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For more information on this project, contact Cheryl Dunn, Environmental Health Director, or Julianne Renk, PACE-EH Coordinator, at the Indian River County Health Department.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
July, 2005 PACE EH Report

To:             Daniel Parker, MSP, GAL
                    Assistant Division Director, Division of Environmental Health

From:         Julianne Renk, Environmental Specialist

Through:     Cheryl L. Dunn, RS, Environmental Manager

Subject:     July 2005 Wabasso PACE EH Grant Update

“That which we are, we are: One equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” –Lord Tennyson This quote exemplifies the tone of the state of mind for the people in West Wabasso and the current status of ongoing projects. By proceeding to follow through with all objectives and goals of the action plans that were developed by the steering committee, we continue to see results and the “light at the end of the tunnel.” There are always new trains that seem to try to derail the success of some projects, but I think the strong will of the community leaders and people of West Wabasso is what ensures the continued success of moving the projects forward. This is, in fact, the heart of PACE EH. The community has given their input, thus is onboard for taking charge of their community and most importantly, is actively participating in improving their own quality of life.

On July 11th, I attended the West Wabasso community meeting at which we discussed the current status and design for the sidewalk project, heard directly from a developer who was clearing land in the community, and were informed of various other developments taking place in the area. The Indian River County Housing Coordinator was present to educate everyone about money that has become available for home repairs. Due to the aftermath of two hurricanes, the government has allocated money to the county for home repairs; thus, enabling extremely low income and low income families receive grant monies.

From July 12-15th, I attended the joint NACCHO-ASTHO Conference in Boston and was honored to receive the Jim Parker award for Indian River Health Department’s PACE EH project. This was an immense honor and we are all proud that our efforts received such an esteemed recognition. For me, it was positive reinforcement that we are “on the right track.” We’ll keep going in the direction we have been moving, with the goal of continuing to improve the quality of life for the residents of West Wabasso.

On July 19th, I met with state officials who requested to perform a site visit of West Wabasso as part of the process for the CDBG grant that was applied for by the county’s Community Development Department and Utilities Department for the purpose of installing water lines throughout Wabasso. Currently, numerous residents have “brown” water due to high iron contents. Coincidently, the Assistant Director of the Environmental Health Division, Daniel Parker, happened to be visiting our department and was able to go with us on the site visit. The site visit was short, but everyone was able to see the ancient, crumbling septic tanks and even met a resident who showed them her “brown” water. We observed a drug deal occur upon our exiting of West Wabasso- so, I think the site visit attendees got the “full experience”, or at least they were able to see negative impacts that the people struggle with daily.

The DOT public input meeting regarding the widening of a road that bisects West Wabasso occurred on July 28th. Many residents attended and voiced their concerns over the road afftecting their properties, noise pollution, and discontent over the increased barrier it would create between the north and south portions of the community. Representatives from DOT agreed to come to the September 12th West Wabasso Community meeting to further address concerns. I have said before that communication is the key to success in PACE EH, and it continues to prove to be in terms of working through issues. “Too jaw jaw is always better than to war war.” –Winston Churchill
 

May, 2005

April, 2005

March, 2005

February, 2005

January, 2005

December, 2004

November, 2004

October, 2004

September, 2004

July and August, 2004

June, 2004

May, 2004

The following files are provided in the Adobe Acrobat pdf format. Files over 100 kb in size that may take longer to download and view, have their file size listed.

September 20, 2005 - Indian River County replaces septic tanks for 10 families in west Wabasso

July 8, 2005 - Indian River health officials receive national award

June, 2005 - Spring 2005 PACE Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (380 kb) (From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)

June 17, 2005 - World Changers group fixes homes in West Wabasso

June 15, 2005 - Impoverished area to get waterlines

June 12, 2005 - World Changers redo Wabasso

May 1, 2005 - Water System on its way to Wabasso

December 25, 2004 - Woman's work aids west Wabasso residents

October 18, 2004 - Storms stall Wabasso help

September, 2004 - PACE Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (620 kb) (From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)

September 28, 2004 - Storms run Wabasso family out of own, borrowed homes

August 28, 2004 - Families get new homes

August 11, 2004 - Draft Brochure, Bringing Basic Needs to a Forgotten Community (1.4 meg file)

July 30, 2004 - Kindness rules in Wabasso (109 kb)

July 28, 2004 - Teens team up to build man's house

June 2, 2004 - Indian River seeks aid for water

May 26, 2004 - Groups enlist residents to help revive Wabasso

May 11, 2004 - Wabasso may have to wait a year for street lights to come on

May 9, 2004 - Town hall meeting to address Wabasso's needs