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Can-Do sets out to spruce up Gold Hill By Buffy Pollock GOLD HILL � A small group of citizens with big hopes for the city�s future is setting out to make things better � one step at a time. The next step: beautification. The Gold Hill Community Development Group, known as Can-Do, recently received $5,000 from a grant awarded to the city to make improvements to the city�s downtown park. Can-Do member Gloria Eilefson said the project was what she hoped would be "the first of many." "We�re trying to do some good things for the city. We want to help get rid of the negative image in Gold Hill," she said. The grant was funded by the Old Growth Diversification Fund received from the U.S. Forest Service to help rural communities impacted by timber declines diversify their economies. It is being administered by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. City Recorder Tony Paxton said that although the grant was awarded to the city, "Can-Do did all the work and will be implementing the grant." He said the city and Can-Do were "helping each other." "All I had to do was sign my name. They organized everything and went through the process of getting the grant," said Paxton. "When you have a three-man public works department and two are out, it�s hard to get to needed improvements." Eilefson said the grant money would be used to add things such as "more planting, sidewalk expansions, a rest room, benches and some garbage cans � maybe some decorative boulders and railroad ties." She explained that since the park was being considered as a possible county library site, Can-Do had planned for all improvements to be moveable. "We�re not going to put all this work where the library could go and waste the money. Everything we do will either be compatible with the library or we�ll be able to move it and use it somewhere else," said Eilefson. According to Eilefson, the group formerly known as the Beautification Committee was organized in 1997 by Can-Do member Gus Wolf to accomplish things the city lacked funds or staff to accomplish. Eilefson said Can-Do was trying to fill a "glitch" within the city. Bev Thacker, regional coordinator for the OECDD, said she had worked with Can-Do since last March and hoped to see the group continue its efforts. "We focus on working with small groups, helping them make a positive difference in their community and getting away from a negative, poor image," she said. "We�d like to see them have more projects and do other things. Much of a city�s development starts at the grassroots level with community organization." Future projects, according to Eilefson, are to attain non-profit status in order to be eligible for other grants, assist the city with updating the strategic plan and hire a grant-writer. Can-Do has nine board members and 12 active community members and meets the third Thursday of every month at the fire station. For more information, call 855-8936. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.