Hill City Prevailer

One dead in accident

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 10:05am
A Guernsey, Wyo., woman died in a motorcycle accident one-and-a-half miles west of Hill City at mile marker 39 the afternoon of June 19.
South Dakota Highway Patrol identified the woman as Holly Montgomery, 57.
According to a release, a 2016 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Montgomery was eastbound on U.S. Hwy. 16 when Montgomery failed to negotiate a left curve, causing her to leave the roadway to the right.
Montgomery was thrown from her motorcycle and later died as a result of her injuries.

More signs coming to Keystone

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 10:01am
Five new billboards will be making their way to the entry to Keystone along Hwy. 16A, according to the latest town board meeting.
The sign permits were approved after much discussion.
According to Ray French, the billboards will not obstruct any views to and from the tunnel. It is unclear what businesses will be advertised on the billboards.
“I don't know who I’m going to rent to,” French said. “I build this product and I’m selling this to a customer.”

Tourists have options for fireworks

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 10:00am
Planning for the July 3 fireworks display at Mount Rushmore continues at both the state and local levels
“There were a total of 25,179 applicants to the Recreation.gov lottery, representing a total of 125,787 individuals requesting tickets,” according to Katlyn Richter of Travel South Dakota.
South Dakota residents requested the most tickets, followed by Californians and residents of Colorado. The lottery drew considerable interest from all states. There were at least 500 applicants per state.

Johnson is district teacher of the year

Published by admin on Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:52am

Astonished. That’s the word this year’s Hill City School District teacher of the year used to describe her reaction to learning about the award.

Kim Johnson found out she is the 2019-20 Teacher of the Year while watching superintendent Blake Gardner’s end of the year PowerPoint. She was drinking a cup of coffee at the time.

“I was not expecting a slide to be about me,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s childhood dream was to become a teacher. She began her teaching career as a library media specialist in Rapid City.

County commission debating wheel tax

Published by admin on Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:52am

The Pennington County Commission is debating whether the county should have a wheel tax.

At a public information meeting at Hill City City Hall on June 11, four of the five commissioners were on hand to explain what the wheel tax might mean for the county.

District readying for new normal

Published by admin on Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:51am

The Hill City School Board approved the 2020-21 student-parent handbooks, but not without much discussion.

The discussion, in its most recent meeting, centered mainly on whether an addendum on distance learning policies should be added to the handbook.

Board member Carmen Ronish wants to see clear expectations for attendance and participation if students may end up in another distance learning situation in the future.

“If they’re not in this handbook, where am I going to find them?” she asked.

Superintendent Blake Gardner agreed with the need for consistency.

Museum set to open

Published by admin on Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:51am

The Keystone Museum will open for the season on June 23.

The decision to open came after much discussion about the COVID situation. Board members want to make sure patrons are safe and have instituted a strict mask required policy.

“We will require masks to enter,” said Keystone Area Historical president Jon Veltman. “We will have them for sale at the door. They’ll be reusable cloth masks for around $2.”

The museum will also be limiting the number of people allowed in at one time.

Rushmore July 3 fireworks plan detailed

Published by admin on Thu, 06/11/2020 - 10:28am

The July 3 fireworks event is beginning to take shape.

Specific plans for the July 3 fireworks in celebration of Independence Day at Mount Rushmore have been unveiled. President Donald Trump has announced his plans to attend the event as well.

“Following months of planning, I’m pleased to announce our specific plans for Mount Rushmore Fireworks July 3,” said Gov. Kristi Noem.

South Dakota has worked tirelessly with the Department of the Interior, including the National Park Service, to ensure this celebration is as safe and successful as possible.

Hill City has two new deputies

Published by admin on Thu, 06/11/2020 - 10:28am

 

Hill City has two new Pennington County Sheriff’s Office deputies patrolling the streets.

Deputies Randal Southern and David Riley both started on the job in May.

Riley started with the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office as a corrections officer in 2009 part time, which then became a full-time corrections job. From there, he went on to the Deadwood Police Department as a full-time officer and then came back to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy.

He moved to the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office in January of 2019.

New gym opens

Published by admin on Thu, 06/11/2020 - 10:27am

The area has a new gym.

Barbell is located north of Hill City on Hwy 16/385 and has been open since May 2 and is owned and operated by Lindsey Busetti and Adam Hunsaker.

“We had planned on opening April 1, but because of COVID, everything kind of got pushed back,” Busetti said. “We are open 24/7, so that makes it a lot easier for people with families or who work off schedule jobs.”

Barbell has one of the best equipment kits in the Black Hills, Hunsaker said.