News

Vaccination program progresses

Published by admin on Thu, 02/25/2021 - 9:08am

The Monument Health COVID-19 vaccination program is progressing in Custer and throughout the Black Hills. So far, nearly 30,000 vaccinations have been administered at Monument Health locations, including Custer.
Katie Wiederholt, patient access specialist director, has led the process for scheduling and administering vaccinations.
Jeff McGee, RN, has been involved in vaccinations at Custer Hospital and Clinic. He said the team has the capacity to vaccinate about 60 people per day, or 300 per week.

Now hiring in Keystone

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 10:40am

Businesses in Keystone have begun hiring for the 2021 summer tourist season.

Jane’s Boardwalk Pizza is looking for 10 part time workers to begin around mid May, according to Denise Jensen.

“It is difficult to find good, reliable employees because of the small pool of workers from the local area,” she said.

Jensen is hiring cooks, food prep employees and customer service workers for her adjacent clothing kiosk.

Jim Sellars, who manages both the Ramada and Baymont hotels, is looking for about 50 employees. He too, finds the hiring process to be a challenge.

District has no active cases of COVID-19

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 10:40am

Per the Hill City School District’s COVID-19 dashboard, the district has no active cases of the virus.

Since the start of the second half of the year after the Christmas break, the district has reported just one case of the virus.

“We are happy to announce we have zero reported positive cases on campus as of (Feb. 11),” wrote Blake Gardner, superintendent of the district, in an email.

Legislators talk the issues

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 10:39am

A legislative cracker barrel was held at the Super 8 Motel in Hill City on Feb. 13.

Roughly a dozen people came out to listen to District 30 Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller and Rep. Tim Goodwin. Rep. Trish Ladner was not in attendance.

“We are midway through session now,” Goodwin said. “Things are getting hot and heavy.”

District sets calendar for next year

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 10:39am

The 2021-22 Hill City School District (HCSD) calendar was approved by the school board at its most recent meeting

A nine-person committee helped prepare the calendar.

“Our first priority as always is what’s best for our kids,” said district superintendent Blake Gardner. “We looked at the start dates, and Christmas break, and end dates and all of those things and we wanted to identify what is best for our kids for the NWEA (Northwestern Education Association), Smarter Balance, how can we have that optimal learning?”

Fire department: ‘House is a total loss’

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 10:39am

A fire on Feb. 11 in the 600 block of Newton Avenue was held to a single alarm; however, the Hill City Volunteer Fire Department said on Facebook: “the house is a total loss.”

First arriving Hill City firefighters found a fire burning with moderate smoke conditions on the atttached porch of the dwelling, which extended into the interior of the structure, according to a Pennington County Fire Administration release.

Next week is restaurant week

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 9:23am

The fourth annual Custer Restaurant Week starts next Wednesday, Feb. 24, and runs to Saturday, Feb. 27, and brings Custer’s vibrant food scene to life for several days of dining. The event will showcase the freshest ingredients, most flavorful dishes and tastiest culinary gems Custer has to offer.
Participating restaurants will offer their regular menus, in addition to the Restaurant Week featured menu. It will be a great time to visit an old favorite or try something new, said Custer Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Dolsee Davenport.

STAR Academy sells for $1.325 million

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 9:11am

The fourth time—and a significantly lower price—was the charm for selling the former State Treatment and Rehabilitation (STAR) Academy.
The former academy, long a corrections facility for the state’s youth, was sold at auction for $1,325,000 last Friday at the Custer County Courthouse.

Church looks for a home

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 9:10am

Custer’s newest church is looking for a home, but the group’s pastor said he is willing to wait on God’s timing for that because he sees the hand of Providence in bringing him to the Black Hills in the first place.
Dwight Briggs is pastor of Amazing Grace Fellowship, a non-denominational Christian church meeting in his home on Eagle Ridge Drive south of Custer for weekly Bible studies and worship.

New emergency manager hired

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 9:09am

Steve Esser will be Custer County’s new director of emergency management, replacing the recently retired Mike Carter. The hiring took place at the regular meeting of the Custer County Commission last Wednesday during which the commissioners also heard a presentation regarding a new nationwide network offering dedicated cell phone and broadband service to first responders.