Controlling the flow  

200 counts filed in connection with Feb. beer party, accident 

Freeman to ease into all-day, everyday kindergarten  

Editoral 
  

Controlling the flow 
With the issue of drainage at the forefront of the Freeman City Council’s thoughts, last week one of the most pressing drainage problems was acted upon. 
Schmidt and Schmidt Construction of Tea are putting in a concrete trench directly across from Casey’s along Sixth Street, where water runoff from the road onto Lucille Rembold’s property has been a long-standing problem. Last June, Rembold addressed the Freeman City Council and asked that something be done. 
The city is responsible for ditch drainage, while property owners are responsible for maintaining culverts. But because several areas along Cherry and Sixth Streets — including Rembold’s property — are particularly bad because roads have been resurfaced and raised, the city is addressing the problem immediately, said Mike Schutlz, chairman of Freeman’s street department. 
“Those are the only places in town that the city will take care of to that extent,” Schultz said.  
The trench will be covered by a metal grate which allows water runoff from the street to drain from the top, and not be forced to enter a culvert from the side. Areas along Sixth Street are next, Schultz said. 
The project is being funded by grant money from the state. 
  

Langle indicted, facing felony charges 
200 counts filed in connection  
with Feb. beer party, accident 
Two and a half months after the accident that shook up the Freeman community and brought the issue of underage drinking to the forefront, Freeman 19-year-old Travis Langle was indicted last week on three counts of vehicular battery — each a class 4 felony — driving with a suspended license, and DWI. He faces up to 30 years in the state penitentiary and a $30,000 fine. 
Turner County State’s Attorney Jeff Cole said 29 others have been charged with misdemeanor crimes resulting in more than 200 criminal counts. 
The charges come in light of an early morning accident Feb. 28 involving Langle and three other FHS students returning to a beer party. Langle was traveling south on Turner County Road 15 — “the church road” — when he lost control of his 1993 Mustang. The car split a power pole in half on the west side of the road and continued down into a ravine known as the “Gulches.” Authorities say a very high rate of speed was involved. 
While there were no fatalities, two of the passengers, Jeanna Mulder and Tabitha Hofer, suffered serious internal injuries. Injuries to Langle and the fourth passenger, Alex Schmidt, were less serious. 
The accident spawned an intense investigation into the party being held that night, resulting in multiple charges against three adults — Timothy M. Waltner and Billy Meyer, both of Freeman, and Shane Rollag, Sioux Falls — said Colleen Dunn of the Turner County Clerk of Courts office.  
Dunn said each has been charged with 26 counts of furnishing alcohol to minors, 25 counts of contributing to juvenile delinquency, and two counts of furnishing alcohol to minors over the age of 18. Each charge is a class 1 misdemeanor and punishable by up to 30 days in county jail and a $1000 fine. 
Cole said 26 minors have been charged with underage consumption. 23 of those minors appeared in court Monday morning, May 17. 
Those appearing and pleading guilty were: Werner Christensen, Micah Graber, Kimberly Haeuszer, Kraig Henrichs, Tabitha Hofer, Jeanna Mulder, Alex Schmidt, Brent Schmidt, Trevor Schmidt and Angela Tyler. 
Those appearing and pleading not-guilty were: Amy Dangel, Clinton Dangel, Jami Dubs, Jason Mehlhaf, Jeff Neuharth, Ryan Pidde, Brett  Scherschligt, Josh Stahl, Dustin Tschetter, Kylea Tschetter, Courtney Wallman, Angela Waltner and Jennifer Waltner. 
The minors who pleaded not guilty are scheduled to appear in court June 30, Cole said. 
Langle is set to be arraigned on June 16. A trial date will be set then. 
  

Freeman to ease into all-day, everyday kindergarten 
Weighing the objections of an outspoken public minority against an administration who supported it fully, the Freeman Public School Board found a compromise on all-day, every day kindergarten. 
For more than ten years, Freeman kindergartners have been going to class all day, every other day. That will continue as the 1999-00 school year begins. 
In November, however — the second nine weeks of the year — kindergartners will begin attending class all day, every day. 
At its regular meeting May 10, the board voted to implement the program. Despite the recommendation from Elementary School Principal Laverne Diede to make the change at the start of the year, the board elected not to start requiring children to attend every day until the second nine weeks. 
The reason for the board’s decision to wait with the five-day-a-week regimen was heavily influenced by a number of outspoken parents voicing concern that implementing the program would not be in the best interest of the children. 
“I think all-day, every day — starting them out, bam — is too much,” one mother who has a child starting kindergarten in fall told the board. “I want him to go,” she said, “but I want him to go slow.” 
The idea of sending kindergartners to school every day was proposed by Diede at the board’s Feb. 8 meeting. She said the benefits of all-day, every day class, are numerous. And because of a projected small class size for the upcoming year — around 20 students — Diede said this would be an ideal year to pilot the program. 
The concept of all-day, every day kindergarten is relatively new across the country. A small number of schools around the country have already implemented the program. In South Dakota, only Sioux Falls Schools have run a pilot of it. 
“We’re pioneers in this,” Diede admitted. “We have nothing to go on. The only way to know,” she said, “is to get into it.” 
While the majority of people in the community who have registered their feelings appear to support the idea, there were a number of parents who voiced strong concerns at last week’s board meeting, and also at a special meeting for parents April 26. In an informal vote taken at that meeting, nine voted in favor of every day kindergarten, six voted against it, and three voted for it later in the year. 
Those opposed said that such a strict classroom schedule isn’t in the best interest of a child that age.  
Others spoke out, too, calling the first years “impressionable,” saying young children should spend as many days as possible in pre-school and at home with parents.  
Others raised the concern of presenting too much information to children who aren’t ready to absorb it all, and what happens if skills aren’t improved down the road as projected. 
The board and administration acknowledged the concerns, assuring those who had reservations that the best interest of the child was, in fact, at the heart of the discussion. 
“You have to trust that the administrators will do the best thing for your child,” Diede told the small group voicing concern at last week’s meeting. 
“We don’t want this to be a negative experience for your children,” she said. “We want it to be very positive.” 
“We don’t go any faster than our children can manage,” she said, “at any grade.” 
The board voted 4-1 to implement all-day, every day kindergarten. Steve Friesen was the no vote, acknowledging the value of time spent at home. 
An invitation 
The board received word that the FHS choir was invited to participate in a 250-voice concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. Freeman was one of only two schools in the state — Vermillion High School the other — to be honored with that request. The choir would join other selected choirs from across the Midwest to form the Upper Midwest Youth Chorale in the spring of 2000. 
The cost of sending the kids to New York would be upwards of $1000 per student, Superintendent Don Hotchkiss estimated. “It would take an aggressive plan to raise that kind of money,” he said. 
Hotchkiss said he has talked to local businessmen who said they would be willing to help with the expense, and Freeman Development Coordinator Sharon Schamber has been looking into matching grants from the state. 
But until the board gets a better feel as to whether or not the trip has support from the kids and parents, Hotchkiss said a decision is on hold. 
The track issue 
 The board discussed putting aside money to be used for the first phase of reconstruction of the track, which could begin this summer. 
 “We’re looking at a big sum of money,” Eva Olson said. “We need to save for the first phase.” 
The first phase of construction would involve raising and re-sloping the football field to improve drainage and changing the track from a 440-yard track to a 400-meter track. Olson encouraged the board to consider putting off purchases that aren’t absolutely necessary in order to save money for the track — a project she deemed “absolutely necessary.” 
“We don’t have much choice,” she said. “It might be an old fashioned idea to save, but some of those old fashioned ideas have a lot of common sense in them.” 
Hotchkiss hopes to be taking bids for the entire project this week. 
New uniforms 
The board elected to purchase new cheerleading uniforms, excluding shoes, and buy new ones on a six-year rotation, like they do with all other athletic uniforms. Each uniform costs around $200.  
“They deserve the same treatment as kids who are playing,” board member Steve Friesen said. 
In the past, the board had allotted $55 per uniform, and the girls paid the rest of the cost and then kept the uniforms. Beginning next year, the uniforms will be the property of the school. The board will buy 15 uniforms at $200 a piece, making the total cost around $2000. 
For a complete list of all action taken place at the May 10 meeting, please see the official board minutes printed on page 8. 
  

EDITORIAL 
City, school display responsible leadership 
By the timing of circumstance, the Freeman City Council and the Freeman Public School Board both find themselves facing one of the greatest challenges of representative government: balancing the best interests of a community with the sentiments of its residents. 
For the city, the issue manifests itself in the debate over curb and gutter.  
For the school, the issue grows out of the proposal to change the kindergarten schedule. 
Both relate to the prospect of improved service.  
One involves money.  
The other involves children. 
There are few issues which stir the passions of people more quickly than money and children. 
Both the city and the school have taken a responsible approach in exploring these issues and working toward resolution. They’ve been sensitive and open and up front about their intentions. 
The city spent a modest amount of money to discover the estimated cost of a comprehensive plan for curb and gutter throughout Freeman. When that project was translated to a per-landowner cost, initial public reaction was quick and vocal: it costs too much. 
The school raised the possibility of expanding all-day kindergarten from going every other day to every day. Parents of prospective students had questions and several voiced their objections: it’s pushing kids into school too quickly. 
There needs to be room for differences of opinion, shared information and open discussion. The school and the city have done that.  
Clearly the public has the right and the responsibility to speak and be heard on those issues. 
But the public also needs to recognize that an important role of the elected leadership is to lead. That means not only maintaining stability, but raising issues and proposing changes which strengthen the services and quality of life. 
Is curb and gutter essential? 
Is every day all-day kindergarten essential? 
Of course not. But in both cases, the issues deserve the attention they have received. 
The response of both the public and the community leadership is important. 
With overwhelming negative reaction — even though not a scientific vote — the city has backed off on the comprehensive plan for curb and gutter. It would, however, be a mistake if the issue dies. 
Clearly, there are areas of the city in which curb and gutter should be a priority. The main corridors through the city need to be upgraded — Sixth Street, for example — and curb and gutter should be given serious consideration. 
The city is right in upholding its role in providing leadership and direction, even when it may not have initial public support. 
The same holds true for the school board and administration. 
Pursuing the possibility of expanded kindergarten was a responsible act. It shows a willingness to look to the future and explore the potential. 
While an informal, non-binding poll shows a majority of the parents of future kindergartners are open to the change in schedule, it’s understandable that others have reservations. 
The board’s decision to try the measure later in the school year is a reasonable approach. It will add time and experience to the discussion and help determine the ultimate decision. 
While balancing its leadership role with the concerns of the people may, at times cause tension, it’s a healthy tension, for it displays both strong leadership and public involvement. 
As long as that remains in place, Freeman will continue to move forward with hope and promise. 
TIM L. WALTNER