On Monday night, Jack Konechne and Mikayla Bottelberghe were crowned the new King and Queen of GHS. Congratulations GHS Royalty for 2017.At the time of this printing there are two days of activities left for homecoming week. Next week we plan to have a large color spread for our homecoming events.
Thursday, Sept. 14:
2:30 pm, Cross Country at Chamberlain.
4:00, 7-8 pm Volleyball vs West Central at Home.
6:00 pm, Soccer vs Dakota Valley at Home.
6:15 pm, Volleyball vs West Central at Home .
Friday, Sept. 15:
9:45 am, MS Kickball Tourney at the Softball Field .
9:45 am, Dragon Olympics.
1:15 am, Homecoming Parade.
The All School and Community Pep Rally will be held in the New Gym immediately following the Parade. School will dismiss at the conclusion of the Pep-Rally at approximately 2:30 p.m. and the buses will run at that time.
Team Tayden Ride was a success! Join the Garretson High School homecoming parade tomorrow (Friday) at 1:15 pm, and the football game tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm.
There's a lot going on in our community. Keep up with all of it with the Community Events Calendar on page 4 in the on-line or paper version. With your on-line subscription, you can download it here and have it easy to hand! Community Events Calendar 9-14-17
*Once purchased, buyer has (1) week to download (1) issue. This button or a subscription option must be used again if the buyer wishes to download more than one issue.
Taking a Ride for Tayden was bigger than it's ever been this year. In Sherman, SD this past Saturday, Sept. 9, around 300 plus people, more than 100 motorcycles, plus cars, trucks from the Garretson Fire Department, ATVs, and three buses full of people took a ride for Tayden. People from as far away as Colorado and Montana came out for this ride, with 229 registered riders in the cavalcade.
"This is great, much better turnout than we expected," said Darcy Hanson, proprietor of the Bullet Bar. "This isn't the end either, I know we've got several groups that will join the convoy as we make our stops along the way."
"This is a real great crowd for this year's ride," said Trevor Grohs," father of Tayden. "Thank you all for coming out for a good cause!"
Above is the crowd gathering just before launch. Middle photo is the thunder of approximately 110 bikes revving up and heading out. The two bottom photos are street level and bird’s eye view of their arrival in Garretson at around 4:30 p.m.
Thanks to the Gulch for letting our photographer climb up on their roof to get this photo.
Pictured here are GHS Homecoming King and Queen candidates. King candidates are Jack Konechne, Josh Thomas, Marc Rattenborg, Nicolas Lundberg, and Diontae Lymon. In back we have Queen Candidates Erynn Fink, Mikayla Bottelberghe, Amyah Ockenga, Carmen Bohl, and Madison Northrup.
This year’s homecoming parade theme is “The Tropics”. The GHS Homecoming Coronation will take place on Monday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the high school (Old Gym).
The parade will be held on Friday, September 15 at 1:30 p.m. The parade lineup will take place in front of Palisade Manor on 4th Street and proceed west to Main Street and end at the school. If you wish to participate in the parade please contact Mr. Long at by Wednesday, September 13. Immediately following the parade, we urge everyone to join us for the All Community Pep Rally at the new gym.
Not everyone feels comfortable joining a board, selling hotdogs, or volunteering at the events Grow Garretson hosts, but most members of the Garretson community agree that they love to see the town flourish.
One such couple, Will and Jo Paterson, own Wildwood Construction. They want to see the Garretson area be the best it can be. "We're not the type to be really social, so you're not going to find me standing on the corner selling hot dogs," says Jo, "but we found one way we can contribute to growing this community." A little over a year and a half ago, they bought the house on the corner of 3rd St and Canyon Avenue right next to the Catholic Church and began to remodel it.
"We took it down to the studs," said Jo. "Will did all the work, I just did the decorating, but it really was a family project."
The two make a great team. Along with their two boys, Jack (4th grade) and Tee (9th grade), they replaced all the flooring, the walls, furnace, electrical, plumbing, and more. "This room used to go into a bedroom, and that's how you accessed the bathroom on the first floor," said Jo as she toured the formal living room of the finished house. Apparently, it was also how one accessed the garage as well. Now, a short hallway leads off the kitchen, with the bathroom on the right and a master bedroom with an extra-large walk-in closet on the left. The master bedroom is part of a new addition, but one would never know it wasn't always there. Everything is seamless.
The open floor plan of the living room, dining area, stairway, and kitchen makes the house feel roomy but cozy. "This all used to be sectioned off. There was a wall with a door to the living room, wall to the kitchen, and wall to the stairs. We took all that out. In fact, I wanted to post some before and after pictures, and after pulling them out, realized it wouldn't work. Nothing looks anywhere near the same anymore."
They also fully replaced the kitchen cabinets with gorgeous hickory. Jo tells of a peninsula/cabinet that used to contain an ironing board when one opened a secret door. "I wish we could have incorporated it, because it was so unique. But unfortunately, when it came time to put the kitchen together, it just wouldn't work."
While working on the project, they had many local Garretson members stop in and express curiosity, and at the same time, share stories about the place. Since it was originally built in 1908, it's had a lot of interaction with the community. Remodeling a house in the center of town helps revitalize an area that can often be run down, as the houses are older. With the interest the community held, the Paterson's had an Open House on Saturday, September 2 that had many visitors.
"The house is gorgeous," said Jen Tremel, an open house attendee. "You've really done an amazing job. Good work, Patersons!"
"I love to see the investment in the community like this," said Kathy Winter, a fellow attendee. "It makes the community really grow when you've got people who are so talented do something like this."
The Paterson's plan to continue their ventures in growing Garretson via housing projects. They've already made another investment, this time for a new build. "Remodeling a house like this is fun and has its perks, but we want to try our hand at a new house to see what we can do with it," says Jo. If its anything like the remodeling project, it'll likely be amazing.
The house is now available for purchase. To schedule a viewing or to inquire about estimates for remodeling your own house, please call (605) 254-8460.
Jo Paterson explains the unique peninsula and cabinet that used to reside in the kitchen. While they could not re-implement this unique feature, the gorgeous hickory cabinets, open layout, and open staircase provide character.
In the middle of town, a house has been gutted and completely remodeled by a local construction company, Wildwood Construction, infusing life into an area that is often older and can be somewhat run down. Team Tayden Ride will be on Saturday, Sept 9 as well as Second Saturday, the pool liner is done, a local man is facing 15 counts after a high speed chase in Day County, South Dakota, and more. Subscribe to see the full issue!
There's a lot going on in our community. Keep up with all of it with the Community Events Calendar on page 4 in the on-line or paper version. With your on-line subscription, you can download it here and have it easy to hand! Community Events Calendar 9-7-17
*Once purchased, buyer has (1) week to download (1) issue. This button or a subscription option must be used again if the buyer wishes to download more than one issue.
Jo Paterson explains the unique peninsula and cabinet that used to reside in the kitchen. While they could not re-implement this unique feature, the gorgeous hickory cabinets, open layout, and open staircase provide character.
“O” So Good Restaurant has been hopping lately, and now they’re planning first comedy night after their premier. The Comedy and dinner night is set for Sept. 9 with dinner being served at 7:30 p.m. and show starting at 8 p.m.
Once again the evening will feature a three-course meal while local comedians Timmy Williams, Thomas Paul and Dan Bublitz, Jr. perform.
“The restaurant has been doing well,” said owner and star chef Omar Thornton. “We’ve gotten some very loyal Garretson customers already and we’ve served a lot of tourists and visitors to our town, which is also great. Several Garretson people have still been meaning to check us out, and well, now is the time to do it. We just got our candy section open and functioning, and I know the kids going back to school right now will really like it. We’ve been busy enough at the restaurant that we’ve had to increase our food orders by about twenty five percent because the demand has been that high. We are still hiring, so check out our social media posts for what we need currently. Also, keep an eye out for cooking classes, as I hope to get those started very soon as well.”
“Our last comedy show sold out,” Thornton said. “We sold a few tickets the night of, but there weren’t that many left. There are limited tickets, so if you want some, you’d better sign up quick. I’ll happily pack the place but I can prep for only so many diners, and once they’re sold, they’re gone. On the 9th we’ll again have three local comedians, just in time for the Garretson Second Saturday in September. I’m also happy to announce that next month in October we’re going to have another comedy night, on the second Friday night. This one is going to be something big. We’ve got some TV star comedy acts coming up to Garretson. Yeah, you heard right, some national acts are coming up to my restaurant. They’ll be in Sioux Falls anyway for shows over the weekend, but they’ll have Friday night free, and so, they’re going to come up here. More details on this as soon as I know more myself.”
The 5th Annual Tayden Ride will be happening on Sept. 9., 2017.
“This year is going to be bigger, because it’s the 5th annual ride, and Tayden was 5 years old,” said Danielle Grohs.
Registration for the run will start at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 9, with departure at 11:30 a.m.
This poker run has two routes: one Motorcycle, Car, and Bus route that will travel to Bluejays in Eagan, Steve’s Bar in Trent, TJz Bar in Colton, Bottom’s Up in Corson, The Gulch in Garretson and then back to Sherman. The second route is an ATV Ride that will go to Dell Rapids, Trent, then Jasper.
“ There will also be a live auction hosted by Jared Sutton, and there will be food and concessions,” said Trevor Grohs. “Pastor Steve Moberg and the folks from Zion Lutheran will be helping out.”
There will also be a 50/50 cash raffle and the prizes this year are pretty nice, the top five prizes are in the $120 to $200 dollar range, including a 32” smart TV, and 30” Electric Smoke- house, a 52 quart Ozark Trail Cooler, a portable bluetooth speaker system, and an inflatable raft.
After the run there will be a Pork Loin Meal with a free will donation and live music featuring Bandwagon, and a live auction.
All proceeds from this year’s Team Tayden ride will go to Jessica, 5 years old from Sioux Falls. Jessica is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Team Tayden is joining forces with Sanford’s Children’s Hospital and is helping Jessica and her family this year. She recently underwent two months of intensive chemotherapy and now is on a maintenance chemotherapy treatment that will last for two years.
Team Tayden has been stalwart champions of fundraising to help Cure Kids Cancer. Tayden was the child memorialized at this years Cure Kids Cancer radiothon.
For more information call the Bullet at 605-594-6741 or follow Team Tayden on Facebook for updates.
This week Saturday, Sept 2, the 4th Annual Wheels for Meals motorcycle ride will occur. This poker run will start at The Bullet Bar in Sherman with registration at noon. All proceeds will benefit the Garretson Backpack Program. Also in this issue: Team Tayden will have a Motorcycle, Car, Bus, and ATV ride on Sept 9, and "O" So Good will be having its second Comedy Night in conjunction with September's Second Saturday events. We also have information on the strange accident that occurred in Corson and updates on the local sports teams.
There's a lot going on in our community. Keep up with all of it with the Community Events Calendar on page 4 in the on-line or paper version. With your on-line subscription, you can download it here and have it easy to hand! Community Events Calendar 8-31-17
*Once purchased, buyer has (1) week to download (1) issue. This button or a subscription option must be used again if the buyer wishes to download more than one issue.
The City Council of Garretson met on Aug. 7, 2017 with five council members and the mayor present. It began with the approval of the consent calendar, and moved directly into committee reports.
The Parks Board, represented by council member Richelle Hofer and board members Carrie Moritz, Kelli Schleuter, and Carole Oien, presented first on their budget requests for 2018, including a request to hire a Parks Maintenance Supervisor for $10,000 (16 weeks at $11.00 an hour, plus taxes and unemployment costs). It had been decided at the prior Parks Board meeting to start with a 16 week full-time position, a request that was more likely to be able to receive funds than the initial recommendation of a full-time, 9-months per year position. It was also recommended to budget for tree removal and campsite leveling above and beyond the regular parks budget that was granted in 2017. Council member Hofer discussed the idea of contracting out the bath house for 3-5 years, rather than having the City hire an employee to man it. It was brought up that Bruce Rekstad, who contracts the campground at Splitrock Park, might also be contracted for the bath house for another year, but the terms of the campground contract were currently unclear. Mayor Tim Mullin said he would check with Rekstad to ensure there was no miscommunication. There was also discussion regarding the west side of the dam, where there are still areas that are uncapped. According to the mason workers who were contracted to do the project, the lack of a cap was not a structural issue. The middle of the dam, however, still needed to be attended to, but that was not included in the FEMA grant. Anna Uhl, City Finance Officer, said she would check into that. The parks board had received the quote for the signage that needed to be replaced in and around the park, and was working on the final processes for that.
Next, a quick discussion ensued regarding tree removal within the parks. There is currently a class scheduled the third week of September for the work release inmates at the Penitentiary, who would be able to come out on a Friday and Saturday at $0.25 an hour per inmate. The park does have to be closed while they are there, and would be reopened upon completion. At this point, Mayor Mullin said the city will plan on it and will get confirmation.
Moving on with reports, the Sheriff’s office had no representative, but Uhl did confirm that the hours contracted and the hours billed were the same. There was concern last month that the City was being over-billed for hours. There was no report from the Ambulance or the Fire Department. The ambulance is requesting the same amount of funds they had requested the year before. Natural gas is down one penny, and the council voted to follow recommended prices.
Craig Nussbaum then presented on water/sewer/streets, starting with the suggestion by Council member Gloria Sanders to have a public meeting on the projects that are now planned for next year. Currently, the funds are $1,160,000 in a loan at 2.5% interest for 30 years for the sewer, and $639,500 in a grant and $639,500 in a loan for drinking water. The 2nd penny tax is expected to cover the cost of the streets, however, the city still needs to make decisions regarding frontage for the curb and gutter, and sidewalk replacement. Hofer questioned about other future projects, such as 2nd street sewer replacement. The council agreed that these were going to need to occur within the next ten years. Chad Hanisch, a community member and owner of Infrastructure Design out of Sioux Falls, was in attendance, and gave guidelines regarding creating a capital improvement project, which would include creating plans for this type of thing. He also stated that the contractor will also hold public meetings prior to the start of construction, as well as sending out newsletters and articles in the newspaper, giving timeline estimates and what is involved. Uhl confirmed that the budget for 2018 does include using funds from the sale of the land to Dollar General to be used toward the Capital Improvement Plan.
The council then started discussion of rejoining CCoG, a community development organization that helps with grants and loans in regards to improving towns and cities. (Continued on page 2 of our online edition!)
