It was a short week for the Garretson netters taking the win in three straight sets on Tuesday night against West Central at the Dragon's Lair.
Even though the Lady Blue Dragons took the win on Tuesday there is always room to be better.
“We need to improve our positivity, communication, and knowing what your position is and doing your assignment,” said freshman Logan Bly.
Tuesday’s game was a big emotional win however for the three senior volleyballers, being that it was their last regular season home game. With Aftyn Heitkamp playing for four years, Kenzie Northrup playing for four years and Bella Peters playing for three years, many fellow players know it won’t be the same next year without them.
“I think that our seniors kept a good attitude with a positive mindset by telling us before every game that we can go as far as we believe,” said Bly.
Bly had a good night, putting down nine kills for the home team; Kennedy Buckneberg and Lily Ranschau also had strong offensive nights with nine and eight kills, respectively. Setter Jaelyn Benson had 26 assists while Lauren Heesch, libero, picked up 16 digs on the night’s effort. This win put the netters with a season record of 14-9.
This week, however, is a normal week for the Blue Dragons with two away games to cap off the season. The first game on Monday against Sioux valley resulted in a Win with scores of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-22. The second game on Tuesday was against Colman-Egan (results unavailable at press time).
The Region 3A Tournaments and Semis will be held next week, on November 5 & 7, at locations yet to be determined.
As of press time, the Blue Dragons had dropped to 3rd seed but are neck in neck with Baltic; if they maintain that position their game will be at 7:00 p.m. on November 5th against 6th seeded Dell Rapids.
If they jumped back up to 2nd seed on Tuesday, the game will be held on November 7, twenty minutes after the end of the game played by #1 seed, which starts at 6:00 p.m.
Update 10/30/19: The GHS girls won last night against Colman-Eagan in their final regular season game! Baltic lost against Deubrook, which puts the GHS Volleyball team back at 2nd seed! Seed standings are as follows: #1 SF Christian, #2 Garretson, #3 Baltic, #4 Tri Valley, #5 West Central, #6 Dell Rapids. The GHS Blue Dragons will be playing in the Semis on November 7 at SF Christian. Game starts twenty minutes after #1 seed plays. GHS will be facing off against either Baltic or Dell Rapids.
GHS Football is over for this year. GHS went to the football playoffs after two extremely rough games with no score for the Blue Dragons.
However, against the Mobridge Tigers on Thursday, Oct. 24th, they at least broke that unhappy streak, with the game ending 13- 40. The final half of the season didn’t go as well as might have been hoped, but on the bright side, the Dragons did make it to the playoffs.
Dr. Ben Jones, South Dakota Secretary of Education, Kelsey Buchholz, Garretson School Dis- trict, Amy Berke, Rapid City School District, Robin Beck New, Pierre Indian learning Center.
Garretson High School English Teacher Kelsey Buchholz received recognition for attaining a National Board Certification on Thursday, October 10 at the Teacher of the Year banquet in Oacoma, SD. She follows in the footsteps of second grade teacher Jodi Neugebauer, who obtained her certification previously.
“Garretson is lucky to have Ms. Neugebauer in the halls. She is a phenomenal teacher but she had already gone through the National Board Certification process. I was able to use her as a mentor and really get good, quality feedback on my writings, reflections, or choices of examples of student learning and growth. Knowing I had someone in building to turn to was a big stress relief,” said Buchholz.
Mary McCorkle, President of South Dakota Education Association & Kelsey Buchholz, Garretson School District
Buchholz was awarded her certification in December 2018. Per the SD Department of Education, National Board Certification “was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide.”
Teachers who earn certification receive $2,000 per year for five years, with half provided by the SD Dept of Education and half provided by the local school district.
According to information Buchholz had, most teachers have to repeat at least one component of the certification. She was able to complete all of it on her first try.
“My students are always a highlight, but during this process especially as we were all learning, growing, and becoming more purposeful together. One of the major components of National Board Certification is purposeful reflection and constant awareness of students and their learning. Having that in the back of my mind wasn't just good for reflection after the fact, but made me more purposeful and creative when planning my lessons ahead of time, which, I hope, benefited all students.”
According to the SD Dept of Education, “Teachers achieve National Board Certification through a rigorous, performance-based, peer-reviewed assessment of a teacher's pedagogical (teaching) skills and content knowledge. The certification process takes one to three years to complete. While licensing standards set the basic requirements to teach in a state, National Board Certified teachers demonstrate advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices similar to the certifications earned by experts in law and medicine.”
Four other South Dakota teachers also received recognition for their certification at the banquet, which also announced that Amanda Harris of the Harrisburg School District had been honored with the 2020 South Dakota Teacher of the Year. Garretson FFA teacher Alysha Kientopf also received recognition as the district Teacher of the Year.
Buchholz also gave the keynote presentation at the Systems Change Conference the Friday morning after.
According to Kelly Royer, Teacher Quality Specialist at the SD Dept of Education, Buchholz “did amazing” with her presentation.
“There were five of us who spoke on the topic ‘Why I Teach.’ It was a brief 5-minute presentation (Ted Talk style) where we each shared our stories,” Buchholz said. “My speech specifically focused on ‘one’. I teach for one moment, one lesson, one opportunity, one student, one conversation, etc.”
And as one of the favorites of students at Garretson High School, she’s succeeding.
We have been watching the weather slowly but surely changing over the past few weeks. Needless to say, fall is upon us, but we just keep on pushing through. We continue to do our daily exercise to keep us moving. On Monday, we read of the Good Ole Days and played Name 5 in the afternoon. We did some painting in the evening. Tuesday, we enjoyed Friendship Circle, and in the afternoon enjoyed a few games of Bowling. Wednesday we did Bible Study, and in the afternoon enjoyed a few games of Bingo followed by Rosary. We did some Halloween crafts in the evening. Thursday we did some trivia and visiting in the morning and enjoyed ice cream cones in the afternoon. A big thanks for all the help from our staff and volunteers. On Friday, we caught up on the local news and in the afternoon we played the dice game and in the evening a round of Uno. Saturday we had popcorn and 1 on 1 time and Sunday enjoyed service by Char and a few games of Bingo. Hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Halloween.
State testing data show that several contaminants — all of which can be harmful to human health — are commonly found in the drinking water provided to residents of South Dakota, but whether the contaminants are present at unhealthful levels is a matter of ongoing debate.
Among the roughly 650 water systems in South Dakota, smaller, rural systems tend to face more challenges in providing good water due to a lack of money and resources or the age of the system. The Northdale Sanitary District, shown here, is a system that serves about 1,100 people along the border of Meade and Pennington counties. The system was cited by the state for not having a certified system operator in 2015 and for failing to monitor for arsenic in 2018.
In most cases, the tap water generated by the 650 drinking-water systems across the state fall well within guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for safe consumption of lead, copper, nitrates, arsenic, radium, uranium, and a chlorine sanitation byproduct called trihalomethanes.
All of those chemicals, most of them known carcinogens, are consistently found in much of the drinking water tested regularly by South Dakota water system operators and reported to the state and federal governments. Except in rare cases, such as when a system failure occurs or a contaminant builds up over time, the contaminant levels fall below the legal guidelines set by the EPA.
But a national environmental group is trying to change the definition of “safe” and strengthen federal and state guidelines for what is considered “healthful” when it comes to the presence of dangerous contaminants in drinking water. In its annual report on America’s drinking water supply, released on Oct. 26, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group noted that many federal water-quality standards have not been updated in 20 or even 50 years, and that there are no legal limits whatsoever for 160 contaminants that can make their way into the American drinking-water system.
This April 2019 advisory warned the roughly 14,000 people served by the water system in Pierre of the dangers of providing untreated tap water to infants due to high levels of manganese found in the water. Adults are also advised to be careful not to ingest much of the contaminated water. Photos: Bart Pfankuch, South Dakota News Watch.
“The disturbing truth shown by the data is that when most Americans drink a glass of tap water, they’re also getting a dose of industrial or agricultural contaminants linked to cancer, harm to the brain and nervous system, changes in the growth and development of the fetus, fertility problems and/or hormone disruption,” the EWG said in a news release.
The study’s two main goals, according to Alexis Temkin, a staff toxicologist at EWG, is to provide Americans with an easy way to find recent data on the quality of their local drinking-water system and to highlight the group’s belief that contamination standards need to be updated and strengthened.
“Primarily, what we know is that ‘legal’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘safe,’” Temkin said. “The vast majority of the utilities across the country get a passing grade by the EPA even though contaminants are almost always present.”
The EWG water-quality study is among the most comprehensive in the country, examining testing results from nearly 50,000 water systems across the U.S., including all of those in South Dakota that are regulated and subject to state testing requirements.
The EWG, however, creates its own set of safety guidelines that are based on the most stringent health guidelines and scientific data currently available, some from the state of California, which is known for its aggressive approach to protecting drinking water, Temkin said.
Based on its own safety guidelines, and not EPA legal standards, the group found that nearly all South Dakotans are consuming drinking water with contaminants at unhealthy levels.
The EWG study, which uses a two-year average of data from 2015-17, reported that 291 South Dakota utilities serving about 703,500 people had unhealthful levels of trihalomethanes, or THMs, the chlorine byproduct that can cause bladder and skin cancers and inhibit fetal growth. The study found that 234 systems serving 458,500 people had unhealthful levels of nitrate; 83 systems serving 421,250 people had unhealthful levels of chromium; 37 systems serving 201,000 people had unhealthful levels of arsenic; and 210 systems serving 220,000 people had unhealthful levels of radium or uranium.
Inspection data from the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources reveals that from 2012 through 2016, 712 water systems across South Dakota were cited 2,673 times for water-quality or system violations that potentially affected a total of 334,300 people.
A spokesman for the DENR, which is responsible for water testing, system monitoring and enforcement of contaminant limits, said the EWG study represents an unfair “apples-to-oranges comparison” of water-quality standards.
“Historically, EWG has highlighted a state’s water quality first based on non-enforceable goals rather than enforceable maximum contaminant levels,” DENR spokesman Brian Walsh wrote to News Watch in response to written questions.
The highly strict contaminant standards used by EWG may create a misleading picture for the public that drinking water across the country and in South Dakota is unsafe, said Jeremiah Corbin, source-water protection specialist for the South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems.
“I’m concerned that they may give people the misconception that their water is not safe when, based on drinking-water standards, it is safe,” Corbin said. “By cherry-picking what health levels they’re going to choose for safe water, it unfairly muddies the conversation.”
Corbin said maintaining safe, high-quality drinking water is an ongoing challenge that is taken extremely seriously and undertaken with great success by operators of the roughly 300 water systems that are members of the association.
“Our goal is to send out a product that a newborn child could drink and be healthy, and I think we’re doing that,” Corbin said. “I’m not saying there aren’t systems that aren’t perfect, but generally speaking I think the water systems and the state do a marvelous job of providing clean drinking water.”
Inspections reveal contamination problems The EWG report makes clear the differences between its health standards and the legal limits, and the gap is often very wide.
For example, the EWG health limit for TMHs is .15 parts per billion, compared with the legal level of 80 ppb. For nitrates, the EWG health limit is .14 ppb, compared with the long-held federal safety standard of 10 ppb; for arsenic, the EWG health limit is .004 ppb, compared with the federal standard of 10 ppb; and for radium, a common contaminant in South Dakota drinking water, the EWG limit is .05 pico curries per liter, compared with the federal limit of 5 piC/L.
Only five South Dakota systems were found to be in violation of EPA contaminant standards during the EWG study period: — Bonesteel (275 customers) was above the legal limit for nitrates. — Buffalo Gap (126 people) and the Cottonwood Grove Mobile Home Park (30 people) were above legal limits for uranium. — Cedar Gulch #2 (33 people) and the Shirt Tail Gulch Development (60 people) tested above legal limits for radium.
State-level violations are far more common.
In 2016, the state recorded 365 total violations by 123 water systems that served about 72,000 people. That was down from a recent high of 705 violations by 143 systems affecting 82,500 people in 2014.
The DENR requires that system operators regularly take water samples for testing; the frequency is dictated by the contaminant sought and the size of the system. Testing for lead and copper is done only every three years, and some other contaminants are tested for annually. Meanwhile, the Sioux Falls system tests water three times daily for bacteria.
A spot-check of systems across the state reveals that many have been flagged for violations of some sort over the past five years.
The Hill City water system in Pennington County, serving 950 people, was cited for exceeding limits of arsenic in July and October 2018, according to state documents. The city of Springfield, in Bon Homme County, which serves about 2,000 people, was cited for exceeding limits of THM on five occasions from 2015 to 2019.
The Town of Wessington in Beadle and Hand counties, serving 175 people, was cited for failing to monitor for chlorine and bacteria in 2015 and for not having a certified system operator that year. The Town of White, in Brookings County, was cited in 2016 for failing to notify the 485 people it serves of high lead and copper readings in 2016. The Yankton water system, which serves 14,700 people, was cited for high THM levels in 2016 and 2019.
The water system in the capital city of Pierre sent an advisory to the roughly 14,000 people it serves in March 2019 after the EPA found high levels of manganese in the local water supply.
The letter noted that although manganese is not a regulated substance within EPA monitoring programs, the chemical can cause brain illnesses if ingested by infants, who may suffer learning or behavioral problems later in life. Long-term consumption of manganese by adults can cause nervous-system and brain illnesses.
The warning advised no consumption of untreated tap water by anyone, especially infants. Residents were advised not to boil untreated tap water for use, as that can increase the concentration of the chemical. Showering, bathing or brushing of teeth with the water is OK as long as it is not ingested.
The city’s water comes from wells dug as early as 1927 and manganese levels likely built up during that time. The warning noted that Pierre is building a new water-treatment system that will use surface water from the Missouri River as the source and should come online in late 2021. The state has provided Pierre with a $36.9 million loan for construction of the new water plant, said Walsh of the DENR.
Smaller systems at greater risk According to the EWG report and to a News Watch review of state water-system inspections, higher and more frequent levels of contamination tend to occur in smaller, more rural water systems across South Dakota.
Corbin said all water systems do their best to operate efficiently, but he acknowledged that larger systems such as those in Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen have larger customer bases and more money to consistently improve operations and stay on top of new technology.
“Rural systems with small populations tend to have more challenges,” he said. “There’s so many variables in a small system; some rural systems have challenges just getting a certified operator in their community.”
One of the most problematic systems in South Dakota serves only about 35 people in the Cedar Gulch #2 subdivision just east of Rapid City. Between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2019, water tests revealed 64 violations of state regulations, including 32 listed as “exceedance of allowable contaminant levels” for presence of radium and alpha emitters, both radioactive compounds that can cause cancer. Other violations were for failing to monitor for other harmful contaminants and for not having a certified system operator in 2015.
Contamination of drinking water can occur due to a number of factors, including inefficient treatment systems; from leaching of contaminants from lead pipes and aging system components; from agricultural, industrial or septic-system runoff; or owing to infusion of materials within geologic formations surrounding a well.
Taking water from an unreliable source can also lead to problems.
That appears to be the case for the privately owned water system in Owanka, S.D., which serves about 23 residences and 52 people in a remote area of Pennington County about 10 miles southwest of Wasta. Marvin Williams, president of the water board in Owanka, said a few people have water filters on their taps due to consistently high levels of radium in the water but that most are drinking the water without worry.
Williams said the Owanka system uses the Inyan Kara Aquifer for its water, a highly saline source that mainly is used for watering livestock. The system has been cited by the state 14 times for having high levels of radium from 2016 to 2019, and a 2016 sample revealed a lead level of 12 milligrams per liter, very close to the legal safe limit of 15 milligrams per liter. The system also showed a positive test for total coliform bacteria in 2018, state records show.
Williams said most residents were unaware of the problems and not too concerned once they found out, though the state has required the system to make improvements.
“It might kill you in 200 years or something, but it’s something we have to take care of,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of hoops you have to jump through to take care of the problems.”
The state DENR has stepped in and last year provided a $50,000 grant to the Owanka system to fix the ongoing problem with radium contamination, likely through installation of treatment systems that will be installed on taps in the homes of system users, according to the DENR.
The origins of other problems are easier to pinpoint. For the adults and children living in about 95 homes near Ellsworth Air Force base in Box Elder, just east of Rapid City, the unsafe levels of contaminants in their water is known to have come from the use of firefighting foam at the base that contained polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The cancer-causing chemical has been found above EPA safe levels in 26 private wells, including a well that serves 200 residents of the Plainsview Mobile Manor community.
In response, the military has provided bottled water to residents until an alternative water source can be found.
On occasion, drinking-water quality can be affected by acts of nature that taint the source of a community’s water.
That happened to the Bon Homme-Yankton Rural Water System in April 2019 when the Spencer Dam on the Niobrara River in Nebraska failed, sending debris and sediment downstream and then into the Missouri River and Lewis and Clark Lake, which serves as the water source for the Bon Homme-Yankton system.
As a result, the source water entering the system that serves about 37,000 people in all or parts of Avon, Freeman, Irene, Menno, Mitchell, Parkston, Scotland, Tabor, Tyndall and Volin was very high in turbidity, essentially a murkiness that can inhibit disinfection processes and foster growth of harmful bacteria.
“Essentially, the source water from Lewis and Clark was like a chocolate milkshake,” said Terry Wootton, general manager of the water system. “There was very high sediment loading that you could easily see.”
System operators acted quickly to shut down the flow of water, and then heightened chlorine levels and added another chemical to hasten settling of sediments, Wootton said. The state was notified and a warning letter was sent to all customers, according to state documents.
Thankfully, the system was large enough to have 3 million gallons of treated drinking water in storage, so customers never received any of the tainted drinking water until after it was successfully treated, Wootton said. Within 30 hours of the inflow of contaminated water, the turbidity levels had fallen to less than .1 micrograms per liter, below the limit of .3 micrograms per liter.
The annual state water report for that system does note high levels of THM, with a quarterly average of 77.65 micrograms per liter, just under the limit of 80. Wootton said the THM levels vary in the system but said they have stayed under the state safety limit.
Efforts ongoing to protect, improve drinking water Maintaining a steady, safe supply of drinking water to communities of varied size across an entire state requires constant testing and monitoring and a steady pace of spending to keep systems operational.
This year, the state Board of Water and Natural Resources within the DENR will spend $64.5 million to aid municipal and regional water systems, said Walsh, the DENR spokesman. Out of 21 total projects, two were to correct compliance issues (the Pierre rebuild and the Owanka improvements).
Walsh noted that South Dakota water systems have a great track record in meeting the EPA goal of having 95% of water users in the state meeting all health standards related to their water. He said the state has had 98% to 99% of systems meet that standard over the past five years.
Much of the state’s focus has been on improving systems in rural areas that do not have ready access to reliable water sources, Walsh said.
“Continued funding and improvements of these regional systems allows for expansion within their service areas to provide a more reliable, higher quality, and oftentimes more economical source of supply for water systems that may not have access to a high-quality or abundant supply of water in their physical location,” Walsh wrote.
In 2018, the state provided grants, loans and principal forgiveness to Rapid City to help the city fix wells and water-delivery systems for a neighborhood of 600 people living just outside the city limits whose water supplies consistently failed to meet EPA standards, Walsh said.
The city performed much of the infrastructure development and is now serving the population with city water, Walsh said of the $7.5 million project that improved water for residents of the Mesa View, Valley Heights, and Terra Cotta subdivisions and properties in the Longview Sanitary District.
“The ability to provide grant and principal forgiveness by the state is the primary reason the project was possible and affordable to the new users,” Walsh wrote.
The state has an operator-certification program that offers free classes several times a year at locations across the state, Walsh said. The state also contracts with groups that provide operators technical assistance and training, including the rural water association.
Corbin said the rural water association has a strong relationship with the state in training and educating water-system managers across the state to operate efficiently and to stay up on new technologies or techniques that can improve drinking-water quality.
“Our bread and butter is training and technical assistance for community water systems,” Corbin said. “Everybody’s goal is to provide the highest-quality water they can, and people take that very seriously.”
Both Corbin and Walsh urged consumers to go online and check on their system’s inspection reports, and to read the annual water-quality report sent to their homes. If they have concerns about safety or quality, they should call their water-system operator and ask questions, they said.
The GHS Blue Ink journalism staff traveled to Vermillion for the State Press Convention on Monday, October 21.
The day at USD opened with students listening to KELO digital reporter Michael Geheren, who emphasized the importance of quality information, immediate news, and using multiple mediums to reach an audience. Students then went to breakout sessions that highlighted photography tips, digital storytelling, writing for the eye and the ear, and design.
The afternoon included a panel discussion featuring USD graduates: Sophie Heineman, KELO anchor, Elizabeth Pearson, USD Social Media Specialist, and Joe Sneve, Argus Leader reporter.
After the insight from industry professionals, students were given awards for their writing and photography. All of the entries were submitted at the beginning of September and due to the submission deadline, some articles from last spring joined articles from this fall. Garretson came away with multiple awards.
Photography: Superior Ratings - Noel Johnson (Sports) - Mya Long (Sports) - Malia Johnson (School Activity) - Nadalie Johnson (Sports & School Activity) - Mason Hofer (School Activity) - Nobel Nothstine (Non-School Activity)
Newswriting: Superior Ratings - Jayden Clark (Editorial) - Kylie Uhl (General News) - Nobel Nothstine (Editorial) - Sam Gonzalez (Editorial) - Mason Hofer (Sports) - Jayden Clark (General News) - Malia Johnson (Sports) Excellent Ratings - Preston Bohl (Sports) - Riley Altman (General News & Feature) - Nika Sapunar (Feature) - Noel Johnson (Feature) - Oliviyah Thornton (Feature) - Sam Gonzalez (Sports)
Some students were also lucky, coming away with a few door prizes as well. Kylie Uhl received a Yeti cup and Grace Panning won a brand-new laptop computer.
SIOUX FALLS – Minnehaha County Commissioners received seven past bank reconciliation statements at the Tuesday, Oct. 22 meeting.
Just over a month ago, Jeff Schaefer from the South Dakota Department of Legislative Audit found a deficiency with the county in regard to its financial reporting.
By law, the county treasurer is supposed to give the county auditor reconciled bank statements each month, which the auditor then presents to the county commission.
It was reported previously that the last statement given to the auditor or commission was from June 2018.
On Oct. 22, Kim Adamson from the auditor’s office was able to go over the statements from June through December of 2018.
The agenda for the following meeting calls for the January through March statements of 2019 to be presented.
Commission chairperson Jean Bender expressed her appreciation for getting the statements so far, and said she looks forward to seeing all of them in the near future to bring the county in line with the state requirements.
While three of the reports were reconciled “to the penny,” four others showed small discrepancies ranging between $41.07 and $381.23 for a total of $1029.44.
But all of the unreconciled amounts were credits to the county and not shortages, leaving Adamson to think that money may have been taken in, but receipts weren’t recorded properly.
Commissioner Dean Karsky was quick to point out that these represented very small amounts to be off.
For the four months of statements, the unreconciled differences represented an approximate difference of .0003 percent of the $341.5 million that passed through the county during that time.
Last spring, Minnehaha County Treasurer Pam Nelson cited a new computer system and the lack of trained personnel as two of the main reasons the required monthly statements were not being prepared.
In other business, commissioners passed two motions dealing with health and dental insurance brought by Human Resources Director Carey Deaver.
The first came in limiting insurance benefits the county gives to retirees. As Deaver explained, the county currently allows retirees to stay on the county insurance after retirement, as long as they have been a county employee for at least 15 years.
While there are only 10 people taking advantage of that benefit right now, Deaver said a study showed that there is a significant impact to overall costs, as the retirees tend to use the insurance at a much higher rate.
The commission voted 5-0 to end this benefit to any new employees hired after Jan. 1, 2020; however, the benefit still remains for all county employees currently employed or that will be hired between now and the end of 2019.
Commissioners also voted 5-0 to accept premium adjustments of up to 15 percent for 2020, although it was discussed that Deaver may need to ask for more, if premiums go higher.
The Minnehaha County Commission has its regular meetings each Tuesday at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the county administration building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
These meetings are open to all, and public comment is always encouraged.
Plenty of new construction is happening around Garretson, from new houses to new businesses, and some great landscaping around signage.
The new development on Sarah C Street has had its water and sewer utilities installed, and is waiting for the street to be paved and the first house to go up. Kelli Nielsen of Nielsen Construction is the owner and in charge of the new development.
The new house owned by Jay and Cindy Bobb can be seen across the river in Splitrock Park and is coming along nicely. The City Council is currently in the process of re-evaluating the septic tank policy after realizing the Bobb’s request for a variance for septic system placement was not required, as there is no septic line near the front of their property.
Frontline Crop Solutions, which bought the property north of 5th Street and east of Highway 11 back in 2017, has started construction on its new building.
The water line project that occurred this past summer was spurred on by their purchase and by the need to bring water systems in the Industrial Development up to fire code.
The old lines, which were 1” wide, were not enough to service fire sprinkler systems or to bring the needed 400-500 gallons of water per minute that Frontline Crop Solutions may require during high production seasons for their seed business. Those lines were upgraded to 6” lines this past summer.
Construction on the new addition to the City Maintenance shed has begun, and will allow for items currently stored out of doors to be stored out of sight.
The Welcome Rock donated by Dwayne “Jake” and Shirley “Chris” Jacobson on the corner of Dows Street and 486th Avenue (southeast corner of Garretson) was landscaped by Storm Construction and Landscaping. The project was led by Grow Garretson, which is raising funds over the winter for a “Garretson, SD” sign and perennials. Donations will be recognized on a plaque placed in the new park, now called Legacy Park. Grow Garretson asks potential donors to visit their website, GrowGarretson.com, for more information.
The sign for the Jaycee Sports Complex is also in process of being landscaped. Led by the Garretson Parks Advisory Committee, American Landscapes placed edging and rocks, and next spring, GPAC is planning to have perennials placed.
Pictured from the left are Art, Marie, and Shannon Nordstrom; Mirak Malyszko of Poland, Andy Letham of the United Kingdom, Adam Malysko the director of AMBIT Recycling Systems in Warsaw, Vince Eridan director of Member Relations for the Automotive Recyclers Association, Hamish Peter and John Irvine of Scotland, Rob Austin and Terry Charlton of England.
Nordstrom’s Automotive had some interesting visitors on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Guests from Scotland, England and Poland!
The International Automotive Recyclers Association recently had their convention, and after that convention a tour group of international guests came to Garretson South Dakota to take a tour of Nordstrom’s Automotive.
These guests were Hamish Irvine with his nephews Peter and John Irvine of Scotland, Terry Charlton, Andy Latham and Rob Austin of England, and Adam Malyszko and Mirak Malyszko of Poland.
Postmaster Deb Nelson presents Randall Bakker a 20 year certificate and a cake for his 20 years of service to United States Postal Service.
Randall Bakker is retiring after 20 years as a postal carrier.
"I started part time subbing for Delmer Stoltenberg in 1993, and took over for him full time in the summer of 1999,” said Bakker.
Though Bakker said that he won’t miss the snow, ice, rain and everything else in the postal motto that they fight through to get the mail delivered, he will miss seeing his customers.
“There are some nice customers out there,” he said. “Christmas time is the best time, the kids jumping up and down waiting for you to drive up. Makes you feel like Santa Claus. Even some of the dogs are nice.”
Bakker admits that the postman versus canine cliché is a real thing, but that he’s also had the opposite experiences as well.
“One family on my route had a mastiff puppy,” he said. “This dog was all sweetness and kindness. He liked me so much he wanted to ride along with me.”
