35 OFF - Yankton Press & Dakotantearsheets.yankton.net/april12/042612/ypd_042612_SecA...Christensen...
1
Thursday, 4.26.12 ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net NEWS DEPARTMENT: [email protected] 3 PRESS DAKOTAN the region 2012 Riverrat Run And Bike Set For Saturday The 2012 Riverrat Run and Bike Event will be using the Meridian Bridge and the trail system in and around Yankton and Lewis & Clark Lake on April 28 for the annual Riverrat Run and Bike. Trail usage will be very heavy between the hours of 8 a.m.-2 p.m. with runners and bikers competing in the event. Although the trail is not closed to the public on this day, consider alternate times to use the trail to allow participants to do their best. The Riverrat Run/Bike supports Charlie Battery 1/147th, the Yank- ton Science Olympiad Teams, the YHS Track Club and The Center. VA To Hold Outreach Event In S. Sioux City OMAHA, Neb. — An outreach initiative to provide rural-area Vet- erans information and counseling about Department of Veterans Af- fairs benefits and services takes place April 27-28 at American Legion Post 307, 109 E. 19th St, South Sioux City, Neb. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with the Ne- braska Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran service agencies, county Veteran service officers and military transition assistance ad- visors to bring information and services at a Veterans of the Armed Forces Open House. Veterans and their family members with questions about benefits are encouraged to visit the open house between noon to 7 p.m. April 27 or from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 28. Representatives from the following agencies will be available to provide veterans assistance and information: Veterans Health Admin- istration representatives from facilities in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota; Veterans Benefit Administration Regional Office; Vet Centers; Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs; and the Nebraska National Guard Transition Assistance Advisor. Community agencies that pro- vide Veteran services will also be available. Veterans who are not currently enrolled for VA benefits are en- couraged to bring their DD Form 214, “Certificate of Release or Dis- charge from Active Duty,” to the open house to assist the agency counselors assess individual eligibility for VA benefits. VA counselors will assist veterans to complete eligibility and enrollment applications. For additional information about the event, contact Will Acker- man at 800-451-5796, ext. 94719; or Bill Johnston at (402) 987-2120. The open house is targeted toward veterans who live in the fol- lowing counties: Cherokee, Crawford, Ida. Monona, Plymouth and Woodbury, Iowa; Antelope, Boone, Burt, Colfax, Cumings, Cedar, Dakota, Dodge, Dixon, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Stanton, Thurston, Washington and Wayne, Neb.; Clay, Lincoln, Minnehaha, Turner, Union and Yankton in South Dakota. USD Fraternity Holds Week Of Service Events VERMILLION — The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Kappa Pi Chapter at the University of South Dakota, raised $4,000 for leukemia and lymphoma research, and domestic violence awareness thanks to the PIKE Week of Service at USD recently. The chapter also totaled 1,100 hours of community service and donated more than 700 clothing and toiletry items to domestic vio- lence shelters in Sioux City, Iowa, Sioux Falls and Vermillion. The various community service projects included serving meals at the Vermillion Welcome Table and assembling more than 150 bags for local children in the Vermillion Backpack Program. The events that raised money for charity were PIKES in the Park, Change for Change and Cycle for Life, a national philanthropy event held by the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Another highlight during the PIKE Week of Service was the ‘Fundie’ Run, which raised awareness for domestic violence as participants, dressed in many layers of clothing, ran through campus shedding donated clothing at checkpoints. PIKE col- lected more than 700 articles of clothing as a result of the run. USDA To Fund New Projects To Reduce Flooding HURON — U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Dave White announced that $7 million in financial assistance will be available to help eligible landowners and operators in three states voluntarily enhance wildlife habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. The selected states — Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota — will begin to accept applications on April 20, 2012. “The newly funded Water Bank Program (WBP) provides landown- ers and operators with an alternative use for their flooded or fre- quently flooded lands, such as quality wildlife habitat for priority migratory bird species,” White said. “When landowners and opera- tors choose to conserve wetlands on private lands in this region, they are protecting more than 300 species of migratory birds that rely on the prairie pothole region for breeding, nesting and resting.” WBP will focus on flood reduction this fiscal year. Severe flood- ing of agricultural land has been a problem in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, parts of which lie in the prairie pothole region. Eligible land for this year’s WBP included flooded agricul- tural land, flooded hay, pasture or rangeland, and flooded private forestland. The intent of WBP is to keep water on the land for the benefit of migratory wildlife such as waterfowl. Landowners and operators can sign new 10-year rental agreements to protect wetlands and provide wildlife habitat. Landowners receive annual payments for conserving and protecting wetlands and adjacent lands from ad- verse land uses and activities, such as drainage, that would destroy the wetland characteristics of those lands. WBP funding will not cover the cost of conservation practices to enhance wetlands and contracts will not be renewed after the original contract expires. If conservation practices are required to improve migratory bird habitat, eligible landowners and operators can apply to other NRCS financial assistance programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or available state con- servation programs. For more information about NRCS activities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, please visit www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov; www.sd.nrcs.usda.gov. OBITUARIES Cathy Lynch-Becker Suite A 307 Walnut St. Yankton, SD 57078 (605) 665-7799 [email protected] Speed Queen Only available at... APPLIANCE 920 Broadway • 665-9461 Laundry it’s all we do! Air Duct Cleaning 665-5700 • 1-800-529-2450 •No Hidden Cost •Free Estimates •Free Video Duct Inspection Expires 5/15/12 $ 35 OFF 1101 Broadway, Suite 103A, Morgen Square • Yankton, SD (605) 260-2100 • www.lewisandclarkfamilymedicine.com Allergy Testing NOW AVAILABLE Brandi Pravecek, CNP Family Practice Lewis & Clark Specialty Hospital Jeff Johnson, M.D. Family Practice Open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm • After Hours Clinic Saturday 9am-12noon WALK-INS WELCOME W INTZ & R AY FUNERAL HOME and Cremation Service, Inc. 605-665-3644 W INTZ FUNERAL HOME INC. Hartington, Coleridge, Crofton 402-254-6547 www.wintzrayfuneralhome.com IN REMEMBRANCE Sylvia M. Ryken 11:00 AM, Monday Wintz & Ray Funeral Home Yankton Jerome Sylliaasen MISSION HILL — Jerome M. Sylliaasen, 75 of Mission Hill died Monday, April 23, 2012, at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital, Yankton. Funeral services are at 2 p.m. Monday, April 30, at Vangen Lutheran Church, Mission Hill, with the Rev. Lance Lindgren offi- ciating. Burial is in the Vangen Lutheran Cemetery with Military Graveside Rites by the Rudolph Christensen American Legion Post No. 237. Visitations begin at 5 p.m. Sun- day at Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home & Crematory, Yankton, with a Scripture service at 7 p.m. Visi- tations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Donald Vennard Donald Eugene Vennard, 70, of Yankton, retired Master Sergeant from the U.S. Army, died Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at his home. Burial of Don’s cremated re- mains will be in the Black Hills Na- tional Cemetery, Sturgis. Visitations are 6:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday at Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Crematory, Yankton, with the family present. G. Dean Bowder LAUREL, Neb. — G. Dean Bow- der, 87 of Laurel, Neb., and for- merly of Wynot, Neb., died Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at the Hill- crest Care Center, Laurel. Funeral services are pending at Wintz Funeral Home, Hartington. Barbara Voigt TYNDALL — A memorial service for Barbara Ellen Voigt of Tyndall will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 27 at the House of Mary Shrine. The Shrine is located 5 miles west of Yankton at 142 Drees Drive. Following the memorial serv- ice, a time of sharing, food and fellowship will be held at the Lewis & Clark Resort Lodge. The route to the lodge will be marked with white balloons. There will be visitation on Friday from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Goglin Funeral Home in Tyndall. Online condolences may be sent at www.goglinfh.com. Barbara Ellen “Barb” Voigt was born on Sunday, January 2, 1955, at Yankton, South Dakota to Joseph and Margie (Kreber) Zilla. She graduated from Yank- ton High School in 1973 and re- ceived her nursing degree from Dakota Wesleyan University. Barb married Bruce Voigt on July 1, 1987 at Yankton, South Dakota. She worked as a Regis- tered Nurse for over 30 years, serving as both a traveling nurse for several years and in Tyndall for many of those years. Barb passed away on Mon- day, April 23, 2012 at the Rapid City Regional Hospital Hospice House following a five-year bat- tle with cancer. She was 57 years, 3 months and 21 days old. Barb is survived by her hus- band, Bruce Voigt of Tyndall; three children: Joseph Voigt and Joshua Voigt, both of Tyndall, and Kari Voigt of Brookings; two brothers: Joseph (Joan) Zilla of Mitchell and John Zilla of Scott City, Kansas; and three sisters: Bernie (Ron) Riley of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mary Kay Zilla of Hill City, and Gerri Sufficool of Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Margie Zilla. Yankton Press & Dakotan April 26, 2012 Barbara Voigt the blue. I was shocked,” he said. “Of all the honors that a newspa- per man receives, the most meaningful one is bestowed by his peers. For me to be honored by the folks that I worked with, and by a profession that I always felt was my calling, it’s just a very humbling thing for me.” Journalism always tugged at Hamiel. Growing up in Lyman County, he spent a great deal of time at the Chamberlain Register, a weekly newspaper owned by the parents of one of his best friends. And while attending Northern State, Hamiel reported for the campus newspaper, the Exponent. Hamiel joked he didn’t go into journalism for the money, even taking a pay cut compared to teaching. “My teaching job was still about $600 more than reporting,” he said. “My first newspaper job paid $130 a week. In those days, there was no overtime, so you worked 70 to 80 hours a week.” Hamiel began his career in 1972 at the Huron Plainsman as a sports writer. He also worked at the Brookings Register, Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, The Morn- ing Sun in Pittsburg, Kan., the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan and the Cincinnati Post before completing his career as pub- lisher of The Daily Republic in Mitchell. FINDING A HOME IN YANKTON The Press & Dakotan presented a wonderful career move, Hamiel said. Only three months into a 12- to 18-month training program, he was tabbed for the Yankton job. “It was my first publishing job, and what a great opportunity it was,” he said. “In those days, the P&D was owned by Stauffer Com- munications, and I was in their publisher training program. I was in an advertising seminar in Okla- homa City, and I got a call from the vice president of the newspaper di- vision. He asked, how would I like to go to Yankton, South Dakota? My wife was overjoyed.” Upon arriving at the P&D, Hamiel met Harry Speece in the circulation department and his wife, WNAX “Neighbor Lady” Wynn Speece, along with WNAX radio personality George B. German. For Hamiel, it was like rubbing elbows with celebrities. “When you were growing up in Lyman County, and the only station you got was WNAX, meeting these people, like Wynn, was like meeting folk he- roes,” he said. As the P&D publisher, Hamiel sought out his readers. In one of his favorite promotions, he visited area farms, meeting with families and taking pictures to show the newspaper’s popularity with rural residents. During that time, he was also pleased to see the birth of the an- nual Riverboat Days celebration in Yankton and its tremendous growth in subsequent years. Hamiel found himself part of controversy, teaming up with community leaders who favored an events center. The proposal was defeated at the polls and never came to fruition. A defining moment for the community during Hamiel’s tenure came in December 1984, when Yankton College abruptly closed because of financial prob- lems, he said. “I wrote the headline story when Yankton College closed,” he said. “It was heartbreaking to see the kids walk out of their dorm rooms that day.” For months, the campus re- mained vacant with no use in sight, Hamiel said. “We were looking at every op- tion for a vacant college in the middle of a town,” he said. “We were looking at a corporate re- treat center, a health care center — it was exhaustive.” Yankton even received help from then-U.S. Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), Hamiel said. “Larry’s chief of staff, Kevin Schieffer, was a kid from just across the river in Nebraska,” Hamiel said. “Kevin worked every agency listed in Washington, D.C., until he got down to the last call, and it was the Bureau of Prisons.” The discussions with the Bureau of Prisons led to a contro- versial proposal — converting the YC campus into a federal prison. “Larry (Pressler) came to my office and asked, ‘What do you think the reaction would be to Yankton having a prison in the middle of the town?’” Hamiel re- called. “I said, ‘I think you’ve got some selling to do.’” The proposed federal prison was greeted by wariness and even hostility, but the facility became reality, Hamiel said. Even some of the staunchest opponents at the outset now acknowledge the prison’s benefits for Yankton, he said. YC wasn’t the only area college to shut its doors in 1984 and later become a prison, Hamiel said. The University of South Dakota- Springfield (USD-S) was closed earlier that year and later con- verted into part of the state peni- tentiary system. Yankton residents showed a great deal of support for the “Save Springfield” effort, Hamiel said. He witnessed the hostility shown in Bon Homme County to then-Gov. Bill Janklow’s proposal to turn USD-S into a prison. “I was at Springfield when Bill Janklow walked into the lion’s den at the Springfield Armory (to talk about the prison plan), and he got booed,” Hamiel said of the his- toric, intense meeting. Hamiel joined those opposed to the USD-S conversion, but he said he remained on good terms until the end with Janklow, who died last January. CALLING IT A CAREER Through his years as a journal- ist, Hamiel won numerous awards for editorial and column writing. He was twice president of the South Dakota Associated Press Managing Editors group and served on the SDNA Board of Directors. He was named a Lusk Fellow at SDSU in 2007 for outstanding serv- ice to journalism and received the SDNA Distinguished Service Award in 2009. Hamiel said he always sought to connect with his readers — in- cluding a personal column on how his wife made his three daughters’ prom dresses. “You always write for your readers, not for yourself,” he said. Technology has greatly changed journalism during his ca- reer, but Hamiel believes the basic foundation remains unchanged. “We have reached a time when citizens are again looking for a voice in the wilderness, a reliable source of news,” he said. “They are bombarded 24 hours a day from countless news sources — some legitimate, some not so le- gitimate from a professional standpoint. Newspapers are seen as the voice and the place to go for unvarnished news.” When he retired from newspa- pering in 2007, Hamiel took a posi- tion with the South Dakota Community Foundation. He works with about 70 towns statewide, which he sees as continued serv- ice to rural areas. After a career of covering state government, Hamiel served in the South Dakota Legislature from 2008-10. During his first year in of- fice, he successfully sponsored a bill to require transparency for certain no-bid contracts in gov- ernment. He co-chaired the Gover- nor’s Wage Study Task Force and chaired the South Dakota Board of Education. Hamiel pointed to a family tra- dition of politicians and admitted he always carried the bug for holding office. “My lifelong goal was serving in the state Legisla- ture,” he said. He has literally come home, as he now resides on the family ranch in Lyman County. He and his wife, Janet, have been married for 38 years. They have three grown children and four grand- children. And now, enshrined with a Hall of Fame plaque on the SDSU cam- pus, Hamiel said he feels gratitude for what he considers a calling. “I couldn’t have found a career more rewarding and better suited for my interest or abilities,” he said. “I was doubly fortunate, be- cause it was fun in newspapers.” You can follow Randy Dock- endorf on Twitter at twitter.com/RDockendorf Hamiel From Page 1 “You don’t see too many girls in the construction contests,” he said. “Of all the other teams, there was only one other girl, and we had three to fill out our team.” Sanger said he was also im- pressed by how the team did de- spite their youth. “To have two freshman and two juniors win state, that’s pretty good,” he said. Formerly known as Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, Skill- sUSA is a national nonprofit or- ganization that serves high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled serv- ice occupations, according to the organization’s website. “SkillsUSA is like FFA except for it has to deal with trades and industry instead of ag,” Sanger said. “The leadership contests are almost exactly the same, and they try and get kids aware of ca- reers that are available.” Sanger said one of the bene- fits of the SkillsUSA competitions is that the students get to inter- act with professionals from vari- ous fields. “There are a lot of opportuni- ties that develop,” he said. “I’ve had kids walk away with the busi- ness cards of major corporations wanting them to come work for them.” The national SkillsUSA compe- tition will take place June 23-17 in Kansas City. You can follow Derek Bartos on Twitter at twitter.com/d_bar- tos Skills From Page 1
Transcript of 35 OFF - Yankton Press & Dakotantearsheets.yankton.net/april12/042612/ypd_042612_SecA...Christensen...
Thursday, 4.26.12ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net
NEWS DEPARTMENT: [email protected] 3PRESS DAKOTANthe region
2012 Riverrat Run And Bike Set For SaturdayThe 2012 Riverrat Run and Bike Event will be using the Meridian
Bridge and the trail system in and around Yankton and Lewis & ClarkLake on April 28 for the annual Riverrat Run and Bike.
Trail usage will be very heavy between the hours of 8 a.m.-2 p.m.with runners and bikers competing in the event.
Although the trail is not closed to the public on this day, consideralternate times to use the trail to allow participants to do their best.
The Riverrat Run/Bike supports Charlie Battery 1/147th, the Yank-ton Science Olympiad Teams, the YHS Track Club and The Center.
VA To Hold Outreach Event In S. Sioux City OMAHA, Neb. — An outreach initiative to provide rural-area Vet-
erans information and counseling about Department of Veterans Af-fairs benefits and services takes place April 27-28 at American LegionPost 307, 109 E. 19th St, South Sioux City, Neb.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with the Ne-braska Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran service agencies,county Veteran service officers and military transition assistance ad-visors to bring information and services at a Veterans of the ArmedForces Open House.
Veterans and their family members with questions about benefitsare encouraged to visit the open house between noon to 7 p.m. April27 or from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 28.
Representatives from the following agencies will be available toprovide veterans assistance and information: Veterans Health Admin-istration representatives from facilities in Nebraska, Iowa, and SouthDakota; Veterans Benefit Administration Regional Office; Vet Centers;Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs; and the Nebraska NationalGuard Transition Assistance Advisor. Community agencies that pro-vide Veteran services will also be available.
Veterans who are not currently enrolled for VA benefits are en-couraged to bring their DD Form 214, “Certificate of Release or Dis-charge from Active Duty,” to the open house to assist the agencycounselors assess individual eligibility for VA benefits. VA counselorswill assist veterans to complete eligibility and enrollmentapplications.
For additional information about the event, contact Will Acker-man at 800-451-5796, ext. 94719; or Bill Johnston at (402) 987-2120.
The open house is targeted toward veterans who live in the fol-lowing counties: Cherokee, Crawford, Ida. Monona, Plymouth andWoodbury, Iowa; Antelope, Boone, Burt, Colfax, Cumings, Cedar,Dakota, Dodge, Dixon, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Stanton, Thurston,Washington and Wayne, Neb.; Clay, Lincoln, Minnehaha, Turner,Union and Yankton in South Dakota.
USD Fraternity Holds Week Of Service EventsVERMILLION — The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Kappa Pi Chapter
at the University of South Dakota, raised $4,000 for leukemia andlymphoma research, and domestic violence awareness thanks to thePIKE Week of Service at USD recently.
The chapter also totaled 1,100 hours of community service anddonated more than 700 clothing and toiletry items to domestic vio-lence shelters in Sioux City, Iowa, Sioux Falls and Vermillion.
The various community service projects included serving mealsat the Vermillion Welcome Table and assembling more than 150 bagsfor local children in the Vermillion Backpack Program. The eventsthat raised money for charity were PIKES in the Park, Change forChange and Cycle for Life, a national philanthropy event held by thePi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Another highlight during the PIKE Week ofService was the ‘Fundie’ Run, which raised awareness for domesticviolence as participants, dressed in many layers of clothing, ranthrough campus shedding donated clothing at checkpoints. PIKE col-lected more than 700 articles of clothing as a result of the run.
USDA To Fund New Projects To Reduce FloodingHURON — U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Dave White announced that $7million in financial assistance will be available to help eligiblelandowners and operators in three states voluntarily enhancewildlife habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. The selectedstates — Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota — will begin toaccept applications on April 20, 2012.
“The newly funded Water Bank Program (WBP) provides landown-ers and operators with an alternative use for their flooded or fre-quently flooded lands, such as quality wildlife habitat for prioritymigratory bird species,” White said. “When landowners and opera-tors choose to conserve wetlands on private lands in this region,they are protecting more than 300 species of migratory birds thatrely on the prairie pothole region for breeding, nesting and resting.”
WBP will focus on flood reduction this fiscal year. Severe flood-ing of agricultural land has been a problem in Minnesota, NorthDakota and South Dakota, parts of which lie in the prairie potholeregion. Eligible land for this year’s WBP included flooded agricul-tural land, flooded hay, pasture or rangeland, and flooded privateforestland.
The intent of WBP is to keep water on the land for the benefit ofmigratory wildlife such as waterfowl. Landowners and operatorscan sign new 10-year rental agreements to protect wetlands andprovide wildlife habitat. Landowners receive annual payments forconserving and protecting wetlands and adjacent lands from ad-verse land uses and activities, such as drainage, that would destroythe wetland characteristics of those lands.
WBP funding will not cover the cost of conservation practicesto enhance wetlands and contracts will not be renewed after theoriginal contract expires. If conservation practices are required toimprove migratory bird habitat, eligible landowners and operatorscan apply to other NRCS financial assistance programs such as theEnvironmental Quality Incentives Program, or available state con-servation programs.
For more information about NRCS activities in Minnesota, NorthDakota and South Dakota, please visit www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov;www.sd.nrcs.usda.gov.
OB ITUAR I E S
Cathy Lynch-Becker Suite A 307 Walnut St. Yankton, SD 57078 (605) 665-7799 [email protected]
Speed Queen
Only available at...
APPLIANCE 920 Broadway • 665-9461
Laundry it’s all we do!
Air Duct Cleaning
665-5700 • 1-800-529-2450
•No Hidden Cost •Free Estimates
•Free Video Duct Inspection Expires 5/15/12
$ 35 OFF
1101 Broadway, Suite 103A, Morgen Square • Yankton, SD (605) 260-2100 • www.lewisandclarkfamilymedicine.com
Allergy Testing NOW AVAILABLE
Brandi Pravecek, CNP Family Practice
Lewis & Clark Specialty Hospital
Jeff Johnson, M.D. Family Practice
Open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm • After Hours Clinic Saturday 9am-12noon WALK-INS WELCOME
W INTZ & R AY FUNERAL HOME and Cremation Service, Inc. 605-665-3644
W INTZ FUNERAL HOME INC.
Hartington, Coleridge, Crofton 402-254-6547 www.wintzrayfuneralhome.com
IN REMEMBRANCE Sylvia M. Ryken 11:00 AM, Monday
Wintz & Ray Funeral Home Yankton
Jerome Sylliaasen MISSION HILL — Jerome M.
Sylliaasen, 75 of Mission Hill diedMonday, April 23, 2012, at AveraSacred Heart Hospital, Yankton.
Funeral services are at 2 p.m.Monday, April 30, at VangenLutheran Church, Mission Hill,with the Rev. Lance Lindgren offi-ciating. Burial is in the Vangen
Lutheran Cemetery with MilitaryGraveside Rites by the RudolphChristensen American Legion PostNo. 237.
Visitations begin at 5 p.m. Sun-day at Opsahl-Kostel FuneralHome & Crematory, Yankton, witha Scripture service at 7 p.m. Visi-tations will resume one hour priorto the service at the church.
Donald VennardDonald Eugene Vennard, 70, of
Yankton, retired Master Sergeantfrom the U.S. Army, died Tuesday,April 24, 2012, at his home.
Burial of Don’s cremated re-mains will be in the Black Hills Na-tional Cemetery, Sturgis.
Visitations are 6:30-8:30 p.m.Saturday at Opsahl-Kostel FuneralHome and Crematory, Yankton,
with the family present.
G. Dean BowderLAUREL, Neb. — G. Dean Bow-
der, 87 of Laurel, Neb., and for-merly of Wynot, Neb., diedTuesday, April 24, 2012, at the Hill-crest Care Center, Laurel.
Funeral services are pending atWintz Funeral Home, Hartington.
Barbara VoigtTYNDALL — A memorial
service for Barbara Ellen Voigtof Tyndall will be held at 5:00p.m. on Friday, April 27 at theHouse of Mary Shrine. TheShrine is located 5 miles west ofYankton at 142 Drees Drive.
Following the memorial serv-ice, a time of sharing, food andfellowship will be held at theLewis & Clark Resort Lodge. Theroute to the lodge will bemarked with white balloons.
There will be visitation onFriday from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00p.m. at the Goglin Funeral Homein Tyndall.
Online condolences may besent at www.goglinfh.com.
Barbara Ellen “Barb” Voigt
was born on Sunday, January 2,1955, at Yankton, South Dakotato Joseph and Margie (Kreber)Zilla. She graduated from Yank-ton High School in 1973 and re-
ceived her nursing degree fromDakota Wesleyan University.Barb married Bruce Voigt onJuly 1, 1987 at Yankton, SouthDakota. She worked as a Regis-tered Nurse for over 30 years,serving as both a travelingnurse for several years and inTyndall for many of those years.
Barb passed away on Mon-day, April 23, 2012 at the RapidCity Regional Hospital HospiceHouse following a five-year bat-tle with cancer. She was 57years, 3 months and 21 days old.
Barb is survived by her hus-band, Bruce Voigt of Tyndall;three children: Joseph Voigt andJoshua Voigt, both of Tyndall,and Kari Voigt of Brookings; twobrothers: Joseph (Joan) Zilla ofMitchell and John Zilla of Scott
City, Kansas; and three sisters:Bernie (Ron) Riley of ColoradoSprings, Colorado, Mary Kay Zillaof Hill City, and Gerri Sufficool ofColorado Springs, Colorado.
She was preceded in death byher parents, Joseph and MargieZilla.
Yankton Press & Dakotan
April 26, 2012
Barbara Voigt
the blue. I was shocked,” he said.“Of all the honors that a newspa-per man receives, the mostmeaningful one is bestowed byhis peers. For me to be honoredby the folks that I worked with,and by a profession that I alwaysfelt was my calling, it’s just avery humbling thing for me.”
Journalism always tugged atHamiel. Growing up in LymanCounty, he spent a great deal oftime at the Chamberlain Register,a weekly newspaper owned bythe parents of one of his bestfriends. And while attendingNorthern State, Hamiel reportedfor the campus newspaper, theExponent.
Hamiel joked he didn’t go intojournalism for the money, eventaking a pay cut compared toteaching.
“My teaching job was stillabout $600 more than reporting,”he said. “My first newspaper jobpaid $130 a week. In those days,there was no overtime, so youworked 70 to 80 hours a week.”
Hamiel began his career in1972 at the Huron Plainsman as asports writer. He also worked atthe Brookings Register, ArgusLeader in Sioux Falls, The Morn-ing Sun in Pittsburg, Kan., theYankton Daily Press & Dakotanand the Cincinnati Post beforecompleting his career as pub-lisher of The Daily Republic inMitchell.
FINDING A HOME IN YANKTONThe Press & Dakotan presented
a wonderful career move, Hamielsaid. Only three months into a 12-to 18-month training program, hewas tabbed for the Yankton job.
“It was my first publishing job,and what a great opportunity itwas,” he said. “In those days, theP&D was owned by Stauffer Com-munications, and I was in theirpublisher training program. I wasin an advertising seminar in Okla-homa City, and I got a call from thevice president of the newspaper di-
vision. He asked, how would I liketo go to Yankton, South Dakota?My wife was overjoyed.”
Upon arriving at the P&D,Hamiel met Harry Speece in thecirculation department and hiswife, WNAX “Neighbor Lady” WynnSpeece, along with WNAX radiopersonality George B. German.
For Hamiel, it was like rubbingelbows with celebrities. “When youwere growing up in Lyman County,and the only station you got wasWNAX, meeting these people, likeWynn, was like meeting folk he-roes,” he said.
As the P&D publisher, Hamielsought out his readers. In one ofhis favorite promotions, he visitedarea farms, meeting with familiesand taking pictures to show thenewspaper’s popularity with ruralresidents.
During that time, he was alsopleased to see the birth of the an-nual Riverboat Days celebration inYankton and its tremendousgrowth in subsequent years.
Hamiel found himself part ofcontroversy, teaming up withcommunity leaders who favoredan events center. The proposalwas defeated at the polls andnever came to fruition.
A defining moment for thecommunity during Hamiel’stenure came in December 1984,when Yankton College abruptlyclosed because of financial prob-lems, he said.
“I wrote the headline storywhen Yankton College closed,” hesaid. “It was heartbreaking to seethe kids walk out of their dormrooms that day.”
For months, the campus re-mained vacant with no use insight, Hamiel said.
“We were looking at every op-tion for a vacant college in themiddle of a town,” he said. “Wewere looking at a corporate re-treat center, a health care center— it was exhaustive.”
Yankton even received helpfrom then-U.S. Sen. Larry Pressler(R-S.D.), Hamiel said.
“Larry’s chief of staff, KevinSchieffer, was a kid from justacross the river in Nebraska,”Hamiel said. “Kevin worked everyagency listed in Washington, D.C.,until he got down to the last call,and it was the Bureau of Prisons.”
The discussions with theBureau of Prisons led to a contro-versial proposal — converting theYC campus into a federal prison.
“Larry (Pressler) came to myoffice and asked, ‘What do youthink the reaction would be toYankton having a prison in themiddle of the town?’” Hamiel re-called. “I said, ‘I think you’ve gotsome selling to do.’”
The proposed federal prisonwas greeted by wariness and evenhostility, but the facility becamereality, Hamiel said. Even some ofthe staunchest opponents at theoutset now acknowledge theprison’s benefits for Yankton, hesaid.
YC wasn’t the only area collegeto shut its doors in 1984 and laterbecome a prison, Hamiel said.The University of South Dakota-Springfield (USD-S) was closedearlier that year and later con-verted into part of the state peni-tentiary system.
Yankton residents showed agreat deal of support for the “SaveSpringfield” effort, Hamiel said. Hewitnessed the hostility shown inBon Homme County to then-Gov.Bill Janklow’s proposal to turnUSD-S into a prison.
“I was at Springfield when BillJanklow walked into the lion’s denat the Springfield Armory (to talkabout the prison plan), and he gotbooed,” Hamiel said of the his-toric, intense meeting.
Hamiel joined those opposedto the USD-S conversion, but hesaid he remained on good termsuntil the end with Janklow, whodied last January.
CALLING IT A CAREERThrough his years as a journal-
ist, Hamiel won numerous awardsfor editorial and column writing.He was twice president of theSouth Dakota Associated PressManaging Editors group andserved on the SDNA Board ofDirectors.
He was named a Lusk Fellow atSDSU in 2007 for outstanding serv-ice to journalism and received theSDNA Distinguished ServiceAward in 2009.
Hamiel said he always soughtto connect with his readers — in-cluding a personal column on how
his wife made his three daughters’prom dresses.
“You always write for yourreaders, not for yourself,” he said.
Technology has greatlychanged journalism during his ca-reer, but Hamiel believes the basicfoundation remains unchanged.
“We have reached a time whencitizens are again looking for avoice in the wilderness, a reliablesource of news,” he said. “Theyare bombarded 24 hours a dayfrom countless news sources —some legitimate, some not so le-gitimate from a professionalstandpoint. Newspapers are seenas the voice and the place to gofor unvarnished news.”
When he retired from newspa-pering in 2007, Hamiel took a posi-tion with the South DakotaCommunity Foundation. He workswith about 70 towns statewide,which he sees as continued serv-ice to rural areas.
After a career of covering stategovernment, Hamiel served in theSouth Dakota Legislature from2008-10. During his first year in of-fice, he successfully sponsored abill to require transparency forcertain no-bid contracts in gov-ernment. He co-chaired the Gover-nor’s Wage Study Task Force andchaired the South Dakota Board ofEducation.
Hamiel pointed to a family tra-dition of politicians and admittedhe always carried the bug forholding office. “My lifelong goalwas serving in the state Legisla-ture,” he said.
He has literally come home, ashe now resides on the familyranch in Lyman County. He andhis wife, Janet, have been marriedfor 38 years. They have threegrown children and four grand-children.
And now, enshrined with a Hallof Fame plaque on the SDSU cam-pus, Hamiel said he feels gratitudefor what he considers a calling.
“I couldn’t have found a careermore rewarding and better suitedfor my interest or abilities,” hesaid. “I was doubly fortunate, be-cause it was fun in newspapers.”
You can follow Randy Dock-endorf on Twitter attwitter.com/RDockendorf
HamielFrom Page 1
“You don’t see too many girlsin the construction contests,” hesaid. “Of all the other teams,there was only one other girl,and we had three to fill out ourteam.”
Sanger said he was also im-
pressed by how the team did de-spite their youth.
“To have two freshman andtwo juniors win state, that’spretty good,” he said.
Formerly known as VocationalIndustrial Clubs of America, Skill-sUSA is a national nonprofit or-ganization that serves highschool and college students whoare preparing for careers intrade, technical and skilled serv-ice occupations, according to the
organization’s website.“SkillsUSA is like FFA except
for it has to deal with trades andindustry instead of ag,” Sangersaid. “The leadership contestsare almost exactly the same, andthey try and get kids aware of ca-reers that are available.”
Sanger said one of the bene-fits of the SkillsUSA competitionsis that the students get to inter-act with professionals from vari-ous fields.
“There are a lot of opportuni-ties that develop,” he said. “I’vehad kids walk away with the busi-ness cards of major corporationswanting them to come work forthem.”
The national SkillsUSA compe-tition will take place June 23-17 inKansas City.
You can follow Derek Bartoson Twitter at twitter.com/d_bar-tos
SkillsFrom Page 1
