2 Broadcaster Press June 19, 2018 www.broadcasteronline.com Dave Says By Daris Howard No Obligation Here Dave RAMSEY Dear Dave, My father died recently. He walked out of my life 25 years ago when I was a teenager, and he never wanted anything to do with me after that. His brothers, who have already paid for some of his final expenses, asked if I wanted to pay to have his body cremated. They didn’t ask for money, they just offered it as a chance to be part of things. I’m in good shape financially, and I could easily afford the cost. Morally, I wonder if I have a responsibility to help with things. Do you feel I’m obligated in any way? Julie Dear Julie, I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sorry, too, about what happened with your father. I can’t imagine the mixed emotions you must have in your heart. When someone asks me a question like this, I try to put myself in their shoes. Under the circumstances, I don’t think you have any obligation whatsoever — morally or legally — to help pay for anything. If you want to help, and you can afford to do so, then follow your heart. At the same time, I don’t think you should lose one wink of sleep over this if you decide not to contribute. Twenty-five years is long, long time. I don’t know your dad, and I have no clue about his situation or state of mind back then and in the time since. I can’t imagine doing that to a child of any age, though. Do what you feel in your heart is best. But in my opinion, there’s no obligation here. God bless you, Julie. — Dave Step By Step Dear Dave, When is the right time to buy a house when someone is following your Baby Steps plan? Brooklyn Dear Brooklyn, That’s a good question. Let’s start by going over the first few Baby Steps. Baby Step 1 is saving $1,000 for a beginner emergency fund. Baby Step 2 is paying off all consumer debt, from smallest to largest, using the debt snowball. Baby Step 3 is where you increase your emergency fund to the point where you have three to six months of expenses set aside. Once you’ve done all that you can begin saving for a home. I’ll call it Baby Step 3b. For folks looking to buy a house, I advise saving enough money for a down payment of at least 20 percent. I don’t beat people up over mortgage debt, but I do advise them to get a 15-year, fixed rate loan, where the payments are no more than 25 percent of their monthly take-home pay. Doing it this way may take a little more time, and delay your dream of becoming a homeowner a bit, but buying a house when you’re broke is the quickest way I know to turn something that should be a blessing into a burden! — Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven bestselling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 12 million listeners each week on 575 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com. 30 SD Army Guard Units Receive National Superior Unit Award RAPID CITY, S.D. - Thirty out of 42 South Dakota Army National Guard units received the National Guard Bureau's Superior Unit Award in recognition of outstanding achievement during training year 2017. The Superior Unit Award is presented to units who meet highlyenforced military standards in the areas of personnel, training and readiness. "The South Dakota Army National Guard makes up only 9/10ths of one percent of this nation's National Guard, but we earned 97 percent of the Superior Unit Awards for training year 2017," said Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, adjutant general of the South Dakota National Guard. "This is yet another example of how the South Dakota National Guard stands head and shoulders above our contemporaries." In order to earn the SUA, units must achieve 95 percent in unit strength, monthly drill attendance, annual training attendance and weapons qualification. In addition to meeting these readiness goals, units must also achieve 90 percent in physical fitness tests and dutyqualified Soldiers. Unit admin and maintenance inspections also factor into award requirements. "We are a metrics-driven organization and paying close attention to the most important readiness metrics has earned 30 of our units the distinction of earning the coveted Superior Unit Award," said Reisch. The top award for the state went to Company C, 1-189th Aviation Regiment of Rapid City, which received the Eisenhower Trophy for the most exceptional SDARNG unit. The Eisenhower Trophy is named in honor of former General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower and awarded by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to the ARNG unit in each state rated the most outstanding during the training year. More than half of the SUA units are continuing consecutive years of training excellence - with six units receiving the award for the second time in a row, four units for a third straight year, four units for four consecutive years, four more for five consecutive years, and the 211th Engineer Company has earned the SUA six years in a row. This year's recipients of the Superior Unit Award include: *Battery A, 1-147th Field Artillery Battalion ***** - Aberdeen *Company A, 139th Brigade Support Battalion - Brookings *Headquarters Company, 153rd Engineer Battalion ***** - Huron *Forward Support Company, 153rd Engineer Battalion ***** - Huron and Parkston *211th Engineer Company ****** - Madison and De Smet *740th Transportation Company *** - Milbank and Aberdeen *47th Army Band ** - Mitchell *Company B, 139th Brigade Support Battalion ** - Mitchell *200th Engineer Company ***** - Pierre, Chamberlain and Mobridge *Detachment 1, Company B, 1-112th Aviation Battalion ** - Rapid City *Company C, 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment ** - Rapid City *Headquarters Detachment, 109th Regional Support Group - Rapid City *Joint Force Headquarters - Rapid City *82nd Civil Support Team **** - Rapid City *216th Firefighter Headquarters Rapid City *SDARNG Recruiting and Retention Command - Rapid City *SDARNG Training Center **** - Rapid City *DARNG Medical Command **** - Rapid City *451st Engineer Detachment (Firefighters) ** - Rapid City *155th Engineer Company ***** - Rapid City and Wagner *235th Military Police Company ** - Rapid City and Sioux Falls *2nd Battalion, 196th Regional Training Institute - Sioux Falls *1742nd Transportation Company - Sioux Falls and Flandreau *1st Battalion, 196th Regional Training Institute - Sturgis *881st Troop Command - Sturgis *842nd Engineer Company *** - Spearfish, Belle Fourche and Sturgis *730th Area Support Medical Company - Vermillion *Forward Support Company, 147th Field Artillery Battalion - Watertown *Headquarters Battery, 147th Field Artillery Battalion *** - Watertown *Battery B, 1-147th Field Artillery Battalion *** - Yankton **Denotes second straight year for receiving the award. ***Denotes third straight year for receiving the award. ****Denotes fourth straight year for receiving the award. ***** Denotes fifth straight year for receiving the award. ******Denotes sixth straight year for receiving the award. Energize! Exploring Innovative Rural Communities Conference BROOKINGS, S.D. - More than 100 rural community leaders from across South Dakota came together to participate in Energize! Exploring Innovative Rural Communities Conference in downtown De Smet. This event was hosted by the SDSU Extension Community Vitality Team and the Community of De Smet in May. The event was held in downtown De Smet businesses. Shop owners and managers shared their entrepreneurial journeys, while speakers and presenters shared their experiences & knowledge on a variety of topics: Funding for Community Projects, Entrepreneurial Experiences, Agritourism and Value Added Agriculture, and Engaging Community Members. The idea for creating and hosting the Energize! Exploring Innovative Rural Communities Conference came when members of the SDSU Community Vitality Team spent two days in April of 2017 attending a "Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities" Conference in McCook, Nebraska. That conference, hosted by University of Nebraska Extension, offered an interesting venue twist: conference sessions were held in main street businesses. First tried by Michigan State University with success, the University of Nebraska Extension duplicated the innovative idea in Thank You Thank you for your support in the Mayoral election. I am looking forward to serving the citizens of Vermillion in the next four years! John “Jack” Powell Mayor, City of Vermillion McCook. Now SDSU Extension has reproduced the idea in De Smet. There were also resource providers who were available to discuss tools to assist communities and entrepreneurs alike. The following were represented: South Dakota Community Foundation, Lake Area Tech, SD Department of tourism, Dakota Resources, SD Small Business Development, SD Rural Life and Census Data Center, SD Planning Districts, East River Electric and SDSU Extension Community Vitality. "The combination was powerful, with all groups learning from each other," said Paul Thares, SDSU Extension Community Vitality Field Specialist and one of the event coordinators. FOR SALE: 2017 JAYCO HUMMINGBIRD “BAJA” PACKAGE A little over 19 ft. in length Perfect for on the go campers! RETAIL $23,000 ASKING PRICE $16,000 If interested please contact Wendy at 605-670-6706 Singing to a Father I was asked to teach music to the children at the church I attended. The children were from three to twelve, and we called it Primary. I felt very inadequate, but the leader of Primary told me the main thing I needed to do was to love the children. And I did love the children. I loved them as if they were my own and thought of them that way. I was especially fond of one little girl. Millie loved to sing, but she sang monotone. She sang as loud as she could, and though she was only four, she almost matched all of the other children put together. One day, as primary was ending, one of the teachers pulled me aside. “Don’t you think you should see if you can get Millie to sing quieter?” she asked. “Why?” “Well, she sings so, . . . so. . . ” The teacher paused as if she was unable to say it. “She sings so what?” I asked. “She sings so badly,” the teacher said. “I don’t think so,” I replied. “I love to hear her little voice so full of enthusiasm.” “But next week is Fathers’ Day, and you’re having the children sing to their fathers. Don’t you think her father will be embarrassed?” “Not in the least,” I replied. “If Millie were my child, I would be pleased to have her sing with such happiness.” The teacher just rolled her eyes and walked away. I truly did not agree with her. I loved hearing Millie’s monotone voice. It was a happy child’s voice, and when she sang, it lifted my spirit, even if she wasn’t on key. But there was one child I was concerned about. David was eight, and something seemed to bother him. He sang quietly if he sang at all. Usually, he just stared at the floor. But when we sang a song he really liked, he would sing a little and seemed happier. When we practiced the song for the Father’s for the next week, I gathered the children around me. David stood outside the group, staring at the floor. I went and knelt in front of him. “David, I would love to hear you sing. You have such a beautiful voice.” He looked at me with surprise showing in his face. “Do you really think so?” “Yes, I do.” As we continued to practice, David’s whole demeanor changed immediately. He looked up, smiled, and sang every song. The next week, when the children gathered to sing for the fathers, David sang out, though with a little bit of timidity. When we went to primary, I had treats for the children and praised all of them, but gave a little extra praise to David. When church ended, David’s mother came to me. She started to cry but finally was able to speak. “I don’t think you have any idea what you have done for David,” she said. “David used to sing monotone, and a few years ago, when we attended another church congregation, the primary music teacher told him he had a terrible voice and asked him to be quiet. He quit singing altogether. Last week he told us he wouldn’t sing for the fathers today, but after church last week, he happily said he had changed his mind. He told us what you said.” She paused a moment, smiled, and said, “Thank you.” After she left, I pondered about what she said and considered what might have happened to Millie if the teacher had had her way. I thought that God surely loves to hear the smallest child happily sing no matter how monotone or offkey the child is. Millie’s mother eventually signed Millie up with a singing group, and over time, Millie blended better and sang on key. And though I loved to hear her sing with her new expertise, I admit that I missed her enthusiastic little four-year-old monotone voice. And I’m sure her father did, too. DENR Secretary Urges Rollback Of Corps’ Water Supply Rule PIERRE, S.D. – Secretary Steve Pirner, head of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight today to testify about the Corps of Engineers’ attempt to charge for “surplus water.” At the invitation of Sen. Mike Rounds, chair of the subcommittee, Secretary Pirner spoke to the senators about the Water Supply Rule proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The rule would eventually allow the Corps to sell water it deems to be surplus and would require certain users to obtain water storage contracts from the Corps in order to utilize water from Missouri River reservoirs. Citing the 1944 Flood Control Act, the cabinet secretary questioned the Corps’ ability to impose such a rule. “This creates a monumental change to the law and steals South Dakota’s rights to natural flows that, by tradition and law, are under the jurisdiction of the states,” he told the committee. Pirner described the Missouri River as the largest, most reliable surface water supply in South Dakota and explained that the Corps seeks to control who can draw water from the Missouri River in South Dakota. That role historically, and legally, belongs to the state. The Tell them you saw it committee to put a stop secretary closed by urging thein the Broadcaster!to the rule. 624-4429 “This rulemaking effort tramples state’s rights and needs to be stopped now before the Corps finalizes the rule in September. The future of South Dakota, I believe, is linked directly to having a Missouri River water supply that we manage as a state. Please do not let the Corps take that away from us,” said Pirner. Tell them you saw it in the Broadcaster! 624-4429 Hartington Tree LLC Tell themTRANSPLANTING saw it in TREE TRIMMING, REMOVALS & you TREES the FOR SALE Broadcaster! EVERGREEN • SHADE • ORNAMENTAL 201 W. Cherry • Vermillion, SD Yankton 605-260-1490 Hartington 402-254-6710 624-4429 Serving Southeast SD & Northeast NE for 20 Years Kent & Kyle Hochstein • Licensed Arborists www.hartingtontree.com