Western Western Division Division
The Salvation Army Salute
Volume 21, No. 1
"One Flood, One Fight, One Team" By Captain Von R. Vandiver ~ Sioux City, Iowa, Corps Officer
Fall 2011
In this issue: Flood of 2011
The Siouxland area of the Western Division – where Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota join at the confluence of the Missouri Back to School and Big Sioux rivers - is familiar with weather extremes. But the devastating effects from weather in the area in the space Joplin Tornado of a few months in 2011 have been unprecedented. Omaha North Corps On a warm Saturday night in April, an EF 3 tornado ripped through Mapleton, Iowa. A number of businesses, several large Welcomes New grain bins and at least 140 homes were destroyed by the severe storm. But no lives were lost. Program Director The Salvation Army in Sioux City, Iowa responded immediately to both Mapleton and nearby Early, Iowa, where damage was much less. We dispatched two teams of volunteers with food, beverages and other supplies to be distributed in each Officers on the Move community. My wife, Capt. Linda Vandiver, remained at the corps to coordinate needs assessment with emergency management officials and to contact vendors providing supplies. The Salvation Army remained on-site supplying meals, drinks and support to the communities over the next several weeks as cleanup progressed. Hundreds of volunteers poured into Mapleton from across the Midwest to help with demolition, hauling debris and restoring damaged homes. Days before the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers advised communities downstream of the Oahe Dam north of Pierre, South Dakota, to prepare for unprecedented releases of water due to unexpected rainfall and the melting of an unusually heavy snow pack in the upper Missouri River Basin. Residents in all three states began the construction of levees, filled sandbags and made other flood preparations. The Siouxland Salvation Army made preparations to serve those affected by the flood and those responding to help. Two mobile feeding units (called canteens) were deployed in the tri-state area. A unit in the Dakota Dunes community assisted residents and emergency responders who were building a six-mile long earthen and stone levee around the community. Salvation Army volunteers provided food and water to the people working to stop the flood waters -- from the governor of South Dakota, Dennis Daugaard, to work-release inmates from the Yankton Unit of the South Dakota State Prison. The other canteen served volunteers and residents in Sioux City, Iowa, and across the Missouri River in Dakota County, Nebraska. The canteens traveled a circular route from downtown Sioux City, where hundreds worked each day to fill sandbags, across the Under the direction of Captain Vandiver, the Siouxland Salvation Army Veteran’s Bridge into South Sioux City, where residents and volunteers worked to protect responded to multiple disasters of tornados and floods continued on page 6
He Hit the Ground Running
North Omaha Corps Welcomes New Program Director
Jim Sells knew he had to work fast and hard when Omaha’s North Corps Community Center hired him in mid-May as its program director responsible for summer day camp. By the end of his first week, he met with the North Corps advisory committee and presented a complete schedule of activities for the summer, including games, theme weeks, field trips and visits to the Omaha Kroc Center. It was apparent that Jim was the right person at the right time for this position, and he hasn’t looked back since that first day in May. Primarily, because he hasn’t had time. With a degree in sports management from St. John’s University in New York, Jim moved to San Diego, California, where he worked for The Salvation Army, honing his skills and learning to connect with inner-city youth. When he arrived in Omaha in a car packed with all of his belongings, he already had a plan in mind to implement a day-camp program that would transform the lives of North Omaha youth. Under the direction of Corps Officers Lt. Joel and Lt. Etta Johnson, he began with a few more than Program Director, Jim Sells, has many new fans at the 20 kids the first week of day camp. Every week since, he’s seen an increase. By camp’s last day, Omaha North Corps Community Center July 29, it was not unusual to see 45 campers enjoying activities at the Corps. In addition to Kroc Center visits, outings have included the Henry Doorly Zoo, Strategic Air & Space Museum, College World Series, Summer Arts Festival and the Durham Museum. The North Corps Day Camp has also entered into a partnership with King Science Elementary School, “adopting” Kountze Park as a summer service project in an effort to encourage kids to volunteer and give back to their community. Jim and the campers can be seen picking up trash in the park and helping with simple projects. continued on page 2
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