Lady Blue Dragons bring back core of last year’s team
by Hayden Olofson, GHS Blue Ink
Even though it’s thirty degrees outside, the girls are breaking a sweat in the gym, doing drills, scrimmages, and hustling the ball up and down the court. The Garretson girls’ basketball team started practice this week with two seniors taking the place of one senior last year.
Photo from the Dec. 5 Garretson Food Pantry charity scrimmage play for the GHS girls and boys teams.
Seniors Aftyn Heitkamp and Rachel Kindt will be filling the shoes of Greenhoff.
Head coach Matt Schrank said, “Kylie Greenhoff graduated and we lost some role players that are not returning to the team this year. So there will be a lot of opportunities for others to step up.”
Last season the Lady Blue Dragons went 13-8 overall, 4-3 in the BEC, taking the consolation championship in the BEC tournament.
Schrank, in his second year as girls’ head coach, along with assistant coach Bev Howe, set some goals. They are hoping to win their conference as well as the conference tournament, a SoDak16 berth is high up on the list, and of course the ultimate goal is a trip out to Rapid City.
While the goals are lofty, they have the components to make it happen. Last season Lizzie Olson was a 1st team Big East All-Conference selection, while Lauren Heesch and Jaelyn Benson were honorable mentions. All three players are returning this season.
The girls’ basketball team at this point is looking for leaders to shine on the court. That opportunity is out there for everyone. This season Coach Schrank hopes to be a little more balanced in scoring as well.
The ladies have a competitive schedule with both conference and non-conference games.
Coach Schrank believes that all teams are beatable, but emphasized a few in conference. “McCook Central/Montrose, Flandreau, and Beresford will be the teams to beat.”
He also said, “We are going to have a balanced attack on offense, and we will be able to throw a lot of different defenses at teams. Our deep bench and versatility will give teams a tough time”.
This girls’ basketball team could be a very exciting team to watch this year. There are a lot of girls that are vying for varsity playing time. There will be a constant competition throughout the year. The community was able to preview that last Thursday night during an inter-squad scrimmage. The Lady Blue Dragons tip off their season at Tri-Valley this Friday as part of a boys-girls double header.
With high hopes for the 2019-2020 season, the boys Blue Dragons basketball team’s expected outcome is unpredictable with such a young squad: new coaches, upcoming high schoolers, and new seniors.
Photo from the Dec. 5 Garretson Food Pantry charity scrimmage play for the GHS girls and boys teams.
While the coaches are not new to the program, they are filling in different roles.
New head coach Tad Heitkamp has tons of experience coaching, with 18 years under his belt. He has four years of junior high and 13 years of assistant coaching prior to becoming head coach.
New assistant coach Cory Buchholz will be going on his sixth year of coaching basketball. All previous years were served as a volunteer to the high school boys basketball program.
Along with coaches in new roles, players find themselves there too. The Blue Dragons have only one returning starter, Sophomore Dylan Kindt. Others have experience on the varsity court but will see a shift in their roles and playing time this year.
Both coaches stated that for the time being, the four seniors, Cole Skadsen, Hayden Olofson, Trey Buckneberg, and Lucas Fitzgerald, will be the captains.
With the four seniors bringing leadership to the team, Coach Buchholz and Coach Heitkamp both see the team coming together as one complete unit and can’t say just one or two players are the leader.
“We, as a team, are great at picking each other up and making sure that, from seniors down to freshman, everybody knows that they belong and we are here for each other,” Buchholz stated, and Heitkamp agreed.
Both coaches believe that the goal for the team is to learn to become one, and just become a better team through working on communication and overall teamwork. However, they also believe that if they achieve the goals they have set, they should have no problem having a winning record this year with a team that has as much skill as this one.
Coaches Heitkamp and Buchholz pegged teams to beat this year in the BEC as Sioux Valley and Baltic, because both teams have good upcoming players with experience playing varsity basketball.
The boys were able to showcase skills in a scrimmage last Thursday and have their first contest this Friday, Dec 13, at Tri-Valley. The sky's the limit for this young Blue Dragon team.
Winter season sports have begun, we've got another Neighbor you should know, and the Garretson Elementary youth got to enjoy a model trains display at last week's First Bank & Trust Open House, plus much more!
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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Ron and Lori Luke have been active members of the community and the Garretson Commercial Club for the last two decades.
“We bought the grocery store here in Garretson in 1996, so yeah we’ve been here for 23 years,” said Lorie Luke. “Ron has been working in the grocery business for most of his adult life, starting at the Marion grocery store.”
“I was a senior in high school when they hired me, and I worked there for about seven years,” Ron Luke said.
From there, he worked in sales, all the while looking, keeping an eye out for a store that he could buy and that he and Lori could own and operate.
“We were living in Sioux Falls and we wanted to raise our family in a small town too,” Lori said.
Garretson was the right opportunity.
“I’m thankful that the local bank was willing to take a chance with me,” he said. “It was a gamble for them. We didn’t have anything starting out, but they had confidence that we’d be able to make it work and I’m happy to say that we did. I’m grateful to the community who’s supported us.”
Over the years they’ve earned a reputation for excellence in service and product, earning the 2016 SD Retailer of the Year Award from the South Dakota Retailers Association. People make the drive from Sioux Falls to come up to shop, and he supplies several local restaurants. They have also been very active with the local American Legion, Commercial Club and are a constant partner working with and supplying the Garretson Food Pantry.
Jim & Kathy Kellum of Garretson. Kathy is wearing a sample of the jewelry she makes, and below is a sample of Jim’s gunsmithing work, top is a customized rifle with some wonderful stock art and below is a restoration of a family heirloom shotgun that actually belongs to Gazette editor Garrick Moritz.
Jim and Kathy Kellum are both interesting and knowledgeable people who contribute to the worth of the community. They have lived in Garretson since 2014.
Jim works for the Amesbury- Truth Co. which has seven plants around the country. Jim works at the Sioux Falls facility. He was employed at one of their competitors in the Eastern U. S. prior.
After starting work in Sioux Falls, he commuted to the East each weekend to help get ready to move to Garretson.
While here, he drove around to the towns around Sioux Falls to see what living possibilities each offered. He selected Garretson as a good place to live. He and Kathy decided that the house in Garretson was the house which they wanted to live in.
Amesbury-Truth manufactures components for large window and door installations. Jim designs some of the components and is an expert at installation of the components and troubleshooting any problems. Jim has over 30 U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications.
Before taking his present job, Jim worked at other companies that afforded him extensive travel in Europe, Japan, Mexico and China. He has many very interesting experiences to tell about.
When he was in Seattle applying for work, he met Kathy who was to be his wife. Jim was in the Navy 1966-1970 and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. Today Jim holds a U.S. Coast Guard license as a Merchant Marine Engineering Officer.
Since Jim and Kathy have lived in Garretson they established activities which showcase activities of their intelligence and abilities.
I can attest to Kathy’s culinary skills by the delicious pumpkin pie she served when I came to collect Jim’s Legion dues. Her other interests include being a licensed massage therapist and Reiki Master.
Currently she is painting an array of very pretty Christmas cards and is also making very beautiful jewelry using very small beads and semi-precious stones. She also has a tastefully decorated home. She is a very talented lady.
Jim is journeyman machinist, mechanical engineer and became a self-taught gunsmith before finally completing a Master Gunsmith course.
He secured zoning permission from the City of Garretson because being a gunsmith is a business even though it is in a separate location. He got approval from his close neighbors. He does not display any advertising signs.
Jim has all the equipment and parts to repair or rebuild any type of small arms including a special forge used when he has to make a part.
Whether the weapon is an old one to be used as a display item or is one that needs repair or modification to be put in working order, Jim does a beautiful job. He does not advertise, and only does work for people he knows or direct referrals. Jim could refer to his gunsmith work as a part time vocation, but I am confident that he could make a very good living at it because he is so good at it.
The Garretson City Council met in regular session on Dec. 2, 2019. This meeting had many facets, as the council discussed policing, nuisance reports, trees, potential load limits for city streets, and amending the contract with the Rekstads to include utilizing online registration for the Splitrock Park campground.
After the meeting was convened the council approved their agenda, minutes and claims.
Joe Bosman of the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Department gave the council the Sheriff’s Report. Bosman reported that, generally, crime is down in the Garretson Area. Arrests and case reports for assaults and drugs have decreased since 2018. Theft cases remain the same. Speeding citations have dropped from 115 to 52 and DUI citations dropped from 24 to 10.
Councilman Tom Godbey asked if officers do a regular check of doors in the city’s residential areas. Bosman responded that they only check doors when they note something suspicious. He also noted that they vary their patrols constantly so as not to form a discernible pattern potential thieves can adjust to. Councilwoman Richelle Hofer asked about the city’s noise ordinance as regards to barking dogs. Bosman said that Captain Walsh has received a copy of the city’s new ordinance draft and will review it, and will have notes for them by their next regular meeting.
Concerns were also brought up that traffic was not stopping at stop signs (specifically the 4 way stop on Dows after school dismissal), and that the posted sign that forbids dynamic engine braking within city limits is likewise being ignored by passing trucks. Bosman said that he will direct officers to be present as a deterrence during times of peak activity. Crossing double lines to park was also discussed. Bosman said that unless an officer directly witnesses this act, it is difficult to enforce.
The council then heard from their park board. Colleen Collier presented for the park board and reported that the Light the Park event had so far been a solid success. At or around 150 vehicles came through the park on opening night. Subsequent nights have also been steadily busy with a good number of visitors. She also publicly thanked Brad Farrell for his assistance as he created a secure donation box out of an old mailbox of Collier’s. Councilman Dave Bonte and Councilwoman Hofer had both taken the tour and complemented the Park Board on a job well done. Councilwoman Jodi Gloe also commended the park board on all their hard work, and thanked them and the community as a whole for making this idea a reality.
The above picture hangs in the hallway at Spirit Canyon apartments. For months local residents Edna Bragstad and Tommy Willems, with a grand total of over 180 years combined knowledge, are asking for your help in identifying some of the people in this picture. They do believe the event may be the Garretson 100th Anniversary parade. They believe the driver and owner of this pickup is Milton Edmundson. Riding shotgun may be Orlen Berge. Guiding the plow may be Joe Bragstad. But to help solve this crossword puzzle, who the heck are the three riders in the back of the truck? If you can help solve this mystery contact Garrick at the Gazette. We will be running other such mystery photos in the future and as space allows.
Commission Chair Jean Bender, photo by Dave Baumeister
SIOUX FALLS – In a special media briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 3, Minnehaha County Commission Chair Jean Bender talked to reporters about the resignation of State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan, which commissioners unanimously accepted earlier.
Although Bender wouldn’t comment on specifics, documents show that McGowan’s resignation was a “negotiated” one, resulting in a payment to him of $35,000.
Neither would Bender talk about the reason for the payment, other than to say it was the result of “negotiations.”
“I think the (resignation) document speaks for itself,” she said in answer to a question about McGowan not resigning without that severance.
With that being said, it would seem if McGowan’s resignation wasn’t originally his idea, at the very least, he dictated some of the terms before he would resign.
Although some media sources referred to the verbiage in the resignation agreement as McGowan receiving the $35,000 payment in exchange for forfeiting the right to sue the county, the litigation clause appears to be normal legal wording.
As an elected official, the state’s attorney cannot easily be removed from office without good reason.
And in October, South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, investigating at the request of Gov. Kristi Noem, determined that those reasons did not exist.
However, one source said the insurance company for Minnehaha County had been conducting its own investigation, and the conclusion to negotiate McGowan’s departure may have tied in with the results of their findings.
“We carefully considered the options, and that ($35,000) was the amount we were able to come to an agreement on that would allow the county to move forward.” Bender said, as she explained that this decision was in the best interest of taxpayers and the staff of the state’s attorney’s office.
In his letter of resignation, McGowan cited multiple health reasons, as well as attacks by some in the “print media,” which would seem to be pointed at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
In September, it was first reported that McGowan had not been at work since July, and through the investigation by the attorney general, it was stated that McGowan had people in his office bring alcohol to his home, among other matters of questionable judgement.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, the county announced that Crystal Johnson, a former Senior Trial Attorney with the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office, was appointed interim state’s attorney for the county by Robin Houwman, Presiding Judge for the 2nd Judicial Circuit.
Bender said the county commission will be looking at appointing a permanent replacement to fill that office during the next two weeks, although, officially, the position of Minnehaha county State’s Attorney won’t be filled until after the November 2020 election.
