Letters to the editor
Make the most of year-end giving
A few weeks ago, the Brandon Community Foundation held the 6th annual Oak and Vine. This night is when the Foundation and communities of Brandon and Valley Springs come together and count our blessings. It is also night we share our harvest and awarded grants to 501c3 nonprofit organizations. This year, we shared with 16 community-focused organizations and awarded a total of $26,623. The grants ranged from $500 to $2,500, and are awarded in areas of the arts, recreation, education and health and public safety. To date, we have distributed over 1$57,000 in grants over 11 years.
As you plan your holiday and year-end giving, the Brandon Community Foundation stands ready to make the most of your giving to build a better community. Please go to our website, brandoncf.org for more information, or send your year-end giving to Brandon Community Foundation, PO Box 816, Brandon, SD 57005.
For questions, you can reach out to any of our board members or you can contact myself, Bob Logan, at (605) 261-1308.
Merry Christmas!
Bob Logan
Brandon Community Foundation Board President
Thank you, Brandon Lions Club
On behalf of campers attending Camp Gilbert Inc., thank you Brandon Lions Club for your generous support. You make a difference.
Sherry Peer
Director of Camp Gilbert Inc.
Music is foundation of cantata
We would like to thank the Journal for covering the Brandon Lutheran Church cantata, “Service of Nine Lessons & Carols.” It was our congregation’s privilege to share the story of Christ’s birth through this event.
The photos that ran in the Dec. 14 Journal were very nice. They showed Brandon Lutheran members who portrayed Biblical characters from the nativity. And while we worked with these volunteers to provide pagentry to accompany the music, our contribution certainly was minor compared to the many, many weeks Brandon Lutheran musicians spent preparing voices, bell choir and brass as they led the concert.
Our chancel choir director, Hans Peterson, and his wife, Geri Peterson, who accompanies the choir and directs the bell choir and brass ensemble, pored through music and scripture readings to choose just the right pieces to tell the cantata’s story. They did an excellent job of pulling everything together.
Our hope is that people everywhere will feel the joy and wonder of Christ’s birth during this Christmas season.
Sincerely,
Dennis Bossman, Alica P. Thiele, Jo Murren
On the 2018 ballot
I want to express my appreciation to the Brandon area residents for your support and your input over the past few years. I have enjoyed our visits as I have gone door to door and seeing you at meetings.
As you know, my former fellow district representative, Don Haggar, resigned in June due to family obligations. Don held the position of Speaker Pro Tem this past session. Just before the Governor’s Budget Address on Dec. 5 the Republican caucus met to elect a new Speaker Pro Tem to replace Don Haggar. I am pleased to report that my fellow members elected me to serve as the new Speaker Pro Tem. That position will allow me to serve the House of Representatives and, hopefully, improve the legislative process.
On a different note, there are again many ballot measures which will be on the 2018 ballots. They include issues concerning changes to our elections process, increasing the cigarette tax, and a revisit of what was IM 22 from last year. Thankfully, several measures did not get the necessary Petition signatures. They included measures in regard to limitations to free speech, physician assisted suicide, recreational marijuana, etc. Unfortunately, most of these measures are much like those we have seen over the past several election cycles in that they are often poorly drawn and far more complicated than they are portrayed.
Clearly, I am not a big fan of ballot measures. The problem is that they are an exercise in “direct democracy” as opposed to our established governmental function of being a “Constitutional Representative Republic”. Direct democracy sounds like a “fair” way of making law. The problem is that the process typically lacks a fully informed and deliberative consideration of the pros and cons of any given issue. In short, “bad information makes bad law.”
Any of the issues being presented would be better considered as a bill that would pass through the legislative process where all citizens can participate both through their elected representatives AND by personally testifying in the committees. It seems that South Dakota is still being viewed as a cheap venue for passing legislation that can be reduced to a sound bite instead of a carefully considered law. Voting these measures down is, in the long run, the best way to save the state a lot of time and money. The same issues can be presented in the Legislature without major costs or unintended consequences.
The next legislative session is upon us and I am interested in hearing from you as to any specific concerns or proposed new legislation. It takes some time to change ideas into legislation, so it would be great to hear from you right away.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions … AND … THANKS to Jill Meier for her wonderful work to keep us informed and for allowing me to bring this message to you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
District 10 Rep. Steve Haugaard
Office: (605) 334-1121
