Armour, SD

WOW! What a wonderful infomative meeting we had tonight. I cannot believe all the information we received in such a short time. My awareness has definately been raised about how and what our kids are doing on the computer/internet. We all have to keep a close check on what is going on with our kids especially when they have access to the computer. We have good kids in this town but it is easy to be lured into somthing criminal and dangerous without even knowing it. There are billions of web sites out there that anyone and everyone has access to and without knowing it your kids can be on some harmful sites. We had two wonderful speakers from the Department of Criminal Investigation, Troy Boone and Todd Rodig. They are only two of the few people in South Dakota that work on catching these computer criminals. Did you know that even though you delete something from your computer it is always still there and they can take it apart bit by bit and check everything you and your kids and their friends have been looking at or saying on the computer. If you have any questions about the sites your kids are using please get in contact with a person that can check your computer or if you can please go to the following sites to check for unsafe information: netsmartz.org, cybertipline.com, sdcybersafe.com. These are also posted on the school website under the PTT area. Many kids use the MYSpace site and once you are on there your information can go to millions of other people and this can lead to very dangerous situations. We all want our kids to be safe so lets keep track of what they are doing. We also received information on other file share programs that can be very dangerous. Even downloading music off of your computer and trading it with other people can actually be a crime. I cannot say often enough that we need to keep monitoring our children’s activities at home and away from home. Talk to your kids! Let them know that anything they see or read that is suspicious should be reported to you or a teacher or anyone they feel they can talk to. The Department of Health is looking into getting some of this information out also through different programs. One of the suggestions was the DARE program. Thank you very much for attending the meeting tonight. Attendance was 13 parents and 13 teachers. We appreciate all input you have and we hope everyone continues to attend. Our next meeting will be February 6. Please attend. Nicole Neugebauer

The Armour Parent Teachers Together did not meet in December. We thought we would give everyone a break so they could take care of some things in their busy schedules. The good news is the school received the paperwork on the Breakfast Program and everything is great. The Program will start after the Christmas Break. My understanding is that the first day will be Belgian Waffles so we hope there is a good turnout and sign up for the breakfast. We plan on meeting again in January and we also encourage parents and teachers to notify us if there are any special speakers or topics they want brought to the meeting. We encourage everyone to participate. There is a lot of good information out there and we are always looking for input and participation. Even just coming to the meetings for that hour is greatly appreciated. It is considered an investment in our children. Thank you to everyone and Merry Christmas!!
Nicole Neugebauer
Parent Teachers Together

First of all, sorry it took so long to get this posted but this is a busy time of year. Well, the cabin committee met last week with the Armour City Council and it was a very positive discussion. We have the city behind us 100 percent, which is good. A couple of Horizons representatives also met with the Armour Lions and after a lot of questions that need to be answered they are in favor of the idea as well. Some of the questions were concerning liability, rental amounts, monthly expenses, cleaning and other small things that need to be worked out. There will be more questions that need to answered in the future I’m sure. The good thing is it is positive and were still moving forward.

Another view of the type of cabin we want to build from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks Web site. This shows a cabin in a campground setting.

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.

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.