Becky Hayes
AmeriCorps VISTA

It’s the first week of the year, and that means it’s time to get to work on those New Year’s resolutions.

This year, the action groups, Richland County Health Department, County Planner Office and City/County Planning Board have resolved to make Richland County a better place to live by listening to your needs and bringing together all of the different people and organizations in our community who are improving our quality of life.  There are so many great and different efforts taking place in our community that it’s hard to keep track of all of them, but the “State of the Community” County-wide Conference on Jan. 23, will make it easy for you to learn about what’s going on in your community and how you can get involved. At this year’s conference, organizations will have the opportunity to set up informational booths as well as participate in the discussion sessions to get out the word about what is being done in Richland County.  Conference attendees will have the chance to learn about what is being done to monitor and protect water quality in Richland County, and how they can help, as well as learn more about the Richland County Community Foundation, and efforts to develop an online hub of life-long learning information.

Participants will also hear from local educators, the Sidney Public Library, MSU Extension Office, Sidney Job Service, Housing Authority, Richland County Conservation District, local law enforcement and many other organizations.

Each discussion session will open with an action report. These short progress reports are being prepared by the action groups as well as representatives from County Public Works and Richland Economic Development to give everyone a clear overview of the current situation before planning action steps and policies for Richland County’s future.

There’s a lot to learn about what is being done in Richland County, and by sharing our progress and challenges as a community we can also find ways to share our wisdom and resources so that even more can be done.

 At the “State of the Community” County-wide Conference on Jan. 23,  at the St. Matthew’s Parish Center, everyone will have a chance to make their voice a part of the community’s plans and actions.

For more information, to register, or to reserve a free booth for your organization, please contact Marcy Hamburg at the Richland County Planner Office at 433-6886 or send her an email at mhamburg@richland.org.  Online registration is also available on the Planning website at http://www.richland.org/planning.

If you would like to attend a meeting or learn more about the  action groups, which are working on monitoring water quality, increasing life-long learning opportunities, improving public safety, providing physical activity options and decreasing the high school drop-out rate, please contact Becky Hayes at the Richland County Health Department at 433-2207 or rhayes@richland.org.