a lasting achievement -...
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Hot, With Thunderstorms Possible9 a.m.: 79 | 3 p.m.: 93 | DETAILS: PAGE 2
PRESS&DAKOTANYA N K T O N D A I LY
VOLUME 138NUMBER 94
WEDNESDAY ■ AUGUST 15, 2012
The Dakotas’ Oldest Newspaper | 10 PAGES | www.yankton.net
REGION 2 | WORLD 3 | OBITUARIES 3 | VIEWS 4 | LIFE 5 | MIDWEST 6 | SPORTS 7 | CLASSIFIEDS 9
TOMORROW: A ‘Loser’ Will Feel Like A Winner During MMC Race Print
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INSIDE TODAY
BY RANDY [email protected]
TYNDALL — Margaret Hamilton spent this year’s BonHomme County 4-H Achievement Days much as she hasfor the past 31 years.
As Extension secretary, she has spent AchievementDays filling out forms, putting entries in place and tallyingresults. And, of course, she answered questions andhelped others as needed.
But first, Hamilton needed to do something for herself.The Avon woman shed a few tears, feeling a mixture of
happy memories and sadness as she nears her Sept. 14 re-tirement.
“Last week was crying time for me,” she said. “I had myKleenex out, but now it’s time to get to work.”
Hamilton has been helping guide the Bon HommeCounty Extension office for more than three decades.
“When my son started kindergarten, I decided to goback to work,” she said. “I was working at Cimpl’s in Yank-ton in the accounting office when Lola Jenner, a Scotlandlady, retired from the secretary position at the BonHomme Extension office. I applied for the secretary job.We had 24 who applied, but they finally narrowed it to my-self.”
Did Hamilton think she would still be on the job? “I did-n’t plan on 31 years, but I enjoy it. I have been reallylucky,” she said.
Her involvement with 4-H began while growing up in
Florida. As Extension secretary, the Achievement Daysschedule has been long — some years the workday ranfrom 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. — but enjoyable, she said.
“This (Achievement Days) is the one time a year thatwe get to see everyone,” she said.
Generations of Bon Homme County residents know her,but Hamilton has also been recognized at the state levelfor her work. In 1997, she was named Extension Secretaryof the Year for South Dakota.
“I was overwhelmed by the recognition,” she said. “Mynomination was submitted by Martha Flamming-Grimmeand Steve Sutera, who were our Extension agents at thetime.”
Flamming-Grimme said she considered Hamilton morethan a co-worker.
“We worked together as a team. We never worriedabout Margaret — we could always count on her,” Flam-ming-Grimme said. “But Margaret wasn’t only my secre-tary. She is also one of my best friends. We came to workearly so we could talk about our families and what was
BY NATHAN [email protected]
The Yankton City Commission was inagreement during a budget session this weekthat it wants to support more events that im-prove the quality of life in the community andget more aggressive about promoting retaildevelopment.
However, the question came down to howbest to accomplish those goals given limitedbudgetary resources.
During an hour-long discussion Monday,the commission debated the merits of creat-ing an events coordinator position, a retail de-velopment position and other possiblesolutions.
Parks and Recreation Director Todd Lar-son said he had been looking at a concept ofthe city holding a significant event approxi-mately every month with an event coordina-tor responsible for organizing them.
Among the events he proposed the citycould put on using paid staff were a concert in
Memorial Park the first Saturday in June thatcould also incorporate sports tournamentslike three-man basketball, sand volleyball andhorseshoes; expanding the Fourth of July cel-ebration to include sports tournaments, abeer garden, food vendors and inflatable ridesfor children; and a two-day blues festival inAugust.
For the larger events, Larson said some ofthe costs could be recouped by bidding outsponsorships.
“We think there’s value there,” he stated,
saying naming rights could go for $10,000, forexample. “(Former City Manager Doug Rus-sell) had a strong feeling we could sell some ofthese events pretty easily that way.”
Questions arise if the city began to assistnonprofits with their events, Larson admitted.How revenues would be shared or shortfallsfilled are examples, he said.
“Concept-wise, it was never to take overanybody’s events in town, it was to supple-ment and add to what is already going on,”Larson stated. “Will the events attract people
BY CHET BROKAWAssociated Press
PIERRE — The fate of a proposed rule allowing the saleof 85-octane gasoline in western South Dakota was left inlimbo Tuesday when a state legislative committee couldnot gather enough votes to approve it or block it.
The Legislature’s Rules Review Committee, which hasthe final say on rules passed by state agencies, reached animpasse after a series of tie votes on the issue. The panelthen deferred further debate on the octane rule until itsnext meeting on Sept. 18.
During an investigation into allegations some stationswere selling 85-octane fuel mislabeled as higher octanegasoline, the state Public Safety Department earlier thisyear discovered that state law technically prohibits thesale of 85-octane gasoline. Most car manufacturers recom-mend that gasoline with a minimum octane rating of 87 beused in vehicles.
The Public Safety Department, with the backing of Re-publican Gov. Dennis Daugaard, passed emergency rulesmaking 85-octane gasoline legal anywhere in South Dakotauntil Oct. 7 to avoid a possible fuel shortage during thesummer tourism season in western South Dakota, wherethe low-octane fuel has been used for decades. The depart-ment then proposed a permanent rule to allow the sale of85-octane gasoline only west of the 102nd meridian, thewestern quarter of the state that includes the Black Hills.
The proposed rule also would require any pump dis-pensing 85-octane gasoline to carry a warning label stating:“Sub-Regular Octane — Refer to owner’s manual before fu-eling.”
Octane is a measure of fuel performance, with a higherlevel indicating better performance. Officials said 85-oc-tane gasoline is generally intended for use in high-altituderegions.
Rep. Peggy Gibson, D-Huron, proposed that the legisla-tive committee suspend the rule so the full Legislaturecould debate the octane issue when it convenes in Janu-ary, but her proposal died on a tie vote. She said the rulesallowing the sale of 85-octane gasoline could encouragelow-income people to buy the less expensive fuel thatcould harm their vehicles’ engines.
“We need to have more discussion on this very impor-tant issue to protect South Dakota consumers,” Gibsonsaid.
Sen. Mike Vehle, R-Mitchell, then proposed approvingthe rule, but that suggestion also died on a tie vote.
Vehle said if permanent rules are not passed, the sale of85-octane fuel will be illegal after the emergency rule ex-pires in October. Companies that supply fuel to westernSouth Dakota might stop shipping gasoline to the areauntil the 2013 Legislature takes action, he said.
“I don’t think it’s worth risking a fuel shortage in Octo-ber, November and December to play chicken with the oilrefineries and pipelines,” Vehle said.
Jason Glodt, a policy adviser to the governor, said vehi-
City Mulls New Positions
OUR TOWNSBon Homme County
Trial Set For FormerWagner Police Chief
WAGNER (AP) — An October trialdate has been set for the former Wagnerpolice chief accused of failing to report acrime.
KSFY-TV reports that 44-year-old JimChaney appeared in court Tuesday andpleaded not guilty to the misdemeanorcharge.
Prosecutors say Chaney tried tocover up his girlfriend’s methampheta-mine use by hiding her used needles inhis office. The City Council acceptedChaney’s resignation shortly after newsbroke of the charge.
A jury trial has been set for Oct. 30-31. Chaney faces up to a year in jail and a$2,000 fine if convicted.
Chaney’s lawyer has asked that thetrial be moved out of Charles MixCounty.
BY EMILY [email protected]
The Regional Technical Education Center (RTEC) isvirtually taking education to a new level.
With a new Lincoln Electric VRTEX 360 Virtual Real-ity welding simulator, RTEC will be giving those whochoose to participate in Thursday’s 2012 Virtual Weld-ing Games a chance to experience welding in a settingwhere there will be no sparks, no hot metal and nofumes. Instead, competitors will don welding glovesand a helmet that will immerse them in a virtual realitywelding world through 3D stereo eye pieces and sound.
The games will be held Thursday, Aug. 16, from 10a.m.-2 p.m. at RTEC, 1200 W. 21st ST.
Josh Svatos, the general manager at RTEC, said thepurchase of the welding simulator was possible be-
cause of a $100,000 grant the company received.“Now that we’ve got the simulator, what we’re doing
with the 2012 Welding Games is trying to create a syn-ergy to get folks into the door to showcase what we’redoing in terms of our educational offerings for the fall.”
There will be five categories to participate in — mid-dle school students, high school students, men, womenand celebrities. The winner of each category will re-ceive a prize, and competitors who earn the top threeoverall scores, regardless of category, will receive gold,silver and bronze medals.
Those who score 85-100 points will be entered towin a drawing for $75 in Chamber Bucks, 70-84 pointswill be entered to win a drawing for $50 in ChamberBucks and 50-69 points will be entered to win a drawingfor $25 in Chamber Bucks.
Svatos said the games will also be used as a recruit-ment tool. There will be scholarship packets availableat the event for Black Hills State University, Mitchell
BY MARTIN CRUTSINGERAP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON — Americansboosted their spending at retailbusinesses in July by the largestamount in five months, a surge thatcould help lift the economy outfrom its slump.
Retail sales rose 0.8 percent inJuly from June, the Commerce De-partment reported Tuesday. It wasthe largest increase since Februaryand followed three months of de-clines, including a 0.7 percent dropin sales in June.
All major categories rose. Autopurchases increased 0.8 percent.Consumers also boosted theirspending on furniture, electronics,building materials and sportinggoods.
Stock futures rose after the re-port was released
The economy has shown somemodest improvement in July. Em-ployers added 163,000 jobs, thebest month for job growth sinceFebruary. Stock indexes are neartheir highs for the year. And con-sumer confidence rose for the firsttime in five months. The combina-tion appeared to translate intomore spending by consumers.
“Lower gas prices, a nice rally instocks and stronger job growth ...helped boost consumer spending,”said Jennifer Lee, senior economistat BMO Capital Markets. She saidthe gain represented a good startfor the July-September quarter butfurther improvement in employ-ment would be needed to ensurefurther gains in consumer spend-ing.
Retail sales totaled a seasonallyadjusted $403.9 billion in July, up21.4 percent from the recession lowhit in March 2009.
The retail sales report is thegovernment’s first look each monthat consumer spending, whichdrives roughly 70 percent of eco-nomic activity.
The economy grew at an annualrate of 1.5 percent from Aprilthrough June. That’s not enough tolower the unemployment rate,which ticked up in July to 8.3 per-cent.
Rule Allowing85-Octane
Gasoline SalesSits In Limbo
KELLY HERTZ/P&D
Josh Svatos, general manager at RTEC, demonstrates howthe company’s new welding simulator will work. The Lin-coln Electric VRTEX 360 Virtual Reality welding simulatorwill be used for Thursday’s 2012 Virtual Welding Games atRTEC. Experience is not required for those who wish toparticipate.
Games Offer Virtual SpotlightRTEC’s Welding Games ToShowcase New Equipment
Hamilton Retiring From BonHomme Co. Extension Office
GAMES | PAGE 3
RETIRING | PAGE 10
YANKTON RECYCLING THIS WEEK:
SOUTHOF 15TH STREET
AmericanProfile
* * *
U.S. RetailSales RoseSolid 0.8%
In July
EMILY NIEBRUGGE/P&D
Margaret Hamilton of Avon is retiring as Bon Homme County Extension secretary next month after 31 years on the job.“Bon Homme County has always been a close-knit group, and we have all worked together quite well,” she said.
A LASTING ACHIEVEMENT
OCTANE | PAGE 10
Events Coordinator, Retail Recruiter Discussed By City Commission
CITY | PAGE 2