Custer County Chronicle

A life sentence means life

Published by admin on Thu, 03/05/2020 - 9:14am
This past week the Senate Judiciary Committee considered legislation to allow murderers sentenced to life sentences to be eligible for parole after serving either 30 or 40 years of their life sentences. In South Dakota, unlike many states, a life sentence actually means life in prison for murder.  

Time to give up on community center

Published by admin on Thu, 03/05/2020 - 9:06am
There is no more lipstick for the pig, as the saying goes. It’s time for the City of Custer to wave the white flag when it comes to the current iteration of the Custer Community Center. Luckily, it appears the current Custer City Council has done just that.

Covering tragedy no fun but necessary

Published by admin on Thu, 03/05/2020 - 9:01am
We have received a lot of postive feedback on the way we covered the recent standoff downtown between law enforcement and suspected armed robber Christopher White. I won’t rehash the story again, as most of us know by now how it unfolded and how it ended in tragedy when White turned his gun on himself.

Repeal of the death penalty

Published by admin on Thu, 02/27/2020 - 9:21am
This past week, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered legislation to add emotional disturbance as a reason for a jury to exclude the death penalty for someone who was convicted of murder.  Each year opponents of the death penalty offer legislation. Death penalty opponents no longer propose the repeal of the death penalty, but instead, propose legislation to make it more difficult or impossible to use.

Crackerbarrels and a lot of topics

Published by admin on Thu, 02/27/2020 - 9:20am
Greetings! We’re at the end of week six of the 95th Legislative Session. We completed this past week legislative days 21-24.

State-inspired program to begin

Published by admin on Thu, 02/27/2020 - 9:20am
Ask any farmer about his land, and he would be able to describe every inch of it without skipping a beat – the high spots, the low spots, the wet spots and the dry spots. He could walk you to the corner of his plot that each year, despite even the best growing conditions, never seems to meet his expectations. He knows his land like the back of his hand and wants to do everything within his control to maximize its production capability. 

Old World flour power returns

Published by admin on Thu, 02/27/2020 - 9:18am
All of us here at the Custer County Chronicle shudder at our Wednesday afternoon editorial meetings after the newspaper is addressed and taken to the post office when Jason announces whose turn it is for a column the next week ... with the exception of Joshua, perhaps, who always has a column ready.
Write what you know about is the advice for collumnists. That leaves the well of inspiration pretty dry for me.
Write what you are passionate about is the next advice we are given.

Recap of week five of the session

Published by admin on Thu, 02/20/2020 - 9:40am
Greetings! We just finished week five, making the session officially half over.  Here are my remarks from week five, legislative days 17-20.
SB54 - Not allowing plastic grocery bags.  

Sad saga had tragic ending

Published by admin on Thu, 02/20/2020 - 9:40am
When you read the story behind the tragic public suicide of Custer County resident Christopher White you have to wonder how many ways this all could have been prevented.
Denied his prescription pain meds he had been taking for over two decades, desperation must have driven White to allegedly rob a Rapid City pharmacy at gunpoint and demand prescription drugs. He must have been experiencing an unimaginable level of pain and/or addiction with no recourse, in his mind.

Spaced-out with a 5-year-old

Published by admin on Thu, 02/20/2020 - 9:35am
Little kids seem to go through phases. I don’t know much about phases little girls go through, since I don’t have a girl, but I’m pretty sure one of the girl phases involves unicorns.
Little boys, on the other hand, I know. Although I don’t remember much about my childhood, I’m pretty sure I was a little boy once upon a time.