Once again, schools have become the target of a TikTok Challenge and not in a good way. Last year the school’s experienced strains of vandalism as students were challenged to photograph or video themselves vandalizing school property. The new challenge – “swatting” – goes even further. Swatting is when a person makes a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address. On Thursday, Oct. 13 at least five schools were targeted – Watertown High School, Brookings High School, Mitchell Senior High School, Rapid City High School and Lincoln High School (in Sioux Falls). Because of these prank calls, law enforcement officials surrounded and swept through the school while students were told to shelter-in-place. During the week of Oct. 3, over two dozen schools in South Carolina also faced the same issue. While the immediate school districts haven’t been impacted, it’s still a cause for concern. “I am aware that this has been occurring,” Dakota Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonia Warzecha said. “We have an updated safety guide in place, and we will implement those protocols should this occur at Dakota Valley.” “At this time it has not impacted the EPJ district,” Elk Point-Jefferson Superintendent Philip Schonebaum said. “If it were to happen we would stick to previous trainings on intruder/ other items. Swatting is a serious crime and a perpetrator, if caught, can face jail time. The local authorities are aware of this harmful TikTok craze. I believe that the best defense for these types of things is education, from parents and school districts, on proper uses of social media.”

The latest Fire Loss in the U.S. report released by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) shows the largest number of home fire deaths since 2007, ref lecting a 14-year high. According to the report, people are more likely to die in a reported home fire today than in 1980. These statistics underscore a concerning trend: While the number of U.S. home fires has continued to decline over time, the home fire death rate has stagnated in recent years, with annual spikes like the most recent one seen in 2021.

U.S. Sen.

The 2023 South Dakota State Park annual entrance licenses are now available. If you don’t have a current entrance license, it’s a great opportunity to buy now for over 19 months of access for just $36. The 2023 licenses are valid now until May 19, 2024.

Beginning Oct. 3, students may apply to South Dakota’s public universities and colleges free of charge through November. During the free application period, the South Dakota Board of Regents (BOR) encourages South Dakota high school students to explore and apply to any of the participating post-secondary schools.

The third grade classes at Dakota Valley have been extremely busy the past two weeks as they went on field trips to the IBP Ice Center and to Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve. On Wednesday, Sept.

THOUGHTS FROM SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS October is National Cyber Security Month and this is a great time to share some useful information in protecting your digital presence. Phishing is the number one cause for compromised accounts and has seen a significant increase.

It was a long day for the Union County Board of County Commissioners with a packed agenda Tuesday, Oct. 4. After a brief executive session for personnel matters, the board reconvened and appointed Sherri Bousquet as the Interim Director of Equalization through Nov. 30. In another personnel matter, except this time in open session, Union County State’s Attorney Jerry Miller discussed his position and salary with the commissioners. He presented multiple charts regarding what other like counties are paying their state’s attorney. Based off his calculations and charts presented to the board, Miller is making less than all the other state’s attorneys. He showed, through his information, that there are some state’s attorneys that have less longevity than he does and are making way more than him.

The Dakota Valley Art Club was presented with a service project by North Sioux City City Administrator Eric Christensen – paint the city’s barricades. The club agreed and the city moved the barricades to the school parking lot for safety reasons.

The North Sioux City City Council started their Oct. 3 meeting with a 15-minute executive session and reconvened without a motion. Unlike the last few meetings that had standing room only, there were only a couple of people in attendance.