Poverty

• Some of the comments from the group included realizing that many people in the community have a disconnection or a lack of a sense of belonging. People havea  “what’s in it for me” attitude instead of a sense of pride and wanting to get involved as a civically engaged community member.
• “Their houses are like garbage pits inside, so why would they care what the outside looks like.” The group talked about people in poverty not living by the same rules and obligations as the middle class, a concept learned from the Ruby Payne books. The same idea applies to acceptable behavior, like having respect for property and things, not littering, no spitting and overall behavior that is typical y learned in the home–whether that’s a positive or negative influence.

Vision

• The group talked about being really energized by the recent events and projects, but also realized that it takes a lot of effort to get it done and a vision or plan to make it a reality.
• The group discussed wanting to be inclusive of everyone’s ideas and plans, but realizing that not everyone has the same passion to get those ideas and projects accomplished. So there are lots of projects that could be done, but it takes finding the right person or group who is willing to take it on as a project.

Attitudes

• Attitudes can have a big impact on the ability to get people involved and willing to be part of a community process. There has recently been a new blog created that got a lot of attention. Many of the posts were negative and really showed the bad side of what’s happening in the community, but didn’t focus in on any of the good things. Combating negative attitudes can be a full time job, and it’s important to keep reporting on the good stuff. Actions speak louder than words.

Thanks to all who attended the meeting on Monday. Keep up the good work that you are doing in your community!

Sisseton was part of the Design:SD project. Here’s some background from their website:

Design South Dakota is a newway to help rural communities create a better future by design. In April, 2008, a team of design and community development professionals will spend two intense days (called a design “charrette”) working with the people in the Sisseton, SD region to gather and illustrate local ideas. The event will help Sisseton to build a shared vision for the future, and to demonstrate ways to turn those ideas into reality in their regional community.

The completed concept boards will be delivered to the community soon and will probably be displayed somewhere in the community. More information to come…

1. The Nominee must own and currently live in the home to be painted. It cannot be a business, rental house, contain rental units or property used for other purposes besides a primary residence.

2. The Nominee must need their home repainted and would otherwise not be able to paint the house on their own due to financial or physical difficulty.

A group from Grace Lutheran Church will be painting a house in Sisseton this year. For more information or to get involved, contact Jeff Gregg.

This first swap was real success with 200+ items swapped and just a few things left over! There was everything from A to Z that people brought to swap including beds and bed frames, computers and scanners, bicycles, chairs, toilets, carpets, Christmas decorations, child booster and car seats and many other things! It’s amazing what people brought and what other people needed. It was a great event and more may be planned in the future.

Thanks to all who participated in the Swap, and thanks to Lindy Staub and the Sisseton Swimming Pool  for all their help in arranging the event and providing the space for the swap.

Over 70 people were involved with the clean up including individuals and members of several community groups, such a 4-H Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Church groups.Thanks to all who helped with this community clean up!

Everyone who participated in the clean up received a $4 gift certificate from Horizons to a local restaurant. Garbage bags for the clean up were provided by Dakota Western Corporation at Agency Village. A big thanks to them for this donation!

A BIG THANKS!to the folks at A & C for partnering with us to make this event a success!