Photo courtesy of Lisa Simono
Alice Shell, a 7-year-old at the Hope school, gets a basket of vegetables from the school garden.
By Shyla Malone
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
Fall is in full swing, almost all the leaves have turned and there is snow on some of the mountains. Also, many of the businesses in Hope have started their winter hours.
The air has more than just a bite in the mornings and at night now, and we had our first frost on the Sep. 26. Woodstoves are going non-stop, and lazy curls of smoke can be seen throughout Hope. The mushroom and berry seasons are over, and time seems to be flying by, as winter is only a few weeks away. Time to get our last minute preparations done and look forward to another beautiful Alaskan winter.
Community Meeting
On Saturday, Oct.1 at 1:30 p.m., the Kenai Borough Assembly sponsored a community meeting. This meeting was being held to identify our communities capital project priorities, which means any large dollar project in the community.
The Borough Assembly is in the process of putting together its 2012 Capital Projects Priority List for the upcoming legislative session. A maximum of two capital project requests from each unincorporated community in the Borough is required.
The Hope community meeting was held at the Social Hall downtown, chaired by Assembly member Sue Mclure, in a round table informal discussion lasting about one hour. No new projects were reported, but re-submitted again this year was improvements on Resurrection Road, which has been submitted for the last few years.
Revenue sharing for the community was also discussed; all nonprofit organizations in the community should submit a list of how your organization thinks this money should be spent to improve the community. If you are interested, please attend the next Hope Inc. meeting; the date and time of this meeting will be posted on the bulletin boards around town.
School News
Working with the Hope School and the P.T.S.A, Americorps, volunteer Lisa Simono acquired a $500 farm to school grant through the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture. The money from the grant will be spent on grow lights for the classroom to grow herbs and fast growing vegetables to earn seed money to start a hot lunch program.
Hope students harvested their community garden box this month; they used the vegetables to make a wonderful soup to feed the community at 9-11 memorial potluck, and they ate the leftovers as a healthy snack. Lisa and Mrs.Trusdell got together to create a hot lunch program for the Hope School. The goal of this is to teach students about growing, processing, and preparing fresh fruits and vegetables.
This Program will hopefully encourage them to make healthy snack choices for lunches and snacks. Start by asking some easy questions to determine what the students know, then incorporate nutrition instruction with the curriculum. In November, the goal is to have a once a week hot lunch program. Students and community members who attend the luncheon will be charged a small amount to keep the grant replenished.
Diane Olthuis was hired by the Hope School as the new Educational Tutor; she helps mainly with the k-2 grades. She does an amazing job keeping their interest by finding new ways to teach the students. Last week Diane taught them to appreciate nature while using all of their five senses. She also combines art with science. The children and Diane read a variety of different books together.
Hope School’s youngest students made color patterns and the older students learned how to make five different types of paper airplanes this month. Bringing a different approach to learning is the goal of a curriculum referred to as the QUEST, and with Hope School trying to raise their math levels, Miss Agusta incorporated math into her classes.
Forest Ranger, Nancy Game, stopped by to talk about and answer student questions about her 40-mile hike over Resurrection Pass Trail.
There will be a Hope Health Fair, Saturday, Oct. 29. The School will open at 9 a.m. Blood tests will be drawn from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the rest of the health exhibits will be open until 1 p.m. If you have any questions you may contact Lisa at 907-301-2499.
Church News
The women’s retreat at Solid Rock Bible Camp, which nine ladies from hope attended, went amazingly well. A guest speaker traveled all the way from Kentucky.
Church is every Sunday at 3 p.m. The food bank is on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m., and Bible study is at 3 p.m. on Thursdays.
Other News
It has been brought to my attention by a concerned citizen that when we leave things on the outside of the dumpster and no one takes it, then the guys who haul our trash have to deal with it, which takes time and energy out of their day. So please throw your items in the dumpster, if some one wants it they will get it.
Correction
The late Paul Zabrinski’s ashes will be scattered up Bear Creek and not Palmer Creek.
Poem Of The Month
Mrs. Trusdell
Magnanimous
Reliable
Stupendous
Teacher
Responsible
Understanding
Smiling
Delightful
Enlightening
Lovable
Lighthearted
-Shyla Malone
