Two valedictorians for the RTR Class of 2012

Andrew Bakker, left, and Taylor Thooft have been named covaledictorians for the class of 2012. Both seniors have exceptional grades and earned the honor school officials said.

By Robert Wolfington

tributeeditor@gmail.com

It was the last day for the se­niors at RTR High School and Andrew Bakker and Taylor Thooft both still had one last test to take.

On Saturday, May 19 Bakker and Thooft will serve as co-vale­dictorians during the graduation ceremony that is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in the gym at RTR High School.

Bakker and Thooft said their grades have been nearly identi­cal through much of their high school years.

Thooft said he is happy with the honor of serving as co-vale­dictorian.

“I always did what I did in class,” said Thooft. “(Andrew) and I are in all the same classes.”

RTR Principal Pam Bush said the school made the decision be­cause their grades were virtually identical.

Both Bakker and Thooft have been involved in a number of ex­tracurricular activities ranging from football and track to band.

Bakker said it was those activi­ties that stand out in his memory of his time at RTR.

“For me a lot of (my memories are from) sports,” said Bakker. “Our golf team this year is re­ally good and we’ve been work­ing on it for years. Football was probably one of our better years recently.”

Thooft said the drama depart­ment has played an important role in his time at RTR.

“I have been involved with it for quite a while,” said Thooft. “We had a great experience this year making it to state in one-acts.”

Bakker, the son of Gordon and Linda Bakker, said he plans on attending SDSU for agricultural and biosystems engineering af­ter graduation.

Thooft, the son of Lowell and Shirley Thooft, said he will be at­tending SDSU for a Pharm D.

Bakker and Thooft will be joined by their 33 classmates for the graduating class of 2012 this Saturday.

Free concert at Danebod June 2

Fiolministeriet, or The Minis­try of the Fiddles, is coming to Tyler on June 2. This all-women trio of Danish musicians will perform a free concert at the Danebod Gym Hall on Satur­day evening, June 2 at 7:30 p.m. There will be no charge for the concert, but a freewill offering will be taken to help cover their travel costs.

The fiddling trio of Kirstine Sand, Ditte Fromseier and Kirstine Elise Pedersen was formed in 2007 and has per­formed all over Denmark and Europe, including Scotland, Norway and Germany, play­ing everything from traditional Danish folk melodies to classical and Baroque style music. They recently played at the Celtic Connection Festival in Scotland and at the Forde, Norway’s best folk festival.

In 2011 they released their first CD which was well received. Cdroots writes, “This Danish ministry of fiddles has a strong vibrant sound. Cello violin and viola offer a classical structure but the tunes are traditional and full of life and energy….they play pieces that range from single el­egance to thundering passion, echoing modern energies one moment and baroque eloquence the next.”

Mark your calendars for June 2 and come and hear some won­derful string music with the Fi­olministeriet. Coffee and good­ies will be served. Everyone welcome!

A tidy weekend in Tyler

The city of Tyler spent the weekend cleaning for the annual Tidy Up Tyler event. Above: City crews spent Tuesday, May 8 picking up large items including televisions, refrigerators and microwaves. City Administrator Bruce Williams and Tyler Utilities Superintendent Dean Beck were part of the crew working for the pick up. Right: A number of garage sales were held on Friday and Saturday throughout Tyler as part of Tidy Up Tyler. Melissa, Jason and Emma Jansen make a stop at one of the many garage sales held during the weekend event.

Saying goodbye to the First Baptist Church building in Tyler

tributeeditor@gmail.com

It has been a decade since the First Baptist Church building in Tyler was used for regular ser­vices.

On Monday, April 30 the build­ing that once housed Tyler’s First Baptist Church was torn down.

The church building closed its doors in 2001 when the small re­maining congregation combined with the First Baptist Church in Lake Benton.

According to a program print­ ed in 1994, the roots of the Church date back to 1880 when the Danish Baptist family of J.A. Jensen moved to the Tyler area.

In Sept. 1899 a Church building in the village of Tyler was dedicated, the program said.

In the summer of 1918 the original building was destroyed during the tor­nado that swept through Tyler, the program said.

In 1919 the building that stood in Tyler for nearly 100 years was first built.

The program quoted a story published in the Ty­ler Journal in Nov. 1919.

“Next Sunday, November 9, (1919) the new Baptist Church building will be dedicated. This is the first one rebuilt after the torna­do and a good substantial building has been erected which will long stand as a credit to the local congre­gation as well as their ac­tive pastor, J.R. Brygger,” the story said.

In April 1947 plans were approved to enlarge the church building.

The expanded building was dedicated on Nov. 9, 1947, the program said.

In 1962 the old bell tower was removed with other improvements to the building installed.

A number of members of the church have passed on in recent years, with just a few members still attending the First Bap­tist Church in Lake Ben­ton, congregation member Judy Williamson said fol­lowing the demolition of the building.

The land where the church building stood has been filled in since its de­molition.

The building was one of the first rebuilt following the 1918 Tyler tornado. The building saw no sig­nificant damage during the 2011 Tyler tornado.

Tidy Up Tyler Days kicks off

Tidy Up Tyler Days has begun and will kick into high gear on May 11 and 12.

City-wide garage sales are scheduled throughout Tylerstarting on Friday, May 11 and will continue on Saturday, May 12. See the ad in this week’s Tribute for more information.

Maps for the garage sales will be available in this week’s Tribute and in some businesses aroundTyler.

The library will be accepting DVDs and books.

DeBoer Motors will be accept­ing used oil and oil filters along with auto and golf cart batteries; see the ad for limits.

City crews spent Tuesday pick­ing up curbside garbage of large items, including refrigerators, televisions, microwaves, com­puters and other items.

RTR Drama Dept. presents their play this weekend

The cast of the RTR Drama Department’s spring production rehearsed at the Lake Benton Opera House on Monday, May 7 as they prepare for opening night Friday, May 11.

The Sweetwater Inn, a run­down inn owned by Rupert and Minnie Floss, is on the govern­ment’s bad side. They must pay $32,000 worth of back taxes in 60 days or risk eviction.

How can this couple save their inn? Perhaps Minnie’s Aunt Gol­da will float them a loan. Or may­be there’s a secret lurking within the inn that could help.

The Bearded Ladies take up residence at the Sweetwater Inn. These women rob whoever they want and show no mercy. The cops are on the lookout for the three women.

Will the Bearded Ladies be stopped? Will Rupert and Min­nie save their inn?

Come see the RTR High School students perform “Black Hearts and Bearded Ladies” by Ray Sheers to observe the chaos and find out!

The play, under the direction of Neil Witte, is showing May 11-13 at the Lake Benton Opera House at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Students celebrate RTR Prom

Danica Long, left, Ryan Barnes, Ashley Hankins, Scott Jenkins, Rachael Blake and Jeremy Runge are pictured before the RTR Prom Grand March held on Saturday, April 28.

By Newt Dunblazier

RTR Student

The RTR High School Junior Class has been working very hard these last few weeks. They have been building and setting up for the RTR Prom.

Parker Lanoue escorted Wendy Andersen to the 2012 RTR Prom on Saturday, April 28.

This whole school year the RTR Junior Class has been work­ing in the concession stands at extracurricular events to help raise money for prom. Every ju­nior who planned on attending prom was asked to volunteer at least six nights in concessions.

In February the advisors, Mr. Harper, Mr. Tuszynski and Mr. Beckerleg, chose eight students they thought would do a great job on choosing this year’s theme. That group met for the next few weeks trying to figure out what the theme would be. They finally came up with a decision and had ordered the necessary materials for the set-up.

This year’s theme is “Hot n’ Cold.”

There were a few weeks before the materials came, so there wasn’t much progress. Then the mate­rials finally came and the juniors were hard at work. We first started building the materials in the hall­way and stored them up­stairs. Then the week be­fore prom we were finally able to move into the gym. The lights getting hung from the ceiling was the first step. Then we built some of the bigger props in the gym. Finally we layed down the black tarp over the gym floor and set everything up.

All the weeks and hours of work paid off. This year’s prom was a hit!

Business Blitz event May 9 in Tyler

The Southwest Initiative Foun­dation’s Economic Development team is hosting a Business Blitz with a complimentary breakfast on Wednesday, May 9, 7:30–8:30 a.m. at the Tyler Golf Club and will be spending the morning in Tyler meeting with the surround­ing business community. Join in to learn about our financial and educational opportunities, tools and resources that you can use to help Lincoln County grow.

Learn more about our work:

- Entrepreneurship Program

- Microloan and Revolving Loan Programs

- Encore Entrepreneurship

- Center of Rural Entrepre­neurship (CORE)

- Networking with Facebook and Twitter

Who should attend? Business owners, business bankers, EDA staff and directors, chamber board of directors, commercial real estate agents and anyone interested in starting a business.

Seating is limited. Please RSVP by the deadline of May 7. Con­tact the Lincoln County Enter­prise Development Corporation at 507-694-1306 or email chris­tin@dsi-services.com.

Southwest Initiative Founda­tion is an Equal Opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Former First Baptist Church building torn down

The former First Baptist Church building was demolished on Monday, April 30. The church building has been unused for a few years after the congregation combined with Lake Benton First Baptist a decade ago.

Lincoln County Board will not be redistricting

By Tammy Mathison

hendrickspioneer@gmail.com

The Lincoln County Commis­sioners will not be redistricting.

At a public hearing held on Tuesday, April 17 during the Lincoln County Commissioners meeting, as no input had been received from cities or citizens in regard to redistricting, the Lincoln County Commissioners unanimously resolved to “keep everything the way it is” and not be redistricted.

The commissioners and dis­tricts are assigned as follows:

Don Evers, District 1 – Dram­men Twp., Lake Benton Twp., Verdi Twp., Lake Benton City (four–year term, 2012 Election)

Larry Hansen, District 2 –Ty­lerCity(four-year term, 2014 Election)

Adam Gillund, District 3 – Han­sonville Twp., Hendricks Twp., Shaokatan Twp., Hendricks City (four-year term, 2012 Election)

Curt Blumeyer, District 4 – Alta Vista Twp., Marble Twp., Royal Twp., Ivanhoe City (four-year term, 2014 Election) Joan Jagt, District 5 – Ash Lake Twp., Diamond Lake Twp., Hope Twp., Lake Stay Twp., Limestone Twp., Marshfield Twp., Arco City (four-year term, 2012 Election)

As the county is looking at doing some blacktop­ping in 2013, they have been looking into options on financing the project which carries an estimated $4.3 million price tag.

Carolyn Drudge of Ehlers, Inc. was on hand to present bond options to the Board of Commis­sioners and spoke with them regarding a 15- and 20-year option with wrap-around financing. No final decisions were made at the April 17 meeting re­garding the bond.

The Board of Commis­sioners also heard from Treasurer Sue Paluch. As many of the county em­ployees need to attend events such as education­al seminars which take them out of the area and, at times, a hotel stay is re­quired, Paluch presented the idea of purchase cards for each department. The cards would make it easier to track the expenses and eliminate the need to re­imburse employees. Com­missioner Gillund said he would like to see her plan written out so the com­missioners can better re­view it.