EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of the Press &Dakotan’s monthly series spotlighting occupa-tions, tasks and duties in our coverage area.

———BY NATHAN JOHNSONnathan.johnson@yankton.net

As a transit director for Yankton andother communities in the region, VeldaBentson is used to being on the move.

On any given day, she is managing morethan 60 employees, wrestling with mechani-cal issues on a vehicle or hopping behindthe steering wheel to transport a client.

However, the month of April presentedsome special challenges for the director ofYankton Transit and the Rural Office of Com-munity Services (ROCS) Transit, whichserves a combination of 18 towns and coun-ties. ROCS is based in Lake Andes.

Instead of spending her usual two days aweek in Yankton, the largest community forwhich she oversees transit services, Bentsonhas been in the community daily.

“With the things that have been going onlately, I’ve hardly had time to go do other du-ties,” she said. “It’s been a challenge.”

A recent Federal Transit Administration(FTA) ruling found that Yankton Transit, anon-profit organization that receives federalfunding, was improperly providing exclusiveschool bus service to young student riders.

In April, Yankton Transit implemented a

plan that itbelievedwas in com-pliance withFTA rules.However,problemswith theagency’s

scheduling software led to serious delays inpicking up and delivering students. The situ-ation left many parents angry and frustrated.

After further communication with theFTA, Yankton Transit was told that it couldcontinue providing service as it had in thepast until the end of the current school year.

“I’ve tried to be patient,” Bentson said.“We’ve been getting a lot of calls, and some-times the calls aren’t nice. I just tell myself,this is a time we’re going through and it’sgoing to get better. You have to staypositive.”

She shares many of the concerns of herparent callers. One reason Yankton Transithad buses that only carried children was toensure their safety. Bentson said she also be-lieved it was reassuring to the youngsters tosee the same driver every day.

“When we go to enroll children for the fallschool year, we can be up front with theschool parents and tell them the risk they

YANKTON RECYCLING THIS WEEK:

SOUTHOF 15TH STREET

75¢

Plenty Of Sunshine9 a.m.: 53 | 3 p.m.: 66 | DETAILS: PAGE 2A

YA N K T O N D A I LY

VOLUME 139NUMBER 1

Friday ■ April 26, 2013

The Dakotas’ Oldest Newspaper | TWO SECTIONS | www.yankton.net

PRESS&DAKOTAN

REGION 2A-3A | OBITUARIES 3A | VIEWS 4A | WORLD 5A | SPORTS 8A-9A | CLASSIFIEDS 10A-13A | MIDWEST 13A

TOMORROW: Local Agencies Participate In Hostage Exercise Print

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Named ToYHS FineArts HallOf FameRIVER CITY

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I N S I D E T O D AY

USA Weekend

ON THE JOB

BY RANDY DOCKENDORFrandy.dockendorf@yankton.net

April showers may bring Mayflowers, but this month’s surge inmoisture has also brought plenty ofsmiles to farmers and other residentsthroughout the region.

“I think we are still lagging behind(for precipitation), but it’s certainly alot better than it was two or threeweeks ago,” said Dave Bartel, man-ager of the James River Water Devel-opment District (JRWDD).

“I feel a lot of the rural people aretalking a lot more positive today thana couple of weeks ago,” he added.

This weekend’s expected warm-up will also provide a much neededbreak from an early spring that hasbeen dominated by cold and snow-fall.

How cold and snowy? This springis one for the record books, accord-ing to South Dakota state climatolo-gist Dennis Todey.

“Yankton is the coldest on recordfor the spring — since March 1 — sofar at 31.7 degrees,” he said. “Yanktonhas seen 5.75 total inches of precipi-tation, the 14th wettest, and 12.4inches of snow, for the 15thsnowiest.”

Even more important than theamount of moisture are its contentand timing, Todey said.

“Most of this precipitation willhelp. The earlier precipitation fell onfrozen ground and only helpedponds. More recent precipitation andsnow is entering soil moisture,” hesaid. “The concern is that we stillhave some deep soil moisture profiledeficits that are still with us.”

BY STEPHEN OHLEMACHERAssociated Press

WASHINGTON — A handfulof senators from states withoutsales taxes are blocking a billthat would tax Internetpurchases.

They don’t have enoughsupport to kill the bill, but theycan delay a final vote until Fri-day — or even this weekend —if senators don’t reach an agree-ment to vote earlier.

The bill would empowerstates to require online retailersto collect state and local salestaxes for purchases made overthe Internet. Under the bill, thesales taxes would be sent to thestates where a shopper lives.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., isleading the fight against the bill.Oregon, Montana, New Hamp-shire and Delaware have no

sales taxes, though the two sen-ators from Delaware supportthe bill.

“It’s coercive. It requires anumber of states to collect thetaxes of other states thousandsof miles away against their will,”Wyden said in an interview. “It’sdiscrimination because thisforces some people online tocarry out responsibilities thatbrick and mortar retailers donot have to do.”

Wyden said the bill alsogives an advantage to foreignretailers. Supporters say the billtreats foreign retailers the sameas domestic ones, but oppo-nents question the ability ofstates to enforce state tax lawson companies based in othercountries.

The bill has already sur-vived two procedural votes thisweek, getting 74 votes in favor

each time. If senators don’treach an agreement to vote ear-lier, Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid, D-Nev., threatenedto hold a vote shortly after mid-night Friday morning to end thedebate.

The Senate is scheduled togo on vacation next week, andReid vowed to pass the bill be-fore senators leave town.

“One way or another, we willfinish work on this measure be-fore we leave,” Reid said.

Wyden said he doesn’t wantto inconvenience senatorseager to go home. But, headded, “I don’t want to haveour constituents rolled over inthe process.”

Under current law, statescan only require stores to col-lect sales taxes if the store has

R I V E R C I T Y

A Summer Of SequelsIs Ready To Roll • 6B

Transit Director KeptBusy By Recent Events

MoistureLeaves A

Positive MarkOn Region

BY DAVID PITT Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — Asspring rains soaked the cen-tral United States and helpedconquer the historic drought,a new problem has sprouted:The fields have turned tomud.

The weekly drought moni-tor report, released Thursdayby National Drought Mitiga-tion Center in Lincoln, Neb.,showed the heavy rains thatalso caused some flooding inthe last week brought droughtrelief to the upper Midwest,western Corn Belt and centralportions of the Plains.

Farmers may be thankfulthe land is no longer parched,but it’s too wet to plant incorn country and freezingtemperatures and lingeringsnow have ruined the winterwheat crop.

“Right now, we’re wishingit would dry up so we can get

KELLY HERTZ/P&D

Velda Bentson is the director of Yankton Transit and the Rural Office of Community Services (ROCS) Transit. She oversees transportation servicesfor the non-profit agencies in almost 20 area communities and counties.

TACKLINGTHETRANSIT ISSUE

HEATWAVE

C O R R E C T I O NThursday’s story on the MSAC

presentation should have said groundwater is expected to increase an aver-age of seven feet in the Lewis andClark Lake delta area in the next 50years, impacting infrastructure andproperty. The seven feet is a total, notannual, increase.

Climatologist: Weather Was Well-Timed

Drought EasesIn Many

Places, FieldsTurn To Mud

KELLY HERTZ/P&D

The heat was on outside of Yankton High School Thursday as the studentsin Vicki Barron’s Pottery and Sculpture class got a firsthand look at themaking of Raku pottery. Tom Clarke (pictured) and his wife Wanda ofDakota Pottery Supply in Sioux Falls brought two kilns down to help thestudents with their clay creations, which were exposed to almost 1,850-degree heat and then exposed to air to create unusual colors and designs.

No Vote Yet On Internet Sales Tax

MUD | PAGE 14A MOISTURE | PAGE 3A

TRANSIT | PAGE 14A

A D D E N D U MIn today’s River City, the four photos used for the Yankton High

School Fine Arts Hall of Fame story were supplied to the Press &Dakotan by Photography by Jerry. This information was inadvertentlyomitted from the River City section.TAX | PAGE 3A

Yankton Hosts LargeField For Relays • 8A