We Need You
The Grand Forks South Forks Lions Are Looking For YOU. If you are a Lion already you are aware of the great work and fun this service organization enjoys, but you too can "Ask 1." Some of the most fun occurs at the weekly meetings held every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. at the Ramada Inn. As part of that weekly meeting the group has guest speakers that inform members of all the things going on in the community. "It's the best part of the meeting, getting to hear all of the tremendous things going on in our community," a Lion recently said. Fun and informative. Oh, business gets taken care of as well as the organization plans how it can engage and serve the community. This all happens in 1 hour, every Tuesday morning. Please consider joining the Lions. If you're a woman or man in the community looking to get involved and make a difference - look no further. Lions - We Serve
Please see the information below to contact us. Also, for more Lions information please click on the link below to go to the Lions website.
Brenner Addresses School Planning
Dr. Terry Brenner spoke to the Grand Forks South Forks Lions on Tuesday, March 26 as part of the Lions weekly meeting that features guest speakers. Dr. Brenner addressed financial issues facing the district both short and long term. One area that he spoke at some length included the issue of delayed maintenance. The district faces significant maintenance issues at several of the school buildings. Dr. Brenner is optimistic that though tough issues exist, the process to reach resolution is underway and includes all key players - parents, community members, teachers and administration.
For more information on Dr. Brenner please click on the Brenner link below.
For more information on the Grand Forks Public School District please click below.
North Dakota Game and Fish
Jim Job recently spoke at the weekly Grand Forks South Forks Lions meeting about ND Game and Fish. Job is an Outreach Biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
Jim spoke to the group on a variety of issues including current legislation, licensing, conservation, posting of land, and the deer population. Jim answered many questions from Lion members. He said that this is a busy time with many pieces of legislation currently under consideration by the North Dakota Legislative session. For more information on current legislation being considered please click on the button below.
For ND Game and Fish News please click on the button below.
For information on ND Hunting please click on the button below.
For information on ND Fishing please click on the button below.
For more information on Jim Job, please click on the button below.
McMillan Adresses Alcohol and Drug Programs in GF Schools
Cindy McMillan, Licensed Addiction Counselor, the only LAC on staff in the district. Cindy indicated it had been approximately 20 years since the last addiction counselor on staff. She stated her position is funded in part by a grant - Drug Free Community grant and the Grand Forks School district. The grant is for 5 years at which time they will assess where things are at related to the position.
Cindy noted that the primary locations for her job were to be Central, Red River and Community High Schools. She also noted that this quickly changed and that she also now serves the middle schools as well.
Cindy discussed a number of areas including, vaping and juuling. She noted that juuling involves a device that connects to a usb port. The size makes it easy for kids to have on them and because it produces little smoke they can actually use them right in the classroom. Another area that Cindy is involved in includes doing evaluations/assessments for alcohol and drug issues. She then provides referral information depending on the findings of the assessment. She noted that there is a shortage of treatment options in Grand Forks. She pointed out that the Ruth Meiers Adolescent Center (RMAC) has 3 beds that are provided with treatment services occurring at Northeast Human Service Center. Since starting her position in November she has seen 32 kids as a result of Minor in Possession, which she feels is a lot. She notes that marijuana and alcohol are still problems, saying an adolescent was recently caught with alcohol at school as a result of the bottle breaking in his backpack.
Cindy also spoke of working with adolescents who have parents that have addiction issues. She deals with kids whose parents are incarcerated as a result of addiction. Cindy spoke of working with a 14 year old that was shooting heroine that eventually ended up in treatment in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Though that was unusual related to heroine use, she states that there are parents using heroine. The use of "meth" seems to be very limited as she is not seeing much of it in the schools, but notes any use of the various drugs is to much.
The South Forks Lions appreciate Cindy taking the time to visit them and provide important information related to alcohol and drug issues of youth in our community.
For more information on Cindy and her job as an Licensed Addiction Counselor in the Grand Forks School district please click on the button below.
Did you know the Downtown San Diego Lions Club recently donated $400,000 to a research organization to combat vision issues? Click the button below to learn more about this historic effort by Lions!
School Social Worker Jen Modeen Discusses Role
Emilia Hodgson, Executive Director of the Grand Forks Foundation for Education joined Jennifer Modeen, Grand Forks Public School Social Worker at a recent South Forks Lions meeting to discuss an upcoming campaign to help students.
The Foundation for Education is partnering with the school social work program on program called Secure a Seat. Jennifer described the number of children that have a difficult time getting to school. She described that for example there is no bus service to Winship Elementary. Many times she has had to help coordinate simply getting a child to school. Modeen is passionate about youth and education and how, when done well, the cycle of poverty can be broken. But, if kids are not in school, for whatever reason, the cycle is bound to continue. She described that the cost of a person to society if they are a student that drops out of high school, is half a million dollars.
Jennifer also discussed a variety of other issues impacting youth in the school district, such as poverty (38% of students qualify for free or reduced meals), youth in foster care, and homeless students. She emphasized the need to "keep (kids) in school, engaged and educated." Jennifer also thanked the Lions for their glasses program as she has needed to use it in the past for students needing glasses but no resources to get them. She thanked Lion Charlie for helping her with this.
For more information on "Secure a Seat" campaign please click the button below.
For more information on the School Social Work program please click on the button below.
Lion Sturlaugson Discusses Funeral Home Industry
The presenter today was one of our newest Lion members, Brad Sturlaugson. Lion Brad is a Lincesed Funeral Director at Amundson Funeral Home in Grand Forks. Lion Brad came to Grand Forks via Mortuary School in Dallas, Texas and spending 22 years in Bottineau, North Dakota. Brad said he gets "great satisfaction" out of providing people "help when they need it."
Brad noted a major industry evolution in that when he started in 1994 approximately 99% of all funerals were traditional. Today, that has dropped to approximately 60% with the other 40% being cremations. When once there was 1 crematory in North Dakota there are now 6.
Brad also noted that another area that has seen much growth in the funeral industry is that of pre-planning and paying. Pre planning is helpful for things such as the obituary. Brad says if you write down important dates and places such as birthdates, birth locations etc. it makes it much easier on children when it comes to doing the obituary. Regarding costs Brad said that generally speaking a cremation costs approximately $2500, and a traditional funeral with casket approximately $12-15000. An interesting type of service now includes a rental casket with a traditional service and then after the service a cremation. This costs approximately $8000. Other issues discussed included funerals for veterans, county burials and out-of-state arrangements. The South Forks Lions thank Lion Brad for this informative presentation. For more information click the link below.
For more information on the Amundson Funeral Home please click on the button below.
For an interesting history on funerals please click on the following button below.
City Administrator meets with Lions
Todd Feland recently spoke to the South Forks Lions about many issues impacting the city of Grand Forks. Primary issues discussed were economic development, housing, infrastructure, workforce and public/private partnerships. Please click on the link for more city information.
Click on the video below to watch a short video of the Joplin, Missouri tornado and the Lions response.
Lions Support Veterans Home
The South Forks Lions is proud to sponsor a Hole at the ND Veterans Home Foundation Golf Tournament in Mapleton, ND on Friday June 14. Proceeds from the event go to support projects at the Lisbon Veterans Home. So golfers, dig out those clubs and hit a bucket of balls and then sign up for this great event.
Contact the Lions
Email: southforkslions@gmail.com
Credits:
Bryon Novotny