Alta, IA

Thirty-two Alta residents, including seven or eight who had not yet been involved in Horizons efforts, participated in a forum on Sunday evening, June 22, at the Alta Community Center.

Following a light supper, participants heard updates from each of the Horizons work groups and had opportunities to ask questions and offer suggestions. Some work groups also gained new volunteers before the evening was done! Highlights included an update on plans to open the Community Resource Center at 212 ½ Main Street in Alta before the end of the summer. (see below for donations needed!)

We were urged to be sure to refer new Alta residents to the ABC group (Alta Builds Connections) so they can receive a welcome visit. Special efforts are needed to reach out to new residents who may be low-income or isolated in any way. It was noted that there are several housing starts in the community, and entrepreneurial business recognition and encouragement was presented.

Because this was the final event during the official two-year Horizons effort, a certificate of appreciation was presented to each member of the hard-working steering committee. As the formal Horizons project ends, ISU Extension’s Community Coach (Barb Wollan) also ends her formal involvement with the project and the community. Barb assured the group, however, that she is still available for consultation and will look forward to hearing about the work ahead. She left the group with a challenge to continue the good work that has begun, to directly assist low-income residents, to keep in mind the impact on low-income families whenever policy decisions are made, and to continue working to build involvement of all segments of the community, especially low-income residents.

The Community Resource Center seeks donations of the following items. Contact Bonnie Hach to donate: pencils & pens, pencil sharpener, paper clips & clasps, 20# copy paper, manila folders, hanging file folders, stapler & staples, typewriter, a computer & programs, an answering phone, phone cards, storage shelves, a folding 4’ conference table, literature racks.

Part of any community success takes place when people start talking and working together to see something different happen. Alta Horizons is glad to see that there is ongoing commitment in the school district, the city and the local businesses to work together to create change in Alta.

The Community Resource Center (CRC), soon to open this fall in Alta on Main Street, provides an ongoing structure in which resources and networking can be realized in a visible way.

The Alta Building Connections (ABC) has found its face through Alta Horizons. It will continue to provide consistent and regular opportunity to keep in touch with people moving into the Alta community and provide them with the information they need for the resources the city of Alta and surrounding community has to offer.

The District Promotion Committee (DPC) arose from the ideas tossed around in the study circle groups early on in the Horizons program in Alta. This committee, among whom are members of the Alta Horizons Steering Committee, will serve as an ongoing entity to continue to explore ways to promote our city and schools and businesses.

If you enter Alta on the county roads from the north or south, you’ll see something new by way of signage and a new city logo!

Not long after Alta Horizons got to work in the community (Alta Horizons promoting and carried through with the city and the school district on the importance of community entities working together to improve the way of life) a school district promotional committee was formed (utilizing several members of the Alta Horizons Steering Committee). The purpose, in cooperation with the city and school, was to develop a new theme and logo for  the city of Alta, as well as put together a full color, 4-page full paper size information brochure. The brochure is designed to promote all that Alta has to present to its residents.

This long-awaited and well-planned purpose came to being in May 2008, with a community unveiling at the local football field. In attendance were teachers and students, mayor and city council members, district promo committee members, and Horizon Steering Committee members.  Local newspaper and TV media outlets were on hand for interviews and extensive coverage of what was happening in Alta.

The new Alta logo incorporates the words ALTA and a beautiful golden sunrise nestled over wind turbines with the theme “Catch the Energy” as part of the city logo. Two new signs have since been mounted at the north and south entry ways to Alta.

The “seed idea” for this new community branding and new theme to create a sense of pride in the community found its heartbeat  in the Horizons study groups that got people in Alta together and got them to talking about what needs to happen in the community. From that “seed idea” has come new signs, a new logo, a new theme, and a new sense of pride in Alta to “Catch the Energy”!

Alta Horizons has recently become aware of the need for clothing assistance for families in need in Alta.

Dialogue has begun this month (June, 2008) for the use of an existing building on Main Street which would be an ideal location for the clothing depot.

The concept of the clothing depot is to receive new or used clothing to be distributed “free” or at a greatly reduced price on a weekly basis. The clothing depot would also include basic household items and necessities for purchase. This depot would be staffed by volunteers on a regular weekly schedule, thereby being self-funded with little overhead expense.

Stay tuned as Alta Horizons pursues this exciting new “business” adventure to address needs within our community!

The Alta Horizons Steering Committee through its housing work group continues to promote affordable housing and encourage housing renewal in Alta.

In the past two months, the city council has approved a new housing development south of the Alta Middle School. Along
with the new housing, there is focus now on beautification and property improvement in Alta. Horizons is exploring ways to improve notification of available funds for greater local resident participation.

Currently, 8 houses in Alta are being selected to benefit from a recent HUD grant the city received.

Alta Horizons is currently active in recruiting some people within the community to  serve on the housing work group to be proactive in promoting housing goals within the city limits of Alta.

The May meeting of the Alta Horizons Steering Committee was an insightful and exciting meeting as committee members listened to a United Community Health Center speaker shared information about the local (Storm Lake) access to health services for the insured and uninsured.

Several ideas to make affordable health care accessible to Alta residents who need it were discussed in dialogue with the representative from UCHC: (1) making a nurse available in an Alta facility starting with 1 morning a month; (2) utilizing a Spanish-speaking advocate from the west side trailer home park in Alta for those within in the Hispanic community who need to be made aware of what is available; (3) in June, sports physicals and kindergarten physicals are going to be made available at a set fee of $30 without immunizations. Bus transportation to UCHC is being considered. Alta is considering “scholarships for those who cannot afford the $30; (4) the committee received information about other services including dental care and 340B discount drug prescription assistance.

Horizons will promote the UCHC health services in the Alta community and will continue to dialogue with the UCHC to provide this option of medical care for the Alta Community.

UCHC information brochures were distributed to committee members. Alta Horizons is going to be distributing these brochures from the new CRC this fall as well as making them available through the local food pantry in Alta - the Lord’s Cupboard. These brochures are available in Spanish and English.

Alta Horizons will also be promoting locally the new Iowa Tobacco Cessation program, which has no income pre-qualications - a 12-week program which includes prescription medicines and counseling.

Alta Horizons will continue to look for ways to encourage the UCHC to bring the health services TO the community of Alta or make it easier for people in Alta to utilize the services.

Recruitment is now under way for the resources for the CRC, such as furniture, equipment and supplies.  Some existing  items in the facility being leased on Main Street for the CRC are being made available to Alta Horizons by the building leasor. Presently a copier/printer/fax and computer is being pursued as well as some additional furniture to help make the CRC a nice “meeting place” for those who seek assistance and resources in the community of Alta.

The Alta Horizons Community Resource Center (CRC) is soon to become a reality!  The CRC will serve as a “one-stop shop” that will assist the residents of Alta, whether newcomers or current residents in the community. The CRC is designed to refer Alta residents to appropriate resources to meet their needs. And it is also designed to serve as a community outreach mechanism, supporting efforts by local businesses, school and the city to improve the quality of life in Alta.

In May 2008, a good-faith lease arrangement was made to secure the availability of an office space in a building that fronts Main Street in Alta. This location is a high visibility place and is easily accessible to those who wish to utilize the CRC. The first payments have been made toward the affordable lease - and now the excitement is building and preparation for opening has begun.
Work is now under way to ready the facility for a projected fall opening. Details are being worked out for volunteer staffing, building preparation, and other like items to celebrate a grand opening after Labor Day in September 2008.

Horizon in Alta is working to address the need for poverty reduction. A plan of action has been taken to better reach people who are in the  lower income bracket. The local food pantry, The Lord’s Cupboard, on Main Street in Alta, has agreed to make available the “new resident” information cards to clients who visit the pantry on a weekly basis for food needs.  Some of the clientle who seek food assistance are from the Hispanic community in Alta and speak Spanish only and are accompanied by someone in the family who speaks English. Volunteers who work  at the food pantry each Friday will assist “new residents” in getting the cards completed. The next edition of the cards supplied to the Lord’s Cupboard food pantry will also include a comment line asking if someone could be present in the home who speaks Spanish when an ABC volunteer contacts them. It’s another demonstration of Horizons at work in Alta.

Recent editions of the Storm Lake Times and Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune (Alta section) have featured the new ABC (Alta Building Connections) program that is working well under the Horizons Banner. The local media traveled to Alta met with the Horizons work group responsible for the ABC program and took pictures of the presentation of the “welcome resource packets” being given to new residents of Alta. This program has prompted media inquiry and received some good initial coverage introducing the surrounding community to what Alta continues to do to respond to the needs of people in Alta.  Thanks to the diligent efforts of the steering committee members who are doing a fabulous job of following up on a weekly basis with this program.