County reaching out through its Rural Development Services

["Loreca Stauber" <lstauber@latah.id.us>]

Greetings!  More County news.  In August 1999, the Latah County Board of
Commissioners (LBOCC) established the Latah Rural Development Services, the
first such county-based office in Idaho, with the following mission:

	"To ensure the quality of life of rural Latah County through active
promotion of various
	economic, social, and cultural improvements to the County's community
structure and resources."

A Coordinator was selected to identify needs, potential solutions, and
funding sources; to assist County staff, small town and civic organization
leaders, and nonprofit organizations with project development, exploration
of resources, and preparation of grant applications; and to coordinate and
assist in the administration/implementation of funded projects.  The
Coordinator works directly with the LBOCC and a number of agencies in rural
Latah County to pursue strategies supportive of the County's long range
plan, identify needs of the rural population, review and gather relevant
data, and design and implement initiatives that link existing community
resources with specific projects.

I am happy to report that the County's aspiration to actively connect County
government with its constituencies, in their community environments is
resulting in small, but steady gains toward, what all hope, the betterment
of life in Latah County.
	  In a previous posting I have announced the County's successful
negotiation to acquire a major portion of the railroad right-of-way between
Moscow and Troy as a first major step toward  advancing the goals of the
Latah Trail Project in behalf of the Latah community.
	 Beginning the 26th Of January 2001 through the 16th of February 2001, the
County will conduct and complete a study of the economic potential of 24
plant species found in Latah's forest and uncultivated fields for
value-adding processing and marketing.  If the processing, packaging and
marketing information indicate feasibility and there is local interest,
then the County will pursue an application to the USDA Rural Development
Business Opportunity Grant Program for funding of a demonstration project.
	The Needs and Resource Assessment project in eight of the rural communities
of Latah County will begin on February 20th 2001 with a training session of
AmeriCorps Members and volunteers and will then proceed with the preliminary
survey. A more in-depth questionnaire to ascertain specific needs, potential
solutions and with what local (in-county) and  outside  technical, funding,
and material resources.  It is hoped that in the course of the community
assessment, citizens will become better acquainted with their communities
and be motivated to undertake activities that will further community  and
individual goals for a better life. The County anticipates this project will
be completed in about six weeks at which point, the Rural Development
Coordinator will help to facilitate long range and strategic planning for
each of the eight communities as are willing.  If all goes well, the
information generated by the assessment and the planning of each of the
participating communities will be documented in a PowerPoint presentation
that will summarize the data and present a visual profile of the
demographic and resource  characteristics of the communities.

	 This feasibility study and  the Needs and Resource Assessment in  eight of
Latah County's rural communities is enhanced by the spirit of cooperation
shown by  Latah's citizens who have come to work sessions to plan and commit
to implementing the tasks of the two projects; as well as,   the Rural
Development Coordinator;  the 10 AmeriCorps Members who will assume a
majority of the work attaching to the two projects;  three University of
Idaho faculty: Dr. John Foltz, Dr.J.D. Wulfhorst, and Ms. Sandy Caan;  and
the County's Information Services Director and his staff, including the
Geographic Information Systems Coordinator.

The Needs and Resource Assessment is a labor intensive project and I invite
any one who wishes to help AmeriCorps Members conduct the "door-to-door"
survey to contact Chris Storhok at 882-8580.  Likewise input is welcome on
how to make the most out of the "plants of the fields and forest feasibility
study."  Your questions and comments are invited;  please make contact by
telephone at 882-8580, by e-mail at lstauber@latah.id.us, or by standard
mail at Latah County Commissioners, P.O. Box 8068, Moscow, Id 83843.
Thanks, Loreca