MEXICO — The River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition held a networking meeting Tuesday afternoon at Region 9 School of Applied Technology to discuss upcoming events.
Representatives from businesses and programs, including the Region 9 Adult Education Center, Community Concepts and SeniorsPlus, attended. Carol Emery, a member of the coalition, asked each person to share upcoming activities.
Barbara Radmore, the director of the Western Foothills Kids Association, said she is working on starting a program similar the University of Maine at Farmington’s resource depot at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford. She said the depot allows students, teachers and residents to buy donated or recycled items at reasonable prices.
Radmore said her goal is to get enough materials to start a similar program at Mountain Valley High School.
Nancy Allen, director of the Region 9 Adult Education program, said the Oxford County Cash Coalition is looking for volunteer tax preparers to help individuals who earn $51,000 a year or less prepare their tax returns. An organizational meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3, at 5 p.m. at the Region 9 Adult Education Learning Center.
Allen also said she’s working with Envision Rumford, a group of business leaders and community members, to decorate the empty stores on Main Street in Rumford at 9 a.m. Saturday.
“We’re trying to bring these places back to life,” Allen said. “Anybody who is able to get up at nine in the morning, they’re welcome to meet up with us. We’re always looking for help.”
Patty Ladd of Western Maine Community Action added that creating new businesses on Main Street is difficult because “a lot of the property is owned by people out of state. It’s hard to encourage people to move in because of the higher price of the property.”
Emery also told those in attendance that a “master gardening” class would be held from Feb. 13 to May 22. According to Barbara Murphy of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension program and coordinator of the class said the class would take place Wednesday afternoons at Region 9 Technical School in Mexico and Thursday evenings at the South Paris Extension office.
Murphy said that the cost will range from free to $330, depending on the applicant’s income. She said there will be 15 weeks of indoor training and in the spring each student will have 40 volunteer hours to complete.
The next meeting of the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition will be Jan. 31, 2013.
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