Steve Helmers, chairman of the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Board of directors, has announced the executive committee of the board of directors accepted the resignation of Dr. Laurie Becvar from the position of president/chief operating officer effective Feb. 22. Becvar will continue to serve the foundation as an independent consultant during a period of transition to new leadership at the memorial.
“This is bad business.”
That was Custer County Commissioner Craig Hindle’s response to a county resolution proposed by commissioner Mark Hartman that, if passed, would prohibit directing discretionary funds to municipalities that maintain extraterritorial jurisdiction within Custer County.
It’s petition time in Custer County, as election petitions can now be pulled for a variety of offices and seats around the county, including school board, the various town councils and multiple offices at the county level.
Former Custer County Sheriff’s Office deputy Francis Kistler has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sex crimes.
Kistler, 62, pled guilty to one count of enticement of a minor using the Internet in U.S. District Court last August. That crime came with a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a minimum of five years up to a lifetime of supervised release once the prison sentence is completed.
A downtown building owner said he would seek a court date to determine whether he will have to pay a fine levied him by the City of Custer for failing to shovel his sidewalk as required by city ordinance.
Blair Waite, owner of 437 Mt. Rushmore Rd., most recently home to Sasquatch Sandwich Co., told the council he would seek said court date after the council rejected his appeal to the fine at the council’s Feb. 22 meeting.
“If a judge says I have to pay it, I’ll pay it,” he said.
The Custer Volunteer Fire Department usually deals with about one serious structure fire every year, however, in the last several months firefighters have responded to at least four such fires, three of which were in homes or attached garages. With that in mind, Custer fire chief Jim Lyon wants to remind residents of some important fire safety guidelines.
“Oh my God! We are beyond thankful!”
That was the emotional response of Michelle Bennett to the outpouring of support from the Custer community after she, her fiance and her three daughters lost their home to a fire on Feb. 21.
“I can’t express how awesome this community is,” said Bennett. “I’ve gotten hundreds—HUNDREDS—of messages. There’s no way we could do this without the community, that’s for sure.”
Active COVID-19 cases in South Dakota have fallen to the lowest level since Nov. 9. There were 427 new infections over the President’s Day weekend, and active cases continue to plummet.
It has been one month since the state set a record for active cases at 36,247, according to the Rapid City Journal. Active cases have fallen every day since reaching that high point. Hospitalizations continue to decrease, as does the number of people in intensive care units due to COVID-19.
A petition is circulating in the Town of Buffalo Gap demanding answers from the Custer County Commission regarding the plowing of snow on county roads in the town in the wake of a Dec. 11, 2021 snowstorm that some in town feel made roads impassable thanks to a lack of plowing.
The commission, however, feels all that could be done was done, and that county highway superintendent Jess Doyle went above and beyond to try to clear the roads.
