Whitehall, MT

While things at the park site don’t look appreciably different, there is notable progress.

In the first phase of park creation, the picnic table locations and the lower trails have been laid out, excavated, smoothed and weed fabric and gravel have been placed.  The next step is to have old road millings placed on the trails and picnic table pads.  The picnic tables are in storage waiting to be put to use and they look fantastic.

The Community Development Board, in keeping with the Horizon’s goals and objectives, always looks for ways to partner with organizations and bring additional resources to projects.  The Board recognizes that every penny and every ounce of effort needs to be leveraged to the fullest degree possible to make things possible in our small town. 

Since it has been awhile since progress on the park was last reported on, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the Silver Tower Park is a partnership, led by our young people in the Whitehall High School’s Interact Club which is affiliated with the Rotary Club.  Also partnering on the project are the Town of Whitehall Parks Trees, and Cemetery Board, the Whitehall Veterans, the Whitehall Alternative School, the Whitehall Booster Club and the Garden Club. 

In addition to some Horizon’s grant money that used for the purchase of the picnic tables, the Whitehall Booster Club stepped up to the plate and assisted with funding for the Whitehall High School Sign, a much needed addition to the town.  The Garden Club is allocating some grant money they received to assist with native plantings once the ground is ready.  The Veterans will be financing a portion of the park and providing some labor where there will be flags placed.  The Town of Whitehall, who not only allowed the use of the land but will supply the necessary water and electricity (if needed), is assisting with the millings, gravel, etc.  The Interact Club and the Alternative School has supplied plenty of labor and funding.  Terry Reed (Four Seasons Construction) and Calvin Johnson (Johnson Custom Fencing) have assisted with providing equipment and skilled operation of the equipment, Chris Wagner of Wagner Nursery has provided expertise, a sketch of the park and recommended plantings.  Many members of the community have volunteered their time, equipment, knowledge and sturdy backs to the effort.  It is truly a community project in every sense of the word. 

Hang in there everyone.  The park will continue to take shape.  If anyone wants more information or would like to volunteer to help at the site, just post a comment or attend a Community Development Board meeting.  There is always something that needs doing. 

PS  If I have forgotten to name anyone who has assisted, I apologize.  It is not intentional I can assure you.  Let me know who I have missed so I can make certain that no person’s contribution goes unnoticed or unrecognized.

As we reach the end of another phase of the Horizons process that has been focused on capacity building, it is time to evaluate our community’s progress on stated desired outcomes of the Horizon’s project. It has been a busy and interesting process. Sometimes visible progress seems slow in materializing. However, many, many people have been working very hard and though it may not always be readily apparent, Whitehall is making headway.

The Community Development Board is evaluating our progress based on the following:

*****LEARN HOW TO WRITE AND SUBMIT GRANTS*****

There will be a grant writing workshop sponsored by the Town of Whitehall, Community Development Board and the Horizons Project on Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at the Madison-Jefferson County Extension Office.  Janet Cornish from Community Development Services of Montana will be conducting the workshop.  The seminar begins at 8:30 AM and continues until 4:00 PM.  Lunch will be served to participants and there is no cost to attend.

To register for this FREE workshop, please call the Extension Office at 287-3282.

AARP and the Whitehall Rotary Club are sponsoring an AARP Driver Safety Course, formerly known as 55 Alive.

The 8 hour safety course will be held on Saturday, May 17, from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM at the Whitehall Town Hall, located at 2 North Whitehall Street.

The cost is $10.00 per person and a minimum of 12 students is required to hold the class.

For more information or to register for the class, you can contact Erv Hedegaard at 287-3225 or Tom Jenkin at 287-3028. Reservations are required.

What are the benefits of taking the course? Who should take the course? Erv? Tom?
Anyone else?

(And what’s a blog?)

This blog is for the community of Whitehall to use for FREE in whatever ways are useful to the community. That means Animal Shelter, Walking Trail, Whitehall Schools, Town Council, 4-H, Extension Office, Whitehall Weed Project, Friends of the Library, etc. If your group is from the Whitehall Community, (and not making money for anything other than your community) you can use this blog. The space is provided by the Horizons folks, but the blog remains after the Horizons Project ends in June 08.

If you want feedback on an idea, you can get it through the blog. The high school students are aware of the blog and the ways to use it, and the people who check the WSD website are alerted when the blog is updated. Please take advantage of it! We have a counter on this site so we can see how many hits we get, which will give you an idea of how many people are getting your message.

Blogs are a way of communicating, discussing and keeping a record of what’s been said, done and pondered. This blog is set up so that if you post a comment, it will immediately appear for all the world to see. Only a couple people can write posts (what you are reading right now is a post), but we can post what you want us to, or teach you how to do it if you see your group posting regularly.

The Community Development Board is the keeper of the blog, so if you have questions or ideas, please contact community_devel_whitehall@yahoo.org. 

This party was for anyone from the community wanting to contribute their ideas to the Future Vision on Whitehall. The following questions and ideas were on the tables, and the answers were anonymous.

What words best describe Whitehall Now and in the Future?
Now: There aren’t many curbs or gutters, but the theatre is reasonably priced.
Future: We need better sidewalks, and walking/biking trails. There needs to be decorate street
lamps also.

Is ALL change bad?
Sometimes change is bad, but not always

What is change?
Change is continuous. Sometimes you notice it and sometimes you don’t
Evolution
All living things grow and change
When one thing becomes another

What is the best thing about Whitehall?
The location and people
Skate Park
Weather
The scenery and recreational opportunities
Good selection of churches and a nice library

How much growth is TOO much growth?
Places like Bozeman have too much growth
Having to have stoplights and more traffic reports
When the infrastructure begins to fail from too much use
Pollution, and too much farm land covered with cement
Malls are an example of too much growth

Is there a “correct amount” of growth?
No
Yes, if the infrastucture and housing keeps pace
Only if it is proportionate to the jobs available
No, you cannot figure things that way

When we use the word “Future”, how long are we talking about?
1 year
10 years
Things coming in our tomorrows
When current children become adults

If you had $20,000 to spend on this community, what would you do?
Pay the balance owing on the new pool strucutre
Improve the sidewalks because they are in disrepair

If you had $100,000 to spend on this community, what would you do?
Help support the face lift of old buildings in town
Make the skate park bigger with easier equipment for beginners

What is the best thing about Whitehall?
The good selection of churches
A nice library
Swimming pool
A great place to raise children
A wonderful playground

What is the worst thing about Whitehall?
Blowing dust and the wind
The drug problem
Trash
The small town mentality
Too much “lip” service, and not enough action by residents
The crumbling sidewalks, curbs, and overgrowth of weeds
The streets are in disrepair
The children in poverty

What made you decide to live in Whitehall?
Business opportunites
Beauty of the surrounding country
Seattle was too big
An airport and affordable housing
We selected Whitehall to be our retirement home 30 years ago

What do you do in your free time that is specific to Whitehall and the surrounding area?
Skate at the skate park
Go to the farmer’s market to buy eggs from the Amish and tomatoes from the Silver Star
greenhouse
Go to the museum
Play flag football
Hike and fly fish

What types of businesses would be welcome in Whitehall?
Affordable high-tech businesses
Specialty medicine
Any business the town would support
Shops for younger people like toy stores, video game shops, and card shops
Community supported agriculture

How would you define “capacity building”?
Helping our people gain skills to make our town a better place
Understanding where we are going and building to support it

What do you like about Whitehall?
The peace and serenity

What is needed for the future of Whitehall?
The town needs to be ready for growth
More communication between the county and city
No piece meal annexing, we don’t want to be like Belgrade
More affordable housing and bigger rentals with low upkeep for seniors, and more upscale
Use of the Candlestick ranch
More businesses
Maybe a historical theme
Attractive fronts on buildings in Whitehall
Improvements on the bowling alley

How do you see Whitehall now?
Whitehall has a receptiveness for new business and people with disabilities
Whitehall is very comparable to Columbus with the friendliness, culture, appreciation of hard work
and a nice entrance to town
The mine has brought in a fresh perspective

What could be enhanced in Whitehall?
Walking trails and parks
Stronger marketing of our murals and the historical parts of our area with a theme for the
community
Medical facilites in the future for the ambulance, etc.
Expand the library
Make a positive visual image by picking up trash, rewarding people for keeping this up
Ensure that travelers feel safe so people will be more willing to stay
Have Clays in Calico next to the A & W to draw people

What would you like to see in Whitehall?
Mentoring, community projects, and connections to higher education to help children out of
poverty
A plan for growth
More teaching and educational opportunities for young children, because there is a waiting list
now for Headstart, clearly showing we need more opportunities
Daycare with the high school
We need to maintain our identity because our children will want that in the future
A large diversity in kinds of businesses
Early age daycare
Nursing Home
All types of child care!!!

What does Whitehall need to maintain or sustain?
The pride in our community
School system
Swimming pool
The civic groups in town
The fact that Whitehall works well together in the face of tragedy

How is Whitehall doing on the Whitehall 2010 vision?
It is doing well and many improvements have been made, and leadership understands the speed
of small communities.

What do you like about Whitehall?
The location and size of town
The attractive entrance to town
Class size is small
Good community involvement with the ambulance and school
Youth opportunities such as the pool and the skate park
The amount of young families
Strong sense of community
Whitehall is safe for children
The beauty of the area, and the lack of development
The amount of services
Direction of the education system
People are still friendly

What do you want for the future of Whitehall?
Recognition for at risk youth and families
More advertising for the good point we have
Golf course
Recognition of youth interests and desires
After school care with more school programs directed at youth
Daycare!!!
Daycare at the school for minor parents
Vocational opportunities for those not interested in college
Sustainable youth recreational center
Family and parenting workshops and education
Strong enforcement of ordinances and laws
Better weed control
A hospital and more health care beyond the hospital
More small businesses
Downtown beautification with a main attraction
Keeping access to recreational lands
Address the illegal substance issue in Whitehall
Better sidewalks
Walking trails
Nicer rentals that make people wanting to be proud of them

What are the problems with growth in Whitehall?
The class size is growing
There will be safety issues with new people moving in
Subdivision are too expensive for beginning families and retired couples
Enrollments in school will shift
Impact fees will be positive for the school
There is no early child care for learning, let alone basic child care

What do you like about Whitehall?
The small size of the town
It is a good place to raise children with a good school system
The swimming pool

What is Whitehall now?
There are no clear signs, making it confusing when going through town
It has a fire department, skate park, etc.
No hiking trail
A bedroom community with businesses coming and going
Litter in town

What do you hope for Whitehall in the future?
Better signs on rural roads
The park to look nice with someone deputized to police it
No more things put in the park
Having our own vegetables and food available
Have conservation easements, etc.
Responsible growth with sensitivity to present land owners, and an area for workforce housing.
Feasible environmental control with more study on how development impacts the community
Growth so that businesses will be able to stay and grow
More services in town
Traffic control and signal lights
More activities for children and teens
Pride in the town
Rewards for picking up trash
A hiking trail network in Whitehall with paving as money is available
The community is more attractive and we keep up what we currently have
Golf course
More outdoor sports
Having businesses in the business park