The Garretson Gazette

Jesse James 4-H Club November Minutes

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November 20, 2019

The November meeting of the Jesse James 4-H Club was held on November 9^th at Split Rock Park. Jenna VanHolland called the meeting to order and Ty VanHolland led the flag pledges.

Secretary Allison Ebbing took roll call by response to “what are you thankful for”, and read the October minutes. A motion was made by Ty VanHolland and seconded by Lane Ellefson to approve the October minutes.

Treasurer Lane Ellefson read the treasurer’s report; there were no outstanding bills presented.

Committee Reports and Old Business:

Members completed the “Light the Park” Community Service project before the meeting by decorating a campsite. The fundraiser will benefit the new picnic shelter planned at Split Rock Park.

Members were reminded that the 2019-2020 online 4-H re-enrollment has opened and members can re-enroll at any time.

The County Recognition Event is November 17 at 2pm at the Flandreau Community Center. The Ebbing and VanHolland families will each bring a pan of bars.

Members made Veteran’s Day cards that were gathered at the meeting and will be delivered to the Legion on Monday.

YQCA Training at Moody County Extension Office will be held December 30 at 10 am. Members can register online.

New Business:

The Club will be adopting a family for the Angel Tree project. A motion was made by Lane Ellefson and seconded by Allison Ebbing to have the club pay for the Angel Tree gifts. It was also decided that we would like to get together as a club and purchase gifts for the family. This will be done before our Christmas Party activity.

Discussion was held regarding what to do for our Club Christmas Party. It was decided to go to AirMadness on Sunday, December 8. Host will be the Ebbing’s.

Junior Leaders Report: Allison and Jenna reported on doing an escape room activity. They also discussed community service activities. It has been decided that the junior leaders meetings will be held every month on the 3^rd Sunday. The next meeting will be held Sunday, November 24^th at the Moody County extension office.

The next club meeting will be hosted by Ellefson’s at Bly’s house on January 12^th at 2pm to make bat houses.

Blair Ellefson motioned to adjourn the meeting and Cooper Danforth seconded the motion.

Respectfully submitted by Secretary Allison Ebbing

Light the Park event sure to bring plenty of visitors to Garretson

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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Light the Park event sure to bring plenty of visitors to Garretson

Splitrock Park will be lit up for the holidays! Enjoy beautiful lighting and the creativity of our local individuals, small groups, and businesses. Opening night will be Thursday, November 28, then every Friday and Saturday evening from 5:00 to 10:00 pm. until December 28.

Grow Garretson and the Garretson Parks Advisory Committee have teamed up to light up Splitrock Park, and each person or team claimed a campsite or specific area of Splitrock Park and decorated it as much as they liked.

Splitrock Park's Light the Park event will be held November 28, 29. 30; and the following dates on Friday and Saturday evenings only: December 6, 7; 13, 14; 20, 21; 27, 28. Special event dates will be on November 28 (Opening Night) and December 14 (Hometown Christmas).

For Hometown Christmas, everyone is invited to enjoy the day-long events to be held around Garretson, including Holiday Shopping, Arts & Crafts with Santa, and a Parade of Lights at 5:30 p.m. downtown. A full events list will be found at VisitGarretson.com and mailed to in-town residents by December 10.

For the Hometown Christmas event, Light the Park will be hosting Santa Claus! From 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Santa will be visiting the Visitor's Center at the Bathhouse and handing out treats and taking children’s requests.

Since this event is likely to bring several out of town visitors, Grow Garretson is recommending that the everyone show off our small town’s holiday spirit by going all out with decorating places of residence, and it will be enjoyed throughout the holiday month.

All proceeds from this event will go towards the new picnic shelter that will be built by the playground at Splitrock Park. Freewill donations will be accepted throughout the month, anyone who would like to donate can also visit GrowGarretson.com/light-the-park-2019.

Legion Post 23 Nov. Report

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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Mark Wiesner, Post 23 Historian

The Henry G. Fix Post 23 meeting was held on November 7th with 21 members present. The meeting was opened by Acting Commander Andy Lyngen. No special guests were present. The minutes of the previous meeting were presented and approved. The routine financial reports from the Finance Officer and from the Social Chairman were presented and approved. Bills were approved for payment.

The Service Officer was not present. Members reported that Dean Lerdal had passed away. Funeral services will be at 2 pm on Wednesday, November 13th at First Lutheran Church in Sherman. Mary Ann Swenson recently had knee surgery. Vicki Kooistra Arndt, daughter of Clarence Kooistra, passed away on October 28th. Cody Linnweber lost his infant son on November 1st.

Tony Grady reported that the membership goal is the same as last year at 220. We now have 168 paid memberships putting us at 76% of our goal and well on track! We are well on our way to meet our January goal of 80%! We should be able to hit the 220 total by March, but when calculated out, need 3 new Legion members.

Americanism Officer Bob Bennett reported that the school is inviting Veterans to eat with students the week of November 11th through the 15th. The school Veterans Day Program will be on Monday, November 11th at 2:15 pm. The Legion District Oratory Contest for our District is January 12th at 7pm in Humboldt. We are excited to have 3 potential students for this event!

The flag retirement ceremony went very well with Legion members and Boy Scouts helping out. They will continue this ceremony with a second ceremony on December 14th during the Garretson Old Fashioned Christmas. Andy Lyngen reported that the south side sidewalk is fixed. A special thank you to Joe Vandersnick for removing the old concrete. Crete Pros put in the new concrete. We still have 100th Anniversary books available for sale at the Treasure Chest or by contacting Owen Wiese or Marty Luebke.

Next post meeting will be December 5th with the meal at 7 pm and the meeting at 8 pm. The next Legion breakfast is December 1st from 9 am to 1 pm. We will be serving pancakes and biscuits and gravy. The next county meeting will be in February. The 2020 Mid-Winter Conference is February 21-23 at Oacoma, SD. The Post approved $3000 to purchase fireworks for the Fourth of July. This is the same amount as last year. By buying before the end of the year we will get 20% more product.

The Veterans Day program is all set! We will meet at the Post on Monday, November 11th, with a social beginning at 5 pm and dinner at 6 pm. Featured speaker will be Captain Ross Rollinger from the South Dakota Air Guard 114th MXG.

Paul Evenson reported on the Color Guard. They have been very busy and helped Sioux Falls Post 15 with three committals. The Sioux Falls Post has done 110 committals this year and has asked our Post for help on several occasions. Dave Sorenson, Randy Megard, Josie Scholl, Marty Luebke, Jim Kurtz, Andy Lyngen, Gary Lyngen, and Paul Evenson have helped with these ceremonies. They will also participate in the Veterans Day program at the school and Dean Lerdal's funeral. The Post was given a $40 check from the Moe family as a thank you. Acting Commander Lyngen mentioned that post officers require additional training for their duties. The post will make plans to accomplish this training.

Owen Wiese started a discussion about our commitment to the local community and our Post wanting to help with the Garretson Food Pantry and Day Care Center. The Executive Committee will meet with those organizations and find our how we can best assist. Their recommendation will be brought before the post. A thank you note was received from the museum for the use of our facility and our bingo equipment. We also received a thank you note from the South Dakota American Legion Foundation for our recent $5000 donation. Our brand new Raffle Officer is Beth Welch, taking over from Don Dorsman. She has tickets for sale! The raffle drawing was held. Winners this month are: Tom Godbey, Lyle VanHove, Risty Grandkids, Vonnie Hanson and Dwayne Jacobson.

The meeting was closed by the usual closing ceremony at 9:15 pm.

Elementary Fall Concert 2019

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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The Garretson Elementary Fall Concert was held on Thursday, November 14.

Letter to the Editor: Headline Dispute

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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I was disappointed in your headline declaration of "Tom Godbey backs down on stricter pet ordinances". (I corrected your spelling of ordnaces) I was in attendance of that meeting and I don't have a clue as to why you would headline that, unless it was a direct attempt to attack or discredit Tom. I really didn't think Tom needed to "take responsibility" for bringing forward an issue that is actually quite necessary.

The fact that he did take responsibility for personally bringing actually demonstrates his willingness be of service to residents (and be sensitive to overstepping his role). Pet numbers in Garretson are huge. I walk my dog virtually everyday and there are dogs and cats everywhere. Most dogs are confined but there are probably 20-30 cats that run loose (a violation of city ordinance).

There are a number of places near me that have dogs that are penned and bark practically all night long. Luckily I live in a concrete and brick house and the only time I hear it is when I am outside with my dog. (I did speak to this at the meeting also, concerning a dog in the mobile home part west of me).

I do not think your head line was accurate, the council is going to review the ordinance with the sheriff's office and then determine how best to continue. Both Tom Godbey and Dave Bonte voted against tabling it.

-Bruce Brown 304 Royce St Garretson, SD 57030

Editor’s response:

Yeah, truth be told I wasn’t happy with the headline either. A classic example of deadline crunch-time. It was one of those deals where I had laid out most of the paper before the article was ready, and I needed something quick to sew it up and that’s what I ended up on. I wasn’t satisfied with it, but didn’t get it changed to anything better before it went to print. (Hence the spelling error too. In fact, with the jump of the story you’ll note the headline was different and I intended to mirror it on the front, got busy with other pages instead and forgot. Again, when the crunch is on, wheels fall off.)

I was trying for something that assured folks that they’d get to keep their pets and referred to the fact that many patrons around the city that I and my wife had spoken with, were upset that Tom was pushing to set a new pet limit at 3 pets rather than 5. Lots of folks were mad about that, and would potentially have had to get rid of family pets had the amended ordinance in its original form gone forward.

Everything else you refer to is in the story, and yes they should most certainly address these issues and get a law enforcement perspective. Tom apologized, owned up to his mistake
and wanted to work forward. I think his intentions were in the right place, but he maybe didn’t go about it in the right way. Folks were mad because they perceived him as anti-pet, or that he was coming after their family pets. Not his intention I’m sure. Just like the headline, wasn’t my intention to offend anybody, just to let people know that they didn’t have to get rid of any family pets.

And you are absolutely right about the stray animal problem. I’ve taken a few kittens to the humane society myself, and it’s most certainly a problem.

I’ve seen you out walking your dog, and you’ve got a cool exercise zone in your yard I’ve been meaning to compliment you about, so I’ll just do it here. That’s an example of good, responsible pet ownership. Others not as responsible, leave food out for the strays, which of course only creates more strays.

So in conclusion, thanks for the feedback Bruce, and to Tom, no hard feelings.

-Garrick A. Moritz Editor, the Garretson Gazette

County commissioners learn about proposed Wall Lake bike trail

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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County commissioners learn about proposed Wall Lake bike trail

By Dave Baumeister, County Correspondent

SIOUX FALLS – Although details are still in the early stages, Minnehaha County Commissioners were briefed on a walking/bicycling trail project being planned in the Wall Lake area during the Tuesday, Nov. 12 meeting.

This presentation was an abbreviated version of the talk given at an open house in Hartford on Monday, Oct. 28.

At the commission meeting, the board was made aware of the trail’s future timeline and were told at some point, they would be asked for $25,000 yearly, although that request will be a long time in coming, as the trail isn’t expected to be completed until 2027, according to organizers Tesa Schwans and Chad Hanisch.

It seems more likely that the county will be called upon to be a partner with the non-profit Friends of Wall Lake for the purpose of applying for available grant funds available.

Hanisch of Infrastructure Design in Sioux Falls explained that one of the grants is usually awarded to government entities, which would make working with the county necessary.

Schwans, a Wall Lake resident and leader of the project, spoke of her vision for a trail that would be of benefit to area residents, as well as fitness-minded people from all around the county.

John Parker with the Minnehaha Conservation District went over figures from a much smaller walking trail currently in the area where the new trail is planned.

He said that a 2-mile crushed asphalt trail exists just to the west of the proposed area at the Dewey Gevik Nature Area, but while it is good for walking, it “isn’t the best for biking.”

He added that the conservation district had set up “trail cams” along that route, and they have recorded 3,000 to 3,500 people per year on the path, so it seemed clear to him that a larger, more accessible trail would be very popular.

Hanisch and his company became involved because they did a similar project at Lake Kampeska, near Watertown, and, although he now lives in Garretson, Hanisch said he was originally from the Wall Lake area.

While there was no action on the trail taken at the meeting, commissioners expressed their appreciation to area residents for taking on this project.

“I look at this as a quality of life issue,” Commissioner Cindy Heiberger said as she talked about the dangers from the higher speed traffic along Highway 42 north of the lake.

In other business, commissioners voted unanimously to raise compensation for the six citizens serving on the Minnehaha County Planning and Zoning Board.

Director Scott Anderson said that the pay for those position has not changed in over 15 years, and he put together a package that would only cost the county $690.

The plan, which will start Jan. 1, 2020, calls for a per meeting raise from $15 to $25 and increase the mileage allowance members receive to 42-cents per mile.

Also, the proposal would add $5 per member for an annual “recognition” dinner that the board currently takes at different establishments throughout the county.

They currently receive $10 per member toward this dinner.

Commissioner Jeff Barth, who serves as the liaison to this group said, “Being on Planning and Zoning is not all roses. Some people can become quite irate! But this is an important job for the county.”

In a matter that has become somewhat contentious over past months, county treasurer Pam Nelson was very positive in reporting that all past bank statements have been reconciled.

She also said she is in contact with Jeff Schaefer at the state auditor’s office, who will be assisting the county in setting new policies and practices for keeping track of funds in the future.

The Minnehaha County Commission has its regular meetings each Tuesday at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the county administration building at 6^th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.

These meetings are open to all, and public comment is always encouraged.

School Board hears about playground from PTO (subscribers)

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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School Board hears about playground from PTO (subscribers)

The Garretson School Board met in regular session on Nov. 11, 2019. One of the biggest highlights of the meeting was public commentary from the Garretson Parent Teacher Organization. They also talked about the upcoming roof and chiller replacement projects.

After the meeting was called to order, the board invited members of the Garretson PTO to speak. Representing that group were Heather Trudeau and Stacee Compton. Trudeau spoke to the board about the plans the PTO have had in the works for some time now to update and expand the school playground.

Everything in the expansion will be ADA compliant, there will be new swings, a handicapped accessible swing, and electric pulse tempo musical playground instruments. Estimates for the project are about $43.5k for materials and $13.5k for installation. Some electrical work would have to be done for the pulse tempo musical instruments and the rubber matting and surfacing with installation will also take some time.

Article continued on Page 2- Link below

A Night of Garretson Stories (subscribers)

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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A Night of Garretson Stories (subscribers)

by Carrie Moritz, Garretson Gazette

Dragon Tales Marissa Wollmann — Marissa Wollman told a story titled, "What is a Garretson-ite?" at the Dragon Tales event Nov 15.

The stories of Garretson are many and varied, and the stories from the people of Garretson are even more so. Kim Bartling and Kris Frerk brought those individual stories to the forefront last Friday during the Plains Speaking People: Dragon Tales event at O So Good.

The dinner and entertainment, for which the proceeds benefited Blue Dragon Academy, was hosted by Bartling, who is showcasing the individual stories of South Dakotans through her events “Plains Speaking People.” Dragon Tales is her third such event, and Bartling was glad to be “home.”

Bartling, who grew up in Garretson, is the daughter of Syl and Jan Schetnan, who owned and managed the Hairloom salon in Garretson for over 20 years. While Bartling says she couldn’t wait to get out of town as a youth, she continues to come back and relish the community, its sights, and its people.

Article continued on Page 2- Link below

Nov. 21 Meteor Storm Announced By Planetarium

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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WAYNE, Neb. (Nov. 19, 2019) --The Fred G. Dale (FGD) Planetarium at Wayne State College announces this Thursday night, Nov. 21, there is an opportunity to see a brief meteor storm.

At about 10:30 p.m. Central time look due east (find a level, unobstructed view of the eastern horizon first) and if it is a clear night you could see 400 meteors per hour(!), but it will only last 15 – 45 minutes.

The source of this meteor storm is currently unknown, but it is suspected to be the debris of a long period comet from the Oort Cloud that surrounds the solar system. A good source for information on this event is: Go to skyandtelescope.com and search for “meteor storm.’’

News for 11-21-19 (Subscribers)

Online Edition

Carrie Moritz

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November 20, 2019

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Flipbook contains most recent issue only. Click to download and read Issue #46 Full Version

The Garretson PTO gives its ideas and plans for an upgraded playground in the works, Plains Speaking People: Dragon Tales is a hit, and Light the Park is having its opening night on November 28, 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. You can download it here and have it easy to hand! Community Events Calendar

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