Broadcaster Press 09 February 24, 2015 www.broadcasteronline.com High School Improvements In the Works By Sarah Wetzel For the Plain Talk The Vermillion School Board met in a special meeting Monday with the purpose of approving a final list of items to be completed in this summer’s high school renovation project. Board members Chris Esping and Doug Peterson met last week with the facilities committee to prioritize the list of possible projects and narrow down the scope of the project to a manageable cost. “Basically what we did last Thursday, we went through and we took things off to see where we would come up with the things that we for sure wanted to do,” she said. “This is what we came up with.” The cost of the new list totals around $4,940,700 with possible rebates up to $25,078. The items to be completed include HVAC & Domestic Water System Upgrade, paint classrooms and corridors, replace remaining windows, fire alarm system upgrade, electrical power upgrade (for rooms 14, 21, 33, 37 and 45), and the Chemistry and Biology labs remodel. “What that doesn’t include, that I think we would all really like to see, is the restrooms and the locker rooms,” Esping said. “We did talk a lot about the auditorium lighting and we actually did go in there and looked at the auditorium and the bathrooms and the locker rooms again.” While taking a closer look at the auditorium lights, new issues were discovered. According to Mike Hubbard from Johnson Controls and Esping, on the plus side only three of the fixtures will not drop down so bulbs can be replaced. On the down side, even the fixtures that drop down have problems when it comes to replacing burnt-out bulbs. “What happened was they were so hot that they melted or warped to the inside,” Esping said. “Hopefully we can come up with an alternative.” Hubbard reported that he has taken both fixtures and bulbs to Sioux Falls to try and find possible ways to correct these issues. According to Esping, they have not stopped trying to cut corners to fit in as much as possible to the remodel. There were lots of ideas when it came to the locker rooms. “We’ll probably just refurbish the lockers in there because they’re not in that bad of shape,” Esping said. “Instead of going all the way up the walls with tile we talked about only going up part of the way. In the bathrooms there wasn’t a lot we could cut out there.” At the meeting Monday, cutbacks were discussed such as painting some tile as opposed to putting in new tile and only replacing a few light fixtures in the auditorium as opposed to all of them. Hubbard stated that Johnson Controls is going to go over the cutbacks and present new quotes for how much the project will cost at the next meeting. Hopefully, board members said, the final bill will be less than the $4.9 million. They have already made good progress, cutting back $100,000 from the auditorium lighting upgrade and taking the bathroom remodels from $800,000 to about $500,000. Other much-wanted items will be put on the backburner for later years, according to the board such as upgrades at the elementary schools, and district-wide LED outdoor lighting retrofit. According to board members, about $1 million will be taken out of reserves in order to make the first payment on the project. That leaves about $4,500,000 to be borrowed. In other business, Peterson brought up the issue of the school calendar start date for next year. Peterson reported talking to some teachers who were unhappy about the start date and were in favor of starting a week later as was discussed previously. “I get the sense that at least a majority of us would like to move the calendar back a week in the future anyway,” he said. “I understand the concerns now. My question is if we want to do this two years from now why not just get it done this year? I think we acted hastily on legitimate concerns but maybe without information to make the best decision.” Peterson even heard a rumor about a petition for the calendar to get called to a vote. According to Business Manager Sheila Beermann, the public has until sometime next week (20 days from when the approval of the calendar was published) to file the petition against the decision. If the petition is filed, the calendar will come to a vote in June. No changes will be made to the calendar until the vote if this is the case. For an extended version of this story visit www.plaintalk.net According to Esping, a district in Sioux Falls is facing a similar problem. Their calendar is already up for a vote. “They’re trying to negotiate something new,” she said. “I didn’t understand their whole process. It’s already going to go to a vote but they’re already working on a calendar to come up with a compromise.” Most of the board members seem to feel they did the right thing approving the current calendar though they would prefer a later start date. “I want a week later too but that doesn’t negate our responsibility to our students,” said board member Shannon Fairholm. “You’re right, it’s gotten earlier into August,” said board member Dave Stammer. “Part of that is to get the semester to end before Christmas break. We’ve already pushed it to the limit as we’ve discussed. If you push it back any further you have to put end of the semester behind Christmas.” Even if no petition is filed, Esping suggested holding specific and more intensified meetings on the subject of a later start date for the following school year, seeing as many are in favor of a permanent later start date. Street Smarts: Best Kind of Education? By Sarah Wetzel For the Plain Talk Public education has become so traditional and commonplace in modern times, to some it is the only way to go if you want a good career. Many like Libby Church have found that your area of education and whether or not it was in a classroom does not always determine your future job. Church is a self-employed doula (birthing coach) and mother of two with one one the way. “I’ve been doulaing for a year and I just had my 21st client in Vermillion,” Church said. “It’s really picked up since I started and I really do feel you learn so much from attending birth and being around a variety of women.” Church actually represents the majority of college graduates. According to the 2010 US Census Bureau American Community Survey, only 27% of college graduates find work in their specific field of study. Church received a nursing degree but realized after the natural hospital birth of her first son and receiving great support from the hospital staff and her husband, that she could give that service to others. A service, she said, is best learned on the job. “Each birth is different, each woman is different,” Church said. “I think you can go to training, seminars and learn classic doula tips but I believe your best experience is gained from serving in the area.” Since being a doula is an intensely personal and individualized process, Church said there are more benefits from working with people than sitting in a classroom. “It’s one of those things that we can receive so much education (I’m certified and I do have some training) but I truly believe the way i’ve been able to push my business forward is that i’ve been lucky enough to work with a variety of women and learn from them.” Learning from others is also the way that Jacob Skelton came into his current career as a property manager in Vermillion, having graduated with a degree in Human Resources from USD. “It’s something that I didn’t go to school for,” he said. “I’ve used a little bit of my education for it but really anybody can be a property manager. You don’t have to graduate in Human Resources to be at the place that i’m at.” Skelton has a friend who has a similar circumstance. The friend is currently the director of a nursing home though he has a criminal justice degree. “You can graduate with a degree and do something different or you could just come out of high school and learn a process and get to that same place where he’s at,” Skelton said. Skelton was taught the ways of property managing by a friend from church who YOUR RADIATOR HEADQUARTERS! listen to their bodies and trust their bodies? Not so much. That has come with experience and education that I have received supplemental to my nursing degree.” “In human resources there was one class about screening incoming applicants,” Skelton said. “That aligns very much with property management, screening possible tenants. Another thing human resource directors do is make sure employees are happy and that also applies very well to tenants. To be honest, though, the majority of it was learned on the fly.” Supplemental education can come in many ways. “If I have an interest in something, I seek out resources to study more ? STREET, Page 11 STAR TOWNSHIP ANNUAL MEETING WAKONDA LEGION HALL TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015 3:00 - 5:00 P.M. RON PETERSON TOWNSHIP CLERK (605) 263-3526 126.63 ACRES OF SOUTH UTICA TOWNSHIP YANKTON COUNTY LAND • Great Parts • Great Warranty On-Hand & In-Stock! NO WAITING! Cox Auto 1007 Broadway Ave. Yankton • 665-4494 MARCH MARCH In order to settle the estate, the following land will be offered for sale at public auction at Minervas Convention Center, 1607 E. Hwy. 50 Yankton, SD on: THURSDAY MARCH 12TH, 2015 10:30 A.M. March 1st, Online Only Fa m Toy Estate Auction: 1,000+ 1/64th Farm toys - all brands! ar 4th a March 4th, Ofstehage Retirem ment Farm Auction: Complete line of clean & quality Farm a e a Equipment March 7th, Wako akonda, Large Fa m Toy Auction - All Brands: Lots of Allis-Chalmers, IH, JD , ar & Cockshutt toys plus pedal tractors too! March 8th, Wako akonda, Huge, All INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER Adver tising Auction: Many , AT signs, deadlership posters, displays, literature and more! Museum quality collection! March 14th, Wako , akonda, Spring Pressed Steel & Toy Truck Auction: 100+ Tonka Toys, g o plus Smith-Miller, Buddy L, Steelcraft & more. Also 1,000’s of Hotwheels & Matchbox toys! r March 20th, Wako , akonda, Day 1 of the Dale Johansen Estate of Latimer, Iowa: Old & a Custome John Deere, IH and other good, ol’ farm toys! March 21st, Wako akonda, Day 2 of the Johansen Estate: Fe , eaturing rare OLIVER Farm Toys, a n exceptional collection of VINDEX & ARCADE Cast iron, Horse Drawn Toys & more! March 24th, Ve million, SD, Sommer vold Farms Large Farm Equipment Auction: More , er a a info coming soon! March 27th, Wako , akonda, Huge Fr y Fa m Toy Auction - all bran rida ar brands: New, Old, & Custom! March 28th, Wako , akonda, Spring Adver tising & Sign Auction: Gas, Oil, Auto, Beer, Soda & other adver tising. Lots of Hamm’s Beer pieces too! more from the Harold Soukup Estate of Nor th Bend, NE. April 1st, akonda, A il 1 t, Wako d Spring farm Machiner y Consignment Auction. CONSIGN NOW: This will be a large & quality auction. Consign early to receive full benefits. Tractors, Fa m & Construction Equipment, Vehicles, RV’s, Boats, Spor ting Goods, Livestock r ar Equipment & more. June 26 - 27th, Wakonda: 17th Annual Classic Car, Truck, Hot Rod & Motorcycle Auction ak open now for consignments! August 26 - 27th, Wako akonda, S Summer Antique Tr ractor Auction It’s back this year! Now Auction: open for consignments! Please cut & save this ad! This will be the only ad we run for this month’s toy auctions. save v we run is month’s toy ’ o have give Don’t miss out! Thinking of having an auction or have an item to sell, give us a call! Call for a free, full color brochure or see our website for 100’s of photos. Live internet bidding available on many of these auctions through www.GirardBid.com! Bid there without being there! 605-2677-2421 866-531-6186 was moving to Sioux Falls and had several properties she needed a manager for. Skelton has been property managing full time since 2013 after being trained by his friend and certified by the state. Though Skelton and Church are not working in their fields of study, they recognize certain aspects of their studies that have helped them. “I think people have respect that I have an additional background but a lot of it I really feel has been learned on the job,” Church said. “I’ve tried things with my pregnancy and labor that I use to help other women. I do feel like the nursing background helps me as far as presenting myself. As far as the business goes do I feel like it’s really helped me as far as teaching women to relax and Mar v Girard, BA #12399; Ken Girard, CAI, AARE Broker #10183; Mike Girard, CAI, BA #13549; Scott Moore Auctioneer #11031; Mike Manning BA #11607 It is our privilege to offer this outstanding, powerful, all tillable tract of land that has excellent soil ratings, with predictable yield potential, good eye appeal, and land that would command top rental rates. Great location within 1 mile of the city limits of Yankton and 1/2 mile from Hwy. 50 makes this an outstanding opportunity to purchase high quality land in the tightly held South Utica Township. LEGAL: The SE 1/4 except Platted land therein, in Section 3, 93-56 Yankton County, SD LOCATION: From the Junction of US Hwy. 81 & 50 (Wal-Mart) go 2-miles west on Hwy. 50 turn south 1/2 mile on 438th Ave or Timberland Drive west side of the road or from Yankton Redi-Mix go 1-1/4 mile west with driveway access on the north side, or at the junction of Timberland Drive & West 23rd St. Note field is behind all of the residential homes. of the property. Access gained by a 66’ strip of land that is located on the south side of the property that adjoins 310th St or West 23rd St. (82), Wentworth silty loams (86) and Egan-Wentworth (91) with the property. in the buyers packet or investment portfolio check out this property. No disappointments! TO INSPECT THE PROPERTY: We invite you to inspect the property at your convenience or visit www.wiemanauction.com for a buyers packet or contact the auctioneers at 800-251-3111 and a buyers packet can be mailed out. TERMS: Cash sale with 15% (non-refundable) down payment auction day with the balance on or before April 15, 2015. Personal Representatives deed to be granted with the cost of title insurance split 50-50 between buyer and seller. Seller to pay the 2014 taxes in full and buyer will be responsible for all of the 2015 taxes. Sold subject to the existing crop lease for the 2015 crop year, and Personal Representitve’s approval pursuant to SD Uniform Probate Code, and all easements and restrictions of record. Auction to be held indoors at Minveras Convention Center. Come prepared to buy! HERMAN SCHWARZ ESTATE - OWNER JEANETTE GRAVDAHL - PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE Wieman Land & Auction Co. Inc. Marion, SD 800-251-3111 Sheila Woodward Closing Attorney 605-665-5009