Pro and con presentations of margins tax Thursday at Healthy Communities Coalition

The Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey public meeting today will touch on a broad range of topics including pro and con presentations on the margins tax. The meeting also will include a discussion of arts and culture as powerful engines driving economic growth in Nevada, and presenations by youth who participated in Comstock Youth Works summer job and leadership training in Storey and Lyon communities.

The meeting takes place at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 14 at the Dayton Community Center, 170 Pike Street in Dayton.

In addition, the August meeting will include a “pop-up” exhibit showcasing the art, photography, writing and fine crafts by Coalition volunteers, partners, staff and board. Stephen Reid of Dayton will introduce the exhibition by elaborating on why artists and the arts are vital forces in society and essential parts of thriving communities. The pop-up show also serves as a way to introduce the upcoming Fall release of a new Nevada Arts Council and NEA funded “Cultural Resource Inventory” of the Comstock region.

Stephen Reid: Reid has a masters in Sculpture from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, but his art spans the disciplines of ink and watercolor painting, sculpture, installation, and printmaking. His work has been shown locally, nationally and in Japan in juried exhibitions, and some of his work is at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College as well as in private collections. He has taught film, sculpture, etc. at the University of Massachusetts, Keene State College and at the Virginia Commonwealth University.

Comstock Youth Works: Each year about 50 teens from the Storey and Lyon regions participate in Comstock Youth Works, a program that includes paid summer job internships; career exploration field trips; job skills training; coaching in academic success and scholarship searches/applications; leadership training; volunteer service projects; educational enrichment field trips; and much more. This program is sponsored through Community Chest Inc, and staff from Healthy Communities, Central Lyon Youth Connections and Community Chest implement the program. It is funded through NevadaWorks.

State Question 3 Presenters:Tray Abney, Director of Government Affairs at the Chamber of Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada is speaking on behalf of the “Coalition to Defeat the Margin Tax Initiative.” Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada volunteer Doug Smithson is speaking in favor of State Question 3.

Contact: For more information, contact the Healthy Communities’ at 246-7550.

What is the Healthy Communities Coalition? HCC is a private nonprofit composed of hundreds of dedicated community volunteers and dozens of group partners working together to strengthen communities and share resources. The Coalition convenes for public meetings on the second Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. in various locations in Lyon, Storey and Mineral communities. Working together to achieve common goals, representatives from local, state, federal and tribal agencies join community volunteers to carry out strategies that increase access to good nutrition, health care, job training, wellness education, arts in public spaces, etc.