Courtesy Lincoln County Record
By Jessica Hernandez
Meadow Valley Middle School will host a Teen Night May 4 and the middle and medical school simulation during the last week of school.
The events were a focus of the April 25 regular Lincoln County Coalition and are being organized through the Youth & Community subcommittee within the coalition.
May 22 through 26, the classrooms of Meadow Valley Middle School (MVMS) will be transformed into research labs and hospital wings. Student leaders Sage Carlson and Bentley Barnes joined principal Dr. Michael Roth in presenting updates on the initiative. The students participated in a focus session during the previous week that included students and teachers in the planning of activities. The main areas of study for the initiative will assist participants in making healthy decisions for their brain, heart, lungs and liver. The week-long event will feature guest speakers, medical research, drug use prevention activities, an emergency room simulation and a final awards ceremony. NyE Communities Coalition (NyECC) staff member Amber Pike will head the organization of career day presentations by other community members and contacts. Eric Holt and Kade Lee with Emergency Management have agreed to assist with providing students with first aid tips and personal career highlights during the week. The first responder participation is expected to engage students in learning useful tools for real-life scenarios they may encounter.
Other highlights of the meeting included the Agency Spotlight, where Coalition director Tracie Duren and NyECC’s Crystal Dineley recounted highlights from their recent National Coalition Academy training. Members of coalitions all over the United States met in North Carolina to share goals and ideas on community improvement. The pair shared a summary of favorite activities and takeaways from their time at the training.
“I enjoyed meeting with all of the different coalitions and finding out how they are working to benefit their communities,” said Dineley.
One activity brought back from the conference was shared with the coalition members. The exercise involved an analysis of each person’s version of a tree. Coalition meeting attendees were asked to draw a tree on a blank sheet of paper, with no other context. After a few moments to fill the page, participants listened to a breakdown of the way trees might have been drawn. Certain shapes, shading and details were revealed to match certain characteristics and personality traits. Meeting participants were shocked to learn that things like line quality when drawing could relate to being soft spoken.
Director Travis Constantine shared updates on the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows servicing Lincoln County. The club is currently waiving all participation fees until Memorial Day. Over 80 kids have registered for the Boys & Girls Club in Panaca since the kickoff event held Feb. 15.
Veterans advocate Linda Rollins announced that she will be in the office at the Panaca Senior Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 28 and May 12.
The LCC subcommittee for Youth and Community shared updates on projects discussed during their April 13 meeting.
Meeting dates are pending for the Behavioral Health and the Infrastructure and System Development subcommittees. Those interested in joining a subcommittee should contact the Coalition via email at contact@lccoalition.org for details.
The next meeting of the Lincoln County Coalition will take place May 23 at 10 a.m. in the conference room at the Panaca Town Center. Paul Thornton plans to travel from Las Vegas to speak on behalf of Nevada 211 during the Agency Spotlight.