Clips

News articles that Andrew Atwal has written

YSD School Board

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/08/14/community/doc5029c79094062299496624.txt

 

Yankton School District OKs Changes In Health Insurance Plan

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 1:08 AM CDT
The Yankton School Board on Monday approved substantial changes to the YSD self-funded insurance policy for employees.

The board also approved a new banking contract that will run for the next three years.

The district will move from the First Administrators insurance plan to Wellmark. YSD will also change over from the two-tier system they are currently operating under to a four-tier model.

The current two-tier system covers employees and their families, while the new system will allow for more flexibility. The four-tier model has an option to cover a single policy member, employee and spouse, employee and child(ren) and a family option.

Under the new four-tier structure, some families would have savings, but others could end up paying more out of pocket if they must have a hospital visit.

The four-tier model will take effect on Oct. 1, with the full move over to Wellmark coming on Jan. 1.

“I’m comfortable with the potential trade-offs on the four-tier system,” said Chris Specht, YSD board president. “There will be some employees in the YSD that will save money on the new system.”

Business Manager Jason Bietz added that even though the changes should save the district a significant amount of money, they are ultimately not the savior to the sizable deficit the district faces.

In addition to making changes to the health care option for employees, the board had been considering changing banking providers as well.

The district had asked local banks for requests for proposals earlier this summer, with four local institutions responding. Two of the proposals called for earnings credits in lieu of interest credit posted to the bank account, which is intended to offset potential fee expenses.

After analyzing each proposal, the district decided to use First Dakota National Bank as its bank for the next three years. First Dakota had previously been the district’s bank, with its contract recently expiring.

“First Dakota has been a good partner with YSD for the past few years,” Bietz said.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Gertsema commended Bietz for the work he did with banks in the area and added that he dedicated a substantial amount of time with the process.

Also on Monday Kathy Wagner, Director of Student Services at YSD,  discussed school district achievement test results and annual yearly progress (AYP) under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Under the Dakota STEP test in 2012, 81 percent of YSD students were at the proficient or advanced levels in reading. This compares to a South Dakota average of 73 percent. In addition, 83 percent of students in YSD were proficient or advanced in math, compared to the state average of 74 percent.

The state did not calculate the AYP designations for “schools of improvement” because the state is moving towards new standards that will change the designations.

In addition to the current NCLB standard of student achievement, the new standards will also include academic growth and completion rate for the high school, attendance and college and career readiness, school climate and how effective school principals and teachers are.

“Based on our test scores, I really don’t believe there are many areas of concern,” Wagner said.

Notable other business included authorizing a full-time speech therapist position and hiring a paraprofessional at Lincoln School for the 2012-13 school year to help reduce class sizes.

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

Online Programs

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/08/10/community/doc5025c9cb3999e362521317.txt

 

YSD Buys Into Online Program Revolution

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:07 PM CDT
The Yankton School District (YSD) continues to get on board with the increasing popularity of online programs at schools to help supplement students’ learning experiences inside the classroom.

The elementary schools in the district offer students two programs: SuccessMaker and Reading Counts. The middle school offers IXL — Math and Accelerated Reader. The high school has Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations (PLATO) for the Alternative Learning Center and Virtual High School for students to do the courses online, but must pay a fee in order to do so.

The South Dakota Virtual School provides expanded course offerings to students through online studies. In addition it gives students the opportunity to take more Advanced Placement (AP) courses, the ability to study highly specialized subjects or receive more specific remedial instruction in certain subjects.

Yankton Middle School principal Todd Dvoracek said the programs have had a big impact on students.

“There are not a lot of online programs offered at the middle school, but the programs we do have are strictly supplementary,” he said. “They don’t drive our instruction, they supplement the curriculum.”

For the 2011-12 school year, there were 133 school districts and school systems in the state that participated in the Virtual School program. There are also 24 AP courses and 82 credit recovery courses offered through the online program.

He added that the teachers use the programs for all levels of students; and the programs currently in place are all cost-effective and kids can use them both at home and in the classroom.

“Students enjoy using the technology of the online programs here,” Dvoracek said. “They can also log on at home on their computers, iPads or iPods.”

Despite the successes of the programs at the middle school, Dvoracek added that students must buy into the technology and the programs offered, and they have done so with the math and reading programs at Yankton Middle School.

The elementary schools in YSD also use online programs as part of their schools’ curriculum.

The elementary schools use Success Maker and Reading Counts. Success Maker allows teachers to track students’ growth over time. The program is used mostly in the elementary schools for reading and math. Success Maker also asks more advanced questions as students get questions right and easier questions when students struggle in a given area.

“The Success Maker program works at students’ ability levels, so students do not become easily frustrated,” said Jerome Klimisch, principal at Stewart Elementary.

The other online program used at Stewart is Reading Counts, which quizzes students after they read a book. The program also works a lot on comprehension and tracks the amount of books students read, along with their reading levels.

Klimisch noted that both of these programs are about 8 years old.

Students that use the Success Maker program get placed at a certain level at the beginning of the school year, and the program will track their growth to see how much improvement they have made over the year in both reading and math.

Stewart Elementary was able to purchase the Success Maker program with school improvement funds several years ago. Klimisch noted that since the program has been purchased, the school has not fallen back into the improvement classification.

“If the programs are used correctly, a teacher can see if a class is having lots of problems in one particular subject area,” Klimisch said.

He added that all the teachers in the school use the programs differently, but they all try to get their students into the computer lab and on the programs about once a week.

Teachers at Stewart note that the programs are having positive effects on students, and it adds another tool for teachers to track students’ progress in a number of different areas.

Students in the Alternative Learning Center (ALC) at Yankton High School (YHS) use the PLATO program. The focus of the program is on learner and student achievement and educational success for the students using the program.

“We use the program primarily for credit recovery in order to keep a student on track for graduation,” said Dr. Wayne Kindle, principal at YHS. “The program is Web-based, so it can be accessed from any computer located outside of YHS. This allows us a great deal of flexibility to access the program.”

Kindle added that the software, in addition to the staff at the ALC, has provided hundreds of students with second or third chances to get back on track with their credits and enable them to graduate from YHS.

In addition to helping students recover credits, the software also offers a GED prep course. The course enables students to prepare for their GED and then take the test on their own time through the program.

“Our first goal is for all students to complete their diploma through YHS,” Kindle said. “The GED prep course is an alternative when situations arise for a student, which may constitute the need for a student to consider a GED option towards graduation.”

Klimisch added, “We don’t think online programs will ever replace good teaching and good teachers. They’re just new tools to help students learn.”

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

RTEC / BHSU Courses

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/08/07/community/doc502087e3b7171332753338.txt

 

RTEC Set To Host More Programs From BHSU

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 1:07 AM CDT
Yankton’s Regional Technical Education Center (RTEC) recently announced that it will expand its partnership with Black Hills State University (BHSU) this fall with increased certificate programs being offered.

The certificate programs were designed with input from local industries in South Dakota and manufacturers in order to give students advanced skills in targeted areas of industry. The new offerings can be completed separately or taken as part of the two-year Associate of Science in Advanced Manufacturing degree, which has been offered at RTEC for the past several years.

Steve Wynia, an assistant professor at BHSU, helped put the programs together for the RTEC offerings, said schools working in collaboration helps everyone from students to instructors.

“Schools working together have the benefits of shared resources and the ability to offer courses and programs that are not currently at their own respective schools, so it makes good economic sense,” he told the Press & Dakotan. “It also gives students the ability to pursue educational options that would not be available in their area without these cooperative arrangements.”

Wynia added that partnerships like the one between RTEC and BHSU are “win-win” situations for both students and schools.

Most of the new course offerings will be taught face-to-face at RTEC.

“There are a few classes that will be delivered via the DDN live interaction television system from the new University Center in Rapid City, which is where the Industrial Technology programs is based out of,” Wynia said. “All courses at BHSU and RTEC are taught by professionally experienced and academically qualified staff and BHSU only offers technical courses in Yankton.”

Because only technical courses are offered in Yankton from BHSU, Wynia added that students would need to take their general education course requirements either online, at the University of South Dakota or Mount Marty College. He noted that response for the courses has been positive, but won’t know anything on enrollment numbers for another few weeks and the relationship between RTEC and BHSU is one that is evolving.

“We are certainly willing to explore all options where BHSU can help RTEC and all the industries in the region,” Wynia said.

RTEC General Manager Josh Svatos could not be reached for comment on Monday.

BHSU’s four new certificates include:

• The Advanced Computer Aided Manufacturing Certificate which:

— Addresses the ongoing need to train current and future workers for today’s highly computer integrated industrial manufacturing environment

— Integrates several computer software systems and machines and teaches students about manufacturing operational procedures, manufacturing design principles, machine safety/safeguarding along with proper manual industrial machine use and care

— Consists of courses in Manufacturing Technology, CAD Mechanical Drafting, Machining Processes and Computer Aided Manufacturing

• The Mechanical Computer Aided Drafting Certificate that:

— Addresses the demand for highly qualified computer aided draftspersons

— Focuses on teaching introductory through advanced three-dimensional, multi-component design and virtual assembly processes along with rapid prototyping three-dimensional modeling

— Consists of courses in Computer Aided Drafting I, CAD Mechanical Drafting I, Computer Aided Drafting II and CAD Mechanical Drafting II

• The Industrial Leadership and Management Certificate which:

— Focuses on the demand for highly qualified leadership personnel

— Equips students with the knowledge of the overall operations of an industry and teaches them how to work effectively with personnel in leadership and management areas

— Features courses in Industrial Management, Management and Leadership, Human Resource Management and Negotiations & Conflict/Dispute Resolution

• The Lean Concepts and Management Certificate that:

— Is designed for all levels of employees from upper management to production floor personnel

— Expands on what is sometimes referred to as Lean tools to include long-term Lean management and the leadership required to transition the culture of the entire workforce into a functioning Lean enterprise

— Includes courses in Safety Management, Leadership & Management, Lean Concepts and Lean Management

Missouri River Thefts

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/08/04/community/doc501c90febfdbe569701568.txt

 

Park Rangers Discuss Missouri River Artifact Thefts

Chris Wilkenon, of the Park Service, explains the area that is part of the Missouri National Recreational River as part of a discussion on thefts at the river on Friday. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Saturday, August 4, 2012 1:08 AM CDT
Items that lie in the mud of the Missouri National Recreational River are items that are important artifacts to study the past and should not be tampered with or taken, according to officials.

Officials from the National Park Service gave a presentation to patrons at the Dakota Territorial Museum on Friday about people stealing valuable cultural resources from the Missouri National Recreational River.

On May 9, the U.S. Army Corps lowered the water levels in the river in order to check on the flood damages from 2011. During these low water levels, many artifacts and objects were taken our of the river.

Chris Wilkinson, chief of Interpretation and Education at the Park Service, and Justin Work, Seasonal Ranger, gave the talk. They noted that cultural resources are material evidence of past human activities. Examples of these can be districts, sites, objects, buildings, materials and so on. They also are very important to help study the past.

“Cultural resources can help us learn the history and environment other than just reading about it in books,” Work said. “With these resources in place, we can actually see, touch and feel history.”

Among the resources taken out of the river during the low water levels in May included bison bones. There were a large number of bison that lived in the area up until the mid-19th century. Bison skulls were the main object taken during the Gavins Point low water period this spring. Prices for the bones and skulls can range anywhere between $40 and $300 on eBay.

In addition to the bison bones, there are many steamboat wrecks in the Missouri National Recreational River. Work noted that there were hundreds of wrecks during the 19th century on the river and the remains can contain many artifacts including the wreck itself, freight and passengers’ personal items.

Work said that other parks across the country are dealing with the same problems.

He said that Civil War artifacts at sites like Gettysburg suffer from resource removal. He added that fossils have been taken from Badlands National Park and artifacts have been taken from Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Work noted that people have even attempted to steal elk antlers and a mule deer fawn at Yellowstone National Park a few years ago, but were luckily caught.

He made the startling example of Fossil Cycad National Monument in South Dakota. There were a large number of fossilized cycads found near the Hot Springs in the Black Hills, and the site became a national monument in 1922 because of its historical significance. However, because vandals stole or destroyed all of the visible fossils. The area’s park designation was wthdrawn in 1957.

Work gave several reasons of why citizens should care about preserving cultural resources in the area.

He noted that if humans take all of the resources, there would not be much that we can learn from past societies.

“Children in the future could grow up caring less about history and the environment without cultural resources,” he added. “We want the resources to last, but they can’t last if they’re not here.”

Work said there are several ways for citizens to help preserve cultural resources.

He said that when patrons visit national parks and use the resources there, you should leave the artifacts there and not take or damage it. In addition, if someone is disturbing a resource, Work encourages you to tell them to stop or call the Park Rangers on duty.

“We want to create a better understanding of the resources and how to preserve them,” he said. “This will help us get the word out more.”

Wilkinson noted that officials do not think the drought is playing a factor in the stealing of cultural resources on the river this season.

School Distict Teachers’ Grants

63-3 ‘Lends A Hand’ To 67 Teachers

Shown are Pauline Rhoades, left, executive director of the YSD Foundation, and Webster second grade teacher Kellie Holmstrom. The YSD Foundation recently announced grants for 67 teachers in the district for the 2012-13 school year. (Andrew Atwal/P&D)

Foundation’s Grants Will Help Cover Expenses

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Friday, August 3, 2012 1:09 AM CDT
The Yankton School District (YSD) 63-3 Foundation recently announced awarding 67 teachers in the district with “Lending-A-Hand” grants for the 2012-13 school year.

The grants are designed to help cover expenses that state and federal funding is unable to provide to YSD. All teachers in the district can apply for the grants, which provide teachers with funding up to $250.

Examples of grants that were approved this year included funds for professional development programs, field trips, music supplies, art supplies, classroom supplies, books and weekly readers, among others.

“The grants this year went to a variety of things where there was no money budgeted for the items,” said Pauline Rhoades, executive director of the YSD 63-3 Foundation.

A majority of the funding for the grants came from the Spring dinner auction roast, with other funds coming from individual donations.

Rhoades added that the foundation has been very successful in getting funds for the grants — they awarded 28 grants to teachers in 2009, compared with 67 this year.

“It’s huge to be able to grant every single request asked by teachers,” she said.

Melanie Ryken, principal at Webster Elementary, said the grants have helped the teachers in the district purchase many items that they would have had to pay their own way for without the grants.

“The grants have allowed teachers to gain more activities and opportunities for students in the classroom,” she said. “They help take some of the burden off teachers who might have had to purchase the supplies themselves before.”

Ryken added that the grants have helped improve the relationship between the foundation and the community.

“Kids benefit from the grant funding first hand,” she said.

One of the grants this year that will impact all students at Webster Elementary will allow the school to purchase new headphones for the computer labs . The old headphones at the school were breaking, and officials did not have the money to replace them.

Kellie Holmstrom, a second grade teacher at Webster, received a grant this year for a program that aims at improving students’ reading and writing skills, while also helping them become more  independent.

The program, called “The Daily Five,” lets students listen to stories on a CD, then read the stories to themselves and a partner. Students also write independently, and work on vocabulary and spelling.

Last year Holmstrom received a grant for reading bags, which allowed students to take books home from school — something they would not have been able to do without the funding.

“$250 can go a really long way,” she said.

———

This year’s grant recipients are:

• BEADLE ELEMENTARY: DeeRhonda Anderson, Lynn Becker, Mary Beth Herrboldt and Lori LaFave, Roxann Hunhoff & Kristi Zimmerman, Sue May, Linda Messler, Janet Morrow & Paula Weydert, Amy Neu, Ana Olson, Natasha Phillips, Sandi Pierce, Peggy Schortzman, Lee Ann Schramm, Melanie Vlasman, Kristi Zimmerman

• LINCOLN ELEMENTARY: Dena DenHerder, Sharon Ehrhart, Kris Ford, Michelle Hoesing / Lori Schaeffer / Kerry Svatos, Jackie Jerke, Sheryl Rehurek, Jamie VanWinkle

• STEWART ELEMENTARY: Lisa Card, Amy Harvison, Julie Jensen & Marsha Bertsch, Michele Luken, Peggy Marquardt, Susan Ray, Kelli Simonsen, Stewart School PTA

• WEBSTER / BEADLE COMBINATION: Nikki Heinz

• WEBSTER ELEMENTARY: Robin Brooks, Amy Bruening, Susan Goeden, Rebecca Gravholt, Kellie Holmstrom, Lynn Moser, Traci Peterson / Faydra Christensen / Heidi Savey / Robin Brooks / Melanie Ryken, Heidi Savey, Christina Stark, Nikki Vondracek

• WEBSTER / STEWART ELEMENTARY COMBINATION: Lori Leader

• YANKTON MIDDLE SCHOOL: Michelle Andrews, Connie Bromley, Janine Broscha, Sue Dumke, Jacalyn Hovden, Debra Howell, Teresa Janssen, Kacie Johnson, Beth Kaltsulas & Jill Muth, Nancy Klimisch, Carol Larrington, Amy Long, Julie Manning, Mike Mikkelson, Stacy Ryken, Brooks Schild

• YANKTON MIDDLE AND YANKTON HIGH COMBINATION: Mary Malchow

• YANKTON HIGH SCHOOL: Vicki Barron, Peter Deming, Elaine Kauer, Marge Kindle, Angie Luken, Robin Taylor, Kathy Wright

Bloomfield Fire Department

Bloomfield Firefighters Lend A Hand With Wildfires

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 1:09 AM CDT

Firefighters in Nebraska were working around the clock recently in hopes of containing the several wildfires that have broken out across the north-central region of the state.

Many area figherfighters were summoned in to help battle the blazes and, as of Monday, it appears that the fires are under control and contained.

“A mutual aid call was sent out to many fire departments in the area, including those in Creighton, Bloomfield and Verdigre,” said Laura Hintz, Knox County emergency       manager.

There were about 500 firefighters that helped to assist crews in the area battling the blazes, which broke out more than a week ago. Officials note that the crews should start returning home this week.

Kelly Kumm, Bloomfield Fire Department captain, worked a 24-hour shift with his crew to help battle the fires last week.

“We left Bloomfield Monday afternoon and got back in town Tuesday afternoon,” he said.

His crew was responsible for helping to contain the Mills fire, which was the easternmost blaze.

Kumm added that fire departments from all over the area helped battle the fires, including some departments that came from more than 200 miles away.

Although the fires were partially contained, Kumm said there were big challenges for the crews once they got there.

“The biggest challenge we faced with these fires was communication,” he said. “Everyone that was there had different radio frequencies.”

Kumm added that every county throughout Nebraska has multiple radio channels, and it is “nearly impossible” to program a radio to store 100 or more channels.

Because the expensive radios were largely useless, crews had to find other ways to communicate with each other.

“The only way we could communicate was through texting,” he said. “There was poor cell coverage there, so we would have to talk to people face to face (to get their phone numbers) and than text them to communicate.”

One of the main risks going forward for the region is more lightning fires, which is how the fires in Nebraska were started. All told, more than 70,000 acres of land were burned in the fires, with about $2.5 million in total damage — most of which went to fire personnel salaries and for equipment and supplies crews used. Most of the expenses went to battle the Fairfield Creek fire, which was the largest of the fires in the area.

Most of the damage to the area included pastures being destroyed, hay bales burning, trees and timber burned, and damage to about a dozen homes.

“The last job we had before we came back was defending one of the homes in the area,” Kumm said. “All the crews were able to save a lot of homes from burning.”

When Kumm’s team arrived in the area, they were quickly reminded of how dangerous the fires were.

Kumm said the fires got out into the trees, so firefighters could not simply move in and put the fires out.

“You can’t just drive in to those fires or get to them,” he said. “You really just have to wait for the fire to get out of the trees.”

He added that his crew was not used to the pine trees they were up against, as cedar trees are much more common for the Bloomfield Fire Department to deal with.

Crews also used back burning as a way of reducing the amount of flammable material available to the bushfires. This is the controlled burning of the bush, or material that can be easily set ablaze. It also helps prevent future bushfires.

Kumm said that he is worried about the potential for similar fires to break out along the lake area in northern Knox County. He said that it would be “very dangerous” to have those fires in areas where there are a lot of trees.

However, he added that prevention is the main key in stopping future fires from breaking out. Kumm said that burn bans in place in the area, including Knox County, could help stop fires from sparking.

Penalties for those who break the burn ban in Knox County include a $100 fine, along with any costs to the fire department to put out the fire, and also being criminally liable if you start a fire that leads to someone’s house burning down.

“Despite measures in place, we can’t stop all the accidents and all the lightning from occurring,” Kumm said.

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/08/01/community/doc5018a31bc2f19772657172.txt

Sound System Grant

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/07/27/community/doc50121163f1568331533245.txt

 

Grant Provides Sound Improvements For YSD

Members of the Yankton Sertoma Club and the Yankton School District (YSD) recently announced an $8,000 grant which helped the club purchase additional Soundfield FM systems for more classrooms in YSD. The club started the Better Community Through Better Hearing Project, which helps put the systems in schools all across the area. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)
By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Friday, July 27, 2012 1:09 AM CDT

The Yankton Sertoma Club recently announced an $8,000 grant they received to provide additional soundfield systems for the Yankton School District (YSD).

Four years ago the club began a program aimed at purchasing and placing Soundfield FM systems into local classrooms in the area. The group began the project by purchasing one system each year. Since then, the project has expanded to include the purchase of two systems a year.

“A Soundfield system provides better amplification for a teacher’s voice,” said Matt Rumsey, Yankton Sertoma Hearing Committee Chairman. “The teacher does not need to talk as loud, students pay more attention to the teacher and perform better as a result.”

Soundfield systems are designed for hearing impaired students, but they also help all students hear the teacher’s voice better, Rumsey noted. Currently the systems are spread out throughout the schools in the    district.

Rumsey added the Sertoma club in Yankton focuses heavily on the hearing impaired community in the area, and these systems are a cost effective way to help the whole classroom.

“Anytime you can make students in classrooms more attentive, it’ll help out education,” he said. “By getting the systems through the grant, it’ll save YSD a good amount of money.”

Principal Regan Manning at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Yankton asked for a system about four years ago, Rumsey said. After that request, the club took initiative to develop a project to put systems across other schools throughout the area.

The American Speech, Language and Hearing Association identifies several ways that hearing loss impacts children. It causes delays in the development of receptive and expressive communication skills, language deficits cause learning problems that lead to reduced academic achievement, and communication difficulties often will lead to social isolation. All of these lead to reduced vocational options — problems that the soundfield systems could help address.

Researchers at Michigan State University found that students who use the soundfield FM systems show improvements in mean spelling scores and significant improvements in scholastic reading achievement scores as well.

Sheryl Rehurek, a fourth-grade teacher in the Yankton School District, was quick to praise the Soundfield systems in her classroom.

“I believe the children are more active listeners with the system,” she said. “I know more are participating in class because of the opportunity and their classmates are listening better as well.”

After looking over the research and the first-hand experience teachers are having with the systems, members of the Sertoma club and YSD think the project will be a nice benefit to the students in the schools, and the entire community.

So far, the seven systems in place have impacted about 475 students, and the additional 10 systems, to be implemented for the 2012-13 school year, would immediately impact another 225 students.

Based on current experiences with the systems already in place, members of the club believe the new and continuing additions have the potential to impact the community in “immeasurable ways.”

Drought Update: Hay

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/07/26/community/doc5010bc2f484e9852145676.txt

 

Area Hay Yields Take Hit From Drought

Hay throughout the area, such as these bales in a field east of Yankton on Highway 50, has been taking a hit due to the drought and excessive heat. If such conditions persist, farmers could likely see only 40 percent of their normal hay yield, according to Rich Schwartz, county executive director for the Farm Service Agency. (James D. Cimburek/P&D)
By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Thursday, July 26, 2012 1:10 AM CDT

With the drought and excessive heat never seeming to end, farmers in the region continue to take a big hit. Not only are yields of corn, soybeans and other crops down, hay yields are down as well.

Rich Schwartz, county executive director for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Yankton, said farmers could likely be around 40 percent of their normal hay yield if the hot and dry conditions persist.

Some pastures across the region are doing well, but Wagner notes that pastures in the Yankton area are not so fortunate.

“Pastures in the area are in tough shape right now,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult for them to improve if farmers don’t get rain soon.”

Schwartz added, “It’s not a pretty picture right now. The drought is having a huge negative impact on farmers.”

Second alfalfa cuttings in South Dakota were at 83 percent for the week ending July 22, and 79 percent for the week ending July 15. This is above the 49 percent from last year, and also above the five-year average which is at 53 percent. Third cuttings of alfalfa for last week were at 22 percent, well above last years zero percent and the five-year average of just one percent.

In response to the drought, Gov. Dennis Daugaard activated the state drought task force to monitor the worsening drought conditions throughout South Dakota.

The task force helps to coordinate the exchange of drought information among government agencies, and agriculture, fire and water-supply organizations. The group will also monitor the impact that the drought is having on the economy in South Dakota.

“We can’t change the weather, but we can give people access to information,” Daugaard said.

Jim Bye, of Bye Brothers Hay and Seed in Gayville, said the quality of hay they are producing has been good, despite the drought and heat.

“What we’ve produced has been good quality so far,” he said. “Although our yield amount might be down, our first cutting was just as good as you can dream of.”

He added that this year’s drought is not worse than it was in 1988, and the worst drought that he has experienced in South Dakota came in 1976.

“Things have dried up quicker this year than they did in 1976,” Bye said. “However, we do have a lot better corn now than we did back then.”

Bye added that some farmers in the area have gone up to Canada to bale hay because they have gotten a good amount of rain up there.

“It’s been like a gold rush up there because they’ve gotten rain,” he said.

The next cutting of hay will be coming up for the Bye’s, which would be their fourth cutting this year.

“We’re hoping for about a half-ton off of that cutting,” he said. “But it’s already starting to bloom, and once it starts blooming, it will also stop growing.”

Cuttings of hay in South Dakota were at 90 percent the week ending July 22, and 84 percent for the week ending July 15. This is above last year’s total of 71 percent, and also above the five-year average of 76 percent.

Gary Freeburg, of the Freeburg Hay Company in Gayville, said his hay has also been of good quality, but expects his yields to be down significantly this year.

“We’ve had two really nice cuttings,” he said. “However, we will be down probably by at least one-third of what our yields usually are.”

He noted Freeburg Hay typically produces about 5.5 to 6.5 tons of hay each year, and that total is predicted to be in the four to five ton range.

“Despite the drought, we are really trying to service our customers here within reason,” he added.

Freeburg said that he experienced the droughts in 1976 and 1988 in the state and said this has been as dry as he’s seen the area since that time.

In spite of the excessive heat and dry conditions, he said that the demand for hay has been very high.

“Our phone here doesn’t stop ringing,” Freeburg said. “We have been able to meet the demands of our customers, despite the lower yields.”

He added that some rain would really help a lot, but things are not a total disaster yet and he still has high hopes for getting in two more cuttings of hay this year.

Daugaard said the areas in Yankton, Vermillion and Sioux Falls had never had a drier month in their history than what they experienced last month.

“It makes it even more damaging when you combine the drought with hot temperatures,” he said. “Some ranchers are regretting the sale of hay from last year.”

Daugaard added there is still some hope that the FSA might open up wetlands in the region for haying and grazing.

“This is a very serious drought problem, but we still have some hope here,” he said.

Freeburg noted crop insurance allows farmers to hang on, and that folks in cattle will likely take the biggest hit from the drought because beef prices are down from where they normally are.

Bye added, despite the good quality of hay being produced, farmers still need to watch out for bugs getting into hay. When bugs bite hay, it becomes poisonous to alfalfa, causing it to stop growing.

“We really can’t do a heck of a lot during the drought and heat,” Bye said. “The only thing we can do is hope for the best and pray a lot.”

Governor Meets Paralympic Team

Yankton Welcomes United States Paralympic Archery Team

From left: Gov. Daugaard, his wife Linda and Bruce Cull, NFAA president, present the 2012 United States Paralympic Archery team with a card, signed by archers in the Yankton-area. The team arrived in Yankton on Monday to begin final preparations for the Paralympic games, which begin next month in London. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)
By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 1:09 AM CDT

The United States Paralympic archery team arrived in Yankton this week to begin final training for competition in London next month, with officials from across the state on hand to welcome them to South Dakota.

The team was met by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and his wife Linda on Tuesday, who wished the archers well and welcomed them to South Dakota.

“It’s great that the team came to Yankton,” Daugaard said. “It shows we can be a competitive place for athletes to train.”

Speaking to the athletes Tuesday, Daugaard added the last time he came to the National Field Archery Association (NFAA) facility was before the new renovations were complete, and that he was “astounded” when he saw how nice the new area in the facility was.

“The next step is making this an official Olympic training facility,” he said. “We want to welcome the team to Yankton and best of luck at the Paralympics.”

Yankton Mayor Nancy Wenande was also a part of the ceremony.

“We are blessed to have the team in Yankton,” she said. “We’re excited that you are sharing your talents with the rest of us around here.”

Some of the top names in archery are frequent visitors to Yankton because of the many national and international tournaments held in town every summer. Four of the archers who qualified for the Pan American trials last year — which were held in Yankton — are among the six who will represent Team USA at the London Olympics, which start Friday.

In addition, the NFAA facility has the only dedicated indoor 70-meter range in the country.

“There will probably be more of those to come, but this is the first one,” said Bruce Cull, NFAA president.

Cull added that his biggest goal is to become an official Olympic training facility, and the process on that has already begun.

“One of the biggest things we have here has been having these Olympians here,” Cull said. “Athletes want to utilize the facility here, and from our perspective, it couldn’t get any better than that.”

He added that when tournaments are hosted in Yankton, there are economic benefits for the entire area because of the additional money archers spend at local businesses.

“The main goal of the Olympians using the facility has been the ability to shoot their equipment in a controlled environment,” Cull said. “When they do have to go outside, their equipment is tuned properly after training      indoors.”

He added that having Gov. Daugaard at the facility shows how much the support archery has from state government officials.

Daugaard had high praise for Cull when he addressed the archers.

“Bruce has expanded the ability of the NFAA, which is great for archery,” he said.

The archers on the team hail from across the country, and for many this is their second or third Paralympic games. The team members spoke about how much it means for them to represent the United States at the event and that it is not about medals, but more about the camaraderie that athletes have with each other at the games.

Randi Smith, head coach of the Paralympic team, said she has enjoyed being able to train in Yankton.

“The process for picking facilities wasn’t long,” she said. “We wanted to train here because of the indoor shooting range and that way we could get our equipment tuned properly.”

She added that the people in town have been very nice and helpful to her and her team.

“My biggest goal is to help everyone be prepared and do the best they can at the Paralympics,” Smith said.

The team plans on taking a short break after the games, before beginning training for the 2013 archery championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

USA Paralympic Archery roster includes:

• Matt Stutzman, Iowa

• Jerry Shields, Florida

• Lee Ford, Georgia

• Jeff Fabry, California

• Eric Bennett, Arizona

• Russell Wolfe, Oklahoma

• Lewis Denton, Montana

 

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/07/25/community/doc500f6b076bb94919553304.txt

Biking Across The Country

Biking And Building

Members of the “Bike and Build” bike ride from Providence to Seattle were hosted at the First United Methodist Church in Yankton Friday. The group is biking and building houses across the country to address the affordable housing issue and youth empowerment. (Andrew Atwal/P&D)

Cross-Country Bicycling Mission Stops In Yankton

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
Published: Monday, July 23, 2012 1:09 AM CDT

A group of 30 college students from across the country are biking from coast to coast, a total of nearly 4,000 miles, in hopes of spreading the messages of affordable housing and youth empowerment to people across the country.

The group members started biking in Providence, R.I. in June, and will conclude their journey in Seattle by the end of August. They were staying in Yankton at the First United Methodist Church on Friday.

In addition to riding from Providence to Seattle, the group helps in building homes along the way. The members are part of the “Bike and Build” group, which has other bike routes across the country.

One of the route leaders, Neil Curran, said it took a lot of planning for the trip to come together as it has.

“All the route leaders coordinated the overnight stays, and other lodging and meals along the route,” he said. “We started planning the trip in January, in preparation for the June start.”

In order to become a route leader, Curran had to fill out a longer application than regular riders did. In addition, he had “four or five” phone interviews.

“In-person interviews were really out of the question because people that were applying were living all around the country,” he said.

Riders are offered eight different route choices, but Curran chose this route because he wanted to stay to the north. It also worked best with his school schedule.

“Another reason why I chose this route is because I wanted to see this part of the country,” he added.

He said he has enjoyed the towns the group has stayed in, as he said they all have “rolled out the red carpet” for their arrivals.

Curran said that so far there have been really no problems along the way, except for a few minor communication issues with host sites.

“We’ve really enjoyed every host that we’ve stayed with,” he said. “There haven’t been too many hiccups.”

One thing that is difficult for the group to prepare for is road closures. Curran said that sometimes road closures are not posted online, and the group often has to use maps and their GPS to navigate past the closures.

In addition to those detours, Curran said that he doesn’t think that many of the riders, including himself, were prepared for this heat.

“We have to get up a lot earlier than we normally would in order to prepare for and beat the heat,” he said. “We try to get our daily mileage in before it gets sweltering outside.”

In order to go on the trip, each rider must raise $4,500 — adding up to a total for the entire group of more than $167,000.

Members of the group said they were inspired to join “bike and build” because of their mission of addressing the affordable housing issues.

“I found out about the program through a friend,” said Alex Bloom, a student at Temple University. “I really wanted to try and help the affordable housing problem, and I thought this was the best way of doing that.”

Lauren Johnson, a student at Central Michigan University, said she was drawn to the ride for a number of different reasons.

“The main draw was the challenge of biking from the East to West Coast,” she said. “It’s not just raising money; it’s building houses, too.”

Bloom thanked the hosts that help the riders along the way.

“Without our hosts, we couldn’t exist as an organization,” he said. “They have helped us save a ton of money on lodging and food.”

“The support that we have gotten from our hosts has been amazing,” Arielle Parris said. “They have all been more than willing to help us out.”

One of the main reasons that riders chose the trip from Providence to Seattle was to see a different part of the country.

“I had a curiosity about the northwest, since not a lot of people have been there that I know,” said Michele Finkelstein, a student at DePaul University.

Riders noted they have had a lot of memorable and life changing experiences on the trip so far.

“One of my favorite parts of the trip so far was riding into Kent Falls in Connecticut,” said William Castellano, a student at Lynn University. “After the first few days of riding, it was nice to hang out and relax there for a few hours.”

Parris has also enjoyed all the scenery the riders have seen so far.

“I really loved the Sauk Rail Trail bike path in Iowa,” she said. “The fog was just enough so you can see the tops of the windmills. It was really beautiful.”

Other riders have enjoyed spending time with each other throughout the first month of the journey.

“I really felt we were a family after we rode through the Catskill Mountains in New York,” said Annie LaVigne, a Harvard student. “This was really a milestone moment for us because of all the hills we had to bike up.”

Some riders also mentioned biking in New York as being the highlight of the trip so far.

“Biking out of Ithaca was a really painful experience because of all the hills and mountains,” Bloom said. “When we finished, we could see the entire city and mountains below us, and seeing a physical representation of how hard we worked was so rewarding.”

Riders have also been “blown away” with the sense of adventure they have had biking from coast to coast. Bike riders from urban areas said they have enjoyed escaping the urban lifestyle, and that this trip has re-affirmed their faith in humanity and how generous some people are.

Despite all the groups successes, riders are not looking forward to finishing the trip in August. Many riders said they have not thought about going back into the “real world” when the trip ends. They think it is going to take a long time to adjust to their old eating habits and daily routines.

However, they are still enjoying the trip as it passes its midway point.

“The trip really makes you want to do the same thing for other people some day,” LaVigne said.

Johnson added, “You’re truly transforming yourself throughout the entire journey.”

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