Clips

News articles that Andrew Atwal has written

Superintendent Search

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2013/02/05/community/doc5110874fd1230861560858.txt

 

School Hires Firm For Supt. Search

Company Contracted To Assist In Regional Hunt
By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 1:06 AM CST

The Yankton School District (YSD) school board approved Dakota Education Consulting (DEC) as the firm to lead YSD’s search for a new superintendent.

The decision was made at a special school board meeting held Monday at the administration building.

DEC is headed by Tom Oster and Rick Melmer, both of whom had previously served as the South Dakota Secretary of Education. Melmer currently serves as the dean of the School of Education at the University of South Dakota, while Oster is the superintendent of the Sioux Valley school system in Volga.

“Oster and Melmer run an independent search firm that helps school districts search for administrative personnel to help fill open positions,” said school board president Chris Specht. “In their proposal, they clearly pointed out that superintendent vacancies throughout South Dakota over the last 15 years have been primarily filled through people living in, or from, South Dakota, so we felt as if we didn’t need a national search firm.”

Specht added that the school board looked out how to fill the position in both the most efficient and economically reasonable way. Based on this, the board decided that the hiring DEC to lead the search was the best option.

The cost of the contract with DEC is $8,000.

“The price includes all of their travel and all of the advertising they do,” Specht said. “If the school board decides to advertise in other newspapers like the Omaha World-Herald or the Star Tribune (of Minneapolis), that is a cost we have to pay for ourselves.”

DEC will conduct all the advertising for the search and also be the recipient of all the candidate applications that are generated. The DEC is anticipating receiving between 60-80 applications for the position.

“I thought the number of applications they expect to get was a little high, but that’s the number they expect to see,” Specht said. “DEC will look through the applications and bring the board a top number of candidates that we want, which could be the top 10 or 20 candidates.”

The search group will assist the school board with paring down the search based upon applicants’ qualities, expertise and experience to the top candidates, which could be two candidates or more. The board will then decide how many rounds of interviews to conduct.

At its next meeting on Feb. 11, the school board will spend time talking with Rick Melmer about the process, including how long it takes to get applications in, how long it takes to go through them and the characteristics the board will look for in a candidate. All of those questions must be answered before DEC can begin advertising for the position.

“Our goal is to have someone hired by the end of May,” Specht said. “We think it’s a realistic time frame. If the process moves along faster than this, then great — but we would hate to see it drag on longer.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Music Director

http://yankton.net/articles/2013/02/02/community/doc510c5b4f34c87724754040.txt

Former YHS Music Director Takes New Path

Now Retired, Powell Pursues His Early Interest In The Funeral Business

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Saturday, February 2, 2013 1:06 AM CST
While he was growing up, Ted Powell told his dad he would either like to pursue a career as a music director or a funeral director.

His father quickly told him to go into music instead of working funerals.

Now, following a 32-year career as a music instructor — including a 20-year caree working with musicians in the Yankton School District (YSD) — Powell has turned to his other passion — working funerals.

Powell now works for the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Yankton as a family service counselor.

Although he retired, Powell said he still wanted something to occupy his time.

“I retired from working as a band director and I really needed something to do and I wasn’t quite ready to be a greeter and give out carts at Wal-Mart,” Powell said. “I wanted something to do and I wanted to do something fulfilling.”

“Because I have known Kevin (Opsahl) for a long time, I trust him and his family implicitly so I said yes and decided to work along side him at the funeral home,” Powell said.

Kevin Opsahl, Funeral Director and owner of Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home, said he’s enjoyed having Powell on the staff.

“He spent some time getting used to his role here and he’s been fitting in really well,” Opsahl said. “He’s always had a desire to serve with funeral services, and after he retired this desire was realized for him.”

Powell started out at Opsahl-Kostel in August and helped with visitations and then working funerals as an employee. After a few months had passed, he began to work with funeral pre-arrangements and helping people that come into the funeral home to make their final plans.

“I had to start studying so I could take the Insurance Producer test, which I passed, and am now licensed in South Dakota and Nebraska,” he said. “I really enjoy helping people make their final decisions. I get to help people line up how they see their funeral service happening and what they would like to have happen at their funeral.”

Powell added that people sometimes feel relieved that the plans are in place and the survivors and their children won’t have to arrange a funeral after they pass away.

“When people come in to arrange their final plans, it can be as simple as them filling out a sheet with what they would like to have done,” he said. “They can also pay for everything up front to make it easier on their survivors. A lot of people that come in are relieved that their kids won’t have to arrange anything.”

Although Powell said he enjoys his new job at Opsahl-Kostel, he admitted there are still a number of things he misses about working as a band director.

“I miss seeing kids all the time at school,” he said. “But I did have a great 32-year career and really enjoyed teaching in the Yankton School District. I had 20 years of outstanding kids here and making outstanding music.”

Powell said he enjoyed traveling with his students all over the United States to concerts and summer shows, but added it was time to do something new.

“It was a really tough decision for me to retire, and I thought about it for a year,” he said. “I had a friend tell me if it isn’t fun anymore, don’t do it. While the job was still fun, I felt as if it was time for someone else to have the opportunity to be the band director in Yankton.”

Powell added that although there are a lot of differences between the two positions, working as while director has prepared him for his new job.

“The main similarity is that when you teach, you’re working with the public so you know how to talk to people and how to approach people,” he said. “However, the position I was in when I worked in the school district had a lot of competitions and contests which really doesn’t occur working for Opsahl-Kostel.”

Powell said he has no regrets with taking the position any sooner than he did.

“If my career wasn’t as successful as it was, I may have said I made a mistake by not working here sooner,” he said. “But I don’t feel as if that was the case.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Social Security

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2013/02/01/community/doc510b4517d9cdc015851688.txt

 

Paper Benefit Checks To End March 1

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Friday, February 1, 2013 1:06 AM CST

By March 1, all Social Security checks and other benefit recipients who are receiving their checks by mail must register for direct deposit or the direct express deposit card.

“In January 2011, we sent out about 11 million checks each month,” said Treasury Department spokesperson Walt Henderson, director EFT strategy division of the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Management Service. “As of this January, we are down to only about 5 million checks a month. This shows that people are listening and are making the switch. We hope to get the remaining recipients registered by the March 1 deadline.”

One of the main reasons for the switch is that sending checks out by mail is significantly more expensive than electronic payments. It costs about $2 a check to be sent by mail, but only about 10 cents for an electronic payment.

“This is really good savings for taxpayers,” Henderson said. “There is also added safety and convenience of doing electronic payments, and it’s the best way for Social Security and other benefit recipients to get their payments.”

It is estimated that converting the remaining paper check recipients to electronic payments will save American taxpayers about $1 billion over the next 10 years.

Henderson added that there are no lost, stolen or delayed checks, or issues delivering checks in bad weather, with the new electronic payments.

Although it is the law to switch, if someone doesn’t switch by the March 1 deadline, Social Security officials said they will be sensitive to the fact that these are needed payments for many people.

“We won’t interrupt their payments if they don’t comply with the deadline, but we will reach out by mail to them to get them to switch,” Henderson said. “However, there are waivers for people in certain situations, including geographic barriers, like people living in a remote place without access to an ATM or infrastructure for electronic payments. There is also a waiver for someone with a mental impairment and anyone over 90 years old.”

In order to make the switch to electronic payments, there is a call center setup to help people register at 1-800-333-1795. You can also visit the bank or credit union with whom you have an account and they can help you make the switch. People can also visit the Social Security office in Yankton at 121 W. 3rd Street.

When you go to make the switch, you should have the following information with you:

• 12-digit federal benefit check number;

• Amount of most recent federal benefit check;

• Financial institution’s routing transit number, which is often found on person checks (direct deposit only)

• Account number, which is also often found on personal checks, and type — checking or savings (direct deposit only)

“I really think the electronic method is the best way for people to receive their payments,” Henderson said. “You don’t have to wait for your check to arrive in the mail, the funds are in your account on the morning of the payment date. You also don’t have to make an unnecessary trip to the bank and electronic payments wipe out the possibilities of difficulty delivering checks in inclement weather.”

For more information on switching to the electronic payments, visit www.godirect.org.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Cameron Pastor

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2013/01/30/community/doc5108a4d84cf33667948096.txt

 

A Learning Experience

Tim Sodea is a pastor that has been visiting Gayville Lutheran Church from Cameroon since November. He has followed Pastor Ralph Egbert’s daily working activities along with observing what the church does well to take back to his congregations in Cameroon. He is shown here with a traditional instrument called the Sanzie, which he often plays during church services. (Andrew Atwal/P&D)

Exchange Pastor Makes Most Of Time In Gayville

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 1:06 AM CST

A pastor from Cameroon is wrapping up a three month long learning experience in Gayville today (Wednesday).

Tim Sodea, who is the pastor at seven Lutheran churches in Cameroon, has been visiting the Gayville Lutheran Church as part of a pastoral exchange. The purpose of the exchange is so each pastor can learn from each other about the church life in each place.

“Each evangelical Lutheran church in the United States is related to another church in a different part of the world, and we’re related to the churches in Cameroon,” said Ralph Egbert, pastor of Gayville Lutheran Church. “It’s mostly people from the United States going over there to put roofs on churches and support the education system they have in Cameroon.”

While in Gayville, Sodea has lived with Egbert and has spent time traveling around South Dakota meeting people. He has also been to Rapid City, Mitchell, Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Springfield, Canton and Pierre, among others.

“While he’s here in Gayville, he does pretty much everything that I do,” Egbert said. “He comes with me when I do funerals, hospital visits and make calls, along with attending meetings that I go to at church.”

Sodea said this is the first time he’s been in the United States and that he is lucky to live with Egbert, whom he had met in Cameroon previously.

“I had a lot of culture shock when I first arrived,” Sodea said. “The first town I came to was Chicago, which is a big city with big buildings, so I had some confusion as to how big the town I’d be staying in would be.”

However, Gayville has been different because he can meet people and sometimes ask them questions about living here. He said that he’s happy to be here and share information with the members of the church because oftentimes Christians send money to Cameroon but never actually see or meet anyone from there.

“It’s a good thing for me to come here so people in America know more about Cameroon,” Sodea said. “I see how Ralph (Egbert) is working here and how he can help me do some things in Africa. When he goes there, he will see what is good and what’s not good, and we can share that information together.”

Egbert will spend three months in Cameroon beginning in March.

Sodea said he has learned a lot from being in the United States.

“People can express their opinion during Bible study which sometimes helps the pastor with the sermon for Sunday,” he said. “I also see how the churches here take care of the youth. Back in Africa, the children’s program is done separately, outside of the church, so I appreciate the sense of community that takes place here.”

Sodea added that churches here are also more organized than they are in Cameroon.

“In Africa, time isn’t that big of a deal to people, so it even takes a lot of time to do announcements and when people want to speak during the service, they just raise their hands and talk,” he said. “When programs are more focused, it’s faster and better because it allows us to control how the service is going and how long the program will last for.”

Another big difference, Sodea said, is that in Cameroon, people often visit the pastor at their house after the service, whereas here sometimes people just greet the pastor right after church then go their separate ways.

“Just being in church here, I find the community of being together in a place that we can all exchange conversation and a sense of community,” he said. “In small group bible study here, we share with each other our thoughts about something we’re all learning about together.”

One of the big things that Egbert has been amazing for Sodea has been the connections he’s seen people have to Africa in places like Menard’s or the grocery store.

“These connections have been there probably about a dozen times and it’s really been amazing to see doors get opened and have people interested in what’s going on,” he said.

Sodea said one of the things that fascinated him was the November elections, which took place shortly after he arrived in Gayville.

“The elections in Cameroon sometimes have trouble afterwards,” he said. “The loser of the election in Cameroon sometimes disappears, while here, people do not divide after the election — they walk together. I have to bring back the message that living in peace in Cameroon will help the country.”

Sodea added that when he goes home, the first thing he has to teach people is how to be free.

“I need to teach people how to have a dialogue with one another — a good dialogue is to tell the truth to someone, and if you have a problem it’s good to share it with other people,” he said. “In Africa, if you have a problem, you usually keep it to yourself.”

Egbert said the time he has spent with Sodea has been amazing.

“He’s coming from a place where the people are more patient, time is different and issues of authority are also different,” Egbert said.

He said one of the things that shocked Sodea was the concept of leftovers.

“Tim got here in November, so one of the first things we’re cooking was turkey,” Egbert said. “We put some turkey back in the refrigerator and ate it again. In Cameroon, you sit at the table and eat everything that’s there. A person who puts leftovers away for another meal is considered selfish.”

When Egbert travels to Cameroon in March, he said he is looking forward to seeing how people live there and how church is run.

“Some of the things they do there are similar to here, but others are not,” he said. “Most of the Lutheran churches there are in French-speaking areas, and I have a very limited knowledge of that language. I’m also interested in seeing how people react to me as an American, because most people there have not had much contact with American people.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Clock Restoration

http://yankton.net/articles/2013/01/26/community/doc510347b5ee453073022809.txt

 

A Sign Of The Times

Terri Cash, of TeMari Designs, stands in front of the newly restored clock and her new sign on third street in downtown Yankton. Cash is set to move her business into the former location of Meredith’s Jewelers on February 1. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

Historic Downtown Landmark Restored To Original Form

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013 1:06 AM CST
A downtown Yankton landmark has been restored.

Terri Cash, owner of Temari Designs, will be moving into the location once occupied by Meredith’s Jewelers on third street in downtown Yankton. Meredith’s had a sign with a clock on it and Cash decided the clock was too much of a landmark to take down.

“I didn’t just want to take down the old sign and put up another one, so I had the old sign and clock redone with the store name,” she said. “The clock has been a part of downtown for a long time and I wanted to keep it there.”

Cash said the location made her want to move her business downtown.

“I always wanted to be downtown and the tradition of a jewelry store being in this location will continue,” she said. “There will have been a jewelry store here since about 1910.”

The clock was originally given to Art Meredith to hang up on his store sign by Elgin, a company that makes Railroad parts. The original front of the clock is still inside the store and Cash said she has no plans to sell any of the parts that needed to be taken out of the original clock.

“The clock has always been running and is still running and in working order,” she said. “The most important part of moving here was keeping the clock on the sign. I’m from Yankton and grew up here, so I remember the clock from my whole childhood as being part of downtown.”

She added that the clock was a piece of Yankton’s history and needed to stay.

“Landmarks like this are of major importance to the community,” Cash said. “It’s history and once it’s taken down it can’t be put back up. Keeping the clock on the sign was sort of like not tearing down the Meridian Bridge.”

The grand opening for Temari Designs is set for Feb. 1.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter attwitter.com/andrewatwal

One-Act Play

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2013/01/24/river_city/doc5101fc18a50dc361973177.txt

Hush

Frank (Paden Schmidt) gives his daughter, Maggie (Alexa Berg), a reassuring hug in a scene from the play, which was written by James Still. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

The Response To A Blind Girl’s ‘Visions’ Are Examined In This Year’s YHS One-Act Play Entry

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Thursday, January 24, 2013 9:37 PM CST
Yankton High School (YHS) students are set to compete in the annual one-act play festival next week at Brandon Valley. Students will be performing “Hush: An Interview With America” with Keith Goeden directing. It is a play about a girl who is not afraid to be herself.

“The girl is blind so she has created her own reality, and the news media gets a hold of her and think that she saw an angel,” Goeden said. “Because of that, they make a big deal about her and her story. The country goes crazy over her seeing an angel and people go from adoring her to turning their back on her.”

One of the themes of the play, Goeden added, is that you should be true to yourself and you can’t please others — you have to do what’s right in your own soul.

Their performance in the state festival will take place at 11:45 a.m. Friday Feb. 1 at Brandon Valley. They will hold a public performance in Yankton at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the YHS/Summit Activities Center theatre.

“Traditionally, Yankton has done very well in the festival,” Goeden said. “There are around 50 schools that go, but unlike Nebraska where it is a competition, here it’s a festival so there are no real winners and losers.”

Judges grade each performance as superior or not superior and judge each school primarily based on acting.

“The judges aren’t supposed to judge students’ costumes and the set, but they probably do. Acting magnifies whatever you’re doing — if you don’t give actors a good space to perform or good costumes they’ll struggle to be successful,” he said.

Goeden said one of the most difficult parts of his job is picking a show that reflects well for the students performing. He said he had another show picked out, but he switched to this one at the last minute.

“I always have about five plays in my head that I think I can do, or want to do,” he added. “A gut instinct I had made me decide to switch plays. The first show I had was male-heavy, while this one had more female roles.”

Goeden is no stranger to directing and acting in plays. He acted in several plays as a YHS student, and this is now his fourth year directing one-acts at the school.

“I like using established plays so I can cut out various parts,” he said. “This play, as originally written, is about one hour, 15 minutes, but I cut it down to a show that’s about 40 minutes long.”

Despite the show being so short, there are still a lot of challenges packed into that time frame.

“When you’re working with a longer show, you do the best you can, but you have to move on because the show is so long, and you have to wish you could do something better,” Goeden said. “Shorter plays are under more of a microscope. Everything seen on stage will have been practiced 20-30 times before the final show.”

He added this year he has a relatively young cast, but said they have been pleasant to work with and eager to learn.

“We really want to put on the best show we’re capable of but also have fun while doing it,” Goeden noted. “We hope the kids see the quality of the show they do and then compare and contrast it to the other performances at the festival.”

One thing he said he gets blown away by every year is seeing how hard students are performing the work to make the show the best it can be.

“We have musicians in this play who write their own stuff that goes along with certain scenes in the show,” Goeden said. “I’ll tell them whether I like it or if they should tweak this. Theater at YHS really shows the diversity and strength of the students, and the music has added new elements to the shows.”

Cast List (In Order Of Appearance):

Alexa Berg — Maggie

Sarah Santos — Jana Roberts

Paden Schmidt — Frank

Tom Kellen — Lion

Jacob Bies — Lion statue

Alex Rehurek — Lion statue

Lexi Fokken — Lamb

Jack Tramp — American Gothic

Maddie Manning — American Gothic

John Iverson — FBI

Mitch Riibe — FBI

Cole Modregger — FBI

Susana Kinsley — Newscaster

Kayla Sylvester — Newscaster

Gabe Swenson — Eve

Chris Eldred — Moon

Kevin White — Voices of America (VOA)

Shane Wright — VOA

Garner Brandt — VOA

Levi Schaeffer — VOA

Evan Schade — VOA

Hannah Horn — VOA

Gabby Slowey — VOA

Jenna Deboer — VOA

Alanna Binder — VOA

Cody Geary — Musician

Haley Baugh — Musician

Matt Watt — Musician

Student Crew Members

Abby Oien

Alex Crandall

Cameron Luken

Celena Olvera

Dusty Dvorak

Will Steward

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Farmers Honored

Area Couple Honored For Green Farming

Ray and Pam Epp of Epp’s Farm in Mission Hill were recently recognized as winners of the Pork Environmental Stewardship Award, as chosen by the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. Nominees for the award were evaluated on their conservation practices, manure management systems, wildlife habitat promotion, odor-control strategies, farm aesthetics and innovative ideas used to protect the environment. (Submitted Photo)
By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 1:06 AM CST

MISSION HILL — Maintaining an environmentally friendly farm has made Ray and Pam Epp     winners.

When Ray found out he would be honored with an award, he was surprised and humbled.

Ray and his wife Pam from Epp Farms of Mission Hill were recently selected as winners of the fifth annual Pork Environmental Stewardship Award, as chosen by the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. The award goes to a pork farmer to recognize his or her dedication to the industry through their environmental stewardship practices and community relations.

“I heard that we would receive the honor in the first part of January,” Ray said. “I was surprised when I found out we had gotten the award and I didn’t really realize that so many people were paying attention to what we are doing, which was         humbling.”

Nominees for the award were evaluated on their manure management systems, conservation practices, farm aesthetics, wildlife habitat promotion, odor-control strategies and innovative ideas used to protect the           environment.

“Your name gets submitted for the award, then you get called and asked to answer some questions and eventually the winner gets selected through that process,” Epp said. “The questions we had to answer were in regards to the precautions I take to make the farm more pleasant to the                 environment.”

*

In addition to having hogs on the farm, the Epps also farm about 1,100 acres of alfalfa, corn and soybeans.

“To be diversified is an asset for a farm. If something is not hitting in one place, it can hit elsewhere so it helps in maintaining the farm,” Epp said. “It’s a little more work, but it is a way to hopefully realize and help the farm ride through the rough spots.”

The Epps first began their hog enterprise in 1998, two years after Ray came to work on the farm. He had worked in a factory but said he got tired of that job.

“We built our hog barn when the hog industry was really at a dire time,” he said. “We came into hog production at a tough time but we managed through it because our farm is so diversified.”

In addition to applicants needing to help out the environment on their farm, they also must be involved with the community.

Ray is involved with a program run out of Gayville called “Field to Table” where grade school children from the community learn about agriculture, livestock production and other aspects of farming. He is also involved with the National Hay Growers, Soybean Council, Corn Growers and says he tries to stay involved with what’s going on in farming. He also serves on a township board and the Clay and Yankton County Irrigators Association.

However, he said one of the most important things he can do as a farmer is to protect the environment through the practices he utilizes.

“We use odor-controlling products in our feed so there is not too much of a smell for the area,” Epp said. “A lot of the time people think of odor issues when they think of hogs and the                   environment.”

He added that when you put odor-controlling products through feed, it helps break down feed in the body of the hog, therefore they are able to extract more nourishment from the feed and have a better rate of gain because of it.

“We also incorporate odor-controlling products into soil. If you apply these in heavier grounds it will eventually help loosen up soils so that your roots will grow deeper into the ground and be able to reach more soil,” Epp said.

Judges also look at the surroundings of the building when determining a winner, and Epp said he tries to keep the surroundings of his facility well groomed by keeping weeds down and putting rocks around the foundation to help keep rodents away.

The Epps will be nominated for the National Pork Environmental Steward Award, which is given by the National Pork Board.

“I do this because I enjoy it,” Epp said. “I want people to have a safe product, but I just didn’t think that people were paying that close attention to our farm. But it’s humbling to get the recognition.”

http://yankton.net/articles/2013/01/23/community/doc50ff6d4a13033219956784.txt

Awards Ceremony

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/12/03/community/doc50bc26f922142719403798.txt

 

The Weight Is Over! Winners Of Challenge Announced

Truxedo was one of the teams honored during the closing celebration for the annual YankTON Challenge Saturday. Truxedo was the top “loser” in the Medium Business category, producing a weight loss of 5.45 percent. Vishay Dale Electronics (4.65 percent) won the Large Business category, while Yankton Rexall Drug took the Small Business division. (Andrew Atwal/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Monday, December 3, 2012 12:18 AM CST
The YankTON Challenge held its award ceremony at The Landing bar Saturday and honored those businesses participating in the annual weight-loss contest, as well as individuals that lost the most weight.

Christy Hauer, executive director of The Center and a chairperson on the Yankton Chamber of Commerce Healthcare Committee, said  a total of nearly 8,000 pounds has been lost by participants between both years the program has been in existence.

“We are really pleased with the progress of the YankTON Challenge event as a whole,” she said. “This year, even though total weight loss is down a little bit from where it was in 2011, we are still pleased with how the event went.”

Hauer said while there were some huge prizes the first year the event was held, this year the prizes were scaled down a bit based on the survey that was sent out at the end of the inaugural event.

“Last year we had six total prizes for participants, including top three weight losses in a few different categories,” she said. “This year, we have a total of 18 prizes, so we are really excited about that. Having more prizes allows more people, businesses and organizations that participated to be recognized.”

She added that the reception for the program has been terrific.

“The YankTON Challenge has been so well-received for how new of a program it has been,” Hauer said. “We tried to make it fun for businesses to participate in the event. We had some training for team coordinators and also wanted to make the program fun, interesting and challenging. We also had some free workshops and classes offered for those that were in the program to help keep them motivated to lose weight.”

Some of the classes that were offered included a free Zumba class and several Yoga programs as well.

Going forward, Hauer hopes to continue to build and expand the program . However, she said the challenge will not be offered in 2013, but will be back in 2014.

“We want to get more businesses involved and participating in the YankTON Challenge,” she said. “The goal of the program is to keep the workforce in Yankton healthy.”

Hauer added that she is grateful to the Chamber of Commerce for making this event possible and said it adds value for the businesses that are members of the Yankton Chamber.

“The members of the Chamber really did a good job helping put this event together,” she said. “It takes a total team effort to make this all possible, and it takes a lot of volunteers to make this happen.”

As part of the awards ceremony on Saturday, business team coordinators were recognized with certificates. In addition, several individuals and businesses that lost the most weight were recognized. Prizes included massages, gift cards, Chamber Bucks and memberships to local fitness centers.

Small business winners (1-24 employees) were:

• 3rd place: Losing a total of 52.8 pounds (4.05 percent body weight) — Bon Homme Electric

• 2nd place: Losing a total of 96 pounds (4.26 percent) — Riverfront Broadcasting

• 1st place: Losing a total of 139.8 pounds (5.31 percent) — Yankton Rexall Drug

Medium business winners  (25-199 employees) were:

• 3rd place: Losing a total of 225.8 pounds (3.14 percent) — Shurco

• 2nd place: Losing a total of 196 pounds (4.69 percent) — Sacred Heart Monastery

• 1st place: Losing a total of 346 pounds (5.45 percent) — Truxedo

Large business winners (more than 200 employees) were:

• 3rd place: Losing a total of 280.7 pounds (3 percent) — First National Bank of Omaha

• 2nd place: Losing a total of 148 pounds (4.34 percent) — HyVee

• 1st place: Losing a total of 248 pounds (4.65 percent) — Vishay Dale Electronics

Individual Winners were:

• 6th place: 11.7 percent body weight lost — Jan Anderson

• 5th place: 11.9 percent body weight lost — Phyllis Meier

• 4th place: 13 percent body weight lost — Tom Tacke

• 3rd place: 13.7 percent body weight lost — Kelly Kneifl

• 2nd place: 16.8 percent body weight lost — Jessi Stark

• 1st place: 24.6 percent body weight lost — Kristi Palecek

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Mead Building

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/12/01/community/doc50b968270eb48483455439.txt

 

Renovations To Mead On Schedule

A worker from Stonebrook Roofing is shown installing clay tiles on top of the Mead Building in Yankton earlier this week. The roofing project is part of the ongoing effort by the Yankton County Historical Society to renovate the historic building. (Photo Courtesy Dakota Territorial Museum)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Saturday, December 1, 2012 12:58 AM CST
Restorations of the Mead Building remain on track, according to Dakota Territorial Museum Director Crystal Nelson.

She said the next step for the renovation is the windows, which will start with the windows that have been purchased by donors. Construction crews will also begin laying tile in the building.

“We started the roof restoration back in July and it looks like we will be done with that part of the renovations by about Christmas,” Nelson said. “Laying the tile in the building is just a small part of the project as a whole.”

The Mead Building was completed in 1909 and is located on the south side of the Human Services Center campus just north of Yankton. It is named after, and built by Dr. Leonard Mead and serves as a monument to his attitude towards the positive treatment of mentally ill people. After a review of the property, the Yankton County Historical Society (YCHS) has shown the building and its structure would suite new museum building needs for the society.

Nelson added there are a lot of repairs needed to be done inside on the infrastructure of the building to be sure the roof and other renovations will be supported.

“The new roof we have been installing will be supported well,” she said. “With the clay tile roof we have will be able to last a couple hundred years at least.”

Nelson said the roof is very ornate and is a significant part of the building.

Crews will begin working on the windows around Jan. 1, and are awaiting the lead stabilization process on the windows. After that process is completed, the window restoration will begin.

“Fundraising we have had going on for the windows has been going very well,” Nelson said. “For a donation, you can have your name on the window with a plaque. You can also have the window be in memory of someone.”

She added some people purchased a window because they used to work at the Mead Building or because they want to be a part of the future of the building going forward.

The smallest windows cost $150 and the largest are $750. There are nine of the larger windows left, and 90 of the 250 windows have been purchased so far. People interested in purchasing a window can go online todakotaterritorialmuseum.org or call Nelson at 665-3898.

“When we were deciding how to restore the windows, we did a lot of research on which way would be the most friendly in regards to the economy,” she said. “We decided we would restore the sash window and have storm windows made as well. The combination of both will give us some aura value.”

The Historical Society must occupy the new Mead Building by 2018, and its the goal of construction crews to have the first floor renovations completed by December 2017 to allow the society some time to move in.

“The shell of the building will be done by 2013,” Nelson said. “Inside, we need to do some mechanical work and install an elevator. But we also want to start having events and a presence inside the building as soon as we can.”

She said the new Mead Building can help add to the time tourists stay in Yankton.

“Between the Meridian Bridge on the south side of town and the Mead Building on the north end, they are great packages of history we have right here in Yankton,” Nelson said. “Tourists want to experience history, not just hear about it.”

She added the restorations to the building would not be possible without the strong community support.

“We want the community to understand that this project is for them,” Nelson said. “It has been so successful because of their support.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Weekend Events

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/11/30/community/doc50b8374ae6079561212599.txt

 

City Set For Weekend Of Holiday Events

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Friday, November 30, 2012 12:59 AM CST
The holiday season will be in full display this weekend throughout Yankton with a number of seasonal events taking place.

On Saturday, the annual Gurney Landing Parade of Lights will take place, which is accompanied by a vendor fair.

“We have been putting together a lot of the last-minute details,” said parade organizer Paul Lowrie. “The biggest difference this year is that the parade will be on Saturday to allow people a better day to prepare an entry. We are trying to get as many entrants as possible.”

Although registering to take place in the parade in advance is encouraged, no one will be turned away if they want to participate in the parade on Saturday afternoon. The parade will line up on Levee Street and Capitol around 5:30 p.m. and it starts the route at 6 p.m. It will move north on Capitol and turn west on Third Street through downtown Yankton. It will proceed along Third to the Yankton County Government Center.

Alison Brown, another parade organizer, is expecting a big turnout for the event.

“We have had more pre-registrations for the parade this year then we have in the past,” she said. “The more we do it, the more people will see what’s going on and want to come downtown to watch the parade and go to the vendor fair.”

Prizes will be awarded to parade participants in four different categories: Religious, commercial, organization and individual. Organizers are still hoping more businesses will register to be in the parade.

The vendor fair will take place from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday in the Gurney building at 110 Capitol Street. As of early this week, there were about 25 vendors registered.

“The parade is great family entertainment and is free,” Brown said. “You can also start, or finish, your holiday shopping at the vendor fair.”

Smooth Benediction, Mount Marty’s a capella group, will perform at the Christmas tree lighting which will take place around 7 p.m. at the plaza by the base of the Meridian Bridge.

Santa Claus will participate in the parade on board a historic firetruck, and organizers say once he passes your spot along the route, you should head towards the bridge for the tree lighting.

“We are encouraging people not to go home after the parade ends, just go to the bridge to see the tree lighting,” Lowrie said. “Dress warm and dress for the weather. The vendor fair will also have a lot of quality items and a good mix of goods people can buy.”

Another weekend event is the Mount Marty College Music Department’s annual Vespers performance which is set for Sunday, Dec. 2.

The free performances are at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Bishop Marty Chapel on the Mount Marty College campus. However, both performances are sold out.

Directing Vespers this year will be Kenneth Tice and he has some new performances planned for the concert.

“We are adding a Gregorian Chant to the concert, which was part of the first Vespers performance back in 1982,” he said. “All vocal ensembles will also be presented at the concert, including the a capella group that will also be playing at the Yankton Christmas tree lighting.”

Tice will also be adding some more carols for the audience to sing along with the students performing on stage. He said the college will consider adding more performances in the future because of the popularity of the event.

“This year, Vespers will be rebroadcast on a local radio station on Christmas,” Tice said. “This will help other people in the area who didn’t get to come out to the show hear it for themselves.”

There will be a number of other events this weekend as well including:

• The Corps of Discovery Welcome Center in South Yankton, Neb., will host “A Taste Of Christmas” on Saturday from 4-7 p.m. Area vendors will offer samples of their products and gift ideas for Christmas.

• The United Church of Christ in Yankton will hold its 19th annual Christmas coffee and bake sale starting at 1 p.m. Saturday. The church is located at 5th and Walnut.

• Yankton figure skaters will be teaming up with the Yankton Toys for Kids program to help Santa Claus make the holidays special for area children. The Toys for Kids Christmas Show will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Yankton Kiwanis Ice Arena, 709 Whiting Drive, Yankton. Admission to the event is a new unwrapped toy or goodwill donation.

• There will be a Hometown Christmas open house at the McVay-Gurney House, 503 Pine Street, Yankton on Sunday from 2-5 p.m. Music, refreshments and holiday decorating ideas will be part of the open house.

• The YankTON Challenge celebration will take place Saturday at The Landing Bar at 103 Capitol Street. Activities will begin at 4:30 p.m. with the awards ceremony at 5 p.m. After the ceremony, participants will walk in the parade and carry the banner and balloons with weights lost on them.

• The Yankton Goodwill Store, 2508 Fox Run Parkway, will hold its annual Shoe Party on Sunday from 3-6 p.m. Every year, Goodwill invites 50 children from the local community whose families may be struggling to provide gifts for Christmas. When the kids attend the shoe party they receive new shoes, socks, hats and mittens for Christmas.

• The Yankton Community Library and Recreation Department are sponsoring a Parents’ Night Out event on Saturday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. for kids ages 6-12 at the Summit Activities Center. Kids will make craft projects, eat pizza, swim and play games in the gym. Registration forms are available at the Summit Center.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal