02 Broadcaster Press February 12 2013 www.broadcasteronline.com CHAMBER CHAT Vermillion Area Chamber of Commerce & Development Company 116 Market Street, Suite 103 Vermillion, SD 57069 605-624-5571 vcdc@vermillionchamber.co m www.vermillionchamber.co m Chamber Business: David Owen, SD Chamber and Industry President is hosting a weekly conference call during the legislative session with local chamber and economic development groups. This is a good way to keep informed as to what’s happening during the 2013 session. The calls are on Fridays at noon during the legislative session at the VCDC office at 116 Market St. Everyone is welcome. Sponsored by the VCDC Legislative Affairs Committee. Please note: There will be no call on Friday, Feb. 22. The new 2013 Vermillion Visitor Guides have arrived. Copies can be picked up at the VCDC, 116 Market St. or call 624-5571. 2013 Vermillion Area Community Leader Award and 2013 Vermillion Area Family Business Award Nominations: The Vermillion Area Chamber and Development Company (VCDC) is seeking nominations for the 2013 Vermillion Community Leader Award and the 2013 Vermillion Area Family Business Award. The VCDC is looking for a Vermillion area individual with a strong record of success, community involvement, and community service. This award recognizes the accomplishments of a Vermillion area individual and his/her contributions to our community. The VCDC is also looking for a family business with a strong record of success, family involvement, community service, multigenerational culture, and a positive family business structure. This award recognizes the accomplishments of a Vermillion area family business and their contributions to our community. The VCDC invites you to nominate your choice for one or both awards. The winners will be presented their awards at the Annual Vermillion Area Chamber and Community Awards Banquet on March 14. Nomination forms are available at www.vermillionchamber.co m or at the VCDC office at 116 Market St., phone 6245571. The nomination deadline is Feb. 18. The Vermillion Area Community Foundation is accepting proposals for projects to improve our community. Forms for submitting proposals by groups or organizations are available at the Chamber of Commerce office. While funds available are limited we can fully fund small one time requests or partially fund larger projects. Your annual donations to our Foundation will provide us with increasing funds each year for worthwhile projects. Business After Hours and ribbon-cutting celebration at HeartPrint Home Care, 2610 East SD Highway 50 (across the hwy from New 2 You), is Wednesday, Feb. 13. Business After Hours will be from 5-7 p.m. with the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Please join us to help HeartPrint Home Care celebrate their new location, make new contacts, socialize, and find out what they have to offer. Appetizers and refreshments will be served, plus a take-home gift for everyone. Cracker Barrel session with our Legislators will be Saturday, March 2 from 10 a.m. to noon at the City Hall Council Chambers at 25 Center St. Please join District 17 Legislators, Sen. Tom Jones and House representatives Nancy Rasmussen and Ray Ring for an update on the 88th Legislative Session. Open to the public and everyone is encouraged to join us for some great discussion. Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the VFW Auxiliary, Clay County Democrats, Clay County Republicans, and the VCDC Legislative Affairs Committee. Save the Date: The Annual Vermillion Area Chamber and Community Awards Banquet will be Thursday, March 14, at The Eagles. More information will be available soon. Business After Hours: Are you looking for an opportunity to showcase your business and network with your peers? Sign up to host a Business After Hours event. These events generally run from 5-7 p.m. on a weeknight and the hosting business provides hors d'oeuvres and refreshments. If interested, please contact Ann at: annb@vermillionchamber. com or at 624-5571. Digging in the dirt important part of Sayre’s work Spotlight On By Travis Gulbrandson travis.gulbranson@plaintalk.net Last summer, USD’s Dr. Matthew Sayre took a group of seven students on a research trip to a 3,000-yearold Peruvian temple. Now, he wants to make it a tradition, with a second trip for this summer now in the planning stages. “It’s a really unique experience for the undergrads to not only go abroad and study … but also to be immersed in a local small-town culture,” said Sayre, an assistant professor of anthropology at USD. With support from USD’s College of Arts & Sciences, the students went to the Chavin de Huantar, which is located in the Andes Mountains, and is known to be one of the oldest places in Peru. “It’s certainly a privilege to work there, and when I was offered the chance when I first went to graduate school I immediately said yes,” Sayre said. He started working there for his dissertation at the University of California at Berkeley, continuing through post-doctoral work with Stanford University’s IHUM program. When most people think of archaeology, their heads immediately become filled with images from the Indiana Jones series of films, but Sayre will be the first to tell you that the real thing bears little resemblance to the movies. However, he said it is sometimes difficult not to make those comparisons at the Chavin de Huantar, with its many labyrinthine underground chambers. “You walk right in there and go through these galleries and see things that we presume are images of (ancient Peruvians’) gods – large stone statues that are 10 feet high with elaborate carvings on them,” Sayre said. “You have this really elaborate temple that we now know is constructed in a similar design of temples that were built on the coast of Peru in that same time period, so there appears to be connections between this temple and other civilizations at this period in time,” he said. Part of Sayre’s work there involves studying an invasive species of grass whose roots extend 10 feet, which has led to concern about their Group aims to attract new residents By Travis Gulbrandson travis.gulbrandson@plainta lk.net The Vermillion City Council has pledged to put one of its members on a committee that aims to attract new residents to town and improve its housing market, as well as other areas of community advancement. The Integrated Community Advancement Program (ICAP) was one of the recommendations brought by the Workforce Housing Analysis commissioned by the city last year. Steve Howe, executive director of the Vermillion Chamber of Commerce & Development Company (VCDC), said he would like the committee to consist of people including officials from city and county government, the school district, USD and regular citizens. “I’m not talking about a huge group, but enough of a representation with which to go through the housing and talent attraction study, go through the recommendations and (choose) which items we can focus on,” he said. The ICAP itself would be aimed at elevating and integrating community civic program efforts in the areas of economic development, community development and talent attraction, according to last year’s report, which was completed by Community Housing Laboratory of New Mexico. “The ICAP should serve as the community’s protruding into the galleries of the temple and weakening its structure. Some of Peru’s native species have roots of similar length, but at the time the temple was built, it would not have been covered in grass, Sayre said. “We’ve started removing (the grass),” he said. “We figured out you can’t use pesticides, you can’t remove it central clearinghouse for prioritizing, planning, managing and measuring of discretionary investment in areas strategic to the advancement of the community,” the report said. “There are a lot of recommendations in this study, and we need to make some educated decisions on what pieces of it we want to offer,” Howe told the council Monday afternoon. Mayor Jack Powell said that a committee would be beneficial in outlining what should be the main focuses drawn from the study. “There’s so much in that study that we need to whittle it down and put some priority on this together so that we don’t just throw a shotgun at it,” he said. Council member John Grayson agreed, adding, “Let’s pick a few so we can do a few things really well instead of lots of things poorly.” Howe said he hopes all the committee members will be in place by the end of the month, and it will have a list of recommendations within “a month or two.” He added that funding eventually will be needed, as well, both in the shortand long-term. “We think we’ve identified at least in general where we can get some of those funds,” Howe said. “The longterm funding will likely require some allocation of taxpayer dollars.” No action was taken on the matter, and the committee member representing the city council has not yet been announced. n DIGGING, Page 3 Gary’s Tree Service Tree Trimming - Removing -Stump Grinding - Tree Moving - Hedge Work Licensed & Fully Insured Call Gary: (605) 670-1199 • Elk Point, SD IMMEDIATE OPENINGS ...to save at Discount Foods! 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