Dana Hess | For the S.D. Newspaper Association Putting on high school athletics and activities during a pandemic is going to take patience, flexibility and constant communication. That was the consensus during a strategic planning session of the South Dakota High School Activities Association board of directors and executive staff. 

JEREMY WALTNER   - PUBLISHER Growing up on a farm 4½ miles north of Menno, Kent Mettler has distinct memories of his mom, Carol, ringing an old school bell when she needed to get in touch with members of her family.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER “The same but different” is a phrase that could be used to describe any number of events taking place this summer in spite of the coronavirus pandemic that has now run five months strong in the United States. Those words are certainly appropriate for what will be the seventh annual Firehouse Rib Cook-Off, which returns to the Freeman Swimming Pool Park this Saturday afternoon and evening, Aug. 15, and exactly how founder and organizer Chad Soulek sums up the 2020 event.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Students heading back to school in Menno next week are being “strongly encouraged” to wear masks in-between classes and when dealing with others in close proximity. That’s according to Tom Rice, who is in his first year as superintendent in Menno. “We don’t do it for ourselves, we do it for others,” he said. “My first priority is my kids and a very close second is my teachers. Seven of them are over the age of 60 and I don’t need them being compromised.”

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER School officials from Freeman Public unanimously voted to acknowledge the district’s back-to-school plan released last week that attempts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 but spent about 40 minutes in discussion — specifically about the recommendation to wear masks. Board president Kyle Weier questioned why that was included in the plan when South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has said otherwise.

After five months out of the classroom, students from Freeman and Menno public schools will report for a new year next week. Menno Public is the first to begin the 2020-21 term with the first day of class — a half day — scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 18. It will also be a 1 p.m. dismissal in Menno on Aug. 19. Freeman Public’s first day will be Aug. 19 and will also be a half-day of instruction. The first full day will be Thursday, Aug. 20. Freeman Academy is scheduled to start its year with a full day of class on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Street work is in its second day at the corner of Main and Fifth streets as workers from Koerner Construction are repairing the badly damaged intersection. While local traffic is allowed, through traffic is being asked to find another route. 

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER For the Menno town team, a 13-8 win over Irene in the first round of the District 6B Amateur Baseball Tournament on Friday, July 24, put the second-seed Mad Frogs in the position they had hoped for — one win away from a return trip to Mitchell’s Cadwell Park and the state tournament. That’s what makes their elimination so confounding and tough to take.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Lori Lehr knew she wanted to offer traditional ballpark fare at the concession stand that is part of the Lily Pad baseball complex in Menno during the recent District 6B Amateur Baseball Tournament, so items like burgers, hot dogs and nachos were a given. But she also wanted to beef up the menu with additional options for hungry baseball fans who converged at the ballfield during the tournament’s six-night run, 12-game run, “but I just couldn’t decide on what.”

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER The Freeman Public School District has released its plan for reopening its school building later this month — a 28-page document that includes a host of COVID-19-related guidelines that stem from both data obtained locally, as well as the South Dakota Department of Education and Department of Health. That document, along with two informational videos narrated by Superintendent Kevin Kunz, are available on the school’s website, freeman.k12.sd.us.