Our State of the Union Press Conferences
Jan. 27 - Greenfield (go to Jan. 29 - Orange below)
(Ann Viens of First Call for Help)
Who: Social Service Providers and local business leaders speak
What: "Our State of the Union," A Press Conference
When: Monday, 3:40 pm
Where: Greenfield Public Library, downstairs
How are we doing? As our President prepares State of the Union remarks, Traprock Peace Center Director Sunny Miller called together a wide variety of community leaders reported on the State of the Union as seen from the hills and valleys of western Massachusetts. Diane Brancacio of the Greenfield Recorder took notes on the fast-paced remarks, as Channel 22 TV news heard took a comment from Jane Sanders for the evening news.
See Photo Album of Speakers.
Patricia H. Crosby, Executive Director of the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board was the first participant who sent remarks by e-mail; she says,
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ñWhile our overall unemployment insurance rate is lower than the state average---approximately approximately 3.7% vs the state's 5.1% in Quarter III last year (the most recent quarter for which data is available), worker wages in our area continue to be substantially depressed.
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In 1990, the average Franklin/Hampshire worker made 85% of the state average wage. In 2000, it was down to 69%. ...
ñUsage of our Career/Employment Center increases dramatically each year. Over 1700 have used the Career Center in Greenfield for job search in just the first six months of this fiscal year. There has been a 10% increase in unemployment claim applications in Franklin County since last year, with 13,747 people applying in the Greenfield region.
Our Rapid Response program has responded to 5 major group-layoffs this year, involving 160 workers. Yet over the past 10 years, as we have shared with state and national legislators, funding for workforce development in our region has decreased by almost 60%...
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From the January 28. 2003 Greenfield Recorder:
GREENFIELD - A “State of Our Union” conference organized by Traprock Peace Center on Monday afternoon brought a flurry of mixed messages from commercial and human service sectors of greater Franklin County. The news was upbeat from the business sector, but human service agencies are having to help more people than ever with fewer dollars to do so than in recent years. “Ten percent of the population of the Franklin region is coming into our center,” said David Lewis of the Franklin Area Survival Center. “Something is wrong.” He said the center’s food pantry program added an additional 287 households to its ranks in 2002. The 8,548 people now served by the center include those without employment, the working poor, and retired people on fixed incomes, he said. Staff members from the Franklin Community Action Corp. read off lists of programs now lost to the community because of budget cuts. Among them were youth peer-education programs about tobacco use and HIV/AIDS prevention, a conflict-resolution program for at-risk youth and their parents, and the departure of after-school service learning programs in Turners Falls and in western Franklin County. FCAC’s Emergency Assistance rental arrearage program has been cut, but calls from people who have lost their jobs and are falling behind on rent are rising, reported Ann Viens, FCAC housing coordinator. “In one week, I received three calls from families that are losing their mortgages, and if they get foreclosed on, it means they will pay more for rent than what their mortgages are.” She said the homeless outreach program gets two to three requests a week seeking help for arrears and move-in costs. About seven to nine calls a month come in seeking help with rent, and the agency now has about $550 left to help people with getting or keeping housing, she said.
Locally, we invited these participants for a reality check at the grassroots level.
In Greenfield, Massachusetts, Social Service Participants included:
Employment Services, Patricia Crosby
Community Coalition for Teens, Angela Russick
FCAC Youth Programs, Sarah Neelon
Franklin Community Action Corporation, Jane Sanders
Montague Survival Center, David Lewis
Speaking for Homeless Neighbors, Janie Howard
First Call for Help, Ann Viens
Chemical Sensitivities, Katherine Kendall
Community Health Center, Sarah Kemble
Senior concerns, Risky Case
Veterans Agent, Charlie Loven
Traprock Peace Center, Sunny Miller
Child Rights Attorney and environmental concerns, Charlie Jenks
Environmental concerns, Don Ogden
Greenfield Community College, Alan Davies
We will post prepared statements as we receive them. Charlie Jenks - concerning environmental issues - read selected items from a list compiled by Dr. David A. Sprintzen, Professor of Philosophy Co-Director, Institute for Sustainable Development C.W. Post College, Long Island University
Business Community Leaders:
Chamber of Commerce
Franklin Co. Community Dev. Corp. John Waite
Rugg Lumber, Mike Fritz
Watch for updates on comments throughout the week, from this press conference and others. In Washington DC from January 17-20, Traprock volunteers spoke to hundreds of peace advocates from Florida to Minnesota, California to Texas, appealing for local discourse everywhere on the State of the Union.
Jan. 29 - Orange
Who: Social Service Providers and community leaders speak
Where: Community Room at the Central School in Orange, Massachusetts
34 North Main
When: Wednesday, 4 pm, January 29
And in your town? How are we doing? As Pres. Bush prepared State of the Union remarks, Traprock Peace Center called together a variety of community leaders to report on Our State of the Union as seen from the hills and valleys of western Massachusetts.
In Orange, Mass., Social Service and Community Participants included:
Moderator, Tim Cohen-Mitchell
North Quabbin Athol Orange Chamber of Commerce, Tom Kussy
North Quabbin Adult Education Center (The Literacy Project), Pat Larson
North Quabbin Community Coalition, Rebecca Bialecki
Healthy Families Program, Sherrie Jones
Council on Aging, Cliff Fournier
NELCWIT, Crystal Thomas
Persian Gulf Vet Eric Wasileski
Quabbin Mediation, Sharon Tracy
Legal services for indigent people, Atty. Dave Roulston
The Franklin County Community Meals Program, Amy Clarke (sending comment)
Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment, comments from Patricia Crosby (sending comment)
Two local newspapers covered the press conference.
Page created January 27, 2003 by Charlie Jenks.
