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Groton Daily Independent
Saturday, Nov. 114, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 125 ~ 18 of 66
and a retractable wooden bleacher were included in the sale.
The auction came after the school’s request to have the equipment donated to its gymnasium failed to
receive a unanimous vote of support from the Pennington County Board of Commissioners. Donations of surplus county property must be approved unanimously. The board member who voted against the donation, Commissioner George Ferebee, opined that other area organizations should have the same op- portunity to acquire the equipment.
At the auction a few weeks after that decision, St. Paul’s School board member Mel Preble placed the winning $5 bid after another man — who supported the failed donation effort and said he wanted to be sure there were two bids — opened the bidding at $1.
In this case, the money was an afterthought.
“It wasn’t as simple as paying $5 and getting a oor,” Stephen Gurgel, principal of St. Paul’s Lutheran School, told the Rapid City Journal . “Not only was it $5, but it was the labor. They were going to junk the oor because there was so much expense trying to take it out piece by piece. I think that’s what weeded out a lot of people in the process.”
The true price was paid by dozens of volunteers and, by Gurgel’s estimation, more than 1,000 hours of volunteer time. Overall, it cost the school about $20,000 to install, sand, polish, paint and treat the wooden ooring. Previously, the school’s gym oor was a simple, unforgiving and slick concrete surface. Gurgel said it would have likely cost the school more than $100,000 to install the oor he now stood atop, a long-term goal that was unlikely to be accomplished for 10 to 15 years.
Instead, with the help of volunteers, it took 18 months. In August, the school unveiled the new gymna- sium oor to school and churchgoers.
“As the school board and church council discussed it there was a lot of hesitation just because we knew how much work it was going to take,” Gurgel said last week as he stood atop the oor, the scent of fresh polish and wood treatment still palpable.
“We really appreciate our volunteers, but we don’t want to overwork them, too. You could tell we were tired when we were done. We were all tired.”
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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
Future uncertain for Sioux Falls Arena By JOE SNEVE, Argus Leader
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The plain metal dome on Sioux Falls’ northern skyline isn’t as ashy as the stars that have performed under its roof — icons from Cher and Bob Dylan to Kiss and Metallica.
Today, the marquee names have moved next door to the Denny Sanford Premier Center, but the Sioux Falls Arena still sees regular use, hosting basketball games, the El Riad Shrine Circus and dozens of trade shows each year.
But the civic venue’s future is in question as it faces major repairs and questions about whether it of- fers the type of space that’s most needed to draw large events to the city. City of cials will likely have to make a decision in the coming year about whether to restore, renovate or rebuild on the site of the storied building.
When it was built in 1961 for the price of $1.4 million, the arena was billed as a “majestic mountain of concrete, steel, bricks and blocks.” The 30,000-square-foot venue has hosted thousands of concerts, sporting events and conventions since then.
Elvis Presley performed there twice, the second time marking his second to last concert ever. And blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan performed there just a few months before he died in a helicopter crash two states to the east.
At one time it was a statewide destination for “State Bs” basketball tournaments, luring thousands of rural South Dakotans to Sioux Falls each year.
“I’d say we got our money’s worth,” said Terry Torkildson, general manager of the company that man-