10 Broadcaster Press Kids who took part in July 18’s Summer Reading Program were in luck. Their guests at the Edith B. Siegrist Vermillion Public Library included local musician T. Wilson King, and his wife, Sandi, who led the young readers in a yoga session, instructing them, as this photo was taken, to breathe and roar like a lion. er care at their home. CASA becomes involved once a child has been removed from their home and placed in a foster home. In a courtroom, children are not allowed to speak on their own behalf, so the CASA volunteers act as the child’s representative to give them a voice in the court. Since July of 2015, Clay County had five volunteers sworn in and has had five cases of children needing representation. The first two volunteers were sworn in on July 9, 2015 and assigned the first cases the next day, on July 10. “There were cases waiting for them as soon as they were eligible to be assigned as an advocate,” RogersConti said. “They have just been really dedicated, very thorough and written some fantastic reports to just let the court know exactly what’s going on with the people in the child’s life and what they really need for their best chance at thriving and their future.” Those two cases, plus one more, have just recently closed as most cases last about one year. “These cases lasted right up to their year deadline which is a little unusual for them to go quite that long, but some of these situations determined that that was how long it was going to take,” Rogers-Conti said. “We did have one that actually technically lasted longer than a year because it had opened before we assigned a volunteer to it.” All three cases that recently ended were considered a success by the way CASA looks at it. In one case, it was determined the child was able to be returned to the parents, and two ended with the children being adopted, either by a relative or foster parents. “We consider it a success if the family can be reunited, but we also consider it a success if the child can be placed in a permanent home,” Rogers-Conti said. “Foster care is not permanent and it’s not fair to these children not to have permanent home.” erous donation from Vermillion’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3061. The VFW presented the pledge of $7,500 to Jim Peterson of the Vermillion High School Ath letic Boosters Club on Monday to put towards upgrades of the fields behind the school, and in turn the facility will be renamed the Veterans Sports Complex. “I think it’s very awesome,” said post commander Leo Powell, a veteran of the Vietnam War. “It’s great to see the veterans being recognized.” Powell also added it was easier to raise the money this time around than the Clay County Veterans Memorial on the lawn of the Clay County Courthouse. “We started in May of 1995 and I believe it was 2001 when it was dedicated, so it was hard to raise the money then and that was $45,000 that we raised,” he said. It was decided to raise the money for the booster club field renovations after Peterson approached the VFW post and quartermaster Andy Howe, a veteran of Beirut and Lebanon, said the decision was an no-brainer. In turn, the facility would be named in recognition of the veterans. Over 900 People Served At Thursday Food Giveaway The Welcome Table’s Weekend Backpack Program and Vermillion Food Pantry, in partnership with Feeding South Dakota, provided fresh and canned produce, frozen meat, and other nutritious food to 275 families and over 900 people last Thursday, July 28 with a truckload food giveaway held at the National Guard Armory. An estimated 20,000 pounds of food were For Ribs, Rods, And Rock-N-Roll distributed from 4 p.m. through 7 p.m. Volunteers first set up tables in the armory, and then filled those tables with a variety of food items shortly after they were unloaded from a truck earlier that afternoon. Thursday’s event is the second food giveaway in Vermillion. The first was held last May in the Clay County Extension building on the fairgrounds. A truck from Feeding South Dakota delivered bread and bakery products, produce ranging from watermelon and carrots, to onions and potatoes, and a variety of canned and boxed products. “Every family will walk away with a good assortment,” said Jessica McKenzie, executive director of the Vermillion Food Pantry, before Thursday’s event began. “We’re trying to keep in mind efficiency this time. People had to wait a long quite a long time at the last giveaway, and we don’t want to make them do that, especially in July. With the usual line-up of great food, music, and entertainment, organizers of this year’s Ribs, Rods, and Rock-n-Roll are expecting thousands of people to attend the 12th annual event. More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the two-day event, which runs Friday and Saturday, say organizers. This year’s Ribs, Rods, and Rock-n-Roll festival, which features a charity motorcycle poker run, pub crawl, numerous food competitions, lots of entertainment, a car show, and plenty of vendors, kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in downtown Vermillion. Habitat for Humanity Expanding Into Clay County Affordable housing. Most agree it’s a need at the top of Vermillion’s wish list. In fact, a recent survey by the federal government found that Clay County ranks number one in South Dakota as the county with the highest percentage of households – at 37.3 percent – that are “cost-burdened,” meaning that area residents spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing in the form of mortgages, rents, real estate taxes, insurance, mobile home costs, etc. Now, Habitat for Humanity is hoping to help solve this affordable housing problem. Habitat for Humanity, which has had a chapter in Yankton County since 1996, is expanding its services to include Clay County. “Through the years, we have had a huge number of requests from people in Clay County to help with housing,” said Julie Dykstra, executive director for Yankton’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. “We are a Christian housing ministry that gives a hand up, not a handout, to those in need by providing affordable housing options or helping with housing repair.” USD’s New Sports Arena Open To Public On Aug. 30 Standing at a 6-foot-9, University of South Dakota Athletic Director David Herbster has a longer reach than most to touch the floor. That doesn’t stop him, however, from stopping to bend down Tuesday morning and pick up a tiny speck of paper nestled in the carpet in a hallway outside the new offices located near the equally new Sanford Coyote Sports Center. A few minutes later, while walking into the new 6,000-seat arena adjacent to the DakotaDome, he stoops down again. He’s spotted a plastic sleeve that once held a drinking straw, and he promptly snatches it up. Attention to detail has helped USD design and construct what Herbster describes as the best volleyball and basketball arena in the state of South Dakota. Attention to the little things, like making sure a little crumb of paper gets picked up even if a vacuum likely would later, will ensure that the public sees the new sports facility at its very best on Tuesday, Aug. 30. A community open house is scheduled at the sports center that evening – a welcoming ceremony, so to speak, for people who come to campus to witness the Coyotes volleyball team host UND in the first Division I athletic competition to be held in the 6,000-seat arena. Board Agrees To Honor Memories Of Craig, Potter The Vermillion High School Performing Arts Center will soon be getting a new name as part of a gesture to honor the contributions that a Vermillion man has made to public education and the fine arts in the community. School Board President Shannon Fairholm noted that several months ago, Doug Peterson, a member of the board, had mentioned that the auditorium should be dedicated to the memory of Tom Craig. Craig, who served on the school board for many years and was instrumental in helping the dream of a new auditorium and other additions to the high school become a reality, died suddenly last May. “I know that we had discussed it in passing, but I think that if we want to do something, now is the time to be doing it,” Fairholm said. “I am throwing out there the thought of potentially dedicating the theatre and calling it the Thomas H. Craig Center for Performing Arts, and do September Thousands Expected August VHS Field Will Be Known As Veterans Sports Complex Along with an appearance makeover, the fields behind the high school will be receiving a name change as a ‘thank you’ for a gen 47 BUNYANS YEARS IN BUSINESS BAR & GRILL 47 JOHNSON ELECTRIC, INC. 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There’s not a lot of time, but I think it might be a fabulous time and it helps complete an idea that was presented by the board,” she said. “The rationale is obviously that Tom was a tremendous supporter (of the arts),” Peterson said, “but he also was a (school) board president and he spearheaded the construction of that facility during his time on the board, so it seems particularly fitting.” Fairholm added that Craig was also instrumental in establishing the Vermillion High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame earlier this year. Craig was active on the board of directors of the VHS Music Boosters. He was just ending his term as the board’s vice president, and was set to become its president at the time of his passing. The school board also discussed plans to honor the memory of Julie Potter, who died in August. She was a graduate of Vermillion High School and the University of South Dakota, and most of her career as an educator was with the Vermillion School District. For many years, she was the Title teacher at Jolley Elementary. “She was a beloved teacher in our district for, I believe, 35 years,” Fairholm said. “We have not lost an active teacher since 1992 … Julie touched many lives, and she had a favorite poem, and I was wondering if maybe we could have a plaque, or that Jolley could put this phrase up somewhere.” The poem, she said, is “A Thousand Things Went Right Today!” by Ilan Shamir. Just as it approved the renaming of the VHS Performing Arts Center to honor Craig, the board unanimously approved a motion to follow Fairholm’s suggestions and honor Potter at Jolley Elementary. Hillside Church Builds Hope “Building Hope in Vermillion” is the theme of a project that’s been more than a year in the making at Hillside Community Church in Vermillion. On Sunday afternoon, Sept. 18, the church opened its doors to the public as it held a dedication program for a new addition to the church building that is now complete. “We added about 5,400 square feet to the existing building,” Pastor Steve Walters said. “If you think of an octagon, the original building had five sections and we built out an additional three sections, so now if you look at the building from above, it’s a complete octagon.” The goal of the building project is to increase the church’s community outreach. “We added more discipleship and classrooms settings than sanctuary,” Walters said. “I think we added only 30 or 40 chairs to the sanctuary, but we added classrooms upstairs, and downstairs, and we added new bathrooms, and a nursery. “It’s very kid-oriented, with youth rooms, children’s rooms, a couple of adult classrooms, and gathering rooms for receptions and things like that,” he said. Instructors Teach Youth Firearm Safety At some point in a person’s life they may come across a situation that requires them to operate a firearm, whether it belongs to them or another person. That is the message relayed from the instructors at the Hunter Safety course to students, and it is a point that is stressed when talking about the class. “We encourage all youth to take the class because at some point in their lives they may to experience somebody handling a firearm,” said instructor Richard Job. “They might be babysitting and some kids come out with a gun that mom and dad didn’t lock up, things like that. Even if they are not going to be a hunter, it’s still good to know gun safety.” The class, hosted by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, took place last week in the basement of the Clay County Safety Building with the final session at the Clay County Sportsman Club. Vermillion’s team of eight certified instructors has an average of 20 years of experience teaching the course, according to Job, and was named the instructing team of the year in 2015. They were nominated by Conservation Officer Tony Stokely, and have been nominated again for 2016. October Community Celebrates At Annual Oktoberfest Dain Molden and the rest of his band, Dain’s Dutchmen, paused for a few minutes from providing music to an enthusiastic crowd at the second annual Oktoberfest, held in Vermillion Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. While performing, the band provided traditional polka and other ethnic music. Some people chose to simply sit and listen to the family musicians from Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Many of those who attended the downtown festival, couldn’t sit still. A live band pumping out quality polka tunes brought many to their feet. Dain’s Dutchmen is an all-family band, with Dain on concertina, his father, Fred on tuba, Dain’s sisters, Marissa, on drums, and usually Lisa on keyboard. “We’re pretty much a family band,” Molden said. “We fill in with other musicians when all of the family can’t make it, but our origins are as a family band.” Performing with Molden Saturday night was his dad, Fred, playing tuba. Eagles Give Financial Boost To Local Kidney Research A research project by University of South Dakota professors Curtis Kost Jr., Ph.D and Douglas Martin, Ph.D that hopefully will alleviate kidney disease recently received a financial boost from the Fraternal Order of Eagles’ D.D. Dunlap Kidney Fund The two men accepted a check for $5,000 on Sept. 29, presented at the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Sunshine Aerie #2421 in Vermillion by Grand Aerie President-Elect Tom McGrath from Palmetto, Florida. McGrath was co-chair of the fundraising committee that provided $25 million dollars to the University of Iowa to fund the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center - a comprehensive research facility dedicated to progressing diabetes research in hopes of one day finding a cure.The Diabetes Research Center, which opened Aug. 23, 2014, hosts a team of 100 researchers who work daily conducting a variety of research studies centered around maintaining, preventing and, ultimately, curing diabetes. The two researchers’ project is titled “Protective Effect of Bradykinin Receptors in Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease.” More Than 500 People Attend USD Art Show Honoring Veterans More than 500 people came to the MUC last Thursday to view “In Flander’s Field,” an art show honoring veterans hosted by USD education students. At the show, USD students, faculty members, and staff mingled with veterans from local chapters of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars as well as community members from across southeastern South Dakota to view the artwork, created by students in the USD Elementary Education class: K-8 Social Science Methods. Course professor Jing Williams said she hadn’t expected such a great turnout, but she was thrilled to see all of the people in attendance. “Local people from Vermillion, Centerville, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Tabor and many towns in between came to the show,” said Williams. “I talked to a lot of them, and they praised the students’ artwork and many were touched by the powerful ideas behind each piece of art.” Williams staged the art show as part of her class, which teaches future elementary school teachers how to teach social studies. Medicaid Expansion, Death Penalty Among Topics Covered At Tuesday Candidates’ Forum 1122 West Main Street • Vermillion, SD, 57069 605-624-3814 1617 317th Street, Vermillion • 605.624.9555 PROUD to be a part of the Vermillion Community since 2005 Willson Florist and Gifts 21 W MAIN ST • VERMILLION • 605-624-4491 • http://www.willsonflorist.com Vermillion kids and their parents know that every Halloween there's nothing to be frightened about when visiting the President's House. Monday night, President James Abbott continued a trick-or-treat tradition that has gone on for 20 years now. He distributed hundreds of full-sized candy bars to scores of youngsters.