Custer County Chronicle

Man dies in rollover east of Hermosa

Published by admin on Thu, 04/01/2021 - 9:56am

A Pine Ridge man has been identified as the person who died Friday afternoon in a one-vehicle crash that occurred east of Hermosa.
Preliminary crash information indicates that a 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier was eastbound on South Dakota Hwy. 40 when the driver lost control of the vehicle while entering a curve. The vehicle went off the roadway and rolled.
Dietre Catches, the 36-year-old driver, was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Phone, mail scams on the rise

Published by admin on Thu, 03/25/2021 - 9:32am

Whether it’s regarding “your vehicle’s extended warranty” or a recorded call supposedly from the Social Security Administration informing you that you may be in trouble because your Social Security number has been involved in fraud, robocalls and bogus letters have become something of a joke these days.
However, for one Custer County man who responded to a letter claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House (PCH), such scam communications are no laughing matters.

Big bucks, marijuana, social issues dominate legislation

Published by admin on Thu, 03/25/2021 - 9:28am

The 2021 South Dakota Legislative Session is in the books and legislators were busy dealing with a issues ranging from how to spend $1.25 billion in one-time Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds to grappling with social issues such as transgenders in sports and abortion.
Rep. Trish Ladner, in her first year as a state legislator, was told this was the most unusual session in state history.

NPS: No fireworks at Rushmore this year

Published by admin on Thu, 03/25/2021 - 9:28am

The National Park Service (NPS) has denied a permit to the State of South Dakota for the July 3 fireworks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
In a letter dated March 11 and obtained by the Hill City Prevailer, NPS regional director Herbert C. Frost wrote, “After careful consideration, the NPS has determined that we are unable to grant a request to have fireworks at the Memorial.

City approves BID board contracts

Published by admin on Thu, 03/25/2021 - 9:25am

Spring is here, and business owners in the hospitality industry are gearing up for tourism season, hopefully free of the shackles of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the March 17 meeting of the Custer City Council (pushed back from March 15 due to the snowstorm), the council heard a strategy presentation for the Custer Business Improvement District (BID) board, which was presented via conference call by representatives of Lawrence & Schiller Marketing & Advertising of Sioux Falls, a marketing contract for which was approved later in the meeting.

Priority Group 1E now eligible

Published by admin on Thu, 03/25/2021 - 9:22am

As of Monday, South Dakotans in Priority Group 1E are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This group includes critical infrastructure workers and fire service personnel.
Critical infrastructure sectors included are water and wastewater, energy, finance, food service, food and agriculture, legal, manufacturing, shelter and housing, transportation and logistics, information technology and communications.
This comes as officials warn the U.S. may be on the cusp of another COVID-19 case surge.

Hill City sawmill will be closed

Published by admin on Thu, 03/25/2021 - 9:13am

It was announced late on Monday afternoon that after 53 years of operation Neiman Enterprises, Inc. will shut down the sawmill, Rushmore Forest Products, outside Hill City.
The company said in a release that this decision does not come easily.

Xylia packs a punch

Published by admin on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 9:39am

After a largely snow-free winter, Old Man Winter returned in a big way, dumping up to 24 inches of snow in Custer County Sunday into Monday as the entire region was engulfed by Winter Storm Xylia.
The storm caused late openings and closures throughout the county. Custer School District called off school Monday for both the Custer and Hermosa schools, and the Custer County Courthouse closed as well. By Monday morning city and county crews were hard at work opening roads, which created massive windrows in downtown Custer.

Valuations discussed

Published by admin on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 9:37am

Rising property taxes were foremost on the minds of Custer County residents who crowded into the county commission room for the regular meeting last Wednesday. After waiting for more than an hour as numerous other business items were discussed (see the article elsewhere in this edition of the Chronicle) an agenda item entitled “owner occupied review” under equalization touched off a storm of questions and complaints from people in the room about their property taxes.

Summer teachers get pay raise

Published by admin on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 9:36am

Summer school will be a reality for dozens of Custer and Hermosa students in June and July following action taken by the Custer School District Board of Education Monday.
In a three-and-a-half- hour meeting, the board voted to raise hourly wages for both summer school teachers and paraprofessionals to attract more faculty to the program.