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The city council will look at a mailbox ordinance on Jan. 5. Among other things, the ordinance says that the city has to give written permission to group more than two mailboxes together, and that all mailbox stands must be made of materials that will bend or break if a car runs into them.

That last thing kind of worried me, since my mailbox stand is a car’s crank shaft mounted on a steel pipe that is sunk three feet into the ground. Nothing would topple that thing.

But I was happy to see that the ordinance says that it would apply only to installation or re-installation that occurs once the law is in effect.

The post office might have an issue with the part about grouping only two mailboxes together at a time. The post office would prefer that mailboxes be on only one side of a road and as many grouped together as possible. That’s easier for their drivers.

What’s your mailbox story? Are you happy with the way it’s placed? Did you decide where to put your mailbox, or was it already in place when you moved into your house? If your mailbox is grouped with others, is it on your property? If not, do you help maintain the grouping? Why or why not?

Governor Mike Rounds is proposing a change in the way the state funds growing schools. If passed, it would take a year longer for schools to get reimbursed for the money they spend each year.

As I understand it, it works this way: Let’s say a school has X students and spends Y dollars in 2008-09 to educate them. The state reimburses the school for the Y dollars in the 2009-10 school year. That works fine if a school has about the same number of students every year. But let’s say during the 2009-10 school year, the school has X+5% students. Where does that extra 5% money come from? Under Rounds’ proposal, the school wouldn’t get it from the state until the 2010-11 school year. That would make schools like Brandon Valley scramble to come up with extra money.

Do you think the Brandon Valley School District should be worried about Rounds’ proposal?

Brandon Valley baseball players will compete in Little League in 2009, the Brandon Valley Baseball Association board has decided.

Board members say the affiliation won’t change how the season play is handled, except that 5 year olds will be able to play. The big change is the tournament opportunity at the end of the season. Brandon Valley will be able to compete in the state Little League tournament, with the chance of advancing to district or national play.

The part that still needs to be ironed out is how to select the tournament teams. Should the coaches decide who they think are the best players? Should the players vote on who they want to send? Should there be open tryouts to put together the tournament teams? Or should it be a combination of various processes?

Do you think the Brandon Valley Baseball Association made a good decision to go with Little League? Do you think it provides more opportunities for kids, or do you think it pushes them even more to be competitive children?

I am writing a story on a plan the city council will consider for a park in The Bluffs. I need to talk to a resident or two for my story.

If you live in The Bluffs, do you like the idea of a park? What would you like to see in it? Do you think it would be a good idea to put it off Heritage Road? Or maybe you don’t like the idea of a park. If not, why not?

Whatever your thoughts, would you contact me please so I can include your comments in my story?

Please call 331-2376 or e-mail apthiele@argusleader.com.

Thank you a lot.

Alica

I am writing a story about a new mailbox ordinance the city council will consider at their first January meeting.

I need to talk to someone, anyone, about their mailbox. Do you have mailboxes on both sides of your street? Are all the mailboxes on your street clustered in one spot? Are they in front of your house, perhaps? Do you mind that? Whether you do or not, I’d like to talk to you on Friday.

Please call 331-2376 or e-mail apthiele@argusleader.com.

Thank you a lot.

Alica

People age 80 years and older will get to play golf, and use a cart, for a lot less money in 2009. The city council approved a drop in fees for the older golfers.

A season weekday pass with a cart will be $243.64 plus tax. That’s a savings of more than $500 with the combined fees. Without the 70 percent reduction, the annual weekday pass for senior citizens is $394 and the cart lease fee is $365.

Golf course manager Zane Swenson said he anticipates fewer than a dozen people taking advantage of the discounts in 2009.

The council considered the discounts in the first place because 90-year-old Elmer Erickson requested free golf for those 85 years and older. Erickson was happy at the council’s decision. He thought it was better than what he had asked for, even.

What do you think of the council’s decision? Do you question why the council would be more generous than asked for, when they didn’t have to be, or do you think it’s great for elderly golfers to get such a good golfing deal?

MED-Star Paramedic Services will handle Brandon’s emergency medical services for a second year, the city council decided Monday night. MED-Star was the only service to apply.

What do you think of the decision? If you are unhappy with it, what would you have had the council do instead, since no one else applied?

MED-Star owner Jay Masur asked the council to consider extending the contract to three or five years. Right now the contract must be renewed annually. What do you think of renewing the contract? If the city has a service that is doing well, why use taxpayer money for annual paperwork? However, if the service is not doing well, a five-year contract could cause problems.

Does the ambulance ordinance contain any provisions for voiding the contract, on either side? If not, should it have?

A lady told me today that she saw a grade school child walking to school this morning. She said he was bundled up, but she still felt very bad for him having to walk to school in -15 degree weather.

It reminded me of the time I was in seventh grade and walked home from school in -2 degree weather. I got frostbite on my legs, which were bare. I’d worn a skirt with knee socks to school that day.

It also reminded me of the time my daughter missed the bus and started to walk to her grandma’s from school. It was -2 degrees that day, too. Thank goodness we’d bought her a snowsuit the day before. And thank goodness some good citizen called the police, who found her and gave her a ride the rest of the way to grandma’s.

Do you bundle up your children properly for the weather? If they typically walk to school, do you find alternate transportation for them on bitterly cold days?

Brandon’s City Council unanimously overturned a decision made by the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission at their November meeting. On Dec. 1, the council approved the variance request from Chris and Heather Stettnichs, 1604 Keystone Drive, who asked to build a third stall on their existing garage. The Stettnichs say their current garage is too narrow to access their 11-year-old daughter’s wheelchair lift.

Planning & Zoning had determined that a wider garage would stick 12 feet into the setback. The council determined that that is ok.

What do you think? The setbacks are there for a reason. They protect sight lines. They keep easements accessible.

It’s true that it’s more difficult to get a wheelchair into a vehicle in a narrow garage verses a wider one. Could the family have accomplished their objective without having to require special permission from the city?
Did the council make the right decision? Why or why not?

Brandon Police recently arrested two juveniles in connection with items stolen from vehicles in recent weeks.

Apparently, the kids were stealing things like i-Pods and cell phones out of unlocked cars.

Were you a victim? What did the people take? Did you get it back?

Do you typically leave your doors unlocked? I don’t. My vehicles are locked no matter where I go. My house is locked even when I’m in it. Better to be safe than sorry.

I remember once when I was a kid (we didn’t lock the house back then), we came home one time and there were muddy footprints all over the kitchen. We found out later that one of my uncles had dropped by. We didn’t mind that he came in, but we wished he would have left the mud behind.

The Brandon City Council is working on an ordinance that will restrict the location and activities of businesses such as an adult bookstore or adult massage parlor.

No business like that has made any indication that it wants to open in Brandon, but councilors say they just want to have something on the books in case anyone ever does inquire.

Do you think the council is wasting time and the taxpayers’ money on trying to prevent something the might never try to come here anyway? Or do you think the council is wise to think ahead to avoid possible problems?

Proposed changes to the city’s burning ordinance should make fire pits safer and less bothersome to neighbors. The city council has passed the first reading of the ordinance and will hold a second reading Dec. 15.

Under the ordinance changes, people will have to keep their fire pit a minimum distance from property lines and buildings. They’ll be able to burn only dry, untreated wood, or charcoal. They’ll have to have a fire extinguisher or a water supply handy. They will not be able to burn on windy days.
Do you think these changes will satisfy people who have complained in the past about the smoke from their neighbors’ fire pits? Do you think the people with fire pits will mind these restrictions?

The Brandon Valley School District has received Governor Mike Rounds’ Healthy School Award and the $5,000 award that goes with it. The money will be spent on school wellness programs. One of those is the annual health fair, which draws 1,600 people.

Is your child healthy? Do you serve healthful meals at your home? What specific things have you done to provide your family with good nutrition and activity?

I go to water aerobics, but not nearly often enough. I have cut back on my evening snacks, and I have lost some weight (but not nearly enough). There are things we all can do.

By January, you might be able to buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store on Sunday.
The city council is considering allowing off-sale Sunday liquor sales. They’ve passed a first reading and plan to hold the second reading Dec. 15. If it were approved and following publication Dec. 24, the ordinance would go into effect Jan. 14, 2009, allowing off-sale liquor sales from 7 a.m. until midnight on Sundays.

Allowing off-sale liquor sales on Sunday was spurred by similar measures recently taken by the city of Sioux Falls.

Sunday sales might come in handy if you suddenly decide to make a rum cake after church. But some people might say that if you plan ahead, you easily can make sure you purchase your liquor in advance of your need for it.

What do you say?