Date:  

November 10, 2005

Facilitator:  Maureen Cary

Location:

3 Blue Streak Blvd., 2^nd floor, School District Administrative Offices

Recorder: Robin Ambrosino

Attendees:

Robin Ambrosino, Lori Beer, Kati Behrens, Julie Cobello, Maureen Cary,
Kelly Coon, Roberta Goliber, Michelle Hadden, Stephanie Lang, Marie MacPherson,
Mike Laudicina, Tim Moon, Karen Pettigrew, Eleanor Stanton, Judy Tirelli, Dan Tallman.

 

Materials Distributed:

n/a

News and Announcements

·      There was a forum on November 7 at the High School PTSO meeting related to students coming drunk to the homecoming dance. Partnership and Prevention Council staff were invited to come have a roundtable discussion. There was a nice editorial in the paper (11/10/05) about the meeting.

·   Michelle Hadden introduced herself as the Prevention Council’s Problem Gambling Services Coordinator. She previously worked as an educator at the Warren/Washington Council for Prevention. She’s working on a new grant-funded program through OASAS to raise awareness about the potential for problem gambling. She’s currently working with Skidmore marketing students to develop baseline dateline about youth attitudes and incidence of youth gambling by conducting informal surveys among regional youth. She will then develop a survey to get an idea of what’s going on throughout Saratoga County. Besides youth, the elderly population is another group she’s looking to work with.

·  Lori Beer introduced herself as The Prevention Council’s new Community Coalition Development Coordinator. She’ll be working to build coalitions in Southern Saratoga County.

·  MADD no longer has a local P.O. Box or phone number. Karen Pettigrew passed out new business cards with her new information. Phone number is 800-245-6233 and address is 476 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, NY  12110. E-mail is madd@nycap.rr.com .

·  Judy  Cobello introduced herself as a parent who lost her son to drugs last winter. She is also involved in a non-denominational Christian youth group called Young Life that helps kids prepare for the future through faith and fun, drug-free activities that keep kids safe.

·  Kati announced that the All Stars lunch group is up and running at Maple Avenue Middle School. She has 30 6^th graders in lunch groups and the After School Club just went to the Schuylerville Corn Maze. At the High School, she is connecting with a handful of 9^th graders for the Club 9 transition program, and they are helping plan activities for the more formal program, which will begin in January.

·  The Saratoga Springs City School District will host a series of NCBI (National Coalition Building Institute) trainings on Dec. 7 ^th, Jan. 11^th, Feb. 2^nd, Feb. 15^th, March 9^th, March 22^nd, April 6^th, and April 26^th from 7:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the State Farm Campus in Ballston Spa. The purpose of the trainings is to foster a safe, inclusive environment at the secondary school level, while reducing prejudice, resolving conflict, and valuing diversity among participants. To date, over 200 students and 100 staff have been trained. To participate, call Rich DeMartino at 587-6690 ext 3323.

·  The Health and Human Services Coalition hosts free monthly workshops at the Saratoga Springs Public Library. The next event will be presented by Eileen Stafford and Mary Carpenter from Domestic Violence on Tuesday, Dec. 6^th from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Call 581-1230 to register.

·  Dan Tallman is the parent of 10^th-grade and 6^th-grade sons. He’s taking Strengthening Families for the second time and is interested in becoming a facilitator. He is also a member of the High School PTSO.

·  Kelly Coon is Mike Laudicina’s assistant in youth programs at the YMCA. They appreciate the Partnership getting the Leaders Club involved in childcare for Strengthening Families. Anyone age 13-18 can join the club. Kids don’t have to be Y members or Saratoga residents to join. Leaders Club meetings take place every Thursday from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the YMCA on Broadway in Saratoga Springs.

·  There will be two TIPS server training courses in November: one for bartenders and wait staff on Monday, November 14^th and one for package store staff on Tuesday, November 15^th. To register, call 581-1230.

·   There will be a forum about sex offenders tonight (November 10^th) at 7 p.m. at the Malta Town Hall. Saratoga County District Attorney Jim Murphy will be there to address residents’ concerns about the number of sex offenders living in their neighborhoods.

Partnership Updates

·      The Partnership will host a strategic planning workshop for all members on Thursday, January 12^th – the day reserved for the January Partnership meeting. Facilitator will be Steve Ridini, who works with coalitions across the Northeast to help them realize goals and objectives. This will be a good time for new people to learn about the history of the coalition and where its initial goals and objectives came from. Then we can identify as a group where to go from here over the next three years. This process will be timely for the Drug Free Communities grant writing process that will begin in February 2006.

·  Homework for the January coalition-building meeting is to look at the results of the 2004 CTC youth survey for anything that strikes you as worth being addressed. After the most recent highlights were compiled, the Partnership never really sat down and looked for ways to refocus.

·   Maureen showed the group a list of sectors of the community that should be represented at the table as a condition of the Drug Free Communities grant. Areas where we need work include: Youth, Business, Parents, Religious/Fraternal, media organizations. Partners were encouraged to think about people they know from those sectors (and living within Saratoga, Wilton, Greenfield) and to personally invite them to a meeting. Now is a good time to bring new people to the table in advance of the January meeting.

·   The Partnership has a monthly Community Calendar column that runs in The Saratogian. Partners are encouraged to write their own articles to be included. Let staff know if you’re interested.

·   Strengthening Families is winding down at Maple Avenue Middle School. Facilitators Madeline Daley, Julie O’Toole, Marie MacPherson and Dave Torres have been great, and attendance among the 14 families has also been good.

·  Maureen asked partners to place a check next to their name on the sign-in sheet to indicate their interest in attending. Staff will call everyone who signed up to remind them about the training as it gets closer, and will extend the invitation to members at the December meeting as well.

·  The group brainstormed times for the training and agreed that 2 – 6 p.m. would be best with just hors d’oeuvres vs. a full dinner. Stephanie offered the school district building. Location is still TBD.

·  Partners should identify individuals they will contact for membership.

Coalition Building and Membership
Committee

Events and Activities
Committee

Public Information
& Data Collection

·  Group is hoping to start a youth committee in December. Existing committee members made suggestions to Kati about creating a parent release form so that parents know what the youth committee is, and what topics they’ll be discussing.

·  Now that there are parents interested in forming a separate parenting committee, a group will meet to identify topics and concerns.

·  The Partnership will have a presence at the YMCA during this year’s First Night celebration. There will be a craft activity as well as an opportunity to use special goggles that simulate being alcohol impaired. Goggle use will be closely monitored, and youth will be asked to play a dexterity game to demonstrate the effects of impairment. Booth will be staffed from 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.

·      Group agreed that the December 8^th meeting will be shorter and more social, with a white elephant grab bag gift exchange.

·      Group liked the idea of re-establishing the Kids Building Community section in The Saratogian and soliciting new nominations. Maureen will contact Barb Lombardo about submitting the column quarterly vs. monthly.

·   Group went through the survey that Franklin Community Center staff administered to high school volunteers about drug use, peer pressure, etc., and plans to incorporate highlights into updated Risk Profile. Group also continued to review the different domains in the Risk Profile to determine what to keep, what to flesh out, what to leave, etc.

·    First parent meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 29^th at 6:30 p.m. at the Saratoga Springs Public Library.

·    If partners see information from the 2004 Youth Survey they’d like to see in the Risk Profile, let Tim or Robin know.

Next Meeting

The next Partnership meeting will take place on Thursday, December 8^th in the district administrative offices at 3 Blue Streak Blvd.