Tyndall, SD

 We met the requirements of Horizons and on Tues., the 24 of June, we received “graduation” checks, papers, and gifts….complete with a decorated cake supplied by the Extension staff!  Although the event was not as well-attended by Horizon participants due to ball games, golf and family stuff, it was a nice evening and three newspapers were represented that evening. Many thanks to the Extension staff for all their help, especially Dave, our coach.  Thanks also to Northwest Area Foundation!

 Noel Hamiel from the South Dakota Community Foundation spoke on the beginning of the foundation, a public tax-exempt fund which manages the foundations set up in small towns. Tyndall Community Foundation was presented to the public that night, complete with a nice brochure designed by Tyndall native, Erin Tycz.  We have to raise $100,000 and then SDCF will kick in 25,000. After that, we get to use the interest earned for projects and charities, etc. for Tyndall. There were checks presented in the amount of $3000 to get the ball rolling!    Great stuff…..Now we have to raise some money and educate the public.    It is a great thing, because we do no management of the funds…it is all done by the SDCF. If you need to know more about foundations, give Noel Hamiel or Bob Sutton a call at 1-800-888-1842. 

I understand from Extension Services that we should continue to use the blog and get more people to post on the blog site.  This will be a new challenge for us!

 Just to update folks on the Tyndall Horizon goals…..the Daycare project is still in the works.  The committee is waiting to hear from Pierre.   Also, we have another new goal  started by one of our high school students….frisbee golf in the park.  We already have a frisbee golf course there, but it needs updating. So that will hopefully be a reality next summer….so plan to go to Tyndall park and play frisbee golf.  But I get ahead of myself….it has to be approved by city council first.  More later.

The Horizon planning meeting for Tyndall was held on May 13. We enjoyed a light lunch of pizza and then the committees reported on progress of the last several weeks. 

Chad reported for the newest project we have adopted-the daycare. He has been working with state officials and District III. The Governor’s Daycare program is what they are working towards.  The committee has also set up a board, elected officers and opened a bank account. A name has been selected - Little Cavs Corner.   Right now they are working on submitting the grant applications.

The Bargain  Shoppe was able to give $850 to seven different community functions, including four youth activity programs.  They still are welcoming volunteers to help staff during business hours and looking at advertising better.

The website committee is working to get businesses on line now, setting a goal for the end of May.  They are tweaking other sections on the website. The committee meets monthly which has kept the project on track.   One more  thing they added was the Tyndall Business & Service Directory.  Check it out at www.tyndallsd.com and click on Community Directory.

Mark reported that the policy forum held in April was a success with about 50 people attending.  There were good questions and lots of information was extended to the participants.  They will continue to relay new information to the public.

Janet reported that the Cavalier Corner is going about the same. They could use more kids to come in, but the center is being used a lot more for meetings and parties.  One can rent the Cav Corner for a small fee-call 589-3097 to reserve your party.

Tyndall will have its May planning meeting on May 13 at the Cavalier Corner. 6:30 pm is light lunch and meeting is at 7 pm. All committees encouraged to attend and report. We will have a report on the Day care project - Governor’s Daycare. The committee has been going full steam ahead on that project as daycare availability has become an issue in Tyndall. Everyone welcome.

The Tyndall Business & Service Directory is finally ready to go out to the public.  It is a 3-fold brochure prepared by volunteers and printed/copied  locally by donating businesses in small amounts to start off. This will allow for inevitable changes down the road.   The brochure was initially set up by a Chamber business several years ago and has been scooped up by Horizons and Chamber ( partnering), improved with additions of better listings of social services available, organizations, apartment contacts ( none are listed in the phone book except for Northpoint Apt. !), tourism information and shopping opportunities.

At this time, it is free to be listed in the brochure and it includes any business, service, or organization in Tyndall ( that we are aware of ). It is great to have by the phone and it will eventually be available for the public to pick up at participating businesses. It is already included in our “Welcome Basket” and will also be available at the city offices and at the Social  Services offices.  We have over  100  listings of  companies, businesses, services,  individuals, and  government  offices-not to mention  contact info for doing fun stuff in town!  If you didn’t see it in print, you would not believe it!    If other towns want to see it, call 605-589-4050.

Anyone interested in obtaining daycare for their children should attend a meeting Thursday night, May 1 at 7:00 PM at the Cavalier Corner. Chad Jodozi will be discussing the surveys which were sent out to all current day care providers, local businesses, and letters to the local people by the school banner. A needs assessment is being determined and your input would be appreciated. Everyone is invited to attend.

Nearly 50 people attended a public policy forum in Tyndall on April 16th addressing the issues of jobs, low income assistance through the state, the legislative items concerning low income, and some information on tax relief. Carla Brechtelsbauer, volunteer for Bread for the World, spoke about inconsistencies in taxes for the rich and the low income. According to Brechtelsbauer, did you know that we do not pay tax on food for hospitals but we do on nursing homes???? Did you know that we do not pay taxes on food for ostriches but we do for baby food? She had examples of inconsistency in property tax assessments and many other interesting factoids.

A guest panel of Bon Homme Social Services, County Health Nurse and our local legislator gave information on the many services that are available to those needing assistance. Some of the programs include WIC ( Women, Infants and Children) which includes free immunizations to those who qualify, plus lots of other assistance to new moms.

Available through the Social Services office are fuel assistance, food assistance ( formerly known as  food stamps - which many people qualify for, but do not take advantage of, even though the WIC is available at our local grocery store!), and other programs. We also learned more about the free and reduced meals that are available at school. This program benefits the school and the teachers who have taken out state and federal loans. More information can be obtained by contacting Joyce Bittner at Bon Homme School District-see link in the green box on the right of this post.

Residents should follow the legislative issues in Pierre, according to Frank Kloucek. He also suggested that a time be set up to help elderly with the paperwork that needs to be filled out when applying for government assistance programs, as the paperwork is usually daunting. He also urged elderly citizens to be aware of scams that pop up, either through the mail or over the phone. Frank suggested more use of blended gasoline….but we don’t have one of those pumps in Tyndall yet…seems they cost about $17,000. If people went out of town to buy their gas, I would hope that they still spend their grocery, gifts,and pharmacy dollars back at home with our local businesses!

We have to thank Mark Nelson and Joe Kostal for their persistence in getting this forum set up, with a LOT of help from Kari Fruechte and staff at SDSU. 20 people took advantage of free blood pressure screenings by St. Michael’s and many attendees picked up hospital brochures, Social Services brochures,  and also the new Tyndall business & service directory that is ready as a result of a partnership between Chamber and Horizons.

Be sure and check out the other Horizons blog sites…there has been some interesting things happening that, according to the bloggers, would not have happened if it were not for the Horizons program that we have almost completed. When you read them, you understand the ” heart” of South Dakotans.

Committee members and 2 guests met at the Cavalier Corner, with Dave Olson present on April 8th. Shirley Mann, director at the Bon Homme Food Pantry, reported on her role and the purpose of the pantry, its supporters and its present needs.  It has been in existence for 17 years and she has worked with the program for 14 years!   Presently they serve 40 - 45 families in Bon Homme County, who have been recommended by Social Services, a minister, or a doctor as per the guidelines. She and her helper Pat and other volunteers prepare 50 commodity boxes once a month also. They get $1000 from the state once a year and the rest of the year are solely dependent on food and cash donations.  It gets pretty scarce from May to November……ideas anyone?

Day care has become a concern, or the impending lack of it actually….. A new goal in our strategic plan  has been identified, according to Chad Jodozi, and a committee is now working with the Governor’s office (Governor’s Day Care) on this issue.  They are required to do surveys of our present daycares (which parents are very grateful for!), along with a bunch of other hoops to jump through. Of course, funding is a key component.  More to come on this new goal.  Our young parents are the future of Tyndall-we owe them our support!

The Bargain Shoppe didn’t meet yet this month, but are planning to donate funds to a project in town, after expenses.  They did $100 business on the Open House day! How cool is that?  They have added a day to be open….now open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 - 5.  Now taking spring/summer items, and they have also been selling appliances, furniture and big things like that in addition to the regular items.

The website committee will meet next week on the 17th.  Things are going a little slow right now, but our volunteers have been busy with regular jobs.  Businesses and residents with events to share can have them posted on the website community calendar. Go to www.tyndallsd.com - click on community calendar. School events continue to be listed on their own website.

The public policy committee, Mark and Joe,  has set up a public forum for April 16th on tax issues, low income issues, etc….there will be free blood pressure screenings by the hospital ( glad to have them participate!!!) and a guest panel to answer questions.  Cathy Brechtelsbauer from Bread for the World will be the speaker.  For the free supper you need to call asap by the 12th to Mark 589-3097 for food count for you and guests. Open to all and important for all!

The Cavalier Corner is going along smoothly at this time. The board is looking into setting up a GED program.  There is a tutoring program is place, but up to now the students are not taking advantage of this.  More education on this is probably necessary, as many parents and students may not know about it. Dave offered the board the possibility of a meeting to help them plan a 5-year strategic plan.

The Community Foundation committee has taken a back seat this month to some other things that popped up over Easter vacation  ( like a light manufacturing plant looking at Tyndall and other communities!) so they will get a date set for a public meeting, etc. soon.

LeadershipPlenty training is hopefully going to be offered for credit in the fall.  Janet is still working with administration on that.  There are two certified trainers in our school system to do the course and it would be just for upper class students.

The committee for Community Economic Coordinator has not met.  Judy is hoping to seat a feasibility study committee to research this more.  The planning committee members urged the importance of this committee for the future of Tyndall. Persons interested in serving on this can contact her asap.
Marilyn reported briefly on the Marketing Workshop and how communities have begun to “brand ” themselves to claim a uniqueness about their  community that would attract business, shopping, and new residents.
Dave urged members to continue blogging and to recruit “commentors” and even more bloggers.  He had helpful suggestions throughout the meeting and has been a great help to our committees.

The next meeting will be May 13th - same time, same place!

On Wednesday, April 16, at the Tyndall Community Center, there will be a public forum on policies concerning low income and high poverty issues. Cathy Brechtelsbauer, Bread for the World volunteer, is going to speak.  There will also be a guest panel to answer questions on these topics.   This is really for everyone.  There will be free blood pressure screenings from 6 - 7 pm and other information brochures on general health and wellness.  There will be a free supper catered by Eric from Sportsmans Rendezvous- we will need a supper count preferably by April 7th.  Call Mark at 589-3904 to give him your family’s count.  The meeting starts at 7 pm, in case you don’t want to join us for supper. 

 This is another example of Tyndall Horizons, helped greatly by Kari at SDSU Extension Services, providing an informational forum to raise awareness of this issue.  It also shows a community mobilizing to address the issue of the many faces of poverty.  The public policy committee has been a leader and instrumental in the organization of this forum-an example of community structural change as we did not have something like this before. It is also a committee that will need to be active in the future, as policies change and information made available. 

  New members to the committee are welcomed. Come and check it out.    Hope to see you at the forum. Do you have concerns about policies now in place that affect the low incomes?  Leave a comment here.

After almost 7 months of waiting, Cavalier Corner has obtained its tax exempt status!  The formal letter from the IRS came on Thursday to inform the board that our application had been approved under section 501(c)(3).  A special thank you goes to Lisa Rothschadl for her hard work in getting all of the paper work filled out and filed.