University of Illinois Extension
Bureau County Unit
May 2006
Enriching Lives Through Education
Welcome
Community Leadership & Economic Development
- A special co-sponsored program was held on May 4 at the Bureau County Metro Center focusing on "Local Parks & Recreation Development: Useful Tools & Information For Your Community". The program was co-sponsored by University of Illinois Extension, the Office of Recreation & Park Services, and the Illinois Park and Recreation Association.
- Extension staff serves on the Bureau County Health Department's CHAMPS Grant for DePue. Extension has offered to provide Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyle staff/programming to support the school's wellness initiative in 2006/2007.
- Extension is collaborating with the City of Princeton, City of Spring Valley, and Bureau County Administrator/Board to develop a joint county-wide Community & Economic Development position which will provide for a regional development approach and development of a county website. A job description is currently being developed for this parttime position.
- 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 recently increased to $19,000. Installation is now underway with plans for completion by the end of June.
- Extension staff have been involved on behalf of Bureau County Tourism and Princeton Tourism with developing the Illinois River Country Nature Tourism project. Plans are still continuing to be developed toward proposing a national scenic byway designation along the Illinois River that would include a spur from the northwest that would pass through Princeton and Eastern Bureau County.
- University of Illinois Extension - Bureau County has a new look to their website. Check the website to find many resources for youth, families, communities and agriculture! http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/bureau/
- Extension staff participated in meetings with the River Country Nature Trail group, the Route of the Voyageurs National Scenic Byway steering committee and the Grand Illinois Trail planning group throughout the month of May. All of these projects hold significant promise for new tourism initiatives throughout the county.
- 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.
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