Improving lives, opinions fly at second comm. forum

Eloy Enterprise By TEMPLE A. STARK, Editor, Eloy Enterprise

Maybe the way it used to be really is better.

Pastors, parents, coaches, as well as teachers and others in the front line of the battle to keep Eloy healthy and active were unwilling to discard what they knew from firsthand experience had worked in the past.
One of those "from the past" areas of tradition is the idea of bringing teens into the workplace to help out. Not even necessarily for pay but for the experience of developing a work ethic, professional social interactions, and even the ability to account for inventory among countless other skills.

These people met May 4 as part of a second community forum to not only come up with ideas, but to bring action to bear. Dr. Ramona Ortega, Santa Cruz Valley high school board president Richard Cariño, Pinal Hispanic Council CEO Ralph Varela, and CAHRA Executive Director Mary Lou Rosales started the effort to help gather a community-wide momentum for change and improvement.

"We don't want to stop here," Rosales said. "A lot of you are saying, we've had that meeting. We've had this meeting. We need action."

In introductions, Charlie Payne was initially the most animated in getting started. "I'm a basketball coach and I work at the prisons," Payne said, "and I have a lot of ideas."

So did the other 35 people, gathered in the Intermediate School cafeteria. It wasn't a time to sit back and listen. Payne was the one who came up with his memories of how the workplace used to be for teenagers.

Some still felt they were recovering from a past reputation as one of the roughest city's in the southwest, the city once named "Tougher Than Tombstone." It lingered like skunk spray.

While that title has a certain bravado attached to it, those gathered wanted "tougher" to mean the strength to bring the community back from its knees rather than to them.

At the first meeting April 28 a list of issues and concerns was drawn up, with some solutions. And they were prioritized to answer the question, "If you could just do or obtain one thing what would you chose to do first."

Getting residents and the community to buy into the need for change was No. 1 on that list. Getting money was second.

The second meeting got hectic, with a variety of approaches being introduced and agreement on what needed to be done first, elusive.

Some of the larger, more pressing needs for Eloy mentioned in the second meeting included:

* A local rehabilitation center

* A greater focus on prevention of family violence

* A moral awareness program, or teaching what's right and wrong - or what's acceptable - in different situations, such as first dates or recognizing rape and abuse.

* A crisis center

* A Boys and Girls Club

* Big Brother / Big Sister program

* Parenting classes

* The return of the DARE program in the Elementary School District

* A crisis line, even if it's just a quick referral to other services

* Better education about already-existing services, such as posters and a Human Resources Directory

* A way to network and continue the brainstorming session

"We've lost a lot of the family structure," said Susie Thompson, with the Desert Rose Baha'i Institute. "No one's there when people start falling."

Charles "Curley" Coyle, who's a part-time coach at the high school, said the area needs a better system for substitute teachers in the classroom. He said he's been told often than the substitutes don't know the subject matter they're supposed to be teaching and students drift.

"Their lives are being given a dismissal," Coyle said.

Even something as simple as a church luncheon - without religious strings - to bring people closer would be beneficial, said Joyce Fuller Kleikamp, with the Baha'i Institute.

The religious community was well-represented at the May 4 meeting, and their time and willingness to do good was addressed.

Rev. Juan Carlos Aguirre said a focus should be kept on the liberal arts and critical thinking in education. He said the arts, in particular, are often the first to be cut in school budget crunches.

"They're abandoned as something not very practical but they describe the value of life" Aguirre said, speaking for one of several groups in the room that had brainstormed for about 20 minutes.

He said getting across to children, especially, that volunteering in any capacity can build character and a sense of being and belonging.

"Look at everybody in this room," Aguirre said, "and be aware of everyone's faculties and skills. Everybody can do something.

Murphies Law (real name) said the focus on Eloy is important but what works in one area will address issues of concern faced in other cities.

"Eloy's problem is Casa Grande's is Maricopa's," Law said. "We're all one big town when it comes to these problems."

Those attending represented many agencies, including Eloy Elementary School District, Picacho Elementary School Board, Desert Rose Baha'i Institute, Pinal County Attorney's Outreach Center, First United Methodist Church, St. Helen's Catholic Church, Judge Marie "Toni" Lorona, Santa Cruz Valley Union High School, Eloy Parks and Recreation department, and the appropriately named, CAHRA (Community Action Human Resources Agency).

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16692950&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222077&rfi=6
Arizona, USA

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