The Greater Hoyt School Board is asking residents of both the Greater Hoyt School District and Akron-Westfield School District to write, call and/or email South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds -- asking him NOT to sign South Dakota House Bill 1082. This bill forces all South Dakota school districts with less than 100 students to consolidate with an adjoining school district. Across South Dakota, 675 students would be affected by this law - 61 from Greater Hoyt. If Gov. Mike Rounds signs the bill into law, Greater Hoyt and 12 other school districts would have two years to develop a consolidation plan with another South Dakota school district. Board President Greg Heeren broke the news to his school board at their meeting Monday night. Originally, Heeren thought they would be excluded from this law because of their contractual agreement with the Akron-Westfield School District. However, just before the meeting, A-W Superintendent Ron Flynn informed him that wasn't so. Board members are hoping a letter-writing, emailing and phone-calling campaign from the people in the two school districts will sway the governor from signing the bill into law. According to Heeren,

the governor was initially opposed to this bill. If it becomes law, Akron-Westfield would lose not only the 61 Greater Hoyt students but almost half a million dollars in revenue annually. “There are a couple of schools along side of us, their mouths are watering,” said Heeren. The number of A-W employees would also decrease, said Heeren, which could also lead to the loss of more students. “This really could happen,” said Board Member Lynn Johnson as the board members sat in stunned silence. “Anybody who can, will move (to Iowa),” he added. It would be the end of Greater Hoyt School District, said Johnson. No one knew if Greater Hoyt's three-year contract with Akron-Westfield that

was just signed would be terminated if the bill became law. “It doesn't mean we are done,” said Heeren, adding they could choose to file suit. “We're not done by a long shot.” The Greater Hoyt Board may decide to call a special meeting for its residents.

This year marks Akron's 125th anniversary, and the celebration will be held Thursday through Sunday, August 9, 10, 11 and 12. The Quasquicentennial Committee is planning something for everyone, starting with the opening ceremonies on Thursday night. Things will kick off with the opening of the time capsule that was buried in at the culmination of Akron's Centennial celebration in

1982. That event will be followed by a program containing songs and snippets from past Akron Community Theater productions. The original actors and actresses will be used when possible. Things really will pick up on Friday, starting with a golf tournament. The Akron Chamber plans to have a Crazy Days on main street, and the Red Hat Mamas are planning fashion show featuring styles from past years. The Beef Producers will have a feed for the public late Friday afternoon. Events

planned for Friday evening include a Demolition Derby and a Senior Citizen dance. It will get even busier on Saturday. The schedule for that day includes a Fun Run, a 3-on-3- basketball tournament, and kids' games in the park. And that's just the morning activities. A kid's parade will be held Saturday afternoon, prior to the main parade. A buffalo feed will begin later in the afternoon. A comedian-hypnotist will perform at the school early in the evening. Then it's downtown for more fun.

Topdown, a Sioux City band that features the talents of Akron native Amy Harris Schnell will play for the street dance. We haven't forgotten about the teenagers and pre-teens either. There will be games and other entertainment for them in the Akron Bowl during this time. A community church service will be held in the park on Sunday morning. A community photo will be taken after the church service. A waffle brunch will follow. There is a Show 'n' Shine planned for Sunday afternoon. People will be able to show off their cars, motorcycles and tractors during this event. A nature walk is planned for Sunday afternoon, and an ice cream social will be held, complete with local musical entertainment in the gazebo. Closing ceremonies – and burial of the next time capsule – will conclude the celebration late Sunday afternoon. There also has been interest shown in having a tractor pull. If that materializes, it will be held Sunday evening. The Quasquicentennial planning committee includes: Marcene Heeren, Tom Schroeder, Mary Bartels, Sharyl Black, Harold Higman Jr., Travis Hoffer, Sherri McKee, Debbie McPherson and Warren Thompson. Several people have already agreed to serve as committee chairpersons. Their names will be listed in weeks to come. It takes a lot of people to make an event like this successful, and more people are going to be needed. Anyone reading this who would like to help in some manner is asked to contact any of the committee members.