Welcome - For the near future, we will host VIRTUAL Meetings-
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***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, Feb 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 "previous meetings" pages.. ************************************** |
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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.
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The Forum in action-
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"We make the agenda at the meeting so you never know what's on peoples' minds until you ask."
======================================================== 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. ======================================================== Forum Notes 12-19-2020 You could just tell that we were all ready to wrap up the 2020 Forum season. We did float over a dozen topics or so but most of the enthusiasm was shown when wishing each other a Merry Christmas and a Happy (and safe) New Year. Karl invited us all to drive through the Nativity scene at the Dexter United Methodist Church. No charge (not even a bucket at the end). Councilman Michels said that the City was about to do its annual goal setting exercise and was open to suggestions. There were lots of good feelings about the beginning of Covid vaccine administration and questions and comments about who, how many, where, when and how much. The state and county both have on-line dashboards with much information. Our tax collectors reported that residential tax receipts were at or above normal but some businesses were struggling and may qualify for waivers of penalties and interest on deferred payments. A bunch of downtown business changes were noted including the move of the Family barbershop to around the corner by the Cottage Inn, the closing of the Artistica Gallery, the switch from commercial to residential of the ground floor of the Jeffords condos and the sale of the original Encore Theater space. Not everything happens quickly but we should celebrate progress as it occurs. Commissioner Jason told us about a grant from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that will bring high speed broadband to 80% of the previously unserved rural parts of our area within seven years. High speed, indeed. The schools are on break now but have been cleared to re-open in January based on local decisions and local data. And in the true spirit of Christmas MaryEllen Miller pointed out that on Monday Saturn and Jupiter will be in close alignment which happens every 800 years and is thought by some to have been what we call the Star of Bethlehem. Right now it can also serve as our long-awaited light at the end of the tunnel. We will start the new year fresh with our first meeting on Saturday, January 2 at 8:30 AM on Zoom, of course, but with high hopes for peace, good health, understanding and in-person meetings asap. John, Karl and our angel at the Zoom controls - John Newman To unsubscribe from this list please go to http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=pc7UuZ8YL3Jx6avRAXRbncFLbAuIB8lK ========================================================= Forum Notes. 12-05-2020 We began with the waving of a red flag concerning Senate Bill 431 which is rolling along in the lame duck session in Lansing. The bill removes local oversight of mining operations. This is a big enough issue in Chelsea that Rod Anderson, one of our regulars and also a moderator of the Chelsea Forum, noted that it will be the main topic of their next meeting. Mining around here usually means sand and gravel - not gold. Think trucks. Lots of trucks. We got a sneak preview of the Dexter Community Foundation's new promotional video that features our own Chuck Colby, accompanied by a cast of local amateurs, singing Sweet Town of Mine which bears a passing resemblance to Sweet Caroline. You can link to it on the DCF website. Never at a loss for words, Paul Cousins noted that you do not actually have to be alive to support the foundation. That's what wills are for. After we congratulated Chuck for his performance we gave him the floor to explain his new side hustle as the executive director of the revitalized Sun Times News. It is great to have the paper back in our mailboxes. The paper is free so that means that someone else is paying for it. They do accept donations but an easy way to keep things going is to let their advertisers know that we saw their ad in the Sun Times News. That really helps. Ryan Henyard produced a local giving guide that you can access at Henyard.com/giving. Our own Faith in Action is on the list along with other regional groups that would appreciate your support. And that somehow morphed into an endorsement of Shipt, the shopping service. You can make a list on the Meijer website (probably other places as well) and a shopper from Shipt will shop for you and deliver the goods to your door for a reasonable fee. Caryl Burke alerted us to another Senate Bill, 54, that might restore some of the credits for historic preservation that were lost during the last recession. And a few assorted items as we wrapped up. The Miller Road project has been paused and the road will remain closed until next year. It is the fault of an unnamed utility. The virus caused a lot of problems this year and is probably the real culprit. The winter social tent downtown will probably happen when all of the details are worked out. The light parade will not. And the luminaria has attracted so many volunteers that it might be the best ever. "If every one lit just one little candle what a bright world it would be". The next meeting of the Dexter Forum will be on Saturday, December 19 at 8:30 AM on Zoom. *******We are going to try to replicate the social chit-chat before and after the meeting that was a feature of our in-person meetings by opening the session at 8:15 and holding things open until 9:45. It is a chance for you to talk to each other without the moderators getting in the way.******** ===========================================The notes from earlier meetings are on the "previous forum notes" pages... |
