BrandonInfo.com

Do you have trouble picking up or dropping off your middle school student? Is the traffic flow adequate? If not, what can be done to improve it, in your opinion?

What experiences have you had in the parking lot at the middle school?

Here we are at the capitol. The bus was very chatty on the way here. We left Brandon at 6 a.m. and those who weren’t snoozing saw the sun rise.

Right now I’m in the lower level of the capitol building. I like it down here. This level contains all the governors’ portraits. The most recent one is Walter Miller. There are painted portraits and photographs of state Supreme Court judges too.

Also on this level is the press room. If memory serves, the room is actually the old kitchen cooler. It’s a cramped, messy room with computer equipment everywhere. There’s one area off the main room where you have to step down, and that’s a really small room. Then from there, you step down into what must have been the root celler. The doorway isn’t even tall enough to walk through without stooping.

One of the things I like on this level is the display of dresses. Over the years, the dress the first lady wore to inauguration has been reproduced in miniature. Sometimes there is a photo of the first lady wearing the dress. If memory serves, sometimes the dresses were made out of some of the actual fabric from the real dress. The most recent compartments, of Mrs. Janklow the second time, and Mrs. Rounds, are still under construction.

I’m standing in the hallway here. There are electrical outlets along the wall - no idea why - and I found a cart by the door to set my laptop. Tony’s Catering of Brandon is serving lunch today to the House and Senate in honor of Brandon Day at the Legislature, and I suspect this cart belongs to them. So I’ll sign off for the moment so they can have their cart back.

I’ll go upstairs where the rest of our group is. There’s bound to be some action up there.

Tomorrow, I will be in Pierre with a bunch of Brandon people for Brandon Day at the Legislature. I will be live blogging throughout the day, so if you have any questions or comments, feel free to post during the day and I will reply.
This is not the first year of Brandon Day at the Legislature, but it is the first time our city’s visitors will get a private meeting with the governor. Gov. Rounds is scheduled to meet with the Brandon folks at 2 p.m.

Our group leaves Brandon at 6 a.m. tomorrow, so I’ll set up my laptop as soon as I get to the capitol and log on to begin live blogging.

The Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce will host the first of two Legislative Coffees Saturday at Tailgator’s, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Do you plan to go?

What would you like District 10 legislators Reps. Shantel Krebs and Roger Hunt and Sen. Gene Abdallah to know? What questions would you like to ask them?

At a pre-legislative luncheon recently, the Dist. 10 legislators said funding will be a big topic during this year’s Legislature. Gov. Rounds has proposed eliminating extra funding to growing schools such as Brandon Valley. School district business manager Paul Lundberg has said Brandon Valley would lose about $250,000 if that happens. Will you tell your legislators your feelings about that?

Funding for roads also will be a hot topic during this year’s legislative session. What topics concern you?
The next Legislative Coffee is Feb. 21.

Brandon City Council didn’t take any action Monday night on a conditional use request from a man who wants to open a casino in The Bluffs strip mall.

Planning & Zoning had voted to recommend a “do pass” for the permit, but that was before neighbors complained that beer and wine would be sold from the casino.

Do you think a casino is a good business to have in a strip mall in The Bluffs? The people who complained said they would prefer to see a restaurant in that space. Many restaurants sell beer and wine. Do you think the neighbors would mind that less?

The strip mall could hold more than one business. If a casino located there, what businesses would complement it in the same building?

On Saturday, 539 volunteers packed 106,920 meals for starving children in more than 50 countries around the world. Volunteers were from Brandon, Valley Springs, Tea, Brookings, Renner, Sioux Falls and elsewhere.

Were you one of these volunteers? What was your experience like?

A Brandon man recently was sentenced to 60 years in prison on sexual contact charges involving a 9-year-old girl he had molested over three years.

According to the South Dakota Sex Offender Registry, there are seven registered sex offenders living in the 57005 zip code. Visit http://sor.sd.gov/results.asp?nav=2 to see the list.

You can’t tell who a predator might be just by looking at them. Do you watch for signs that your child might not be safe? What precautions do you take to keep your children from harm?

Brandon Valley is the fifth largest school district in the state out of 160 districts. It ranks 157th in per-student spending.

Are you surprised to hear this? Brandon Valley spends a base of $5,168 per student in the 2007-2008 school year, the most recent figures available. Once special education and pension costs are figured in, that amount increases to $5,978. The state average is $6,438 ($7,520).

Do you think Brandon Valley should spend more per student? If so, on what types of things do you think the district should spend more?

Do you think Brandon Valley students are getting a quality of education that meets or exceeds the amount the district spends?

After the last few days, Brandon is blanketed in white again. The snow plow has been past my house this morning, so I suppose it’s time to go shovel the end of the driveway.

School board was rescheduled from its regular Monday meeting to Tuesday because of bad weather Monday. Unfortunately, it was snowing and blowing Tuesday night.

Did the recent snow muck up any of your plans? Do you shovel or blow snow from your driveway? Do the piles of white stuff invigorate you, or just make you want to hole up at home and hibernate until spring?

In a poll on wwwbrandoninfo.com, people are split on whether the school board should pay for back rests on the bleachers in the new high school gym. They cost about $30,000 more than standard ones. Forty-nine percent of those responding to the poll say yes, give us back rests. Fifty-one percent say no, don’t do it.
The school board will discuss back rests at tonight’s school board meeting. Is the issue important enough to you to attend the meeting? If not, would you call a school board member to let them know how you feel? If you wouldn’t make a special call to a school board member, would you at least tell them how you feel if you happen to see one of them at, say, a public event?

I suspect the board members will hear from very few people with opinions on bleacher back rests. So they will have to use their own judgment when deciding whether to spend the $30,000. Are you comfortable with that?

The Community Blood Bank will conduct a community blood drive on Jan. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Risen Savior Catholic Church, 301 N. Splitrock Blvd. For more information, call 582-6902.

Have you ever given blood? Since 1976, I am not sure how much I’ve given. Somewhere in the 5-6 gallon range.

Is there anything about giving blood that bothers you? If so, what?

Have you ever needed a transfusion? How did you feel about the person(s) who donated the blood you received?

In 2008, Brandon police took one robbery call, 21 assault calls and three motor vehicle theft calls. That compares with zero robbery, 19 assault and four vehicle theft calls in 2007, and one robbery, 15 assault and five vehicle theft calls in 2006.

Do you feel safe here in Brandon? Do you think the crime rates are higher, lower or about what you’d expect for a town this size?

If you’ve lived here for many years, do you feel just as safe now as you did years ago?

If you moved here from somewhere else, how does the crime rate here compare to that where you lived before?

Is there anything you would like the city or the police department to do that would make you feel safer?

There are lots of streets in Brandon where you can’t even see what the houses look like because the garages stick out in front of the houses.

What are the advantages (if any) to that type of architecture?

Is is more attractive than having the front of the house in front?

Does it make a neighborhood look more inviting?

Does it promote a sense of community among neighbors?

Are attractive curb appeal, inviting neighborhoods and a sense of community all that important?

If you were in charge of the city, would you welcome more of these garage-front homes, or would you ban them, or don’t you care much one way or another?