If you reside in the City of Bismarck or Burleigh County and want to provide public input for the Bismarck Burleigh Community Health Needs Assessment, you may complete it online at:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/BismarckandBurleighCountyHealthsurvey

You can also stop by Bismarck Burleigh Public Health, 500 East Front Ave, Bismarck, N.D. to fill out a survey. All survey responses are anonymous. Completing the survey takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Surveys must be completed by March 1.

This survey is a part of the community health needs assessment Bismarck Burleigh Public Health is currently working on. BBPH is working with a number of community partners on this project. The goals of the survey are to help BBPH learn about community assets, our community’s awareness of services being provided, and suggestions to identify gaps in the services.

The survey questions were provided from a survey tool developed by the Center for Rural Health, The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

If you have questions about the survey, contact Sue Kahler, Accreditation Coordinator at BBPH, 701-355-1595. For more information visit www.bismarck.org

- Contact the appropriate County number listed below before a controlled burn is started so that emergency responders are not dispatched for reports of a fire when it is a controlled burn. Be prepared to give your name, contact number, location of controlled burn, and anticipated duration of the burn. After the burning is completed and the fire is out, again contact this number to inform them of the completion.

Bismarck/Burleigh Combined Communications Center: 223-9111
Morton County Dispatch Center: 667-3405

- Controlled burns need to be physically manned and monitored at all times. Once the fire has been started, do not walk away until the fire is completely out.

- Be prepared if the fire gets out of hand. Call 9-1-1 immediately and have resources available to mitigate the effects (tractor, digger, shovels, etc.).

Residents are urged to follow the precautions in the ND Rural Fire Danger Guide which lists the outdoor activity guidelines for the five fire danger indices (Low, Medium, High, Very High, and Extreme). Open burning and off-road motorized travel is prohibited when the Fire Index is in the Extreme Category.

The ND Rural Fire Danger Guide is posted on both County websites and the National Weather Service posts the daily North Dakota Fire Danger Index on their website under “Fire Weather”: http://www.weather.gov/bis

Outstanding entries will be recognized at a ceremony on March 19, 2012 where Mayor Warford will present the selected entrants with a special award. The selected essay or poem will be displayed on the Human Relations Committee web page on the City web site www.bismarck.org

The mission of the Human Relations Committee is to protect and promote the personal dignity of all Bismarck citizens and to eliminate any discriminatory barriers that prevent them from reaching their full human potential.

The mission of the Mayor’s Human Relations Committee is to protect and promote the personal dignity of all Bismarck citizens and to eliminate any discriminatory barriers that prevent them from reaching their full human potential.

The Human Relations Committee meets the third Monday of every month at the City/County Building. The committee has adopted a policy that four consecutive absences from meetings will result in a request for resignation.

Interested Bismarck residents should send Mayor Warford a letter and or application describing their qualifications, background, and why they would be interested in serving on the committee. Please visit www.bismarck.org to learn more about the Human Relations Committee and click on application. The letter and or application should be mailed to:

Mayor John Warford
City of Bismarck
PO Box 5503
Bismarck, ND 58506-5503

For more information you may contact: Bismarck City Administration at 701-355-1300 or
visit www.bismarck.org

BISMARCK, N.D. – The YMCA, Go! Bismarck Mandan and the University of Mary’s Emerging Leaders Academy invite families to join them Saturday January 28, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the YMCA, 1608 North Washington Street, Bismarck, to enjoy Healthy Family Fun Night, an active and fun family event. Activities include kickball, dodge ball, ring toss, face painting, bouncing on the inflatables and more! Remember to bring your swimsuit and register for open swim. Please enter through the East entrance.
The event is free and open to families and kids preschool to 6th grade in the Bismarck-Mandan community. All kids must be accompanied by an adult. See you January 28 at the YMCA! For more information visit www.bismarckymca.org or call 255-1525.

Leadership Academy teacher Tanya Smith says “The Emerging Leaders Academy students and I are so excited for this year’s Healthy Family Night event! We expect every area in the YMCA to be filled with energetic children and families, learning about health and wellness. We strive to teach children and families the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, while creating a safe and fun atmosphere for learning and building relationships.”

“The YMCA is pleased to be working with the University of Mary Emerging Leaders Academy to teach our community’s youth the importance of living healthier by being more active and eating smarter,” said Bill Bauman, YMCA Operations Director. “With the event in its fifth year, we are holding strong to our commitment to fight against youth and adult obesity.”

“Childhood obesity has been on the rise over the years and is becoming a serious threat to our children’s future. With this fun event, we are able to provide our community’s families with examples of how to eat healthy and stay physically active,” states Bauman.

About the Y – The Missouri Valley Family YMCA is committed to serving the Bismarck – Mandan community through programs and resources that nurture the potential or kids, promote healthy living, and foster a sense of social responsibility. www.bismarckymca.org

About the University of Mary’s Emerging Leaders Academy – The Emerging Leaders Academy strives to identify and develop exemplary servant leadership of moral courage.

“We are so pleased with the success of NISC. They stand out as a recognized leader in economic development in Bismarck-Mandan, our state and nationwide. They’ve become a nationally recognized brand. The leadership and employees of NISC are to be commended for their innovation and the success of their business,” said Bismarck Mayor John Warford.

Today, NISC employs 335 full-time and 90 part-time staff at its Mandan location providing services to customers such as Target, Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart and JC Penney. In addition, NISC was recently ranked number 15 on IDG’s Computerworld magazine’s list of best workplaces for information technology professionals. This marks the tenth time NISC has been recognized by IDG Computerworld.

“NISC has received tremendous support from the state and local economic development groups. We appreciate both the City of Bismarck and the City of Mandan’s participation in our building project. By receiving this local financing for our infrastructure needs, it allowed us to keep our focus on expanding our services and growing our company,” said Vern Dosch, CEO of NISC.

National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) is an information technology company that develops and supports software and hardware solutions for our Member-Owners who are primarily utility cooperatives and telecommunications companies across the nation. NISC employs more than 920 individuals in four cities Lake Saint Louis, Mo., Mandan, N.D., Shawano, Wisconsin and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Residents are encouraged to monitor River levels by going to the Burleigh County website: burleighco.com and going to the “Flood” section under “Emergency Management”. Residents will also be able to sign up for a WaterAlert service from the US Geological Survey which sends an email or text message when parameters exceed the user-defined thresholds.

Local officials have been studying the River, and it has been determined that ice has jammed near Schmidt Bottoms and is restricting the flow of water. The rise in the River has slowed, and a local request has been submitted for the Corps of Engineers to decrease releases.

Burleigh County has supplied a self-fill sandbag site at Shoreline Circle (off of Langer Lane) for residents to utilize. Please bring shovels and gloves.

Bismarck residents may have noticed an increase in water levels in the storm water ditch in South Bismarck. “Bismarck officials and public works crews are monitoring the storm water ditch and Missouri River levels and making preparations to plug the storm water drainage ditch if that becomes necessary,” said Keith Demke, Bismarck Utility Operations. “Crews are on standby to take action should the need arise and the situation will continue to be monitored,” said Demke. New information and updates will be provided at www.bismarck.org and through local media.

Bruce Engelhardt, ND State Water Commission, confirmed that the River is starting to freeze over with the lower temperatures we have been experiencing. The River remains within normal limits and continues to be monitored by local officials and the State Water Commission. Flood stage for the Missouri River is 16 feet.

Garrison Dam releases have not increased and remain at 20,000 cfs; however, the regulation forecast for the Garrison Dam releases indicates incremental increases starting January 18th to February 3rd from 21,000 cfs to 27,000 cfs. This release schedule will be dependent upon ice conditions.

Burleigh County Emergency Manager, Mary Senger, encourages residents to monitor River levels by going to the Burleigh County website: burleighco.com and going to the “Flood” section under “Emergency Management”. Residents will also be able to sign up for a WaterAlert service from the US Geological Survey which sends an email or text message when parameters exceed the user-defined thresholds.

As part of the independent analysis Apex Engineering will hold two public input meetings to gather citizen input regarding their experiences with Missouri River Flood events and temporary flood protection measures employed to combat the effects of flooding or ice jam events on the Missouri River.

The meetings will take place as follows:

January 17, 2012, 5:15 – 8:00 pm.
Focus Area: South Bismarck
Prairie Rose Room 105, Second Floor, Exhibit Hall
Bismarck Civic Center
West Entrance, Parking Lot A

January 19, 2012, 5:15 – 8:00 pm.
Focus Area: Southport/Fox Island
Prairie Rose Room 105, Second Floor, Exhibit Hall
Bismarck Civic Center
West Entrance, Parking Lot A

A brief presentation will be made by Apex Engineering to review flood protective measures currently in place as a result of the 2011 summer flood fight. Comments and recommendations from citizens will be received and collected during group discussions, followed by an opportunity for comments during an open comment session. Citizens may also submit their comments on-line beginning Jan. 20 at www.bismarck.org Comments will be received through Jan. 27, 2012.