Members of the Lincoln Community Coalition and interested parties gathered in person and virtually on May 28. A majority of the meeting focused on recounting recent community involvement.
Meadow Valley Middle School (MVMS) principal Dr. Michael Roth thanked members of the Coalition board and staff, the Boys & Girls Club and volunteers who participated in the school’s Summer Survival Week. Community members gathered at the school each day, May 20-23, to offer unique experiences in place of the usual end-of-year activities.
On Monday, during Medical Day, students were trained on substance use prevention, positive actions and STI avoidance. On Tuesday, the students embarked on various adventures with state park rangers. After a bus ride to Spring Valley State Park, the seventh and eighth graders rotated through fishing, nature journaling, birdwatching, a bounce house and other activity stations for Outdoors Day.
On Wednesday, the Panaca Fairgrounds played host to Rodeo Day, where youth and school staff were treated to animal encounters, games, a DJ and rodeo demonstrations. In the afternoon, buses returned to the school as students prepared to enjoy Water Day with the fire department.
MVMS teachers and Dr. Roth worked together to host an end-of-year graduation ceremony for the eighth graders on the last day of school. A presentation and walk across the stage were held for each departing student.
During the recap of the Summer Survival Week, many shared meaningful interactions during the various small group sessions. Coalition chair September Barnes noted that this year was a success, and she is confident that next year will be even better.
The Coalition simultaneously hosted an end-of-school year event in Alamo at the Splash Pad with close to 150 participants. Staff reported that cornhole, sack races, a slip and slide and raffle prizes were enjoyed by those who attended.
Coalition staff also shared that they will offer a diabetes class starting June 19, and both a chronic disease and Naloxone class will be scheduled in the upcoming months.
Snack bags will continue to be available during the summer months. The libraries in Alamo and Pioche, as well as the Boys & Girls Club in Panaca, will have snack bags during normal hours of operation. The Panaca Town Center will have snack bags at the Coalition office Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Thursdays, staff will also hand out bags from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m at Caliente Elementary School.
An agency spotlight featured a presentation by Boys and Girls Club site coordinator Rodney Balser. Balser shared the success of the community safety event hosted in Pioche. The Boys & Girls Club contributed a coloring contest, DJ booth, bounce house, balloon photo booth and various activities and prizes to the event. Balser said community partners joined together to make the event bigger than he could have hoped. He also listed staff involvement in the MVMS Summer Survival Week with a positive action check-in and board game session, bounce house station and DJ services during the week. Boys and Girls Club staff shared a short video with meeting attendees highlighting the various events and involvement. The video included photos from the Memorial Day parade in which Balser used the club van to pull a decorated trailer float. Club members and staff could be seen decorating the vehicle and tossing candy to the large Caliente crowd.
At the conclusion of the presentation, it was announced that the club is hiring a part-time van driver and part-time club tutors. A van pick-up and drop-off schedule, as well as the summer activities schedule, have also been finalized. To find club updates, schedules and job announcements, visit the Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/boysandgirlsclublincolncounty.
Another agency spotlight was provided by Nevada Care Connection’s Cherrise Brown, who shared a wide range of resources available to residents. A full article on this organization will be available soon.
The Lincoln Community Coalition of Nevada meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Meetings are held in the Panaca Town Center. To find resources or become involved in Coalition initiatives, visit https://lccoalition.org.