2008 Annual Report Executive Summary
Five Star Rural Enterprise Community
All five of these census-tract designated areas have struggled for many years with poverty issues including high unemployment and low per-capita incomes. The remoteness of the areas served by the 5-Star EC leads to extreme challenges in basic infrastructure, emergency services and many other public services that people living in urban areas take for granted. The 5-Star EC launched many wonderful projects in 2008 to bring their communities together and to provide more of basic needs for people that live in these communities. The 5-Star EC completed Year 9 and 10 with 25 new benchmarks, bringing their total to 291. This year the 5-Star EC achieved a leveraging ratio exceeding $71 from other sources for every $1 from the EC. Contributing partners included the tribes, local communities and schools, and state and federal agencies.
Significant Accomplishments:
The 5-Star EC has promoted public safety, infrastructure, health, and youth projects. They are a strong, diverse, committed group of hard working volunteers and their successes are visible throughout their communities.
he following are examples of some successful benchmarks in 2008.
BM #286: River Mountain Village Community Walking Path and Garden Project: Newport, Washington. The assisted living facility is home for 38 residents of Newport, Washington and is the only one in the area. When residents wanted to take a walk or stroll, it required them to walk through the parking lot; which was not safe due to traffic of all kinds. This new walking and garden path connected the adjacent hospital facility in addition to providing a walking path, raised flower beds, a gazebo, walking bridge and a dry creek. It has smooth pathways for easy and safe accessibility around the facility. There are gardening areas in which many of the residents can grow flowers, vegetables and/or fruit trees. It promotes healthy living and healing through nature and the surrounding areas. It has provided a safe environment for the residents, caregivers and the community. The walking and garden path project was budgeted at $45,000 to $65,000.
BM #280: Search and Rescue Equipment for North Ferry County and BM #272: Search and Rescue Equipment for Newport, BM #267: Marine Patrol for Newport: These three projects were very significant. In these two areas, the search and rescue and Marine Patrol equipment was extremely outdated and they lacked many needed items. They even joked that they spent more time looking for lost Search and Rescue team members than finding lost folks because they had no way to radio or communicate with each other. The new equipment consists of good radios and GPS. Also purchased were other items as headlamps, solar blankets, water proof lighters and compasses to name a few. The Marine Patrol purchased a new LCD Radar Scanner. Both agencies were very thankful and the results will speak for themselves.
BM #288: Town of Nespelem New Well: This project provided a new well for the town of Nespelem. Their old well was inadequate in terms of insufficient water and its age. This well was created to provide an alternative water source in case the current well goes down.
BM #275: Activated Charcoal Feasibility Study for Spokane Tribe: This benchmark was to determine feasibility for establishing a manufacturing facility to produce activated charcoal for filers out of wood waste from reservation logging operations. This would increase revenues for the Tribe and create additional employment opportunities in the Tribal community.