Rice County announced last week that it has received a pair of federal grants from the Justice Department totaling approximately $1.2 million, designed to enhance services to county probationers and participants in the county Treatment Court program.
The Community Corrections Department grant will focus on equitable access to services, staff training, resources and opportunities. Officials expect underserved communities will be impacted at a higher rate given their disproportionate representation in Rice County’s overall unemployment and poverty rates.
While Rice County and Community Corrections’ probation demographics are similar, the probation population is grossly overrepresented in the unemployment rate, particularly for people of color.
According to Community Corrections Manager Angela Brewer, funds from the grants will help those on probation to be better prepared when they exit the criminal justice system and will have a lower likelihood of returning.
Transportation is frequently a significant challenge for County probation clients, many of whom do not have access to safe or reliable transportation, and quite often don’t even have a driver’s license. This leads to an inability to find and maintain employment, and to attend required programming.
Finding and paying for reliable childcare is another frequent problem.
These funds will help mitigate some of those issues. They will also be used toward costs associated with acquiring a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and required IDs.
Meanwhile, the four-year nearly $800,000 grant to enhance Treatment Court services will assist participants in maintaining their recovery beyond the program by increasing community connections, support and sustainability. The program for chemically dependent justice-involved individuals lasts upward of 24 months, and coordinators have noted that the end of readily available support and oversight has challenged a number of participants.
A statement issued by Rice County said the funds will also expand access to community resources and connections, provide access to culturally responsive peer support specialists, and establish a rental assistance program.
Influx of English Learners brings need for a new educational assistance with the schools district
Last week, the Northfield Public Schools Director of Instruction, Hope Langston, made a presentation to the Northfield School Board about the need for an additional Educational Assistant for the English Learner program.
School Board Chair Claudia Gonzalez-George said the request was made based on the fact that the district has had an influx of English Learners this year.
When the district was going through budget cuts over the past two years, English Learner EAs were among the positions that were eliminated. However, Gonzalez-George said, no school district knows how many students will need to be in the English Learner program, much less the level of instruction where each student will be. With a large number of students in the program this year, Gonzalez-George said help is needed, Langston is making an appropriate request, and the English Learner program has shown excellent results, so it should be supported.
“Just like I was saying with our young kids, that early intervention, that preschool, that kindergarten and intervention for our English language learners investing in them right away is going to set them up for success. And when they succeed, we all succeed.”
Gonzalez-George was once an English Learner EA herself and therefore has an inside view of how well the program is working. She said it is hard enough for those students to make the decision to enroll and come to school every day, much less learn how to navigate life as a middle-school or high-school student. Coming into an unknown situation without the language skills they will need is a courageous decision, and the district should support that decision by offering as much help as possible. And for the EA position, applicants do not necessarily have to have extra language skills.
“Mostly it’s an immersive situation for all our students, whether it’s kindergarten or high school, it’s an immersive situation that they land in. They are hearing English all day long, and then they’re learning the mechanics of it in an individual class. So, the instructors are specialists in their area, and they do not need to know the language of the newly arrived student.”
Gonzalez-George said the majority of the district’s English Learners are Spanish speaking, but there are many other languages spoken by the students as well, including Chinese and Vietnamese.
The Board is expected to approve the hiring of a new Educational Assistant at their next meeting on November 13th.
No burning of trash and rubbish within city limits
As we move into the late days of fall, Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service Chief Tom Nelson is reminding people in both Northfield and Dundas that burning anything that is not considered to be a recreational fire without first receiving a permit is illegal, and very few permits are issued within the city limits.
Nelson said the days of having a burning barrel to dispose of leaves and yard waste are long gone. The cities of Northfield and Dundas operate a community compost site where residents are allowed to bring their yard waste, and both cities even offer a service to haul the waste away with garbage collection every week.
A recreational fire, he said, is defined as a fire in a fire pit that burns appropriate material that has either been built or purchased and offers safety measures. What is not allowed is the burning of things to dispose of them.
“They’re not designed for, ‘Oh, we took this wall down and I have a bunch of oak that’s stained or painted, and I’m gonna just cut it up.’” That stuff’s toxic. The big thing is you don’t want to make it so that you’re putting out some kind of poisonous smoke. Burning any kind of vegetation is super smoky. There are a lot of people that have health issues with that, and your neighbors will hate you.”
Chief Nelson said if the fire department receives a call about a fire at a residence, and they respond to an illegal situation, fines will be assessed. First, he said, there will be a fine for burning without a permit, which will most likely be $50. Secondly, the fire department will assess a Response Fee Fine that essentially bills the person for a fire department false alarm. That fine, he said, could be $100, or it could be $250.
Chief Nelson said it is incumbent upon every member of the community to know the laws and restrictions, and that there is no burning allowed in the city limits of either Northfield or Dundas.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
