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www.plaintalk.net LOCAL NEWS Vermillion Plain Talk • July 17 • 2009 • 3

roscopesHFor Week of July 17-23, 2009ARIES - March 21/April 20

Aries, the trouble with over-analyzing a situation is that some-times you simply take no action at all. Consider your options,but don't wait too long to jump in.

TAURUS - April 21/May 21Taurus, your reward will come this week, although it is a bit of asurprise as to what it may be. Don't expect too much or youcould be labeled as greedy.

GEMINI - May 22/June 21Things aren't what they seem, Gemini, and you're having trou-ble buying what a friend is telling you. Go with your instinct andyou won't be wrong this time.

CANCER - June 22/July 22Cancer, a vacation is just what the doctor ordered, and you areanxious to depart on your excursion. While you will want to popin on friends along the way, it will be a solo trip.

LEO - July 23/Aug. 23Leo, it's all fun and games until you realize it's time to buckledown and get some real work done. The partying can resumeanother day.

VIRGO - Aug. 24/Sept. 22Virgo, giving over responsibility of something or someone youhold dear could cause you a bit of anxiety this week. But youknow you can use the break. Things will work out fine.

LIBRA - Sept. 23/Oct. 23You're the picture of determination and dedication this week,Libra. Others marvel at how you can complete so many taskswithout getting distracted by other things.

SCORPIO - Oct. 24/Nov. 22Scorpio, you can't get something out of your head, and it'saffecting everything you do this week. The only way around it isto try and distract yourself as much as possible.

SAGITTARIUS - Nov. 23/Dec. 21Don't put all your eggs in one basket, Sagittarius. Spread thewealth around a bit more since you don't know how things aregoing to turn out in the days to come.

CAPRICORN - Dec. 22/Jan. 20Things really heat up for you, Capricorn. You will find yourselfbusier than ever. You may want to reach out for some help ifyou feel you're drowning.

AQUARIUS - Jan. 21/Feb. 18Things are looking up for you, Aquarius. The plans that you aremaking will come to fruition in their own time. Financial venturesalso turn out well.

PISCES - Feb. 19/Mar. 20This is a week of rocky starts, but smooth sailing later on,Pisces. All you have to do is hold out until things become a littlecalmer.

Estate AuctionSaturday, July 18, 2009 • 9:30 AM Sale Time

In order to settle the Anna Lawrensen Estate we will sell the following at public auction at 1222 West Cherry, Vermillion, SD,(Oden Implement Bldg). Note: This is a large Estate sale, vehicle to sell at 11:30 AM. This is just a partial list. ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES: Complete set 1945-1971 WNAX Neighbor Lady cookbooks; Curio curved China cabinet; Murry Trac pedal tractor; bookcase; 1870’s table, Swedish items,books, hymnals, leather bag; Rockfield County school desk,bench, chairs, cabinets; wood egg crate; hardware store scale; pedal sewing machine; glass gas pump top; mantle clock; comic books; model cars; cigar boxes; Fostoria & assorted ornaments; match collection; board games; Coke & Smurf glasses; Avon items; cookbooks; Sioux City Newspapers; collectible dishes; plates; Twins 1992 autographed baseball.HOUSEHOLD: solid oak dining table, 4 chairs, 2 captain chairs; bedroom sets; buffet; recliner chairs; end tables; kitchen items; books; Christmas items; vacuum; vases; lanterns; National Geographic; Tupperware; jewelry; bedding; towels; blankets; rugs; pillows; sewing items; movies; pictures; tools; glassware; stemware; clocks; sterling silver cups; copper tea kettle; china cup and saucer; household decorative items; humidifier; MISC: barn cupola; 1960-70’s Successful Farming and Good Housekeeping magazines; flower pots, garden tools, items; shop vac; hardware; shutters; flags; camping items; bird houses; tomahawks; Holiday decorations.VEHICLE: 2001 Chrysler Town and Country Van, 140,000 milesTERMS: Cash, sales tax collectedLunch on site

Anna Lawrensen Estate, OwnerVisit us at http://www.westraauctions.com

Joel R Westra, RE Auctioneer, Beresford, SD 605-310-6941Joel A Westra, RE Auctioneer, Chancellor, SD 605-957-5222Ben Westra, Auctioneer, Beresford, SD 605-201-8919Pete Atkins, RE Auctioneer, Tea, SD 605-351-9847

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RN’S/LPN’S NEEDEDUniversal Pediatric Services, Inc specializing in pediatric home health is looking for RN’Sand LPN’s to provide quality in-home health care to children with special needs. WE OFFER:

• Flexible schedules which include both day and night shifts • Casual, fun, working environment• FT, PT and PRN opportunities • One-on-one client care • Case Specific Training • Benefits

To become part of a caring team contact:Universal Pediatric Services, Inc.

5201 S Western Ave., Ste 103Sioux Falls, SD 57108

EOE 800-383-0303 or 605-331-7997 • www.universalpediatric.com

Work this week:• Grading, gravel base

course – east bound rampHighway 50 bypass.

• Removals from Highway19 to west end of south half.

• Concrete paving intersec-tion High Street.

• Concrete paving CarrStreet west.

• Sealing pavement joints.

Planned for next week:• Concrete paving east

bound Highway 50 bypass.• Gravel shoulder prepara-

tion for asphalt Highway 19to east pavement limits.

• Dirt/gravel Highway 19to west end of south half.

Miscellaneous:• Public project meetings

are now bi-weekly. The nextpublic and contractor meetingsare Wednesday, July 22 andAug. 5 and will be held at 10a.m. at the Vermillion Hy-Veecafé.

• Speed limit is 20 mph andno parking through the tem-porary detour. Speeding andparking violations will contin-ue to be issued during the con-struction season by the Ver-million Police Department.Cars parked in no parkingareas will be towed.

• East bound ramp on theHighway 50 bypass closed, traf-fic detoured on Crawford Roadto Cherry Street.

• Four-way stop at Craw-ford Road and Cherry Streetwill be enforced by the Ver-million Police Department.

• DO NOT add, remove orrelocate barrels, barricades,signs, temporary businesssigns, etc. on the constructionsight. If concerns arise, pleasecontact D&G Concrete Con-struction or the DOT for eval-uation.

• Upgrades on constructionprogress and changes will beavailable on our Web sitedgconcrete.com.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Two new exhibits haverecently been added to the W.H. Over Museum. The familyof Russell and Kay Heikesrecently donated a quilt thatKay Heikes had created aftersending for autographs fromcelebrities throughout theworld. Each name is centeredon a large flower and isembroidered in black. In addi-tion to the Heikes family sig-natures, Presidents Bill Clin-ton and Dwight Eisenhowerand their wives are included asare the names of many famousactors, musicians, and otherpersonalities. A new case hasbeen fashioned to display thequilt and a list of names and ashort history regarding thequilt is displayed in the westhallway in the Over Museum.

One of the other major newexhibits at the Over is a one-room country school replica.The replica allows visitors toactually enter the exhibit tolook at the books and recordson display there. The latestaddition to this exhibit is thepicture which Ginny Putz andPat Steckleberg, both of Ver-million, recently completed.Their original painting, whichnow hangs on the west wall,depicts a typical country schoolyard scene from long ago andis framed to look like a window.Genny and Pat are picturedabove with their picture.

In honor of the Vermillion’sSesquicentennial, plans hadbeen made to relocate the one-room schoolhouse replica onthe west grounds of the muse-um. This was to be a joint ven-ture for the Vermillion Lion’sClub and the Friends of theW. H. Over Museum. The

replica had originally beenlocated on the campus nearwhat is now the NationalMusic Museum and since hasbeen moved to different loca-tions. When permission wasnot forthcoming, it was decid-ed to rejuvenate the existingone-room school exhibitalready in the museum. Acrew of museum volunteers,including Gene Iverson, KenWurtz, John Spurlock, LarryBradley, and Maxine Johnsondesigned and created theexhibit. Included are a schoolbell from one of the area coun-try schools and pictures ofWashington and Lincoln orig-inally found in the Marshall-

town School; a copy of a letterfrom Laura Ingalls Wilderalong with pictures of the firstschoolteachers in Vermillion.Textbooks and school papersas well as other items com-plete the exhibit.

In June,what is hoped to bean annual event,Rhubarb Daywas celebrated. This eventwas held on the same day thatRhubarb Day is celebrated inLanesboro,MN and it is hopedto create a collaborative eventin the future. The largestrhubarb leaf on display camefrom a plant which is 120years old and was brought infrom Dell Rapids by the fami-ly that still resides on the

homestead.The leaf measuredapproximately 35 inches – thesmallest leaf that was broughtin was 25 inches. The recipecontest featured many kinds ofculinary creations and theserecipes are available uponrequest from the museum (call677-5228).

Also on display in the muse-um is an extensive display ofVermillion memorabilia pre-pared by Jeanette Williams.She has also included itemsfrom USD. The annual dis-play from Frogman Studio,Beresford, has recently beenin Sletwold Hall and a displayof items newly received froman early Vermillion family,including a basket that car-ried personal items from Swe-den,has been prepared by stu-dents working at the museumthis summer. The studentshave also created new signagefor many of the exhibits. Thestudents, Gregory Brothers,Laci Paul, Kerrie Oakley andJan Nachtigal,are able to workat the museum thanks to stim-ulus funds received from theSouth Dakota State Depart-ment of Labor.

The weekend of July 30, 31and Aug. 1 and 2 will find theVermillion Lions at the I-29rest area serving pancakes totravelers to benefit the W. H.Over Museum – our friendsfrom Vermillion are cordiallyinvited to come out to showtheir support as the Friends ofthe Museum are always appre-ciative of the support shown bythe citizens of Vermillion. Weinvite everyone to visit themuseum to see our newexhibits.

Museum features two new exhibits

Ginny Putz and Pat Steckelberg stand by their painting thathangs in the W. H. Over Museum.

Rod Martens of PiedmontValley American Legion Post311 in Piedmont was electedas the new state commanderof The American Legion inSouth Dakota during theclosing moments of the 91stAnnual Convention in Huronon Sunday, June 28.

Martens, a 37-year Paid-Up-For-Life member of TheAmerican Legion, assumedleadership of the 24,000member organization inSouth Dakota immediatelyfollowing the conventionadjournment.

Commander Martens’ eli-gibility for membership inThe American Legion isbased on his two years ofduty with the U.S. NavySeabees from 1970-72.

Commander Martens iscurrently serving in key lead-ership positions in otherorganizations. He is a mem-ber of the Meade 46-1 schoolboard, vice chairman of Mid-land Water & Service Com-pany and is the chairman ofthe board of directors of Mid-land Heights Sanitation Dis-trict. He is active in many

community affairs andfundraisers. He has heldmany other key leadershippositions within The Ameri-can Legion, having served inmany post offices to includecommander, district vice com-mander, district commander,administrative committeeand state vice commander.

Martens was chosen asDistrict 12 Legionnaire of theYear in 2009. Martens is alsoa life member of VFW Post1273. Martens has one sonand two grandchildren.

Rod Martens new stateAmerican Legion commander

Rod MartensBy Bill EvenSD Secretary of Agriculture

Twelve years ago, most ofthe buildings on our farmburned down . . . intentionally.Over the years, my father hadamassed quite an array ofchicken coops, hog houses, andstorage sheds filled with junk– or as he put it,“antiques.” Inthe summer of 1997,my broth-er Tim and I were planning toconstruct a new farm shop andthose ramshackle buildingssat in an ideal location.

We spent several weekscleaning out those dilapidatedstructures and after numer-ous trips to the scrap yard, webulldozed those old buildingsinto a hole and lit them on fire.This marked a major trans-formation for our farm, but itset the stage for a fundamen-

tal change in our operation.On July 1, South Dakota

agricultural property taxassessments also underwenta fundamental change. Insteadof the old assessment methodbased on market sale price,agricultural property will nowbe assessed on its productivi-ty value.

For cropland, the newassessment is based on coun-tywide acres planted, county-wide production,and statewidecrop prices. Noncroplandassessments for range andpasture acres will use a cashrent formula. These compo-nents will be entered into adatabase with the most recenteight years of information.Thehighest and lowest years willbe discarded, and the remain-ing six years of data will beaveraged to form the baselinefor property valuation.

County assessors will retaintheir existing authority tomake localized adjustments toaccount for differences in cli-

mate, topography, soil surveys,and other factors.

This change is a positivestep forward for agriculturallandowners.

Under the old system, anisolated, unusually high saleprice would increase the prop-erty valuation for adjacentlandowners. Previousattempts to control theseunreasonable impacts result-ed in patchwork laws and widedisparities in agricultural landvalues. Many producers wouldhave seen much higher taxes,because the caps limiting theincreases were set to expire.

The revised system elimi-nates skewed assessments andprovides a more equitablemodel. This critical change isnecessary because familyfarmers should not be forced tosell their land due to a prop-erty tax policy influenced bynon-agriculture price pressure.

With this change, manylandowners will see adjust-

ments in their property valu-ation – both positive and neg-ative. However, the new sys-tem limits the valuationassessment to no more than a10 percent increase (ordecrease) per year.

Last year, agriculturallandowners paid over $219million in property taxes thathelped support schools, coun-ties, and townships. Under thenew system, these local enti-ties will continue to receivethe same revenue and remainsubject to state property taxcaps.

Throughout our history,South Dakotans have adaptedto changing times in order tobetter provide for their needs.Whether adjusting to a newfarm business situation ormodifications to the propertytax assessment, while changecan be difficult, it is often forthe better.

August 6-9, 2009are the Main Sesquicentennial

Celebration Dates

Thursday, August 6• Tours of new Vermillion City Hall, 25 Center St., 10:30 to noon

and 3:30 to 5:00• Tours of new USD Medical School, 10:00 to noon and 1:00 to

3:00• Self guided Tours of new Muenster University Center, 7:30am to

11:00pm• Free Community BBQ in Prentis Park 4:30pm to 7:00pm ,

Sponsored by Bank of the West, CorTrust Bank, First Bank & Trust, First Dakota National Bank, Vermillion Federal Credit Union. Rain location for BBQ is the DakotaDome

• Ratingen Youth Wind Orchestra from Sister City Ratingen,Germany to perform free public cultural concert with Vermillion High School Students at VHS, 7:30pm

Friday, August 7• All School Reunion Reception at Vermillion High School

Commons (East entrance), 1:00 pm to 5:00pm. This is a time to “check in”, register, leave messages and visit with friends. Members of VHS Show Choir “Rhythm in Red” will be available to give tours of VHS. One registration fee of $10 to VHS will cover both Friday and Saturday VHS events. Register in advance with Vermillion Chamber of Commerce (605)624-5571 or print out form at this link http://www.vermillion.us/reunion_registration.pdf

• University High School will meet for a luncheon on Friday Aug. 7 th , 12:00 noon - 3:00pm at the Vermillion Public Library.

• Various individual VHS class gatherings will be held around the community and at the Eagles Club in the evening.

Saturday, August 8• 5K Fun Run/Walk - 9:00am. Alli Hensley Zens (763)355-9356.

Register at link below. http://allsportcentral.com/EventInfo.cfm?EventID=22044

• Young Eagle Airplane Rides at Vermillion Airport – 9am to noonFree for ages 7 to 17 with parent permission. Contact Denny Martens at 677-8159.

• Sesquicentennial Parade – Downtown Vermillion – 10:00 am 624-8266

• All School Reunion Dance at Vermillion High School -8:00pm to 1:00am. VHS “Rhythm in Red” will host a refreshment area at both the Friday afternoon reception and the Saturday evening dance. All proceeds go directly to VHS Show Choir “Rhythm in Red”

Sunday, August 9• Fly-In Breakfast at Vermillion Airport (Harold Davidson Field),

Lions Club serving pancakes for a donation to Senior Citizens Center, pancakes available 8:00 am to noon .

• Ribbon Cutting and Dedication for new concrete airport runway 9:30 am. The new runway will be dedicated in honor of current

airport manager and long time Vermillion and USD pilot Denny Martens.

• Air Show with aerobatic pilots and maneuvers, free – 10:00 am to 11:00 am

• A Celebration of our Spiritual Heritage -Ecumenical Concert and worship service at Vermillion High School – 7:00 pm Christy Kimball and Paula Nelson contacts.

LOOK FOR FREQUENT UPDATES at www.vermillion.us Click on the “150” logo, and then “outline of events” or email 150@vyn.midco.net

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NEWS FROM THE SECRETARY

Ag Land Property Assessments: AChange for the Better

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