Custer County Chronicle

County discusses the response act

Published by admin on Thu, 04/16/2020 - 8:34am
Custer County is among the many businesses and entities working through how to deal with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which was passed into law March 18, with benefits becoming available April 1. One of the benefits is paid leave for employees so they can deal with the effects of the coronavirus.

Health versus wealth

Published by admin on Thu, 04/16/2020 - 8:34am
While hoping for the best, when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, Custer County is preparing for the worst.
The pandemic, along with the county’s current and future response to it, were front and center at the April 8 meeting of the Custer County Commission.

Custer man killed in auto crash

Published by admin on Thu, 04/16/2020 - 8:33am
A Custer man was killed in a one-vehicle crash that occurred Sunday night east of Oelrichs.
A 2001 Honda Accord was traveling west when it left the road, went into the south ditch and rolled.
Brandon Campbell, the 25-year-old driver, was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 27-year-old passenger, Kelly Campbell of Custer, was wearing a seat belt. He suffered serious non-life threatening injuries and was transferred to a Rapid City hospital. 

Sidney Park Rd. repairs discussed

Published by admin on Thu, 04/16/2020 - 8:30am
They say that breaking up is hard to do — unless you’re Sidney Park Road after two of the wettest years in recorded history.
The constant barrage of snow and rain the past two years has caused part of Sidney Park Road to come apart, leading county highway superintendent Jesse Doyle to search for answers that are both effective and don’t break the bank.

City passes emergency ordinance

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:26am
At 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, April 9, an ordinance declaring a public health emergency  will go into effect, which will require some businesses to temporarily shutter  while others will be forced to change the way they do business in an effort to battle COVID-19.

School’s out! Learning goes on

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:25am
The effect of the nationwide COVID-19 government calls for social distancing was perhaps nowhere more in evidence than at Monday evening’s monthly meeting of the Custer School District Board of Education. The change in one month in how the meeting was conducted was profound.

Five file for commission, one city race

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:24am
A seat on the Custer City Council, seats on the Custer County Commission and a seat or seats on the town boards in Hermosa and Fairburn are among races that will take place in June during the primary election.
With the deadline to file petitions for seats countywide now passed, several races have taken shape, including on the Custer City Council. Although there are three seats open: Dixie Whitaker in Ward I, Kris Blom in Ward II and Carrie Moore in Ward III, only one seat is being contested, Moore’s. Moore, the incumbent, will face Todd Pechota for a three-year term.

MAT offers hope

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:19am
Part 4 of a series
 
People addicted to opioids in the Black Hills region—whether it be illegal drugs like heroin or prescription medications like oxycontin—have a new resource for getting free from their addiction. Project Recovery, which opened last year, is western South Dakota’s first medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinic for people struggling with addiction. 
Dr. Stephen Tamang, the founder of Project Recovery, said the preponderance of data indicates that MAT has the “the highest quality data for efficacy over time.”

Businesses told to shutter

Published by admin on Thu, 04/02/2020 - 9:11am
Beginning Thursday, April 9, some businesses in the city of Custer will be required to temporarily shutter, while others will be forced to change the way they do their business after the Custer City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to declare a public health emergency and limit public gatherings in an effort to battle COVID-19.
“I know it’s painful,” said alderwoman Peg Ryan of the ordinance. “People need to think of the larger community.”

Students, teachers both learn during shutdown

Published by admin on Thu, 04/02/2020 - 9:06am
Although Custer County schools are now in their third week of being closed due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the learning continues. Not only are the students continuing their school work at home, but both students and teachers are learning to use the internet as they rarely had before to keep the education going during the shutdown.