Feeding Vermillion: Food Giveaway Impacts Hundreds In Community On Thursday of last week, nearly 400 Vermillion families had the opportunity to stock up their pantries as part of a Feeding South Dakota food giveaway. In total 707 people were served in less than four hours. More than 20,000 pounds of food was distributed to 290 children, 328 adults, and 89 senior citizens; and around 100 volunteers helped to provide the food throughout the day. Neil Hlebichuk, Feeding South Dakota, Eastern Operations Director, said by partnering with the Welcome Table, United Way and the Vermillion Food Pantry the group was able to bring a great selection of produce, meats, grocery items, bakery items, to give it to anyone in need in the Vermillion area. “We brought just about 20,000 pounds of food today,” he said. “This is the fifth community we have done this in and we are growing. We are doing more of these. We will help about 400 families or 1,200 people at an event like this. If you are in need or know somebody that is in need of food come down and get food. If you have a neighbor that is home bound, a young mother with kids that you know needs food, come down and get the food and deliver it to them. We want to help families and communities.” Nick Oyen of Feeding South Dakota said, depending on what the item is and what the organization was able to bring along would depend on how much each person could take. “Meat there might be a limit on. Because we know that protein is so important to have and it is hard to come by,” he said. “So, whenever we can find donated dollars or donated protein we are happy to have it at all of our organizations. We had access to a lot of produce today, so we were able to bring down 11,000 pounds of produce. So, some of it is just take what your family can use. A lot of things like bread we have a lot that gets donated and we are happy to give it out. We are happy to find situations where people can use it.” rash of burglaries.In the months of May and June there have already been 28 confirmed car break-ins committed: 13 of them early on the morning of Sunday, June 6 and an additional five on Wednesday, June 1, alone. “We had a substantial number of burglaries reported on those two nights in the last week,” Betzen said. “We are not sure at this point if it is one individual, one group of individuals or several different people. All we do know is that they are going car to car, door to door and breaking into cars. There have also been several instances where we believe they have accessed unlocked garages, as well.” While the police department has no suspects at this time they are working to establish a potential pattern in the hopes of being able to increase patrols. Betzen noted that Elk Point has had similar burglaries recently, as well, so they are working with the Elk Point Police Department to see if there is a similar pattern. Newcomer To Join City Council A new alderman was elected to represent the Northwest Ward in Vermillion’s municipal election Tuesday. Local political newcomer Brian Humphrey defeated incumbent Howard Willson. He received 188 votes, or 57.3 percent of the votes cast in the race. Willson received140 votes, which is 42.7 percent of the total ballots cast in by Northwest Ward voters. Other incumbent Vermillion City Council members seeking re-election fared better Tuesday. Southeast Ward Alderman Steve Ward won by a sizable margin over challenger Wesley Christensen. Ward received 385 votes compared to Christensen’s 234. Ward received 62.2 percent of the vote; his challenger garnered 37.8 percent of the vote total. Central Ward Alderman Kelsey Collier-Wise received nearly two-thirds of the vote in her reelection bid over challenger Marty Gilbertson. Collier-Wise received 185 votes, which was just under 66 percent of total votes cast in the ward. Gilbertson received 96 votes, which is 34 percent of the vote total. the library. “The Edith B. Siegrist Vermillion Public Library staff and Board of Trustees regret to share that long-time director, Jane A. Larson, has retired from her position,” it reads. “Many patrons and friends are already aware that Mrs. Larson has regrettably been absent from the Library for several months due to a serious and unforeseen medical issue. She continues to recover at home in Meckling.” Here To Stay: Four Decades Working In Vermillion There are those who aim to make a difference in the world by making it to the top. Others, though, know they can be just as influential in a smaller setting. Steve Stockland has spent the last 42 years serving Vermillion and surrounding area as part of Herren-Schempp Building Supply. “I was interviewed here back in ‘75 and was hired on,” he said. “I liked it so I stuck around. When Scott Schempp took over the business they kept me on so I intend to stick around as long as they’ll keep me. I didn’t really figure I’d be here this long. I wasn’t really interested in any other jobs.” When Stockland was first hired on he spent most of his time taking deliveries and unloading trucks. “Now I wait on customers and give them the materials they need,” he said. “I’ll still take out a delivery if I have to and put stuff away if I need to but I’m more or less up front now sitting behind a desk and ordering different things.” Irene Considers Partnership With Clay County To Provide Deputies To Replace City Police Force The town of Irene is currently without a police chief and, with the high amount of turnover in that position, has approached the Clay County sheriff about a possible contract between the two departments. “They haven’t had a fulltime chief in quite a few years, so they are looking to contract with the counties,” said Clay County sheriff Andy Howe. “A lot of small towns do that because retention is really hard. When you only have one or two people, you don’t get access to a lot of training and a lot of supervision, so it leaves the towns open to liability issues.” Howe proposed the idea to the Clay County commissioners during the June 7 meeting and the board was interested in the idea of the contract. Howe then revisited the idea during last Thursday’s meeting with more information after a meeting with Irene. Turner County was also approached about a contract with Irene because the city sits on three different counties. Clay and Turner Counties will both present contract proposals and Irene city officials will choose Lorraine Duggin and Craig Shogren dance to the music provided by between the two. The contracts Bill Peterson & Friends during Friday afternoon’s opening program would have county sheriff deputies spending a certain number of at the 174th annual Midsommar at Dalesburg Lutheran Church. hours of the shift patrolling the city instead of hiring new city police Long-Time Director officers. For “quite a while” Irene City Dealing With has only been staffed with one Retiring Rash Of Burglaries Jane Larson who has been behind or two part-time police officers. “We respond to emergencies and According to Vermillion Police Chief Matt Betzen, the community the scenes directing the Vermillion felonies and we try to let the city of Vermillion is being hit hard by a Public Library for 32 years is retiring police handle any minor offenses according to a press release from that can wait until they are on duty, June 30 IN S PR YEARS IN BUSINESS but right now they don’t even have a city police officer,” Howe said. “If we have a contract then we’ll be there as if we are their city police.” Howe is expecting contract pro posals from both counties to be similar. “This is just a starting point because we might find they need differently, but we think 30 hours would be a reasonable amount of patrol in a week in Irene,” Howe said. “In a couple of years we may find that that’s not enough, or maybe it’s too much.” Vermillion Mother Makes Life-Saving Decision A Vermillion husband and wife and their two young children avoided serious health consequences and likely death thanks to carbon monoxide detectors in the residence they are renting in town. Vermillion Fire/EMS Chief Shannon Draper said department personnel responded to a call Thursday night from a member of the family who reported that their carbon monoxide detector was sounding and nothing they had tried to silence it was working. “The family that was there called, and we went out and we found levels very high – and if they hadn’t had a detector, it would have been fatal during the night,” the chief said. “We’re glad everybody is okay. They spent the night in a motel, and this is a reminder to everybody. We don’t think of carbon monoxide incidents in the summer, but it can happen.” “The detector started going off in the basement of the home,” said Assistant Chief John Walker, who was among the local fire department members who responded to the call. “She (the mother) went down there to see if it was simply a case of the battery going dead. She put new batteries in, and when it went off again, that’s when she went upstairs, got her kids, and then the alarm went off upstairs, too. So, she called 911.” An old warehouse on North Norbeck Street has seen a little more action this past spring as the newest addition to Vermillion’s list of athletic facilities. “They call this place ‘the shack,’” said Jeff Kratz, Vermillion baseball’s travel coordinator, 12u head coach and Post 1 Legion assistant coach. The warehouse, on the corner of Norbeck Street and the Highway 50 bypass, has been converted into an indoor baseball training facility, not only to have a place to practice during inclement weather, but allows for a more controlled environment to work closely on fundamentals — something Vermillion baseball prides itself on. “Vermillion baseball is built on fundamentals and playing the game correctly as far as hustling in and out, not making errors, executing bunts and good mechanics in pitching which helps to throw strikes and helps avoid arm injuries and things like that, so fundamentals are very, very important,” Kratz said. T SERVIC 39 YEARS IN BUSINESS 41 YEARS IN BUSINESS 42 YEARS IN BUSINESS Local police, firemen, and community volunteers in Vermillion joined forces Friday evening to throw a pre-Fourth of July party, of sorts, in a community parking lot near Plum and Duke streets. It was a chance for Vermillion citizens to meet members of the Vermillion Police Department and the Vermillion Fire/EMS Department while enjoying a meal of freshly grilled hot dogs. More importantly, it was an opportunity for the more vulnerable members of the community – those who may be having trouble obtaining enough groceries for a nutritious meal every day -- to better get to know individuals in Vermillion who can offer help during tough times. The Vermillion Police Department, Vermillion Fire/EMS Department, Vermillion Food Pantry, and the Vermillion Backpack Program joined forces with Feeding South Dakota to distribute free food to those who need it from the parking lot. While members of the police and fire departments were conversing with visitors, or helping children play games set up in the parking lot, community members helped distribute a wide array of groceries, ranging from canned items to fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat. Cornerstone Education Center Now In Vermillion Vermillion now has local assistance for adults who are seeking a no-cost way to either prepare for the GED exam, refresh academic skills in preparation for employment or higher education or to simply help children with homework. The Cornerstone Education Center, a nonprofit organization based out of Huron, has set up shop at 904 E. Cherry St. in Vermillion right next door to the Department of Labor. Classes and tests will be at this location. “Right now I’m the teacher,” said Royce Miller. “I’m part time. We are currently offering classes … 1 to 3 p.m. is the first class and that’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. The plans for that are to be a GED preparation class, probably math. That will start really as soon as I have students who 900 W Cherry St. Vermillion 624-8681 Henderson’s And Ultimate Car Washes 807 Princeton, Vermillion, SD • 605.624.6904 Dr. Richard Knutson Dr. Matthew Knutson Caring Professional Staff 605-624-6291 1714 E. Cherry St. Vermillion, SD www.knutsonfamilydentistry.com BOB’S SINCLAIR SERVICE SER Self Service • Full Service • Tires • Oil Change • Repairs Ser 200 E. Main St., Vermillion, SD 624-2731 Inspiring decor for your Home, Selection of the perfect gift or just relax with friends. 19 West Main Street • Vermillion, SD Hours: M-F 9am-5:30pm • Sat 9am-5pm • 605-624-4611 47 Brunick YEARS IN BUSINESS Vermillion Police Cookout Helps With Community Outreach, Food Distribution Your Local Source for Quality Auto Parts YEARS IN BUSINESS YEARS IN BUSINESS Agreement Grants Vermillion Teachers Significant Pay Increases ing the Dalesburg Scandinavian Association has kept the history of Clay County’s early settlers alive. The group of musicians, led by violinist Bill Peterson of Canton, included Tom Carlson of Spink, who played the nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish instrument that has been played, in one form or another as it evolved, for more than 600 years. At least four different versions of the nyckelharpa are still played today, an uncommon situation for most folk instruments. Other musicians were Carol Skallerud, Sioux Falls, who provided vocals while playing violin and guitar Friday afternoon, and Tom Weisbecker, a guitarist also from Sioux Falls. As the musicians played, Johnson read excerpts from pieces of literature that talked about traditions of early settlers in the Great Plains, including Ole Rolvaag’s “Giants in the Earth,” Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “By the Shores of Silver Lake,” and “Out of Ireland: The Story of Irish Emigration to America,” by Kerby A. Miller and Paul Wagner. 102 East Main • Vermillion, SD 605-624-4132 www.pressingmatters.biz 31 36 New Indoor Training Facility A Hit For Vermillion Baseball All teachers in the Vermillion School District will receive significant salary increases after the Vermillion School Board and the Vermillion Education Association completed salary talks earlier this month. The boost in pay is made possible by the teacher salary proposal introduced by Gov. Dennis Daugaard earlier this year, which was approved by the South Dakota Legislature near the end of its 2016 session. At the conclusion of its Monday, June 13 meeting, while meeting in executive session, the school board and representatives of the Vermillion Education Association approved the 2016-17 negotiated agreement. Under the agreement and as a result of additional funding made available from the implementation of a new half-cent state sales tax dedicated to increasing teacher pay in South Dakota, the average teacher salary in the Vermillion School District will increase from the current level of $38,618 to $43,618 for the 2016-17 school year. “We entered negotiations with a certain amount of uncertainty as far as determining how the new formula works, and, at the same time, with a lot more hope that we could do something for the teachers to become more competitive with other states,” Superintendent Mark Froke said. A half-penny sales tax to boost the state’s lowest-in-the-nation teacher pay cleared its final hurdle in the Legislature on March 1 with a 2510 vote in the South Dakota Senate. The legislation was later signed into law by Daugaard.Longtime Early Childhood Professor and Internationally Known Educator Dies Gera Jacobs, who taught early childhood education at the University of South Dakota for more than 20 years and was recognized internationally as a leader on the subject, died of cancer Wednesday, June 22, at age 64. Jacobs, Ed.D., was a professor in the USD School of Education Department of Curriculum & Instruction since 1995. She came to the university in 1993 as an early childhood specialist at the USD Center for Disabilities. Prior to that, she taught preschool, kindergarten and elementary school for many years. She also taught numerous workshops and led other training while at USD. Jacobs was past-president and had served in other roles at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). It is the largest and most in influential organization of early childhood educators and others dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children from birth through age 8. NAEYC has nearly 90,000 members and a national network of more than 300 local, state and regional affiliates. She co-authored three nationally recognized books on how to help children meet standards in developmentally appropriate ways. Jacobs was chairperson for the South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines Panel, which was responsible for writing South Dakota preschool standards. And she was named a 2008 Champion for Children by South Dakota Voices for Children. Most recently, she worked with schools in Vermillion, Sioux Falls and Beresford, South Dakota, to implement the Sanford Harmony program intended to help students learn to cooperate, communicate and find empathy and common ground. We make it happen! E e it happen! ain, Vermillion SD 624-4132 ingmatters.biz Broadcaster Press 9 January 31, 2017 www.broadcasteronline.com FURNITURE & FLOORING 1100 W. Cherry St., Vermillion, SD 605-624-8688 Nick Sievers and his young son found a perfect spot – the back of the family pickup – to watch rockets burst in the night sky in Vermillion the night of July 4 as the community celebrated Independence Day with a fireworks show.The family parked their pickup east of Polaris to get a perfect, up-close view. July Annual Midsommar Celebrated At Dalesburg Lutheran Church Music and dance helped those who traveled to Dalesburg Lutheran Church officially kick off the beginning of summer June 24 by launching the 147th annual Midsommar in Dalesburg. While women of the church scurried in the basement preparing an ethnic smorgasbord meal of potatis korv, meatballs, parsley buttered potatoes, herring, cheese, and homemade breads, the annual festivities began with a program entitled “Dance to the Fiddle,” featuring music provided by Bill Peterson & Friends, and dancing by Lorraine Duggin, Omaha, Neb., and Craig Shogren, Herman, Neb. Duggin and Shogren are members of the Omaha Scandinavian Dancers. “We’re glad to see so many of you here this afternoon,” said Ron Johnson, a member of the church who for years has been involved in the annual celebration and whose work through organizations includ- have an interest.” Another class, an English as a Second Language (ELL) is already in progress which meets Monday through Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. Though the center has been open for a few weeks with little ceremony there will be a more formal opening in the fall when more people return from summer vacations. CASA’s First Year in Clay County A ‘Huge Success’ A year after expanding services into Clay County, the Southeast Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) has met 100 percent of the caseload of children eligible for representation in court settings. “It has been a huge success for us mainly because we really had fantastic people step up to be our first group of CASA volunteers this year,” said Southeast CASA program director Sherri Rogers-Conti. Southeast CASA, based out of Yankton, is part of a national organization that gives abused and neglected children a voice in the courtroom through volunteer representatives, as well as making sure the children are getting prop