May 3, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com 10 Broadcaster Press State-Wide Officer Elected By DAV A new state-wide slate of officers has been elected by members of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of South Dakota, at their 77th Annual Convention in Rapid City. New DAV Department of South Dakota Commander is Joseph H. Rice, Rapid City, who replaces Rodney Parks of Rapid City, Immediate Past Commander. Other newly elected Department officers are: Sr. Vice Commander: Robert Hill of DAV Brookings Chapter No. 22 1st Jr. Vice Commander: Eric Van Emmerik of DAV Sioux Falls Chapter No. 1 2nd Jr. Vice Commander: Gaylord Helmbrecht of DAV Sioux Falls Chapter No. 1 Treasurer: Gene A. Murphy of DAV Sioux Falls Chapter No. 1 Judge Advocate/Inspector: Larry Bouska of DAV Sioux Falls Chapter No. 1 Commander-Elect Joseph H. Rice made the following Commander Appointments: Adjutant: Gene A. Murphy of DAV Sioux Falls Chapter No. 1 Chaplain: Charles Walker of DAV Pierre Chapter No. 18 Historian: Michael Mace of DAV Chapter No. 1 Commander Rice, a member of DAV Rapid City Chapter No. 3 has been a member of the DAV since 2007. He is a disabled Veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp reach- Speed Limits For Motorcycle Rally Change To Fewer Days, More Miles BY BOB MERCER State Capitol Bureau PIERRE – The period for slower speed limits during the Sturgis motorcycle rally is changing. And so are the places for those slower speeds. The state Transportation Commission unanimously approved the changes Thursday. Starting this summer, the slower speeds take effect for a shorter time. They start on the Thursday before the rally and continue through the last Sunday of the rally. “It’s a rally speed zone, effectively,” said Karla Engle, a lawyer for the state Department of Transportation. During that 11-day period, the speed limit on a segment of Interstate 90 will be 65 mph from milepost 28.9 at Sturgis to milepost 55.02 at Rapid City. The rally speed zone previously covered only about five miles of I-90 at Sturgis. Normally the stretch between Sturgis Courtesy DAV ing the rank or Gunny Sgt. And retired after 26 years. He flew with HMM-163. MAG-16, 3rd MAW in DaNang, Vietnam from December 1964-December 1965. He flew 126 missions as crew chief on the UH-34D Helicopter. Earning his combat air crew wings, 6 air medals, The Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Citation, Marine Corp Unit Citation, National Defense Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, U.S. Vietnam Campaign Medal with 3 bronze stars, RVN Gallantry Cross with bar, Civil Action Honor Medal with bar in Operations in South Vietnam. He and his spouse, Carol, have been married for 54 years and have 3 sons, all of whom have served in the military. He retired from the Marine Corp. USD Opera Presents Marriage Of Figaro...In Vegas By Sarah Wetzel For the Plain Talk The Vermillion community will be able to enjoy an old (really old) classic with a modern twist this weekend as the University of South Dakota Opera program presents ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Though originally performed in 1786, the Marriage of Figaro continues to stand the test of time with this production being set in Las Vegas. “The story is about a single day of madness leading up to a big wedding,” said director Tracelyn Gesteland. “In the original 1786 setting, Figaro and Susanna, servants to Count Almaviva, are engaged to be married, but the Count wants Susanna for himself. The opera was a comment on the tyranny of the European aristocracy and on class warfare. However, our production is set in Las Vegas in 1962, with the American mafia standing in for the 18th-century nobility. Audiences will enjoy this updated twist on the story, which incorporates 1960’s references in the libretto, costumes, and characterizations.” Gesteland has enjoyed the challenge of researching the time period in order to update the show accordingly. “The biggest challenge has been having enough time to rehearse such a monumental work,” she said. “This is by far our biggest production to date, and it is sometimes difficult to find enough time to practice when everyone involved is so busy with so many projects.” According to Gesteland, audience members would benefit greatly from reading a synopsis of the show before attending, though the show will be mostly in English with only part sung in its original Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage. “I would also like people to know that our singers are not amplified, but rather, rely on breath energy and natural resonance to project their voices in the hall,” she said. “Parents should also be warned that there are some adult situations in the opera, so they should exercise discretion in regard to bringing young children. I hope that people come and have a wonderfully enjoyable night at the opera. This is a witty, yet profound, story of love, betrayal, and forgiveness set to Mozart’s timeless masterpiece of a score.” According to Gesteland, the cast is nothing short of incredible. “They have all worked very hard to do justice to their roles vocally and dramatically,” she said. “Many have had to learn how to sing recitative for the first time. Recitative is a very conversational style of singing with strict rules of performance practice. It can be very challenging to pull off convincingly, but they are doing a fine job with it. After having been through the process, I hope that the students will understand how to methodically approach an operatic role, from learning and memorizing the music, including foreign text translation. I hope that they now have a better grasp on how to analyze a score from a dramatic standpoint as well, incorporating their objectives, obstacles, relationships, and tactics for getting what their characters want. I also hope that they love every minute of the performances and want to do it all again!” It seems as if her hopes have been fulfilled. “This opera has been a whirlwind of excitement and adventure,” said cast member Kevin Phillips, Music Education and Vocal Performance major. “The quality of education about preparing, rehearsing, and performing large operatic roles is both intense and fulfilling. It has really opened our eyes to performing professionally. My personal favorite part of the process is learning even more about my voice, and developing my musicianship. This opera has done wonders for my ear training, singing technique, and understanding of music. At this point in the process, I am getting anxious to finally perform for a live audience.” To Kayla Hernandez, M.M. Vocal Performance student, the process has been a “wonderful never-ending uphill rollercoaster” which, according to her, mirrors her character, Rosina’s, emotional state. “It is the other character's relationships with Rosina that makes her have multiple emotions and personalities, which also makes Rosina a very difficult operatic role to portray,” she said. “This show is the largest I've done, and it never quits pushing me to learn more each day. It has been a joy to put this together for our audience and my hope is that we can fill Aalfs Auditorium, to bring to you, a very entertaining new twist on The Marriage of Figaro." Since the performance is only a small part of the actual production process, Brody Krogman, singing the role of Figaro, has had to learn to love the process as a whole. “This show has showed me the amount of work it takes to be professional and prepared for every rehearsal,” he said. “In order to have the motivation to sit down plunk out notes and develop character understanding, I have had to learn how to love the process of learning a role. Even though as an opera artist, I work up to one very small run of performances, I have to love the process that comes before the shows in order to be successful in my field. My favorite part of the process is when all the staging and blocking is done and we can all just be artists. Telling a story through opera is so powerful and beautiful, and I cannot wait until Vermillion gets to experience it.” Everyone seems excited for the community to experience this faculty-student team effort. “I made the initial decisions regarding the look and dramatic tone of the show and shared my vision with the cast,” Gesteland sad. “We spent a week just analyzing the characters and their relationships and how they fit into the overall plot. Once staging was given, I asked them to “fill in” the action based on the character analysis we had done. In this stage of the process, it is always fun to see what the performers “bring to the table.” Often, they have ideas that go beyond what I had even hoped for.” According to Gesteland, casting for the spring opera takes place in December. With the music learned over break, the students rehearse every day with the focus first on music, then staging and characterization. Extra evening rehearsals take place for rehearsal with the orchestra as well as lights and costumes. “The message that I try to promote every year is that opera is for everyone,” Gesteland said. “If you enjoy musicals and plays, you should give opera a try!” Ponca Community and Rapid City is 75 mph. Two other state highways at Sturgis also will be affected by the change in the speedzone dates. The maximum speed is 35 mph during the rally period on a segment of S.D. 34 from Blanche Street east for 3.8 miles. The maximum speed is 45 mph during the rally period on a 1.75-miles stretch north from the intersection with S.D. 34 on the east end of Sturgis. The changes also extend the 45 mph zone on S.D. 79 north for an additional 0.25 miles so it reaches the Iron Horse Campground. The state commission also voted 9-0 Thursday to reduce the speed limit on U.S. 14 to 55 mph through the community of Harrold in eastern Hughes County. The Harrold change is effective yearround and results from grain-truck traffic. No one testified at the public hearing on the changes Thursday. “We’ve received no written comments whatsoever,” Engle said. School Board Welcomes New Middle School Principal By Sarah Wetzel For the Plain Talk The Vermillion School Board had a special visitor at Monday’s meeting. “It’s my pleasure to introduce the new middle school principal Tim Koehler,” Superintendent Mark Froke said. “Tim is a University of South Dakota graduate with degrees in elementary education and school administration. He recently retired as a major of the national guard, having a number of tours overseas. He has a great background in education. He’s been a middle school teacher. I’d like to note that he has a lot of background in all of the instructional areas. He’s certified in all the instructional areas. He has been a principal at Hartington, Beresford and now at Harrisburg. So a great deal of experience in the administration ranks.” Koehler was also awarded the 2013 Middle School Principal of the Year award for the state of South Dakota. Koehler has many memories tied to Vermillion, including former students. “Sometimes I think i’m still pretty young and then a student walks in and sits down beside you that you taught when you were first teaching,” he said. “She’s now a coach and a teacher here. Then you remember how old you are. I am very happy and excited to be a part of this school district.” Board member Tim Schwasinger reported on the recent actions of the Vermillion Public Schools Foundation. “Each of the principals came and spoke to us, gave us wish lists or their ideas of what was lacking in art/music areas and if there was no dollar limitation where would they put those resources,” he said. “The overwhelming consensus was in the elementary schools. Kim and Sue are developing a wishlist of dollars they could use through the foundation.” In the most recent meeting, Schwasinger said a list was requested of the needs of the High School Performing Arts Center. Since the center serves performing groups in the community as well as the high school, the Foundation sees it as a worthy investment to improve. Plans were discussed to reach out to members of the community organizations who use the space to get their input on how to best improve it. “I think we could use a nice new curtain with the Vermillion logo on it,” said board member Shannon Fairholm. “That would be something that would be really nice to use as a backdrop for a number of events whether it’s for community theatre or our own theatre productions or Rhythm in Red invitationals and things like that. We run out of seats. If the fire department had been there for our rhythm in red invitational we would have been in really big trouble. What if we put up a balcony? Apparently that was part of the original plan for that space which I wasn’t aware of. Maybe the roof is high enough for it. I don’t know the answer to that.” High School Principal Curt Cameron reported on the finding of an individual interested in teaching one Spanish section at the eighth grade level. “That would alleviate a lot of problems for us,” he said. “We wouldn’t have to transport Ms. Smith back and forth. She would be able to stay up here. We’d be able to have three sections of Spanish 2 which is huge and keep our Spanish 3 and keep all those numbers at about 19-20 per class with the exception of Spanish 3 which is 25 but those are your upper level kids.” According to Cameron, the German program is pretty equivalent as far as class sizes but only have two sections of German 2, two sections of German 1 and one section of German 3 and then a language skills class. Principal Kim Johnson reported on the hire of a second preschool teacher, Amy Sorensen. “She has been a staff member in the past as an EA for the district so she’s definitely shown her work ethic and her commitment to our students,” Johnson said. “With that rationale in mind, I thought it warranted hiring someone that wasn’t at the base necessarily but would be able to build a comparable program to Mrs. Hovden. She’s taken all the Praxis exams with incredibly high scores. Her teaching certificate is being updated this summer. Her Masters is in K-12 special education.” The board hired the second teacher in hopes of facilitating the further growth of the preschool program. The board made sure to recognize and express gratitude to the Emergency Response personnel in Vermillion for their assistance with the preprom mock crash scene at the high school “I was impressed with all the units that showed up,” he said. “I counted 16 units and a helicopter. That just took a lot of coordination and support from the EMS community and the police department, sheriff department, ambulance, helicopter. It was really phenomenal to put that together. We had a lot of community support and it was very much appreciated.” The board also approved the second reading of a few policy changes. “With these changes which we just made in our ‘visitors to be heard’ with each agenda item we will give the public an opportunity for public testimony.” Fairholm said. “Once that’s closed then the board members and staff will have an opportunity to discuss.” The high school weight training coaches gave a short presentation to the board about the progress of their program. Students from various sports participate with average classes of about 15, and a total about 50 kids for the spring according to the coaches. The wide range of nonathletes as well has been increasing over the years weight training has been offered, even servicing a few middle-school students. Acknowledgment was given to the Booster club which has donated about $32,000 in the last three years for the weight room upgrade. Resignations were approved for 7th grade Geography teacher Jennifer Stewart and Jolley Elementary teacher Charmaine Love. Both teachers expressed deep gratitude for the time they were able to spend in the district and the value they place on the skills they have learned during that time. Surplus property including the old lockers are to be included in the city auction May 13. Vermillion Public Schools last day of school will be (for Students Only) Friday, May 20th Saturday May 14th 8 am - 2 pm with an early dismissal at: Let The Broadcaster & Plain Talk Make Cash For You! Broadcaster & Plain Talk private party classified line ads are now FREE for 30 words or less. If you need more than 30 words, don’t worry you still won’t pay a lot. A 31-word ad is only 90¢ and the cost only goes up 50¢ per word thereafter. Place your ad by calling the Broadcaster/Plain Talk office at 605.624.4429 or by stopping in at 201 W. Cherry Street today!