Without much money or fanfare, four small Delta towns in northern Bolivar County have spent the last two-and-a-half years meeting together and developing cost-effective, sustainable strategies that could transform the way they live.

Duncan, Alligator, Shelby and Hope are members of an alliance called DASH (an acronym formed from the towns’ names). Tuesday, DASH released a published strategic community plan, a 21-page roadmap that they hope will help fight poverty, disease and housing problems while also promoting education and leadership development.

Goals include better schools, a yard-of-the-month program to promote cleaner streets, community career days, and quarterly racial dialogs, among many other ideas.