Drug/alcohol program next PACE goal

The next PACE -- Program Advancing Community Employment -- meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, as usual on the second Thursday of every month.

By Jessica Borders, Fairmont Times Monongah’s PACE building is ready to serve the needs of the community. The PACE Project is a pilot project being conducted in Monongah “to develop and implement locally determined jobs and services that provide a living wage for individuals and families to benefit the local community,” a brochure states. As part of that effort, the involved parties — the PACE Coordinating Committee and the Monongah Community Employment Board (MCEB) — created the PACEbuilding, which is in a facility by the town hall that the Town of Monongah owns. PACE Project Inc., which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, did analyses to determine what kinds of programs to launch in the PACEbuilding. The group came up with the top three priorities, which it is refering to as the sidebar projects for PACE, said Craig White, president of the PACE Project Inc. For instance, a recreational program in martial arts for children is being started at the PACEbuilding. Don Harris, president of the MCEB, and Pat Wilson will head the program. The martial arts classes have already started and are currently held once a week — on Thursday nights. The class schedule could change depending on how many people become interested, Harris said. Secondly, a drug-and-alcohol intervention program is also in development. The details are not yet finalized. A certified drug addiction counselor has committed to providing counseling pro bono for the PACE program, White said. He said qualified persons could possibly visit schools, service clubs, churches or other organizations to explain the current state of alcoholism and drug abuse. The need exists in the community for a program to deal with these issues, but it’s not currently being met. In addition, a reading room, which was the most highly ranked item in the analysis, has  being set up at the PACE building, White said. This after-school program will be led by Lisa Myers McCombs and Pat Myers on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “I think it’s fantastic,” Monongah Mayor Greg Vandetta said. “We need an area to try to get the kids off the street, to help them with their classes.” McCombs, who teaches eighth grade reading at Monongah Middle School and is former president of the Marion County Reading Council, said the reading room will be a place where students can study, do homework and hang out after school. “We have dreams of it being a library at some point, but for now, we are just going to offer services for kids after school,” she said. The hope is to offer research material, one or two computers, tutoring services, and other resources for the kids, McCombs said. “It’s going to be a community place where we can offer services we don’t get in Monongah,” she said. During Monongahfest, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 16, there will be a grand opening in the reading room. Four area authors — McCombs, Linda Tomlinson Stevenski, Annette Rose and Diane Walker — will be available to sign books and greet visitors, and the Marion County Reading Council will be giving away books. The day will also serve as an open house for the whole PACE building, with a bake sale and an opportunity for people to pick up pamphlets and ask questions about PACE. Caprice Doty serves on the PACE board through Fairmont State and, as the program coordinator for Monongah, works directly with White. She became involved in this program when she was a Fairmont State student because she is passionate about the social movement of improving small communities with the goal of employing citizens. After the facility was established as the PACE building, she conducted research about what would need to be done to turn the reading room into a library in the future. She got in touch with the Newberry independent research library in Chicago about the efforts in Monongah and the town’s history, and Newberry is going to partner with PACE to help bring funds to the town to help with books, computers, furniture and other needs. The PACE building could also become a place where seniors can come to use the computer and learn about cell phones, for instance, or where children can stop to find positive things to do, Doty said. “The citizens of Monongah have been outstanding,” she said of the support she has seen. While PACE mainly focuses on providing employment in the community, the sidebar projects show that PACE and the MCEB are staying dedicated to Monongah until it gets funding to launch the major jobs program, White said. Harris explained that all the activities held at the PACEbuilding will be affiliated with the Town of Monongah. This facility is designed to serve the people in the town and to be used by the community, he said. The PACE group also has a lot of other ideas in mind for classes and activities at the building. If a certain activity doesn’t end up working out, then they can always offer something else instead, Harris said. Some people have suggested that wellness and nutrition classes be held at the facility, and a community garden program could be started to go along with those classes, White said. “The need’s there ... and we think these programs like the martial arts classes, reading room, dance classes, any classes, anything that could get young people involved, will help give them something else besides drugs to think about and alcohol,” Harris said. “Maybe their parents will get involved, find out and learn about PACE and what potential has.” He hopes these activities draw the community together, and the PACE team is trying to make all the pieces work together. White added, “What Don is saying is so important in terms of that ripple effect of PACE back on the community in terms of community morale and bringing volunteer participants on board and just the excitement of being able to do something for yourself right here in Monongah.” The PACE building has recently gone through some renovations in preparation for all of these activities. “What I like about this room is it’s spacious and the light, it’s just such a positive (environment),” White said. “It’s just a really great atmosphere.” Harris said people in the community first cleaned up the facility, including scraping and repainting the whole interior. They also tore out the old carpet and put in new carpet, with the help of a generous deal offered by WCO Flooring America. The carpet project was completed with the help of donations from the Town of Monongah, the Marion County Commission and the Communities of Shalom. The town also installed a new commode and accessories in the building’s bathroom. In addition, the Marion County Board of Education donated a table and chairs, and assistance has come from other sources as well. These supporters know the needs of Monongah and want to see a program like PACE that will help the community, Harrison said.