Ridgerunner Consulting

Here's the narrative of a grant application I submitted on behalf of V.I.B.E. last week for $10,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, in conjunction with state Sen. Scarnati:

Blossburg V.I.B.E. (Visions in Business & Entertainment) is a 501(c)(3) organization created in 2004 to envision, plan and implement projects that will enhance the quality of life for those who live, work, play or attend school in Blossburg.

This application for a Community Revitalization Program grant of $10,000 is to support several Blossburg V.I.B.E. projects: an Environmental Fair; a new "Welcome to Blossburg" sign; a technology initiative to provide free wireless internet access in our business district; and operating and educational expenses.

ENVIRONMENTAL FAIR: V.I.B.E. is partnering with Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority (NTSWA) to sponsor an Environmental Fair on Nov. 17, 2007. The purpose of the fair is to promote awareness of material reuse, reduction of waste, and recycling through education and materials collection. NTSWA will provide collection containers for computer parts recycling, magazines, and clothing. We are inviting environmentally concerned community organizations such as Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee, which is working with DEP to clean tributaries of the Tioga River polluted by acid mine drainage, and Blossburg Memorial Library which promotes the reuse of books, CDs and DVDs and has educational resources about environmental issues. Vendors with environmentally friendly products have been invited. With a grant from NTSWA's 902 funding through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), V.I.B.E. is purchasing 1,000 reusable grocery bags that will be given away to community members to reduce reliance on plastic bags. The bags feature the slogan "Be the change you want to see. Recycle!" V.I.B.E. is seeking to expand its operational funding by purchasing reusable water bottles to resell, to encourage use of tap water, and reduce the energy waste created by purchase and use of bottled water. We will use this funding for materials for advertising, games, door prizes, rental of costumes and tents, entertainment and refreshments. ($2,000)

WELCOME SIGN: The current "Welcome to Blossburg" sign at the intersection of Main Street and North Williamson Road (former U.S. Route 15) was installed over 20 years ago and is no longer an attractive introduction to our community. However, it remains useful because it contains a coming events sign that helps publicize important community items such as football and volleyball games to the annual Blossburg State Coal Festival to local websites. V.I.B.E. has worked with a design firm to create a new sign, one that coordinates with the historical façade design program that V.I.B.E. initiated with funding from the Department of Community and Economic Development's Main Street affiliate program. The new sign will have a larger area for displaying community announcements and coming events, be more in line with our historic preservation goals, and be an eye-catching welcome to Blossburg. This project is already underway and is expected to be completed by Nov. 15, 2007. ($4,500)

COMMUNITY WIRELESS: Blossburg V.I.B.E. has started building a community wireless internet access network using Meraki's wireless mesh network technology. No other community in Tioga County has initiated a community wireless project. The purpose of this project is to increase use of our business district, increase the attractiveness of commercial and residential rental properties, and increase the overall technological knowledge and capabilities of residents. The initial project will be completed by Oct. 31, 2007, although we hope to expand it to provide more community coverage in the future. Grant money will be used to purchase and install equipment. ($2,000)

We are also requesting $1,500 for operating costs such as travel for conferences, advertising, insurance, and office expenses.

* For more information about Blossburg V.I.B.E. and our projects please visit www.blossburg.org/vibe. The website includes more details and pictures of our projects.

I also co-wrote with Jill Nickerson an application for funding for playground equipment at Blossburg Elementary School, and prepared one for the Bloss Area Swimming Association. Here's the narrative for the pool application:

Bloss Area Swimming Association was founded in 1958 to construct a community swimming pool at Island Park in Blossburg. The first pool and bathhouse were constructed in 1958 and served the community until 1981 when a new large pool was built along with a smaller children's wading pool. The purpose of this application for Community Revitalization program funding is to help with the costs of renovating the existing 26-year-old community swimming pools.

The Borough of Blossburg is a small community of approximately 1,490 people, but the swimming pool serves the adjacent townships of Hamilton, Ward, Bloss, Covington and Putnam, an additional 2,420 residents. In addition to daily open swims seven days a week from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, the pool offers Red Cross-certified swimming lessons, rentals for family reunions and parties, a concession stand, and adult swims. Island Park is a 61-acre recreation facility that includes the swimming pool, football field, track, tennis courts, baseball, softball and Little League fields, pavilions, playground equipment. It is the heart of Blossburg.

The entire cost of the renovation project is estimated at $542,000. The project includes the following elements: zero-depth access to the main pool for handicap accessibility; sandblasting and plastering the entire interior surface; removal of existing lifeguard stands and diving boards; complete replacement of gutter and return piping; installation of a fiberglass bulk chlorine storage tank; installation of a carbon dioxide system for pH correction; relocation of the existing slide; construction of a zero-depth access wading pool for children ages zero to six with a water feature; and installation of a pool heater and winterization cover.

The Swimming Association, in conjunction with the Blossburg Borough Recreation Board, offers family and individual season passes for pool users at prices well below comparable pools in the area and well below operating costs. Operating costs are subsidized by grants from the Jones Foundation, Southern Tioga School District, Blossburg Improvement Association, the Tabor Foundation, several townships, and other community organizations.

The pool renovation project will enable more users to access the pool, bring it up to current safety codes, and enhance its attractiveness to the community. Community Revitalization funds will help us achieve this goal.

Robin Glowatz, English teacher at North Penn High School, is coach of the "Battle of the Books" teams for junior and senior high school. I'm helping her out some. For the school's homecoming block party last Friday on Morris Street, I made these flyers to recruit new members and inform the school community.

Here's the narrative Jill Nickerson & I co-authored for playground equipment at Blossburg Elementary School:

Blossburg V.I.B.E. (Visions in Business and Entertainment) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization initiated in 2004 as a project of Blossurg Borough Council and Blossburg Improvement Association to envision plans and implement projects that will enhance the quality of life for those who live, work, play or attend school in Blossburg.

Blossburg V.I.B.E. is partnering with the Blossburg Elementary School Team (BEST) to provide substantial improvements to the elementary school's playground. The purpose of this application for Community Revitalization program funds is to begin that process with several smaller pieces of equipment. However, the long-term goal is to install a safe, durable play surface under all the playground equipment and to install a large play system with elements that are safe and enjoyable for the full range of children using it. Blossburg Elementary has 350 students ages 3 to 12, but the playground facility is used year-round by children and adults in the community since it is centrally located and unfenced.

With the recent addition of a Pre-K Counts classroom to Blossburg Elementary School, the school now has an even stronger need for developmentally appropriate play equipment. Providing opportunities for children to pretend, enhance gross motor and balance skills, and encourage social interaction is the foundation for our partnership. Studies have demonstrated that children of all ages learn through play.

This project, scheduled for installment during the summer of 2008, will include a balance beam, a gross motor skills-enhancing climber, and youth basketball hoops. All the play equipment promotes a healthy lifestyle for children in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Early Learning Standards.

The cost of the first phase of our project will be $15,700 for the purchase of equipment. The balance beam cost is $350. The climber is $13,000 and the variable-height basketball hoop is $2,350. We have raised $6,000 to help with phase one of this project. We hope to raise funds and receive community sponsors to cover the cost of surfacing the playground area. Phase two of our project will cost close to $80,000.

To make any project happen, you must start at the beginning. With your help, we can build our community through play!

My final post of the day...

Here's the powerpoint presentation about the Blossburg FreeNet (community mesh wireless network using Meraki technology) for Blossburg Borough Council's meeting tonight. Josh Jones put the original presentation together for a V.I.B.E. meeting and a Blossburg Improvement Association meeting and I overhauled it for tonight's council meeting because I'm the presenter.

William B. Wilson will be inducted into the U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Fame on Nov. 13, 2007, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Here's the biography I wrote for the program:

William Bauchop Wilson

(1862 – 1934)

William Bauchop Wilson was born in Blantyre, Scotland, April 2, 1862, the third child of Adam Black Wilson and Helen Nelson Bauchop Wilson. After several moves to find work in 1870, Adam, a miner, chose to emigrate to Arnot, a small coal mining village in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The rest of the family followed several months later. Wilson received less than two years of formal schooling before joining his father in the mines, where he worked until he was 16. At 11, Wilson joined the newly formed local of the Miners and Laborers Benevolent Association as a half member, a status reserved for workers under 16. By the time he was 14, he was secretary of the local union. Wilson began to correspond with labor leaders around the country who expanded his knowledge and understanding of the labor movement. Eventually, Wilson was blacklisted in Tioga County for his union activism and traveled the country looking for work. On June 7, 1883, Wilson married Agnes Williamson, an Arnot resident and fellow Good Templar member. They had eleven children.

During this period of labor activism, Wilson traveled extensively assisting striking miners, establishing joint conferences between operators and miners, and organizing union locals. He convinced the executive board of the Knights of Labor to meet with the Progressive Union to fully unite. Wilson became chair of the constitutional and by-law committee and on January 25, 1890, the United Mine Workers of America was formed. He was elected a member of the UMWA National Executive Board in 1891 and again in 1894. The UMWA constitution prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin.

In May 1900, John Mitchell, the legendary president of the UMWA, appointed him to the position of Secretary-Treasurer. Wilson was elected to the position in uncontested races for the next eight years. Soon after, the UMWA organized a strike that included Tioga County. Mary Harris "Mother" Jones came to Arnot to assist the strikers. In her autobiography, she wrote about Wilson's actions during the strike, "He knew every hardship that the rank and file of the organization knew. We do not have such leaders now."

In 1906, Wilson, a Democrat, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, unseating Republican millionaire Elias Deemer of Williamsport by a margin of only 384 votes in the heavily Republican district. He served until March 3, 1913. On March 4, the Department of Labor was created by an act of Congress and Wilson, as chair of the Committee on Labor, was instrumental in its passage. Wilson was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to be Secretary of the new department, beginning March 5. He served until March 5, 1921.

Wilson died aboard a train near Savannah, Georgia, on May 25, 1934. Services were held June 3, 1934, at the family homestead, Ferniegair Farm, in Blossburg. Wilson is buried along side his wife in Blossburg's Arbon Cemetery, surrounded by family.

For a more comprehensive biography of Wilson, please visit www.blossburg.org.