  Getting the word out was a challenge in spite of now having a town newspaper (yeah!)…where do the kids hang out who might come?  That meant few posters–a couple at the school, some by eateries, call it good.  Armed with neon colored dots for voting priorities from their suggestions, and covering the walls with posters indicating possible interest areas…we set up the familiar tear-away post-it tablet and waited to see who would show!  And show they did–a younger crowd, those ready to try their wings and their voices.  The kids (5) were over-matched in number by adults (6), but we kept our promise to be quiet and listen.  One of our new emerging leaders, Brandy, did a wonderful job of welcoming the kids and  drawing out their suggestions:  game night, winter fun time events, some do-good things like helping with the Linus Project, getting tennis courts in shape for use, and more.  They set a time for a really-get-organized meeting and were talking bringing friends next time as they headed to the kitchen for pizzas.  (Thanks to our local 511 Main shop for the contribution!)  It was a good beginning…