Custer County Chronicle

Crackerbarrel ’21 heats up cold day

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

Despite temperatures in the double digits below zero on Saturday, about 30 hardy souls turned out for the 2021 Custer Legislative Crackerbarrel to be warmed by discussion that sometimes became heated. Not unexpectedly, the two issues that produced the most discussion in the forum held in the Custer High School Theatre were the proposed convention of states and the marijuana issue.

Group D up for vaccinations

Published by admin on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 9:06am

The S.D. Department of Health has announced that it has moved into Group D of its vaccination stage, meaning people ages 70 and older (65 and over with age lowered in five-year increments as allocation allows), high-risk patients (dialysis, post-transplant and active cancer) and high-risk residents living in congregate settings, residents in licensed independent living facilities and residents of licensed group homes are eligible.

STAR auction is Friday

Published by admin on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 10:11am

The former State Treatment and Rehabilitation Academy (STAR) will hit the auction block again Friday, but with a drastically reduced price from the last time it was offered for sale.
The price of the campus has been reduced to $1 million, which is $680,000 less than the previous listed price after $320,00 was subtracted from the property value following the sale of 40 acres of the property at the previous auction in September. The state has tried three times unsuccessfully to sell the campus and buildings, of which 133 acres and all the buildings, homes, etc., remain.

Blazes burn bales, barn

Published by admin on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 10:09am

Fires on opposite sides of Custer County within the same hour destroyed a large amount of hay and burned over 50 acres of public and private land last Wednesday.
The Hazelrodt Cutoff fire two miles southeast of Custer was reported at 1:06 p.m. and fire crews from Custer and surrounding agencies were on the scene in minutes.
The fire, whipped up by swirling winds, destroyed a barn and two other outbuildings on property owned by Carl Cundy, then spread to nearby national forest land.

Victim says exposure laws too lax

Published by admin on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 10:07am

The woman who reported an incident of indecent exposure in Custer County last month says she is willing to testify against the man in court, but also wants state laws changed to get serial exhibitionists off the street.

Change order OK’d for Hermosa School

Published by admin on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 10:07am

The Hermosa School project once again took center stage at the February meeting of the Custer School District Board of Education on Monday, as the board heard a construction update and approved a nearly $17,000 change order on the project.
Architect Jeremy Altman of Architects, Inc. told the board a mistake had been made which resulted in the steel decking on the second floor of the building being kinked during the pouring of concrete. He said workers had put a piece of equipment in the wrong place which caused the deformation of the deck.

Beware vaccine scams

Published by admin on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 10:03am

The FBI, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warn of scams that are circulating as the Unites States continues to roll out COVID-19 vaccinations.
Know that you won’t have to pay to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s your turn. If you’re asked to pay or provide private information, that’s not legit.

County rescinds firearms in courthouse

Published by admin on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 9:22am

The general public is once again no longer allowed to carry firearms into the Custer County Courthouse after a resolution that allowed them to do so was rescinded by the Custer County Commission at its Jan. 27 meeting.
“I really don’t feel this is all worth this,” said commissioner Travis Bies, who was serving at the first meeting of his new term as a commissioner. “All this media...cost back on the taxpayers, the inconvenience for everyone having to go to Pennington County—I think we should go back to where we were.”

Theatre set to return

Published by admin on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 9:20am

If the stars (or perhaps in this case, the stage lights) align as hoped, community theatre may return to Custer as early as this spring. The Custer Area Arts Council has announced a partnership with local playwright Wally Steele to produce Steele’s original play “The First Practice of ‛He’s Dead, He’s Dead!’” later this month with an opening set for April.

Bies sworn in after confusion

Published by admin on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 9:19am

Travis Bies was sworn into his new term as a Custer County Commis-sioner at the commission’s Jan. 27 meeting, but he wasn’t sworn into the two-year term for which he was elected. Rather, Bies will serve only two years before his term expires.