www.rutlandherald.com
ublished March 25, 2016 in the Rutland Herald
Downtown television could be possible
By SUSAN SMALLHEER
SPRINGFIELD — Getting the word out about positive activities in town may be coming to a TV screen in downtown Springfield.
The Rev. George Keeler, a member of Project ACTION, made the suggestion Thursday that a television screen set up in the window of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and Springfield On the Move could help keep the community informed about all types of activities.
Keeler said he was working on a brochure for Springfield area families for this year’s spring vacation, and the same information could be broadcasting constantly on a public television screen.
The television screens could carry the public affairs notices already run regularly on SAPA-TV, the local public access television station, said Carol Lighthall, the executive director of SOM, the downtown revitalization group.
A subcommittee of Project ACTION which focuses on the issues of building community and addressing neighborhood concerns met Thursday at the community room at Springfield Police Department, and discussed everything from the public TVs and Green Up Day to how to foster a better private and public dialogue with Springfield landlords.
Keeler and Stephanie Thompson, one of the leaders of Project ACTION, said that there are the perennial complaints that “there is nothing for the kids to do,” and the public electronic bulletin board could be one way to address that.
Thompson said it was possible the town could get a grant to pay for the costs. She said the key was to create a computer file and run a loop constantly of the activities.
Keeler said he was in favor of having televisions “somewhere very visible.”
The need for a community-wide online calendar was also discussed — with various categories, and open for people to post different activities, with an emphasis on children’s activities.
Keeler said he wanted to “get something printed” that would be suitable for putting on parents’ refrigerators, something that listed everything from school activities, church activities and all the offerings from the town recreation department to the Edgar May Center and the local YMCA.
“We need one main event calendar,” said Lighthall.
Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Area Development Corp., suggested the format of Google docs, which he said would allow everyone to create “a shared calendar any one of us can populate.”
Project ACTION could set up the protocol, he said, and people could post their activities themselves.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160325/NEWS02/160329657
RE: Thompson said it was possible the town could get a grant to pay for the costs.
ReplyDeleteDoes nothing happen here without wasted, taxpayer dollars? Stephanie, if the video monitor is such a great idea, why don't you and the Rev. sponsor a fundraiser and solicit donations? By the way Stephanie, any kid in Vermont that says there's nothing to do is the lazy product of lousy parents. Here's some hints sweetheart;
Get a job.
mow lawns
shovel walkways
town pool
skateboard park
join a band
library, read a damn book
School sports/athletics
boxing club
wrestling!
after school activities
scouting
4H
karate
jr rifle team
church youth groups (A moral compass is a good thing.)
volunteering/community service
ride a bike
go hiking locally
roll pumpkins
hunt vampires
Learn to make your own fireworks, and blow stuff up.
learn to ski
best astronomy club most anywhere
best fishing in Southern VT
Now do you really need a foolish monitor to steer kids where generations before seamed to manage just fine without?
The suggestion at the meeting was to seek grant funds. It was not for the Town to fund it. This quote was misworded. Funding would need to be secured and would NOT involve tax-payer dollars.
Delete@2:27 Where pray tell do you think grant monies come from?
DeleteKeeler and Stephanie Thompson, one of the leaders of Project ACTION, said that there are the perennial complaints that “there is nothing for the kids to do,” and the public electronic bulletin board could be one way to address that.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid and I told my parents that there was nothing to do my parents instantly found something for me to do. it usually involved something called WORK like mowing the lawn, cleaning my room or helping with the dishes. It didn't take me long to figure that complaining about "nothing to do" was probably not a good idea.
In today's world children and likewise the parents are too busy to talk and do things because they are constantly on their phones, texting and playing games. It is not the role of a parent nor the community to constantly provide entertainment for the phone zombies. Take the phones away and have the kids join an athletic team or some other worthwhile endeavor. If the kid is old enough and does not want to do so then tell him to get a JOB. That's what we did and the kids turned out just fine. Grow up and become a real parent.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1) will we be able to play games on this monitor?
2) has a consultant been considered to do a feasibility study?
3) did you know that you can go to Walmart and get the hardware for under 400 dollars?
4) did you know that many of us really old people made use of sticks and stones for entertainment?
5) have you considered having the monitor laying on the side walk facing up so we can stand around it and text?
Isn't there SAPA tv, newspapers and that sign down by the PD to let people know what is happening in town? Why is this being talked about on taxpayer time? Don't most people have tv or computers in the house or in hand to be kept aware of happenings? TEXT and TWEET? Isn't a public tv kind of an antiquated idea? Kind of backwards and dumb.
ReplyDeleteI imagine, that all the people these usual snarky posters hope to insult, either 1.) do not read this site, or 2.) chuckle at them. Perpetual and predictable whining. Each and every post - it's unending and no one gives a flying crap what any of you think.
ReplyDeleteYour right 8:44, meet you downtown to watch TV.
DeleteConsider the effects on kids of our media environment. When they are being exposed to 3,500 daily references to commercial products, it's going to be very difficult to get them attuned to some behavior other than buying something they hope will make them happy. Until businesses find out they can make a lot of money flooding them with advertisements that urge them to live productively and actively, they're not going to shift gears, and neither are we.
ReplyDeleteBilly says to Sally: " Lets go downtown and watch the TV monitor tell us what we can do tonight"!
ReplyDeleteSally says to Billy: "Good idea Billy, what would we do without the downtown TV monitor".
Springfield just keeps getting more rediculous by the minute.
Once in a great while Project Action does in fact act, we may think that having a TV monitor downtown listing activities is a pretty lame idea, but we should be ecstatic that they have actually proposed doing something.
ReplyDeleteWhat did families do before smart phones and computers? It was not that long ago. Most families ate dinner around a table (wood thing with top and chairs for eating food at) not sitting in front of a TV or staring into a cell phone. Dad and mom read the paper (thin stuff with ink text, sometimes in color.) Events for all could be found amongst the pages. Fortunately these news papers still exist. Dad and mom would discuss these activities the kids. But things are different today....
ReplyDeleteI would add:
ReplyDeleteGreen-ups and Clean-ups - we have the tremendously wonderful Steve Aikenhead and Kelly Stettner to thank!
I'd also like to point out that Claremont is fundraising for a Makerspace - something I'd really really like to see on our side of the river. Believe that RVTC was looking into it. Much better use of taxpayer/grant monies than another freaking screen.