University of Illinois Extension
Bureau County Unit
September 2006
Enriching Lives Through Education
Welcome
Community Leadership & Economic Development
- The county-wide Community and Economic
Development collaboration met to plan for the new pilot which includes a
part-time position to work collectively developing a county perspective for
Economic Development. Collaborative partners include Bureau County Board
Administrator, Austin Edmondson; Princeton City Manager, Andrew Brannen; Spring
Valley Economic Director, Debb Ladgenski; and University of Illinois
Extension - Bureau County Director, Jill Guynn.
The new staff member will begin in October and will be housed in the Princeton City Hall building.
- A joint collaboration for the development of a
high speed, distance video-conference facility is in progress. The
collaborators include Extension, City of Princeton,
and Becker Professional Suites (Daryl and Marsha Becker); the project will
provide for the latest in technology which will allow people in the facility to
communicate both through live audio and video TV. Connection to multiple
distance sites will offer speakers, meetings, educational programs and more to be scheduled providing a
savings to time and travel costs, while opening up new and expanded
opportunities for local groups. The City of Princeton awarded $2,000.00 to Extension through the Community Betterment
Grant in support of the project. Extension has submitted a Technology Challenge
Grant to the State Extension Office for needed technology. The Technology
Challenge Grant was approved in the amount of $16,500. and increased to
$19,000. Basic installation is now completed; additional microphones and cables
will be installed for enhanced operations. The 1st program scheduled
will be held on December 5 and 6 - "See Your Soldier".
- Extension staff continues to work with a task
force to prepare Youth Leadership "Best Practices" standards for use statewide
with University of Illinois Extension programming and others interested in providing
leadership opportunities. This team is
exploring best practices for programs involving mentoring, teens as teachers,
youth/adult partnership including youth working with governing bodies and
leadership academies to help youth feel invested in their communities. Staff is also working
on a team of 5 educators piloting special programming on local government in Illinois. More than 400 youth in Northwest
Illinois are participating in the pilot of this project through
Bureau County Extension.
-
A planning meeting was held for development of a
community and economic development program series for the City of Spring Valley. Spring
Valley Economic Director, Extension CED Educator and local Extension staff are
planning programs to begin October 5.
- "Update on Legislative Issues" was held on September 21 for local government officials through the University of Illinois Extension Tele-Institute Program.
