Whitewood

The Whitewood PTO is having their 2nd annual Soup Supper and Pie Auction Friday November 14th at Hale Hall. The Pie Auction is to begin at 6 pm

On Sunday July 13th several citizens of our community participated in a walking challenge. They met at the City Hall and walked up to Oak Park. This walking challenge is a way to help people think about getting healthy and walking towards this goal. The other purpose of the walk was to kick off the Horizons graduation party that was being held at the park. For the past two years Whitewood has participated in various activities with Horizons. Well on Sunday Whitewood had it’s farewell graduation party. There were young and old in attendance.

Whitewood has gained so much from it’s partnership with Horizons, SDSU, and the Northwest Area Foundation. Many citizens have gained a wealth of knowledge through leadership plenty trainings and other trainings that have been held over the past several years! Well yesterday Whitewood was presented with a check for $8500 dollars which will be spent somewhere in town for everyone to enjoy! It has not yet been determined where the proceeds will go, but it will go towards benefitting the entire community! Not only did we receive a monetary award, but Whitewood was also awarded with a new “Gateway” laptop computer and a new printer. The laptop and printer will be stored at the library for everyone to use. All of these awards were received because of the hardwork and dedication of many members of our community over the past several years while working on Horizons projects. Without these individuals contributing their time and effort Whitewood would not have been awarded these awesome awards!! So congratulate yourself if you’ve worked on any Horizons projects and also congratuate others who have done so. Whitewood should be very proud this was no small feat!!

Thanks also to Chuck Turbiville our legislator for attending this event! It was much appreciated. Also a big thanks to Carolyn, Karla, and Dean Lemme from SDSU for bringing us these fabulous awards!

Below are some pictures of this event! Enjoy! And THANK YOU, SDSU and Northwest Area Foundation for partnering with us and helping us achieve these WONDERFUL gifts!!

What can we do to help reduce Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in our community? 

·       Say “NO” to all forms of violence; physical, verbal, sexual and emotional.

·       Get help if you and your partner can’t resolve problems.

·       Set an example for children; Violence and abuse are not a part of family life.

·       Report all instances of abuse to the police.

·       Support education and prevention programs.

·       Don’t accept, support or promote violence.

Mary Koens.   

For skateboard park fundraiser on Sunday June 29th. Contact Patty Karas or Deb Olson at April’s Place. They are having a bake sale Sunday afternoon to benefit the skateboard park and they need bake sale items to sell.

The recent down pours certaintly don’t lend to the thought of conserving water  but the hot summer months are upon us.  Water consumption for our yards, gardens, & everyday summer activities can take a  toll on our water supply.  Installing a rain barrel can help with the cost of higher water usage and  help with conservation of our most precious resource. 

• Rain barrels conserve water and help lower costs (a rain barrel can save approximately 1,300 gallons of water during peak summer months).
• Rain barrels reduce water pollution by reducing stormwater runoff, which can contain pollutants like sediment, oil, grease, bacteria and nutrients.
• Rain barrels are inexpensive and easy to build and install

 You can search for rain barrels on the internet or find them at your local garden supply and hardware stores.  A rain barrel can simply be a garbage can that sits under a downspout or heavy runoff point from your roof.  It does not have to be expensive or fancy.  Here are some websites with good information on them: 

http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/pi/rainbarrels.htm

http://www.harvesth2o.com/faq.shtml

There are currently 2 city positions open with the public works department. See below for the descriptions of both of the jobs.

Job 1:

Position Available: The City of Whitewood is accepting resumes or applications for Public Works Director.  Minimum qualifications for Public Works Director include High School diploma/GED certificate, possession of valid driver’s license with a CDL-B recommended.  Knowledge of methods, equipment, and materials used in water/wastewater distribution and collections.  Considerable knowledge and experience in the practices and principles of civil engineering, construction, public works operations and public works maintenance.  Must possess or be able to obtain certificates required by State for Water Treatment I, Wastewater Treatment II, Collections I, and Distribution I. Salary DOE.  Send resume or application to City of Whitewood, 1025 Meade Street, Whitewood, SD  57793 with a  June 30, 2008 closing date.

Job 2:

IMMEDIATE OPENING:

The City of Whitewood has an immediate opening with the Public Works Department for a temporary position.  Duties will include light maintenance and lawn cutting.  Must be 18 years of age with a valid driver’s license.  Position pay $9.00 per hour.  Applications being accepted at City Hall.

Five Whitewood, SD youth attended a Babysitting Beginnings Training sponsored by the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service of Lawrence County.  Deb Rombough, Family and Consumer Science Educator, was the presenter.  The youth gained information and hands-on experience covering basic safety and first aid, how to make healthy snacks, important facts about ages and stages of children, babysitting responsibilities and the business facts, age appropriate activities and much more!  Each participant received a babysitter’s kit and a wallet card certificate of completion.  This program is a part of the Whitewood Babysitter Club project, a result of the Horizons project. 

Follow-up workshops will be available in the future.  Currently topics scheduled at the Whitewood Public Library include:

June 19 – First Aid Follow-up / Choking Safety – Ellen Jenter, County Health Nurse (10-11 am)

June 24– Developmentally appropriate activities for children / rainy day activities (2-3 pm)

July 10 – Basic Financial Education / Savings for Youth (10-11 am)

Please pre-register by calling Deb Rombough at the Lawrence County Extension Office @ 642-6200 or Rea W. at the Whitewood Library @ 269-2616.

last night at 6pm at the Whitewood libary.

Discussion items were:

• Updates to the strategic plan were discussed. Information was given to Carolyn our community leader on fundraising efforts of both the skateboard park committee and the scholarship committee. The efforts from these groups has definetely not gone unnoticed. Thanks everyone for their hard work!!
• Horizons II will soon be coming to an end. We will have our graduation event on July 13th at Oak Park at 2pm. We are inviting our entire community to attend this event as our community is being awarded with a laptop computer and a printer which will be stored at the library. We are also being awarded with a grant which will be given in September. There will also be cake served to celebrate this event!
• Carolyn advised us at the meeting that the book we made of our successes since beginning Horizons was a big hit! Thanks Mary for all of your hard work and dedication on this fabulous book!!
• Although, Horizons is ending we don’t want our committees to end! We want to keep the momentum going! We will always need people to be involved and work on plans to improve our community!!

This sounds like an excellent opportunity to win a bit of cash for a community project.  Check out the SDRE website at www.sdrei.org

And go to “Community Success Stories.”  There is a quick application to fill out and winners will have their stories posted on the site.

In our continued efforts of championing rural economic and community development, South

Dakota Rural Enterprise is compiling and sharing Community Success Stories. The success

stories that we receive will be posted to our website, and in doing so will become a celebration

and inspiration for other communities throughout the State. Each quarter we will choose one

success story from those submitted, and that program/project will receive a cash award of $250.

Please fill out all the following questions that may apply to your program/project.

Well here is recent information on it…

Many of your communities have also talked about the Governor’s House Program.  Here is current information:

Governor’s House Program—Income Guidelines Change

            The Governor’s House Program has been in existence since 1995.

Do you know someone who:

ü     IS having trouble finding a place to live where they work?

ü     IS renting an apartment that doesn’t fit their family’s needs anymore?

ü     IS having trouble finding a quality home at an affordable price?

ü     WOULD like to stay in their hometown and be able to purchase a new house?

A GOVERNOR’S HOUSE MAY BE THE HOME FOR THEM!

This 2 bedroom, 1 bath home is 1,008 square feet energy efficient homes comes complete with  kitchen cupboards, bathroom fixtures, a furnace, hot water heater, and washer and dryer hook-ups. The house does not come with appliances or floor coverings.

PURCHASE PRICE IS CURRENTLY $33,000, plus taxes which includes delivery to your lot and placement on the basement or foundation.

Household income and net worth guidelines remain as follows.

Ø     Households of 2 or less must have an income less than $33,900

Ø     Households of 3 or more must have an income less than $39,550

Ø     Households under 62 years of age must have a net worth less than $90,000, of which no more than $70,000 is liquid assets.

Ø     Households over 62 years of age must have a net worth less than

            $175,000, of which no more than $100,000 is liquid assets

Another change involves the siding color—the colors are now sage and clay. Sand is no longer available.

Purchaser is responsible for financing the house like any other house you might purchase.  Purchase is responsible for purchase of home, lot/land costs, foundation/basement, floor coverings, appliances, entrance steps, utility connections and hook-up fees, building permits, plus, sidewalks, driveway, curb and gutter as applicable.

Small Business Workshop Scheduled Individuals who are self-employed, business owners, office managers, bookkeepers, etc., may be interested in attending the South Dakota Small Business Workshops.  Workshop topics include SD Unemployment Insurance, tax and benefits, wage and hour laws, youth employment regulations, SD sales and use tax regulations, as well as contractor’s excise tax requirements. The workshop is scheduled for June 11 in Mitchell and will be repeated July 16 in Pierre and October 8 in Rapid City .  For more information contact the SD Dept. of Revenue and Regulations at 1-800-829-9188.  Workshop sponsors include the SD Dept. of Labor, Small Business Development Center , SD Dept. of Revenue & Regulations, and the Small Business Administration.

Victims of Violence Intervention Program/Artemis House is now collecting used ink cartridges from printers and copiers as well as used cell phones.  We are able to recycle these items to bring in a little more cash to be used for victims of domestic violence in our area.  Please drop off any used ink cartridges and cell phones at the Artemis Boutique, 344 Colorado Blvd in Spearfish.  Thanks, Mary Koens.

Whitewood Beginning Babysitting Class  has been postponed one week 

                            to  Thursday 5 June from 9:30 - 11:30
 
Class conducted by Deb Rombough, Lawrence County Extension Agent, at the Whitewood Public Library.  Anyone wishing to sign up may call the Library at 269-2616.      Read this Previous Babysitting Club Blog  for more information.     previous date was 29 May.

 Deb Rombough - Beginning Babysitting -  5 June    9:30-11:30 am 

Deb Rombough -  Age Appropriate Activities on June 12 from 10-11 am

Ellen Jenter, County Health Nurse - on June 19 from 10-11 am

If anyone is interested in joining the scholarship committee, please contact Amy Barker at 269-2130 or Kaity Parks at 722-6526.  The meeting will be Saturday May 31  2pm meeting at the Diner:) Topics are distribution of raffle tickets, recruiting people to sell raffle tickets. We are looking for kids and adults. Sounds like a great day for pie and coffee:)

Great news! Our  word is getting out and people want to buy the tickets and help too!

from Mary Koens

May is Elder Abuse Awareness Month

In 2005, 85,000 persons over the age of 65 were victims of non-fatal violent crime.  Crime victims over the age of 65 lost a total of $1.3 billion due to personal and property crimes in 2005.  Many of these crimes were committed by family members or people who were known by the victim.  What can we do to help keep our elder population and ourselves safe?

• Report suspicious activity in our neighborhoods and businesses to the police.
• Let a friend or neighbor know when going on vacation, to the hospital and any other changes in routine.
• Never give out banking numbers, Social Security numbers and other personal information on the phone or internet.
• When hiring repairmen, call to check out their credentials.
• Keep doors locked even in the day and even if you are home.
• Remember to lock car doors and garage doors.
• When in public, be aware of your surroundings.  In crowded places, keep your billfold in a front pocket.  Keep your purse close to your body.
• Walk in daylight or well lit areas.
• Consider keeping valuables in a safety deposit box or safe.
• Do not carry or keep large amounts of cash.

Mary Koens

Artemis House

At one of our recent meetings with Carolyn she asked us several questions about Poverty and how it linked back to our community. Here are the questions and answers

Throughout the Horizons project we have been talking about how poverty affects rural communities. We want to know how you will link what you’ve learned about poverty throughout the Horizons project (Spotlight, Study Circles, Action Forums, LeadershipPlenty® and Strategic Planning) to the actions you will be taking in your community.

Community: ___Whitewood, SD_______________

Activity:                Using your Community Strategic Plan, identify at least 3 pieces of the plan that specifically address poverty reduction in your community and explain how taking action on that goal or objective will change your community.

1.       Goal and/or Objective:   To  improve communication in Whitewood

What has been or will be done?

1.       The Black Hills Pioneer provides two pages of their paper for Whitewood News and provides papers free of charge to the residents in Whitewood once a week.   The Lawrence County Journal, a bi-weekly newspaper, publishes a Whitewood edition that contains articles about the happenings of Whitewood once a week.

2.       The Horizon Blog serves as a resource for information about Whitewood. 

3.       The Whitewood Chamber has put together a packet featuring business in the Whitewood       area has been created an awareness of services available to Whitewood residents.

4.       The Whitewood Town Hall meetings have helped to bring community members together and provide resources to the attendees.

5.       The number of Whitewood Citizens attending the city council meetings has doubled in size.

6.       A partnership with a local business has been formed to provide the availability of a digital sign to post upcoming events in Whitewood.

7.       A senior citizen directory that contains pictures and a short bio of senior citizen members is being published.

8.       Information on energy conservation was distributed at a town hall meeting and Eco Friendly Light Bulbs were distributed to each household.

How has it changed the community?

Participation in community events has increased.  Community members have conveyed their appreciation of the increased knowledge and upcoming events.  Citizen of Whitewood

feel they have a voice and it is being heard.

 2.       Goal and/or Objective: Provide  business opportunities, jobs and services for Whitewood Economic Development

What has been or will be done?

1.       Five new businesses have moved into Whitewood, one of the businesses is a store that provides slightly damages goods at reduced prices and accepts EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) cards.

2.        The membership of the Whitewood Chamber has increased and activities/services from the Chamber have increased.

3.       Forming of the Whitewood Economic Committee has helped to improve a better business community.

4.       Horizon seminars have provided resources and knowledge to Whitewood businesses and citizens.

How has it changed the community?

New business and services are available, new employment opportunity for residents, new sales tax revenue,  the economic committee has formed, and increase in knowledge and membership in Chamber has taken place in Whitewood.

3.       Goal and/or Objective: To provide recreational opportunities for the citizens of Whitewood

What has been or will be done?

1.        An outdoor ice skating rink has been constructed in the park.

2.       Trees have been planted in the park.

3.       Fund raising has begun to build a skateboard park.

4.       Fund raising has begun to provide scholarships to youth that are unable to participate in recreational activities.

How has it changed or will change the community?

Free recreational activities are available to Whitewood for families – thus families will not have to travel out of town for these activities.   A feeling of pride in Whitewood is gained by tree planting and new recreational services offered.  There is an Increase in youth participation of recreational activities in Whitewood. Youth and adults have become involved in the planning and fundraising of skate park, ice rink, and park and then take recommendation to the city government for approval.

Is there anything you would add to your Strategic Plans to strengthen the poverty reduction component of the plan? Other ideas?

posted by Kaity Parks 

May 8, 2008

Horizon’s II

Recreation Subcommittee

Whitewood Children’s Scholarship Fund

Our membership has grown with the welcome addition of Katie Heckenlaible.  We are still pursuing youth participants and will be recruiting at Whitewood Elementary on Wednesday, May 14.

We have been approved to have a table during Wrangler Day at the school.  We understand that scholarships aren’t as sexy as a skateboard park, so we will have handouts explaining the scholarships and why kids need to be involved      (I will try to attach a copy).  We will have a sign up sheet for committee members, pictures of the “Loaded Trunk”, and raffle tickets.  That should be a good little kick-off to help get the word out.

Amy Barker attended the City Council meeting and we have been approved to hold a Raffle.  We have selected an item sold by Home Porch in Sioux Falls.  It is a trunk of Dakota made items and is loaded into a very attractive trunk. 

We have decided not to pre-purchase the trunk for a couple of reasons.  First, the picture of the trunk is very eye appealing.  People take one look at it and want to buy a ticket or ten.  However, secondly, the trunk really isn’t that big.  (I will try to attach a picture.)  Compare the size of the trunk to the size of the magazine.  Third, we don’t want to be hauling a trunk all over hill and yon getting tattered between now and the drawing.

We are looking for suggestions for any venues that may be a good place for us to be to sell tickets.

I am going to UPS tomorrow to make copies of the fliers and the raffle tickets.  I will also get a price for laminated poster boards compared to banners.  That’s a great idea whoever came up with it.

Below is message from Deb Olson regarding the fundraising efforts for the skateboard park. Please note the roller skating fundraiser scheduled for tomorrow! This committee is doing a fabulous job raising money for the skateboard park!!

Just letting you know how things are going with the fundraising.  Tomarrow is our roller skating at Hale Hall from 5:30 to 8:30, we will be having free pizza and coke, the pizza was donated by Pizza Ranch in Sturgis and the coke was donated by coke.  We are also going to raffle a skateboard that was donated by Rushmore Mountain Sports in Spearfish.  The raffle tickets will be 1 dollar, we also have a t-shirt to go with it.    As far as businesses that have been donating money we got a $500 donation from Wheeler Lumber which I thought was awesome!   The next fundraiser will be the rummage sale and we are looking for donations for this event. 

The City Wide Yard Sale is May 31st. If you are interested the cost will be $8 to be put on the list and in the papers. Please if you are going to have a sale this day give me a call at 443-0114 or 206-0247 you may also email me at mok9698@spe.midco.net

I will need to money, address, name and list of items you want listed by the 20th of May. I had originally said the 15th but i think it would be ok for the 20th. The more sales the better it will be. 

Anyone interested?   Call the Whitewood Public Library  -  269-2616

Tonisha Williams would like to start a Babysitting Club in Whitewood.  Tonisha is a 7th Grader who attends Sturgis Williams Middle School and knows of a similar group is Sturgis. They will call each other or refer parents if they cannot fulfill a babysitting request She likes the teamwork effort and their cooperation between each other.  Tonisha would like coordinate the same effort in our community.   When she told me her story I thought that the Whitewood Library could host a Babysitting Class and provide the club with a place to meet and resources.  The County Extension Office is looking into their schedule to see if the will be able to conduct a class here at the library.   All ideas and input are welcome.

 Posted by Tonisha

“Pick It Up - Don’t Pass It Up!”

Horizons is calling all groups and organizations, young and old to help with             Whitewood Clean-Up Days on 8-11 May.                           How can you help?   By Volunteering in any way you can.  Here are a few suggestions

1.  Clean-Up Crews for the 10th of May - These crews will follow a dump truck to throw curbside trash in.

2.  Pick up Trash on your own -  Select a portion of your area to pick up trash.

3.  Organize a Group - to spruce up a section of our community.

Garbage bags will be available at the library for all volunteers.  Free Lunch will also be served at the Senior Center.  Please call 717-3745 if you plan to volunteer and eat lunch.

Posted by Peggy Flynn

Everyone Welcome!

Whitewood Senior Citizens Center  

24 April  Thursday               6:30 Free Meal                  7:00 Program

Three speakers from across the state will take the podium.

Jim Seeber, Northern State University, NE Regional Aging Council

  Topic - Economic & Social Aspects Welcoming Communities

Renee Oscarson, SDSU,  Extension Specialist Gerontology -

 Topic -  Meeting Needs of the Elderly

Linda Nussbaumer, SDSU Prof. of Interior Design -

Topic - Effects of Baby Boomers on Housing

  RSVP by 21 April are neccessary for the meal .  Contact Rea Weyrich  269-2616

My fellow Horizons buddy Kaity took the time to type up minutes so enjoy…..

April 11, 2008Horizons IIRecreation Subcommittee MeetingWhitewood Student Activities Scholarship  Members of the subcommittee are Millie Humphrey, Amy Barker and Kaity Parks. The objective of the subcommittee is to create a scholarship fund through fundraisers and donations that will be self-sustaining and ongoing to assist children in participating in the arts and athletic activities from infancy to completion of High School. Amy Barker will conduct a needs assessment through Whitewood Elementary School and other resources. Millie Humphrey will inquire of the Sturgis Community Center on how their scholarship fund is managed. Kaity Parks will contact other communities and Horizons participants to find people with expertise in scholarships for advice. Some basic decisions about the operation of the scholarships were made.  Scholarships will be awarded to individuals but the payments will go to organizations, facilities or businesses.  The purpose of this method is remove temptation from a person in poverty who may be put into the position of choosing between ballet shoes and food on the table. The subcommittee will conduct an initial fund raiser by raffling off a Dakota Made Products gift basket.  Tables will be set up during local and other community events throughout the summer with a drawing being held approximately August 16 to give the opportunity to sell raffle tickets during the Rally.  It is hoped that other Horizons II committees and accomplishments can be celebrated on the same

Day and have a community party.  

Today the fire department had a extracation training after the health fair. I will update more information of this event later as well too. Just want to get some of the pictures posted now.

was a SUCCESS! Although, we would have liked to have had a few more people in attendance the event turned out great. I heard a lot of good things from the vendors as well as the patrons of the event. There was a wide variety of booths, and a lot for the kids to do too. Some of the BHSU boys basketball team was there helping kids with basketball. The USD nurses were there giving out free stuffed animals to the kids. This booth also showed the kids how to fix up their stuffed animals if they had broken bones or bruises. It was really cute. There were a variety of booths and I don’t have the list in front of me right now. I wanted to get the pictures of the event posted on the blog for now. I will come back and update more information on this event at a later time.

On Thursday April 10th we had our first real Action meeting. We had about 22 people in attendance at the meeting. There was an array of ages in attendance Considering the night was snowy and cold it was a pretty good turn out. We broke up into different groups and started making plans to get some of our goals and objectives completed. The main groups that broke off at this meeting was the Recreation group that is working on two items: one is the skateboard park group. They are working really hard to raise money to build a skateboard park in town. The other group is the scholarship committee, which will be working hard to fund schlorships for our youth to participate in various activities! The communication committee broke off and discussed different ways of communicating ideas and activities in town. We also discussed beautification and our upcoming city wide clean up which will be next month in May. All in all the meeting was good, and it was a good way to get everyone back together again and talking about what needs to be done! People just need to take charge and work together to see our goals and objectives through to the end! Below are some pics of the event!

Our skateboard committee members are collecting aluminum cans in an effort to raise money to put in a new skateboard park in Whitewood. Please start collecting your aluminum cans for this project. The cans can be taken to April’s Place and can be given to either Deb Olson or Patty Karas. Your participation and help with this would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

Don’t forget to attend the Horizon’s meeting on April 10th at the Senior Center! The meeting starts at 6pm. Please come and help us work on the goals that were previously set. The more heads involved the better!!

Posted by Sarah Knight - Nursing student from USD