Tyndall, SD

Members of our planning team met with our coach Dave Olson on Jan. 8 and reported the progress of our seven goals we chose to work on for the improvement of Tyndall. He had lots of good ideas and new information on workshops coming up that will help us. Watch for them in the Tyndall Tribune.

Our seven goals are: To create a community foundation, to develop the Tyndall Bargain Shoppe, to influence public policy in SD to reduce poverty, to develop and maintain the Tyndall website- tyndallsd.com, to develop the Cavalier Corner Youth Center, to determine the feasiblility of hiring a community coordinator, to provide a LeadershipPlenty program for High School Students.

Lots to work on? You bet. The committees are working hard, even though all members have jobs and lots on their plates.

The Cavalier Corner is doing well and the students are enjoying the facilities. Ask about renting the space for a party. The board is working hard to secure more funding.

The Bargain Shoppe is doing well, also, with an all volunteer staff-that is incredible. The store is clean and well displayed, and donations continue to come in. They could use more infants and childrens clothing-clean and in good condition. Getting the word out is the key now. They can also use more volunteers to work on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

The public policy committee has been compiling information that will be of benefit to those needing food and housing assistance. Be looking for that.

The community foundation committee has presented a “round - up plan” to the city council and the city staff is checking into that-some software issues right now but it looks good. ( Watch for press releases on that too)

The community coordinator committee has some objectives to work on. They will be doing a feasibility study. This is not something you just jump into. It is working in some of our Horizons towns so it is possible.

The website committee is also working hard. Almost all of the pages have been designed and will soon be online.  You can check the progress now by going to www.tyndallsd.com.

We need and can use your comments on these goals. Is Tyndall on the right track? Just go to the bottom of this post and click on comments and sign in. It’s harmless!

“How does the community plan to make sure the entire community supports its plans and actions to reduce poverty? How is poverty reduction addressed in our Community Plan?” These are questions we have been asked by our Horizons team to address.

I am not sure we can MAKE the community do anything. I think we can only offer changes and improvements and promote them to the benefit of the community. Getting the word out is the biggest factor. Regular news articles have been put in the local paper, but if people don’t read the paper, you are getting nowhere! Our parents and schools have to teach children to become involved in their town, read about it, and volunteer to help others. Also, we teach by example: if we help others, our kids see that and they will do the same when they reach adulthood.

The reduction of poverty has been addressed in our community plan in the form of several goals: The public policy committee will be looking at legislation that is affecting our low income residents, the Cavalier Corner offers free access to entertainment and study opportunity in the computer lab, the Bargain Shoppe will be dispensing funds out to local charity after their expenses are paid ( stop in and shop!), and the Community Round-up Program which is just beginning to be talked about, will benefit all and will be an easy way for all residents to give to the local projects. The committee will be meeting with the city council on January 7.

The Fort Randall Telephone Company of Tyndall has come to the aid of the Tyndall Youth Center.  Debbie Bures is shown presenting a check to Janet Wagner, Youth Center coordinator, for $817.08 to pay for internet and cable for the next year at the Youth Center.  This is a great educational and recreational opportunity for all to able to use the computers especially with the semester ending and papers due!  Also pictured are Fort Randall Telephone employees, Duane Bachmann and Harley Haukaas.

Merry Christmas to you all.  The Bargain Shoppe is now open.  Take a look around….and do “Look up” as you may be able to spot one of these “little critters”.  Jeanie B.

     Tyndall was the site for a meeting on Dec. 27 to discuss probabilities of setting up wind generators in the surrounding areas.  A nice crowd of people attended to hear Richard Wiebe of Westwood C-Bed Biofuels  and Scott Parsley of East River Power Cooperative speak on the availability of wind energy in this region.  The meeting was arranged by Senator Frank Kloucek and sponsored by Tyndall Development.  “The meeting will help set the tone and direction for wind development in our area and what directions our communities and individuals wish to take in terms of wind and transmission development.  This is another opportunity for economic revitalization in rural South Dakota” as stated by Senator Frank Kloucek.

   Wind power offsets other, more polluting sources of energy.  That is important because electricity generation is the largest industrial source of air pollution in the U.S.  When wind power projects generate electricity, fuel at other power plants is not consumed.

     To generate the same amount of electricity as today’s U.S. wind turbine fleet would require to burning 16 millions tons of coal or 50 million barrels of oil each year.

     Wind energy requires no mining, drilling, or transportation of fuel, and does not generate radioactive or other hazardous or polluting waste.

     A recent New York study found that if wind energy supplied 10% of the state’s peak electricity demand, 65% of the energy it displaced would come from natural gas, 15% from coal, 10% from oil, and 10% from electricity imports.

New year’s greetings to all on the community blogs! It has been a busy year in Horizons in Tyndall. In addressing our December questions posed to us…How are we aware of our assets and how are we more aware of the diverse people that call our town home….one can look at our programs already in place. Our assets are all around us! Sounds cliche? We have so many people that have volunteered to work on the Horizons program and to help accomplish some of the goals we have set in our Strategic Plan. Yes, we can use more volunteers and we would wish that everyone would be involved, but in the grand scheme of things, we are doing pretty good.

In setting up our new web site, tyndallsd.com, our committee has been awed by the number of diverse businesses we have in Tyndall. Some are struggling, some new ones are in the works, and we are hopeful that the website will make more people aware of what we have and the possibilities we have in Tyndall. I think that the establishment of the website, one of our goals in the community strategic plan, will really be a good thing for Tyndall.

Tyndall does not have that many residents of varied ethnicity, but we welcome people of ethnic and cultural diversity as they are gathered into the mainstream at school and church and business. After 125 years, Tyndall has seen the welcoming of many diverse people as the town was established!

What do you think- drop a comment off.