WOW Garretson! Even during this time of uncertainty, your support of the Garretson Community Foundation/Pool, is amazing! At this time, due to Covid-19, we are uncertain when we will get the pool open. However, because the pool is community-owned and maintained, funds are still needed to keep us “afloat!” We cannot thank everyone enough for their support and financial generosity.
The winners of the Pool Raffle drawing are:
$200 – Richard Johnson
$100 – Greg Miller
$50 – Pam Braa
Again, thank you for your continued support. Our next scheduled fundraiser will be the Annual Pool Auction on Wednesday, August 5th. Keep us in mind if you have items to donate for the auction. Watch for more information in the Garretson Gazette as the time draws closer.
Sioux Falls, SD (April 9, 2020) – In the midst of such challenging times, Dakota Layers, a family owned egg farm just six miles north of Flandreau, SD, continues their commitment of supporting local food banks with regular egg donations to ensure that all families has access to safe and nutritious food.
Since 2008, Feeding South Dakota has relied heavily on donated eggs from Dakota Layers to help serve quality protein to hungry families. "Protein is probably the most difficult nutritious product for us to get our hands on and so much of it has to do with just the fact that most protein is perishable," says Matt Gassen, CEO, Feeding South Dakota. Through this unique relationship, Feeding South Dakota has received over 391,916 pounds of eggs from Dakota Layers over the years.
For the fourth consecutive year, Dakota Layers partnered with South Dakota State University Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams. For every free throw made in Frost Arena, Dakota Layers donated a dozen eggs to Feeding South Dakota. This year, 441 free throws were made and because of the generosity of Dakota Layers, they increased their total donation to 540 dozen or 6,480 eggs. The donation, made on April 8, 2020, will provide one dozen eggs to 540 families. “This year, more than ever, families are struggling to feed their families,” stated Jason Ramsdell, General Manager, Dakota Layers. “We’re happy to help those in need with such a great source of protein.”
But the giving won’t stop there. Dakota Layers has pledged to donate an additional 36,000 dozen or 432,000 eggs over the next 10 days. The eggs will help families not only in the Sioux Falls area but will also be shared with the Pierre and Rapid City distribution centers to help families across South Dakota. “We’re so thankful to help fight hunger across the state especially during these unprecedented times,” said Jason Ramsdell.
Dakota Layers is a family-owned and operated egg farm located just outside of Flandreau, South Dakota that started business in 1999 and housed their first hens in 2001. Approximately 100,000 dozen eggs are produced every day from the 1.35 million hens housed at the farm.
Garretson, SD, April 9, 2020 — Alliance Communications, a customer-owned communications cooperative serving communities in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, is sending out $8 million in capital credits to their customer-owners this week. This capital credits retirement from Alliance comes at a very crucial time for a lot of their customers—business owners and residents in rural communities in the region.
“Alliance is paying out a significant amount of money this year, and it’s occurring at a great time,” said Jeff Haagenson, board president for Alliance Communications. “We hope it can provide some financial relief, especially for those who are experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Receiving capital credits is an exclusive benefit for Alliance customer-owners. This year’s payout amount is larger than usual because it includes business activities for more than a decade. Throughout those years, Alliance participated in several successful business partnerships and service expansions. The cooperative prefers to payout for multiple years to ensure both new and long-term customers receive some capital credits.
“Unlike privately-owned or publicly-traded companies, Alliance is sharing millions of dollars with our own community members by sending out capital credits checks,” said Ross Petrick, general manager/CEO for Alliance Communications.
As a customer-owned cooperative providing an important utility, community has a different meaning for Alliance. Community is at the cooperative’s heart of operations and decision-making.
Long-time Alliance customers Tom and Jenn Wullstein are involved in numerous community organizations in Brandon, and they said that they often reach out to Alliance Communications to support them.
“They’ve always been very generous with both time and money,” Jen Wullstein said. “Alliance has their name out there in a way where people see them besides just the services they provide,” she said.
The Wullsteins also appreciate that Alliance is a customer-owned communications cooperative that shares its margins with customers.
“It makes you feel like the company is looking out for you and not just taking your business,” said Jenn Wullstein. “I have always been very happy to see those [capital credits] come out. I have known others who have said that it’s a way to get extra groceries for the month, or they were able to buy something for their kids that they maybe wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.”
Starting this week, those who were cooperative customers between 2007-2018 will receive capital credits checks in the mail if their amount is higher than $20. If their amount is $20 or less, they received a credit on their April 1 bill. These capital credits are the result of successful business partnerships, business expansions, or the sale or expansion of assets acquired over the years, in addition to revenue from sales of products and services.
In other words, customer-owners benefit from what Alliance does outside of providing internet, cable TV, and phone services. Alliance allocates margins to customer-owners based on their purchases during the year.
“My family and I have lived here [in Brandon] for about 30 years, and I’ve worked with Alliance ever since we came here,” said Harry Buck, a realtor. “They’ve been really positive for Brandon. I’ve been members of different agricultural co-ops in the past, but I haven’t ever really been associated with any co-op that gives back as much as Alliance has. That’s just been a real positive thing.”
Alliance Communications serves nearly 13,000 customers. Those who live in Alcester, Alvord, Baltic, Brandon, Carthage, Crooks, Garretson, Hills, Howard, Hudson, Inwood, Larchwood, Lester, Oldham, Ramona, Steen and Valley Springs are customer-owners and receive cooperative benefits.
Alliance customers who have questions about their capital credits can send a message to . They also can leave a voicemail message for our capital credits department by calling 311 from any phone with Alliance service or (605) 594-3000 from any other phone. Visit alliancecom.net/about-us/cooperative for information on Alliance’s cooperative benefits.
PIERRE –The South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) has established the Coronavirus Response Fund to directly support the needs of communities and nonprofits affected by COVID-19. This fund will address immediate needs including access to food, shortage of volunteers, healthcare sector support and human services sector support.
The SDCF is pleased to announce funding has been provided to the following nonprofits to address immediate concerns: American Red Cross, Feeding South Dakota, Helpline Center, Lutheran Social Services, Partnership for Native Americans, The Salvation Army and eleven Adult Nutrition centers across South Dakota. Nearly $350,000 has been distributed to state-wide organizations providing front-line care to those in need.
In addition to assisting statewide nonprofits, SDCF has also launched an initiative to match funding provided by our 80 partner community savings accounts across South Dakota. If a partner CSA grants funding to address a need due to COVID-19, SDCF will match those efforts dollar for dollar up to $3,000 per community. Nearly $250,000 has been committed for communities across South Dakota through this effort. Projects funded thus far include supplies for volunteers to sew facemasks for medical personnel, additional food for food pantries, necessary household supplies for families in need and support for backpack food programs for children.
“As a statewide community foundation, we work to serve and strengthen communities across South Dakota every day,” said Stephanie Judson, SDCF President & CEO. “We are committed to working with communities and nonprofits as they deal with the myriad of issues posed by the COVID-19 virus. Working together we can continue to build a stronger South Dakota”.
Initial funds were provided by SDCF’s South Dakota Fund along with a generous contribution from the Bush Foundation in Minneapolis; but nothing happens without donor support. If you would like to ensure that people impacted by the coronavirus can receive the help they need, consider a gift to the Coronavirus Response Fund at SDCF. One hundred percent of the funds collected go directly towards addressing coronavirus concerns in our state. Donations can be made on-line at https://sdcommunityfoundation.org/covid-19/ or by sending a check to SDCF, PO Box 296, Pierre, SD 57501.
Thank You! We are all in this together.
About the SDCF
SDCF is a public non-profit organization established in 1987. SDCF, with offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen administers over 980 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations annually. The Foundation distributed nearly $18 million in grants in 2019 which made a tremendous difference in communities statewide. This would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors. If you have a specific cause you would like to support or would prefer to give for the general good of our state, please visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org/for-donors/ to learn more or call 1-800-888-1842.
The ability to quickly, regularly and accurately test for the deadly coronavirus is a key component of the ability of the medical field and the public to understand the extent of the pandemic, and of government officials’ ability to adequately respond.
And yet, the testing for the presence of the virus in residents of South Dakota and around the U.S. has been plagued by a series of problems. Among them: a lack of needed testing supplies; inefficiencies in how the test is administered and how results are analyzed; and the potential inability of the test itself to accurately confirm the presence of the virus.
The consequences of those testing limitations are potentially fatal. Far more people are likely infected with COVID-19 than is known. The lack of confirmed positives has opened the door to downplaying of the depth and seriousness of the pandemic by government officials and individuals. And in some cases, the opportunity for “false negatives,” in which tests do not indicate the presence of the virus in an infected person, can lead to unnecessary spreading of the virus.
South Dakota shares same testing challenges as rest of nation
South Dakota ranks among the top 20 states in testing per capita for the virus that causes COVID-19, and while state officials tout that fact, experts say testing rates are still too low to know just how widespread the disease really is.
Of the state’s roughly 880,000 residents, about 7,100 had been tested for COVID-19 as of April 8, according to South Dakota Department of Health Data. The low rate of testing for COVID-19, though, is due almost entirely to a shortage of critical testing supplies. Similar shortages are being experienced all over the country and are forcing public health officials to put strict limits on who gets tested and when.
While it may not be as complete as healthcare professionals would like, the data shared publicly through the South Dakota Department of Health’s COVID-19 webpage, https://doh.sd.gov/news/Coronavirus.aspx, is the best data currently available. The data include the most recent reported testing results from the state health lab, Avera Health, Sanford Health, the Mayo Clinic’s commercial clinical lab and Quest Diagnostics, a private, multi-national clinical laboratory company, said DOH spokesperson Derrick Haskins.
The private labs testing for COVID-19 have let the Department of Health take the lead on public sharing of test data, but officials at Sanford Health and Avera Health have been fairly open with South Dakota News Watch about what their individual testing regimes have found.
As of Wednesday, April 8, Sanford Health had performed 5,053 COVID-19 tests across its multi-state hospital system, according to Shawn Neisteadt, a senior media relations specialist with Sanford. Of the more than 5,000 COVID-19 tests Sanford had conducted, roughly 2,900 of the tests were conducted on South Dakotans. Slightly over 200 of Sanford’s tests returned positive results.
Dr. David Basel, vice president of clinical quality at Avera Health
Leaders at Avera Health have been a little more reticent to share their testing data. On Monday, April 6, Dr. David Basel, vice president of clinical quality at Avera Health, told News Watch that Avera had recorded 192 positive COVID-19 tests. About 85 percent of Avera’s tests were conducted on South Dakotans.
The state’s numbers are updated every day by noon and represent the testing reported through the previous day. As of Thursday, April 10, 7,647 tests for the disease had been performed on South Dakotans, with 536 tests returning a positive result. Between April 7 and April 8, 399 new tests were reported to the DOH and 54 of those tests, roughly 13.5%, returned positive results. Between April 8 and April 9, 500 new tests were conducted. Of those, 89 tests, about 17.8%, were found to be positive for COVID-19.
A large part of the reason for the relatively high rate of positive results is that testing is being conducted on people who are already showing strong symptoms of COVID-19, such as pneumonia, and are more likely to test positive. But experts expect as many as 80% of people infected with the COVID-19 virus either don’t develop symptoms at all or only show mild symptoms, such as a dry cough and fever. Simply put, far more people have been infected with the virus than have tested positive for it.
Dr. Marie-Louise Landry, director of the clinical virology laboratory at Yale University
“That’s a major driver for why the government has changed its recommendation to wear masks,” said Dr. Marie-Louise Landry, director of the clinical virology laboratory at Yale University. “Now we realize that there are many people who may have such minor symptoms, they may have a runny nose or a little cough that is typical for this time of year, and say ‘this can’t be COVID,’ and, in fact, it can be.”
There is no way to know exactly how many people have actually been infected, Landry said. At least not yet. Severe shortages of critical testing supplies mean public health officials likely will have to continue limiting the availability of tests to high-need and high-risk populations.
However, there is some hope on the horizon, Landry said. New tests designed to identify COVID-19 antibodies in blood samples are likely to start arriving at hospitals and clinical labs within a month. Antibody tests aren’t effective for identifying active infections but they could help scientists get a better understanding of how prevalent the COVID-19 virus actually is, she said.
“People are very hopeful the antibody test could give us that information and how many people are immune,” Landry said. “If we have a lot of people with immunity, that can protect the people who are not immune. The antibody tests are going to be very important and could really help us.”
In the meantime, the testing data DOH shares with the public is still useful, Basel said.
“Personally I pay a lot of attention to them, because it’s kind of a leading indicator,” he said. “It helps us quite a bit in knowing how many people are symptomatic and how many of those are symptomatic because of this coronavirus. It is still very helpful from that monitoring standpoint.”
COVID-19 testing mostly restricted to high-risk patients
Shortages of necessary testing supplies, such as swabs and chemicals needed to run tests for the virus that causes COVID-19, are forcing hospitals to limit who they test to conserve supplies.
“We don’t know how often we will get resupplied … so we do still conserve somewhat on the number of tests that we do,” said Basel of Avera Health.
Nationwide, clinical laboratories are running short of everything from sample collection swabs to the solution needed to transport samples from where they are collected at the lab. Even the chemical solutions required to run the actual tests are in desperately short supply.
“That’s been very limiting. And every time we think things are better and we’ll tell people we’re going to expand testing, we find out that we’re not going to be getting some key reagents and can’t do it,” said Landry, of Yale. “We are doing testing, but it is more limited by far than we would like to, and very frustrating.”
In another example of the extent of the supply shortage, South Dakota’s State Epidemiologist Joshua Clayton said during an April 9 conference call with healthcare providers that the state health lab’s supply of “flocked” sample swabs was running very low. The state had ordered new foam-tipped swabs but didn’t expect them to arrive until mid-May, Clayton said.
In an effort to manage their supply shortages, the state health lab, Sanford Health and Avera Health all are following guidelines set by the federal Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and have decided not to test anyone who isn’t displaying active COVID-19 symptoms, such as a fever or shortness of breath. Patients who haven’t been in contact with someone who tested positive also aren’t considered a high priority for testing, according to CDC guidelines.
The state health lab has further restricted testing to hospitalized patients with COVID-19 symptoms, healthcare workers and people living or working in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
Sanford Health’s lab also has restricted testing to hospitalized patients with COVID-19 symptoms, older adults and all patients with underlying medical conditions that put them at greater risk from COVID-19, said Neisteadt.
All of the restrictions on who gets tested and when has likely reduced the number of confirmed and reported cases of COVID-19 in South Dakota and across the country, experts said.
Uncertainty over accuracy of most common COVID-19 tests
Despite some glaring limitations, the most common methods used for diagnosing COVID-19 infections in South Dakota can be very accurate, experts say.
Doctors at the state public health lab and at Sanford Health and Avera Health are using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to identify the virus in patients. Under the right circumstances, PCR-based testing is known to be nearly 100% accurate when it comes to identifying viral infections. Still, the science of diagnosing COVID-19 specifically has only been around for a few months, and there are a lot of unknowns, said Landry.
“We don’t really know how a lot of these tests perform and which ones are more accurate than others,” Landry said.
Dr. Jim Dunn, director of medical microbiology and virology at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston
One example of what scientists don’t know about COVID-19 testing is what part of the body is the most reliable place to find the virus that causes the disease, said Dr. Jim Dunn, director of medical microbiology and virology at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. The virus tends to move around as it runs its course, so one day it might be concentrated in the nasal cavity, the next it might move to the lungs, which can lead to poor sample collections and bad test results, he said.
“There are people working on that,” Dunn said. “They’re looking at different types of samples at different time points during infection, even things like blood samples, or stool samples to really try to figure out how we can best identify those patients that are infected.”
Right now, the CDC recommends taking swabs of mucus from the nasopharynx, a location deep in the nasal passage. To do that, a sample collection swab must be inserted through the nose all the way to the back of the nasal cavity to a point that is, roughly, right above the back of a person’s mouth. Swabbing the nasopharynx, while not perfect, is still the best known method for obtaining a sample of the virus from an infected person. This is a common sampling method being used at drive-up COVID-19 test sites in South Dakota and elsewhere.
PCR-based testing methods work by essentially copying relatively small amounts of a virus’ genetic code so that it can be more easily identified. The method has been globally recognized by scientists as one of the most accurate ways to identify whether someone is actively infected with a virus. PCR-based tests have been used for many years to diagnose the flu and HIV, for example.
“This kind of testing looks directly for the presence of the virus in the patient’s sample,” said Dr. Lorne Holland, senior director of clinical pathology at Sanford Health. “Because they directly measure the virus, molecular testing methods are both sensitive and specific — they are able to detect small amounts of the virus and reliably detect this virus even if other viruses or bacteria are present too.”
After the swabbing process is finished, the swab must be placed in a sterile transport medium to protect the virus’ genetic material from degradation before it gets to the lab.
Once in the lab, the sample is placed in a chemical solution designed to copy one of the virus’ genetic building blocks. In the case of SARS-CoV-2 — the official name of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — the targeted building block is RNA, a molecule that is similar to DNA and is used to store genetic information. The chemical solution, aided by specialized lab equipment called thermocyclers, then specifically targets SARS-CoV-2 RNA and uses chemical reactions to make billions of copies of it. Eventually, the copies change the chemical solution’s color to indicate the presence of the virus.
If the solution doesn’t change color, there was no virus in the sample. The chain reactions that copy the virus’ RNA don’t work if the targeted RNA isn’t present.
Sanford Health’s labs have been using PCR-based viral testing for several years and the lab’s procedures are well-established, Holland said. The instruments Sanford uses have a long track record of producing very reliable and accurate results, though there are still some limitations, he said.
“No laboratory test can ever be perfect. For example, if a patient was exposed to the virus an hour ago, then no test will be positive,” Holland said. “However, performing our testing with proven, molecular PCR technology is the best possible testing we can offer for our patients.”
Rate of ‘false negatives’ in COVID-19 testing unknown
The type of tests used to diagnose COVID-19 have proven reliable over decades of use with other diseases, but experts worry that because tests for the new virus were hastily designed, there could be higher than expected rates of “false negative” results, or those that do not indicate the presence of the virus when indeed the patient is infected.
Usually, before a medical test can get approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration, it is often subjected to years of development and evaluation for accuracy. The tests for SARS-CoV-2 were developed over the course of a couple of months and continue to be surrounded by unanswered questions, such as when and what type of sampling methods are best.
There are several ways a COVID-19 test could deliver a false negative result, Landry said. First, getting a good sample can be difficult. A swab must be inserted through a patient’s nose to the nasopharynx. Not only is the swabbing process uncomfortable for the patient, it can cause coughing or sneezing which can expose whoever is administering the test to the virus if they aren’t wearing the right protective gear, said Landry.
“You actually have to put the swab in very deep and a lot of people don’t do that very well,” Landry said.
Another major reason a test might deliver a false negative result is that the virus tends to move around the respiratory system as it progresses, said Dr. Dunn. A patient with COVID-19-caused pneumonia, for example, may not have a high concentration of the virus in their nose. In that case, a nasal swab might not collect enough virus for a test to detect it, Dunn said.
Taking a second, oral swab in addition to a nasopharyngeal swab and testing both at the same time might help ensure an accurate test result, Dunn said. Taking two swabs, though, would exacerbate a third testing limitation — the nationwide shortage of testing supplies.
Medical professionals can’t use just any swab that happens to be at hand when they test someone for COVID-19. Swabs need to be long enough to reach all the way through the nasal cavity to the nasopharynx, and its tip has to be capable of collecting a clean sample. Cotton swabs, such as Q-tips, wouldn’t work very well, Dunn said.
Still, another potential cause of false negative COVID-19 test results is taking a swab before a patient starts showing symptoms, said Basel.
“That’s one of the biggest reasons why we don’t test people who don’t have symptoms. Because their viral load is probably low enough that even if they do have some degree of the virus, it’s not going to be high enough that we’re going to detect it,” Basel said.
Exactly how high the false negative rate might be for COVID-19 tests isn’t well understood. And is likely to take months of dedicated research to get reliable data, Basel said. Testing guidelines for COVID-19 were created at what amounts to light-speed in the medical world and continue to evolve as new information is discovered, Dunn said. Limits on supplies also are forcing hospital systems such as Avera Health to avoid retesting patients, Basel said.
The good news is that if a sample contains the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the tests South Dakota’s labs use are nearly 100% accurate. None of the state’s labs have reported any known false negative tests, so far.
“Thus far, we have identified no possible false positives or false negatives,” said Holland, of Sanford Health. “No lab test is perfect, but we are more than 3,000 tests in and we’ve yet to identify a suspicious result.”
I hope this letter finds your family safe and well. I share your feelings of frustration and desire for things to be "back to normal" for your kids. Just know that despite the negative reason your family is going through this, you're writing history together and creating memories, good and bad, that will last a lifetime. I encourage you to look for the good in each day, not stress over the things you can't control, and make it your will to create good memories in ways that you can.
This week's material pick up will be on Friday, April 17th, from 8:00 am — 6:00 pm. In an effort to keep you as safe as possible while dropping off and gathering new materials, we will have bleach wipes for the door handles or doors propped open when the weather allows. Materials will be spread out on tables, not in boxes to be filed
through. Each class will have its own table of materials. Please keep an eye on the items under the tables as teachers are starting to clean out desks and lockers. For safety purposes, we ask that you spend minimal time in the building.
A few reminders to make student packet work a success:
Stay in control of the packet. Many of you have discovered that if you turn all of the work over to your student, things get lost, done out of order or all at once. Please respect the time your teachers have put into planning these packets, many of which have materials that are in sequential order.
The younger the student, the shorter amount of time you can expect them to be on task. Offer breaks between tasks and if possible, spread work time throughout the day instead of all at once.
If struggling to engage your child in their work, lean on their teacher or myself. We would be happy to meet with them through a private Zoom or phone call to be the word of encouragement...that you're probably saying, but they are having trouble hearing!
Stay positive. Like anything, if kids sense your unhappiness with something, they're going to begin feeling the way you do. Contact your child's teacher to see if adjustments can be made to the work load or if additional support is needed, but stay positive.
Keep the expectation that at least some work is done each day. Building a daily routine that has a schoolwork expectation in it will assist you in this. Again, we are happy to help you with this if needed.
Another survey will be sent out tomorrow to gather information and help guide us as we continue to move forward. Please watch for it and complete it at your earliest convenience. Many of the questions will look familiar to you if you took it a couple of weeks ago, but I want to know how things are going now and if answers and opinions have changed.
Thank you for your time and efforts to make distance learning a success at Garretson Elementary. We are very proud of our parents and students!
Zoom Online Meeting at 12:00 Noon on Wednesday, April 8,2020
Due to complicated Health conditions & City regulations, the meeting was basically attended by Board members: Pres. John Brinkman, Vice Pres. Garrick Moritz, Sec. Margie Martens, Laurie Bennett, Guy Johnson, Anna Uhl, Rob Meyer, Mary Carlson, Carrie Moritz, and Luke Dreckman.
Anna Uhl made a motion to approve Secretary's Report from March 12; seconded by Laurie Bennett.
Full Treasurer's Report not presented; Gift Certificate Account reported balanced.
Membership dues, Phone Book ads, and Toddler Train ads are paid up to date.
Valley Springs rest area Kiosk with City cost sharing $1000 will be on City's next budget agenda this Fall.
New Business:
Planning for Jesse James Days in 2020 was discussed, along with postponement possibilities; many suggested to wait till August. Motion was made by Anna to have Jesse James Days on August 14-16; seconded by Garrick; all approved. Brinkman will contact Gary Lyngen about availability of having the American Legion for Model Train display. Other activities originally planned for Jesse Days in June, will also be checked to see if available in August. Silver Creek Mavericks will check its members to see if they would be willing to perform in August. Inflatables - Dakota Entertainment was contacted about postponement of Jesse James Days to August 14-16. Laurie Bennett made motion to pay $1200 down payment on the inflatables agreement, seconded by Garrick. Approved.
Discussion of special themes on Christmas Lanes brought up idea of having someone in each area or street have a 'Neighborhood Chairperson.' They could promote people in their particular area to get involved in joining neighbors in decorating with same theme, and possibly share new ideas for Christmas in Garretson. Garrick suggested to put an ad in the Gazette looking for anyone interested in helping their neighbors get involved with their particular Christmas theme. They could also be a 'spokesperson' to present more ideas promoting our town.
With new businesses in town, members were encouraged to ask the 'newcomers' if they wished to join the Commercial Club. Ribbon Cutting has been delayed with the urgency to not gather together until this virus declines. Ribbon Cutting for new businesses is on the agenda for Ness Tax Service, Pinman Lock and Key, H2O Hose Car Wash & Storage, and Dakota Stained Glass. Due to urgency to not gather together; no dates have been set yet for Ribbon Cutting.
Discussion on future advertising near Palisade Park: possible advertising usage at Palisades Park by Commercial Club. Anything on State Park property would need approval and would have to be from the Commercial Club exclusively as a representative body of Garretson and area businesses. They also discussed the possibility of putting signs on a nearby county road, or advertise on nearby land not state-owned.
Barrels/Planters on Main Street were briefly talked about; No decisions made depending on the 'street project' which may happen this year.
Carrie Moritz suggested the possibility of having City Wide Rummage Sales during the first two weeks of September. No action, but can be brought up later.
Next meeting of Commercial Club will include looking at idea of having a 'Grow Garretson' project to generate "Garretson Bucks Benefit" for helping businesses and people who may be needing aid with expenses (on a referral basis), after less income has affected local businesses and local wage earners. Carrie said to look at an article in this week's Gazette (April 9 issue) explaining more about the idea, plus states an anonymous donor will match the first $500 of donations raised in the program. This idea was started by Richelle Hofer, who is a member of City Council (already having approached Council about help), and also is Vice President of Grow Garretson.
Next regular meeting of the Commercial Club Membership Board Meeting will be 11:30 meal and 12:00 meeting; the date and place to be announced later. Other members are encouraged to attend these meetings, if possible.
We want to relay some info and things going on at GFC.
First of all, we have been able to keep up with most essentials; however, hand soap, wipes and Lysol are no where to be found. But we are told that's pretty much everywhere. We are also limited to a set number of cases we can order per truck delivery. Our warehouse is doing this so they can supply the other 600 stores as equally and the best they can. We are trying to pick the items we think people will need the most.
We will continue our delivery service 3 days a week Mon, Wed and Fri. You can also call in, fax or email your order and we will put them up and you can pick them up at our front or back door.
The biggest change you see now and in the future is our weekly advertisement. We will be sending the ad online-only from now on. There are four ways to access our ad: 1) Email, 2) App, 3) Website, 4) Facebook.
If you are like Ron and not a computer person, please call us and give us your mailing address and we will mail you a weekly ad.
Also there will not be Fresh Meat advertised in the next few weeks. The reason for this is that meat prices are changing daily, and because we have to write our ad three weeks ahead, we never know what the price will be by the time the ad reaches you. However, if you check the store, we will have in-store specials every week.
We want to thank everyone for their patronage and understanding during this wild time. If you have any questions, concerns or complaints, please call us at 605-594-3420. We want to continue to give the best quality product and service we can.
Thank you,
Ron and Lorie, Garretson Food Center
Ways to find Garretson Food Center's Ad:
1) Website
In your internet browser URL, type "garretsonfoodcenter.com"
When the website comes up, find a box on the front page that says "deals" or "view our ad". You even have the option of download to a ".pdf" file if you want to print it.
OR
Click on the tab "Ads & Coupons". Then choose "Ad Specials".
2) Email
Subscribe on our website and you will automatically receive our weekly ad in your emails.
In the upper right hand corner, Click on "register"
Enter the info required: Name and email and password
Click "subscribe"
You should start receiving the email on a weekly basis starting on the following Monday.
3) App
Download the "Bright Aisles" App for Mobile phone or tablet
A) On your mobile phone or tablet, go to our website, "garretsonfoodcenter.com" and find the "Bright Aisles" app picture and click "Install the app." Enter the information requested.
B) The Bright Aisles app is also found in the App Store or Google Play Store.
4) Facebook
Go to Facebook and search for Garretson Food Center and "like" our Facebook page.
Find the weekly ad on your home page every Monday and click on the picture
More information about the app:
Allow location access by hitting OK
Store finder - gives list of different stores available under the Bright Aisle App.
Choose Garretson Food Center as the default store for the Bright Aisle App
Ad Specials - Shows Garretson Food Center weekly Ad as well as store hours and phone number
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The Garretson School Board meeting met at their regularly scheduled time of April 13 at 5:45 p.m., but the meeting was unusual in other ways. Using the internet and the Zoom program, the school board convened digitally. To allow the public access to the meeting it was broadcast live on the school’s dedicated public access channel from Alliance Communications. They also allowed a small number of people access to the school commons to watch the proceedings through the large screen television in the commons that is regularly set to the school’s Alliance channel during ballgames. Only the Gazette reporter took advantage of this.
School board member Tony Martens used an empty classroom in the school, whereas Shannon Nordstrom called in from his offices at Nordstrom’s Automotive, and Ruth Sarar, Kari Flanagan, and Rachel Hanisch called in from home. Each administrator joined the meeting from their respective offices, rather than gathering together in one place.
“I’ve done a lot of calls like this before, and especially in this last month,” said Supt. Guy Johnson. “We’ll all be in little boxes just like the Brady Bunch. Just remember, if you put yourself on mute to unmute before you start talking again.”
Despite his warning, he himself and others in the meeting did this a few times. The live broadcast was not without a few technical hiccups and was far from ideal, but it functioned and everyone could be heard.
Board president Shannon Nordstrom held up a small portrait of the flag to the screen and everyone said the Pledge of Allegiance to start the meeting.
First, they talked through, amended, and then approved the agenda. Revision of employee communicable disease policy guidelines was tabled until regular school resumed and the school nurse returned. Nordstrom requested that item F on the agenda, a discussion on Teaching Staff Contract Recommendations, be added until after the executive session and so they would also amend the executive session listed to be for both personnel and contract negotiations. The board approved.
Matt Schrank Named District Teacher of the Year
Matt has been teaching not only our students, but many adults as well this year."
Superintendent Guy Johnson
The board then recognized Matt Schrank as the Garretson School District teacher of the year.
“Matt has been teaching not only our students, but many adults as well this year,” said Supt. Johnson. “The nominations came in and Matt was simply the clear winner. Not only is he doing fun and exciting things in his classes, with thoughtful engagement with his students, and he and his students doing regular broadcasts on our school’s Alliance channel, but he has taught all of our staff how to use technology in new ways. And if you have a question, Mr. Schrank will answer it, in a timely manner too. I know he’s gotten midnight questions from students and staff and he’s responded. This E-learning transition we’re doing in the midst of this crisis would simply not have been possible without him.”
Next, Jacob Schweitzer, Business Manager gave reports on the 2019 Audit of the school and the food service RFP. The audit went well, the only notation is the “lack of controls” clause which is the same complaint small districts (i.e. the majority of SD Schools) with limited personnel get annually from their auditor. Schweitzer recommended that Quam, Berglin & Post, P.C. be rehired for the next fiscal year for this service and the board did so.
He then spoke about the RFP. Thrive Nutrition Service was closing its school lunch operations as of the end of this school year. After retooling the RFP that the previous school business manager, Emily Bucher, had prepared last year, it was ready for board approval and posting. Obviously, no one was happy that this had come to pass in the way it did, but Schweitzer and Johnson were hopeful the district would get at least three potential bidders for this RFP.
2020-21 School Year Calendar Planned as Normal
Next, they spoke about a school calendar for next year. Supt. Johnson said that he hoped next year would be a normal year, and were going to plan as such. If that changed, they would meet that challenge as it was presented. This calendar included a long Christmas break as well as a four-day weekend spring break as requested by staff and students.
Supt. Johnson also discussed the hiring of temporary summer custodial staff, if possible with the Coronavirus outbreak. Summer cleanup is something they do every year, and he felt it’s just as important if not more so now.
The board voted for the candidate from Brandon to fill the vacant spot on the Associated School Boards of South Dakota executive board. They also renewed the school’s current insurance policies as is. Because of the school’s three-year average of medical expense payouts, premiums for staff will rise between $30-40 per person, depending on the plan selected by that individual from the four available plans.
Senior Capstone Changed to Elective, Adds Internship Opportunity
Next item under discussion was HS curriculum changes. This was to further discuss and ratify the plans that HS/MS Principal Chris Long brought to the board last month. The Senior Experience capstone class would be made into an elective rather than a requirement, while certain requirements that were in the curriculum of said class would be shifted to Mrs. Kelsey Buchholz’srequired classes. The new internship program would be optioned as an elective as well. The board did agree to these changes though all agreed that they wanted to keep the senior experience and to see how it could be vitalized along with the addition of this new internship program.
Two polices up for consideration were discussed, Health & Safety and Staff Participation in Political Activities. The first was as advertised and hadn’t been revised in more than 10 years. The second was for on the books regarding staff who might potentially run for public office in an election. This had not been revisited in some time either.
The board approved revisions to the Employee Communicable Diseases, use of Alcohol and Drugs policy. Minor changes only to these, to make them comply with the ASBSD recommendations. The Disease policy was the only one with significant changes, empowering the administrator to form a panel of teachers and employees to determine how long an employee would be excused from work due to illness. These were first readings and they’ll be voted on at the next meeting.
Next the principals and tech coordinator spoke about handbook policy changes. All were very minor, fixing grammatical and typographical mistakes and updating tables of contents. The board will vote on these changes at the next meeting.
State Event Policy for Sports and Activities Amended
Next the school discussed two more policy items, IGD-B Attendance at State Events and DLC-R: Expense Reimbursement. This was the issue that Board Member Tony Martens wanted looked into and amended at the last meeting. He pronounced that he was very satisfied with these changes.
Supt. Johnson said that fairness and consistency was a clear issue in the policy as written. The reimbursement policy was fine, but that the State Events policy was the cause of the consistency issues. He was confident that it was fair to athletes, coaches, statisticians and student managers. The speculation was that this was instituted as a cost saving measure at one time. It’s now been revised so that student managers are recognized for providing aide to coaches in an essential role. He also noted that this policy revision will aid the wrestling, cross country and track programs, as well as for the first time including the soccer program, a huge policy oversight since the soccer program has been a valuable addition to our sports programs for several years now, and wasn’t addressed at all in this policy. This will be voted on at the next meeting.
There were no second readings, so they went on to Administrative reports.
First Supt. Johnson updated the board on legislative news. Senate Bill 188 allows the Secretary of Education to waive the required per student hours for SD Schools in a Declared State of Emergency. So our district, like all others, will apply for a waiver. SB 189 waived all legal requirement for student testing, school drills, etc. Things impossible to do with the school closed and no students in the building but that they are normally required by law to do.
Supt. Johnson said that the legislature did approve a 2% increase in teacher pay this year, but that the lobbyist that works for ASBSD has warned all member schools that likely the Governor will hold a special session of the legislature this summer, expected in June, and they will more than likely consider budget cuts. His assessment is that certain legislators will propose cutting that increase to nothing or even making cuts. Only time will tell.
Senate Bill 174 makes Capital Outlay dollars available to be used for new software or software upgrades or updates, and that’s a potential boon to the district. HB1042 adjusts levels of Special Education dollars, changing it from a 3-year average to a two-year average, a good change especially when considering the revisions to dyslexia qualifications. Supt. Johnson had talked about unfunded mandates in this regard but he hopes this will be a workable solution for the future.
E-Learning Continues, Has Good Response
Supt. Johnson then gave his briefing and had both Elementary Principal Teresa Hulscher and MS/HS Principal Chris Long give their briefings about how the school is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school shutdown.
“When last the board met, we discussed what we would do should the worst happen and we be forced to call off school for the rest of the year,” said Supt. Johnson. “That proved to be the case and we’ve adjusted the majority of our education to an E-Learning format.”
Alliance Communications has provided free internet service to district families who do not otherwise have it, for the duration of this crisis. Now there are regular class meetings happening from 3rd grade on up. In fact, kindergarten through second grade are at very least having weekly classroom meetings. Principal Hulscher has issued school iPads to 10 families, but in many cases, they are able to use home computers or tablets, cell phones or other devices already owned by families to join in online meetings and do online lessons. Also, weekly homework packets are being distributed every Friday. She was proud to report that they had nearly 100 percent distribution, though returns are at about 75 to 80 percent for that homework. Realistically, that’s more than she expected. Children learning in a home environment is different for each and every family, and she recognized that people who work essential jobs sometimes have little time to spend with their children after a day of work. Thankfully the daycare providers are working hard with those students who are still using daycare service to get homework learning done. Grading scale is simply unable to be used this quarter, but teachers are using the homework to track the progress of the students.
All measures to protect staff and students to keep them safe from the coronavirus are being taken, including regular sterilization of surfaces and isolation of the returned homework assignments for 72 hours before being reviewed by the teacher.
Other schools are not even close to that number, and it’s a credit to Mr. Schrank and the work he’s done with our students and staff. We hit the ground running with this right away, and though we’ve had difficulties to be sure, we’ve worked together to overcome them."
Principal Chris Long
Principal Long reported a lot of success from the E-learning program the school has instituted. “Consistency” and “Communication,” he said, were his first watch words, now he says the watchwords are “Realistic” and “Relevancy.” He said that MS & HS students are given between 2-4 hours of homework and assignments per day. Every one of his teachers is crafting E-lessons, video assignments, and class meetings using Zoom. He’s proud to report that assignments completed and received back are at 85%, a number that astounded him.
“Other schools are not even close to that number, and it’s a credit to Mr. Schrank and the work he’s done with our students and staff,” he said. “We hit the ground running with this right away, and though we’ve had difficulties to be sure, we’ve worked together to overcome them.”
He also noted that he and Mr. Schrank will be collaborating to do National Honor Society events, students of the month and other such honorifics both online and broadcast on the public access channel.
“Some people think we’re not busy because the school is out, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Long said. “I’ve forgotten to eat lunch until 1:30, 2 O’clock because there is so much to do everyday.”
Board President Nordstrom said that he admits that doing the iPad program and making all of the technological upgrades at the school was something that could sometimes stretch the school’s budget a little thin, but he wanted to thank the Technology Committee for stretching every dollar of the school’s budget for the last several years because it put the district in a good position for this crisis.
Long, Nordstrom, and Supt. Johnson spoke about how the school has jumped in with both feet to meet this crisis head on, and that the teaching staff has done some serious learning themselves to make it happen. Nordstrom commented about how teacher and AD Kevin Steckler, not a luddite, but certainly no technophile either, “did some inspiring work.”
“My daughter showed me a lesson from Mr. Steckler,” Nordstrom said. “Kevin was giving it his all, and she laughed and smiled while she watched it. Sure she was laughing, but I could tell she was learning too and it was inspiring her. I told her, this is something you’ll remember for your whole life. I’m sure we don’t want to make all these lessons available for the public at large to watch, but if we could get some of them up to show people what’s happening, or even broadcast some on this channel, I think people would really enjoy seeing it.”
Schrank and the other admins said that it would be easy enough to make a highlights reel, that several teachers were doing the same thing and it would be great to showcase that for the community.
Graduation Plans Still in Progress
We’ve got 44 students graduating this year and I’ve heard about 30 different ideas from them, each wanting to do it a certain way.”
Principal Chris Long
As for graduation, what that would entail, or when it could even be scheduled, is still up in the air.
“We’ve got 44 students graduating this year and I’ve heard about 30 different ideas from them, each wanting to do it a certain way,” Long said. “I want to have graduation as much as anyone and I want to do it correctly and safely for everyone. We’ve got time yet, to plan something. This situation is changing week by week. We have time, and we’ll figure something out and as soon as we do, the board and the public will be the first to know. We want to protect the folks in our community, grandparents of our students and our senior citizens who enjoy our ballgames and activities.”
The board had an executive session after these reports for personnel and contract negotiations. After it was over and they were back to broadcasting, they voted to approve the list of teachers recommended for contracts. Supt. Johsnon told the Gazette that, “Their motion allows us to issue contracts to staff we will have returning next year. We do have one staff member to replace - Mrs. Hersom, who announced her retirement last month, but this action has no impact on that.”
The Garretson City Council meeting for April included an extension of Ordinance 655, which requires businesses to maintain 10 patrons or fewer at any one time, temporarily closed playgrounds and the campground, and began to explore creating a “blighted area renewal” tax relief plan for the area containing the Senior Center building.
The meeting began with an introduction from Jesse Folkert, the new executive director of Minnehaha and Lincoln County Economic Development Associations (MCEDA and LCEDA). He has taken the reins from Nick Fosheim, and is excited to work with Garretson to accomplish its economic development goals (for instance, the council worked closely with MCEDA to redesign its ordinances and to create the Capital Improvement Plan, all of which is aligned with the goal to move Garretson forward economically). A 2014 Augustana graduate, he noted that he does have family in Garretson, so is closely affiliated with the community.
The council approved natural gas prices as recommended, then moved into committee reports, beginning with the Fire Department. Dan Wagner is now Fire Chief. He reported there were 66 calls so far this year, and three people have begun firefighter certification training. They have been working closely with the Garretson Ambulance to get training and PPE (personal protective equipment) in readiness for COVID-19. They are currently still short with regards to gowns and face shields, but can work with the ambulance to acquire some until their backordered supply comes in. He noted that they had a great community response regarding the fire truck parade.
Kurtis Nelson with the Garretson Ambulance reported next, noting their numbers of calls and transports have remained steady so far this year. They have had 56 calls and have 17 active members on their roster, including one registered nurse and one EMT who had just finished the advanced EMT course. They did have to cancel their annual ambulance breakfast fundraiser due to the virus, and will be looking at replacement dates. They have also been working on COVID-19 readiness, minimizing contact with patients and doing additional screening when receiving calls. They too are working to acquire more PPE, but Nelson believes they can handle approximately 20-25 patients before their supply runs out. If they are unable to obtain PPE through normal means, there is a state stockpile they could utilize if needed.
Mayor Greg Beaner expressed his appreciation that the Fire Department, Ambulance, and Law Enforcement were working together in this situation.
The Parks Advisory Committee then presented their report with regards to the three parks. With Grow Garretson, they have raised $3400 after expenses toward the picnic shelter, and are planning to move ahead with the concrete for this summer. They’ve also been working on signage and clean-up, and are looking forward to the installation of the security system at the three parks and the curb and gutter placement at the JC Complex.
They then had some recommendations, the first regarding a response to the pandemic. Due to an inability of the City to keep up with cleaning and sanitizing several areas, they recommended temporarily closing areas such as the restrooms/port-a-potties, playground, visitor’s information center, and picnic shelters. They also recommended keeping the campground closed for the time being. It was slated to open April 1, but due to soft road conditions within Splitrock Park, those gates had remained closed. They did note that opening the gates to canoeing, kayaking, and hiking should be allowed once the roads allow, and that foot traffic should otherwise be okay.
“I’ve thought about this, and I don’t know what the right answer is,” said Mayor Beaner.
Councilmember Bill Hoskins expressed a concern that if the toilets are not available, that other parts of the park may be used for such activities, but keeping up with cleaning and maintaining would be impossible. Mayor Beaner also noted that at that time, state park campgrounds and public facilities were also closed.
Councilmember Dave Bonte inquired as to some of the rationale for closing camping, and accepted the answer that it was to prevent group gatherings and the potential for spreading the virus through commonly-touched objects, such as picnic tables. Councilmember Richelle Hofer suggested that perhaps things shouldn’t be closed without an end date, but re-evaluated at each council meeting.
Councilmember Jodi Gloe, Parks Board advisor, noted that this is what the Park Board is for. “What we have them to do, is make recommendations,” she said. It was then up to the council to make the final decisions. With an agreement to visit the recommendations again at the May meeting, the council voted to act on them.
The Park Board then made a few more recommendations on ways to improve the parks, and the council moved on to an update from Vanessa Victor of Infrastructure Design Group with regards to the 5th Street bridge project. She expected that some drilling through the core of the bridge deck would be occurring shortly in order to find the foundations (due to the fact that the entire bridge will be jacked up in order to do some of the work), which is one of the final steps prior to finalizing the plans for the project. The plans then would go to the SDDOT for approval and then out for bid. When asked when the city could expect the project to begin, Victor responded that it is likely to start in mid-July, but that this depends on the contractor. She expects the project to take approximately six weeks, but wanted to clarify that it may often look like no work was being done.
“Residents may think that you’ve closed down the bridge and nothing is happening,” she said. “That is not the case. They have to wait for concrete to cure…they may not necessarily be out there for the month that the concrete is curing.” She noted that this was actually the most time-intensive part of the project. Upon questioning as to which contractors were available, Victor stated that there were very few rehabilitative contractors, and there were two at the top of the list that both had very good reputations.
The council then discussed the Citywide Cleanup. The trend across the state of SD has been to cancel or postpone, though councilmember Godbey was of the opinion that it should go on. Garbage N More is the contracted service provider. It was suggested that perhaps moving it to a later date would be a good idea in order to encourage social distancing, and the council agreed to that. A new date was not set, and it will be re-evaluated at the May meeting.
City Finance Officer Anna Uhl then gave an update with regards to natural gas. A letter of termination had been sent to Centerpoint Energy, but no response had been received. Once that is completed, the city will then be moving ahead with using Clayton Energy out of Nebraska. She also gave an update on the response to the RFP (request for proposals) for the community center, and said there was plenty of interest for it. The council will be reviewing the requests and narrowing it down to three contractors for the council to interview.
Next, the mayor gave an update on the street project. Currently, they’re still waiting for the bond company to choose a contractor.
Then the council revisited the current steps that have been taken as to the COVID-19 response, opting to extend the end date of the ordinance until at least May 4.
“I think we’ve taken all the important and necessary steps right now to keep everybody safe,” Mayor Beaner said. “Seems like there’s good compliance with all of our businesses.”
In new business, the council then spoke with Norm DeWitt, who recently purchased the Senior Center building on the corner of 3rd and Main. He is currently in conversation with the family of Dennis Hoven, who owned the building next to it on 3rd Street, in order to purchase that as well. They are working to rehabilitate the old Senior Center/Jesse James Opera House building and converting it to 7-unit apartments. If they are able to purchase the Hoven building, they are also planning to place indoor parking and four more units, depending on the structural integrity. He is hoping to save the Hoven building if possible.
DeWitt was approaching the City to request a letter of recommendation for an Urban Renewal/blighted area tax break, to give them the time to develop the area prior to having residents. Currently, the Senior Center is listed as a non-profit building, but that will change. Uhl is also working with the city attorney to see if it’s possible to have other buildings included, so other business owners can use that to improve their buildings. Essentially, if it increases the value of a building by at least $30,000, the building is eligible for the discretionary tax schedule, but there are some stipulations. It does work on a tiered schedule. The first year a tax payment is required on just land, the second year on land plus 25% of the property tax, the third year it increases to 50%, etc. At the sixth year it is taxed at the full value of land and building. After some discussion as to DeWitt’s further plans for the Hoven building (once purchased), the council agreed, stating that they were all for the work DeWitt was doing to rehabilitate a currently-unusable building. The council will wait to receive all materials from the city attorney first, and then vote for the resolution at the May meeting.
The council then looked at moving its ordinance records on-line to a service called American Eagle Publishing, but due to the financial insecurity of the current time, they opted to wait and re-visit the option. Contracting through American Eagle would have an initial cost of $6500, then $500 per year, but it includes a searchable ordinance database for Garretson and some legal services. Currently, over 40 cities in South Dakota are using it and give positive reviews.
The council then listened to a request from councilmember Hofer, who was acting as a representative of Grow Garretson. The board of Grow Garretson had been able and willing to form a Grow Garretson Relief Fund, and they were requesting $5000 from the City’s third-penny sales tax fund to use as seed money. Uhl responded to inquiries as to the current total in the tax account that there was approximately $14,000 in that account, and that it had to be used for very specific things, such as promotion or betterment of the community. The relief fund has a potential of continuing after the pandemic passes, but depends on how much money is infused into the account and how much is requested and used over time. The council agreed to use the funds for the relief fund, and granted the request. Grow Garretson’s relief fund information can be found at GrowGarretson.com/relief-fund.
As a final piece, Uhl read the Pool Board report to the council. The Pool Board was holding a raffle fundraiser that was slated to end that Wednesday. At this time, there aren’t any finalized plans for the pool for this summer in light of the pandemic, as they are taking a wait-and-see approach. Their staff needs were fulfilled so they weren’t needing to advertise any spots for hire.
Then, the council voted to go into executive session and adjourned. The next meeting of the City Council is scheduled for Monday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. Information on how to attend via Zoom or phone will be included in the agenda and posted on the City website or the front door of City Hall.
