The SINGLE COPY $1.25 tax included USPS 349-720 Vol. 138M No. 40 www.themillerpress.com ller [email protected] Miller,P Hand County,ress SD 57362 Saturday, June 6, 2020 Drivers Ed shifts this summer John T. Page Drivers Ed teaches students the basics of driving. Students across the country sign up for this summer class to take a step towards independence. While Drivers Ed is still happening it looks different then it has before. This summer Drake Bachmei- er shoulders the responsibility of teaching Drivers Ed. Bachmei- er has been an educator for six years, but Drivers Ed is a fi rst for him. Excitement is something he has felt during the process of ed- ucating new drivers even though the pandemic has forced things Saturday to change. In order for students to com- plete the course, they must ac- June 6 complish two things. The fi rst Jan Kittelson| The Miller Press | June 6, 2020 is 30 hours of class time. The Sponsored by NOT EVEN COVID-19 could stop the primary election in Hand County. It looked a little diff erent than in years past. It was safe, sepa- teacher distributes these hours Hartman Constrution rate and very clean. The three poll workers Nan Donlin, Mary Simons and Derla Simons were separated by plexi-glass. Polling janitors however they see fi t. This means were employed by the county to make sure the areas were sanitized properly. Hand County had a 42.81 percent. class could be held in three mar- RI5HGoHOG athon ten hour sessions or thirty All Classes- Late Model, hour-long sessions. This summer /QFKsGF5WRGT5VQEM Bachmeier decided on fi ve hours /KFYGUV/QFKsGF a day three times a week. Nor- 5VTGGV5VQEM2WTG5VQEM mally classes are at the school in a traditional setting. This sum- Th e votes are in mer though, due to concerns -XQH7UL6WDWH/DWH0RGHO6HULHV over potential illnesses, the class John T. Page The incumbent U.S. Senator ceived the most votes in Hand 6SRQVRUHGE\+ROW5DQFK is being held over Google class- Primary election was held Mike Rounds won against his op- County. However, the race for room. Bachmeier holds virtu- June 2, 2020. It took place under ponent Scyller Borglum with a the State House encompasses all al lectures at eight a.m. on class the foreboding cloud of a glob- total of 560 votes across Hand of District 23. days and the students complete Pits and Grandstand al pandemic. However, this did County. Across District 23, Spen- class work through the digital open at 5 p.m. not halt the grand wheel of de- A similar situation unfurled cer Gosch received 3,107 votes, format. Having such a shift oc- Races begin at 7 p. m. mocracy. Hand County residents during the race for a spot in the Charlie Hoffman received 2,709, cur could potentially rattle the participated in several races and U.S. House of Representatives. Wangsness received 1,072 votes, 1300 3rd Ave. SE, Miller teacher and the students. How- the results of the community’s Dusty Johnson received an even and Watts received 755 votes. Pit Fee: $30 ever, according to Bachmeier, Grandstand: $15 Adults • choice of leadership are here for 600 Hand County votes while his Gosch and Hoffman will be “it’s been a lot smoother then I $7 Age 10-14 all to see. opponent, Liz Marty May, only heading to Pierre next year. would have imagined” and the For more information: received 147 Hand County votes. Robert (Jim) Eschenbaum, the YYYO[TCEGRCUUEQOOKNNGTEGPVTCNURGGFYC[ Hand County voter turnout students have done a good job was signifi cantly higher than the With the state vote also choosing incumbent District 4 Commis- keeping up. state average. Hand County beat Johnson, he will return to the sioner, received 11 more votes The second portion of the the state average of 28.22 per- House for another term. than his opponent Billy Jack (BJ) course is the actual driving. cent of registered voters showing The offi ce of District 23 State Hughes. Eschenbaum will re- The state never gave any spe- up to vote, while locally we had Senator will see Miller local turning to the position of District cifi c recommendations for how 42.82 percent vote. Bryan Breitling enter its ranks. 4 Commissioner. the six hours of required driving The democratic race for presi- Breitling received 2,215 votes The primary elections are fi n- for Drivers Ed is to be complet- dent held the names of both Jo- throughout all of District 23, or ished but the general election is ed. This leaves procedures up to seph Biden and Bernie Sanders 56 percent, while Larry Nielson still on the way. In November, each district. Miller School Dis- even though Sanders has al- received 1,769 votes, 44 percent. voters will return to the polls to trict decided to implement the ready dropped out of the race. Voters could choose two can- usher in the next wave of leader- driving portion despite the pan- Although no longer a viable op- didates for the House of Repre- ship. Many hope by then the CO- demic. Because of this decision, tion Sanders still managed to se- sentatives. The margins of vic- VID-19 crisis will be in the past, it is the second school district cure 28 votes in Hand County. tory were extremely tight with but even if it isn’t, democracy in South Dakota to implement Anniversary, 2 Biden, the presumptive nominee, the biggest gap being 67 votes. will prevail as we have so incred- the driving portion of Drivers c received 151 votes. Once tabulations fi nished, James ibly shown during this primary Wangsness and Kevin Watts re- election. E Drivers ed, 3 t a i Teacher Prospective: distance learning during COVID-19 This year has been a diffi cult one for face-to-face every day. I did not know what school districts in our country. Teachers to expect. t changed the entire way they practice their What were the fi rst few days like chang- craft in a matter of weeks. This rapid change ing your teaching format? caused a variety of emotions in many edu- It was very intimidating not knowing Bingo, 3 cators and one of the teachers at Miller Ele- what the best way was to present infor- mentary, Karen Gesinger, shared he thoughts mation to my students. At the beginning, on the experience. we started with paper packets and just re- How long have you been in education? viewed things. The students did an amazing Inside: I started teaching in August of 1991 in job getting their work in. Then we moved Top Stories 2 Polo, so this August I will be starting my to more online learning and it presented an- Classifi eds 8-9 twenty-ninth year. other challenge that I was not used to. I was Public Notices 10 When did you start teaching in Miller? worried how my students were going to be In 2004, I started teaching at the Miller- able to handle this type of education and Submitted | The Miller Press | June 6, 2020 dale Colony. I taught there for fi ve years and how would I be able to make sure they were KAREN GESINGER stands in front of the “home classroom” Inserts: then transferred to Miller Elementary School, learning everything I knew they would need. she created to teach English to students in China and Ace Hardware where I was assigned to the title program for What is something you wish you would eventually her 4th grade students in Miller one year and then started teaching 4th grade, have known looking back? and that is where I am today. I wish I would have known that March What is a negative aspectof distance Have you ever taught a distance class 13th would be the last time I would have my learning? Weather before? students in my classroom. I wish I would The biggest problem with distant learn- Date High Low Precip. I have been teaching online classes have had time to prepare them for what the ing is not having face-to-face contact with through VIPKID, which is an online educa- rest of our school year would be like. May 28 72 47 my students. We had class using Zoom, that tion company that allows me to teach stu- What is somethingyou see as a benefi t way we could at least see each other and so- May 29 71 46 dents in China. I am teaching them the Eng- of distance learning? cialize, but it wasn’t the same as having the May 30 75 33 lish language. I started doing this a year ago, In my opinion, I really do not see any students in my class. When the students had May 31 79 57 so I gained experience just in time! benefi ts of distance learning. I guess it made problems with an assignment, they could What were your feelings when you me become more resourceful since I had to not get immediate help like they were used June 1 95 64 found out the district was moving to dis- overcome challenges that I had never faced to. I am hoping things settle down and we June 2 85 61 tance learning? in my teaching career. I just need my stu- can start back in the classroom this fall. June 3 80 58 I was nervous about how I was going to dents in the classroom. educate my students without seeing them Top Stories www.themillerpress.com • Saturday, June 6, 2020 Submitted | The Miller Press | June 6, 2020 DELMAR AND PATTY FAWCETT CELEBRATE their 65th wedding anniversary with dinner by the window dur- ing the COVID 19 pandemic.