Tyndall, SD

Tyndall’s Cavalier Corner is offering a GED program this fall!  They are teaming up with Joblink out of Yankton and to date there are seven individuals that have signed up for the program.  We know how important a high school education is and this program will hopefully help these people get a leg up so they can move forward with their education and work possibilities.  We all learned through Horizons the importance of education in the fight to reduce poverty and it is clear as crystal how true that is. Anyone needing info on setting up GED in your area, go to your school district and get started there.

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.

That’s the big news! Pretty old….people are living longer due to great medicine, healthier lifestyle, hobbies and social interaction, according to the presenters at the workshop on Aging Population held recently at Mitchell Tech.   Presenters Jim Seeber ( NSU Regional Aging Council), Renee Oscarson ( SDSU Extention Specialist Gerentology) and Linda Nussbaumer (SDSU Professor of Interior Design-effects of baby boomers on housing) relayed current statistics on the aging population, the importance for social support for the aging generation ( we need our Senior Centers!!!), transportation issues for elderly in getting to medical appointments or for shopping, and the various Social Services programs that are available to the people of retirement age.  They said the key to support of the aged is to provide ACCESS - be that with more handicap parking, better access to shopping and restaurants, and education about the various programs available such as tax preparation help, food assistance, and help with insurance ( Medicare Part D for one….), creating social activities and getting them there, and encouraging healthy diets and exercise. 

  Renee’s substitute, Sandra Aamlid, recounted great experiences in helping the attendees at the senior center in S.F.( called The Center for Active Generations) and how important the social aspects of participating at the center  was in the health and mental welfare of the people.  She talked about how a church in the region built an exercise center onto the church campus and that it was used alot.

The biggest thing that I learned was to include the aging population in town activities and projects, as they have experience and multiple talents to share.  When the baby boomers turn 65, there is still lots of living to do.

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.

The Rural Office of Community Services in Lake Andes is sponsoring a Garden Project for low income individuals, families or community groups. The project will provide gardeners with seeds, plant sets and garden assistance for their own home garden usage and food consumption. This would be a wonderful way to supplement the food budget by growing their own food. For more information and guide lines please contact the ROCS office in Lake Andes. The telephone number is 487-7634.

The deadline to call for supper reservations ( we want to have enough food!!!) has been moved up to April 12, so call Mark at 589-3904 and tell him how many in your family are coming. You can reserve for your friends too.  Hope to see many of you…..if you can’t get there for supper, come to the meeting.  There will be good information for everyone.

The public policy committee has been working hard to get information out about tax breaks, programs already in place for low incomes and many of the social services contacts are listed in our Tyndall business and service directory, which is just about ready for distribution.

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.

Wow, what alot of good opportunity to learn from other towns and cities.  Justin Wagner and I delivered a power point presentation explaining the Tyndall Horizon projects at the MidState Conference at South Sioux City, NE .  Although we  presented at the conference , we came away with many useful ideas and encouragement. There were many good presenters and wide varity of ideas or new approaches to the same problems.

There has been many new and reinforcements partnerships in Tyndall over the past year. There are partnerships between youth, funders, school, volunteers, businesses, the city and USDA Rural Development.