MEGA-WATCH

Williams County Alliance

September 2007 Newsletter Number 4

The Williams County Alliance is dedicated to preserving the quality and rural character of life in Williams County and promoting a sustainable future through education and citizen action.

The Alliance encourages citizens to interact with local, state, and Federal governments to create policy that will improve the quality of life

in Williams County.

Measuring the Quality of Life in Rural Areas*

The key to quality of life is the ability to enjoy it. Few doubt that rural areas provide an enormous opportunity for quality of life amenities, but are we able to enjoy them like we should?

According to USDA research, the four key measures to quality of life in rural areas are:
- The availability of good-paying jobs
- Access to critical services, such as education and health care
- Strong communities
- A healthy natural environment

But these measures paint a picture that doesn’t always exist in rural areas. Let’s break them down and see the real picture. The first is availability of good-paying jobs. In rural areas this is not always the case. Many people travel several miles to work at a job that provides a living wage.

The second measure is access to critical services. How many times do we hear the word consolidation of services to provide better care or education for our residents? The result is often denied access for those unable to travel the distance to get the needed services.

The third measure paints the picture of strong communities. This may be one of the harshest of all of the measures as we become bedroom communities to other towns. Our very infrastructure in small rural communities is under attack due to lack of leadership and capacity to be a strong community.

The final measure is healthy and natural environments. This is where rural residents take great pride over our urban brothers and sisters. We know our environmental amenities far outweigh the city, or do they? A recent letter to the newspaper described a farm located next to a consolidated animal feeding operation (CAFO). The resident’s water was so full of nitrates, they were spending thousands of dollars to make sure they could drink safely.

*Article taken from the Sept. 2007 Center for Rural Affairs newsletter.

New NW Ohio Organization: Rural Organizing Campaign (ROC)

Nearly 2.6 million people live in rural Ohio and are affected by a variety of unique issues, such as energy costs, agricultural concerns, and challenges in infrastructure development. Rural Ohioans are exponentially affected by socioeconomic considerations as well: the drop-out rate for high school seniors is higher; residents are less likely to receive higher education; the poverty levels are higher; and they rely more on social security income.

To address these issues and others, including worker rights, social justice, agriculture, education, healthcare and the environment, 14 organizations in rural NW Ohio have formed the Rural Organizing Campaign (ROC). The ROC:

• Seeks to connect likeminded local, state and national organizations that have memberships or interests in rural, Northwest Ohio.
• Will consolidate the energies and assets of participating organizations as they work, independently and as a collective, towards improving the lives of residents in rural Ohio.
• Will use collaborative social action to educate and activate residents around the unique issues faced by rural communities.
• Will leverage its combined resources to maximize efforts at communicating with elected leaders, increasing the membership and reach of participating organizations and building an expanding base of collaborating local and community stakeholders in NW Ohio.

The ROC’s initial organizing efforts are focused on the following seven counties: Fulton, Williams, Defiance, Henry, Paulding, Putnam and Van Wert.

Home Rule and Anti-corporate Farming Ordinances

The rights of a community to decide how it may develop and preserve its quality of life have steadily been taken away by state and federal legislation and judicial rulings. The possibility of a multi-million laying hen facility locating in Williams County has made us realize how powerless our county is to protect the health and welfare of its citizens. Shouldn’t the people who live everyday in a community have a meaningful voice in the future of their community?

Although counties lack ordinance-making power, home rule power for a county would give the entire county the ability to develop a home rule charter and allow it to make and enforce laws. A home rule charter is essentially a mini-constitution that gives the county the legal authority of an Ohio municipality.

Whether a county decides to become home rule is entirely in the hands of the voters of that county. Members of the Williams County Alliance met with our county commissioners this summer and requested they place a “home rule” question on the ballot for the November 2007 general election in order to enact an anti-corporate farming ordinance. After subsequent meetings, the commissioners took no action.

Anti-corporate farming laws have been in existence for more than 100 years and have been enacted in at least nine states. The main purpose of these laws is to protect the economic viability of family farms. Anti-corporate farming laws do not affect any individual’s right to farm. They limit access to a state-created limited liability shield.

The WCA is continuing to work with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund in order to find ways, such as county charters, to assert local rights. Community members from around the county need to be more involved in decisions that affect them and the rest of their community where they live.

NORTHWEST OHIO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FORUM

Environmental Justice:

Policy Gaps at the Local, State and National Level

Making Ohio’s Polluted

Communities Clean and Safe

Saturday, October 13, 2007

9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Warren AME Church

915 Collingwood Blvd.

Toledo, OH

419-242-2237

Panelists include:

• Lois Gibbs, Community Activist from Love Canal and Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Washington, DC
• Teresa Mills, Director Buckeye Environmental Network, Columbus, OH
• Morris Jenkins, Legal Redress NAACP, Toledo, OH
• Baldemar Velasquez, President Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Toledo, OH
• Sherry Fleming, President Williams County Alliance, Bryan, OH
• Sandy Bihn, Executive Director Western Lake Erie Waterkeeper, Oregon, OH
• Bernice Rumula, Medical Researcher, University of Toledo Medical College

The panel will be followed by small group discussions, where YOU get to define what an Ohio environmental justice policy would include, to address what keeps at-risk communities so polluted.

These forums are the beginning of a conversation that will continue through statewide field hearings and hopefully culminate in the drafting and passage of Ohio environmental justice policy. Please join others from Northwest Ohio in deciding what that policy should include.

Limited seating available. To reserve your place, PLEASE RSVP by Friday, October 6, 2007 to Sharon Clark, Williams County Alliance, 419-636-7284, wmscoa@yahoo.com.

Sponsored by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Buckeye Environmental Network, Ohio Environmental Council, Earth Day Coalition, Ohio Conference NAACP, Ohioans for Health, Environment and Justice, Williams County Alliance and Western Lake Erie Association

WCA NOTES

The Williams County Alliance is now a 501(C)3 non-profit organization.

Monday, October 15, 5:30pm:

WCA meeting at the Bryan Community Center on Buffalo Rd. All members welcome.

Additional information may be found at www.williamscountyalliance.com or send questions to: WCA, P.O. Box 291, Bryan, OH, 43506.