Broadcaster Press 03 March 13, 2012 www.broadcasteronline.com One in a VerMillion Meet Donna Schafer By David Lias david.lias@plaintalk.net Donna Schafer has worn a lot of hats during a very productive lifetime in Clay County. Student. Wife. Mother. Teacher. A twoterm member of the South Dakota Legislature, representing District 17. Currently, Donna, who obviously can’t stay still for too long, keeps busy with her duties as president of the VFW Post 3061 Ladies Auxiliary. She also took it upon herself over a year ago to begin interviewing local military veterans. Her written accounts of the stories of local vets are now an occasional, but still popular, column in the Vermillion Plain Talk. Donna is a lifelong resident of the Vermillion area. She was born and raised in Meckling, and attending country school for two years. “I attended the Meckling school for grades 3 through 10, and then I went to Augustana Academy in Canton my last two years because I wanted to sing in their choir,” she said. “I guess I haven’t done everything exactly the same way everyone else does.” Donna was a schoolteacher in Vermillion for 23 years. “I taught first and third grades, and I did my teaching at Jolley (Elementary School). I did not finish my degree until I was 35 years old,” she said, laughing. “I had five kids first. “I got my degree from USD, and my master’s degree in elementary education,” Donna said. “I also attended Yankton College for two years, and I worked at the Human Resource Center while I went to school there. I never did things the easy way.” In 2002, instead of living a quiet life of retirement in the Vermillion community, Donna decided to enter the world of politics, and became a candidate for District 17 representative in the South Dakota Legislature. Her campaign was successful, and she won re-election to a second, two-year term in 2004. “Contrary to what a lot of people say, I actually enjoyed the campaigning,” Donna said. “I met a lot of terrific people, and I met some people who did not like me at all, and you just had to deal with that. 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She now serves as both local president and district president of the VFW Auxiliary. Donna has served in that role for three years now. She decided to begin the new and rewarding experience of chronicling the stories of local veterans in the fall of 2010. “I probably enjoy doing the interviews more than the veterans enjoy telling their stories,” Donna said. “But I’ve learned so much, and there’s so many things that you never give a thought to about what has to go on during a war. You are enlightened in that area. “There are times I’ve talked to people who have said, ‘I never really did that much during the war,’ and I’ve thought to myself, ‘but you did a part that needed to be done. We can’t all be heroes in the word that many people think of as heroes, but if that veteran hadn’t been there to do that job, of if no DONNA SCHAFER one had done that job, it would have been very difficult to do without.’ Every type of service done by every veteran is very important,” she said. There are times when veterans, in telling their stories, admit that they aren’t particularly proud CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS NEEDED For Hearing/Auditory Processing Study The USD Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is seeking children ages 7-13 years and adults 18-25 years with no history of language, learning, or hearing problems to participate in a research study focused on updating normative values for diagnostic tests of Central Auditory Processing. Participation will require two test sessions at the USD SpeechLanguage-Hearing Clinic in Vermillion. Each session will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours and can be scheduled at your convenience (including evenings and weekends). All participants will receive a free hearing test and central auditory processing evaluation. Participants also will be compensated for their participation. To participate you must: • Have no history of language, learning, or hearing problems. • Have normal hearing • Speak English as your primary language • Be between 7-13 or 18-25 years of age For more information, contact: Jennie Bellis Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders The University of South Dakota (605) 202-1345 • jdbellis@usd.edu Allison Root Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders The University of South Dakota (775) 313-4449 • Allison.Root@usd.edu Teri James Bellis, Ph.D., CCC-A, FAAA, F-ASHA Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders The University of South Dakota (605) 677-5474 • tbellis@usd.edu of some of the things they had to do, Donna said. “They are proud to serve their country, but they are saddened that people had to die, and they don’t want to glorify that,” she said. “That just tells you the caliber of people that went into the service. They went because they needed to defend their country, and they had to do some very unpleasant things in the process.” NOTICE Norway Township Board of Equalization will meet March 19, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Clay County Highway Shop. Appeals must be submitted to the clerk by Thursday, March 15, 2012. Jay Bottolfson, Clerk 45723 Timber Road, Vermillion, SD • 624-8249