Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 26

2D Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Thursday, March 2, 1995 LINCOLN. MINNEHAHA COUNTIES Arm-twisis required in some town races ACROSS OUR REGION We're Interested In news from around the region. Please direct news Kerns and tips to any member of the Argus Leader regional reporting team: Cindy Uken, regional editor, 1-800-530-NEWS or 331-2301 Fax: 1-605-331-2294 Randy Hascall, Lincoln and Minnehaha counties, 331-2324 Tom Lawrence, Brookings, Lake, Moody counties, 692-8893 Barbara Ordahl, Turner, Clay, Union counties, 624-71 13 MADISON Madlao one-year trustee seat. Lennox: Five of the six city council terms expire: one-year and two-year terms in Ward 1, two-year term in Ward 2, one-year and two-year terms in Ward 3.

Sherman: One three-year trustee seat. The mayor is appointed from the board of trustees. Petitions must be filed with the city clerk by 5 p.m. March 21. Tea: Three one-year terms, and one two-year term on the city council.

Valley Springs: Two city commission seats, one carries a five-year term and the other a two-year term. Worthing: One three-year trustee seat. and a two-year mayor term. Dell Rapids: One city council seat in each of four wards, and mayor. All are two-year terms.

Fairview: All three town board seats, carrying one-year, two-year and three-year terms. Garretson: Four city council seats in Wards 1, 2 and 3. One two-year term is available in each ward and a one-year ward also available in Ward 1. Harrlsburg: Two city council seats, with two-year terms. Hartford: City council seats in three wards, and the mayor's job.

All are two-year terms. Hudson: No openings. None of the three council terms expires. Humboldt: A three-year trustee seat, a two-year trustee seat and a deadline is March 21. Elections will be April 11.

Petitions can be picked up at city halls or finance offices. Following is a list of city council, town board and mayor positions up for election in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties this spring: Baltic: Ward 1 and Ward 2 alderman seats. Each is a two-year term. Brandon: Wards 1, 2 and 3 alderman seats, and mayor. All four positions are two-year terms.

Canton: One at-large city council seat, five-year term. Colton: Wards 1, 2 and 3 alderman seats, and mayor. All are two-year terms. Crooks: One two-year alderman seat in Ward 1, one-year and two-year alderman seats in Ward 2, By RANDY HASCALL Argus Leader Staff Fairview might hold its first town election in about 10 years if anyone files for town board openings. If not, board members will be appointed again.

"You have to twist arms to get anyone on the board," Mayor Jeff Roti said. He estimated it's been 10 years since the last town election. Residents don't step forward to get on the board and rarely complain, he said. Filing petitions are available for all three board positions, which carry one-year, two-year and three-year terms. March 10 at 5 p.m.

is the deadline to file petitions for municipal office, except in Sherman where the 3-percent cap on property-tax growth realistic, county commissioners say Pressure mounts against change in Missouri flow The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Environmental Protection Agency added Wednesday to mounting pressure against the Army Corps of Engineers' proposal to change the flow of the Missouri River for the benefit of endangered species and recreation in upstream reservoirs. On the last day for public comment, the EPA issued a statement calling the proposal "environmentally unsatisfactory" and said it did not contain enough information about the economic impact on navigation and agriculture. John Zirschky, who heads the Army's civil works program, said Wednesday that "no decision is imminent." Ken McFarland, administrative assistant to the county board. That means those projects would have to be paid for within the 3 percent annual growth in taxes, or the commission would have to vote to opt out of the cap. If the commission opts out, that decision can be referred to the people through petitions with signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in the county.

Of course, all that is tenuous until Janklow signs the growth cap into law. "It could be changing as we speak," McFarland said. "It's hard to say what we'll end up with." But whatever it is, commissioners say they can live with the results. "We can handle it," Zweep said, "for now." Pierre talking about getting rid of all these mandates, and it's a very large mandate they're putting on local governments," Twedt said. "The state is mandating this cap.

But are they mandating the same growth cap on themselves?" A 3 percent cap is palatable in Minnehaha County because of continuing growth in this area, commissioners said. Property values have increased enough in recent years that county government hasn't had to implement large tax increases. "If we weren't seeing growth, we'd be in big trouble," Commissioner Jim Zweep said. Though county projects like the new courthouse and Youth and Family Services Center won't be affected by the limitation, future building projects would be, said By STEVE YOUNG Argus Leader Staff Minnehaha County commissioners say they can live under the 3 percent annual cap on property-tax growth passed by the Legislature for the most part. "Certainly, a cap like that wouldn't have caused any heartaches with this commission," Commissioner Carol Twedt said after Tuesday's weekly meeting.

After all, the county's portion of property taxes went down a percentage point or two this year. But the commissioners aren't out campaigning for the proposal, which is part of Gov. Bill Janklow's plan to provide $120 million in property-tax relief and to keep those taxes from skyrocketing. "The really frustrating part of it is here's all these people out in Mayor wants vote on sales-tax plan Madison Mayor Gene Bor-chardt said Wednesday the public should be allowed to vote on a second-penny sales tax. Borchardt, who proposed the sales tax, said a "minor infraction" in the petitions opponents turned in shouldn't mean an election won't be conducted.

The City Commission in January adopted a second-penny sales tax, which could raise up to $600,000 annually. It takes effect July 1, if not successfully referred. "I'm sorry this happened," Borchardt said. "I think the citizens have a right to vote on issues, and I feel they should have had a right to vote on the sales-tax issue." City finance officer Jeff Heine-meyer ruled Tuesday the petitions, which contained 240 signatures calling for a public vote, were invalid. He said petitioners used the wrong form.

The petitions were turned in at '4 p.m. on Feb. 22 one hour before the deadline to refer the issue. Heinemeyer said if he had had more time, he could have found the error and helped the sales-tax opponents correct it. Borchardt said a state Supreme Court ruling upheld the power of a city finance officer to determine if referendum petitions were valid.

"The finance officer, by law, did the only correct thing possible," he said. Tom Lawrence MITCHELL County won't join juvenile center The Davison County Commission has again declined to join 13 other counties in a regional juvenile-detention facility in Sioux Falls. The two commissioners who voted to join said it's the cheapest alternative for the county. The three commissioners who voted against it said they wanted to review other options, especially keeping the juveniles in Davison County. Davison County now sends its juveniles to a facility in Chamberlain for $70 per juvenile, per day.

There is no annual fee. The county would have had to pay an annual fee of about $12,000 plus $95 per day, per juvenile to ensure as many beds as it needed for 20 years in the regional facility. RAPID CITY Police believe theft from store inside job Police say the armed robbery of a Rapid City convenience store was an inside job, and they've charged a store clerk and two others with grand theft. Store clerk Daryl Leanhart 23, who telephoned police, also has been charged with false reporting. Arrested on grand theft charges were Leanhart, Box Elder; Otis Norton 18, Ellsworth Air Force Base; and Darius Henderson, 18, Rapid City.

Authorities also are filing charges against a 16-year-old Box Elder girl in connection with the case. Police initially were told two masked men one carrying a handgun made off with more than $700 in a Jan. 24 holdup. The investigation turned up discrepancies in the clerk's report, said Chief of Detectives Capt. Craig Tieszen.

ABERDEEN State agent fired after assault arrest A state criminal investigator accused of assaulting his girlfriend was arrested and fired, according to Attorney General Mark Barnett. Dan Peterson, 38, an Aberdeen agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation for nearly two years, was arrested on a simple assault charge, Barnett said. "My deputy director drove up to Aberdeen and arrested him and fired him in the same meeting," Barnett said. Peterson, who lives in rural Columbia, has 10 days to appeal his firing, Barnett said. The attorney general said Peterson posted a $1,000 bond pending a court appearance in Ipswich.

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Tom Lawrence Your Medicare supplement claims will he filed for you, so you'll have more time to enjoy your retirement. 1r I We know South Dakota 5 Plerrej. Sioux Falls we've been doing business here for almost 50 years! BROOKINGS SDSU student senate recognizes gay group A campus gay and lesbian group has been recognized by the South Dakota State University student senate in Brookings. Brothers and Sisters, a group with homosexual and bisexual members, was recognized as an official campus group by a 12-7 vote of the student senate Monday night. Brothers and Sisters has 16 student and eight faculty and staff members.

The group has been meeting on campus for several years. The group wanted official status to make it easier to use university facilities, group members told the student senate. Before you choose a Medicare supplement, call 1-800-562-1995, and see why Blue Cross is a choice you can feel good about. Pressler nominates librarians to task force Sen. Larry Pressler has nominated librarians Susan Brooks of Sisseton and Jane Kolbe of Pierre to the National Library of Education Advisory Task Force.

The task force will plan the new National Library of Education, a central depository within the federal government for information about education. Brooks is director of library services for the 'Sisseton-Wah-peton Tribal Community College. Kolbe is librarian for the South Dakota State Library in Pierre and was librarian and associate professor at Sioux Falls College. The National Library of Education is expected to be established within six months of the task force's first meeting. HARTFORD Teachers, alumni to play Vikings West Central School teachers and alumni will play the Minnesota Vikings in a benefit basketball game at 2 p.m.

Sunday in Hartford's Becker Center. Proceeds will be used to buy playground equipment for the elementary school in Hartford. Tickets are available at Jubilee Foods in Hartford. There's nothing like the security of knowing your Medicare supplement plan will cover you when you need it most and that's just what you get with Medigap Protection plans from Blue Cross of South Dakota. Enrollment is easy, and there are no waiting periods for pre-existing conditions.

Your Medicare supplement claims will even be filed for you! Find out more about Medigap Protection Plus call 1-800-562-1995 today. BROOKINGS New zoning adopted near SDSU campus Builders now need a special permit to construct apartment buildings or rooming houses near the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, following a City Commission vote. The commission has adopted a new zoning class for several blocks near SDSU. The area now zoned high-density will be re-zoned medium-density. The decision comes after more than a year of at-times heated debate.

"It essentially ends the en masse discussion of zoning around campus," said city engineer Gregg Jongeling. Apartment buildings, a fraternity house and rooming houses now standing in the area will be allowed to stay. "It is only for future development," Jongeling said. Tom Lawrence BlueCross of South Dakota Blue Croit ol Sou Dakotl in Independent Licensee ol the Blue Crow md Bio. Shield AMociImn Blue Crow ol Soutn DM.011 received "Excellent dim-paying Hty tiling- from Stindltd ind Pax.