Hot Springs, SD Horizons

Do you want to help make Hot Springs a place where youth have opportunities for activities that help them enjoy life and fulfill their potential? We have an active Children & Youth Task Force working on exciting projects. Some of the objectives have been completed, but there is much to do, including fundraising for a Boys & Girls Club. There may be a place for you to help; you only have to ask.

Come to the Horizons community dinner Feb 21 at the American Legion (6 p.m., lasagne, good food, good people) and sign up for a team, or — if you can’t make it — leave a comment here with your contact information and someone will get in touch with you.
 

Goal One, Objective 1: improve and expand youth programs
in the community.Implementation Steps…………………………………………………….Completion Date 1. Research: Conduct interviews with schools in other communities
where successful after-school and Friday programs are in place ………. Ongoing

Do you want to help make Hot Springs a “destination city” where people come to see our attractions, purchase our services, food and products — but not settle here? Would you like to help plan signage, improve the business district, get involved in a “shop local” campaign, complete the Veterans Memorial, promote the arts community, and grow entrepreneurs?

Come to the Horizons community dinner Feb 21 at the American Legion (6 p.m., lasagne, good food, good people) and sign up for a team, or — if you can’t make it — leave a comment here with your contact information and someone will get in touch with you.
 

Goal 2: Provide opportunity and support for business and economic development and entrepreneurship.

Goal 2 - Objective 1: Promote “destination retail” and attractions. Implementation Step …………………………………………………………. Completion Date

Are you interested in developing a scenic tour route to boost tourism? Would you like to join a “River Committee” to develop a landscape plan for Fall River?

Come to the Horizons community dinner Feb 21 at the American Legion (6 p.m., lasagne, good food, good people) and sign up for a team, or — if you can’t make it — leave a comment here with your contact information and someone will get in touch with you.
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Goal 3 -Protect and grow the value of our natural resources.

Goal 3 - Objective 1: Develop scenic tour route of the area for tourists. Implementation Steps…………………………………………………… Completion Date

Are you interested in helping to mobilize our community toward major infrastructure changes to make us a viable, healthy, community with traffic that flows instead of semitrucks bogging down traffic and obstructing views in our history business district? Are you interested in extending and improving the river walk along Fall River (Freedom Trail)?

Come to the Horizons community dinner Feb 21 at the American Legion (6 p.m., lasagne, good food, good people) and sign up for a team, or — if you can’t make it — leave a comment here with your contact information and someone will get in touch with you.
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Goal 4: Improve City Infrastructure Note: These are government enhancement to city infrastructure, desired by the community,not fully funded on this date, which Horizons will support and encourage through its organizational efforts.

Are you interested in getting involved in community television? Are you interested in learning to blog or administering the Hot Springs Horizons Blogsite? Are you interested in training others to access the internet and blog on our site to disseminate information and ideas?

Come to the Horizons community dinner Feb 21 at the American Legion (6 p.m., lasagne, good food, good people) and sign up for a team, or — if you can’t make it — leave a comment here with your contact information and someone will get in touch with you.
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Goal 5: implement a comprehensive communications
system for our community.Goal 5 - Objective 1: Assist GWTC with programming Hot Springs local cable TV channel, involving youth and adults.

Implementation Steps……………………………………………………………………..Completion Date

1. Research how other towns program their local cable channel………….………….. 04/31/08

2. Provide input to Golden West, as requested …………………………………………….…. Ongoing

3. Determine availability and interest of our high school students in developing the programming…………………………………………………………………………………………..2/15/08 Ongoing

4. Provide ongoing support to Golden West community cable tv. As Requested

Method Of Evaluation………………………………………………………………………Completion Date

Local Cable Channel is on the air…………………………………………………………………….….. 05/01/08

Goal 5 - Objective 2: Hot Springs Horizons blog is widely used.

Implementation Steps Completion Date

1. Recruit and train blog administrators. …………………….……………. 10/24/07

2. Post Horizons blog website in the library computers…………….….. 03/01/08

3. Publicize how to participate in the community blog………….. 11/15/07 Ongoing

Method Of Evaluation Completion Date

Blogsite automatically enumerates participation…………………………………..… Ongoing

Scope and variety of content increases …………………………….……02/01/08 & Ongoing

Are you interested in joining a team to carry out one or more objectives of the Health Care Goal? Are you interested in realizing the vision of a new hospital? Or creating a series of classes that lead to making Hot Springs the “wellness capital of South Dakota” — a place where strong healthy children and adults are engaged in healthy outdoor activities, dropping weight and building muscle and bone; a destination place for tourists who want to heal body and mind — where fitness centers, spas, massage therapists, craniosacral, reiki and energy healers are fully booked. Where restaurants have specialty menus that feature whole foods, organic foods, vegetarian meals. Or would you be more interested in helping to set up a transportation system to help people get to medical appointments?

Come to the Horizons community dinner Feb 21 at the American Legion (6 p.m., lasagne, good food, good people) and sign up for a team, or — if you can’t make it — leave a comment here with your contact information and someone will get in touch with you.
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Goal 6: Address the issue of quality, affordable healthcare
for the Hot Springs community.

Goal 6 - Objective 1: Offer series of wellness education classes.

Implementation Steps Completion Date

1. Create a list of possible subjects……………………………..…………………… 04/01/08
2. Research and recruit competent instructors……….…………………….…… 06/01/08
3. Finalize list of offerings……………………………………………………….….…… 06/01/08
4. Find a location and schedule the classes………………………………….….…. 09/01/08
5. Advertise the availability of the classes……………………………………….….09/15/08
6. Begin the sessions…………………………………………………………………………10/01/08
7. Explore feasibility of providing wellness packages to tourists….……… 01/31/09

Method of Evaluation……………………………………………………………….Completion Date

Log number of attendees at each session………………………………………………… Each session
Elicit evaluations from attendees. ………………………………………………………..………. 11/31/08
Assess cost/benefits of program……………………………………………………….…..…….. 12/15/08
Decision whether to develop tourist wellness-package………….………………….…….. 02/15/09

Goal 6 - Objective 2: Provide support to construct new hospital.

Implementation Steps………………………………………………………Completion Date

1. Contact city council and county commissioners to solicit their support. 02/15/08

2. Work with Hospital Board to determine if local fund drive is needed…. 02/20/08

3. Provide help with the fund drive (if one is done)……………………………… 02/27/08

4. Help disseminate factual information about benefits of hospital by blogging, writing letters, speaking at civic groups…………………………………….…………….. Ongoing

Method of Evaluation……………………………………………………Completion Date

City and County officials have been contacted………………………………..…… 02/28/08
Fund drive support plan is in place …………..………………………………….…… 03/01/08

Goal 6 - Objective 3: Develop transportation system to help people get to their medical appointments.

Implementation Steps……………………………………………………….Completion Date

1. Inventory transportation that is currently available…………….……… 03/01/08

2. Provide questionnaires at local medical facilities to assess
need for help with transportation. …………………………..……………………04/01/08

3. Identify gaps in transportation coverage…………………..………………….. 05/15/08

4. Solicit responsible volunteers to provide rides .where
regular transport is unavailable or not feasible …………………………… 06/01/08

5. Develop a flyer to distribute community-wide offering the service….06/15/08

Method of Evaluation ……………………………………………………..Completion Date

Gather data from volunteers on frequency of use………………………………….. 09/15/08
Interview people who use the service……………………………………………….…… 09/15/08

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Are you a person with ideas who likes to do research, coordinate with others, and mobilize resources? Are you concerned with the housing needs in this community? The Horizons Community Strategic Plan did not incorporate housing, partly because our active Chamber has been working on that project. But it is a big project that needs a lot of people working together. Maybe a group could form to partner with the Chamber.

Come to the Horizons community dinner Feb 21 at the American Legion (6 p.m., lasagne, good food, good people) or — if you can’t make it — leave a comment here with your contact infomation and someone will get in touch with you.
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Goal 7: Develop a comprehensive plan to make affordable housing available to any member of our community who needs it.

The community recognizes the importance of this goal and Horizons implementation group will recruit a team to develop a comprehensive set of objectives, implementation steps and methods of evaluation to realize this goal.

The Chamber of Commerce is leading the effort to build affordable housing in the community. One has been completed and six more are in the works for 2008. This will help insure we keep our valuable resource (productive young people starting out) here in our community. This will help economic development.

TheE HS Housing Authority has recently purchased the Evans Hotel from a private company. THis will insure that improvements are made and the facility will remain a facility for low income elderly housing.

We are challenged by the state administrative leadership to address these questions in the course of our February blogging. What say you?

Category 3: Taking action on poverty

What kinds of concrete steps are being taken by your community to address poverty?
How did your community make choices about the actions most likely to have an impact on poverty?
How are low income involved?
How does your plan for poverty reduction link with existing leaders, groups and organizations?
What other partnership will help your community carry out its poverty reduction plan?

Category 7: Taking action on leadership

How has your community leadership expanded?
What changes have been made in who is now involved in leadership positions?
ü Are more people participating in leadership?
ü Are different kinds of people (representing more sectors or parts of the community) now participating in community leadership?
ü Does the community leadership reflect the community’s demographic profile?
ü Are more low income people participating in community leadership?
What changes have been made in the way your community recruits and trains new leaders? Sustains existing leaders?