Custer County Chronicle

This year’s burn attended by 2,000, more view it online

Published by admin on Thu, 01/26/2023 - 1:26pm

The 10th annual Burning Beetle, held Saturday, Jan. 21, was one for the record books. And while it had many participants and has undergone some new additions, there’s one thing that remained the same: the spirit of community.
“I could really feel the community support and excitement at this year’s event,” said Carrie Moore, one of the Burning Beetle organizers. “Whether I was at the variety show, in the march or up on Pageant Hill, there was so much joy and laughter from locals and visitors alike.”

City eyes 4th Street bridge

Published by admin on Thu, 01/26/2023 - 1:24pm

The Custer City Council at its Jan. 10 meeting unanimously approved amending its professional services agreement with Brosz Engineering for design services for future replacement of the South 4th Street Bridge.

Kenneth Hargens interviews for SDPB

Published by admin on Thu, 01/26/2023 - 1:22pm

Filmmaker Brad Dumke is working with South Dakota Public Broadcasting on film about South Dakota’s first poet laureate, Badger Clark. Dumke was in Custer on Thursday Jan. 19, to interview long-time Custer resident Kenneth Hargens about his recollections of Clark from when he was a young boy.

Visitor spending sets another record

Published by admin on Thu, 01/26/2023 - 1:20pm

Visitor spending in South Dakota set an all-time record in 2022.
Tourism officials were closely monitoring the 2022 numbers following the extreme record-setting year of 2021. According to the annual study conducted by Tourism Economics, visitors to South Dakota spent 4.7 billion dollars, an increase of 8 percent over 2021. This surpasses all previous records, even exceeding 2021’s surge of travel spending that was up 30 percent over 2020.
South Dakota welcomed 14.4 million visitors, an increase of 0.6 percent over 2021.

CHS performs one-act play ‘Drift’

Published by admin on Thu, 01/26/2023 - 1:20pm

The Custer High School drama department gave a moving performance of thier one-act play Drift by Dennis Bush Monday night. The play is very character-driven and follows the stories of 11 homeless people as they find hope and meaning for their lives while navigating the struggles of living on the streets of the Theatre District in New York City.

Annual Burning Beetle is Saturday

Published by admin on Thu, 01/19/2023 - 10:40am

For a decade, hundreds have marched — torches in hand — chanting the familiar phrase, “Burn, Beetle, Burn!” This year’s Burning Beetle will be held Saturday, Jan. 21, and is packed full of fun, art and community spirit.
Eleven years ago, the Burning Beetle was created to help the Custer community and the Black Hills come to grips with a beetle pandemic. While this is the 11th year of celebrating the event, this is the 10th year the beetle effigy has been annually torched.

School board opposes standards

Published by admin on Thu, 01/19/2023 - 10:37am

Current and retired Custer School District teachers came out in droves to last Monday’s Custer School District Board of Education meeting to express their disapproval of proposed new social studies standards for the state. The district’s curriculum director, Nora Smolnisky, presented an overview of the standards. The board passed a resolution during that same meeting in opposition to the standards.

Hermosa man pleads guilty to cybercrime

Published by admin on Thu, 01/19/2023 - 10:37am

Last Friday morning Hermosa resident Jason Ford pleaded guilty to one felony count of unlawful use of a computer system with confidential data without consent of the owner. Ford was an employee of the Pennington County Treasurer’s Office and unlawfully accessed the computer system at the office from January 2019 to March of 2022.

South Dakota teacher shortage worsens

Published by admin on Thu, 01/19/2023 - 10:36am

There were 176 statewide teacher openings at the end of December 2022, compared to 111 at the end of December 2021, a result of teacher retirements but also a rise in K-12 enrollment in South Dakota from 128,000 to 141,000 students over the past decade. The current openings include 36 in special education and 34 in elementary education.

Paying its fair share?

Published by admin on Thu, 01/12/2023 - 10:15am

Custer State Park is 71,000 acres of splendor that draws millions of people to Custer County annually.
It can also be a financial burden to Custer County, the Custer County Commission believes.