Welcome - For the near future, we will host VIRTUAL Meetings-
|
***The Forum is co-moderated by Karl Fink and John Hansen.
If you wish to be added to the Forum Mailing List just send a request to RepHansen@aol.com. or KarlVFink@gmail.com -You will get meeting reminders, meeting notes and nothing else.- -Meeting Dates-*** The next virtual meeting of the Dexter Forum will be on Saturday, Mar 06, 2021 at 8:30 AM on Zoom ****************************************************** To attend virtual meetings please join the "Forum Mailing List" as noted above to get the sign in info ****************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ <<< The "Stump">> ---- "Stump Activity" is complete for now. ---- ------------------------------------------------------------------ ************************************** Check the Forum Notes from previous meetings on the "forum previous notes" pages.. ************************************** |
..
Who We Are- |
The Dexter Forum is supported by the Dexter Wellness Coalition as part of the 5 Healthy Towns initiative to "help connect with others in healthy ways". The purpose of the Forum is to create an opportunity for interested women and men to gather to discuss important issues facing our community. All are welcome on a drop-in basis. The group meets on the first and third Saturdays of the month.
|
The Forum in action-
|
"We make the agenda at the meeting so you never know what's on peoples' minds until you ask."
====================================================== Dexter Forum Notes 2-20-21 You really need to know this. Ryan Henyard says that if you get an unwanted spam call on your cell phone you should forward the message to 7726. This goes to your service provider and will help them 'try' to deal with the problem. 7726 is SPAM on your alpha-numeric phone pad. Another helpful hint from Steve Bemis - check your exhaust pipe if you have a high efficiency furnace that vents out close to the ground. If it ices over or gets plugged up there will be a problem. The senior center needs help with their newsletter and web site. Contact the center if this is an area where you can be of service. We did another informal vaccine survey and we are seeing more hands raised. Some folks have been travelling 50 miles to pharmacies where they can get appointments. The main problem is still the lack of availability of the vaccine. The re-districting process for county commissioners will be delayed until the census data is available which is projected to be the end of September. Karen Roberts is our connection for the review of planning and zoning documents currently being undertaken by the city. All school kids have the option of some in-person instruction as the district cautiously approaches whatever the new normal turns out to be. Catherine McClary noted that she has been prohibiting Covid based foreclosures of occupied properties to be sure that no one is left out in the cold. She also noted that the B2B trail system is now covered by a special fund for maintenance purposes. Ham radio operator Steve Bemis cautioned folks who are considering roof top solar installations to be aware that cheaper systems can generate radio 'hash" that interferes with radio signals. And....as the world turns...the city is looking at the old Hoey lumber yard (aka MedHub facility) down by the railroad tracks as a potential site for city offices. The next meeting of the Dexter Forum will be on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 8:30 AM on Zoom. Just looking at today's notes tells you that you just never know what is on people's minds until you ask. ======================================================== Dexter Forum Notes 2-6-2021. We have had lots of discussions over the years about our senior center. We stand alone in the county as the only center without a permanent source of funds The whole program is reliant on dues and donations that have to be re-hustled every year. Covid has closed the center for now (except for the meals on wheels part) but there is a vision for the future. Jim Carson, the chair of the center board walked us through the funding aspect of things and plans to return again to discuss facilities, staff and programming. The Forum crowd leans a little on the gray side so there was pretty easy agreement on the need for a solid senior center. We will hear more on how to go about it in the future. And just when you thought you were pretty well informed........we learned that you can hunt at night using bait, whistles and laser sights as long as you have permission to be on the land and you are hunting coyotes, fox, possum or raccoons. This all came to light when a resident called the sheriff after seeing armed individuals walking down the road at 2:30 AM. We did a quick survey at the end to see how many of us have had our first Covid shot. Not many. The next meeting of the Dexter Forum will be on Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 8:30 AM on Zoom. We are opening up a little early to encourage a little personal interaction amongst old friends. ======================================================== Forum Notes Jan 16, 2021 We started off by noting that the City of Dexter was conducting a special meeting for goal setting that would overlap with our meeting. Several folks excused themselves in advance so they could attend the city meeting. People come up with a lot of ideas when brainstorming goals that have to be sorted out with regard to the over and under lapping responsibilities of the city, townships, county, state and the private sector. Doug Marrin from the Sun Times News wants you to contact him about your experience with the vaccination process for a story he is writing. We learned from Michael Champ that all of the residents of the Cedars have had their first shot (if they wanted one). Doug is also our prime trail walker and he noted that the issue with the University and the trails on Peach Mountain is still under discussion. Jack Campbell told us that plans are rolling along for his new condo development on Grand Street which will be called Millennium Place. There will be 23 units. Jack is better known for his single family homes in the area but apparently the market now calls for condos. We congratulated Sue Shink on her election as chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. It has apparently been a while since one of the 'rural' commissioners has been the chair. The school board just held its organizational meeting with several fresh faces now on board. All levels of instruction (elementary, middle and high) are now on track to resume in-person instruction on at least a part time basis. We wrapped up our sixth year of promoting civil discourse at the local level by noting that both the national and state capitols are now being surrounded by fences and barbed wire to aid in the peaceful transfer of power. I think that's called cognitive dissonance - peace through barbed wire. Since January is one of those five Saturday months we will get a little break before we next meet on Saturday, February 6, 2021 at 8:30 AM on Zoom. ======================================================== Forum Notes Jan 02, 2021 One of the most valuable functions of the Dexter Forum is the opportunity to share information. We usually have someone who knows something that the rest of us don't know yet. But not today. There was lots of curiosity about how and when we will be informed about the schedule for getting our covid vaccines. Several people knew of health care workers who have already been vaccinated and we all seem to know that folks over 75 are high on the list but nobody actually knows how the notification process will work. We will roll up our sleeves and wait patiently. Visitors to the new Noble Appliance store all commented on how big the former grocery store looks with all of the shelves and coolers removed. Visitors to the new Dollar store noted that it looks like every other Dollar store. The $600 stimulus checks are showing up in bank accounts whether you need them or not. Not everything is cancelled. The Dexter Ice Festival who go on as scheduled beginning on January 23. There will be no ice carving demonstrations and no public ceremony but the sculptures will be on display until nature reclaims them. We spent a lot of time reviewing the status of services for senior citizens in our community. At its best we have one of the most modest senior centers in the area. The center is currently closed and the staff has been furloughed. But when things improve we are still back in a facility with a limited lease and no dependable funding stream. Although the center is currently in the City of Dexter the majority of users live in the townships so this is not just a Dexter problem but rather a regional one. We have other successful regional services like the schools, the library and fire and police protection so we know that something can be created. It all boils down to leadership - maybe you. The next meeting of the Dexter Forum will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at 8:30 AM on Zoom. =========================================== The notes from earlier meetings are on the "forum previous notes" pages... |
