BrandonInfo.com

The groups that put on the summer Arts & Crafts Festival in McHardy Park want to move the event to the first weekend in August so it can be part of Hometown Days. One reason is that one big event may draw more people than two smaller events. It’s also easier to plan everything at the same time instead of planning two events, one on top of the other.

The Arts & Crafts Festival has been a Brandon tradition for more than 30 years. It started in the parking lot of what is now True Value. At least one year, it was held on the grounds of Brandon Elementary. Recently, it switched from its traditional July date to a date in June. So this is not the first time changes have been made to the event.

What do you think of the festival being combined with Hometown Days?

The Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce would like to pass along its sponsorship of the festival to some other group or organization. Is your group interested? Other sponsors of the Arts & Crafts Festival are the Brandon Edge, VFW and Lions.

Are you as an individual interested in helping with any portion of the festival? Would you help with mailings to the vendors, or staking out the area for the booths the day before the event? Would you be a runner during the event, carrying messages and supplies?

It’s always more work to participate in an event instead of just attending it. But volunteers everywhere say they gain so much from being a part of something. Will you consider volunteering?

Brandon Valley remains undefeated with a 49-26 win over Rapid City Stevens at Brandon Tuesday night. What a game.

On Monday, Brandon Valley (10-0) will host Watertown (6-4) in the quarterfinals. How do you think the Lynx will do against the Arrows?

Do you think the Lynx will go all the way to the DakotaDome? Who do you think will make it to the championship game?

When my daughter was little, she always preferred staying home and handing out candy rather than going trick or treating herself. I thought that was a little odd, but I don’t think she missed out on any candy. I usually bought plenty.

Back then, we got lots of trick or treaters at our house. These days, not so many. Most of the kids on our block have grown up, and I think a lot of kids go to the Halloween party at the fire hall instead of walking around door to door.

Do your children trick or treat in your neighborhood? Do you go to other neighborhoods to trick or treat? We used to take the kids to their grandparents’ houses when they were toddlers. One year I dressed my daughter as a bunny. She was so cute.

Do you take your children to the Halloween party at the fire hall? Or do you have a party at someone’s house in your neighborhood or at your church? How has Halloween changed since you were a kid?

Have you voted already? Anybody can vote absentee, and 11,000 Minnehaha County voters already have cast their ballots, according to Sue Roust, county auditor.

Of course there are lots of reasons why someone might vote absentee. Maybe they know they’re going to be out of town on election day. Maybe they are homebound. Maybe their work hours won’t give them enough time to go to the polls.

I always wonder if people who vote way in advance end up regretting their decision if something happens in the last days of the campaign that might change their mind. But a few people I’ve talked to who have voted already say they are confident in their choices.

Have you voted absentee already, or do you plan to? If so, why?

I am working on a story for the Brandon Valley Challenger about traffic problems getting in and out of The Bluffs and Eagle Creek. If you live in either of these neighborhoods and have had any trouble making turns onto or off from Holly Boulevard, will you contact me please?

There have been several comments about this topic in another thread on this blog, but I can’t use any of those comments. I need to be able to use the person’s name along with the comment.

If you are willing to talk to me for my story, and let me use your name in the paper, please contact me at apthiele@argusleader.com or 941-0216. I would need to hear from you by end of day Thursday at the latest in order to meet my deadline.

Thanks very much.

Alica P. Thiele, Brandon Valley Challenger reporter

How many of our Brandon men and women are serving overseas right now, in Iraq or Afghanistan?
If you know of someone who is in the war, will you please post his or her name? Contact information would be great too, and any news you wish to share about how they are doing.

We need to remember the people who are serving their country in the military. If we at least know the names and the units to which they belong, we can keep them in our thoughts.

Thank you.

When my husband and I had children nearly 30 years ago, we made a point of buying a house in Brandon so the kids could grow up close to their grandparents. Both my parents and my husband’s parents lived in Brandon at the time. My grandparents lived in Brandon too, so my children got to know one set of their great-grandparents.
As our children grew up, their grandparents could see them any time they wanted. I know that is a luxury for many grandparents, who get to see their grandchildren only on holidays or vacations.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? If they live a ways away, how do you keep in touch? Would you like to see them more often? If your grandchildren live close by, do you take advantage of that and see them as often as you can?

If you are parents of young children, have you made a choice to live near extended family so your kids can get to know them? If you live a ways away from your extended family, how often do you make a point of seeing them?

Do you think children benefit by getting to know their extended family?

Tailgator’s and Pizza Ranch are two of the biggest restaurants in four counties, based on seating capacity. Do you patronize these restaurants? Why or why not?

Brandon’s population alone couldn’t sustain two restaurants of this size. Both places get a lot of out-of-town customers. That brings income not only to the restaurants, but to the city as well, through sales tax dollars.

Should other Brandon business cater only to Brandonites, or should they market themselves to travelers and residents of surrounding towns?

What do you think of all the political yard signs appearing in front of people’s houses and along main routes?

Do you have a political sign in your yard? If so, why? Do you just want people to know how you plan to vote, or are you trying to influence their vote too?

As you drive to work and see the signs, do they influence your vote at all?

The stock market just keeps dropping and dropping. When is it all going to end?

I could sell off my stocks, but what stocks would I buy instead? Everything is going down.

The price of gas is going down too. That confuses me. Why could gas go down if stocks are down? I can’t verify it, but I’m certain I heard at one point that stock prices were going down because gas prices were going up.

Here at the office, we’ve been talking about how we might have to live if everything tanks for a long time. It’s one of those rare times when growing up sorta poor is a benefit. We know how to fix things. We know how to grow our own food. We know how to get by without a lot of stuff.

Have you started giving up things because of the economy? Do you have any sort of plan in the back of your mind of how to cope if everything tanks? What steps are you taking, if any?

Have you or anyone in your family received harassing or threatening text messages? I’m working on a story about this for the Brandon Valley Challenger and am looking for someone who would be willing to be quoted, using their name, in the paper.

If you are someone like that, would you please e-mail me at apthiele@argusleader.com or phone me at 331-2376?

Thank you.

Alica P. Thiele

Challenger reporter

A new commercial building in The Bluffs could hold up to four businesses. Apparently no one has signed a lease yet, but companies that have inquired include a restaurant, a mail-order business and a veterinary clinic.

What kinds of businesses do you think would go best in there? At first I thought maybe a drive-through coffee place could serve all the people driving to work in the morning, but then I realized they’d have to make a left turn off of Rice Street, and that could muck up traffic something awful. A business that relies mostly on Bluffs residents might not make enough income.

I’m sure the developers will work hard to get just the right mix into the building. But can we give them any ideas or suggestions?

The city will spend more than $500,000 to maintain and improve the six city parks in 2009. The money will pay for visible amenities like a new picnic shelter and playground equipment, and also less visible things like lawn mowers, that are just as necessary for beautiful parks.
Which parks do you use, and why? What activities do you use most? Are you into softball, or do you use the bike path, perhaps? How many horseshoe players are out there in Brandon-land?

One Brandon woman said she would like to see the city add a dog park, where dogs can run free. In past years, I have advocated for an amphitheater for outdoor performances. What amenities would you like to see added?

Alliance Communications recently has added two new channels to our cable system.

Channel 71 is the Big Ten Network, which is a sports channel dedicated to Big Ten Conference college sports. If you have fiber to the home system, the channel is 33.

Channel 72 is National Geographic. If you have fiber to the home system, the channel is 151.

From what you’ve seen so far, what do you think of the new channels? Do you think you will become a regular viewer of either of them?

What channels do we not have that you would like to see added in the future?

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This month offers several opportunities to take in some live entertainment in Brandon.
This weekend, the Mighty Corson Art Players will present “Small Talk,” a musical. It will run for three weekends.

Brandon Valley High School will present “Love, Sex, and the I.R.S.” on Oct. 24, 25 and 26.

I’ve been involved in school and community theater since my first play, the musical “Three Pink Leprechauns,” in the eighth grade. Let’s see, that was some 34 years ago. Live theater is a lot of fun, especially if you know someone in the cast. Participating in live theater is a lot like participating in sports. The rehearsal and performance “season” lasts six to eight weeks. The cast needs to work like a team to get all the movements and timing coordinated for success. The director, or “coach,” watches the players’ movements and gives notes after each rehearsal and performance. There are even theater competitions.

In addition to the MCAP and BVHS productions, the Performing Arts Center is host to Prairie Repertory productions and many traveling companies.

Do you ever attend local theater productions? Have you ever participated in community theater? Do you have a child who is in this fall’s high school play? What would you say to encourage others to attend?

Tonight Sarah Palin and Joe Biden face off in debate. Will you watch? Who do you think has the better chance of winning the debate?

It’s said that Sarah Palin has more to lose, since she has been criticized lately for not knowing as much about some of the issues as a vice presidential candidate should. Joe Biden has been in the U.S. Senate since 1972, so he is very familiar with policies. But can he talk about them without sounding overbearing?

Tune in at 8 p.m. and find out.

The new energy-efficient home at 1801 River Bluff Drive is designed to save its occupants money. It has many features that will help accomplish this.

For example, all of the framing joints, along with the sills, were caulked to tightly seal the house. The heal height on the roof trusses was raised to 7 1/2 inches versus the standard 4 inches. This allowed room for a true thermal break and maximum insulation value.

My house was built 30 years ago, so it doesn’t have the true thermal break. But my house does have caulking. From the start, my husband caulked every joint like crazy. And our heating bills have indeed been lower than our neighbors’.

So even if your house isn’t a fancy new e2 house, you still can see some savings.

What have you done to make your house energy efficient?