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* * *Summing up 2020 - A Year to Forget

Binge watching.Zoom meetings.What day is it?Clean and organize.Wash those hands.Travel ban.Shop online.What’s your temp?Curbside pickup.Stay home.Wearing masks.Global pandemic.Home workouts.Flatten the curve.Hand sanitizer.Cruise nights.14-day quarantine.Survived the toilet paper shortage.Game nights.You Tube.Ticket cancelled.6’ Social distancing.

School Progress Report My daughter handed me her school progress report. Although it displayed a steady stream of positive check marks, there was one check mark standing dejectedly alone from the rest. “How am I doing, Mom?” my child asked with a level of maturity that did not match the small dishevelled person gazing up at me with smudged eyeglasses that teetered on the tip of her nose. With her small finger, she pointed to her teacher’s neatly printed words next to the lone check mark. It read: “Distracted in large groups.” But I already knew this. I knew this long before it was written on an official report card. Since she was a toddler, this child has offered astute observations of the world around her. After pointing out all the positives on the progress report, I told her what was written. Upon hearing the news, she gave a tiny, uncertain smile and shyly admitted, “I do look around a lot.” But before my child could feel one ounce of shame, one iota of failure, I came down on bended knee and looked her straight in the eye. I didn’t want her to just hear these words, I wanted her to feel them. This is what I said: “Yes. You do look around a lot. You noticed Sam sitting off by himself with a skinned knee on the field trip, and you comforted him.” “You noticed Banjo had a running nose, and the vet said it was a good thing we brought him in when we did.” “You noticed our waitress was working really hard and suggested we leave an extra good tip. You noticed Grandpa was walking slower than the rest of us so you waited for him.” “You notice the beautiful view every time we cross the bridge to go to swim practice.” “And you know what? I don’t ever want you to stop noticing because that is your gift. It is your gift that you give to the world.” As I watched my daughter beam with the glow of acceptance, I realized her approach to life had the power to change the world. You see, we are all just waiting for someone to notice—notice our pain, notice our scars, notice our fear, notice our joy, notice our triumphs, notice our courage. And the one who notices is a rare and beautiful gift.

~ Author Unknown

Face Time.Online school.Sports cancelled.Asymptomatic.Work from home.Front line heroes.Furloughs.The new normal.Daily briefings.Amazon deliveries.Plexiglass dividers.Remote learning.Essential workers.Stay in place.Ventilators.Drive by parades.Covid-19 tests.No hugs.Antibacterial wipes.Closed borders.Covid Vaccine.

Obituaries

$300 —Heart Helpers 4 H Club has donated $300 to the Platte-Geddes School to be used to help purchase signs for the Westerhuis Memorial at the P-G Foot-ball Complex. Pictured preresenting the check to P-G Supt. Joel Bailey, right, on behalf of the 4-H Club is Tanner Dyk. (Photo Courtesy of Roxane Dyk)

Memorial Services forPaul Meyerink Jan. 4 Paul Allen Meyerink, 50, of Platte, SD passed away Monday, December 28, 2020 in Platte. Memorial Services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Monday, January 4, 2021 at the Platte Christian Re-formed Church with Pastor Drew Hoeksema officiating A Private Family Committal Ser-vice will take place at Platte City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Paul’s honor may be directed to: Dakota Christian School, 37614 SD Hwy 44, Corsica, SD 57328. Mount Funeral Home of Platte is assisting with arrangements. The service will be live-streamed under “Photos and Videos” on our website, through “Mount Funeral Homes” Facebook page and at www.plattecrc.org. Expressions of sympathy may be extended to the family through mountfuneralhome.com.

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Sharon- Share-Alike…

By Sharon Huizenga

The Platte Enterprise, Platte, Charles Mix County, South DakotaPage Sixteen Thursday, December 31, 2020

CommunityCalendar

AA & Al-Anon meetings each Thursday, 8 p.m., Olive Presbyterian Church. P-B Band Boosters accept alu-minum can donations at the shed in P-G Elementary Parking Lot. Breast Cancer Support Group for women of all ages meets at Platte Health Center Basement Confer-ence Room 1 first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. No cards at Platte Senior Center until further notice. Fresh Hope, a support group for people who have a mental health diagnosis and/or their loved ones, are back to two meetings a month. Platte Public Library hours are 12:30 - 5:30 P.M Monday - Friday. Sewcial Club meets on first Mon-day of every month, starting at 9:30 a.m. Potluck noon lunch, show and tell following. Anyone welcome to come sew with us.

Helping Hands Community Pantry will be open Wednesdays, Dec. 30. Call 605-337-3701 or 605-207-0330 if you need to register. Those registered need to come to the pantry and will either receive groceries from the shelves or an al-ternative method will be provided

Platte Public Library Book Club will meet January 11 at 7 p.m. in the back room of the library. The book we will discuss is Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova. Everyone welcome.

Charles Mix Republican Central Committee will meet Monday, Jan 11, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. at Geddes Gro-cery Store. For more information call 337-3897.

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* * *Thank You

Thank you to all those who brought Christmas treats of all kinds, gift certificates, wine and more to the Enterprise office this holiday season. The meat and cheese and goodie trays, fresh fruit, homemade cookies and candy, truffles and even some homemade soup have been enjoyed by Zeke, myself and others who stopped by for a snack. We appreciate your kindness.

Severson ServiceJames and Haley Olson

Dennis, Rich, Mark, Brent, Jack, Ron

Lorraine Cable, Agent 502-2 Main AvePlatte, SD 57369 Bus: (605) 337-2407 lcable@amfam.com

American Family Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. & Its Operating Companies,American Family Insurance Company,6000 American Parkway, Madison, WI 53783 008897 – Rev. 1/19 ©2016 – 13477172

Cheers to a New YearAs I look back on this year, I’d like to thank the people of this

community for being such an enjoyable part of it.

We wish you a safe and prosperous year!

PLATTE YEAR END STORY…(Continued from Page One)

LEGALNOTICE TO BIDDERS

Notice is hereby given that the Board of County Commissioners of Charles Mix County, Lake Andes, South Dakota, will re-ceive bids in their room at the County Court-house, Lake Andes, South Dakota on January 14, 2021 for the following item needed to carry on County business for the 2021 fiscal year, March 1, 2021 to March 1, 2022. Bid Opening will begin at 10:00 a.m. Janu-ary 14, 2021: -Demolition of building on county proper-ty: The work consists of razing the existing structure 221 Main St, Geddes, SD (the old hotel), removing the building materials from the site, filling in the holes, if any, and work-ing the remaining soil on the site to a smooth and safe condition. Specifications and bidding blanks can be obtained at the Charles Mix County Auditors Office, 400 Main Street, Lake Andes, South Dakota 57356 or by calling (605) 487-7131

or email: ddavenport@charlesmixcounty.org. Each bid must be accompanied by a certi-fied check or a cashier’s draft in the amount of 5% of the bid, drawn on a South Dakota bank, or a 10% bid bond and certificate of liability insurance. The Board of County Commissioners reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids deemed to be in the best interest of Charles Mix County. All bids are to be mailed to the Charles Mix County Auditor, PO Box 490, Lake An-des, South Dakota 57356 and marked on the outside of a plain envelope stating that it is a “Demolition Project #21-1.” *All bids must be received by the County Auditor before the appointed time of 10:00 a.m. on January 14, 2021 for bid to be considered. Published twice at an approximate cost of $29.41.

(Dec. 31 & Jan. 7) ————————

Current Covid-19 Stats of Tuesday South Dakota was nearing the 100,000 mark in regards to positive Co-vid-19 cases since the pandemic started. On Tuesday there were 501 new cases bringing the state’s total case count to 98,158. Total recovered cases in the state were at 90,974. Active cases were up 5,738 and current hospitalizations were at 303. Total hospitalizations were at 5,605. Total persons negative was at 272,001. There were 890 new per-sons tested reported Tuesday for a tested positivity rate of 56%. Vaccine tracking is now also being reported by the state. As of Tuesday 9,875 doses of Pfizer vaccine and 4,924 doses of Moderna vaccine had been administered to 14,799 total persons. As of Tuesday there had been 1,098 cases in Charles Mix County with 70 currently active with 11 deaths. There had been 378 cases in Douglas County with 25 active. In Brule County there had been 626 cases with 13 active currently and Gregory County has had 482 cases with 17 active at 26 deaths. Aurora County had 410 positive with 20 currently active. Tripp County has had 620 cases with 20 active and Bon Homme County has had 1,472 cases with 39 currently active. Also as of Tuesday morning there had been right at 19.3 million cases in the United States to date and now over 335,000 deaths in the country due to Covid-19. Globally as of this Tuesday morning there had been right at 81.5 million cases with right at 1,779,189 million deaths in the world.

COVID-19 VACCINE— Platte Health Center employee Gwen Dean, right, re-ceives a Moderna COVID-19 vaccination at the Platte Medical Clinic Tuesday morning. Administering the vaccine was retired RN Deb Backes. (Enterprise Photos by Sharon Huizenga)

COVID-19 VACCINE— Platte Health Center RN April Veurink was a frontline healthcare worker who received a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Platte Medical Clinic from retired RN Wanda Johnson Tuesday.

winter wheat harvest got going last July here and had a lot of good yield reports. The haying season was also strong with timely rains. Ross and Dalton Ringling pur-chased Don’s Dust Control and started Ringling Dust Control here. The Platte Killer Tomato base-ball team won its first two games in District 5B Tourney play last July and was edged by Alexandria in the district title game. It was the first time the Tomatoes made their way to a district championship since 1992. Platte defeated Volga in the first-round at state before bowing out to the Renner Bullets 9-5 in the second-round to be eliminated. Melissa (Mounts) Johnson was named the new head volleyball coach here last fall taking over for Jill Kemnitz. Roxane Dyk was hired as the new upper elementary teacher at Platte Colony. After a “Return To Learn’ plan was adopted here school started on time last fall in August with total enrollment at exactly 500 here in grades K-12.

Elevator Celebrates 100 Years The Platte Farmers’ Elevator celebrated its 100 year in business anniversary here last August. Brad Pranger has been the manager since 2009. Bethel Lutheran Church cele-brated its 60th year anniversary here last August also. It was announced this past Sep-tember that the P-G School District would be receiving $225,000 in Coronavirus Relief Funds to cover expenses from Covid-19. P-G seniors Carly Reiser and Myles Kott were crowned queen and king at P-G homecoming and coronation festivities in September. The fall soybean harvest got roll-ing in full gear late September into October with many good yield re-ports mainly in the 50-60 bushel per acre range in the area. The P-G Black Panther foot-ball team just kept winnings all its games last fall to start the season. With soaring Covid-19 numbers the P-G School Board approved a mask mandate for grades 6-12 in the high school building at a special board meeting in October. The corn harvest also picked up in full gear during October, also with many good yield reports in the area.

Mask Mandate for P-G School The P-G School Board passed a motion approving a mask man-date for grades K-5 in the elemen-tary building at the regular October board meeting making masks man-datory district wide now as numbers continued to climb and climb. Pheasant hunters had a mixed bag of success this past fall in the area, but quite a few hunters did show up even with big Covid-19 numbers. The P-G High football team fin-ished the regular season at 8-0 and forged into the playoffs unbeaten. Also in October both the P-G boys’ and girls’ cross country teams advanced their entire teams to state action after the girls placed third and the boys second in the Region 3B Meet held in Platte. At state ac-tion freshman Katie Holter was the lone Black Panther to medal placing 22nd in the girls’ race. The P-G/AC/DC Cheer team fin-ished fourth out of 20 teams and the Dance team third at the State A Cheer and Dance Meet in Rapid City last October.P-G FB Team is State Champion The Black Panther football team steam rolled its way through the first three rounds of the playoffs last fall topping Bon Homme, Hanson and defending state champion Viborg/Hurley in the semi-finals to punch its ticket to the Dome for the first time in 28 years. The Black Pan-thers, of second-year Head Coach Bruce Hanson, capped off its unde-feated season at 12-0 after defeating Hamlin 42-12 in the Class 9AA title game at the Dome in Vermillion.

Joe Biden is President-Elect The General Election in early November was also big news as Joe Biden upended Donal Trump in the presidential election. More lo-cally Rocky Blare and Caleb Finck defeated Jessica Hegge of Platte to win seats in the S.D. House of Rep-resentatives. South Dakota voters also approved legalizing marijuana and medical marijuana along with sports wagering in Deadwood. Erin Tobin also won her bid in the Dis-trict 21 Senate race. Also last November the P-G High volleyball team saw its season come to an end falling to Corsica/Stickney in the Region 6B Tour-ney. The Black Panthers finished a strong comeback season with a 17-8 overall record under first-year Head Coach Melissa Johnson. Things continued to stay dry in the area this past fall with not a lot of precipitation. The month of No-vember brought in just .81 of mois-ture here as things are getting dry

Winter Sports Rolling All winter sports’ season got roll-ing here as of late and are getting off to rather solid starts. Then Platte Care Center (nursing home and Platte Medical Clinic also just started a major HVAC remodel/renovation project that is hoped to be finished by next May.

Now Showing!

Movies shown Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Admission: Adults $5.00Children 12 & Under $2.50

LyricTheatrePh. 337-2319 Platte, SDFor movie details go to www.plattesd.org

Wild Mountain Thyme

Rated PG-13