Montrose, SD

Someone recently posed a question to me concerning if my becoming a member of Horizons had anything to do with my running for the office of Mayor of Montrose, after thinking about it, I found that being a Horizon member had played a very large part in my running for office. I considered that being in a position of trust, with help from the the community we could make our town a better place for all. This community has a very great story to tell and we as members need to work together to keep our community vibrant and keep our young people from leaving, we can only accomplish this by forgetting the sometime pettiness of things that bother us and start thinking of how things were, how things are now, and how we want Montrose to become in the future. Montrose is a fine community to live in and raise a family, we have a very fine school, swimming pool, daycare center, parks, RV park, we have much to offer and now we must get the word out. WE ARE MONTROSE ON THE MOVE

     It’s always exciting to see progress, and our monthly Horizons’ Meeting is a good place to get updates on what’s happening in our various committees. Not every committee is represented at each meeting, but we had good attendance March 12.

     Here are some highlights of what’s happening to help make Montrose an even better place to live for everyone:

Biking Trail Committee: not much can be done until the ground thaws (it will thaw eventually!), but Ryan Holman reported that concrete, rather than asphalt, will probably be the surface of choice. Plans are still ongoing to begin working on the bike trail which will be placed around the park and by the river this spring and summer. This bike trail will be a wonderful addition–providing a safe and attractive place for children, adults and families to bike. And biking is one excercise that is available to all ages and incomes. This committee will be more than happy to have willing workers when the hard work begins. If you’re looking for some great excercise with a shovel, give Bob Erickson or Ryan Holman a call.

Landscaping Committee: JoAnn Thompson announced that some earlier plans to improve landscaping around the Montrose sign on Highway 38 needed to be scaled back due to regulations of the South Dakota Highway Department. However, this committee will still be beautifying the area with plants. If anyone in the community has plants to donate–like day lilies, small shrubs, and other perrenials, contact JoAnn. Let’s help make our welcome sign to Montrose one that will make lots of people want to stop and discover what a wonderful community we are!

City Clean-Up Committee–OK. Get your work gloves and old jeans ready. Clean-up Day for Montrose will be May 5, the first Saturday in May. We’ve had the Clean-up Day in the past, but we’d like to see it involve even more people. We need volunteers to help pick up trash and items that people in the community want to disgard. In fact, this would be a great project for church youth groups, 4-H groups, etc. The City will provide trash bags and lunch! And what a great way to meet your neighbors and make your community a more attractive place. Call Bob Erickson for more info, and watch for more details as the date approaches.

Community Garden Committee–According to the calendar, spring is here. And that means it’s time to start at least thinking about the Community Garden. The garden this year will be in town–making it much easier for those who want to have their own plot in the garden, or for the many who come out to plant, weed and harvest the fruits of their labor. The spot is east of the elevator, and thanks to Bob Erickson, it’s already been worked up. Watch for more info as weather improves. This was a great project last year, providing fresh produce for those in our community–and an opportunity for many to work together for a great cause. Now, get ready to watch things grow!

Montrose Beautification Committee–Keep your eyes open for improvements coming in the vacant area between the Irish Pub and Security State Bank. JoAnn Thompson reported that plans are underway for the area, which would include grass, some attractive pavers, plants, and benches for people to come  sit and relax. It would be something everyone in our community could enjoy.

Development Committee–There is land close to the Interstate that is available for the City of Montrose to develop. Carey Grosdidier and Dale Johnston reported that their committee had met and discussed the possibility of using that land for a home development. Another idea–could the Community Garden eventually provide a farmer’s market type attraction to Montrose?

Marketing Montrose/Resource Book/Publicize Montrose–Is there a way we can develop an attractive, easy-to-maintain web site for the City of Montrose? Carey will be checking into some possibilities. This committee will also be looking at how we can keep the Montrose Resource Book current. This book lets our residents know which resources are available right here in Montrose!

Community Foundation Committee–some members of this committee attended an information meeting awhile ago put on by Horizons. The committee is still researching the possibility of initiating a Montrose Foundation.

Ice Skate Rink Committee–Carey Grosdidier said that temperatures aren’t very warm yet, but it’s been warm enough to melt the ice rink. It was a great first year for the rink, and next year the committee plans to have it lit for night-time skating. With free ice skate rental available, this was a great way to give our youth a healthy activity this past winter.

Skate Park Committee–Amy Condon said that the committee is still researching the possibility of a grant to help build a skate park for youth of our community. They will be checking into skate parks in other smaller South Dakota communities.

Community Education Committee–Rani Reynolds, Kandi World Turner and Connie Smith will be putting together a flyer asking community residents what types of classes would interest them. They plan to distribute the flyers–and garner input–from the Meals on Wheels crowd, through the community’s churches,  school, and Montrose Herald newspaper. Classes could include things like “Cooking with Diabetes”, “How to Can Fresh Vegetables”, or “Finding Your Way Around the Computer”. The classes could also include fun things like “Basics of Knitting”, “Understanding the Native American PowWow”, or “Learning to Golf.” They will also be looking for people in our community who can share their talents, skills and knowledge by teaching a course. Watch for more information, and call Rani, Kandi, or Connie if you’ve got ideas for a class.

Spud Fest Celebration Committee–the Spud Fest Committee has been meeting to prepare for this 2nd Annual Community Celebration scheduled for August 23. Mark your calendars now for the fun event. Charla Cope is already getting ready to plant the potatoes for the big event!

     Committees will be reporting again at our next meeting on Tuesday, April 15, at 7 p.m. at the Community Room. Why not come and get the information first hand.

Well day 1 of training is come and gone. Today was about how we should think outside the box. Start getting our young people thinking about how they could contribute to their communities. The youth of our communities are our secret weapon,get them involved and start to organize themselves and they will provide much needed ideas. The whole idea of HTC is based on 4 pillars these are Entrepreneurship, Transfer of Wealth, Youth and Leadership. Establishing an Entrepreneurial Development System or EDS. This system approach gets results by investing in people who have ideas. True entrepreneurs have ability to assemble a team and get people motivated. Tomorrow we will go into detail concerning the 4 pillars. Go Montrose………Tony

These wonderful letters from fifth grade students are shining examples of how young people see Montrose. Now we know why so many residents are getting involved through Horizons and other avenues to make Montrose the best community it can be. Good job Kiddos. And thank you, Ms. Jandl, for giving your students the blogging assignment. What a great way to show community pride. It is evident that Montrose is “On The Move”. I believe you have some future Montrose leaders in the making.

It was great to see a large group of Montrose community members show up Tuesday, January 15 for our first monthly Horizons’ ‘Progress Report’ meeting at the Community Center. We even had brand new faces–people wanting to know more about what’s happening in our community and how they might become involved.

As Martha Landes, our Horizons Community Coordinator, ticked off the various goals and committees, it was exciting to hear many of the committee members reporting that progress is truly underway. Even in the midst of the holiday season, people were beginning to make positive things happen. And, after the general meeting, various committees were setting dates when they will meet again and take more steps forward in our attempt to reduce poverty and increase opportunities for everyone in our community.

We’ll be reporting on some of the things that are underway, so keep checking into our blog and find out what’s happening.

OK. All excuses are used up. Christmas is over. We’ve celebrated the New Years. It’s time to get back to work. That’s certainly true in our everyday jobs. It’s also true with our Horizons’ program.

Our Horizons’ Coordinator, Martha Landes will be in Montrose on Tuesday night at the Community Center. (That is, if we can get her out of her ice skates and off the ice rink in town!) We’ll be sitting down with her and others involved in various committees formed during our Celebration Event way back on December 2. It will be time to see what’s been done to date. If you’re like me, it’s been hard to get much done on Horizons programs during the past month. But, some of you have been busy. The ice rink is just one example.

So, don’t feel bad if you just haven’t had time to schedule that meeting, or call others on your committee, etc. But now it’s time to get in gear. We’ve got too many great ideas to let up. Feel free to come to the update meeting on Tuesday night. Find out what’s been done and what’s going to be done. And, if you’re not already on a committee, we can always use an extra hand or two!

Corwin and Christian had smiles on their faces this past Sunday as Montrose celebrated the fact that we had a Strategic Plan written and specific objectives to make their community a better place for their future.

These two young men attended all three of our Vision Plan writing sessions. Their area of interest? Goal #3: Providing Opportunities for All Montrose Area Residents. They took an active role in discussions and had some great ideas to share. And they were on hand when we presented the plan to the public on Sunday. Needless to say, they were most interested in developing a skating park in our park–but they definitely contributed to our other objectives, as well. I’m proud of them, and their parents, for understanding the importance of this entire process–and the need to get our young people involved. It is their future! Thanks to all community members who took time out to participate in any or all parts to date. Thanks, too, to Martha for serving as our community coordinator over these many months, and Kari for being there watching over us and attending our celebration event on Sunday–even if the roads weren’t the best. We appreciate the support of the Horizons’ Community.

Now the work begins as we start the action plan. Wish us luck!!

If you weren’t able to attend Sunday’s event, copies of the Strategic Plan are available at the General Store. Just ask them. There’s no charge for the booklet–just asking that you take time to read it over and decide how best to become involved. And then call anyone listed on the back cover of the publication to find out more.

It’s been great to have some new faces–and new ideas–attending our strategic planning meetings. We need their input and fresh perspective. An example, Betty G. came and provided great input from the perspective of the school board. She also shared her passion for establishing a Montrose Community Foundation. That’s a wonderful idea that had not yet been shared. Kandi W. has information on possible funding assistance for a skate park. We’ll need that as we put down specific implementation steps for our community plan. And we had young people come to share their ideas of what they’d like to see in our community, and voice some of their concerns. We’re pleased that Horizons has provided a forum to share those dreams. Our next step is to come up with practical ways to implement them. Again, a thank you to everyone who is taking the time to contribute to this effort.

Our second planning meeting went very well.  After an excellent meal, we were ready to create our objectives for the goals that were set at the first planning meeting.  Our goals were written based on community input from the study circles, leadership training, and the kick-off event.  The goals for our Montrose community include:  To improve the appearance of Montrose, to encourage growth in Montrose, to provide more opportunities for all Montrose-area residents, and to promote community spirit.

Our community shown here is putting together the objectives to improve the appearance of our town.  Some of those objectives include improving the park area and picnic shelter, work toward the completion of the biking/walking trail, and exploring the possibilities of giving the main street of Montrose a “facelift” - including the removal of vacant buildings.

We look forward to expanding these goals and objectives to include the implementation procedures.  Working together, we will realize our goals!

Montrose On the Move. Our community’s new sign–and slogan–was unveiled during the Visioning Kick-Off October 7th. We were all really excited to see the large, beautiful kelly-green sign that can be displayed anywhere we want the positive message of our community to shine. We’re on the road to great things–utilizing the skills and talents of the great people within our community. Let’s get on the road together, folks. We CAN make things happen. Thanks, Jan, for your work with the sign company to have this completed in time for our Kick-Off. It looks wonderful and is a real motivation to all of us.