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Group hopes to streamline resources
By Steve Moyer
Nevada Herald
Cecil Pritchett, president of the Osage Valley Resource, Conservation and Development Council, met with area residents Wednesday evening to begin the process of forming a local county organization to work with the regional council.
"This is an effort to get more people involved," Pritchett said. "We have a lot of resources that we can use to help local non-profit organizations get funding. In order to do that, we have to know what they need."
Attending the meeting were Bonnie McCord, southern commissioner; Fred Feldman, soil and water conservation; Lori Feldman; Judith Feuquay, Nevada Regional Medical Center CEO; Randy Allen, First Christian Church; Alice Stevenson, Vernon County Arts Council; R. D. Porter, security services manager, Division of Information Services; and Don Schuster, project coordinator USDA.
Pritchett said he hoped that the group could start working towards bringing more resources to bear on the problems facing Vernon County.
"Just yesterday, the county got a grant toward buying 911 equipment, and we were instrumental in getting that grant," Pritchett said. "The more people who use our resources, the better. I hope that this will get people's attention so they know they can come to us."
Pritchett said that the name eventually chosen for the group isn't as important as the work it does.
"I described it as a county council but I don't want to get hung up on the name," Pritchett said. "The group can call itself whatever it thinks right. I realize there could be some confusion with the county commission or the city council so I wouldn't press for any particular name for the group."
Some of the projects that could use the help of the group were discussed. Stevenson said the Arts Council needs a place to display the members work and also to bring in outside artists to give talks and lessons.
Feuquay said the hospital has a new program, the Industrial Medicine Program, that could benefit area businesses and their employees. Allen described the changes the First Christian Church was planning.
The meeting ended with Pritchett telling the group that another meeting would take place in no more than 45 days.
"I'll see where we are and get together to plan the next meeting to make it possible for the most number of people to attend," Pritchett said. "I think we got a lot done and we just need to follow up on that."