Thursday,  Jan. 23, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 191 • 4 of 25

(Continued from page 3)

owner coming to claim a very large percentage of the dollars has already been factored into the revenue estimates.
• The State of the Judiciary speech by Chief Justice Gilbertson updated legislators on the progress made with the Criminal Justice Initiative passed last year.  It will continue to grow and provide for alternative sentencing, drug courts, and put more emphasis on rehabilitation.  Hopefully this will avoid the need for us to build another prison, and, even more important, help many people with addiction problems live a better life.  Justice Gilbertson, who practiced in Sisseton before his appointment, gave us a
proud Legislative District One moment by honoring in his speech former Judge Mildred Ramynke (from Peever), first woman judge in South Dakota . She passed away in the last year.
The first debate of the session in the House wasn't over a bill, but a resolution, HCR2. Its title was: "Recognizing the teacher shortage in this state and the difficulties school districts in South Dakota face in attracting and retaining qualified teachers." It was the product of a summer study committee on education.  The committee had been instructed by the Executive Board of the Legislature not to bring any proposals that had to do with the need for additional education funding, so they brought

(Continued on page 5)

© 2013 Groton Daily Independent • To send correspondence, click here.