Custer County Chronicle

County receives COVID-19 update

Published by admin on Thu, 05/28/2020 - 9:04am
In his 25 years of emergency management, Mike Carter said the COVID-19 emergency is the hardest one he has ever attempted to manage. With all of its moving parts, COVID-19 and all of the things that come with a pandemic are proving to be a challenge.
“It’s a pain like you would not believe,” Carter said.

Fair is on with no bull riding

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:30am
The coronavirus pandemic will mean some significant changes for this year’s Custer County Fair, but at least the August event in Hermosa is going forward. At a meeting held May 12, the Custer County Fair Board voted to schedule the fair for Aug. 6-9, but without the popular bull-riding event which has been a staple of the fair the last few years.
“People really enjoy it, so we felt bad about that, but they just didn’t think it was a wise financial decision,” said fair board secretary Connie Steen. “There’s a lot of expense that goes into it and not a lot of profit.”

Memorial Day activities planned

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:26am
A pared-down slate of Memorial Day activities will take place this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is a schedule of events set for the day, Monday, May 25.
On Friday, Custer American Legion Post 46 members will decorate the graves of service members at Custer Cemetery beginning at 5 p.m. The Legion is typically joined by a host of other entities for this event, but that will not be the case this year. 

Sticker shock

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:25am
The site prep for the new school building at Hermosa will have to wait at least another month after the Custer School District Board of Education voted not to accept the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the project from Dean Kurtz Construction on Monday night.
In a special meeting held in the small gym at the Hermosa School, the board was considering a GMP of $14.6 million submitted by Kurtz, the construction manager at risk for the project. 

No-visitor policy returns at Monument Health

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:24am
Monument Health announced Thursday it would return to its no-visitor policy at all hospitals, emergency departments and clinics starting Saturday.
Monument Health said the change was due to the “recent increase in COVID-19 cases in western South Dakota.”
“The safety of patients, physicians and caregivers has been the deciding factor for our visitation policy change,” said Brad Archer, chief medical officer at Monument Health.
The following exceptions apply:

Report: Logging status quo can’t continue

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:24am
The Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) that the U.S. Forest Service manages today is not the forest of 1997.
That is the message from BHNF acting Forest supervisor Jerry Krueger as he discusses timber sustainability on the BHNF.

Chronicle wins SDNA awards

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:23am
Members of the Chronicle staff have once again received awards in the S.D. Newspaper Association’s (SDNA) annual Better Newspaper Contest for 2019. Due to the cancelling of the SDNA annual convention in Deadwood last month, the contest winners were announced via Zoom meeting and email Thursday morning. 
In the advertising division, graphic artist Darrell Mohr won two first-place awards among all weekly newspapers in the state for his advertising design work. Mohr took first for “Best Use of Color” for his Miner’s Cup ad. 

Three run for Hermosa board

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:12am
The June 2 primary election will see Hermosa voters choose who gets to serve two three-year terms on the Hermosa Town Board.
Among the incumbents is town board president Vicki Henrichsen, who served 13 years on the board, first serving a 10-year stint before a 12-year break, followed by her rejoining the board in 2017.

Moore, Pechota are council candidates

Published by admin on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 9:11am
By Jason Ferguson
 
Incumbent Carrie Moore will square off with challenger Todd Pechota in the lone Custer City Council race in the June 2 primary election. The winner of the election will serve a two-year term on the council in Ward III.
Moore, 30, is the manager at Jenny’s Floral, and is finishing her first term on the council. Prior to being on the council, she was a member of the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Committee for the city.

Graduation date is set

Published by admin on Thu, 05/14/2020 - 9:38am
The Custer High School graduating class of 2020 finally has a firm date for commencement exercises. The Custer School District Board of Education set Saturday, June 27, as the date for a quasi-traditional graduation ceremony to be held at Wildcat Stadium at 2 p.m.  
The decision was made at Monday’s regular monthly meeting where members of the graduation committee made presentations both live in the meeting room in the Armory and via teleconference. The majority of the meeting’s attendees participated remotely.