Armour, SD

One thing we probably all take for granted in a small town is our personal safety. We don’t lock our car doors and we certainly don’t spend much time worrying that someone will enter a public place with a semi-automatic rifle and start shooting. We do need to plan for emergencies, though, so I’d like to tell you about an event recently sponsored by Armour’s Arcania Lodge.

The local Masons along with the South Dakota Dental Association and South Dakota Sheriff’s Association held a South Dakota Child Identification Program (CHIP) event in Armour. The CHIP program provides parents with a kit containing several items to help identify their child in an emergency situation such as a kidnapping. Statistics show that a child is reported missing every 43 seconds and most parents don’t have the proper items ready that may help save their child’s life.

The CHIP program provided participants with a kit containing:

• Dental impressions since teeth, like fingerprints, are unique,
• A DNA cheek swab,
• A digital photo of the child,
• Fingerprints,
• A video imaged interview, which captures the appearance, speech, mannerisms and important personal characteristics of the child.

The completed kits were given to participating parents to take home for safe keeping.

Armour-area residents are invited to attend to a “Village” gathering at 7 p.m. Monday, December 3, at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Presenters include the Douglas County States Attorney, Douglas County Child Protection Team and the First Circuit Court Appoint Special Advocate (CASA) program.

Topics for the evening will be: What is child abuse? Inappropriate forms of discipline. Services available for families.

Call the CASA program for more information — 605-996-1212.

Here’s a mock-up of plans to install two cabins in Armour’s Lions Park. These are the cabins built by inmates of the prison in Springfield and installed in many state parks and public areas across the state. Our Horizons group is working with the City of Armour and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to purchase two cabins that would be placed near the existing bathhouse in Lions Park.

The idea here is to provide additional amenities to the park and also provide low-cost accommodations for visitors and local families who want an inexpensive source of recreation. We’ll be completing fundraising soon to determine whether we can purchase one or two cabins. Volunteer labor will be used to prepare the cabin sites in the park.

This project is a great example of local organizations working together. That’s one of the themes we constantly drew upon during our Study Circles and Leadership Plenty training — working together. We can accomplish a lot more in a small town when we join forces with other groups. Thus the partnership between the Horizons group and the Lions.

If you are interested in making a donation to assist with the purchase of the cabins, please contact Bob Goodnow at 724-2105 or Todd Vogt at 724-2400.

The Douglas County Food Pantry needs donations of staple food and non-food items during this holiday season. Items needed include sugar, flour, cereal and paper products such as toilet paper. Local school children recently held a canned food drive, so there is an abundance of canned vegetables in the food pantry at this time.

The Food Pantry also accepts cash donations, which are used to supplement the pantry for items needed when reserves of donated items get low.

Contact Ron Morrow at 724-2681 to make a donation. The Douglas County Food Pantry is located in the Armour Senior Citizens’ Center.

November 7, 2007
The Armour PTT met at the Fire Hall at 7pm. Alyssa Larson, School Psychologist from Mid-Central COOP was our speaker. The topic was on child Depression and Suicide. Some of the highlights from this presentation were: Disorders (mood, anxiety, psychotic, behavioral, eating, obsessive compulsive, and conduct) to name an few. Statistics and treatments were presented for these disorders. Teacher/Student/Counselor/Parent involvement were discussed and ideas given on how to detect and manage these disorders. One very good suggestion was to have parents and teachers work as a team and be positive. Early detection is the best treatment. Various cartoons and television shows influence a lot of how our children learn and what they learn about today’s society. Another influence is video games and information overload. Alyssa also discussed Depression signs and symptoms. This diagnosis is becoming more common in younger children. They can detect some of these symptoms in preschool children all the way through adolescence and adults. Discussion involved what we can do as parents and teachers to get involved and detect these areas of concern in our children. Suicide was also talked about and statistics given including various risk factors, warning signs, prevention, and protective factors. They now have a committee called S.O.S. Signs of Suicide, which was formed to assist in early detection and prevention of suicidal students.

Remember that November 12-16 is Education Appreciation Week. Please remember to THANK our teachers and ancillary staff for all they do to educate our children on a daily basis. We have a wonderful teacher student ratio and the support shown by our teachers for our school is beyond what many parents can expect. Thank you to all our educational staff!!

Armour School will be starting their Breakfast Program soon. Start date is tentatively set for November 19. We are just waiting to get all the menus out to the parents to get a head count of the students that wish to participate in the Breakfast Program. The first day will be Belgian Waffles for all of those students that wish to get a warm meal at the school before your day begins. Parents should be looking for those forms to fill out and get back to dietary just so we can have an average count of how many to cook for. Breakfast will be served from 7:45-8:15 daily. We are hoping the schedule will work out to have town kids there and about done eating by the time the bus kids get in so there is not such a waiting line. Things are subject to change and we are open to suggestions. The menus for breakfast will be sent home and posted on the school website if you lose your copy.
Nicole

Armour doesn’t have a motel. Well, that’s technically not true. A small portion of our motel is still in operation, but it’s only two rooms. At various times members of the community have looked into the possibility of building a new motel, but … wow … is that ever expensive!

So, we got creative. We came up with a way to create a new form of lodging that will enhance a community asset that is already successful. Armour has a great Lions Park (located on the north end of town just east of Highway 281) with a bathhouse and campsites. It’s adjacent to Lake Alcazar, which is a scenic area on the east edge of town.

We were familiar with the success that the State of South Dakota has had using prison labor to build cabins that are placed in our state parks. If prisoners can do it, so can we. So, one of our long-term Horizons projects is to build a couple of cabins in Lions Park. This project is right up the Horizons alley because we’ll use volunteer labor and buy all our supplies from our local merchants to build a new asset for our community.

Horizons member Kevin Leonard summed up the value of working together on the cabin project at a meeting of the Armour Community Development Corporation.

“When you get people doing stuff like that together, it accomplishes more than you realize.”

Kevin’s right — strengthening our bonds as a community will make Armour a better place to live.

The Amour Community Development Corporation (ACDC) met Thursday, October 25, and discussed a variety of topics. Earlier this year the ACDC declared housing as its top priority. The group has a 96′x142′ building site that is available for new home construction. The parcel could be divided into two residential lots and a lot would be FREE to anyone willing to construct a traditional stick-built home on the site.

One of the long-term Horizons projects is to create new housing in our community. So, the oppotunity to work with the ACDC couldn’t come at a better time.

Armour has always excelled at coming together when something needs to get done. Our movie theater is a community project that has enjoyed the support of individuals and organizations for eight years now. We know the value of working together.

So, we have some land and we needs some houses … what’s next?

The Siouxland Community Blood Bank will be in Armour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the Douglas County 4-H Building. 

As you know, the Armour Community Foundation has been challenged to raise $20,000 by June 30, 2008. If that goal is met, an anonymous donor will provide $10,000 in matching funds. We have received some great donations toward this goal and want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed thus far. But to meet this challenge, we are going to need help from everyone in our community.

I have heard many people say they don’t give to things like this because they can’t afford to make a large gift–they feel like their gift won’t matter. But I am here to tell you, that’s wrong! Every gift does count! Large or small, YOUR gift will make a difference.

If each of the 700 people who live in Armour supported the Armour Community Foundation with a $20 gift this year, that would amount to $14,000!!! Think of that!

Remember, the money that is donated to the Armour Community Foundation is going to be spent to help the projects of non-profit organizations in the ARMOUR COMMUNITY. We need YOU!!! To help us meet the challenge goal, send donations to: Armour Community Foundation, PO Box 333, Armour, SD  57313.

THANK YOU for supporting Armour!!!!

The Horizons Committee for improvements at the Lions Park and Lake Alcazar will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 24, at the Fire Hall.