Armour, SD

Local Extension Educator Roger Barrick asked me to post this employment opportunity on the blog. The person selected to fill this post will be based out out of Lake Andes and will cover Douglas, Charles Mix, Bon Homme and Hutchinson Counties.

Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator-Charles Mix County
Cooperative Extension
South Dakota State University
Would you like to help individuals of all ages and families improve their quality of life?  Are you interested in using the best research available to provide financial resource management training, health and wellness information and education regarding human development and family relations to families and adults of every age?   If so, the SD Cooperative Extension Service is looking for YOU!

RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop and deliver programming in the areas of financial resource management, human development and relations across the lifespan and nutrition, health and wellness to individuals and families according to identified needs. In conjunction with other agencies and organizations, provide connections to resources and provide education that will facilitate those being served to make informed choices regarding managing their resources, improving the quality of their life and overall health and well being.  Work with colleagues in the county, Field Education Unit, District and across the state to deliver programs relevant to the target audiences, using well researched programs and materials. Evaluate programs and services delivered to determine effectiveness and efficiency.  Serve as a connector to the land grant system for all individuals in the geographic area served.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor’s degree in family and consumer science, home economics, human ecology or other related field.  Must be able to use a personal computer for basic word processing and email.  Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing is essential.  Must have a valid SD driver’s license and personal auto or be able to obtain both prior to beginning employment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Master’s degree in family and consumer sciences, home economics, human ecology or other related field and/or experience in teaching and research.

SALARY:
The salary is commensurate with education and experience.

UNIVERSITY/COMMUNITY:
SDSU is a land grant institution and the state’s largest institution of higher education.  The Cooperative Extension Service has a network of educators in nearly every county and specialists in Brookings and Rapid City, primarily.  This position is located in Lake Andes, SD. and serves a multi-county field education unit.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  June 24, 2008

APPLICATION PROCESS:
SDSU accepts applications through an on-line employment site.  To apply, visit:  http://yourfuture.sdbor.edu, search by the position title, view the job announcement, and click on apply for this posting.  The system will guide you through the electronic application form.  The employment site will also require the attachment of a cover letter, resume, and reference page.  Please contact SDSU Human Resources at (605) 688-4128 if you require assistance with this process.

For questions on the position, contact Corrine Huber at 605-865-3205.

Our fund-raising efforts for the cabins are off to a great start with a $4,000 grant from the Armour Community Foundation and a $5,000 grant from Golden West Communications. We also have donation containers set up at businesses around town and we can see that the spare change is starting to add up!

In other news, the Horizons Cabin Committee traveled to the prison at Springfield Wednesday, April 9, to learn more about the cabins they are building for the state park. It was a great trip!

We were able to see the cabin-building operation and had a super visit with prison officials, who were very willing to share information about the cabins. They gave us a lot of great ideas for the Armour cabins, including some suggestions for building a little larger cabin (14′ x 24′) that has a loft for sleeping. The work done by the inmates is top-notch — they build everything from scratch, including the interior furnishings such as bunk beds and cabinets.

We met with the Armour Lions again and they are on board with the project. We are still uncertain whether we will build the cabins ourselves or have them built by another organization such as the prison. If we end up completing the construction on our own, we are hopeful that the prison officials we’ve been working with will assist us with blueprints and a list of building materials.

At the meeting it was decided to clean up around the Lake on May 6th at 5:00 pm. The Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts will be helping from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm with food and beverages served to them at 6:00 pm. The Community is also asked to help with the Clean-Up Project. Please bring your pick-ups, chain saws, weed eaters and man/women power : ) There will be food and beverages served following the clean-up. Thank you to everyone who help last year! We had such a great turn out we would love to see you there again this year!! If you have any questions please contact Dana Krull at 724-2459

7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 15
Armour Fire Hall

Please attend to participate in a planning session for Lake Alcazar for 2008. Plan to share your ideas, suggestions and comments.

Branding Your Community A Workshop for South Dakota Horizons– Milan Wall, Co-Director and a founder of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development was in Armour on Tusday, March 25^th. About 40 people from the Armour, Wagner, Artesian, Letcher, Woonsocket and Tyndall attended a presentation on Branding Your Community. I was very impressed by the fact that 18 people from Armour attended. We learned the importance of Branding. For example, can you think of facial tissue or gelatin without thinking of Kleenex or Jell-O? It is important to be clear about the difference between a brand and an image. A brand is carefully constructed and managed. An image, however, is much more fluid and in many cases, not controlled or created at all but simply evolved over time. Every community projects a certain image, positive or negative. A community image is really made up from the accumulated perceptions of residents and visitors over time. Every time people visit your town, they take away a community image as part of their experience. How do outsiders see your community? What do they recall after a visit? What do they say about their time in your community?

A community brand can be used to promote a town event, to create consumer loyalty and encourage folks to shop locally, or attract new businesses and families. The best use of a community brand is to make connections by representing the community values and special features.

We were split into groups where we had to opportunity to talk about our community. In doing this we discussed several questions. What do we want to be know for? What are our community’s key unique assets? How is our image connected to our key assets? Who are our customers? How can we get their attention? How can we move them from attention to action? We also discussed Tips for Branding, keep it simple, build recognition and exceed your promise.

This is just another tool that can be used to help fulfill our hopes and dreams for our community.

Market Your Area — A Horizons Regional Seminar
Tuesday, March 25
Armour Blue Moon
5:30 p.m. — Dinner
7-9:15 p.m. — Seminar

The Heartland Center in Lincoln, NE, helps local leaders respond to current and future challenges in their community by bringing people together to learn how to become better decision makers.

Milan Wall, Co-Director of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, is a management and communications expert with more than 30 years experience in dealing with the critical issues facing American society and culture. Milan will work with SD communities to discover strategies useful for marketing their areas to future residents and businesses.

This event is free and open to the public. Please call Donna Brenner at 724-2818 by Monday, March 24, if you plan to attend so we have an accurate count for the meal. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend this seminar!

An organizational meeting for a having and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class in Armour will be held at 6 p.m. at the Fire Hall. I think the plan is to gather in Armour and then drive to Corsica or Stickney to meet with the instructor. Armour’s EMT service is staffed solely by volunteers. There are only a few EMTs to provide coverage 24-hours a day. New EMTs are desperately needed, so anyone interested in taking the course should try to attend tonight’s meeting.

Speaking of economic development, tomorrow is the 2008 Launch conference on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota. This conference is bringing together more than 300 people who are interested in issues such entrepreneurship and economic development. As I wrote in an earlier blog, I attended last year and this conference provided a fantastic networking opportunity for little money. I am going again this year, and I hope to see some of you there.

I don’t know if the noon lunch  is full, but I there may still be room for you at the conference. Unless you are a student, I would encourage you to sign up for the “educator’s track.” (This must mean that you’re going to get educated, I guess, not that you need to be an educator!). That is what they told me to sign up for.

Here is a sample of some of the people I met at last year’s conference: new and experienced economic development people from around the state; entrepreneurs, or people who want to be but don’t know where to begin; resource people; successful businessmen and women who have advice to share; and youth who are excited about possibly coming back to South Dakota to establish businesses after they graduate. This is just a sampling!

 For more information, here is the Web site http://www.dwu.edu/sdlaunchconference/index.htm and the FMI number on Web site contact:

Questions: Call 605.996.1140 or 800.487.1740 (toll free)

Those of you who know me well, know that I am not particularly political. I can pretty easily look at a political issue or candidate and see both sides. Perhaps it is from years of editorial writing–who knows? At any rate, there is a lot of controversy right now over a local zoning issue that some people say is going to impact economic development in Douglas County. Of course, there are two perspectives on what the economic development impact will be like.

The Douglas County Commissioners are proposing a change to the setback distance required for animal confinements built in the county. Currently, the setback distance for animal confinements of more than 1,000 head of cattle or 2,500 head of hogs is one-mile. In essence, this means that you can’t build a confinement unit larger than this closer than one mile to the nearest home, church or school without obtaining a special permit. To obtain the permit, the effected neighbors have to sign a waiver. Oh, one thing I should add is this: units smaller than 1,000 cattle or 2,500 hogs aren’t regulated under the current zoning ordinance. It is my understanding they can be built almost anywhere.The proposed change to the zoning ordinance would reduce the setback distance from one mile to one-half mile. That means that a confinement unit of any size could be built as close as one-half mile to a house, church or school without needing a special permit. A special permit would still be needed to build closer than a half mile.

Those in favor of the change say that it is necessary for economic development. They say large animal confinement units are more efficient, they will bring jobs to the area, grow our schools and may save our struggling rural economy. While large animal confinement facilities may provide some short-term economic benefits, based on everything I have studied since we began the Horizons project last year, I cannot find any research that show there are any sustainable benefits to local economic development.

During the past year, I have had several opportunities to hear economic development professionals from both inside and outside South Dakota speak about rural economic development. Almost every speaker said that rural communities that have invested a majority of their financial and human resources into “smokestack chasing” (or trying to attract outside industries, investors or corporations to bring in a larger number of jobs all at once) have failed. Each expert cited different reasons for the failures, such attracting blue-collar vs. white-collar industries, lack of infrastructure in communities, lack of housing, insufficient support services such as public transportation, tax incentives cost other taxpayers more, etc. While there are too many reasons to list them all here, I do want to mention the one they all agreed on: a town or a county can’t expect some outside investor, corporation or industry to “save it.” Sustainable growth must build from within a community. Small businesses owned by someone with a vested interest in the community (where they live and their kids attend school) are always more likely to be successful and are a better investment.

I read an excellent article on this subject by John Ikerd, an Agricultural Economist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. The article is long (10 pages, small type), but it details why some people have concerns about large-scale animal confinements, why some people support them and what rural communities must consider as they make their choice whether to invite them into their area. The article reminds people that sustainable economic development must be built on three cornerstones: ecological soundness, economic viability and social justice. These three cornerstones must ALL be present for long-term sustainability, not just one or two of them. The article also reminds us that we must consider the well being of the community as a whole.

If you live in Douglas County and are going to have an opportunity to vote on this issue, I would encourage you to do your own research before the March 4 election. Like we have learned through the Horizons’ project, we need to work together to plan for future development in our community. Ikerd says, ”Rural people must become activitely involved in shaping the destiny of their communities.” I think he’s right. It’s up to those of us who live here to make choices for our community based on research, reason and concern for the long-term well being of our community. We can’t base out decisions on emotion or because short term solutions are often easier.

If you are interested, here is the link to the article by Ikerd. I’m know there are many others, but I like this one because Ikerd is an academic who can afford to be a “neutral party.” So many of the articles I read are by groups or individuals directly involved in the issue, who of course, have bias toward one side or another. I also like the fact that Ikred’s article is written in layman’s terms: http://www.p2pays.org/ref/16/15444.htm 

I’ll be interested to hear what others think.

Here’s Bob again. I also asked him if Armour is more hopeful about the future since we began our Horizons work. Here’s what he said …