12 Broadcaster Press as key issues in her speech, given Thursday afternoon in Aalfs Auditorium at Slagle Hall on the university campus. USD School of Law “For more than 100 years, the USD School of Law has educated the state’s legal advocates producing future governors, Supreme Court justices, business leaders and entrepreneurs,” Gestring said. “From Clay County to Buffalo County, our alumni serve the entire state by providing one of the most essential services in a civilized society – the rule of law.” She noted that a task force was assembled last summer to study national challenges impacting law schools and how USD’s School of Law might respond in the best way to continue serving South Dakota. “The initial charge was to determine if location impacts enrollment, but what we found was that USD’s primary need was increasing scholarships,” Gestring said. “Thanks to the incredible generosity and support of our donors, alumni and friends, we were able to offer 13 full tuition scholarships and increase the average LSAT score to its highest since 2010. In just one year, we were able to raise $1.2 million which is a powerful demonstration of the strong support for USD School of Law.” Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the South Dakota Legislature also provided funding to add programming to support health care, banking and trust law industries. “We also appreciate the Board of Regents for its support for programming for bar exam preparation. Because of this, our past rates from this summer’s test takers increased from 52 percent to 82 percent, a remarkable difference thanks to the work of our talented faculty who are committed to the success of our students,” she said. “USD School of Law has an incredibly bright future which positions us to attract an exceptionally qualified new (law school) dean. We are incredibly grateful and thankful to Dean (Tom) Geu for his six years of leadership and we wish him all the very best as he returns to his passion of teaching.” A committee is currently working on the search for a new dean of the law school with assistance of a professional search firm. “We look forward to a new dean that will elevate the law school’s position in our region even further,” Gestring said. Local Youth Marks Birthday With His Lifesavers As Jonathan DeVries blew out the candles on his birthday cake Friday, Oct. 12, at Jolley Elementary School, his parents, Elizabeth and Charles Phillips of Vermillion, watched as their wish came true. Their youngster, who had just turned 9, was still with them. There have been times in the past two months when they’ve wondered if they might have to press ahead 22 years in business 21 years in business 16 years in business 5 YEARS in business years IN BUSINESS without their son. “He is doing amazing,” Elizabeth said. “He’s done far better than any doctors ever said he’d ever be.” Jonathan was seriously injured while riding on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on a farm near Vermillion on Aug. 22, the day before a new school year was to begin for him and his classmates. The ATV rolled into a ravine and he suffered a traumatic brain injury. Surgeons removed bits of bone from his brain. “He fell down about a 25-foot ravine,” Elizabeth said, “and he received a traumatic brain injury from that and also shattered the bones in his right hand. He was airlifted to the hospital in Sioux Falls, and when we got there, they (the doctors) told us what their concerns were and the extent of his injuries and they pretty told us that we’d get to see him one last time (before surgery) and to say goodbye.” The people who saved Jonathan’s life on Aug. 22 – a group of first responders made up of personnel from the Vermillion Fire/EMS Department, the Vermillion Police Department and the South Dakota Highway Patrol, surprised Jonathan when they all greeted him in the lobby of Jolley Elementary. Friday was the day Vermillion students were scheduled to celebrate the school district’s homecoming with a parade down Main Street. Rainy, cool weather, however, forced school officials to cancel the parade. The cancellation didn’t affect the first responders’ plans. Parked in the street near the front door was the Vermillion Fire/EMS Department’s ladder truck. The truck originally was to be part of the parade. On Friday, Jonathan got the chance to a ride down Vermillion’s Main Street in style, buckled into the front passenger seat of the fire truck. November Absentee Voter Turnout Strong in Clay County With less than a week until the election, voter turnout in Clay County is trending higher than usual this year, at least that seems to be the case, based on the number of absentee votes filed to this point. As of Monday, the Clay County Auditor’s Office had received 1,058 absentee ballot requests with 946 ballots being returned back to the office. This number is already more than the number received during the 2014 General Election, also a mid-term election, when the total absentee voter count for the election was 884. “We are averaging 70 to 80 in-person absentee voters per day, and the amount usually picks up the last few days before the election,” said Auditor Carri Crum, who explains that any vote cast early is classified as an absentee ballot. “I think we could reach 1,500 if the trend continues.” In South Dakota, early voting/absentee voting is at a Pittsburgh synagogue as an example of religious violence. He stated that law enforcement would be present at the church’s next service. Noem Will Be State’s First Woman Governor State Sen. Billie Sutton made one of the strongest showings in several decades of a Democrat seeking to be elected South Dakota’s next governor in Tuesday’s general election. He couldn’t overcome four-term Republican Congresswoman Kristi Noem, however, who in January 2019 will be sworn in as South Dakota’s first woman governor. According to unofficial returns from the SD Secretary of State’s office, Noem won with a 3 percent lead in total votes over Sutton. Wednesday morning, her unofficial vote total was 172,894, which was 51 percent of the 339,154 votes cast in the gubernatorial race. Sutton, from Burke, received 161,416 votes which is 48 percent of the total vote. Libertarian candidate Kurt Evans came in a distant third, receiving 4,844 votes. Clay County proved to be a bright spot, statistically, for Sutton. His total vote count of 3,038 in the county was nearly double what Noem received. Unofficial figures from the Clay County auditor’s office show Sutton received about 65 percent of the vote in the county. Noem, with 1,552 votes in Clay County, received just over 33 percent of the votes cast in the gubernatorial race by Clay County citizens. After a strong win in the June primary, Noem acknowledged it would be “incredibly special” to be the first woman elected to the post. But Noem said then that she believed people were supporting her for her qualifications. Sutton’s strong campaign gave Democrats rare hope in a statewide election. He cast himself as a moderate, with pro-gun and anti-abortion stances that made him palatable to many Republican voters, to push Noem hard to the finish. His unusual life story — former rodeo cowboy who turned to politics after a paralyzing injury — brought him added attention. Noem replaces replace term-limited Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard. New Mural At Austin School Captures Essence Of Community A piece of artwork that a wide cross-section of the Vermillion community helped create – including students at Austin Elementary School – is now hanging on an outside wall of the school where kids who attend the school can see it every day while out on the school’s playground during recess. Brianna Olson, a graphic design and marketing student at the University of South Dakota, described to members of the Vermillion School Board Monday about process that was undertaken to make the mural a reality. “She came to Mr. Alvey available to voters beginning at the end of September and running up to Election Day. Many people take advantage of this convenience. In fact, statistics show that more than 25 percent of votes in a typical election are cast via early or absentee voting. For this election, statistics from the office of South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs show that the total number of absentee ballots filed in South Dakota, as of last Friday at noon, was 56,173. Ten days out from the election, that number is already higher than the total number of absentee ballots filed in South Dakota during the 2014 midterm election, which was 55,292. The number is also more than half-way to the record 108,733 absentee ballots cast in South Dakota during the 2016 presidential election. Crum believes voter turnout overall may be high this year due to the governor’s race. In Clay County, there are 8,553 people registered to vote, and Crum hopes to see at least as many people voting this year as have in the past. There was a record turnout of 67.39 percent voter participation in the 2016 presidential election. Police Investigating Church Vandalism A church in Vermillion was the target of vandalism discovered Sunday morning. Apostolic Faith Church Pastor Greg Robinson and his son had come to the church to prepare for services when they noticed the front entry light was on. In addition, a side window was wide open. Robinson said that though the church is frequently left unlocked, he hadn’t seen something like that before. “We don’t lock the door so the community can use it for prayer or to use the bathroom,” he told the Press & Dakotan. Upon entering the sanctuary, Robinson discovered that a dry-erase board had been set on the pulpit in front of the podium. On it were the words “Abraham’s Two Sons.” Underneath the words was a stick man and faces that Robinson said were similar to the hangman game. However, instead of the correct answer, “Revelation 17:18” were written. Robinson noted that the passage is about the apocalypse. “That made us uneasy,” he said. Upon further inspection, he discovered that the door to the attic was broken and that the furnace had been tampered with. The furnace door had been pulled off and wires had been pulled out and appeared to be reassembled. Robinson noted that the room smelled like gas. The Vermillion Police Department and the Vermillion Fire Department were called and services were relocated to a parishioner’s home. “We didn’t think it was wise to stay there,” Robinson said, mentioning the Saturday shooting 605-624-4200 | 1997 Polaris Parkway | Vermillion, SD Sales • Service • Parts Big city selection...Small Town Service 5 W Main Street, Vermillion • 605-624-7491 Hours: Mon - Fri: 9:30-5, Sat: 10-1, Nights and weekends by appointment KitchenAid, Maytag, Whirlpool & Amana FAMILY FIRST CHIROPRACTIC CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIANS CRYSTAL L. PADEN, DC MICHAEL P. PADEN, DC 102 E. 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A past experience with creating a mural in Vermillion inspired this second mural for Austin Elementary. Olson said her painting professor helped with the efforts to paint the mural that now adorns the exterior of the Coyote Twin Theatre in downtown Vermillion. “My painting professor led that and I really enjoyed the process of working with community and she encouraged me to pursue a project on my own with a similar type of style of working with the community and combining public art in that way,” she said. Olson secured a grant through a graphic design group last spring to help fund the creation of the mural. “The grant basically was for a project that you can do to make your community better,” she told the Vermillion School Board. “This was a perfect opportunity to do another mural project. So I took that up and I connected with Phyllis (Packard) with the Vermillion Area Arts Council and she let me work with the Messy Hands Art Camp. “Over the course of a few weeks in July, I met with kids from ages 5 all the way up to 16 and we did various projects to come up with different designs,” Olson said. “Their ideas ranged from a dinosaur playground and wanting to do school supplies in the shape of a waterfall, but the reoccurring theme that they came up with is what makes Vermillion a special place to live. They really wanted to represent visually their favorite things about living in Vermillion.” Since the design process took place during the summer months, it’s no surprise that the mural captures summertime activities available in the Vermillion community. December Fifth Christmas On The Missouri Being Celebrated Sunday For Marlise Ahuna and her family, the event Christmas on the Missouri is one of the highlights of the holiday season in Vermillion. The family, who is moving back to their native Hawaii next week, says that the annual ecumenical concert really highlights the best of Vermillion and it is something they will always remember about Vermillion. “We have wonderful congregations of churchgoers in Vermillion that make this town a welcome, inclusive community to live in,” says Ahuna. “My family certainly felt that when we moved here three and a half years ago. When our different congregations join together in an ecumenical endeavor to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ through the sharing of sacred Christmas music, it creates an environment of fellowship and optimism. That’s exactly what this holiday season is all about.” This year’s Christmas on the Missouri event will take place Sunday, Dec. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the United Church of Christ, 226 E. Main Street. The spirit-lifting concert is free and open to all. Childcare will be provided, and a light reception will follow. “This year we have a fabulous program planned, with several local church choirs, small groups, a recorder group, a bell choir, soloists, a ukulele and hula number, and duets,” Ahuna who has helped organize the concert during her time in Vermillion, said. “We will also have Nativity scenes on display and refreshments afterward. The whole concert is a huge labor of love from so many people who donate their time and talents to make it happen. … It’s bitter-sweet to be planning this year’s event as we are preparing to move.” Christmas on the Missouri was started in 2014 by the Vermillion branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a way to find common ground with other Christian congregations during the holiday season, explains Ahuna. During its first two years, the program was held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but then a system of rotating host churches was started. The 2016 host was Trinity Lutheran with the First United Methodist Church hosting in 2017. This year’s host is the United Church of Christ. City Council Receives Tips On Going Green In New Year The Vermillion City Council learned earlier this month that it is doing many of the right things to reduce the city’s carbon footprint. It was also given some tips on how to become even greener as the city reviews the next steps it should take after being presented a resolution last fall by Greening Vermillion and the local Sierra Club. At a September meeting, the council voted to review a conservation and climate resolution presented by the two organizations. That review, which will include looking at cost factors and the affordability of adopting some of the steps suggested by the organizations, will determine whether the city eventually adopts the resolution. “As you guys know, you voted on a resolution to look at reducing Vermillion’s carbon footprint as well as be forward looking in terms of climate change strategies,” Dr. Mark Sweeney, who teaches at the University of South Dakota and represents the Sierra Club, told the council at its Dec. 3 noon meeting. “We think in proceeding with this, Vermillion has a chance to basically lay the foundation for other communities in South Dakota or in the general region to come up with a plan and be a leader in terms of moving forward with climate change and carbon neutral strategies.” The council also heard from Sweeney’s wife, Dr. Kelly Dilliard, who has a degree in Earth Science, a Ph.D. in geology and who used to teach at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. She’s currently continuing her education with the goal of becoming a high school science teacher. “We’re both part of Greening Vermillion as well as the Sierra Club. Mark is here representing the Sierra Club. A month ago we met with the city manager to talk out some ideas on how to proceed,” Dilliard said. “I know you guys haven’t necessarily accepted or voted on it (the resolution) but we’re here to talk about ways that we could, as a town, go through and make changes to be greener.” She reviewed steps the city has already taken to be more environmentally friendly. “Some of the things that the city are doing really well that a lot of other cities aren’t necessarily doing are our curb-side recycling that has been going on for nearly 10 years,” Dilliard said. “We know that you’ve been updating the LED street lights and we’ve also talked a bit about adding trees with new construction because our city parks are running out of room to put new trees in that will help to absorb carbon.” She also mentioned Vermillion’s current network of bicycle trails and the effort currently underway to make the community even friendlier to bikers. “Those are some positive features the town is doing that we should celebrate,” Dilliard said. “We have a list of things to suggest, and one of them is we’re asking for this climate resolution to pass and as part of that, we need to have some kind of a group that works together to come up with better ideas and implement some of the changes that we want. We’re obviously looking for some type of appointed group of residents and city council members to work on those goals and strategies more efficiently than as we do as a large group.” “One of the big things that we think the city can do moving forward is you’re already on the track of increasing the amount of recycling that’s occurring, and every year you post more and more in terms of the poundage of recycling by Vermillion residents,” Sweeney said, “but in partnership with Greening Vermillion, for example, we’re hoping to increase the amount of recycling that’s done across the city and maybe eventually expand this to apartments and mobile home parks.” He noted that virtually every Vermillion business they’ve been in contact with has indicated they want to recycle and many would pay for that service.