Three students make pilgrimage to see Pope John Paul II 

Poor response continues to plague local civil defense group 

Pidde keeps family business going 
Freeman native celebrates 15 years in grocery business 

Pirates of Penzance cast announced 

Senate passes bill to publicize execution dates 

EDITORIAL 
Take a stake in the future of the past  

Three students make pilgrimage 
to see Pope John Paul II 
A “once in a lifetime opportunity” took three Freeman High School freshmen to St. Louis, Mo., last week. 
Matt Andersen, Lindsay Pape and Nicki Wek made the 11-hour bus trip from Sioux Falls to St. Louis Jan. 25 to see Pope John Paul II, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. 
The three Freeman students are members of Idylwilde’s parish in rural Freeman. Pape and Wek heard about the opportunity months ago from a deacon at their church. Andersen learned about the pope’s visit while at a youth rally in Watertown. 
They all said they didn’t think twice about going to St. Louis to see the pope — “it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Pape said. 
They left Sioux Falls with more than 600 South Dakota students on 16 chartered buses Monday, Jan. 25, at 1:30 p.m. and arrived back in Freeman at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. They were estimated to be the largest group from a single diocese in the country that traveled to see the pope. 
This was Pope John Paul II’s seventh visit to the United States during the 19 years he has served as pope. The three Freeman students were less than five feet away from the pope when he was riding down the street in his “pope-mobile,” described by the students as a golf cart with a bullet-proof clear bubble on top. 
Pape said she was surprised at how small the pope was in person; she said he looks larger in pictures or on TV. 
Wek got a spiritual feeling by seeing the pope. 
“It was like he forgave us for all the sins we had committed,” she said. 
One of the main topics during the pope’s visit was capital punishment. His words had such an impact that Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan commuted the sentence of a triple murderer whose execution date was scheduled during the pope’s visit in St. Louis. Pope John Paul II also spoke out against abortion and teen suicide. 
The pope celebrated Mass before an estimated 104,000 people at the Trans World Dome Jan. 27. A “Walk in the Light” youth rally was held prior to the arrival of Pope John Paul II in St. Louis. The pope had a two-day stopover in America following a trip to Mexico. 
The trip wasn’t completely religious; Andersen found time to see the arch. He, Pape and Wek brought home some souvenirs from their trip that were blessed by the pope. 
And though the main focus of the pope’s talk was serious, he also showed he had a sense of humor. He received a hockey stick and jersey and a papal hat. 
“I liked when they gave him the gifts,” Andersen said. “He said he would have to come back to play hockey.” 

Poor response continues to plague 
local civil defense group 
Only three emergency operation plans were turned in at the Jan. 28 meeting of Freeman’s civil defense group. 
The group set Jan. 28 as the deadline to turn in emergency plans so they can be compiled, proofread and finally printed as a Freeman Emergency Operation Plan. Seven people met at City Hall for a brief meeting Jan. 28. Because of the low turnout, the planning committee has extended the deadline to turn in plans to Police Chief Dale Lehmann to Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. Letters have also been sent to the entities whose plans were not received to remind them of the new deadline. 
“Everyone was excited the first couple months after Spencer. Now we’ve lost momentum,” Lehmann said. 
Lehmann was instrumental in getting the group off the ground following the May 30 Spencer tornado that killed six people and destroyed the town. Like Spencer, Freeman uses a siren system to warn the community of impending disasters and accidents. And also like Spencer, there is no battery back-up for the sirens. Lehmann wanted to make sure that if a tornado or other disaster hit Freeman, the city and the people would know how to handle the disaster. 
Freeman’s Emergency Operation Plan will provide a generic outline for Freeman’s first response team and residents on how to deal with a disaster. It will give a basic idea on how to evacuate the town and where people in different parts of the city will go if evacuated. It will address how the schools, hospital and nursing homes evacuate their buildings and incorporate their plans with the city’s plan. The plan will list where emergency housing is available, who to contact from other communities for support, what should be required at the command post and how to get the word out within the community and outside of the community about the disaster. 
Fire Chief Blaine Saarie shared his plan with the other members of the group. Together the group present brainstormed of different ways to add to the plan. They talked about how to help the elderly living on their own and the daycares, both registered and non-registered. 
Hutchinson County’s Civil Defense Director Ed Magera said those are exactly the questions the plan is supposed to answer, or at least guide into the right direction. 
“We’ll bring a draft back and do some more addition and subtraction and then go to press with Pierre’s approval,” Magera said. 
Once the draft has been proofread and sent to Pierre, it will be published. Freeman will be the first community of its size to have an emergency plan in place. The group hopes to have the plans printed  by tornado season. 
“Other communities talked about it for a few months after Spencer, too, and now they’ve stopped talking about it,” Magera said. “But in Freeman, at least it’s still going. Don’t give up.” 

Pidde keeps family business going 
Freeman native celebrates 15 years in grocery business 
In 1973, Ted Pidde bought Ferd’s Market on Freeman’s Main Street. His son, Bob, took over operation of “Ted’s Market” in 1984 and changed the name to the franchise “Bob’s Clover Farm.”  
And while the sign on Freeman’s Main Street today says “Jamboree Foods,” it’s known to many people simply as “Bob’s.” 
Pidde is a 1975 Freeman High School graduate and 1979 graduate of South Dakota State University. He and his wife, Karen, moved back to Freeman in 1983. He spent three years teaching in Artesian before the opportunity arose to run the grocery store. His father wanted to retire and Pidde was able to come back to his hometown. 
“It’s changed a lot,” Pidde said of the grocery business in the past 15 years. “Everything’s gone to a faster pace-of-life type foods.” 
And that means grocery stores like Jamboree Foods have had to change with the times, Pidde said. 
“Customers in Freeman are more loyal than a lot of towns,” he said. “We try to change and to try new things and sometimes they don’t always work.” 
Pidde is aware that competition is tough and that his customers can easily shop somewhere else — somewhere outside of Freeman. 
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how much work it takes to run a grocery store or other business in a small town,” he said. “If they do see it, I hope they have a better feeling about doing business with us.” 
Bob’s Clover Farm was located on Main Street where Main Video is today. When Pidde changed to the Jamboree chain he needed more space, so the store moved to the present location next to Merchants State Bank and the Cookie Cutter. The move doubled the store’s size, he said. 
Pidde’s day typically starts at 5:30 a.m. when he prepares the store for the 7 a.m. opening. That usually means preparing meat or finishing up cleaning. Trucks come every Tuesday and Friday to unload supplies. Ted Pidde still helps his son unload the trucks 15 years after selling the business to him. On other days, Jamboree is visited by the bread man and the milk man. 
He usually heads for home around 5 p.m. each day to spend time with his family — his wife and their children, Nikki and Brett. The only regret he has is not being able to spend as much time with his family as he would like. But he said he can’t think of anything at the grocery store that he doesn’t like to do, however. 
Pidde said every day is different, although every week is similar, so there is a certain routine to his job. He said even some customers have a shopping routine. In addition to Pidde, there is one full-time employee and six employees who are close to full-time. 
“I’ve been lucky,” Pidde said, “because I’ve had very little employee turnover.” 
He said each employee is in charge of something, although everyone is capable of doing nearly every job. 
It’s difficult to pinpoint where Pidde can be found in the store on any given day; sometimes he’s behind the meat counter, advising customers on the differences between brands of sausages or loading milk into the cooler and saying hello to customers as they reach in to grab a gallon of milk. 
“Freeman is about the only town that supports two grocery stores,” he said. “And they’re two good stores — we benefit each other.” 
Pidde said having two grocery stores brings more people to Freeman to shop because of the variety. Freeman Shopping Center is located on Highway 81. He feels the future is good for Freeman. 
“Freeman is holding its own and progressing,” he said. “It’s got a lot going for it; it helps me look positively toward the future.” 
And while Pidde sees Freeman expanding in the future, he doesn’t see any major changes for his store. 
“We’ll continue keeping up with trends and try to do what we’ve been doing.” 

Pirates of Penzance cast announced 
Director Michelle Friesen has announced the cast for the 1999 Schmeckfest production Pirates of Penzance. The popular Gilbert and Sullivan show will be presented March 18, 19, 20 and 21. Auditions were held Thursday, Jan. 14 and Friday, Jan. 15 in the Freeman Academy Music Hall. 
The cast, listed by role and order of appearance include:  
Pirate King  — LeRoy Epp 
Frederic  — Mark Ortman 
Samuel  — Brad Carlson 
Ruth — Rita F. Graber 
Kate — Wendy Miller 
Edith — Ronda Bodewitz 
Isabel — Rachel Pasco 
Mabel — Sonya Waltner 
Major General Stanley — Ken Mannes 
Sergeant of Police — Dennis Schrock 

Senate passes bill to publicize execution dates 
The people of South Dakota may soon know the day and hour of a criminal’s execution. 
The Senate passed SB109, 22-12, Jan. 27. The bill provides for the public announcement of capital punishment execution dates.  
If the bill becomes law, the warden must publicly announce the day and hour of the execution within 48 hours of the scheduled act. Current statutes mandate execution dates be released during the week they are scheduled.  
One man, Donald Moeller, is serving time on South Dakota’s death row for the murder of 9-year-old Sioux Falls paper carrier Rebecca O’Connell in May of 1990. 
Sen. Rebecca Dunn, D-Sioux Falls, opposed the bill calling for the lawmakers to “stop the runaway erosion of decency in the press.”  
On the other hand, some looked at the bill as reminding the public that a crime had been committed and punishment was occurring. 
“I think there’s value in telling society all over again why and where it’s (executions) going to be carried out,” said Sen. Mel Olson, D-Mitchell. “I want every paper and news station to run the picture and details of those crimes.” 
During a prisoner’s incarceration, Olson said many prisoners go through some type of transformation that allows that prisoner to be portrayed as a decent, upstanding citizen. Olson said the public needs to be reminded of the kind of crimes that person is capable of committing.  
Other legislators said because of the infrequency of the act, state executions should be documented.   
“Capital punishment doesn’t occur every day or every year in South Dakota. ... It’s more than appropriate that we say this is the time and this is the place,” said Michael Rounds, R-Pierre. 
Rounds said that unlike other legislators, he feels there is still a place for capital punishment in today’s society. 
SB109 was introduced by Sens. Kermit Staggers, R-Sioux Falls, Kenneth Albers, R-Canton, H. Paul Dennert, D-Columbia, Gerald Lange, D-Madison, and John Reedy, D-Vermillion and Reps. Mike Wilson, D-Rapid City, Roland Chicoine, D-Elk Point, Richard Hagen, D-Pine Ridge, Pat Haley, D-Huron, Gary Hanson, D-Sisseton, Ted Klaudt, R-Walker, Gil Koetzle, D-Sioux Falls, Clarence Kooistra, R-Garretson, Larry Lucas, D-Mission, John McIntyre, D-Sioux Falls, Jeff Monroe, R-Pierre, Sam Nachtigal, D-Platte, and Al Waltman, D-Aberdeen. 
The bill now heads to the House for further consideration. 
A look at the votes cast 
SB109 provides for the public announcement of capital punishment execution dates no less than 48 hours prior to said act. Current law mandates a week’s notice be given of the excecution, but the exact date is not publicized. The bill needed a majority of the members to pass. It passed 22-12, with one senator being excused. (A vote “Yes” was in favor of the bill.) 
District 9: Sen. Dennis M. Daugaard — NO 
District 17: Sen. John Reedy — NO 
District 19: Sen. Frank Kloucek — NO 

EDITORIAL 
Take a stake in the future of the past 
One year ago the Heritage Hall Museum Board of Directors announced plans to build a 100’x120’ addition to the museum located in the southwest corner of Freeman. 
Planned primarily for display of larger pieces which have been in storage for years — farm equipment, vehicles, etc. — the announcement of the $146,000 project was a welcome sign for those who have seen the potential offered by the museum.  
The project received a tremendous boost later in the year when John D. Unruh, a long-time strong local supporter of the museum, offered to fund the entire project. 
Thanks to his generosity, the building is up, located directly west of the existing building with some items already housed in the addition. 
To their credit, the members of the board of directors didn’t stop there. They announced plans for continued expansion and have continued to solicit funding to provide more space and features at the museum through another addition. 
A public meeting to explore that effort was to have been held last week. Weather forced postponing the meeting to Friday of this week. It is slated for 7:30 p.m., Feb. 5, at the Freeman City Hall. 
The postponement offers another chance for people to attend the meeting. 
The call for public input is encouraging, not only for the openness to ideas it reflects, but also in that it acknowledges the need for long-term planning. “Discussion will take place on what the museum should be like in the future — five, 10 or 20 years from now,” notes a news release from the board of directors. 
The museum today is a remarkable collection of items that reflect the heritage, traditions and values of this community since immigrants began this settlement 125 years ago. 
This spurt of activity and interest in the museum provides opportunity to take a serious look at how to best share that collection not only with this community — which tends to undervalue its importance — but with the larger community. 
Improved parking, an expanded entrance area and enhanced displays are obvious areas to be pursued. 
A multi-media component should be added. Ways to increase staffing, continue to expand hours, broaden visitor services and strengthen promotional efforts should be part of the plan as well.  
The board has already explored many of these ideas but wants to learn more from the people of this community about their vision for the museum. 
It’s an exciting time for the museum and what it could mean for this community. Friday night’s meeting is an opportunity to dream a little — to explore the possibilities — with the hope that the dreams could actually come true. 
tlw