Gackle, ND

On March 13, 2008 community members attended a presentation by Kevin Dvorak on how the North Dakota Community Foundation (NDCF) might help Gackle develop its own endowment. While you haven’t heard anything since the initial meeting (click on Tri-County News below) I thought I’d bring you up-to-date on what’s happening.

Everyone left the meeting with great feelings of hope and everyone who attended felt that starting a permanent endowment would be good thing for Gackle. Such a fundraising vehicle would be a way for people to INVEST in the community for its long-term future. The invested “principle” can NEVER be spent, only the interest is used to make grants to benefit the community. This type of investment can be very attractive to individuals who want to make sure their contribution will ALWAYS make a difference to Gackle.

The initial investment to get a the endowment started is $25,000. North Dakota Community Foundation will match that with $5000. There are then future opportunities for dollar-for-dollar matches making the investment grow quickly. Of course, until the principle grows, the grants will remain small, but that can change with just a few large contributions.

During April and May, further discussions with NDCF have occurred. They are willing to help us get started developing “ask-strategies” for raising our first $25,000. They will also help us with putting together the Gackle Community Endowment board. The consensus is to wait until the Horizon’s program is complete before launching the endowment.

Gackle’s Horizon program has resulted in an atmosphere of change, a surge of community activism and an understanding of community needs. Some of these needs will be addressed this summer–clean-up, providing healthy, locally grown food/produce for the residents and providing cultural & social opportunities. All these activities will show that effort is being made to improve the town–we hope this will be an attractive incentive to investors in Gackle’s future.

Andrew Owen, who will be a junior this fall at Gackle High School, is working on updating the Gackle web site, www.gacklend.com. Its great to have a young person on board helping the community. Thanks Andrew, great job so far.

The web site hasn’t been current since the 2004 Centennial Celebration. Our work during the Horizons process (and Strategic planning) identified a web site update as an important goal to marketing our community.

In the future there will be a link to this Gackle, ND blog.

The date has been set for the kick-off of the 2008 Gackle Farmers Market. The Market will take place on Saturday afternoons, 3-5 pm. Location: A. F. Lehr Park

Lots of planning has occurred to organize the weekly event. Research and networking with regional farmers markets groups, Napoleon, Bowdon, Jamestown Anamoose and others has helped shape the plan. NDSU extension has also helped with formulating policies.

Eight volunteers met last week for the second planning meeting. Mayor, Ritchie Jacobson reported on his conversations with vegetable vendors and there is a core group which has committed to selling produce. Sally Jeppson reported on the “Capture the Coteau” - Art in the Park event.

Lots of discussion occurred on time, date, location for the Market. The Market will take place in the Park to take advantage of the beautiful setting that has resulted from such hard work this spring by many volunteers.

Bakers will once again be invited to bring tasty treats. Artisans will also be invited to bring their artwork to sell at the Market. The focus will be to attract “one of a kind” unique products (artworks/handicrafts). The Gackle Farmers Market does not charge to any fee for vendors. Contact sjepp@daktel.com if you would like to bring your artwork to the farmers market.

Summer Arts Programming – The “Capture the Coteau” Program series will occur in association with this Summer’s Farmers Market. Programs will start July 19th. Like the title, the idea is to look at all the wildlife and flora which surrounds Gackle, study it, draw it, sculpt it, photograph it and then use those designs, drawings, and pottery tiles to create or adorn banners, planters, benches or whatever we can think of to help beautify the town. A naturalist will tell us about local wildflowers and wildlife. An art historian will talk about the history of botanical illustration. Local and regional artists will assist us with drawing lessons and photography lessons. These artists will also bring their artwork to Gackle for an exhibition. The artwork created by Gackle artists will also be displayed.

We received a Community Access Grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts for $1275 which will cover materials costs (lumber, paint, clay, film, drawing pencils), mileage and small artist honorariums for the out-of-town artists. $500 dollars will need to raised locally in matching money.

This program is for all ages, young and old. The only cost is the purchase of a $5 sketch book which will be used throughout the 9 week series of activities. This project is designed to be multifaceted, non-cumulative and accessible to everyone. Different sessions will attract different folks–would-be artists, collectors, nature lovers, designers and builders will all find something of interest during the series.

Look for more information here on the blog as well as in the Tri-County News. Image at right from the web page: www.answers.com/topic/echinacea

Hopefully you were able to catch the ad in last week’s Tri-County News and saved the date on your calendar, if not, you better get to it! We may not have the same catchy title as last year’s “Rock the Park,” because miraculously, the park got completely rocked. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t repeat the great time we had! This year’s goal is to make Gackle the 4th of July “Destination of Choice.” And why shouldn’t it be? Haven’t you ever gone on vacation and were glad to return home? We have it all here with great parks, swimming pool, RV park, nearby lake area, and don’t forget the wonderful people! With gas prices so high, lets take advantage of what’s local and celebrate!

So here we go…I’m just getting started with all the organizing, but what I do know is that I need help! The day of the event will need the most help with set up, serving, and clean up, but I am also looking for a couple of people to take charge of the kids activities. We are also looking for donations to cover the cost of the event. As you may remember, last year was all donations and volunteers. So if you can help in anyway, please contact me at 485-3385 or mail donations to me at 205 Spruce St E, Gackle, ND 58442. We already have some great entertainment lined up with the group “Raw Sugar” coming from Lisbon, ND to perform for us. I also hear that our finally of fireworks is going to be “bigger and better.” If you saw last years show, it’s hard to imagine how they are going to do that. Gail has been hard at work getting things together and he also has an account set up at Dakota Heritage Bank for any donations.

We can’t forget that Horizon’s is what “sparked” our energy last year and continues to be a positive charge for change in our community. The Horizon’s project will be ending in June and deserves some celebration for all of the motivation and direction it will leave us with. Stay tuned for updates and I expect to hear from you all!

We have a new strategic plan, we have ideas and we have dreams but we seem to have lost the energy. Where did it go?

Recent blog entries and local newspaper articles have shown the realities of Gackle’s woes. What is not apparent on the surface is that many basic services have been propped up over the years or have had benefactors to support their continuation. Those means are drying up. The cafe is struggling, the pool might not open, the sewers are failing and lots of other major issues. Everybody who is currently volunteering is overburdened and there doesn’t seem to be any new “troops.” It’s hard to get excited about the strategic goals of beautifying the town or continuing education when we have such large concerns.

Reacting to the situation a core group of concerned Horizons volunteers met recently to discuss the situation. Jodi Bruns from NDSU extension also attended. What we learned is that we are not alone and the situation is similar in most small towns. It seems there are ebbs and flows in the process of revitalization and we are experiencing the ebb. Jodi suggested prioritizing the major issues, identifying local leaders best able to “rally-the-troops” and asking them personally to take leadership for the tasks ahead. The reality is that people won’t respond to a simple “call to volunteer” printed in the newspaper. So a personal call based on a complementary marriage of leader and task is the best option.

But a thing we realized during the course of discussion was that we have done a lot and the Horizons process has fomented positive changes within our community. So while we all wish things would move more forward quickly we now understand that a “pat-on-the-back” is also in order and patience and dedication will win the battle ahead.

We would like to hear from other communities out there who are experiencing similar ebbing energy and we would like to hear if anybody has any ideas about keeping the energy and enthusiasm flowing during this process. Any comments would be appreciated!

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.

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.