Only 3 months left of AmeriCorps and these blogs

After spending 3 weeks in Joplin doing disaster relief my Team Leader chose me to be one of the Corps members staying back in Joplin to help train the 4 new teams from Vinton, IA who were taking over the project. I departed ways with Cedar 4 while they headed back to campus for mid year training JW, Melissa, and myself headed to Quapaw, OK where the new teams would be living for the duration of their project. Quapaw is only about 30 minutes away from Joplin so the commute wouldn’t be too much but it was longer than our commute from Carl Junction. The camp that we were living on was a camp for disadvantaged youth and their camp season had ended. The property included a pool and hot tub, horses, and even a herd of buffalo.

The new teams arrived that evening and training began the next morning. I actually loved facilitating the trainings alongside with FEMA because it is something that I want to do in the future. My career goals of working in student affairs will require me to facilitate trainings to the students in many areas so it was a great experience helping 40+ individuals learn a new skill that I myself had only learned 3 weeks earlier. After spending a few extra days in Joplin we traveled back to Vinton and spent the weekend before reuniting with our teams on Monday August 8^th. It was great to be back in Vinton and I can’t wait to go back.

Ok now onto our Round 3 project. Chisago City, Minnesota. JW, Melissa, & I pulled up to the White Pine Lodge to find Cedar 4 working diligently on our new home for the next 5 weeks. Our cabin had to be scraped, painted, and the screen porch was dismantled and replaced.








So far we have painted 4 cabins and are continuing work on others. We worked at the Ki-Chi-Saga festival this past weekend and I had the opportunity to judge a car show with Sheldon & Natalie. Below are some pictures of my favorites!

It was a hard weekend to miss on Nantucket because it was the infamous Demo weekend that I have driven in since I was 15 and having never missed the derby before it was very sad day. My family did great in the derby taking home 4+ trophies to add to the Manchester trophy shelf. Unfortunately a driver was severely injured when his car burst into flames. It is the worst injury at the derby since my cousin got his hand caught in the steering wheel over 10 years ago. (Contrary to our local newspaper that stated there have been a few broken necks over the years that is completely untrue). Hopefully he recovers quickly and prayers are sent to him and his family.

Here are some pictures from the derby!

This weekend I am meeting up with some of the Minnesota Conservation Corps members we met in Joplin and are going to the Vikings/Cowboys Pre-season game. I am wicked excited since I haven’t been to a professional game in years plus it will be warm. Most Patriot’s games are in the dead of winter and its FREEZING. The following weekend (Labor Day Weekend) I am headed back to Vinton for my own mini vacation. There is a derby in Blairstown that weekend that I am going to (I need my derby fix!)

We are headed back to Vinton for transition Sept 9^th and head out on our round 4 project (our final project) and will be headed back to Minnesota, Loretto to be exact. We will be working at a YMCA camp in Minneapolis until October 15^th. The project is only a month long and we are not quite sure yet what we will be doing between October 15^th and graduation but are hoping to find out soon.

I had my Team Leader interview on August 10^th. I am waiting to hear back for a second interview for the Support Team Leader position in the Programming Office and I am getting nervous that I will not hear but that’s my natural reaction. I am crossing my fingers and toes!

That’s all for now!

Katy

Updates as of June 7th

Again sorry for the delay.

Cedar 4 wrapped up their time in Hot Springs, SD and we accomplished quite a bit.

• Benches painted
• Boardwalk installed
• Nature trail mowed and graveled
• Invasive species removed (Canadian Thistle)
• Barbed Wire Removed
• Buck and Pole fence assembled and placed (1000 feet)

The last week we were there an archaeologist came from Custer State Park and took us around the Whitney Preserve and showed us different sites that the Native Americans once inhabited. He showed us rock art, tipi rings (rings of rocks they used to keep their tipi's in place) and other artifacts. It was pretty cool that all these artifacts were so close to us and we had no idea.

We found out our next project for Round 3 which is scheduled to be in Chisago City, Minnesota. Cedar 4 will be working with the Park and Rec on a campground that they acquired that has been closed for 6 years due to the previous organization's inability to fund the property. We were getting all geared up to head out on July 18th after mid year training when our Team Leader called to tell us that we were being pulled for Disaster Relief and would be leaving for Joplin Missouri on July 11th.


July 11th came with 130+ winds in Vinton, IA which brought the entire Corps and Iowa Braille & Site saving school staff and students to the basement tunnels for shelter of the alleged tornado. It turned out that it was not a tornado however the damage was severe. The roof of the main building was torn off, my ceiling caved into my room, one of the dorms completely flooded with rooms having waist high water and all of the residents belongings ruined.










Everyone was safe just a few destroyed personal items however our trip to Joplin was delayed as the entire Corps spent July 11th cleaning up the campus. Remains of the roof, glass from the windows, and the numerous trees that had fallen down was Class 17's main priority that day. Working in the hot sun all day we cleaned up a good part of the campus. Due to no electricity the entire Corps spent the night in Cedar Rapids. The 5 teams deployed to Missouri on the 12th while the rest of the Corps spent the day providing disaster relief to the town of Vinton. Some places are still without power in Vinton however the campus is being run by generators.

We are now in Joplin, MO with Cedar 1 and Oak 3 working alongside FEMA. We are doing Case Management with Survivors of the Joplin Tornado from May 22nd. The section that was directly hit by the mile wide tornado is devastated for miles. Some lost everything and even after 2 months later are still struggling to get back on their feet. I am glad that we are here to help in any way that we can however it is going to be a very difficult project on an emotional level. This is the first project that my team has worked directly with individuals and the fact that it is due to a huge disaster is unfortunate. We will be here until the end of July and head back to Vinton on August 1st. We are still unsure about how long we will be there due to the fact that we missed mid year training. We will be there for a few days at least to debrief on our South Dakota project and get briefed on our Minnesota project.












That is all for now and I will keep up with my blog at least once a week!

I promise!

Katy

Becoming a terrible Blogger

Sorry guys I know its been almost a month since I've written.


Here is a quick overview of what we did in Scenic, SD.

Took down about 3 miles (give or take) of old barbed wire fencing (which hurts)
Watched 3 cattle brandings (some participated)
Demolished an old airplane hangar (previous ranch owner had his own plane)
Put together 120 feet of board walk for our hot springs project

Now to Hot Springs

We got here May 27th and got to explore a little that weekend. It's a small town with a few touristy attractions (Mammoth Site, Evans Plunge,)

Tuesday we started work and took a little orientation and mowed the Whitney Preserve Nature Trail. Since the first day our main priority has been the board walk that we started when we were in Scenic. It is a long and tedious process since we need to make sure everything is even. The weather has been super hot (high 70's to low 90's) and isn't the best to be working out in but we are making the best of it. Worst part of it is my farmers tan which is going to make me look ridiculous when I go to the beach in a few weeks when I'm home for summer break.

I'm loving South Dakota but I am excited to find out what our next project is and where it will be.

As soon as I hear I will keep you updated!

Katy

Scenic South Dakota

Hello All!

Cedar 4 is now in Scenic, South Dakota where we will be for the next 3 weeks until we move to Hot Springs South Dakota where we will be finishing out our 8 week round with The Nature Conservancy. Our housing in Scenic is in the middle of Badlands National Park. We live in a 4 bedroom house that sits on top of a hill at the end of the 2 mile drive way. On the property are 3 horses and hundreds of cows which is a new experience for a lot of us. 

Monday was our first day of work at the =7 Ranch (pronounced Double Bar 7). Our sponsor Doug took us through the Badlands where he showed us where we will be working for the next 3 weeks. We removed old barbed wire fence and will continue to do so for some of the time that we are here. 

Today we began to build the boardwalks that we will be transferring to Hot Springs in a few weeks to put on the public access ways. We also began to demolish an old airplane hanger on the property and hopefully will finish once the wind dies down.

As for tomorrow we will get to see the =7 Ranch's cattle get branded which will be a first for all of us.

Below are some pictures! 

XoXo

-Katy-

 Kim with one of the horses.

Amanda and I with our Coonskin Caps 

Amanda, Matt, & I at the Badlands

Herding the cattle

Last week in Flint and back to Iowa

It was our last week in Flint, Michigan and 4 days left of working on the bright orange hallway that seemed never ending. All 9 members of Cedar 4 worked tirelessly priming, trimming, and painting the hallway that would inevitably get abused by the residents who walk down them daily. When we first got to the project the walls were drawn on, punched through, etc. Some residents liked the orange and were not pleased that they were being changed for various reasons. Some actually liked the orange opposed to the new colors of “Coconut Milk & Coffee Milk” as we referred to them while others actually were part of the reason that orange was originally chosen. Others felt that it wasn’t necessary to paint because it was just going to get destroyed. We came into work one morning to find that someone had keyed the wall. Even though it was only the primer it is still discouraging.

Our last day of work was definitely an experience to remember. On the last day all 9 of us were working diligently on the orange hallway in hopes of finishing at least one hallway before we left. I was setting my roller into the paint tray when Amanda asked me “Can you hear that? I think they are fighting.” Being so close to the laundry room I could barely even hear myself think. All of a sudden Amanda throws down her roller and sprints towards the elevator to find our Team Leader. She had just witnessed a domestic assault. From what she could hear it sounded as if a woman was being choked by a man. We contacted our supervisors and they came and took care of the situation. What surprised me the most was that the woman went back to the door of the apartment. One of my teammates told me that she probably went back because she had no other place to live and that was her option. The cops were called and due to the lack of police officers in the area they arrived four hours later to find the individual away from his apartment. We had our final debrief with our sponsor, finished as much of the hallway as we could, cleaned up one final time at KMS and headed back to our housing to cook, clean, disassemble our beds, and pack up all of our stuff. I acquired quite a bit of stuff over the 6 weeks so packing was a bit of a challenge however I made it work. Better pack lighter next time!

We left for Iowa Friday April 29^th at 7am. Well at least we tried to. Concentrating so much on making sure we didn’t take anything with us including the keys to the Boys & Girls Club we forgot to unlock the gate for us to leave which left us stranded until the executive director came to let us out. It took us just under 10 hours to get back to Iowa which landed us in Vinton around 4:30pm (CST). We unloaded the van, grocery shopped for the week, and visited with old friends who we haven’t seen in weeks.

Saturday Cedar 4 worked with Maple 4 about an hour away from Vinton at Pilgrim Heights Camp and Retreat Center in Montour, Iowa. We helped move sticks, branches, and leaves to clean up the grounds and cleaned up the bunks to get the camp ready for the upcoming season as a one day service project to celebrate AmeriCorps Week.

Saturday night a bunch of us went to Golf Right (What I like to call my place away from the bamboo  J) and hung out with old friends. There a few places in Vinton one can go as far as night life goes and this is by far my favorite, I can relax there. Sunday a bunch of us went to Cedar Rapids to prepare for our trip to South Dakota. Sunscreen, bug spray, among other things which are needed to “survive” in rural South Dakota were on our shopping lists. This week is full of trainings, debriefings, briefings, packing, cleaning, and lots more driving. 

After meeting with our Unit Leader I found out that after our summer break our midyear transition we are in Vinton until July 18^th when we depart for round 3. The best part about this is the demolition derby is the 16^th of July and I am trying to get a car. There is also a roll over contest but I don’t want to push my luck. I called the Benton County Speedway and they are sending me the information and the name of a salvage yard in Independence, Iowa that could potentially put a car together for me so I am wicked excited and hope that it all works out but I will definitely keep you updated.

XoXo

-Katy-

3 weeks wrapped into one entry

Sorry Everyone,

This lack of availability for blogspot (it’s blocked by the blocker at the Boys and Girls Club) has caused me to be a terrible blogger. It’s been about 3 weeks since I last wrote so I will try my best to mention everything even though it may not be in order.



I’ve already told you about Flint and the crime that has gone on. We witnessed a robbery and had our gas stolen right out of our 15 passenger van but it did not stop there. Someone broke into the fitness center at the Boys and Girls Club which houses an Xbox & a Wii which were both stolen. Neither one of them were recovered which leaves the Boys & Girls Club without. This isn’t the first break in they had however before all that was stolen was ice cream.



One weekend half the team went to Longway Planetarium and went to 2 Laser Light Shows. We saw Radiohead and Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon. This was my first laser light show so it was pretty cool.



As a part of our service project we worked with our sponsor at local Food Drives that he supports. In the course of 2 days we handed out over 30,000 pounds of food to the local community. With these two food drives it really affected me at the point I could feel tears building up. At the beginning I did not realize it because I was busy filling boxes and moving food items but towards the end when we were running out of food and people were walking away with only boxes of microwaveable popcorn, grits, or nothing at all it started to break my heart. We had already helped out when we first arrived in Flint with the Boys and Girls Club for their food drive except the atmosphere was different. Those requesting food pulled their car into the parking lot and we loaded the food in their vehicle and they never even left the car. They both accomplished the same thing by providing food to those in need however the interaction was greater and seemed more personal.



On Good Friday a few of us went to Frankenmuth. Frankenmuth is a German town located 20 miles north of Flint. The first stop we made was at Bronner’s the world’s largest Christmas store. My mother would have loved it and if we ever traveled to Michigan you bet my dad and I would be tagging along. Who knew there could be that much Christmas stuff. We stopped into the numerous fudge shops located on the main stretch as well as the Cheese Haus. We stopped in a few of the shops in the outside mall area and I found my new addition to my Coozie collection… the WOOZIE! The Woozie is a Coozie for… you guessed it… Wine Glasses. Even though Wine is not my first choice it’s a collection and the Woozie is the perfect addition.



Our time in Flint is coming to a close and we have our last four days of work this upcoming week which means a wicked busy week ahead. On top of our regular work day from 8am-5pm we now have tacked on paperwork, finishing up our independent service projects for this round, packing, and cleaning up our housing.



Tomorrow marks the last day (YAY!) that Amanda and I are required to go grocery shopping as we are the grocery shoppers for this round. I am not a fan of grocery shopping especially with a group of people when you have to shop for a group of 9.



All this talk of leaving Flint and I forgot to tell you what our next few weeks will bring. On Friday April 29th the 9 of us from Cedar 4 will pile ourselves and our luggage into our 15 passenger van and begin our journey back to Vinton, Iowa. We will be in Vinton for a week for more trainings (including Chainsaw training for me!), debriefs, and briefings, and a chance to see some familiar faces that we have only seen through facebook and skype these last 6 weeks. Now what’s next for Cedar 4?





SOUTH DAKOTA!



Cedar 4 will be driving 12 hours from Iowa to Hot Springs and Scenic, South Dakota for a total of 8 weeks. We leave on May 5th and head back to Iowa on June 30th. The towns are much smaller (even smaller than Nantucket) one even has a population of 87 (just slightly larger than my graduating class at NHS). We will be building nature trails in the local parks, removing invasive species, building boardwalks, and even demolishing some old buildings. Our laundry will be 9-30+ miles away depending on which town we are in and will be without cell service and internet for 8 whole weeks… imagine that. I am really excited to head to South Dakota especially since we will be surrounded by nature and be able to go out exploring during the warm months. We are not too far from Mount Rushmore and only about an hour north of Nebraska which leaves opportunities to explore.



Due to the lack of internet blogging again will be somewhat difficult so it may be a while in between posts but I will definitely update it on my travels to New Hampshire and Vegas.


That’s all for now!


XoXo
-Katy-

Interesting week

Hello all!

In the last week we finished up at Centerview which was the apartments for the elderly that were in much better condition then the first building we were in when we first arrived. Since we finished we went back to KMS to continue working on the disastrous apartments. It's really surprising what a coat of paint will do to an apartment... Looks somewhat brand new!

Cedar 4 got to experience Flint MI early this week on separate events. On Monday we saw two people rob a house of all it's armor from the windows and doors to sell it. Our sponsor called the police on them and they were already aware and knew who they were. As soon as they heard the sirens they took off only to return later with an empty truck to fill it up again.

On Tuesday morning it was my turn to drive to work. Getting into the van I noticed our gas cap was open so I tightened it back up and closed the door. After starting the van I found the gas gauge to be at 3/4 of a tank which was odd since we filled it up the night before... Someone had hopped the fence and stole our gas right out of the tank.

yesterday I found out that my grandfather passed away early in the morning... He lived a good 95 years and is now at peace with Nana. The service will not be until later which is great since I won't be able to make it home until July. Her is a
Few pictures of him.





RIP Gramps!

XoXo
-Katy-