Rural Nevadans convene for state summit

Friday, Feb. 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

About 100 legislators, agency representatives and citizens attended the session Thursday, described by organizers as a follow-up on a rural summit held in Fallon in August.

"Our purpose in Fallon was to cast a wide net over different kinds of sectors and define some key issues," said Sarah Mersereau, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural devlopment program.

Mersereau said the group discussd eight specific issues Thursday, including affordable housing, health care options and cooperative education projects between high schools and community colleges.

Stronger local governments are central to such issues, Mersereau said. One summit panel discussed how local governments can be strengthened by tapping into individual communities' attitudes, values and cultures, even as those communities rapidly expand.

Local governments can also grow stronger by building partnerships with private businesses, Mersereau said.

"More and more responsibility is going from federal and state to local governments. The welfare reform block grant is coming like a tidal wave," Mersereau said. "The stovepipe idea of everything coming up from the government is not going to work anymore."

Mersereau said technology also was a major focus of the summit. Speakers promoted "telemedicine" programs, which allow people in outlying areas to consult with doctors in urban areas, and distance-learning programs that rely on school computers.

"This is a key competitiveness issue in terms of education," Mersereau said. "If kids can get onto the so-called information superhighway, a lot of educational opportunities will be in place."

Mersereau said about 25 lawmakers attended portions of the summit. She plans to distribute rural policy statements to the rest of the state's legislators.

Thursday's meeting also included a session for would-be lobbyists, telling rural citizens how to develop legislation and work effectively with legislators.

"The rural summit is an attempt to present that rural Nevadans have looked at these issues and identified key components," Mersereau said. "A lot of thought has gone into this."

At least one group, the Rural Telecommunications Task Force, may lobby the 1997 Legislature for a bill to ensure that rural Nevadans pay the lowest possible costs for public utilities and telecommunications infrastructures.