This time, the stress will be on action.

The second annual state of the community county-wide conference is scheduled for Jan. 23 at St. Matthew’s parish center in Sidney. The event is sponsored by the city/county planning board, Richland County Planner Office and Richland County Health Department.

Judy LaPan, administrator for the Richland County Health Department, explains the health department is involved because public health’s goals include organizing community efforts and improving or maintaining society’s interests. “We really have a broad definition,” LaPan said. “A lot of people think of public health as immunizations only.”

The planning board, meanwhile, was busy covering such topics as highway systems, satisfactory utilities, health, education and recreation for its growth policy.

“It was a natural avenue for us to take to work with the health department and gather information,” Cal Oraw, president of the City/County Planning Board, said.

Public health teamed with the planner office, planning board and Communities in Action to present the first county-wide conference, which more than 120 people participated. During that meeting, the public discussed their concerns and hopes for the community.

“Solutions that come from the community are more sustainable than policy makers might make without input,” Melissa Boyer, VISTA coordinator, said.

After forming action teams in July, participants will learn the progress being made by these volunteer groups at the conference in January. VISTA Becky Hayes has been working to establish action groups around five major areas in the strategic plan: water/air quality, life-long learning, public safety, physical health and high school drop-out rates. A sixth action group has been formed by Paul Groshart, Richland County Housing Authority, to address issues relating to the quality, quantity and type of available housing in the county.

Discussion topics at the conference will include housing, economy, transportation, agriculture, economy, youth and recreation, and natural and cultural resources.

“It’s really important to get the community’s input,” Becky Hayes, VISTA, said.

Examples of the success of action groups is one team working on gathering information about skate parks. A housing team, meanwhile, is working toward providing quality housing to everyone in Richland County. For more information about reaching goals, people can check out www.richland.org/health/crosswalk/crosswalk.html .

“The great part of action groups is we try to get everybody at the table,” Hayes said.

LaPan added, “What we hope for the next conference is to showcase what action has occurred.”

The conference will cover how well the action teams are progressing, what is missing and what’s changed.

“It’s really a living document to make sure it stays grounded and meets what the people want and need,” Hayes said.

Organizers of the event include Marcy Hamburg, Ray Trumpower, LaPan, Hayes, Boyer and Oraw.

For more information about the conference, call Hamburg, 433-6886. If you want to learn more about or join one of the action groups, call Hayes, 433-2207.

editor@sidneyherald.com