Custer County Chronicle

Courthouse guns need to go away

Published by admin on Thu, 12/10/2020 - 10:03am

Last week’s Chronicle front page headline “Commission sticks to its guns on guns” may have been a bit premature based on the reaction it got from the presiding 7th Judicial Circuit Judge Craig A. Pfeifle.

It takes a vision

Published by admin on Thu, 12/10/2020 - 10:01am

I never wanted to be a journalist. No, my dream was to be a scientist.
“Find a cure for the common cold,” my mother said as off to college I went to fulfill my dream.
But as life would have it, in graduate school I met and married a community journalist. And I caught the vision.
He told me emphatically early on, “Everything in our paper may not be important to you, but everything in our paper is important to someone.”

Where is the ballot quality control?

Published by admin on Thu, 12/03/2020 - 9:32am

The one subject rule is outlined in Article XXIII, Section 1 of the South Dakota State Constitution.  It reads: “A proposed amendment may amend one or more articles and related subject matter in other articles as necessary to accomplish the objectives of the amendment; however, no proposed amendment may embrace more than one subject.”

The grinch won’t steal Christmas

Published by admin on Thu, 12/03/2020 - 9:30am

If it was up to CNN’s “medical analyst” Dr. Jonathan Reiner, we would all be celebrating Christmas at home and alone, protecting those who we care about the most; you know, our parents, grandparents and neighbors who would be lost and lonely if they could not be with family and friends for the holidays.
“We’re going to cause needless deaths and particularly that's among people we really care about, you know, our most vulnerable...We can’t travel this year. We need to stay home. This is a sacrifice that Americans can make and we should be making it for each other,” Reiner said.

Questions about election results

Published by admin on Thu, 12/03/2020 - 9:30am

I never thought Joe Biden could ever be elected president.  And now there are some serious election fraud allegations being played out in the courts by the Trump Legal Team in a number of states being contested. You wouldn’t know this if you are a viewer of the alphabet networks that called the election for Biden long ago.
Electoral College delegations meet in their respective states Dec. 14 and vote for the president. Any challenge to the results must be resolved by Dec. 8.

Legislative session is nearing

Published by admin on Wed, 11/25/2020 - 9:12am

The 2021 Legislative Session is almost upon us.   We in the Republican caucus have elected leadership positions, have our committee assignments and know our floor seating chart.  Let’s start with the floor seating chart.  I’m sitting in the back row again with the other four whips, the assistant leader and leader.  Next to me in the back row are the Democrat assistant leader and leader. Both are great legislators and I really enjoy their company.  Rep.

Plenty to be thankful for

Published by admin on Wed, 11/25/2020 - 9:09am

This year above all others, we can be thankful to live in South Dakota and the Black Hills, far from the insanity of unlawful limits placed on Thanksgiving family gatherings in other states due to COVID-19. States like California and New York that have had so many restrictions and lockdowns are now restricting Thanksgiving holiday gatherings to no more than two families or 10 people.

From grumbling to gratitude

Published by admin on Wed, 11/25/2020 - 9:07am

Without a doubt, the year 2020 has given us Americans much to complain about. Besides the public health crisis of coronavirus which has upended most of our lives, we have had to deal with the societal and economic fallout of the reaction to the virus by various levels of government.

Electing our leadership team

Published by admin on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 8:53am

The worst day of the year if you are a legislator.  This past Saturday was our Republican caucus elections for leadership positions. This is one part of being a legislator I do not like. Why? Because it’s your close friends who are running for the various positions and you have to pick just one to vote for.  Making matters even more challenging, they want you to campaign for them. I’m not being a hypocrite. I want them to campaign for me as well.  

Gov. Noem talks COVID-19 response

Published by admin on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 8:53am

It has been nearly eight months since COVID-19 first hit our state. Though there is still much to learn, we are fortunate to have a much better sense of the common enemy we’re fighting today than we did back in March.
Today, we know that hand washing kills the virus. And though anyone can get it, we also know that it’s the elderly and those with certain pre-existing conditions who have the greatest risk of mortality.