Thursday,June 17,2010 PAGE 7 OUR TOWNS...

ness and offering a cleaner option,he added.

As of June 1, the nation had 157service stations with blenderpumps. South Dakota had 42ethanol-blended pump locations,just behind Minnesota with 49.

But with the $1 million grant,South Dakota will bump to the No.1 spot when 49 more blendedpumps are installed at fuel stationsacross the state.

According to a press releasefrom the governor’s office, one ofthe 42 stations that currently has ablender pump will be replacing itwith a new model, so it is not becounted among the 49 additionalstations.

By the end of this project, SouthDakota will have 90 ethanol-blend-ed fuel locations in 40 communi-ties.

Later in the day, politics blend-ed into the occasion whenDemocrat Scott Heidepriem, who ischallenging the RepublicanDaugaard for governor, issued apress release that criticized theRounds/Daugaard commitment tothe ethanol industry.

“It is wrong and unfortunatethat the energy policy director(Hunter Roberts) and DennyDaugaard would hold a press con-ference attempting to take creditfor advances in the ethanol indus-try when they have such a check-ered record in support of ethanolin the state,” he said.

Among the criticisms,Heidepriem leveled the administra-tion didn’t support a bill he spon-sored that called for installingblender pumps at Department ofTransportation stations across thestate.

Tony Venhaizen, Daugaard’s

campaign manager, told the Press &Dakotan that Heidepriem was “try-ing to play politics with what wethink is a very positive announce-ment for the state. I would thinkSen. Heidepriem would be pleasedabout today’s announcement.”

Venhaizen added that Daugaardhas always been a “big supporter”of the ethanol industry,” notingthat Daugaard won a Friend ofEthanol award when he was a statesenator.

Beyond the politics, the fundsjustified the decision to purchaseethanol blender pumps, said TerryStucky, owner of Yankton’s Double“T” Truck Stop.

“I had a pump that needed to bereplaced,” Stucky said, “and I hadto do some upgrading becausesome of the equipment here wasobsolete.”

With the help of $10,000 in grantfunds, the hefty price of newethanol blender pumps didn’t seemas daunting. His station now sellsfuel with 10, 20, 30 and 85 percentethanol.

The price of ethanol-blendedgas is significantly cheaper thanregular gasoline, Stucky said.

“In this economy, people arelooking for a bargain,” he added.

Customers should be awarethat unless they are driving a fuel-flex vehicle, they cannot takeadvantage of all the ethanol blends,said Rick Serie, an executive atPoet LLC in Sioux Falls. Serie alsoserves as a representative for theSouth Dakota Ethanol ProducersAssociation.

People in the ethanol industry,like Serie, are working to changethe Environmental ProtectionAgency’s standards on what per-cent of ethanol can be used byvehicles that are not fuel-flex. Itscurrent regulatory cap is destroy-ing margins, stifling growth andconflicting with EISA 2009, accord-ing to the South Dakota EthanolProducers Association.

Serie would like to see the

approved standard increase fromthe current level of 10 percent.

While flex-fuel vehicles havebeen manufactured since the1980s, drivers may own one andnot even know it. To find out,check the identification sticker onthe car’s fuel filler door or consultthe owner’s manual.

Some people who own flex-fuelvehicles may not even consider try-ing ethanol-blended fuel becausethey think it is hard on their vehi-cle’s parts, said Serie.

“We’d like to encourage con-sumers to do a little trial on (theethanol-blended pumps) and test itout for themselves,” he said.

“Whenever something is new,sometimes it’s confusing to peo-ple,” Stucky added.

To help customers with anyquestions they may have about thenew pumps, he has been availablefrom 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at his servicestation, helping and training them.

The decision to purchaseethanol blender pumps is alsogood for local South Dakota farm-ers and businesses.

“The more ethanol we burn, themore corn is used up,” Stucky said.“It’s a good deal.”

The new pumps have generateda lot of interest by customers.Because of the positive response,Stucky plans to add more blenderpumps at his service station by theend of 2011.

OUR TOWNSwww.yankton.net www.yankton.net

GayvilleMission HillVolin

■ To get a news item published on this page, contact Travis Gulbrandson at 665-7811 (x121) or e-mail travis.gulbrandson@yankton.net

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VOLIN — Depending on the outcomeof a grant process, residents of Volin andGayville will have the chance to get freelunches during the summer, either oncertain days, or all through the week.

The Summer Lunch Program hasgrown in part out of the success of theVolin-Gayville Food Pantry, which wasestablished through the Horizons pro-gram.

“We were hoping to provide at leasta little bit of assistance over the sum-mer,” said volunteer Barbara Egbert.“We were looking initially at maybe acouple days a week having a meal foranyone who would like a meal — pri-marily kids, but anybody who wouldlike one.”

Pick-up locations have tentativelybeen assigned to Gayville LutheranChurch and Volin Town Hall.

In April, Egbert filed for a federalgrant which would allow the programto be available throughout the week,but she is still waiting on word as toits status.

“They said they’re hoping to hear anyday,” she said.

That puts the planning “in limbo” fornow, she said.

“I guess we’ll move forward withwhat we had originally thought wewould do — just one or two days perweek,” Egbert said. “And then, if itcomes through, what we would do isextend it to sack lunches probably forthe whole week.”

Regardless of the number of days itsavailable, the program will be the first ofits kind for the Volin-Gayville area.

“They do have them in Yankton, andthat’s kind of where we got the idea,”Egbert said.

The food pantry was also a factor andwill provide part of the resources for thelunch program.

“We’ve got things pretty well estab-lished, and that would help alleviatesome of the stress on families over the

summer,” Egbert said.Approximately 40 percent of the stu-

dents at Gayville-Volin School take advan-tage of the subsidized meals the schooloffers, she added.

“There were some teachers who saidthey thought there was a need, and therehave been several teachers who haveoffered to help,” Egbert said. “But on theother hand, it’s not a school-sponsoredproject. It grew out of the food pantryand the Horizons survey.”

Apart from the lunches, programorganizers also hope to provide someinformation to the participants.

“We’re hoping if we get this grant tobe able to supply some educationabout basic nutrition and expose themto a balanced diet — fruits, vegetables,that type of thing,” Egbert said. “If wehave a sack lunch, we would definitelywant to have fresh fruits and vegeta-bles included along with the sandwich.”

She added that she hopes the SummerLunch Program will become as successfulas the food pantry.

“People have been very supportive.We have a steady input of food and asteady output of food,” she said.

Donations have been sporadic butgenerous, she said.

“We’ve had periodic fundraisers wherepeople will either donate food or money,”Egbert said. “When we had our start-uplast summer, we had a very generousresponse. We’ve been using a lot of thatmoney still.

“Plus, I take advantage of the SouthDakota Food Bank and (the EmergencyFood Assistance Program), where youcan also get food for free or for the costof shipping,” she said.

Egbert pointed out that the SummerLunch Program started because it wassomething that different members of thecommunity saw a need, and went aboutfulfilling it.

“Grassroots is a good way of puttingit. It’s been a grassroots process,” shesaid.

For more information about the pro-gram, contact Egbert at 267-4336.

GETTING ACQUAINTED

TRAVIS GULBRANDSON/P&DGracie Masteller, 2, shrieks with laughter after touching a painted turtle being held by her mother, Robin, at the VolinTurtle Races on Saturday. The Mastellers were among those who braved the rain to participate in the yearly event, whichtook place on Main Street in the community.

Lunch ProgramFor Volin-Gayville

Taking Shape

PIERRE — The South DakotaDepartment of Military and VeteransAffairs reminds all veterans of two newSouth Dakota laws that take effect July1: property tax benefits to survivingspouses of certain disabled veterans,and expansion of the eligibility for thegold star special license plates.

Implementation of the property taxbenefit legislation allows the survivingspouse of a veteran who was rated aspermanently and totally disabled froma service-connected disability toreceive the same property tax exemp-tion that the veteran received prior tohis/her death. If the director of equal-ization determines that the survivingspouse receives an exemption for thedwelling pursuant to this section oflaw, the surviving spouse retains that

exemption until such time as propertyownership is transferred, the survivingspouse does not occupy the dwelling,the surviving spouse remarries, or theproperty has a change in use.

Expansion of the eligibility for thegold star special license plates permitsany resident owner of a motor vehiclewho is a parent, spouse, sibling, orchild of a United States Armed Forcesmember who died while in service tothis country or who died as a result ofthe service, as certified by theDepartment of Military and VeteransAffairs, to receive a maximum of twosets of special license plates to honorthe person as a gold star family mem-ber. Previously, state law only permit-ted parents to use the gold star plates.

“Passage of this legislation was one

way to preserve the memories and sac-rifices of our bravest citizens,” saidSteve Harding, deputy secretary of theSouth Dakota Department of Militaryand Veterans Affairs.

Harding encourages all travelerswhen following vehicles with the “goldstar” license plates, to take time toreflect on those who’ve given their livesto defend our freedoms.

“We must never allow ourselves toforget that America, as we know it,exists because of the sacrifices of ourveterans,” he said.

Veterans and/or family memberswith questions about the changes areencouraged to contact their localCounty or Tribal Veterans ServiceOfficer or the South Dakota Departmentof Military and Veterans Affairs (605-773-4981).

New Laws Benefit Veterans, Families

Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan ■ Thursday, June 17, 2010

PUMPFrom Page 1

30,000 located about 90 milesnorthwest of Lincoln.

The river has been flowing atrecord-high levels, threateningtowns the last few days as itrushed through the northeastpart of the state.

“For most of the town, we’redoing well but I know some busi-nesses and industries are havingproblems,” said Christian Ohl,the membership director for theNorfolk Chamber of Commerce.Ohl didn’t have a damage esti-mate, but said several business-es may have been damaged onthe city’s south side.

Even with some damage nearthe southern part of town, resi-dents were glad to see that aprediction from hydrologiststhat the river would top the levyby an inch didn’t come to pass.

“It was close,” said MikeCaldararo, who works for thecity.

Water on streets in southeastNorfolk began receding at 4 a.m.and U.S. Highway 81 remainedclosed.

Downstream of Norfolk where

the heavy volumes of ElkhornRiver water were headed, offi-cials weren’t expecting severeflooding problems.

But weather officials saidmore heavy rains could bringfloodwaters back to levels thatthreatened towns and damagedinfrastructure and agriculturalland earlier in the week. Theforecast for much of the regioncalled for a 30 percent chance ofrain Wednesday and a 20 percentchance Thursday.

“If there’s just an inch or twoof rain it will slow the reces-sion,” of the Elkhorn River, saidRick Sloan, a hydrologist withthe National Weather Service.“But if there’s three to five, it willbring it up to where we were at.”

Officials haven’t reported dis-astrous flooding destroying largenumbers of homes and business-es in towns across the state, buthundreds of homes have been

damaged to some extent. Someof the heaviest damage appearsto have been in Schuyler and thevillages of Clearwater, locatedwest of Norfolk about 40 miles,and North Loup, in centralNebraska.

In those three towns, roughly380 homes and businesses weredamaged in recent days. Officialshave said a handful inClearwater may be a total loss,and possibly one in North Loup.

An unknown number of farm-steads and homes on the edgesof other towns along the Elkhornand other rivers have been dam-aged in recent days, and therehave been many road and bridgeclosures and damage in a largeswath of the state. Officials don’tyet have an estimate of the dam-age, but 60 of the state’s 93counties are expected to requesthelp cleaning up after heavystorms this month.

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