HORIZONS COMMUNITY PROJECTS UPDATE

Community Website-It is up and running and can be viewed at http://www.rockfordwa.com/. Josh Grandinetti and Andy Coumont are doing a great job as the webmasters and are entering new data as it becomes available.
Community Gardens-They are producing a great crop and are being picked by the gardeners for their use and also for those in need who can not get fresh produce on a regular basis. Some items are being sold at the Saturday Farmers Market with proceeds going into the Rockford Community Center (RCC) fund. At the closing of the market each week, perishable produce is delivered to low-income families.
Rockford Community Center (RCC)-Even though no building or facility has been designated as the town's community the fund is still being maintained. Eventually the hope is to have this money go toward a building as a small portion of a down payment, matching funds if a grant becomes available or future facility maintenance. Programs targeting senior social activities, a lending library, and a computer lab are currently being established so when a facility becomes available the programs can opperate in a central location. Income from the Farmers Market and donations from organizations and individuals are going directly to the RCC fund. Soon we will have 501C 3 status for those interested in tax-deductible gifts.

STRATEGIC PLANNING: A Vision For Our Future

What a great time for us to be planning for our great town of Rockford! Elections are coming up and the Horizons group is working on a strategic plan that will better our community. These two events go hand in hand, don't they? Healthy decisions make a healthy place to live! Remember that this is your community and the place you have decided to possibly raise your family or to retire. If you want to get the most out of a community experience, join us in the park on September 10th @ 6:30 for the Horizons BBQ. With your help, in 6 months we can celebrate an awesome community that you want and planned for.

URGENT ALERT re: Safe and Drug Free Schools funding

Dear Safe and Drug Free Schools Supporter

On Friday, July 17th, the Full House Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate the State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) program. The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee on Appropriations is tentatively scheduled to mark up its version of the bill that contains funding for this program on July 28th.

Please take five minutes TODAY! Phone the members of your congressional delegation (both senators and your representative) by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking for your member’s office. (If you don’t know who the members of your congressional delegation are, you can find out by going to http://capwiz.com/cadca/home/ and entering your zip code.)

Senator Patty Murray (Ph: 202-224-2621; Fax: 202 224-0238

Senator Maria Cantwell (Ph: 202 224 3441; Fax: 202 228-0514

Representative, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Ph: 202 225-2006; Fax: 202 225-3392

Email to elected officials must go through their websites:
Senator Patty Murray, http://www.murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm

Senator Maria Cantwell, http://www.cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

Representative, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers , http://mcmorris.house.gov/?sectionid=82&sectiontree=4,82.

Please deliver the following message:

- I understand that the Full House Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate the State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools program

- The House Report says it would rather concentrate funding on targeted interventions, funded through the national programs portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools program

- This is a huge problem and a gigantic mistake because the national programs gives very large grants to a very limited number of local educational agencies who will not be able to sustain these grants when the grant period is over

- In addition, over 90% of school districts, including mine, DON’T receive money from the national programs and probably never will

- Therefore, if the State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools program is eliminated and there will be no prevention infrastructure in place in the vast majority of schools in the country, including ours, to provide K-12 students with messages and effective programming to counter emerging and embedded drug trends as well as bullying and violence prevention issues

- Please tell your boss that it is critical that the funding for the Safe and Drug Free Schools program be maintained and we need their support

*** This request was sent by Kelly LieupoDirector of Public PolicyCommunity Anti-Drug Coalitions of America625 Slaters Lane, Suite 300Alexandria, VA 22314klieupo@cadca.orgTelephone: (800) 542-2322 ext. 241Facsimile: (703) 706-0565

Monday, July 27th, Youth Group, 6:30 p.m. Rockford Community Church.

Monday, July 27th, Lions Club, 7 p.m., Harvest Moon Banquet Room. Craig Swanson, President, Ph: 291-4313

Tuesday, July 28, Summer Swim bus to Tekoa, departs 11:45 a.m., Rockford Park. $2. Returns swimmers to the park at approximately 4 p.m.

Wednesday, July 29th, Planning & Zoning, 6 p.m., City Hall. Contact Darlene LaShaw, Clerk Ph: 291-4716

Thursday, July 30th, Free Movies in the Park, dusk, Rockford Park. Free soda and popcorn courtesy of Rockford businesses. Help with cleanup appreciated.

Thursday, July 30th, Alcoholics Anonymous, 7 p.m., United Methodist Church Parsonage. Contact Todd, Ph: 291-4601

Thursday, July 30th, Block Watch, 7 p.m. in the Park with Deputy Sheriff, Travis Pendell

Thursday, July 30, Freeman School District, School Board Meeting, 5 p.m. MS Library

Saturday, August 1st, Farmer's & Flea Market in the Park, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Saturday, August 1st, Crochet Club, 10 a.m.-noon Harvest Moon Banquet Room (or alongside Farmer's & Flea Market in the Park.) Contact Vivian Plank, Ph: 291-3722

Spokane physicians voice opposition

In an unprecedented move, physicians and staff at Heart Clinics Northwest are urging people to contact federal representatives and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and tell them how damaging the currently-in-process President's Health Care proposals for reform would be to patient's medical care.

"The proposed reimbursement schedule is devastating to the care of all patients," says the July 15,2009 open letter sent to HCN patients. "Tell them (federal representatives & CMS) how damaging this would be to your care and they absolutely can't implement these cost reductions."

Heart Clinic Northwest foresees a dramatic decrease in:
Access to care
Substantial reduction in ability to provide high quality care
Probable future reduction in quantity of care.

Comments will be received at CMS no later than August 31, 2009 at 5:p.m. Eastern time and will ONLY reach the proper CMS department at the following:

Electronically submitted comments: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064809f0082.

Written comments sent via US Mail:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services
Attention: CMS-1413-PP.O.
Box 8013Baltimore, MD 21244-8013.

By express or overnight mail:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services
Attention: CMS-1413-P
Mail Stop C4-26-05, 7500 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

Email to elected officials must go through their websites:
Senator Patty Murray (Ph: 202-224-2621; Fax: 202 224-0238; website: http://www.murray.senate.gov/.)
Senator Maria Cantwell (Ph: 202 224 3441; Fax: 202 228-0514; website: http://www.cantwell.senate.gov/.)
Representative, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Ph: 202 225-2006; Fax: 202 225-3392; website: http://www.mcmorrisrodgers.house.gov/.)

E-mail forms: Senator Patty Murray, http://www.murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm

Senator Maria Cantwell, http://www.cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

Representative, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers , http://mcmorris.house.gov/?sectionid=82&sectiontree=4,82.

CMS is responsible for reimbursement to hospitals and physicians, and will only be open for comment until August 31, 2009 on proposed cuts in reimbursement for medical care (physician services, outpatient procedures, and imaging services.)

Heart Clinics Northwest is a major provider of cardiac care in the northwest, and advise that "the proposed cuts would amount in total to between a 25% to as much as 50% reduction ... the reduction will be superimposed on an already implemented 15%-20% reduction in the current fiscal year. Our practice cannot sustain this insult and if they are implemented January 1, 2010 as proposed, the impact to you, as a patient, will be radical."

"The risk to you is tremendous and the outcome potentially devastating." HCN wrote.

Social Networking Tips

As rural communities get faster Internet services, social networking increases, bringing opportunities to increase incomes. I have a friend who earns $90 an hour for as little as two hours a day with social networking. However, the ways social networking can endanger the unwary increases, too.

If you're new to social networking (or even if you're not), check out Debra Littlejohn Shinder's article, "10 Ways to Stay Out of Trouble when you Post to Social Networking Sites" on the TechRepublic site at http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=851.

Debra is a Microsoft MVP specializing in enterprise security and CEO of TACteam (Trainers, Authors & Consultants). A former police officer/criminal justice instructor, she has written or contributed to over 20 books and hundreds of articles for print and online publications. Debra is highly respected for her virtual-crime fighting expertise. Her titles include MVP/Security, Editor, WXPnews (http://www.wxpnews.com/), Editor, VistaNews (http://www.vistanews.com/). http://www.debshinder.com/, and Tech Blog: http://deb-tech.spaces.live.com/.

In "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom," authors Matthew Fraser and Soumitra Dutta wrote, "The generation entering the workforce today - and entering boardrooms everywhere - is fully engaged with social networking and its uses. Rather than feeling threatened and paranoid, today's business leaders need to understand this phenomenon, accept that it won't go away, and embrace its power in the world of business."

Give serious thought to how you use this powerful new medium. Although social networking is increasing at phenominal speed in the business world and vastly enhancing the work-a-day world, it warrants the time to learn about its many uses.

Start at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network to learn more. And be sure to read, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging.

On the bookshelf, "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom" is the first comprehensive book written for a wide audience about the Web 2.0 social networking revolution. ... www.throwingsheep.com/.

This Week in Rockford

Monday, July 20th, Youth Group, 6:30 p.m. Rockford Community Church.

Monday, July 20th, McIntosh Grange, 7.p.m. McIntosh Grange. Contact, Susan Hegney, Ph: 995-7001, Carol Evans, Ph: 535-1165

Tuesday, July 21, Summer Swim bus to Tekoa, departs 11:45 a.m., Rockford Park. $2. Returns swimmers to the park at approximately 4 p.m.

Wednesday, July 22nd, Town Council meeting, 7 p.m. City Hall. Contact Darlene LaShaw, Clerk Ph: 291-4716

Thursday, July 23rd, Free Movies in the Park, dusk, Rockford Park.
Free soda and popcorn courtesy of Rockford businesses. Help with cleanup appreciated.

Thursday, July 23rd, S.E. Spokane County Fair meeting, 7 p.m. Harvest Moon Banquet Room

Saturday, July 25th, Crochet Club, 10 a.m.-noon Harvest Moon Banquet Room (or alongside Farmer's & Flea Market in Rockford Park.) Contact Vivian Plank, Ph: 291-3722

Saturday, July 25th, Farmer's & Flea Market in Rockford Park, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Education opportunities

Class schedules at Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, and Institute for Extended Learnging are no longer printed and mailed; go online to www.ccs.spokane.edu and click on class schedules to find fall course offerings, on campus and online. Fall quarter starts September 21, 2009.

The deadline for winter quarter financial ais applications is Nov. 30, 2009.

College prep classes and GEDs are available through the Institute for Extended Learning. Visit www.iel.spokane.edu/abe/ or call 509 533-4600.

If exercise, art, personal enrichment or skill-building classes interest you, classes for seniors, Boomers and everyone else -- CCS noncredit lifelong learning classes are for you. Go to www.ccs.spokane.ed, and click on Class Scheules, and check Noncredit Classes to see what's happening fall quarter.

If transportation is a problem, or you'd like to carpool, please make a comment to this post in the space provided.

Community Gardens thrive

Update from Keith & Linda Wigen, Community Garden team leaders.


"Dear Gardners, The gardens are in and growing well. Thanks to all who helped to plant them. There are three in all -- one next to the Catholic Church, one next to Kit and Dell Stevenson's house (Lake & Maple), and one on the highway going toward Worley, next to Lonny and Linda Thomas's house (A & 1st St.)

"Now that they are growing, we need weeders to keep them in good shape. Please do your share. We won't be setting up schedules for weeding, but are putting you on your honor to take an hour or so a week at your convenience and at the garden of your choice to hoe or pull weeds. Also, in the garden near the church, the lettuce and radishes are ready for picking. Please take what you can use.

"On Thursday, August 6th, we will be having a "weed & feed" at the garden next to the Catholic Church. Please join us. Bring a potluck dish to share and we'll weed awhile and then we'll eat. It will be a good chance to get to know each other better and also to share ideas. We'll meet at six o'clock.

"Thanks for your interest in our gardening project and your continued support. As before, if you have questions, you can call Keith or Linda Wigen at 291-3602, or Todd Hart at 291-4601.

"Your fellow gardeners. "

Swim bus Tuesday not Thursday

The bus, taking kids to swim at Tekoa, leaves Rockford Park at 11:45 a.m. on Tuesdays, not on Thursdays as reported earlier.

I'm sorry for passing along the wrong day, published first in the Rockford News that's sent out with monthly utility bills to homeowners.