2 Broadcaster Press January 21, 2020 www.broadcasteronline.com Dave Says A Possible Answer There’s No Magic Pill Dear Dave, My wife and I made a resolution this year to pay off $20,000 in credit card debt we’ve accumulated. I want us to follow your plan, and live on a really tight budget. She wants us to use a debt consolidation company, like some of her friends have done. I’m really against her idea, but how can I change her mind? Blake Dear Blake, I’m glad you two have made the decision to get out of debt, and gain control of your finances. When it comes to this sort of thing, it’s wise to remember there’s no magic pill. No debt consolidation company is going to get you out of debt and help you stay out of debt. The answer is learning how to control yourself and your behavior with money. Using a debt consolidation company seems appealing, because there’s usually a lower monthly payment or lower interest rate attached. The problem in most cases, however, is the lower payment or interest rate exists only because the term is extended. You might pay a little less each month, but you end up staying in debt longer. There are other problems involved in using debt Dave RAMSEY Teachers in rural schools are special. Unlike the great city amalgamated and homogenized institutes of lower learning, the rural schools tend not to have teachers who are putting in time until their heart stops. And it’s a mixed blessing, because rural schools sometimes have to hire someone whose only qualification is a pulse. But there are those rural teachers who go down in legend for their creativity. Like John Lewis. After his first semester teaching at the high school, John discovered that some of the boys in class … usually the misbehavers, would raise their hands and ask to go to the john in the middle of a class session. He suspected, when they returned smelling like tobacco, that bodily functions weren’t the prime incentive for the trip. So he got a stick and made a big cardboard sign and stuck it in the closet behind his desk. Then, the very next time someone indicated a peristaltic urgency, he stood and smiled and addressed the class. “Everybody up!” he said, smiling. The class stood, looking dumbfounded at each other. “Since going to the restroom in the middle of class is a God-given American right, I believe it’s only fair that we all share a small part of it. So Pete, since you have asked to go, you get to lead the parade to the restroom. Okay now, Cheryl, here’s the Potty Patrol sign. You get to carry it. Let’s go!” And with John singing his new Potty Patrol song, they all marched over to the restroom and waited outside, chanting, until Pete had finished (in an amazingly short time) and then they all marched back to class with Pete once again leading the way. Strangely enough, the restroom trips dropped dramatically in all of John’s classes. BroadcasterOnline.com “Get Connected!” Athlete Spotlight consolidation companies, too. For one thing, it can trash your credit for a long time when it comes to buying a car or a house. For these reasons I sometimes refer to it as a CON-solidation, because the whole thing is basically a con. They make you think you’re really doing something about your debt problem, but the debt—and all the bad habits that caused it—are still there. My guess is your wife’s friends think using a debt consolidation company is an easy, harmless way to get out of a financial mess. But sometimes you’ve got to be an adult, admit the mistakes you’ve made, and do what it takes to straighten things out. This kind of thing isn’t a math issue. It’s a behavior issue. Making the decision to get out of debt and never go back there again, by living on a really tight budget and making sacrifices, is the best way to fix this mess and learn a lesson in the process. Live like no one else, so that later, you can live—and give—like no one else. Stay away from debt consolidation companies, Blake. Doing this the right way is worth it! —Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling 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. Suffrage Sites, Army Forts Highlighted In “South Dakota History” PIERRE, S.D.—Historic sites related to the woman suffrage movement and the history of Fort Sisseton in South Dakota and Fort Totten in North Dakota are featured in the annual historic preservation issue of “South Dakota History,” the quarterly journal of the South Dakota State Historical Society. In an article entitled “From the Capitol to Main Street: The Landscape of the Woman Suffrage Movement in South Dakota,” Elizabeth J. Almlie focuses on the courthouses, opera halls, churches, and other buildings that hosted speeches and debates on women’s right to vote in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By looking at the people and places important to the decadeslong suffrage campaign, Almlie highlights how South Dakotans and national figures participated in this social movement. Almlie is a historic preservation specialist with the State Historic Preservation Office of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. “Two Posts, Two Pasts: Preserving Forts Sisseton and Totten” by Heather Mulliner examines the construction, use, and preservation of Forts Sisseton and Totten. Built in 1864 and 1867, respectively, these two posts initially served as bases of operations against the Dakota Sioux who fled from Minnesota in the aftermath of the United StatesDakota War of 1862. Fort Sisseton’s use as a hunting lodge and Fort Totten’s role as an Indian boarding school after their decommissioning influenced the level of preservation and the content of historical interpretation at the two forts. Mulliner works as a data and policy analyst for the state Department of Social Services in Pierre and holds master’s degrees in American history from the University of Montana and in archival management and public history from New York University. “South Dakota History” is a benefit of membership in the South Dakota State Historical Society. For information on membership, call 605773-6000. To purchase individual issues, call 605773-6009. By Daris Howard (Continued from previous week.) Having found out during an MRI that I have a bullet in my arm, I thought back upon a possible answer as to when it could have happened. One day, my friend Buster invited me over after school. He wanted to show me his pigeons. “After all,” he said, “you helped me capture them from your barn.” We had gotten them as babies, and he had raised them and trained them. He loved his pigeons. But when we got to his house, we found the pigeon coop had been destroyed. Buster lived with his father, two brothers, a sister, and Granny. They had moved here from the mountains of West Virginia. Buster was the oldest of the children, with Butch only a year younger. I was friends with both of them, but they were always at odds with each other. Buster angrily looked at the destroyed pigeon coop. “I betcha Butch did it,” he said. It wasn’t until later that we learned that Buster’s dad had destroyed the coop, feeling the pigeons were a source of contention in the family. But if the pigeons had been a source of contention in the past, they were about to be more so now. Buster grabbed an ax and headed to the garage. “What are you doing?” I asked. He didn’t even slow his pace as he answered. “I’m gonna to teach Butch not to mess with me!” Butch had an expensive skateboard he loved. Buster got it and put it on the chopping block. I knew what he had in mind and tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t be deterred. Soon the skateboard was nothing but a bunch of plastic splinters. Having accomplished his design, Buster put the ax away, and we went to his bedroom. Buster was lying on his bed, and I was sitting on a chair as we talked. Suddenly, Butch kicked the door into pieces as he entered the room. He jumped on Buster and started to pound him. Buster reached over onto a nightstand, grabbed a solid bronze statue, and smacked Butch over the head with it, knocking him unconscious. “Oh, my heavens!” Buster said, as Butch rolled to the floor, “I’ve killed him!” Buster ran to his closet and started stuffing clothes into a duffle bag. “I’m heading to Mexico. I’ll let you know when I get there.” Before Buster could become a fugitive, Butch started to revive. After he did, it was all-out war. We were about twelve years old, that ripe old age when about half the decisions we made were wrong, and the other half were stupid. Butch and Buster’s dad had decided that they were old enough to be responsible, so he had given each of them a .22 rifle for Christmas. I seriously don’t know what he was thinking. Each of them ran for their guns, and I headed out of the house. But, of course, so did they. It wasn’t long before we were all three in the back yard. Each of them was hunkered down behind a log or boulder. One would pop up and fire off some shots at the other. He would then drop down, and the other one would sit up and fire off some rounds in response. As for me, I stayed down and listened to the bullets whizzing around me. I thought to myself, “This would probably be a good time to go home.” But staying down and living to tell the story was the preferable option at the moment. Eventually, Granny appeared at the back door. She quickly figured out what was going on. “Butch, Buster, you put those guns away before I come out there and beat you with them! Do you hear me? You bring those guns to me, and I mean now! If either of you fires one more shot, you is gonna wish you was dead!” Butch and Buster knew better than to defy Granny. She had worked most of her life in the coal mines alongside the men. Butch and Buster sheepishly came out of their hiding places and brought Granny their guns. I used that time to start walking the three miles home, heading for the safety of my boring chores. As I thought back about that experience, I realized that might have been when I got the bullet in my arm. But then, maybe not. There were so many like it; maybe it was one of the others. (To be continued.) 6 3 ????3???3???36???????  3 ???3?37??????34?3?3???35??????????3?????3???????? ? Smile. Josh Bern Josh Bern is a junior from Vermillion on the Yankton High School bowling team. “The best thing about participating in bowling is that the sport can be an individual one or a team one,” said Bern. “Individual competitions are fun because it involves a lot of traveling and seeing new places. Meanwhile, competing for a team is very fun because you are bowling with the guys I have known for a long time. The other great thing about bowling is that it is a lifetime sport that anyone can enjoy.” Bern is also in the Vermillion High School band. He is a part of the Peer Helper program, which provides assistance and support to elementary students in the classroom. When he’s not bowling with Yankton, Bern enjoys traveling, reading, and collecting sports memorabilia. He hopes to visit every Major League Baseball stadium. Some of his favorites are Busch Stadium in St. Louis, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and Progressive Field in Cleveland. “Baseball and hockey are my two favorite sports to watch,” said Bern. “I also compete in individual bowling competitions that have sent us all over the United States.” PRECISION PAINTING Mike Manning •Interior •Exterior •Commercial •Residential Quality Workmanship, Reasonable Rates Broker Associate/REALTOR® cell: 605.670.1236 • office: 605.624.4474 mikedmanning@hotmail.com Dakota Realty • 125 E. Cherry St. • Vermillion, SD 57069 • dakotarealty.com Since 1983 CLINT TUCKER 624-4621 Experience you can count on. Neal Neuhalfen - Lead Installer Neal has over 30 years of experience working in the residential and commercial sector’s. Neal’s commitment to customer comfort and satisfaction is his number one goal. 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