Meeting Minutes 5/7/2017

Cumberland Valley Rising

Think critically. Show up.

May 7, 2017 | The Carlisle Ribbon Mill

Welcome and Announcements

Recent CVR Accomplishments

• Members attended science and climate marches, with thanks to Jeff Adams and Neil Leary
• Members attended an immigration demonstration on the Carlisle square on May 1, with thanks to Anna Drallios
• CVR hosted a fake news event at Bosler Library
• CVR’s Civics 101 series has begun and will run through the month of May
• Members of the Steering Committee have met with Rep. Lou Barletta (more below)
• Orders for tee shirts and totes are now being taken
• Book Groups will begin meeting this month:
  • Racial Justice book group will meet at the Square Bean Coffee Shop on 5/18 at 6:30. The book is Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
  • The Immigration book group will meet at the Square Bean Coffee Shop on 5/23 at 6:30. Their book is Enrique’s Journey.
  • The Whistlestop Book Shop will give a 20% discount on these books.
  • The documentary film group will view and discuss The Undocumented on 5/25 at 7:00 at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
• CVR has gotten Directors and Officers and General Liability insurance
• Cate Mellen spoke about primaries coming up on May 16th, and candidate write-ins as well as Fair Districts
• The Health and Education group will be doing a mailing on charter schools
• CVR’s next meeting on May 21st will focus on CVR updates— communication about structure, policies, procedures, website updates, updates from committees and our thoughts  on the future of CVR.

Summer meetings:

Two regular meetings will be replaced with social events during the summer.

• July 3rd : “3-3-3” fundraising social event
• August 27: picnic at Pine Grove State Furnace

A CVR member saw, documented and contacted the ACLU and the Governor’s office about a checkpoint traffic stop in York Springs, targeting immigrants. Keep an eye out for more of these traffic stops.

Review of the lunch with Rep. Lou Barletta

• Rep Barletta met with four members of Steering at Spoons Cafe. There was a large police presence, as Rep. Barletta evidently expected CVR members to demonstrate in front of the restaurant. Rep Barletta has agreed to come to a Town Hall with CVR, date TBD. He has also agreed to sign a letter against gerrymandering.

Brief presentation by Stu Rosenblatt, lobbyist from Virginia, re. single payer Medicare for all

Presentation by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

• Central PA is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 60% of the water in the bay comes from the Susquehanna River, which runs from upstate New York down through Appalachian West Virginia.
• The Chesapeake Bay Foundation was founded in 1968, as a privately funded non-profit.
• Land use controls water quality, as demonstrated by the presenters. Hard surfaces, such as parking lots; bare dirt and lawns allow many pollutants to filter into the watershed. Buffer zones of long grass and other vegetation filter out pollutants.
• Farms are the biggest problem in PA, along with large warehouses and paved areas. Farmers can keep nutrients on the farm by planting winter cover crops and by planting buffer zones, especially trees, along rivers and streams. Hard surfaces are the most expensive to ameliorate.
• Please support:
  • Senate Bill 563, requiring removal of phosphorus from general, mixed fertilizers. Phosphorus directly affects trout and bass fisheries.
  • The PA Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, whose budget hasn’t been well funded for 10 years.
  • The Department of Environmental Protection, responsible for clean drinking water.
  • SB 1401 and HB 2114, requiring factories to pay a tax of .001 per gallon of water used,
  • supporting conservation 
  • SB 658, written by high school students to list Hellbenders as the official state amphibian of PA.
  • The Farm Bill
• Remember that legislators care about hearing from people in their districts.
• Q & A
• Can farmers make buffer zones profitable?
  • Farmers can be paid to put buffer zones in place through the Farm Bill. They can also be paid for putting in manure pits.
• Do 4H Clubs help?
  • CBF does work with 4H and also with FFA at the high school level. Students plant trees, learn about management practices and are encouraged to consider careers in conservation.
• What about fracking?
  • We haven’t tackled that yet. There are significant losses of trees due to the building of access roads for fracking.
• How can we have a decent lawn that is healthy for the environment?
  • Embrace weeds. Keep grass at least 2.5” long. Plant clover along with grass and don’t pull dandelions.

A quick recap for Elections & Voting Committee for those who missed last week’s meeting:

1. The primary is THIS Tuesday, May 16. Please remember to vote! The Sentinel has promised a Voter’s Guide coming up this weekend, and we’ll make sure we post as much reference material we can so you can make an informed choice. There are a few contested races on both the Deomcratic and Republican sides of the ballot, most notably for school boards, borough council and municipal township supervisor positions. A full list of candidates can be found here, and you can also locate your polling station. Even if your local elections are uncontested, though, please make sure to get out and vote on Tuesday. It will be great if we can show that our increased civic engagement has had a statistical effect at the polls.
2. We’re sad to announce that Bryan Sell is no longer co-chairing Elections and Voting—he and his family have relocated out of the area.
3. We’re setting up the following subcommittees for the Elections and Voting Committee and are actively recruiting members of each group. Please email cvrising.elections@gmail.com to indicate interest on serving on any of these sub-committees. We hope to set up planning meetings for each sub-committee within the next few weeks:
   1. Voter Engagement – for voter registration drives, Get Out the Vote efforts, etc.
   2. Candidate Recruitment and Education – will manage master lists of elected offices, job descriptions, requirements at the municipal, county and state level, help recruit and train cdandidates, etc.
   3. “Eyes on the Ground” – a team which will fan out to ultimately attend all municipal meetings (including committees like Zoning Boards, etc.) school board meetings, etc., and keep reports of action items or areas of concern, to quickly mobilize citizens.
   4. Legislative Redistricting Reform – connect with the local Cumberland Valley Fair Districts group and mobilize action within CVR

REMEMBER TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARY ON MAY 16TH.

Next meeting: May 21 at the Ribbon Mill, 1:00 to 3:00