March 3 Beach Bash liquor license granted

By Violet Nelson

vanelson@yahoo.com

The Hendricks City Council met in regular session Tuesday, Jan. 17 with Mayor Rick Hamer presiding.

County Commissioner Adam Gillund reviewed the final 2012 county budget with the council. “The county ended the year on a positive note,” he said. “We are running a very tight ship and we have to make sure we have the staff and programs to meet the peoples’ needs.” In other county issues: the payable taxes increased due to change in the in homestead taxes. The county rat­ing agents gave Lincoln County a thumbs up. “For a county this size, it is a solid rating, one to be proud of,” Gillund said. A seven percent overall reduction cut was made on our debt service fund, which is a reserve fund used to account for the accumulation of resources. Gillund has appreciat­ed working with David Blees on county law enforcement. “I am hopeful over the next five years we will have a positive agree­ment within the county on law enforcement,” Gillund said. MPR coverage is actually downsizing their police department. Lincoln County now has five deputies who will provide service to the county, new officers, additional training and police cars. The county has put a cap on health insurance for a money savings. The environmental office has had a reduction in staff. The county will still be able to work on GIS (geographic information systems) projects. The highway department will be working on county roads 1 and 19 this year. Robin Sterzinger has been re­posted as office manager so she is now accountant/office manager. The assessor’s office is expanding.

Tom Reeves addressed Gillund about driving golf carts on the county road. “It is an issue,” he said. Gillund said it is illegal to drive a golf cart or ATV outside the city limits. County Road 17, out to the golf club, is owned by the county. Tom Reeves in­quired about the annexa­tion process. Gillund said he is not sure what the mechanics would be. “As far as on the county level, I haven’t heard of any is­sues”, Gillund said. “The first step in annexation would be to contact Robert Olson about a zoning ordi­nance.” He added that he does not see the sense of just annexing the cart path. “It would still be a county road, but it would be a city jurisdiction owned by the county,” Reeves said. “It comes down to a local is­sue,” Gillund said. He sug­gested engaging the right people and getting their opinion on how the pro­cess would work. Reeves said the city would have to go through the annexation process without a peti­tion. “It is informal but ex­pensive,” he said. “We can look into it,” Gillund said, “if this is something you would like to see done.” Gillund said Robert Olson should be asked. Reeves told Gillund that he should ask the county attorney. “I can do that,” Gillund said. “If it is just to change the ordinance, it would be Robert Olson’s issue,” Gil­lund said.

Fire Department Chief Dustin Hauschild request­ed a liquor license for the upcoming Beach Bash on March 3. He said it will be more of a banquet style this year. It was so moved by Scott Pearson, seconded by Julie Hogie, to grant the fire department a liquor li­cense for this event.

Hamer said the city re­ceived information this morning from the engineer regarding relining sewer lines. “I would like to move forward with the project so we can start putting it out for bids,” Hamer said. It was so moved by Scott Pearson, seconded by Kar­ol Nelson, to move forward with this.

It was so moved by Ju­lie Hogie, seconded by Judy Pearson, to accept the AWAIR safety manual as it is written. A workplace accident and injury re­duction (AWAIR) requires many employers to devel­op and use a formal work­place accident and injury reduction program as they are responsible for safety and health at all levels.

Financials were ap­proved followed by a closed session on union negotiations.

Five seniors at Hendricks High School

The five Hendricks High School seniors pictured above represent a good start to a happy future. From left to right are Breanna Hofland, Micah Mathison, Nick Digre, Emily Johnson and Tina Fuller.

By Violet Nelson

vanelson@yahoo.com

So what’s it like to be the first graduating class in a new school? Is it difficult going from being one of many to one of five in a class? These five seniors, who will be graduating in May, are setting a path for the young­er students. They all started out their last year of high school in a new place. With that in mind, here are some of their thoughts and some things you might want to know about them.

Emily Johnson is satisfied with the education she has received so far this year. “It is no less or no more than what I expected to re­ceive from taking online classes,” Emily said. She is confident the things she has learned in high school will be beneficial to her. She said she is taking college lev­el courses, AP Psychology, com­position/English 12 and eco­nomics. Her future plans include attending STI inSioux Fallsand major in nursing. “These courses will be very helpful,” she said.

She feels the quality of her work has met her teachers ex­pectations.

When asked what one thing she would like to change atHen­dricksPublic School, she replied she would like to see more activ­ities such as sporting events. “I realize that’s almost impossible with a small school such as this,” she said. She would like to see a bigger media room in the high school. “More space and win­dows would be nice.”

Micah Mathison is satisfied with the education she has re­ceived so far this year. The classes she is taking are AP Psychology, forensics, sociology, economics, college English and English 12. She is confident the classes she has taken and the things she has learned will help her reach her career goal. She feels the quality of her work has met her teachers expectations.

One improvement she would like to see is to have more ac­tivities and a bigger variety of things to do for the juniors and seniors. “Right now the elemen­tary grades have more activities than the upperclassmen. Give the seniors their lounge,” she said.

Her future plans include col­lege but she is undecided about her future career goal.

Nick Digre is satisfied with the education he has received so far this year and feels the quality of his work has met the teachers expecta­tions. He is excited about the future and plans to at­tend college after gradua­tion.  He is undecided as to which one

Tina Fuller is satisfied with the education she has received so far this year. She thinks the classes she has taken have been ben­eficial but will probably not help her in her career choice. Her future goal is to become a flight atten­dant. She intends to attend a vo-tech school. She said the quality of her work has met the teachers’ expecta­tions.

One thing she would like to improve in the ‘new school’ would be to have longer breaks. She would also like to change the ‘no pajama’ policy.

Breanna Hofland said the education she has received so far this year is “all right.” She is quite confident the things she has learned so far this year will help her reach her career goal. She plans on attending col­lege and someday work in the medical field either as an ultrasound tech or in medical transcripts. For the most part, she is satis­fied withHendricksPublic School, but would like to see more school activities.

Seniors, no matter what accomplishments you have made this year, big or small, somebody has helped you. You’ll never forget that!

Our school dates back a long time. We know that no school is perfect and fortu­nately, our kids don’t need a perfect one. We are fortu­nate to have a great school. Great schools are those that make improvements in students’ achievements. Let’s all help the school sustain that greatness.

Board approves retirement of long-time teacher Pearson

hendrickspioneer@gmail.com

Tom Olson was elected by unanimous consent as the new chairman of the ISD #402 Hen­dricks School Board at their Jan. 20 meeting.

Angie Schumacher and Ches­ter Frank will remain board clerk and board treasurer, re­spectively, as they were re-elect­ed to these positions, also with unanimous votes.

Committee appointments were also made at the meeting with the following results:

HendricksPublic SchoolPer­sonnel Committee – Nick Citter­man andChesterFrank;

MSBA Liaison – Phil Moen;

MREA Liaison – Nick Citter­man;

Community Education Advi­sor Committee – Tom Olson and Lisa Schmidt;

Curriculum/Wellness Com­mittee – Angie Schumacher and Lisa Schmidt;

School and City Committee – Tom Olson and Phil Moen.

Jessica Jordahl presented in­formation on the FLY (Flexible Learning Year) to the board ex­plaining what the FLY is and what the FLY team does. Accord­ing to the handout provided by Jordahl, “The FLY is made up of 25 school districts in southwest Minnesota including the Hen­dricks District, who have agreed to cooperatively work together to provide high quality profes­sional development by pooling human intellectual and financial resources together. Our goal is to improve student achievement in the areas of math and reading. The goal of the FLY team is to create a framework for profes­sional development to be imple­mented collaboratively among the FLY districts.”

Jordahl told the board that the FLY committee is made up of one representative from each of the participating districts. Jordahl is the representative for theHen­dricksSchool.

Jordahl also explained to the board that there are three sub-committees that meet and plan all of the activities associated with the FLY with representa­tives within each district for each of the subcommittees.

During the principal’s report, Principal Shelly Jensen spoke about the girls basketball team, saying the team has been im­proving and that it would be nice if there were more people in attendance at the games. She asked Tom Olson if he would put information on the signboard by his business announcing home games. Olson said that he could do that.

Jensen also said she had met with the student council and that the students would like to combine a Snow Days celebra­tion with a winter formal. The students do not wish to have it called a prom. This event will be held in March.

One hundred ninety years

Friends Velma Larson and Freda Burns, both from Hendricks, share a special bond. They both turned 95 years old the first week in January.

By Violet Nelson

vanelson@yahoo.com

Freda Burns celebrated her 95th birthday Friday, Jan. 6, shar­ing memories and laughs with family and friends. The celebra­tion was hosted by her daughter, Yvonne Burns. Long-time friend and acquaintance Velma Larson, who turned 95 on Jan. 1, was a special guest.

Both former Hendricks Main Street business employees, hard work and dedication kept them motivated. Velma started work­ing at Larson’s Grocery Store in 1937 when she and her husband Ronald purchased the business from L.A. Larson. She quit five years ago, at the age of 90. Freda worked 16 years right across the street at Schulz Hardware. In 1974 she continued working at the business under new owners Wayne and Audrey Burns. She also worked at Vick’s Grocery, Carvell Johnson Clothing Store and Lovestrand’s dime store. “I remember a customer asking to buy a pacifier,” she said. “I had to ask her what that was.” She re­calls selling bull nose rings at the hardware store. Velma and Freda would go out for lunch together. “We went to Arvid Pederson’s bakery until it burned down,” Velma said.

Born in 1917, the duo have seen a lot of changes throughout the years. Hendricks was only 17 years old when they were born and the price of gas was eight cents a gallon.

In other meaningful statistics, Woodrow Wilson was the Presi­dent of the United States and America entered into World War I.

The world’s entrance into the computer age is the biggest change they have seen. “We used a lot of pen and paper,” they said, “and the memory in our heads.” Prices were written down on a slip and added up. Change was figured out by hand. “We didn’t have a cash register showing how much the customer was to get back from a 20-dollar bill,” Freda said.

Velma owes her longevity to eating good and keeping busy. Longevity runs in her family. “My mother died at the age of 101,” she said. She grew up on the farm where Doug and Linda Buller now live. “Every Saturday night the family got to go into Hendricks,” Velma said. “I got to play with other kids.”

Freda, who grew up byFishLake, credits hard work and hu­mor to her long life. “I worked long hours,” she said, “but I en­joyed it.” Her sense of humor has effectively kept her young.

They both agree that life is wonderful and precious. “We should acknowledge that on a daily basis,” they added.

Golf Clinic looking for volunteers

Parent volunteers and golf equipment such as portable put­ting greens and clubs are want­ed for the golf clinic that will be held for all students in the area in grades three through 12. The clinic will begin at Hendricks Public Schoolon Monday, Jan. 23. The clinic is not a fundraiser and is not put on by the Hen­dricks School. See ad inside for more details.

Cafe in Astoria under new ownership

Joseph and Ronda Campbell, pictured above, are the new owners of the café in Astoria, S.D. They have renamed the café Campbell’s Kitchen and Catering.

By Tammy Mathison

hendrickspioneer@gmail.com

The café in Astoria,S.D.is un­der new ownership. Joseph and Ronda Campbell recently pur­chased the business, which has been most recently known as TimBuck2, from Jill Eilers.

On Jan. 2 the Campbells and those involved completed the necessary paperwork in rela­tion to the transaction, including signing the lease for the build­ing, and opened for business on Jan. 3.

Originally from California, Ronda and Joseph Campbell, along with their four sons Mi­chael, Christopher, Joe and Timmy, moved to Astoria in late 2005 after having lived in South Dakota for few years. “We moved here right after the ice storm,” said Ronda.

Many in Hendricks may rec­ognize Ronda as being the first place winner of the pie baking contest held during the 2011 Hendricks Harvestfest. The ap­ple pie recipe used during the contest is one she uses at the café. Ronda is also the person who has had the baked goods available at Vick’s Grocery in Hendricks. “I love baking. I bake all of my own hamburger buns here, along with the dinner rolls, pies and desserts,” said Ronda.

Unsatisfied with her job and having a love of cooking and bak­ing, a couple of years ago Ronda took some advice from someone close to her and opened her own catering business, which she and her family have done out of a lunch truck for the last couple of years. The truck has a com­plete kitchen in it, with all of the requirements in place to meet code. “We cater three days a week at Larson’s Manufacturing and when the wind turbine guys were working we were there on the jobsite for lunch,” said Ron­da. “We offer burgers and brats, hot dogs or specials like lasagna and fettuccine Alfredo and a lot of Mexican food out of the truck,” she added.Campbell’s Kitchen and Catering is a family busi­ness and, as such, three of the couple’s sons, 24-year-old Michael, 19-year-oldJoe and 16-year-old Timmy help out at the café and with the catering. Her daughter-in-law and two of the sons’ girlfriends also help out.

As the Campbells already had the existing catering business known as Camp­bell’s Kitchen and Catering, it was necessary to change the name of the café to the same. “Knowing what the name TimBuck2 meant to Jill, we would have loved to keep the name, but since we already have the business name, we needed to change it,” said Ronda. She went on to say that the phone number is the same, but still listed under the old name for now.

The name isn’t the only thing theCampbellsintend to change.

The couple plan to make some additions to the menu and the hours of business. At the time of the interview, the Campbells had yet to finalize what the additional hours and days they will be open.

However, they did say that they plan to try a breakfast buffet every oth­er Sunday and would like to add some ethnic foods to the menu. The existing Tuesday and especially Friday night specials will remain the same for now and other specials may be added. A Valentine’s Din­ner is also being planned. “We are planning on doing some advertising in the lo­cal papers and we are on Facebook,” said Ronda. She went on to say that their specials and hours will be on their Facebook page or that people can call the café with questions or to make a reservation for the Valentine’s Dinner. “Res­ervations will be required for the Valentine’s Dinner,” said Ronda.

The Campbells said that they would be willing to deliver meals to home­bound people and they are discussing the possibility of doing pizza delivery toAstoria,Torontoand Hen­dricks if there were inter­est in such a service.

Ronda said that they are excited about running the café and have many other plans in store. They are also thankful for all of the support they have received so far. “We are blessed with good sons and blessed with good people in our lives,” said Ronda.

City Council committee appointments designated

By Violet Nelson

Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Vizecky was present at the Mon­day evening, Jan. 3 meeting of the Hendricks City Council. Vizecky asked if the county could pur­chase the squad car radar now that the city police department is elimanated. Vizecky’s offer of $1,000 was accepted. He asked David Blees how much it origi­nally cost. Blees said it was free and the city got it as a promotion. Vizecky asked how the council wanted to handle the cable that goes underneath the floor mat. Blees said he would ask Dustin Hauschild. Vizecky asked if the council had any questions or concerns on future law enforce­ment. He said a new deputy has been hired and started Jan. 1. “We ironed out the vehicle situ­ation today,” he said. “We should be good to go.” He requested a copy of the city golf car ordi­nance.

Kevin Huber’s maintenance report was reviewed. The man­hole and bypass valve has been raised at the lift station. They have installed 435 feet of 15- inch storm sewer in the alley behind Mike Buchholz’ house. Some curb stop valves have been lowered. The erosion control project at the primary pond is almost complete. Another strobe light has been added to the snow truck. They are working on the manhole survey for relining bid, end of year reports, moving into a new office, trimming trees and digging out rocks on the marina to make it easier to get the dock in and out.

Hendricks man returns home from service

Pictured above, from left to right, are Kasen Wendinger, Britni Nielsen, Kolten Nielsen, Liberty Wendinger, Dallas Nielsen and Dalten Nielsen.

Dallas Nielsen recently re­turned to the United States after a year-long tour of duty in Af­ghanistan. He left Dec. 6, 2010 and arrived back at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolinaon Dec. 8, 2011. Nielsen is a mem­ber of the US Army 82nd Air­borne Division based out ofFort Bragg,N.C.The forward operat­ing base (FOB) he was deployed to is located in the northeast area of Afghanistan near thePakistan border. His job as part of the Charlie Battery, 3rd Battal­ion, 321 Field Artillery Regiment was to help defend the base from enemies and provide support to the troops down range. The base encounters frequent artillery exchange and the troops must maintain constant vigilance to keep the base secure. During his overseas deployment, Nielsen was chosen by his superiors as Soldier of the Quarter. This hon­or was based on high scoring in physical training (PT), handling and knowledge of weapons, reading, memorizing and fol­lowing directions for strategiz­ing per mapped instructions and an interview by sergeant majors and first sergeants on general knowledge. Nielsen won his bat­talion then moved on to compete at the brigade level.

Nielsen was welcomed home by his wife Britni and two sons, Dalten and Kolten, who reside on the base at Fort Bragg. Dean and Layne Nielsen and Gene and Katie Wendinger, Libertyand Kasen drove toFayetteville,N.C.and were happy to be part of the excitement of Nielsen’s home­coming as he arrived onU.S.soil, along with approximately 230 fellow soldiers. His family and friends are very proud of Dallasand appreciate the church and community support received during his deployment.

Annual ice fishing derby will be held says LHIA

By Tammy Mathison

hendrickspioneer@gmail.com

The annual ice fishing derby will still be held, say Lake Hen­dricks Improvement Association representatives.

The unseasonably warm weather has had people ques­tioning the safety of the ice and whether or not the derby will be held.

“At this time, we have not made a decision to not have it,” said Vince Zylstra of the LHIA. “A chili contest will be held regard­less,” Zylstra added.

Zylstra went on to say that the LHIA is meeting every Tuesday night and updates on the status of the derby will be provided to the public. The derby is planned for Saturday, Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. byVeteransMemorial Parkin Hendricks.

Posters containing informa­tion on the annual event have been put up in Hendricks and surrounding communities ad­vertising that prizes are to be awarded for the biggest fish in three categories – Walleye, Northern and Perch, with the largest fish in each category winning a prize valued at over $400. A general drawing for cash prizes will also be held.

Additional information re­garding the ice conditions reads, “If ice conditions are unsafe, or if a fish is not caught in any par­ticular category, prizes will be awarded by random drawing. All contestants must fish close to derby headquarters.”

“Either fishing or a drawing will take place as scheduled,” said Zylstra.

The annual Ice Fishing Derby is the main fundraiser for the Lake Hendricks Improvement Association. Last year’s derby saw record breaking numbers with an estimated 400-500 an­glers out on the ice.

For more information call Jeff

New Year, new look for Siverson’s Pharmacy and Gifts

Jessica Siverson is pictured in what will be the new waiting area at Siverson’s Pharmacy and Gifts. In the background, far right, the door to the new closet designated for dry cleaning is visible.

By Tammy Mathison

hendrickspioneer@gmail.com

Over the last few years, Siver­son’s Pharmacy and Gifts has un­dergone a few cosmetic changes, not the least of which was the expansion of the store by then owner Ralph Siverson around 2007.

After purchasing the pharma­cy around 2008, Slade and Jes­sica Siverson have made some additional changes, including other interior updates and up­dating the outside of the build­ing with a fresh coat of paint and new awnings. Their inventory of home décor and gift items has increased the last few years, also. “The gift side is always my work in progress,” said Jessica Siver­son. “We’ve expanded to include clothes, jewelry and scarves and we also do gift baskets,” said Siverson. “If there is something you want and we don’t have it, for the OTC (over the counter medications) Slade can usually get it the next day,” said Siverson. “If it is a gift item, I can order it and usually get it in a week to two weeks,” Siverson added.

Most recently, in light of the recent break-ins, Siverson’s has increased their security and in the last couple of weeks they have been remodeling the front of the pharmacy to create a wait­ing area for customers. “We are making it for the customers so they have a place to sit,” said Jessica Siverson. “Some of our customers can’t walk and some are sick and don’t feel like walk­ing around. We want to create a nice waiting area for them be­cause our customers are impor­tant and sometimes they have to wait. It will be nice to have a decent place to sit.” The area behind the counter is also be­ing remodeled to provide more room behind the counter and to create a couple of closets, one of which will be used to house the dry cleaning. The remodel is ex­pected to be finished by the end of this week.

“We want to encourage people to come in and check it (the re­cent remodel) out,” said Siver­son. “Slade and I thank all of you for shopping locally. We need every one of you to keepMain Streetgoing.”