Sioux Falls church members look to build rehab center in Ukraine
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A church in Sioux Falls is once again stepping up to help people suffering from the war in Ukraine. After raising almost 150 thousand dollars in earlier efforts, Westminster Presbyterian Church is joining forces with a longtime Ukrainian partner to support wounded soldiers still fighting on the front lines.
Jamie Smith to make announcement Saturday
For 15 years, the Ukrainian Church of Sioux Falls shared its home with Westminster Presbyterian. A bond built between congregations — one rooted in faith, friendship, and a shared sense of mission.
'Their prayers are deep, their tears are deep, their spirit is authenticsaid Valerie Putnam, a retired pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church who is helping organize the fundraiser.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, that bond turned into action and a fundraiser to provide aid to families who had lost their primary breadwinners to the war.
'The Ukrainian members all took all of their jewelry, their gold, and everything and sold it, and collected everything they could, but the congregation they helped take it on,' said Putnam.
The two churches reached out to the community, raising 140 thousand dollars,Now, they are ready to help again, this time to support a new relief center for wounded soldiers. As government resources stretch thin, churches in Ukraine have stepped up to fill in the gaps. Jim Holbeck, a church member, went to Ukraine to see the project for himself.
'The church here in Sioux Falls is working with building a center for these soldiers to be able to come to, and their families to come to, and to work through all of the problems from their physical ailments, also to the mental ailments,' Holbeck.
The new campaign hopes to raise enough money to fund medical supplies, rehabilitation services, and emotional support for soldiers returning from the front lines.Holbeck, a former school superintendent and church member, says seeing and talking with Ukrainians himself was life-changing.
'I'd say, what would you like to say to the American people if you could. The most common answer that came back was, Don't forget us, please keep supporting us. It's not just whether you send weapons, it's be on our side and support us for all we are going through,' said Holbeck.
As they fight for their freedom, much like Americans did almost 250 years ago.https://secure.myvanco.com/YPP1/homehttps://westminster-pres.org/content/welcome.html
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Such a complaint, the attorney said, could prompt an investigation and have a "chilling effect on foreign competitors," recalled avocado farmer John Cornell, then a board member. But the avocado commission never took action. Writing in the commission's "From the Grove" publication in 2023, the board's then-chairman, Rob Grether, derided what he termed "fanciful fixes for foreign fruit flow." The California avocado industry's retail and food-service partners would oppose such efforts, he wrote. Kachuck was incredulous: "There was so much information about malfeasance in the Mexican avocado industry." Complicating matters were competing interests. Though many California growers complained about Mexican imports, some of their peers had avocado groves or related businesses in Mexico too. Other issues pitted farmers in the north — Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties — against those south in San Diego and Riverside. This all came to a head when Growing Coachella Valley, a nonprofit advocacy group, asked the commission in 2021 to support California legislation that sought to hold imported agriculture to state health and environmental standards. But the commission's board never even voted on whether to support the legislation. According to minutes from a board meeting, a staff member said he and legal counsel determined that AB 710 was not in the commission's "best interest" in part because it would put the group in "a precarious position" with important retailers. Kachuck fumed. In February 2024, he called out the commission's board of directors at its meeting in Oxnard: "You betrayed my trust, that of our avocado growing community, and as well that of the American consumer." The California Avocado Commission did not respond to multiple interview requests; instead, a staff member referred The Times to minutes from its board meetings. Kachuck's comments at the Oxnard meeting galvanized a loose coalition of other unhappy growers, most of them in the San Diego area. They decided to fight the issue through the 2024 board election, with six seats up for grabs on a body composed of 20 members and alternates. Kachuck believed the election presented a realistic opportunity to shake up the commission. He sent out mailers and posted a get-out-the-vote appeal on the website of American Avocado Farmers, a group he and other growers formed last year. But only 14% of eligible voters cast ballots, Kachuck said, and just one of the candidates he and a handful of like-minded farmers had backed was elected. "It's awful," he said. "I'm spending money I don't have — it's borrowed money. At this point I am 80% through my retirement account." Kachuck's failure at the ballot box may stem in part from the geographical divide. 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Kachuck pivoted to a new strategy in the meantime: In February, he and three other farmers sued Fresh Del Monte Produce, Calavo Growers and Mission Produce in federal court, alleging they violated the California Business and Professions Code by falsely marketing their avocados as "sustainably and responsibly sourced" when they actually come from Mexican orchards planted on deforested land. Jennifer Church, attorney for the plaintiffs, said that the case "is really about the American public being misled to the detriment of our local farmers." Fresh Del Monte, Calavo and Mission did not respond to requests for comment. But this month the companies filed a joint motion to dismiss the growers' lawsuit, arguing in part that the challenged statements are typical "corporate puffery," a legal term for exaggerated marketing claims that may not be objectively factual but are generally permissible. The fight over California's avocado industry has become Kachuck's focus — to the detriment of other pursuits. There are things he wishes he could work on, like cultivating the Reed avocado, a little-known variety that's about the size and shape of a grapefruit. "It's the most luscious, creamy, large and delicious avocado I've ever tasted," he said. He maintains 50 Reed trees, but doesn't sell the fruit, instead giving it away to friends and family. The Reed, Kachuck said, spoils quickly after being picked, but could be made hardier via genetic intervention, such as cross-breeding. Kachuck was in his element showing off the Reed trees during a visit to ACA Groves, taking obvious pleasure in the ranch's pastoral tableau. He crunched across alluvial soil in scuffed sneakers. A gust of wind turned an avocado tree into a viridescent blur. "I would love to concentrate on making a better avocado for us," Kachuck said. He noted that Reed avocados have something unique going for them: They are not commercially grown in Mexico. At least not yet. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
