Gackle, ND

The Gackle Park Board is seeking dedications for the “Tree of Life”. For a minimum $25 donation, a plaque will be placed on the tree in honor or memory of loved ones and for a $500 donation, a gold leaf will used. A ceremony will be held on Arbor Day, May 2, 2008 at 1:00pm in the park to place any new plaques on the tree. Donations are also being taken for the bridge and plaques will also be placed on there. The donations go toward care of the parks and baseball field. You can contact any board member for more information: Darla Reed, Sandi Rivinius, Percy Schlecht, or Bonnie Denning. A clean up day will be held in the park on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 from 5:00pm to whenever finished to get the parks ready for the season. So come with rakes, mowers, trimmers, or just yourself to help out. Food and refreshments will also be available for those workers.

After years of enjoyment by many, the Gackle City Pool is in threat of not openning this year. For many years, the pool has been able to run off of a sum of money that was donated. This money has run out. The cost to keep the pool open during the last year totalled close to $9000. We are estimating costs this year at $10000.00 and likely more each year. The park board has been busy during the past year making renovations and updates to the city parks and this all comes at a cost. The total income from the pool last year was only $1955.00 and this doesn’t even come close to covering the chemicals used for the pool($3250.00). So if you have any ideas on what to do, please contact a park board member–Darla Reed, Bonnie Denning, Sandi Rivinius, or Percy Schlecht.

It has been almost five years since the Community Development took over ownership of the Gackle Cafe. The cafe has had many struggles during this time to keep the doors open. Currently, the cafe is being leased to Carolyn Zacher. She took over running the cafe last fall and really enjoys being apart of our community and wants to stay. So what’s the problem? Hard to pinpoint one thing so lets just get to the point. The lease has been changed so that Carolyn will be paying a monthly rent for the building and the community will be in charge of the rest. The rest (water, propane, electricity, insurance) is estimated to cost $1200.00 per month. I urge the community of Gackle to take ownership in this. If you want the cafe to remain open, we all need to support it in any way we can (donating, volunteering, eating, etc.). The cafe board, consisting of Mary Jo Fries, Barb Schmidt, and Sandi Rivinius, have been working hard to generate ideas to raise money. In addition to local fundraising efforts, the board has received grants from the North Dakota Community Foundation to help support the cafe.

A Pancake, French Toast, and Sausage buffet is scheduled to be held on April 20, 2008. There is a list of items that can be donated for this, which includes: syrup, eggs, butter, and orange juice. Any donations can be taken to the cafe. A raffle drawing will also be held on this day. Items on the raffle include a $150 Reister Meats bundle, $100 savings bond, $50 gift certificate for the Gackle Coop, and gift certificates for the cafe. Tickets can be purchased from any board member, at the bank, or the cafe for $1 per ticket or 6 for $5. Our main street needs a cafe!

Constant problems due to age and obsolescence have plagued the Gackle’s sewers. Quick fixes and costly repairs have town maintenance workers, volunteers and city leaders wondering if the sewer problems will ever end. It has become a problem that won’t go away and a major obstacle to the future growth of the town. Streets have been torn up and left unpaved and that’s not the worst of it…

Our Strategic Plan, which developed out of the Horizons Project, outlines Infrastructure Repair and Maintenance as key to Gackle’s Financial Stability. City leaders have worked hard to find a way to repair the sewer that is cost effective and fair to all residents. The plan was outlined by the mayor and contracted engineer in a town meeting on February 28.

The repairs will be paid for with Federal grants coupled with a resident infrastructure fee of $25 - $30 added to everyone’s water bill. While nobody wants an added fee, everyone who attended the meeting seemed to understand that it was a necessary step and an investment in the town’s future.

Check out the article that was in Tri-County News by clicking on the mini-newspaper for details of the plan.

This plan appears to have broad public support unlike plans outlined in the past. In my opinion, this is due to the transparency of the process and the willingness of the city to work with residents to come up with a “workable” solution. Giving everyone a “voice” is a big part of what the Horizons process has taught us.

The signs went up on March 19 just before our first day of spring “snowfall” - Gackle Arts Advisory Group members, Deane Fay, Ritchie Jacobson, Sally Jeppson and Dennis Terhark were there for a photo opportunity and the mayor assisted with hanging the signs and of course, the ladder!

Dennis Terhark of Acme Sign painted the signs in his Gackle Business.

Community Arts Access…..Attention: GAAG - Gackle Arts Advisory Group

As a community-based grant program, Community Arts Access is designed to benefit nonprofit organizations that present arts programming in small and rural communities in North Dakota. It also supports nonprofit organizations in communities of all sizes whose arts programming makes a deliberate and focused effort to serve a special constituency or an under-served audience in that community.

Maximum Grant: $2,000
Deadline Dates: November 1 and April 1 (submitted electronically or postmarked)

Examples of Supported Activities. Can include, but is not limited to:

• Creation of a public work of art, such as a mural or installment piece, that incorporates talent within the community.
• Public performances of music, dance, or theatre.
• An exhibition.
• Arts festival or performance series.
• To book a touring performance or exhibit.

Complete information: North Dakota Council on the Arts Community Access Grant

North Dakota Council on the Arts Grant Deadline Approaching!

Teacher Incentive Grant

The Teacher Incentive program is a means of providing financial assistance to teachers who wish to explore new and creative ways of incorporating the arts into the non-arts curriculum of a classroom. Projects may involve the visual arts, poetry/fiction writing, performing arts, architecture, folk arts, or any combination of artistic disciplines.

Maximum Grant: $300
Deadline Dates: April 1 (for projects occurring between July 1 and June 30 of the upcoming school year)
November 1 (for projects occurring between January 1 and June 30 of that school year)

Eligible Activities:

• Arts supplies and materials for the project described in the proposal.
• Consumable supplies that directly relate to the specified arts project/activity.
• Arts consultants or artists.

Gackle School is also able to apply for an Artist In Residence Grant

More information on all the grants can be found at the North Dakota Council on the Arts Web Site.

KEEP OUR AMBULANCE SERVICE IN OPERATION!

The Gackle Ambulance needs local help to continue operation and service. “The only way that is going to happen is to add more people to the Squad. The Squad needs EMTs, Divers, and EMT Assistants.”

Some time ago you may have heard that the Gackle Ambulance Service received a grant to provide training and pay for Squad staff. Receiving this grant was a huge achievement and a tremendous amount of work for all who worked so hard to receive this funding. (See Tri-County article at left).

Thanks to this funding, a training series is scheduled to start on March 24, 2008 and we need people participate. The details are in the attached Tri-County article. Please contact James or Melody Owen at 485-3238.

Yes, it’s a big commitment to train and then serve on the Squad but it is worthy one that everyone should appreciate. I can say from experience, that having a well-trained local ambulance service can mean life or death to someone who is injured.

There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well - Walter Philip Reuther

I took this photo on the 4th of July during Gackle’s “Rock-the-Park” Horizons Celebration (see earlier blog entry), which culminated with a fabulous fireworks display. A fireworks display of this kind had not occurred in Gackle for many years.

I thought, for now, that the Fireworks image might be appropriate for our banner as the Gackle’s excitement builds and we are launching into the action phase of our strategic plan.

As you plan your gardens for 2008, please plant extra so YOU can participate in Gackle’s Farmers Market as both a buyer and a vendor. We have big hopes for this year’s market, and we want the whole community to join in. Let’s start by joining the conversation that gets the ball rolling.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
7:00 PM - Carolyn’s Café
(snacks provided)

• What did you like about last year’s markets?
• What can we do more of?
• What can we do less of?
• What new ideas can we try?
• What will draw regional shoppers to our market?
• What do we need for promotion and setup?

Come one, come all…See you there!!!

Want some ideas? Want to dream big? Go to this link and read about my alma mater’s Farmers Market in Davis, California, one of the premier markets in the country. And for even more depth, check out this Case Study.