I love summer in Fallon!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Falfoulet...City of Fallon concert in the park

This is my favorite thing we do in the city.  Well except for the running water and the part where they come get my garbage.  :-) 

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Coffee PER Sells Roaster to Papua New Guinea

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a breakfast held for the Governor of the Central Province of Papua New Guinea, the Honorable Alphonse Moroi MP.  He was accompanied by the following individuals who were all in town visiting Bill Kennedy, President and CEO of Coffee PER, a local company which builds the beautiful San Franciscan coffee roasters. 

Raphael Yibmaramba –Provincial Administrator, Central Provincial Government

Frank Bouraga – Chairman, Central Province Development Corporation (CPDC)

David Jerram – Managing Director, CPDC

Stanis Javoi – Manager, Papuan Black Aroma Ltd

Micky Puritau – Management Consultant, Papuan Black Aroma Ltd.

The Government of Papua New Guinea is building a public/private partnership with the coffee growers in their country to provide specialty coffee for export as a value added product to the coffee industry that has historically exported raw, green coffee beans.  The major markets for this newly roasted product will be primarily New Zealand, Australia, and Tokyo, and this project is made possible with the purchase of the roaster from Bill's shop. 

Those involved in this endeavor for the PNG government said this morning that they had looked all over the world at the various coffee roasters available and after lengthy deliberation found the Coffee PER roaster that Bill Kennedy builds in Fallon, Nevada to be the superior product for their needs.  

Pictured here making an exchange of gifts is David Jerram, Bill Kennedy, Governor Moroi, and Raphael Yibmaramba.  Breakfast was hosted at Lattin Farms where local produce and homemade cinnamon rolls were featured after a tour of the farm.  

Thank you, Eric Grimes and Jody Brown of Churchill Economic Development Authority for a really nice event and the chance to meet these dedicated men who are working so hard to improve the lives of the countrymen. 

Fallon downtown farmers market!

Today was the first Saturday morning farmer's market and I say it was great.  Local farmers, (did you know cabbage grows here AND broccoli) local businesses, flowers, and I forgot the best thing about farmer's market is you run in to all the great people you don't see in your regular daily path. Good job Downtown Merchants!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

I love this old sign...

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Discussion Regarding the Farmer's Market

First, thank you for the opportunity to respond to the market question.  This issue has come up in the past and I hope to be able to shed some light on the subject, and hopefully quell any further confusion. 

            In terms of semantics, it’s probably important to clarify that the Farmer’s Market currently being held at the Fairgrounds is run by a Board of Directors, so when Trillis writes about speaking to one of the “council members on the Farmer’s Market”, it would be accurate to call them Board Members.  Additionally, I am currently a member of the Fallon City Council, so when we refer to a council member in that situation, we would be talking about one of our elected officials.  

            At any rate, this all happened before I was elected last year, however I have been involved with both the Farmer’s Market folks, the Chamber of Commerce, was a past director of the Cantaloupe Festival, and currently serve as the Chair of the Tourism Board through the City of Fallon, so these event and projects have been a part of my life for several years.  

To boil it all down and provide a brief explanation for my earlier comment in response to the Facebook post, the City of Fallon has been a supporter of the Farmer’s Market for several years; financially, with our staff, and in providing public safety through the Police Department.  

A couple years ago, as part of the regular discussions that happen every year at the beginning of each market season, where everyone involved talks about how to continue improving the market and what we can all do better, there was discussion about making several changes to the logistics of the market including they layout and youth activities.

            At some point after that meeting the City was informed that the Market had decided to move to the fairgrounds where they are currently in their second year of operations at that location.

            Last fall we began hearing at City Hall from people who expressed an interest in the idea of a Saturday farmer’s market, downtown, that was farmer/produce based.  We all started throwing the idea around and the folks over at the Downtown Merchant’s Association just kind of picked up the ball and ran.  And now we are looking at their exciting project starting on July 10^th.  

            If you have any questions about any of this, please don’t hesitate to call me and let me know.  867-5373.  I appreciate you all listening, and I hope you’ll contact me in the future if you hear something or see something that doesn’t make sense or that you question in any way.  Our whole focus on the council is to make things better for the citizens of Fallon, and I hope you’ll let me know when we are and when we aren’t.  

Thanks,

Rach

The Reason I Do This...

I love it! A constituent called with a concern and then said he had another. When he got done explaining that trouble, he said, “while I have you on the phone, you know what else really bothers me…” and off he went on the ills of society in general and his neighborhood specifically. I kept numbering the list and at 6, he slowed down and chuckled just a bit and said he really didn’t want me to think he was a big complainer, and then he told me about a project we had done that was really nice, convenient, and his wife was just thrilled over.
This is the biggest reason I ran for office and honestly it’s the best part of the job—getting to meet people and hear their thoughts and commiserate a little, and then go back to City Hall and get some things done to make life a little better for the people who live here in good ol’ Fallon, Nevada.
My job is made infinitely easier because of our fabulous staff. Don’t get me wrong, as City-Council-Girl I know exactly who makes things better in Fallon and it’s the great folks we have working for us. I would NOT like to shimmy up a power pole in the middle of the night to fix a broken transformer, but I DO love being the conduit who people can call and then I just send the message down the wire to the right person and follow up to make sure of results.
So stand by, Monte, we are working on that landscaping issue and tracking down the manure. Now that you mention it, what a funny thing to talk about when we’re talking about politics.

Pictures

Oats Park Arts Center last week on a bike ride with Sloanie.  So many great places in Fallon. 

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Welcome to the blog!

A year ago the Drama Queen and I (the seven-year-old daughter) walked the streets of Ward 1, knocking on doors, passing out campaign literature, and talking to voters as I ran for a seat of the Fallon City Council.  The Man Child (the fifteen year-old son) and his friends walked door-to-door as well, but they covered 83 houses in the same amount of time Sloanie and I got to 17, so we took them with us on a regular basis after that.
   So a year later I'm here to report in and get some feed back.  If you know anyone who is interested in getting this blog, please forward the link to them, or let me know.  I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of Fallon and building more avenues of communication.  Without your feedback and your input, it becomes difficult to serve.
   One thing I would ask...no matter how upset you may be, please be courteous.  My skin is thin for a politician.  When I was a kid my dad taught us kids to speak nicely to each other and I'm still really sensitive to that.  I would love to hear from you, I will answer your concerns, but be nice.  We have to continue to raise the bar and expect polite discourse from each other.  


Thanks,
Rach