Chamber Orchestra to celebrate Mozart’s birthday in LuverneThe South Dakota Symphony’s Chamber Orchestra will perform a special tribute to Mozart on Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Palace Theatre.The tribute will come two days after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 250th birthday.According to the South Dakota Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra is comprised of 25 to 30 professional musicians drawn from the 85-member South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.The featured musicians will include John Tomkins, bassoon, Doosook Kim, violin, and Chris Hill, clarinet.The orchestra is conducted by Delta David Gier.Gier served as an assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic for seven seasons and more recently for the Metropolitan Opera.As well as offering a more intimate experience than the full orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra is better suited for smaller venues, such as the Palace Theatre.Tickets, which are $10 for adults and $5 for students, are available at the Luverne Chamber of Commerce, Carnegie Cultural Center the Palace Theatre, the Luverne Style Shop or the Luverne High School band room.Sioux Valley Energy looks for nominationsSioux Valley Energy members living in Rock and Pipestone counties must file a nominating petition within 60 days if they are interested in filing for a position on the eleven-person board.Two of the three people up for reelection this year serve parts of Rock County.Eunice Bartels, District 10, serves southern Pipestone County and northern Rock County and Gary Drost, District 11, serves southern Rock County.Bartels is vice-president and serves on the boards of L&O Power Cooperative and the Mid-West Electric Consumers Association.Drost currently chairs the Sioux Valley Wireless board. He also serves on the boards of L&O Power and Basis Electric Power.Jan Bobendrier, District 9, serving northern Pipestone County, is also up for reelection.If you are interested in filing for one of the Rock County positions, the deadline for District 11 is Jan. 23, and District 10 is Feb. 6.The petition forms are available at Sioux Valley offices in Pipestone, Brandon and Colman.You may also contact them at 800-234-1960 or at P.O. Box 216, Colman, SD 57017.Forms are also available on the Internet at www.siouxvalleyenergy.com.Have your kids been driving around using their cell phones lately?One of the new laws that took effect on Jan. 1st applies to nearly 400,000 Minnesota drivers with learning permits or provisional licenses.A provisional license is a license held by a 16- to 18-year-old until the driver has completed one year of violation-free driving.Drivers who fall into that category are now taking a chance getting a fine or a delay in becoming fully licensed drivers if they are caught using their cell phones while driving, except in the case of emergencies.Both hand-held and hands-free phones are included in the law.Lawmakers enacted the law because of findings which indicate that inexperienced drivers are more vulnerable to distraction than more experienced drivers.Although the fine could be as much as $1000 and 90 days in jail, the more likely penalty will be a delay in getting your full license and a fine which will usually run about $100.Minnesota is the eighth state to enact the new law.According to lawmakers sponsoring the bill, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in Minnesota and the nation.16-year-olds also have a 300 percent higher accident rate than 20- and 21-year-old drivers.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com
