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Spring
Valley Blog |
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Photos of the interior of the new Spring Valley
Church
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Slideshow
on Photobucket
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Some Photos of Spring Valley after the Fire - Taken
by Sandra Swensen
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Slideshow
on Photobucket after the Fire
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Slideshow
on Photobucket of the Church after the Clean Up
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Jerome Edelman did not realize he had his phone camera set to video as he took pictures of the fire.
The result was the following videos
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Videos
of the Fire on Photobucket
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Slideshow
of Preparing for Construction - Photobucket
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Slideshow
of Groundbreaking - Photobucket
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Donation
List to the Wells Fargo Fund - Thank you to all who have been so
generous.
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Spring Valley Groundbreaking
On Sunday August 15, 2010, an outdoor service was held at Spring Valley. The weather was perfect as the congregation prepared to break ground for the construction of the new church.
It was one of the few days this summer that was not hot and muggy. Everyone brought lawn chairs, as we held Sunday’s worship on the church parking lot.
Randy Overgard brought the church bell to the site. Murray Westergaard rang the bell thus opening the day to worship. Troy Larsen led the congregation in music, Carol Jorgensen was reader for the day, and Melissa Johnson gave a children’s sermon on the foundation of the church.
The groundbreaking concluded the service. Gary Kropuenske welcomed everyone, gave an update on the building project, shared some personal thoughts about the new church, and then, greeted the Viborg Development Board, which presented Pastor Unzicker with a golden shovel.
The church council and building committee were called up front. Prayers were said, the ground was blessed, and three scoops of dirt were turned. With that, Pastor Unzicker made the declaration, “Let the building begin!”
Members from Our Savior’s were also present at the groundbreaking. In addition, the Our Savior’s Council set aside the time between services on Sunday August 22, to hold a coffee for Spring Valley in honor of the groundbreaking.
Decision on Contractor Is Finalized
On Monday evening August 16, 2010, the Spring Valley Council met with the architect Roger Hartmann to finalize the decision on the contractor who will build the church.
It was a long, painful, and difficult decision as they had two very good choices, and only one could be selected. Before the vote, Pastor Unzicker prayed for the council and their decision. The prayer called for the members to vote by each one’s conscious and to know that whatever the outcome, the hand of God was in the choice. President Kropuenske also emphasized that whatever the outcome, the council needs to leave the meeting unified. The vote resulted in choosing Peska Construction from Sioux Falls, which offered the best price for the church. Their completion date, weather permitting, will be February 1, 2011.
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Spring Valley Hires an Architect
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On June 3, 2010 after a meeting with the building
committee and church council, the vote was taken by the church council to
hire Roger Hartman as the architect. We now move on to the important phase
of having a stamped plan designed with specifications for the building.
After this, we will begin taking bids.
Roger G. Hartman, AIA
Hartman Architecture Inc.
604 South Gordon Dr.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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Spring Valley Congregation Decides on the Shape of
the Church
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At the congregational meeting held on Sunday May 23, the congregation voted to go with the design of a smaller long church facing north with the main door to the east.
The process now proceeds to having the design “redlined” for specifications and then sent to an architect for a stamped set of plans. With the stamped plans, we can then begin the bidding process. All bids will be held at Merchants State Bank in Viborg until the opening of the bids.
When one considers how far we have come since the fire in March, the pace and progress has been considerable. A dedicated building committee and church council have had a major roll in making things move so smoothly.
Occasionally, people have asked me what my preference for the church design. The truth is, it depended on the day I was asked. Sometimes I have said I wished for the old design, while other times I said I wished for the long design. In the end, the design did not matter to me. I would usually add to any comment I made by saying something such as, “I would prefer not to have to make a choice, as my preference is that we would still be in the old church.”
Like you, all I want is a pleasant setting in which to worship. I am convinced more than ever that with the church council, the building committee, and our congregation, we will have just such a place.
One also cannot minimize the support we have from Our Savior’s for hosting Spring Valley during this period.
Now we move on to the next phase; with God’s help, the months ahead hold much anticipation for us all.
Pastor Steve
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Spring Valley Building Committee
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On Tuesday April 13, 2010 a building committee was formed. The Church Council felt that the committee should not be too large, but representative of the church. It was decided that the committee would consist of five people with two alternates. The Pastor, council president and vice president would serve as non-voting, liaison members. The process involved a secret ballot of a list of names from people who volunteered and were nominated. After a couple of rounds of voting, the following names were put forth, and they agreed to serve. The Committee is: Wayne Larsen, Wayne Kost, Ed Wirth, Tammy Sorensen, and Charlene Overgard. Alternates are Faydra Christiansen, Murray Westergaard.
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Spring Valley Lutheran Church Votes to Rebuild
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On Sunday April 11, 2010, Spring Valley had a congregational meeting to decide if they wished to rebuild the church or not. The vote was unanimous to rebuild. The report from ATF has determined that the fire was electrical starting in one of the breaker boxes. A benefit account has been set up at the Wells Fargo Bank of Viborg. Donations may be made at any Wells Fargo bank.
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The Eyewitness Account of the First People to Call
in the Fire at Spring Valley
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At 8:55 a.m., Randy & Deanna Merryfield, who live
across the road from Spring Valley, were preparing to leave for Sioux Falls
the morning of the fire. While in their driveway, Deanna noticed what looked
like steam on the roof of the church. However, it aroused her suspicion
because it was not warm enough for the sun to be making steam from frost on
the roof. As they drove by the church, Deanna suggested to her husband that
perhaps they should stop just to see if everything was okay. They stopped in
the north parking lot, and Randy walked around the church to the back. As he
walked, he could see that the shades were melting. Then, he saw flames in
the building. Randy ran over to the car, and told Deanna that the church was
on fire. Just then, Deanna could see flames coming up on the roof of the
church. Randy and Deanna went immediately home and called 911. Deanna's call
was the first call to 911. The windows in the church were now gone, and from
her home, she could see a fireball roll through the church and expel from
it, and turned back onto the church. Then, there was thick, black smoke
coming from the church. Mr. and Mrs. Merryfield were impressed with the
speed of the fire department's arrival at the scene. However, even with the
quick arrival, it was clearly too late to save the church.
One thing that Deanna said she will never forget is
later that evening when they stopped by the church. Everything was ruined,
smoldering, charred, and
destroyed. However, in the kitchen there were about three coffee cups just
sitting there and they were not damaged in any way. She found it surprising
that the fire, which was so hot and destructive would somehow leave a few
coffee cups unscathed.
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