The Advent season will soon be arriving and several events will be occurring. Starting off the celebration is the annual Christmas Concert, “Good News from Home” on Sunday, Nov. 18 at the Woonsocket Community Center. The Community Choir will perform this inspiring concert. There is no charge for the concert, but people are encouraged to bring non-perishable items for the Sanborn County Food Pantry. Following the concert will be a potluck meal. Everyone is invited to attend these great activities.

The Community Choir will perform again on Monday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at Prairie View Healthcare Community in Woonsocket.

The Sanborn County Courthouse is hosting “The Parade of Trees.” County residents, organizations and businesses are invited to bring an artificial tree (no lights) to the courthouse and decorate it in their own style. There is no particular theme, just use good taste. The public will be invited to vote on a “favorite” tree that will be honored and receive a small token of appreciation and an award.

Let the courthouse know of your intentions to bring a tree by Nov. 21 so plans can be made to accommodate everybody. Call Lynn Brueske at 796-4516 or Diane Larson at 796-4513 to let them know, or if you have any questions.

The trees should be in place between Nov. 26 and Dec. 14 and remain until after the New Year. Trees need to be removed by Jan. 4, if possible. The trees can be viewed any weekday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during courthouse business hours.

As this is a county courthouse, they would like countywide support. Everyone is invited to come enjoy this great display!

There will be an open house at the courthouse on Friday, Dec. 14 from 1-4:30 p.m. with the courthouse employees serving coffee, cookies, bars and cider. Santa will be present at the open house between 3-4:30 p.m. There will be a scavenger hunt for fun with county trivia and such.

Another yearly county tradition includes residents decorating their homes and businesses with lights, signs, and more to brighten the season. Let’s make the season in Sanborn County festive.

At this time each year, the Sanborn County Food Pantry is required to send a report to the Rural Office of Community Services (ROCS). The report covers the time frame of Oct. 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018 and is nothing short of outstanding.

According to Lynn Brueske, co-administrator for the Sanborn County Food Pantry, the county’s pantry operates solely on volunteerism and donations. It was started over 40 years ago to help families in need during the Christmas holiday and has blossomed into having a truckload of food come to the county once a month for nine months out of the year to give to anyone who may need some help supplementing their groceries to get through each month. The only months they don’t have monthly provisions is January, July and August. During the past reporting year, the Sanborn County Food Pantry has helped 910 families, which includes 2,343 people, and that’s just in the nine monthly giveaways. 

…Read on in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal.

On behalf of the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance and the SDML Workers’ Compensation Fund, the employees of Sanborn County Highway received Gold and Platinum Level Loss Control/Safety Achievement Awards at the annual South Dakota Association of County Officials Conference in Pierre on Sept. 11. This award honors the employees for their efforts in protecting the assets of Sanborn County Highway by making the workplace safer for employees, reducing liability exposures and saving the taxpayers’ dollars, through loss control.

Sanborn County Highway received Gold and Platinum Level Awards and was one of thirty-four entities recognized for their loss control/safety efforts. This was the fourth time they received an award.