Stillwater County Horizons
History of Horizons in Stillwater County, Columbus
 In the fall of 2006, Columbus was the recipient of a Horizons Grant, funded through the Northwest Area Foundation. This grant was available to communities with less that 5,000 population and more than 10 percent poverty according to the 2000 U.S. Census. At that time, the population of Columbus was 1,748 and the poverty rate was 13.6 percent.
The first phase of Horizons was comprised of study circles, where people from the Columbus area met from January to early March, 2007, to address what could be done to reduce poverty. As a result of the Action Forum (held March 4), three committees have been successful in moving forward: a mentoring program, a farmers’ market for local producers, and beautification of our community.
In March and April, eighteen LeadershipPlenty® classes were offered in Columbus to help equip citizens for community leadership.
During the spring and summer of 2007, the Horizons Beautification Committee refurbished the “Welcome to Columbus” sign. A successful farmers’ market was held each Thursday afternoon in August and the first two Thursdays in September. An estimated 250 to 300 persons attended each week.
At the Freedom Celebration and the Stillwater County Fair in July and at each of the farmers’ markets, the Columbus Horizons Steering Committee received volunteer signatures for the mentoring reading program with the elementary school and public input for the visioning phase of the Horizons Project. The Horizons Mentoring Committee submitted the names, phone numbers and addresses of the reading volunteers to the elementary principal in the fall of the year to be used for either reading to the students or the students reading to the adults. On October 14, 2007, a Horizons Visioning Event was held for participants to come up with a vision statement for Columbus in 2020:
Vision Statement for 2020
Columbus is a safe, progressive community that values its people and honors and preserves its history. Its character is reflected in its active community involvement, youth development, and the support of a self-sustaining business environment. Columbus is a place where all community members can thrive, prosper, and grow.
Future projects for Horizons include establishing a community foundation to make the community of Columbus self-sustaining for funding such items as infrastructure & services, economic development, and community involvement, which are the areas of importance from the visioning event. Another project is expansion of the marketing of the Columbus Farmers’ Market for 2008. Also, the mentoring committee is looking into the feasibility of an afterschool program for Columbus. Downtown beautification is another priority.
To date, $12,000 has come to the Columbus community through the Horizons Grant. If thresholds are met, an additional $15,500 will be forthcoming.
Updated December 26, 2007 |
