River Towns Outreach Corps 2011

In each of our towns it seemed like October was the month for getting things done. We all contributed to each town in some way. It was great getting all of us together to get some important projects done, and having fun while we did them. The month started out by the team visiting Monessen, PA to get a town tour & meet with some local community members to see what the town has been trying to improve on and work that has been completed by the community. It was nice to see other Monongahela River Towns striving to make their communities better.

At the beginning of the month was an important chance for the River Towns to show what we have been up to. We had 2 potential funders come our towns so in order to get prepared for them we had several projects going on in each of the towns. In Fredericktown we helped a few local business owners paint their buildings, as well as one in Point Marion. Point Marion's park also received some lovely planters in the town to help liven things up a bit. It really makes the park look better. Just these small things really help the town!

RTOC has been trying to update our social media more frequently to get people more updated with what is going on. Besides updating facebook with pictures to give more of a visual of what we are getting our hands into, I was recently able to get Point Marion on Urbanspoon. This was a big accomplishment for me! So everyone can now be directed to Point Marion, instead of Uniontown, PA. Now, all of Point Marion's restaurants are included.

There was so fun to be had this month as well. The Izaak Walton League had Peggy Pings lead 2 paddles on Dunkard Creek this past month, which I attended. It was a perfect time of year to see the colors changing and get a different perspective on Dunkard. Each paddle had anywhere from 15-24 people in attendance, from all over WV & PA. It was a great time to get out and meet new people.

I have continued going to the Saturday clean ups at Point Marion Park. We added a few things to our list of things to do as well. Vicki and I transplanted some flowers to an area of the park we are hoping to turn into a nature/wildflower area, instead of just a wild grassy hill. We were also able to clear out some large structures from the woods near the baseball fields. Another morning we headed over to the trail to WV as we heard there was some dumping going on. We found a huge hole that was filled with trash bags. So we went to town and cleared them out, all 15 of them. It was a little sense of pleasure.

Considering our term here is slowly coming to an end it is making for more work to update for next years corps. I have been busy trying to update all of my towns documents and other plans. The Point Marion Action Team met for the last time this month as well. It was great, we were able to delegate some activities and projects to members to work on throughout the winter. We also had a meeting with Peggy Pings about the recent announcement of the RTCA working with RTOC next year. This will be a great connection and fit for both organizations. It will get the corps out on the water more as well, which is always good.

[12]

[13]

[14]

September kicked off with a heat wave, and we were as busy as ever! I spent the first few days of the month making sure everything was lined up for Art Blast, Greensboro’s biggest annual event. This included answering emails, working with Darlene to organize schedules for music, and calling vendors to confirm their participation. Labor Day weekend rolled around, and boy was it a scorcher! We had vendors set up around the gazebo and under tents, as they would be there from 8am to sometime in the mid-afternoon. We had asked our best-selling vendors to consider extending their hours this weekend for Art Blast, and many of them agreed to do so. Unfortunately, the change in set-up and the extremely warm weather might have kept many people away. Thankfully for our second day, we saw some cooler weather - which meant a LOT more people! I was down in Greensboro early in the morning to help reorganize our set-up, since we decided to move everyone who was previously at the gazebo up to the log cabin in the pursuit of a more cohesive arrangement. Despite some clouds and a few rain showers, we definitely had more people come to Day 2 of the event. We also had some vendors who decided not to come for the 2nd day, which ended up being ok because space up at the Log Cabin was more limited than down near the gazebo. We had easily over 200 people today, and next year's event will be even more successful!

After the holiday weekend we had the C&O Canal Towpath town tours! We visited the towns of Paw Paw, WV, Little Orleans and Williamsport, MD, Shepherdstown and Harper's Ferry, WV, Brunswick, and Point of Rocks, MD. Along the way we met with the Two Rivers Heritage/Two Rivers Heritage Partnership, people who work with some of the towns’ Merchants Associations, and local government and city council representatives. While in these towns, we were able to appreciate their many historic buildings, along with some of the struggles they face now, including vacant storefronts and blighted properties. All in all, a wonderful experience!

Throughout the month, Ashley and I worked on the public art for Greensboro and Point Marion, a project that was funded through the Sprout Fund Seed Award program. We are working on putting a committee together that will mix local residents with local artists, so that we can get their input on ideas for a location, and how to use certain mediums (glass & pottery) to tell the "Greensboro story".

I also volunteered at Friendship Hill’s annual Festifall event, which is a celebration of the life & times of Albert Gallatin (the original owner of Friendship Hill). We dressed in period costumes in order to fit in with the theme of the day/event. I worked the tent that had period-style toys and candy for sale. We also had toys for the kids to play with - one of them even asked "How do you turn it on?" We got to see some interesting demonstrations, hear readings from Albert Gallatin's letters to his wife, and saw several military reenactments!

The month wrapped up with a team-building day: both the Connellsville teams and the Green Cities group came together for an SCA bicycle ride/catch up day in Ohiopyle! It was a chilly, overcast fall day, but we warmed up considerably when the sun would peek through. As always, it was great to see the Green Cities team and hear about what they've been up to!

[20]

[21]

It seems like every month, I write about how that particular month was the busiest or most important so far. But I guess that means we are building momentum and this project is really getting off the ground. The meetings we held in September were some of the most important so far, and the small projects that we have been planning are now done and on the ground, or moving closer to being finished.

The first thing we did in September was have a meeting with Carl Knoblock, the District Director of the Pittsburgh office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Since we are concerned with helping new small businesses open, he was invaluable to us. Carl gave us an overview of what services the SBA can offer, as well as general business advice to pass on to people that come to me with business ideas. He later shipped us many copies of “Small Business Resource” magazines that we can give to small businesses, and he offered to visit any of our towns if we would like him to get an “on the ground” view of what we are doing.

Then, the entire corps took off for West Virginia and Maryland, to tour the C&O Canal Towpath trail, and the towns along it. The original plan had been to ride the entire towpath trail, but due to heavy rains and flooding, we did most of the trip by car. On the second day, however, there was enough of a break in the weather to allow some of us to ride about twenty miles of the trail. We did meet with officials, business people, and representatives from various groups in the towns, who showed us their towns were taking advantage of their natural resources and attractions. We not only enjoyed the entire trip, but found the new ideas and experiences useful in our work back in Pennsylvania.

Back in Pennsylvania, I held or attended many useful meetings. The monthly meeting of our River Towns Action Team was one of the most productive meetings so far. Many partner groups are beginning to become involved, such as GTECH strategies (a Brownfield redevelopment group), and the Izaak Walton League (a conservation group). We continued to work on our proposal for the Local Share Account funds. I have solicited letters of support from various groups, and have also begun to look for alternative sources of funding, to provide a match for any LSA funds. The largest of these matching funds could come from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. I have been actively researching their grant program.

Once these meetings and planning sessions were over, we got our hands dirty and got some projects done in our towns. These included a park clean up day in Rices Landing, in which we removed debris from a concrete retaining wall, volunteering at “FestiFall” at Friendship Hill NHS, volunteering at “Love Local Weekend”, and even appearing as guests on a local radio show to promote the River Towns Program. Finally, I have set up more work days for the beginning of October, in both Fredericktown and Rices Landing.

[28]

[29]

[30]

The dog days of summer were upon us this past month! I have been particularly hands-on in Greensboro this month, between the Farmers’ Markets, getting ready for Art Blast over Labor Day weekend, and attending community meetings. Mid-way through the month, I attended a full day of meetings relating to both the Lock Power House brownfields site, and the annual review of Greensboro’s Elm Street plan. In the morning, Darlene had gathered together a power-house of people from important groups to discuss future plans for the Lock Power House that the borough owns. I arrived early to help her set up the Log Cabin with agendas, place cards, and a looped powerpoint presentation. There were people from Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), SPC's Power Smart program, the Army Corps of Engineers, Carnegie Mellon University's Brownfields program, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (Penn DOT), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Introductions were made and a brief history of the Lock Building was given, and then potential issues (structural, environmental, and property-wise) were discussed. We then walked down to the building and toured the property, and then came back to the Log Cabin to discuss next steps over lunch. Immediately following the Lock Building meeting, Bill Fontana from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC) began his annual review of the Elm Street program. Over the course of the afternoon, he met with each Elm Street committee individually: Safe, Clean & Green, Image & Identity, Design Team, and Neighbors & Economy. Bill discussed project timelines, feasibility, and future goals with each committee. Then, after meeting separately with Darlene, Bill met with the Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC), which is a group comprised of the chairperson of each committee. They all discussed successes, places where some of the goals need to be re-evaluated, and future steps for Greensboro's Elm Street program. After the last meeting was over, I stayed to help Darlene clean up the Log Cabin. What a long day, but I learned a lot about brownfield sites and got to see how a community development plan works in action!

Greensboro’s Farmers’ Markets were pretty average all month, seeing between 70-100 customers each week and not adding any new vendors. Several of our Saturdays were rainy, which might have resulted in lower customer counts. After one of the first markets of the month, Darlene held a meeting with our current farmers/vendors. We discussed the possibility of continuing the market through October, the feasibility of having a winter market, and any suggestions that they might have for improvements/things that they'd like to see done differently. All of the vendors agreed that they'd like to see the market go through October, so I'll be assisting with that through the end of the month.

Program-wise, we have officially launched the River Towns Program in all five towns! Cathy and I traveled to Rices Landing to meet with the residents of the town, where we discussed projects that would be most beneficial to the community and what residents felt were the highest priority. Also, as part of our marketing plan, we’ve all been responsible for creating day-trip/weekend get-away itineraries for each of our towns/the region (respectfully). I also finished our River Towns newsletter, and our first publication will launch very soon.

As a team, the River Towns Outreach Corps worked together a lot this past month. Earlier in the month, we traveled down to Friendship Hill National Park to assist in some of the planning for their Festifall event in September. From Friendship Hill we headed straight down to West Virginia to ride the Cheat Lake bike trail. It was only about 8 miles total, with beautiful lake-side scenery to take in the whole ride! At the end of the month, we all got together again to ride the Mon River Trail bike. We started in Fairmont, West Virginia, rode our bikes north through Morgantown, and continued on to Point Marion, PA. All in all, we logged about 30 miles on our bikes – not to mention it was a GREAT teambuilding activity!

[35]

[36]

The month of August started off with some volunteer time at the Fayette County Fair, during which I wore the mascot suit for the Buy Local program. I started to work heavily on the Local Share Proposal for Washington County Gambling funds, in which we are applying for expanded docks and an improved riverfront in Fredericktown. I met with a representative of the Army Corps of Engineers, who explained the necessary permits. We made a presentation to the local municipality, and got the support of the elected officials. I also attended a workshop held by the Washington County Redevelopment Authority, to gain some insight into the application process, and to get some hints. They told us to look for matching funds, instead of asking for all funding from them. Therefore I began to research some other grants that can be applied for to help finance our project. This project will continue to be a priority as we move into September, but thankfully I have many interested community partners who are doing other aspects of it.

In August I also worked on tourism-related projects for the region. We had several more days of field research to find points of interest for the smart phone trail app. Once those attractions were loaded into the software, I sent the app out for proofreading. Hopefully it will be finalized and launched soon. I also wrote a series of one-day itineraries, that in the future can be posted to our website or to other travel publications, to advertise the region.

Economic development projects were a third thing I focused on in August. I compiled a list of available commercial properties in the town. The other corps interns will do the same in their towns. We also began to plan a workshop for property owners, to teach them how to better market their properties. For that workshop, I drafted a sign to hang in the windows of available commercial properties. Finally, we met with a representative from GTECH strategies, a Pittsburgh based group, to tour a brownfield site in Fredericktown. It was for mermine-related structures, and is now a large vacant site. It is hopefully not too polluted, and can be cleared of scrap metal and reused in the future.

[43]

[44]

It has not been a bad summer here in Connellsville as our work has gone forward in the right direction. During most of the month The River Town Team has been discussing having a regional event and have put some plans in place to do that in the fall. The event would bring many people from the towns together to educate them and encourage them to do work in their communities. Each town has formed an action team that consists of community members that will focus on continuing some of our work and the goal for this team is to be active long after our program is finished. We have found great people in each of our towns and we are grateful that they have welcomed us and have cooperated with us and our ideas for each town.

In California right now my work has focused mostly on working with a community member from neighboring Coal Center who owns a lot of undeveloped river front property. I have set him up with an architect to get plans in place and also had a meeting with his banker to see if funds would be available for such a large development along the river. I am also writing an extensive grant to see if I can get funds for a public fishing/boating dock in downtown California. I have also contributed to the River Town smart phone application by taking pictures and notes of attractions in the California area. This will help to promote tourism in the Mon Valley region once completed.

As I have reached more than the halfway point of my service time here I have grown a lot and have learned so much about community development, local government, and the culture of western Pennsylvania. I am glad to be a part of a program like this and I am proud of the work that I have done so far.

[51]

[52]

The month of July has been both our hottest and most hands-on month thus far! In the beginning of the month, Ashley and I walked the Mon River Bike Trail from Point Marion to the West Virginia, and then continued along the trail for a bit into West Virginia. Not only was the West Virginia portion of the trail beautifully maintained, but it’s also easily accessible from Point Marion (1.5 miles from the town’s park). Around the middle of the month Ashley and I became involved in a project through the Fish and Boat Commission: an intern took photos & video along the Mon, recording GPS points, making notes of historical sites, old locks, recent locks, alternate waterways (Dunkard & George’s Creek), launch areas, bathrooms, eating establishments, etc., and we helped him gather all of his data! This will be used for a water trail map that highlights the section of the Mon between Point Marion and Greensboro. I also attended Greensboro’s annual Paddle on the Mon event, hosted by the Fish and Boat Commission in partnership with Nathanael Greene Historical Society. We paddled for about 2 hours on the Mon, heading up towards the lock and dam right above Greensboro (by the Hatfield Power Plant) and then paddling back down towards Mon View Park before finally coming ashore. Despite the fact that it was a very hot and sunny day, there were between 40-50 (mostly middle-aged) participants at the event! It was a great opportunity to engage local residents in recreational opportunities on a river that connects so many aspects of the region. It was also a great experience for us (the outreach corps) to get some feedback about what paddlers found interesting about their Mon River paddling experience.

Greensboro’s 4th of July Farmers’ Market was a great start to a new month! I ran Ice-Cream Making as the Kid’s Activity, and we had red & blue food dye, and 4th of July sprinkles for the kids to put on their finished product. Over 150 people came throughout the day! As the month progressed, we continued to see customer counts above 80 each week, and were even able to add some new vendors to our event. Near the end of the month I ran the Kid’s Activity again, this time to make homemade Play-doh – what a fun project! Other projects in Greensboro have been picking up as we cruise past our half-way point in the program. After the town assessments throughout the month of June, we have all been busy synthesizing the results of the surveys and prioritizing projects to work on for the next few months. I have also been working independently on demographic information for Greene County, obtained via the borough manager, which we will be analyzing and using for marketing purposes.

I’ve also been actively compiling and editing the River Towns marketing plan that Cathy, Lori and I developed. We discussed strategies to attract a variety of demographics to the area, and different ways we could market events and/or packages/itineraries to those groups. One way we will go about doing this through our regional newsletter that will be sent out in August. As we move into August, more projects will be getting underway and we will be actively working with our communities’ action teams to make sure that they are as sustainable as possible!

[59]

[60]

After planning, executing, & compiling all the data for the Point Marion Albert Gallatin Memorial Day Parade we were able to cross that project off our list. Next year’s organizer will have it pretty good with contact information, flyers, press releases, & the do's & don'ts of planning a parade. At the beginning of June we were able to knock of California & Point Marion's Town Assessments. Each one had pretty good turn outs, where we were able to come up with corps groups to work with from each town. It was great to get some of the community members to step outside and look at their towns from a visitors perspective and see how their views may change. Also, just hearing the input that a variety of people had on the area was encouraging, considering we are going to be working together to get a lot of these issues addressed. As a group, we are all contributing to a Mon River App through the PEC. This is going to be a great regional project for all of our towns. Giving people the points of interest at the tip of their fingers will be a great asset.

This month was especially great for me considering I was able to finally get my canoe out on the water where it belongs! We actually headed over to Ten Mile Creek, a tributary off the Mon, for a little day paddle. We were on the water for about 4 hours & covered roughly 8 miles. We luckily had a local as our guide, who also provided the kayaks. It was so awesome to finally get out and do something recreational. And our guide was great, passing on river & historic information, as well as his own stories. Another outing I had was a flat water paddle down at Yough Lake along the Maryland/Pennsylvania border.

After the town assessments were all complete we were able to all come together as a team and see what each communities focus as well as more of regional projects as well. Keeping in contact with our corps attendees will be very crucial to the sustainability of this project, which is why I will continue having constant contact with each person.

As part of the assessment on Point Marion, the idea of hanging historic photos of the area in window displays of the main street was brought up. Since then, I have been trying to gather photos from locals, historical societies, & local libraries. I am excited for this project to get started, just being able to see a small change will be good for all.

To finish of a productive month, myself and Laura also took a little bike ride over on the Green River Trail, starting at the trailhead in Millsboro. It was a quick 5 mile bike ride through Rices Landing & ending right outside, near Crucible. We were both impressed with the area, with the wooded fence in some areas, as well as an amazing black raspberry patch in Pumpkin Run Park in Rices Landing! Wonderful way to conclude June!

[67]

[68]

June began with the crew conducting needs assessments in each of the towns. Fredericktown-Millsboro was the first, and we had a great turn out, with lots of locals very excited and brimming with ideas. We listened to everyone’s ideas and have now begun to work on projects. Our first project is an “app” for a smart phone that lists tourist sites throughout the region. I am writing descriptions and taking pictures of sites to include on the app.

I then worked on a couple of economic development projects. First was to compile a list of business resources to give out to potential business owners. Now, when someone has an idea for a business in our region, we can provide them assistance, or at least direct them to the proper source. I also assisted in writing a grant, to provide funding for a brochure about a water trail on Ten Mile Creek, PA. Finally, I attended the Chamber of Commerce meeting in Fredericktown, during which we discussed the signage program in the area, and a banner program for light poles in the downtown area.

There were also lots of good times in June. Several of us on the River Towns Crew went kayaking on Ten Mile Creek. We were guided by a local who wants to open a kayak rental business on the creek, so we also discussed ways we can help him get his business ready. A few days later, as more of a team building activity, we went whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle. In the end of the month, I attended the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit in New York City, where I made some great contacts and learned a lot of potential funding sources. A free pair of hiking shoes wasn’t bad either.

The month ended with a review meeting with the entire River Towns crew. We discussed what projects have been going on, and basically laid out the direction of the program for the next few months.

[75]

[76]