This year has been proclaimed a “Year of Health” for Starke County, after former State Representative Nancy Dembowski approached the Starke County Commissioners with the proclamation – the first of many efforts of the newly-formed organization, “Moving Starke County Forward,” to increase awareness of health issues in the county.
Dembowski explained that because the county had come in second-to-last place for health rankings in the state, she said it’s time to see what can be done to improve health in the county. She said that a proclamation from all county governments would help spread the word, and she said the organization is also planning a number of county-wide health contests. On top of that, Dembowski said the group is hoping to hold a drug symposium in the spring to raise awareness of the harmful effects of drugs.
While the organization does not yet have a president or any regular meeting schedule, she said the group is focusing on finding ways to improve the health in the county.
This was the first meeting for newly-elected Commissioner Kent Danford who, in keeping with his promise of keeping costs down in the county, expressed his concern that this organization would ultimately go to the tax rolls and request funds as another government entity. Dembowski was quick to assuage those concerns, stating that it is not the group’s intent to ask for funds.
Instead, she said it is not unlikely that the group will ask for support in the future from the commissioners – not in a monetary way, but rather participation in their activities or other means of support.
