White Sulphur Springs, MT

The Meagher County 4-H Council and the Stevens Youth Center joined forces to clean up the Rodeo Grounds and a neighbor’s yard in connection with the Meagher County Community Foundation Cleanup Grants.  Thirty volunteers from the two organizations spent four hours in the drizzling rain picking up trash and clearing a neighbor’s yard of unwanted items that had accumulated over the years.  Altogether four truckloads of garbage were taken to the dump.  The two groups received a total of $500 for their efforts.  The 4-H Council will be using their portion of the funds to help defer the cost of ribbons, trophies and other awards associated with the 4-H Indoor and Outdoor Fairs.  The Fairs will take place on Saturday, August 9, 2008.  The Stevens Youth Center will use their portion of the funds to bring in visiting artists for summer workshops, open to all ages.  Look for further information on dates and locations and how you can join the fun.

As the MCCF has worked toward implementation of the community vision, a variety of organizations and resource providers have been called upon for their insights, programs, and assistance.  Here are just a few of the folks that have helped MCCF make decisions about community action:

• CTA Architects- following the community visioning session, where CTA donated “quick draw” skills to illustrate our vision  of the community, Sarah Hamlen and Commissioner Jamie Doggett, traveled to Bozeman.  There, CTA outlined the steps involved with street scaping and planning for community beautification.  They also identified budgets and expenses that might be required in planning phases of street scaping.
• Gateway Economic Development- The team at Gateway Economic Development has been called on to help with many different aspects of planning for beautification.  Gateway has helped to research designs for flower planters and has helped to identify the requirements for submitting a CTEP application.  They may also have grant funding available to help with leveraging the $8,500 grant available through Horizons for street scaping.
• Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D- The RC&D has worked on two significant projects identified in the action plan - self-help housing rehabilitation and community wind.  Both of these projects are moving forward and helping our community to be more sustainable.
• MidWest Assistance Program- While working on street scaping concepts, it became clear to MCCF that a capital improvements plan for community infrastructure (primarily water and waste-water management) is a critical component for moving forward.  MAP is meeting with city council members and the mayor, as well as with representatives of Gateway Economic Development and the RC&D, to discuss the development of a capital improvements plan for the city.  This would provide a great foundation for any community beautification effort.
• Montana Community Foundation- In rebuilding the Meagher County Community Foundation, the board has relied heavily on guidance from the Montana Community Foundation.  They have provided ideas, support, and recommendations on both organizational structure and long term goal setting.
• Horizons Across Montana - Throughout the process, MCCF has called on the folks at Horizons Across Montana to bounce ideas, gain outside perspective, and to find new resources.  They have helped to keep MCCF on task with reminders about the principles of Horizons and have helped to challenge the community to obtain higher standards of performance.
• Disposal Services - The big issue for Meagher County has been community clean up.  Many in town hoard their household garbage and wait for the one “free” day of dumping per year to dispose of their trash.  Disposal services has worked with Horizons, and is now working directly with the city, to determine new ways of handling the transfer station billing so that we can get this health and human safety issue removed from town.

The Meagher County Community Foundation has teamed up with the City of White Sulphur Springs to host a second Clean Up day in White Sulphur Springs.  The annual Clean Up day is hosted on an alternating schedule by either the city or the county.  This year, it is the City’s responsibility to host the clean up day. 

Because residents have to pay for dumping, the City/County Clean-Up Day provides an opportunity for residents to get rid of bulky items (such as appliances) or other trash that they might otherwise be reluctant to dump.  Those living in poverty are especially reluctant to dump items that will cost a lot to dispose.  Offering a second clean up day is an attempt by Horizons and the MCCF to allow people to get rid of additional items and to really clean up this year!

The cost of the additional day of dumping is approximately $3,000.  This cost goes to pay for the trucking of the trash out of Meagher County.

In other exciting news, the offer to help with an additional Clean Up Day is adding new business to the City Council agenda for next month.  The city will meet to determine whether they might add approximately $15 in charges to the city water bills for dumping.  Most people in the city pay Disposal Services for their trash collection, however, there are many who opt not to pay for dumping services.  At least one city council member believes that, if people are already paying for dumping, they may be more likely to haul their trash out of town.  There are currently a number of residents to “hoard” their trash for the year and use the free dumping day to get rid of their trash.  The city is also suggesting that the fee imposed on the water bills would provide a voucher for a free day of dumping to each resident of the city.  The city is very sensitive to the needs of those in poverty and is concerned that even $15/month might stress some residents.  However, the current state of trash disposal in the community is creating health and safety concerns for some areas of town (hoarding trash contributes to rodent and pest infestations) and this action might help to eliminate that problem.

Economist Article

This article, which was written in the Economist,in December 2006, ranks Meagher County as the poorest county in the United States, based on wages.  While US Census numbers suggest poverty rates for the county are only at about 17%, some calculate that poverty rates within the community of White Sulphur Springs are as high as 50%.  This estimate is substantiated by the April 2007 Free and Reduced Lunch program at the school, where a full 50% of students qualified for the program due to their poverty status. 

 As the article notes, the amazing thing about poverty in our Western counties, is that, “most people do not think of themselves as being poor.”  Because a full one in two people in White Sulphur could qualify as being “poor” by goverment definitions, strategies for addressing poverty in Meagher are really about helping the entire community.  Reducing feelings of scarcity and increasing opportunities for people to succeed are key in moving forward to address poverty.

Through the Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D, a grant has been received to develop a model for community wind in Meagher County.  The grant is only for $5,000, but will allow the community to explore investment in community-owned wind energy generation.

 The community previously explored investment in community wind with Clean Renewable Energy Bonds.  However, due diligence showed that the proposed project was not feasible.  The enthusiasm for that project was significant, however, so this grant will allow the community to take a second look at how to structure community wind for White Sulphur.

 Sarah Hamlen will be the coordinator for this project.