In case you have not yet heard, Pete got a call at 4:30 Sunday morning from the Sheriff’s department; someone had vandalized the Groove bus and Groove Offices. They broke just about every piece of glass on the bus and emptied the bus fire extinguisher inside the bus. They then broke one of the windows in the armory and entered. They found the extinguishers inside and emptied them in the Groove office, Room 9, the bathrooms, and the large open area. There was some surveillance video from the large open area. You can’t make out the faces, but it was 2 younger individuals.
Unfortunately the Summerline group could not make make the parade in St Clair, MN, on Sunday. Instead approximately 25 parents, staff, and members showed up Sunday afternoon to take the broken glass out of the bus and clean up the offices in the Armory. Most of the contents of Room 9 was taken outside and blown off with an air compressor. There was no damage to any of the drum equipment and “Room 9″ finally got the cleaning it has needed for some time now. (click here to see pics before & after the cleanup.)
More good news: Pete was able to get replacement side glass, windshield, and 2 rear windows from the original owner of the bus, all of which was donated! On Monday, several volunteers removed the old caulking, and Tuesday morning Dean and Pete put in all of the side glass. Tuesday some of the Summerline parents scrub cleaned the inside of the bus, and tomorrow we will have the windshield and rear glass professionally installed. The bus will be ready to go to Sioux City this Friday! What at first seemed to be impossible has been made possible. All through the generous volunteer time of several individuals.
A special thanks to Dean Marty for spearheading the replacement effort.
The Beat Goes On!!!
Leon & Pete
Pete got a call at 4:30 this morning from the Sheriff’s Department. Someone vandalized the Groove bus and Groove Offices. They broke the windows and windshield of the bus and windows in the Armory. At this point it doesn’t appear that anything is missing, but that will be more closely assessed this afternoon after things get cleaned up and secured.
If you have any information that might help identify the individuals who committed this senseless crime, please call Pete Hansen — 605-376-9581 or the Sioux Falls Police Department. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the Police through the Crime Stoppers of the Sioux Empire website; www.crimestopperssiouxempire.com.
Update: A special THANK-YOU to all who could come and help clean up today. I don’t think any of us was prepared for the dusty mess that a fire extinguisher can make. Pete has a good lead on windows from the bus company in Pipestone that originally had the bus, so if all goes well it will be ready to go by Friday night. If not, we will go with Plan B: use a church bus that Pete has lined up, or Plan C: carpool and take just the trailer. We will not let this setback keep us down.
Leon Stoel & Pete Hanson
Here is the schedule for the 2011 Groove Inc. Summerline Tour! Come and check out this year’s all-new “Out of Africa” theme, and cheer on our rock stars!
| June 18th |
Candy Hat Daze |
Canby, MN |
3:00pm |
|
| June 25th |
Watertower Festival |
Pipestone, MN |
10am |
Stand up after in the park |
| June 25th |
Western Fest |
Granite Falls, MN |
1:00pm |
Stand up after at the Fire House |
| June 26th |
St. Clair Days (Sunday) |
St Clair, MN |
12:00pm |
Stand up after parade |
| July 1st |
The Big Parade |
Sioux City, IA |
6:45pm |
|
| July 4th |
Westward Ho |
Sioux Falls, SD |
|
|
| July 9th |
Watercade |
Litchfield, MN |
6:00 pm |
|
| July 16th |
Race Days |
Jackson, MN |
3:33 pm |
|
| July 16th |
Summer Festival |
Welcome, MN |
4:00pm |
|
| July 23rd |
Truman Days |
Truman, MN |
5:00 pm |
|
| July 30th |
Corn Capital Days |
Olivia, MN |
3:00 pm |
|
| July 31st |
Waterama |
Glenwood, MN |
1:00 pm |
|
On May 7th we will have our annual planning session, and elect members for the board of directors for the next year. If any Farsight members or parents/grandparents/guardians of Groove members are interested in serving to continue the great tradition of Groove Inc. either as a board member or a committee member, I strongly encourage you to attend this meeting. Our organization runs on the volunteer efforts of the parents, and we need your help to ensure this great organization continues to thrive and grow. If you saw things we could do better, now is your chance to make a difference! Come join the fun! Your kids will notice and appreciate it (even if they don’t admit it!).
Our meeting will be held in the Ballroom of the Carpenter Hotel Building, downtown Sioux Falls, starting at 8:00 am with a short (hopefully) board meeting, then the annual planning session where we will map out the course for the organization for the next year, including electing some new board members. We expect to finish around noon. There will be some light breakfast snacks available (feel free to contribute something yourself if you wish). If you would like more info, or more specific directions, feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Paul Dyke,
President (for the time being!), Groove Inc.
Click here to email Paul
