Ridgerunner Consulting

Update 3/16 2:11pm - Added draft design.

Jill Nickerson & I have been working very hard on creating a skate park on the Island in Blossburg as a Blossburg V.I.B.E. project. She's presenting to borough council tonight. I hope that we've addressed all their questions. We met with Mike Glazier, U.S. Rep. John Petererson's (R-Pa. 23rd) district representative on Friday and gave him a tour of the Island. He said the representative will contribute a letter of support, and that their office is very impressed by V.I.B.E.'s work in Blossburg.

Here are all the documents we've created:

For the public meeting March 5:

• Press release
  
• School announcement We also had a public meeting notice in the legal section of the Wellsboro Gazette and a nice block ad in the Penny Saver.
  
• Meeting Agenda
  
• Other Parks' rules
  

For borough council meeting March 12:

• Draft design of skate park
  
• Prepared resolution that accompanies the DCNR grant application
  
• Q&A
  
• Draft budget
  
• Skate park rules - draft
  
• Letter of support from V.I.B.E.
  
• Binder with the Q&A, budget, drawings of the proposed skate park, pictures of Sunbury and Ithaca skate parks, the NYTimes article about obesity in Blossburg, and the Tony Hawk Foundation grant guidelines.
  

Next Skate Board meeting: 3/22, 6pm, library community room.

Jill, who is a member of the borough's recreation board, and I created a PowerPoint presentation to deliver at the rec board meeting tonight to answer any remaining questions about the skate park. Shane helped us out, too. The slideshow is in .pdf format here. (I made one correction to it that the rec board didn't get: I had forgotten to add the reference on slide 9.)

Lisa Fredrick made a motion that the rec board support the grant application and skate park to the borough council. Pete Hall seconded the motion. No one voted against it. (I don't want to say that all were in favor because I think there was at least one abstention.)

My thanks to Mark Getts in Sunbury, Debbie in Lewisburg, Dave Ely from George Ely & Assoc., Carol Tama, and most importantly to Britton Allen!

Good article from Detroit about the importance of education from the perspective of blue collar work:

Auto culture should embrace education without losing its grit

Walk into two parties, as I did recently -- one in an autoworker town, one in an educated upscale neighborhood outside Ann Arbor -- and you'll be greeted in different ways.

In auto town, the guests are asked: "How do you know the hostess?" or "How are you doing?" They asked about everything from family to health to current affairs.

In educated town, two women cornered me before I reached the punch bowl. Barely introducing themselves, they asked: "What do you do?" Then they grilled me on my professional credentials and my neighborhood's location.

more..

(I've had both those conversations before...)

Borough Council passed the resolution to apply for the DCNR grant at its meeting Monday. The core piece of the grant application is here (pdf).

So cross your fingers and hope that DCNR approves the grant! We don't know the timeline for approval. Hopefully we'll get it by January and be able to install it spring '08 and have a grand opening event at the Coal Festival in 2008.

What's next on the V.I.B.E. agenda? We're figuring that out, so please attend the monthly meeting April 18, 6pm, lower level of the library.

Press release and photo.

The election is May 15. Please vote for only one candidate by writing in Jill Nickerson.

We're pretty sure the Democratic side will be easy, but I'd like to see her listed on the Republican ticket in November. There are three people running as Republicans and already printed on the ballot (Ray Kaminski, Jim Holleman, Jeff Everett). The best way to ensure that Jill will be on the Republican ticket in November is to not vote for those printed on the ballot, but to only write in Jill's name.

Thanks for your support!

Don't forget to vote in tomorrow's election! Tuesday, May 15, 7am - 8pm.

In Blossburg borough, please write in Jill Nickerson's name for member of council. It will be most beneficial if Republicans only vote for Jill and not for any other candidate. If you're a Democrat, I respectfully ask that you write in Jill's name, but also write in Lonny Frost's name.

Campaign brochure (pdf)
Ad for Penny-Saver (pdf)
Handouts at the election site (pdf)
Campaign sign (pdf)

If you are not registered to vote, please consider doing so. You can download the voter registration form from here. (pdf)

Blossburg V.I.B.E. is going to publish a place mat that lists Blossburg, Morris Run and Arnot businesses... Here's the draft (PDF).

When selecting businesses/organizations for the directory, I've been using these questions to help guide me:
- Do they have walk-in or telephone service in Blossburg, Morris Run or Arnot? (Laurel Wellness: yes. Laurel Youth: no)
- Are they open to the public? (private clubs and churches are excluded)
- Do they provide a public service? (local government, for example)
- Would it be useful to someone new to the area?

Do you have other ideas? (Not that I really want more businesses because space is getting tight :-) Should any be removed?

I do need some additional pieces of information - the spots are marked with red. Can you help with this?

What do you think of the street-based layout? Is that useful? When someone asked if I had missed Bloss Holiday, I thought there might be something wrong with the category layout in the first draft.

At Blossburg V.I.B.E.'s July meeting, the members nominated and elected new officers for the 2007-2008 term. From left to right: Tonya McNamara, president; Jackie Smith, secretary; Jill Nickerson, vice president; Heidi Jones, treasurer.

Jill Nickerson & I met with Cindy Long and Scott Robinson of the Endless Mountain Music Festival this morning to discuss having a festival concert in Blossburg next year. It looks like sometime in the first two weeks of August, we'll be having a symphony orchestra with special guests at the North Penn auditorium!

To help folks understand the concept and enjoy a concert firsthand, they gave us about 40 FREE tickets to the concert this Saturday night, August 4, 2007 at 8pm at Straughn Auditorium at Mansfield University. The tickets sell for $20 each. You can contact me (heidi@ridgerunnerconsulting.com 570-638-2486), or stop by the Nickerson Construction office between 9am and 5pm to pick up tickets.

I went to the concert last Saturday night and it was excellent. Although the Friday night concert is sold out, Corky Siegel will also be playing at the Gas Light in Wellsboro from 10-1 Friday night. I think there's no cover.

The program for Saturday night:

This years theme is Beethoven meets the Blues.

Festival Orchestra with Stephen Gunzenhauser, conductor
with special guest artist Corky Siegel, a famous blues harmonica player (see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegel-Schwall_Band )

- The Ox on the Roof (Le Boeuf sur le Toit) by Darius Millhaud

- Harmonica Concerto by Corky Siegel This is a completely new piece that will be publicly played for the first time!

Intermission

- Symphony No. 7 in A Major (Op. 92) by Beethoven

To join the Blossburg V.I.B.E. email list, go here.

Here's the (probably finished) design (PDF) for the reusable grocery bags that V.I.B.E. is having made in collaboration with Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority. NTSWA is paying for the whole project so we can give the bags away for free!

The quote is from Mahatma Gandhi, the nonviolent revolutionary who lead the movement to free India from British colonialism: "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

Another Gandhi quote: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

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.

New version of the place mat (published 11/1/07)

New newsletter! All about V.I.B.E.'s projects....

http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/pafoodsafety

and a recipe:

Try with white chocolate chips instead of peanut butter chips... very yummy!

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=5366&page=26&per=25

Letter to the Tioga County Director of Elections/Voting Registration

11/7/07

George -

Here's a chart of the number of voters the Blossburg precinct had per hour (PDF) yesterday. The 7-9 am block, with about 24 voters/hour worked fine, but when we hit 38 voters between 5 and 6 pm, there was a huge line and voters were getting grumpy. For next year's election, we would like at least three machines available, as the turnout will be substantially higher than this election's ~34 percent and lines could be extremely long quite quickly. It seemed to take 4-6 minutes per voter to complete the 4 page ballot, with the one visually impaired person taking at least 15 minutes. If we figure an average of 5 minutes per voter per machine, we can only reasonably accommodate 24 voters per hour with two machines. If the ballot is substantially longer than the one used this time, the average time per user per machine would increase.

If we figure 500 voters (65% turnout of about active registered 770 voters in the precinct) during the 2008 general election, we'll have about 72 people during the 5-6 rush. Even with one additional machine, we'd only be able to accommodate 36 people per hour, with six of the 13 hours having more than 36 voters. That's a lot of disenfranchised and/or frustrated voters.

So... does the county plan on acquiring a whole lot more machines? Or are you going to provide an alternative method? (It seems to me that back up paper ballots would be appropriate.)

As for the actual user interface of the ballot - there is a huge amount of research on how to create usable, user-friendly user interfaces. I'm guessing you don't have a lot of control over the display, that Diebold controls most of it, but you should be advocating for an interface that is easier to use than what currently exists.

Thanks much,

Heidi

---
George Coxe's response 11/8/07:

Heidi

Your comments are welcomed and I thank you for that. I will look into adding another machine for all elections, giving Blossburg a total of 3, as I see the voter registration numbers has risen slightly. Having paper is not an option, unless all the machines go down, reason behind that, ADA HAVA compliance. The chart is pretty cool, I’ll have to look at it harder, when I get the chance. Thanks again.
---
My thoughts...

1) The touch screen voting systems from Diebold are very susceptible to hacking and have documented security flaws.

2) The user interface is horrible and is a real deterrent for voters, particularly elderly folks who may not be familiar with any computer interface.

3) The touch screen systems are too expensive compared to various paper-based methods, such as "scantron" (fill in the bubble or connect the line and a machine can read the paper). Part of the problem in Blossburg is that we used to have at least four voting booths available, now we only have two machines. The machines take longer, are more intimidating, much less secure, and much less reliable.

4) Accessibility for the visually impaired is important and the electronic voting system does a rather nice job of reading the screen and allowing for alternative input (a number keypad rather than touching the screen). However, there are ways to provide voting privacy and independence within a scantron system - Connecticut uses such a system.

This comment is useful to read.

L-R: Richard Stickler, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health; David A. Jones, great grandson; Robert A. Wilson, great grandson; Cecil Roberts, President, United Mine Workers of America; Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor; me; Raymond Keith Lindie, Blossburg historian.

I went to Washington, D.C. Nov. 12 for my family to receive the award for William B. Wilson's induction into the U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Fame. We had a very nice dinner at Georgia Brown's.

Blossburg Borough Council invited Blossburg V.I.B.E. to present at the Tioga County Association of Boroughs meeting tonight, March 27. Here's the presentation (.ppt, 29MB - very large!) for your review!

Presenters:
Tonya McNamara, president
Jill Nickerson, vice president
Heidi Jones, treasurer

Table Hosts:
Tonya - Main Street program
Jill - youth
Heidi - communications
Shane Nickerson - environmental awareness
Josh Jones - technology