Custer County Chronicle

Novel virus creates novel graduation

Published by admin on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 11:02am
It was an unorthodox graduation ceremony for an unusual year, but the 2020 Custer High School graduation went off without a hitch Saturday. With the school year cut short by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the graduation which had been set for late May in the Armory was delayed until June 27 and moved to Wildcat Stadium to allow for social distancing. 

Old Time Country 4th starts Saturday

Published by admin on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 10:59am
Saturday is Independence Day across the country and the city of Custer will once again celebrate with several events Saturday, although somewhat scaled down because of COVID-19.
The fun will start at 10 a.m. with a B-1 flyover to start off the annual Children’s Parade, followed immediately by the Patriots’ Parade in downtown Custer.
In order to encourage spectators to spread out and maintain social distancing, the parade route has been extended to include Washington Street from 2nd to 5th streets and ending at the Veterans Memorial.

Council members: Pandemic a no-win situation

Published by admin on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 10:39am
For the vast majority of the time that COVID-19 has been in our stream of consciousness, Jeannie Fischer has been sick.
No, she hasn’t contracted the virus that has now taken nearly 130,000 lives across the U.S. Rather, she has been sick with worry.

County picks up eighth COVID-19 case

Published by admin on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 10:30am
Custer County saw its eighth positive test for COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the total number of positive cases in the county to eight. Of those, four have recovered. The county has had 525 negative tests.
Applications for the final phase of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds for South Dakota arts and cultural organizations are open. Submission deadline is July 6. 

Fire in Hill City

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 10:07am

At 8:18 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Hill City Volunteer Fire Department responded to a reported fire in a residential structure in the 100 block of Minor Lake Circle in Hill City. First arriving firefighters found a fire burning with light smoke conditions in the attached garage of the structure. Firefighters were able to contain it to the immediate area, the residential structure received very minor damage and no injuries to civilians, firefighters or animals were reported.

Taking a look at revenue

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 10:06am
At Monday’s Hill City Common Council meeting, finance officer Stacia Tallon presented on the budget and revenue collected by the city thus far this year.
The general fund is down 7.82 percent, she said, with sales tax down 4.52 percent.
“Total revenue to date was down 7.32 percent,” she said.
However, the city has received the final payment for the first portion of the month of June.

City lifts restrictions

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 9:47am
Just over three months after they were enacted, the Custer City Council unanimously voted to remove all COVID-19 restrictions regarding public gatherings within the city limits of Custer.
The move was a sharp turnaround from last Monday evening when the council passed the first reading of a new public emergency ordinance that gave the council the power to keep COVID-19-related business and public gathering restrictions in place until Sept. 1.

Employees contract COVID-19

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 9:46am
Two Custer City businesses announced on social media last week that they had an employee test positive for COVID-19. Two additional employees of Carson Drug later tested positive.
At Carson Drug, an employee who worked June 15 and June 17 tested positive. The employee was wearing a mask and was behind the pharmacy counter at all times, Colby Johnson, pharmacist in charge at Carson Drug, wrote on a Carson Drug Facebook post.

City OKs archery deer season

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 9:42am
Beginning Oct. 18, local hunters will complement paid sharpshooters in thinning the deer population in the city of Custer.
At the June 15 meeting of the Custer City Council, the council unanimously approved a limited public archery hunt to provide opportunities for sportsmen and women to help manage the deer population within city limits. The  Custer Archery Deer Permit Program will be administered by the S.D. Department of Game, Fish & Parks (GFP) and the city in conjunction with Custer County Sheriff’s Office.

CHS graduation is Saturday

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 9:42am
More than a month after Custer High School’s senior class was supposed to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas to culminate their high school careers, Custer seniors will finally get that chance when graduation is held at Wildcat Field this Saturday at 2 p.m.