Congratulations to the Northfield Skateboard Coalition for reaching the $10,000 challenge grant from HCI. In October 2007, HCI pledged to match – dollar-for-dollar – any money the youth in the Skateboard Coalition raised before April 1, 2008, up to a maximum of $10,000.

The young people in the Skateboard Coalition raised over $10,500 during that time. Thus, HCI will contribute the full $10,000 to support the youth-led effort to build a skateboard plaza in Northfield.

Thank you to everyone who contributed! Even though the challenge grant is complete, the youth continue to raise funds for the plaza, as additional monies will be needed for this project. Please consider sending a donation to the Northfield Union of Youth, P.O. Box 481, Northfield, MN 55057. Checks can be made out to the Northfield Union of Youth – please write “Skateboard Coalition” in the memo line. Donations are tax-deductible.

HCI and the Rice County Chemical Health Coalition are pleased to announce that Mary F. Nelson has been hired as an independent consultant. Mary will provide staff support to the countywide coalition working to reduce youth alcohol and drug use. For more information on the Rice County Chemical Health Coalition and its work to-date, click here.

Mary has been a member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Alcohol & Drug Use for the past year and a half, working on media and communications efforts, with local law enforcement on compliance checks, and planning community events. She has also been a foster parent to over 60 local youth and currently works as the Site Specialist at Bridgewater Elementary School. Mary was recently one of 10 Minnesotans to receive the “2007 Virginia McKnight Binger Award for Human Services” from the McKnight Foundation.

“While we will miss having Mary on the HCI Board, we are excited about the many skills and connections that Mary will bring to this new role,” said Linda Oto, HCI Board co-chair. “The Rice County Chemical Health Coalition has made important progress over the last two and a half years in addressing youth drug and alcohol use. Mary will be a great addition to the Coalition as we continue this vital work.”

Mary began this position on April 1. She can be reached by telephone (507-663-1020) or email.

Welcome, Mary!

The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) “Safe Routes to Schools” program has awarded Northfield Public Schools $30,000 to improve the safety of students who walk and bike to the elementary and middle schools and to encourage active forms of transportation.

The Northfield proposal was one of 27 selected by MnDOT out of 105 grant applications submitted this year. Safe Routes to School is a federal program created in 2005 by the federal transportation funding bill.

The district and local stakeholders in the project, dubbed Pathways to Healthier Students (PaTHS), will work to enhance access to schools through education, enforcement of speed and safety laws, and engineering improvements.

“Putting together the grant proposal was really a team effort involving the school district and local governments,” said Bill Ostrem, Chair of the Northfield Area Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation. “Our task force presented the idea and provided organization, and the school district really followed through with action. The City of Northfield played a key role as the project sponsor and we were fortunate to have professional grant writer Christopher Tassava volunteer on the project.”

The Northfield City Council created the Northfield Area Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation in May 2007 to promote walking and biking as healthy and energy-efficient forms of transportation.

A PaTHS steering committee will coordinate proposed activities such as training of crossing guards, a “speed wagon” near the schools, and pedestrian and driver safety campaigns. The committee will evaluate the impact of the project in part using student and parent surveys. The PaTHS project also includes a substantial planning/technical analysis effort aimed at identifying means to improve the routes used by bikers and walkers to reach the four K-8 schools in Northfield.

According to MnDOT's Safe Routes program coordinator, Kristie Billiar, fewer than 15 percent of school children in kindergarten through eighth grade walk or bike to school and nearly half of school-aged children are regularly driven to school by their parents.

“I think that what’s more important than the dollar amount of the grant is that we are getting everyone - the schools, the governments, the police department, parents - working on a common goal together,” said Superintendent Chris Richardson. “In the end, this is all about giving students healthy and fun options for getting to school, setting them up for a healthy lifestyle.”

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