The Garretson Gazette

News for 2-6-20

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February 5, 2020

The Treasure Chest is celebrating its 7th anniversary this weekend with free hot dogs and sales. The non-profit has been benefiting people locally, state-wide, and internationally since its start. Election season has begun, and local voters are encouraged to consider petitioning for a local office. The Gazette also has full coverage of this season's legislature, and a rare editorial from Editor Garrick Moritz.

There's a lot going on in our community. Keep up with all of it with the Community Events Calendar on page 4 in the on-line or paper version. With your on-line subscription, you can download it here and have it easy to hand!

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Local Elections Matter

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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by Carrie Moritz, Gazette

Nominating petitions for three elections in Garretson and Sherman have opened as of this past Tuesday, which means local community members are encouraged to consider running for elected office.

The Garretson City Council, the Garretson School District, and the Sherman Town Board all have positions available.

Serving in an elected position is a privilege in the United States, allowing each person the chance to represent the voices of those who live and work in the area. While government moves slowly, a person in service can work to improve the lives of those they are representing and ensure the community or school moves in a direction that is positive.

Requirements for local elected office are few in South Dakota. While it does help to have good leadership and relationship-building abilities, those skills are not required. The only requirements are a signature on a petition form, timeliness (petitions are due on Feb 28), and the willingness to head out and gather signatures from neighbors. Any offices with two or more petitions will go up for election, which will be held April 14.

Garretson’s municipal government has three wards with two representatives each. Each ward covers approximately one-third of the population in the area (see map) and any registered voter within a ward with an opening is eligible to run.

Nearly the entire City Council is up for re-election, including the Mayor. Since two city councilors were appointed after last year’s elections, where no one petitioned to run for Wards I and III, there are two one-year City Council positions open. Wards I, II and III all have two-year openings.

If no one petitions to run for any open position, the Mayor retains the right to appoint a representative.

To enter the nomination for your ward, pick up a form at City Hall and gather a maximum of 50 signatures (a minimum of 5% of registered voters’ signatures are required).

In Sherman, one three-year term is available to join the Town Board. To enter for nomination, contact Cheryl Swenson, Town Clerk. As a smaller municipality, only three signatures at a minimum are required.

The Garretson School District also has one 3-year at-large position open on the school board. To pick up a petition, contact the Business Manager at the school. Any person located within the Garretson School District is eligible to run. A minimum of 20 signatures from voters in the district is required.

All petitions are due by February 28 at 5:00 p.m. Election dates will be finalized within the next two weeks, but are likely to be on April 14. Voter registration forms will be due by March 31 to vote.

Local Treasure! (Preview)

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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The Treasure Chest celebrates 7 years this weekend, Feb. 8

By Garrick Moritz, Gazette

The Treasure Chest in Garretson has become a cornerstone on Main Ave. It started with inspiration and a meeting of the minds, and became something that has benefited many.

“At the time, the building was for sale, and it had been for sale for a while,” said Connie Johnson. “Terry came home, and said that he thought that we should buy that building. I didn’t think much of the idea, I didn’t know what we’ d use it for, but I just let it go.”

What happened next, Johnson credits to divine inspiration. She woke in the middle of the night, convinced that God wanted them to buy the building and use it for the benefit of the community. She said she was confused, that she didn’t understand, but that she decided to go give the building a look. In her mind, the word Monopoly for some reason had

stuck and wouldn’t go away. And when she had Terry take her inside on a tour, they found an old sign advertising the classic board game in the office section. It struck her like a thunderbolt.

“I didn’t know what was happening,” she said. “I just knew that we had to buy the building because God wanted us to, and because he wanted the building used for his purposes.”

So they bought the building and began painting and redecorating, and a meeting of the minds occurred on Main.

“Kris Frerk had been talking about trying to open up a vendor operation in town. With this building, we could provide that space. It was a meeting of multiple purposes for all. We also were looking for a place to store items that people needed. (With the idea of creating a charitable consignment and thrift store on the model of Goodwill and the Salvation Army.)

Continued on Page 2- Online subscription required

The Treasure Chest will be celebrating their 7th anniversary this weekend, Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. with a free hot dogs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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3 GHS students get acting awards at Regions!

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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3 GHS students get acting awards at Regions!

The Garretson High School one-act play, Whispers, performed at Regional competition last week Wednesday in Madison. They competed against five other schools, including Madison, Flandreau, Tri Valley, Baltic, and Dell Rapids. They placed fourth in the region and brought home three outstanding actor awards. First place went to Madison, second to Flandreau, and third to Dell Rapids.

This year, Garretson was required to perform a serious/dramatic one-act, which can be difficult for students.

“I am very proud of the one-act's progress this year! The students did a great job bringing the show from script to stage. They tackled the topic of 'losing a parent in combat' with respect and grace,” said director Erika Brown.

While they didn’t make it to State this year, they did bring home three outstanding actor awards for Amber Hulscher, Molly Hulscher, and Morgan Moritz.

“We will continue to grow and look forward to our competition again next year,” said Brown.

Above are the cast and crew of Whispers, front row (L to R): Kennedy Lee (tech), Samantha Kruger (Hayden), Morgan Moritz (Jenny), Aliah Lymon (Marie), Mattea Fiegen (Kate), Molly Hulscher (Jessie), Nika Sapunar (Kelly). Back row (L to R): Erika Brown (Director), Amber Hulscher (Jamie), Drew Pederson (Dane), Madden Lardy (tech). Not pictured: Oliviyah Thornton (tech).

JH Lady Blue Dragons Win the Big East Conference!

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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JH Lady Blue Dragons Win the Big East Conference!

Saturday, January 25, 2020 the 7th and 8th Grade Girls Ball Team won the Big East Conference Junior High Girls Basketball Tournament held at Sioux Valley. The Girls defeated Deubrook in the quarterfinals, Wolsey-Wessington in the semifinals, and Sioux Valley in the Championship. Congratulations JH Lady Dragons!

Front Row (kneeling...Left to Right) Ashley Harris, Kaylin Leedy, Maci Rotert, Mia Christensen, Tayler Benson, Addison Hove, Adair Hanisch. Back Row (standing...Left to Right), Hannah Frewaldt, Jordyn Williams, Bryn Swatek, Sydney Olson, Addisynn Fink, Kylie Christensen, Mikayla Heesch, and Coach Howe. Not pictured, Isabella Syss, Ava Nordstrom, Aleah Wagner, Maiya Strand, Lexi Gawarecki, and Coach Williamson

(photo contributed by Kevin Steckler, Assistant Athletic Director, Blue Dragons)

Wrestlers Have Busy Week

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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By Oran Sorenson, Coach

The wrestling team is in that part of the season where all involved need to keep an eye on their calendar to keep up with all the events soon coming. On Tuesday January 28th the Blue Dragons hosted their second home event of the year facing both the Parkston Trojans and the Patriots of Sioux Falls Lincoln in a triangular.

The first action of the night was the contest between Garretson and perennial powerhouse Parkston. A big matchup for the night was the very first action among two state ranked wrestlers at 106 lbs. Preston Bohl lost by decision 7-1 to Porter Neugebauer. We were able to pickup two victories in the first half of the dual with Jayse Miller winning by decision 12-7 and Hunter Abraham doing the same by a 9-4 score. Our only other victories in round one were forfeits earned by Dominic Abraham, Jayden Richter, and Gabe Johnson. Parkston won the dual by a final score of 37-20.

Our second dual of the night found our Blue Dragons regrouping for one of their finest performances of the year against Lincoln. “Our boys seem to get fired up when wrestling the Sioux Falls Schools,” said Coach Francis Ruml. One of our other top performances came last week against Sioux Falls O’Gorman. This time our lower weights came through in flying colors catapulting the Blue Dragons to a 27-12 lead at the mid-way point. Preston Bohl and Jayse Miller both earned pins while Hunter Abraham picked up a decision and Braxton Rozeboom and Tayson Swatek both picked up forfeits. Two of the biggest victories of the night came when both Dominic Abraham and Parker Schlenker pinned worthy opponents in quick fashion in the middle weights to bring the home crowd proudly to their feet in the middle weights. In the upper weights Jayden Richter would earn a forfeit and first year wrestler Gabe Johnson would continue his fast-track of improvement again bringing the home crowd to their feet with a well-deserved fall at HWT. The final score was Garretson 51 and Sioux Falls Lincoln 28.

On Saturday the first day of February, the wrestling bus would leave for our farthest event of the year pulling out at 6:00 am for the long trek to Wagner to attend one of the best tournaments of the year.

“The Wagner tournament is very important, giving our boys a chance to see some of the best wrestlers in the state, something very important toward helping prepare our athletes for the State Tournament,” said assistant coach Jason Bohl. “Most all of our boys earned victories in this tough tournament,” said volunteer Coach Oran Sorenson. “At the end of the day we witnessed three of our athletes on the award stand amongst some of the finest athletes in each respective weight class in our state.”

Our first medalist at this major event was Preston Bohl. Preston had a grueling day wrestling a total of six matches. Preston came from behind in round one to earn a pin. In round two he lost in overtime. In the wrestle backs Bohl won two in a row before falling 5-0 to the third-place finalist from Phillip. In the fifth-place match Garretson’s 106 entrant won by decision to revenge an earlier defeat for the day over the opponent he lost to in round two. At 160 Parker Schlenker went 3-2 for the day finishing sixth. Like Bohl, Parker won his first by pin before falling in the quarterfinals. In the wrestle backs Parker would win two in a row before falling in the last round of wrestle backs to the eventual fourth place medalist. In the fifth- place match Schlenker lost by decision to a previous nemesis from Freeman. Our final medalist was 220 lb. freshman Jayden Richter. After a first-round bye, Jayden was pinned in the quarters by the eventual fourth place finisher. After two victories in the wrestle backs, Richter would lose two in a row to experienced opponents to finish sixth for the day.

Other wrestlers winning matches and team points for the Blue Dragons were Jayse Miller, Hunter Abraham, Dominic Abraham, Hayden Stotereau, and Gabe Johnson. Miller, wrestling at 113 lbs., finished one match short of placing facing some good competition on the day. Next on the calendar for our team will be Tuesday at Elk Point Jefferson and Saturday in Clark participating in the Big East Conference tournament. Good luck in upcoming events.

Gallery Photos by Kristen Westover and Heather Abraham

Blue Dragon boys C Team takes a step back; goes 1-3 in recent action

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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by Cory Buchholz, coach

The Blue Dragon C team traveled to Luverne on January 13 and came away with a convincing 36-21 win.

“We struggled to get any sort of rhythm going in the first half. The shots were there; we just didn’t execute,” stated coach Buchholz. “We had to adjust at halftime to playing halves rather than quarters. But our second half defense really came alive and got us some easy transition layups and kick out shots that finally started to drop for us.”

Leading the way was Isaiah Gnadt with 13 points followed by Sam Schleuter with 6. Cadyn Ockenga, Matthew Gilbert, and Drew Pederson all had 4 points apiece while Dylan Jessen and Eli Reed each had 3 and 2, respectively.

Next the C team took on the Trojans from West Central on January 16. The Blue Dragons were defeated by a score of 28 – 40.

“We had 2 quarters that really hurt us, the first and the fourth. They jumped out on us right from the get go and had us down by 10 at the end of the first quarter,” said Buchholz. “I was really proud of the way we battled back to be down by only 3 points after 3 quarters but we just didn’t want it bad enough in the last quarter. As we preach and preach

over and over, we need to come out ready to play from the opening tip to the final whistle, and we just came out too flat.”

Pushing the pace was Isaiah Gnadt with 14 points (4 3-pointers), Cayden Ockenga and Eli Reed each with 4 points, while Sam Schleuter and Dylan Jessen each with 3 points.

Garretson traveled to Vermillion on January 24 to take on the Tanagers and fell by the score of 21 – 32.

“This was such a winnable game and I hope that the boys realize it as much as we as coaches do. We didn’t shoot the ball well at all, but we kept trying to hit the dagger shot, even while behind and that simply can’t happen. As they say, you live and die by the 3 and in this game we buried ourselves,” noted Coach Buchholz.

Sam Schleuter led the way with 6 points followed closely by Eli Reed with 5. Dylan Jessen and Isaiah Gnadt each knocked down a 3-pointer while Drew Pederson and Matthew Gilbert each had a 2-point bucket apiece.

Finally the C team had a rematch date with the Baltic Bulldogs on January 27 in the Dragon’s Lair, losing a close contest by the score of 40 – 45.

“Intensity out of the gates is huge and we once again came out flat, not ready to play. Somehow the boys need to realize that other teams will not just give us free buckets, time outs, etc.; they must all be earned. To earn them, we have to come out of the locker room ready to play when we step on the floor. Baltic came out ready to play and shot the ball with confidence (9 3-pointers as a team) and going forward we need to start again to be confident with our own abilities,” stated Coach Buchholz.

Leading the way again was Isaiah Gnadt with 16 points (all in 2nd half), Cadyn Ockenga with 9 and Sam Schleuter with 8 points. Drew Pederson and Eli Reed each had 4 and 3 points apiece.

The Flyers Nip The Blue Dragons

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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by Tad Heitkamp, Head Coach

The Blue Dragons hit the road January 28th, 2020, to battle conference rivals from Flandreau in a little basketball action.

The Blue Dragons put together 24 minutes of quality basketball this evening, but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough as the Flyers defeated Garretson 52-49.

“The kids came out the opening stanza playing pretty well. We were executing on offense and playing solid defense, which allowed us to capitalize on scoring opportunities,” stated Coach Heitkamp. “The downfall of the entire night was the 2nd quarter, as we gave up 19 points and only scored 4 points of our own. We lost the fire and motivation to play for some reason during that time frame...”

The second half was a different story for the visiting Blue Dragons as they challenged Flandreau at every turn, ultimately giving them an opportunity at the end to pull out the victory.

“The kids just flipped the script the final 16 minutes. They were flying around the court, playing great team defense, and hitting some key shots, which gave us an opportunity at the end,” said Heitkamp. “We have emphasized all season long, when playing Blue Dragon basketball, we are a tough team to handle. We put ourselves in a position to win the last 30 seconds, but unfortunately we didn’t execute a couple of plays to pull out the victory. Either way...I was very excited on how the kids battled the second half.”

Josef Zahn (8 rebounds) was the game’s high scorer this evening as he tallied 20 points w/six 3-pointers. Dylan Kindt (3 steals) had a nice night as well, as he dropped down 11 points. Trey Buckneberg (8 rebounds/5 steals) collected 7 points of his own. Jake Schroeder (4 assists) and Lucas Fitzgerald added 4 and 3 points each, while Cooper Long and Cole Skadsen rounded out the scoring with 2 points apiece.

Two wins out of 3 for GHS Girls Basketball

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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Two wins out of 3 for GHS Girls Basketball

submitted by Matt Schrank, Head Coach

The Big East Conference Tournament is always a fun weekend for our athletes. We went in as the #3 seed and came out with 3rd place.

The first game we played Chester, which was a rematch from January 3rd. We came out fast and started the game with a 22-5 1st quarter lead. Our press was just a bit too much for them and we forced a lot of turnovers and that turned into some fast break layups. We were up 52-22 after 3 quarters which means the clock runs unless there is a time-out, the final score was 60-24. Lizzie Olson had a nice game with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Lauren Heesch had 13 points and 4 steals. Jaelyn Benson, Mya Long, and Rachel Kindt all had 3 steals and Aftyn Heitkamp had 4 assists.

The 2nd round game was another rematch, this time against the Flandreau Fliers. We dropped the last one to them by 28 points just 2 weeks prior, so we were excited to show everyone that we had more in us than that last effort. The game was back and forth, with them coming out early and forcing some turnovers and getting some easy buckets.

Once we settled in we made a couple of nice runs ourselves. We had a rough first quarter and were down 16-5. But, we didn’t seem to be thinking about the mistakes we were making, but how to make a play the next trip. We had a good 2nd quarter and closed the game and were only down 22-26 at halftime. We came out with a bang right after halftime with a 9-0 run, and pulled ahead by 5.

They ended the quarter with a couple of baskets and still led at the quarter break 40-38. The 4th quarter went back and forth till about the 3 minute mark, when we ran out of gas and missed a few shots, and they didn’t. They ended up beating us 60-48, in a fun back and forth matchup. Lizzie Olson led us in scoring with 23 points and she also hauled down 17 rebounds and chipped in 5 steals. Lily Ranschau had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks. Lauren Heesch had 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.

In the 3rd place game we were matched up with Beresford. In a game that we controlled the majority of, we just couldn’t seem to hit the big shots to put away the Lady Watchdogs. It was a good matchup of defense and we came away with the 46-37 win. Lizzie led us in scoring for the 3rd straight game with 21, Jaelyn Benson chipped in with 10. Lizzie had 9 rebounds, Jaelyn with 6 as well as Lauren Heesch with 6. Jaelyn also had 3 steals and 4 assists.

Letter to the Editor: an open letter To Governor Noem and all South Dakota State Representatives and Senators

Opinion

Carrie Moritz

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February 5, 2020

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To Governor Noem and all South Dakota State Representatives and Senators

Whether it is the catastrophic fires devastating Australia, the staggering loss of ice in Greenland, or the unprecedented rainfall and flooding here in South Dakota in 2019, the evidence that climate change is upon us is beyond dispute. Considering our national administration's dismissal of science and scientists, it has fallen on states and the general populace to take the steps necessary to mitigate the rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and preserve the very inhabitability of this planet.

Therefore, the Sierra Club of South Dakota, more than 1700 members strong, urges the State of South Dakota and Governor Noem to join the governors of 24 other states, including those of our neighbors in Montana and Minnesota, in the United States Climate Alliance. A fact sheet from this bipartisan coalition outlining their commitments and priorities is available online at the www.usclimatealliance.org website.

The fossil fuel industry has known for decades of the effects of climbing levels of CO2. Climate scientists and, more recently, climate activists have been sounding alarms about rising sea levels, more severe storm events, and other dangers for many years. These warnings have largely gone unheeded, and while the time to act was long ago, every action that we take NOW can reduce the damage to come.

We believe that a very positive first step for South Dakota is to join this alliance. South Dakota would benefit from the coordination with the other member states to identify the working programs and policies already in place elsewhere. The fact sheet enumerates priority sectors and suggests actions, tool development, both financial and regulatory, and policy frameworks. Please take the time to read this document.

The next decade is critical. How we react to the signs we are seeing will determine the environment our children and all that follow will inherit. The United States must become the world leader in this effort, but for now, let us at least become a part of the nationwide collaboration of the states!

Sincerely,

Mark Winegar, Chairman

South Dakota Sierra Club

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News for 2-6-20

Spotlight Articles

Blue Dragon Academy celebrates retirement of Donna Larson

Garretson and Sherman city clean-up this week

County Burn Ban lifted as of April 28th

On-line Subscribers Get More!

This Week's Spotlight Photos

Local Elections Matter

Local Treasure! (Preview)

The Treasure Chest celebrates 7 years this weekend, Feb. 8

FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE NOW TO ALL MAIL SUBSCRIBERS

3 GHS students get acting awards at Regions!

JH Lady Blue Dragons Win the Big East Conference!

Wrestlers Have Busy Week

Blue Dragon boys C Team takes a step back; goes 1-3 in recent action

The Flyers Nip The Blue Dragons

Two wins out of 3 for GHS Girls Basketball

Letter to the Editor: an open letter To Governor Noem and all South Dakota State Representatives and Senators

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