Hill City Prevailer

Happy birthday to Zeus

Published by admin on Wed, 05/17/2023 - 8:58am
My new dog, Zeus, is about to celebrate his birthday. He will enter into his second year as a doggie, I only met him two months ago but I have to say he’s quite a pup.
His ad described him as a jumper, that he nips and distrusts men. 
His intake card noted he was a lap dog.
They claimed him to be a blue heeler/border collie mix. If that’s true he is the laziest of this breed I have ever known.

A wedding and a funeral

Published by admin on Wed, 05/10/2023 - 9:05am
I recently went to a wedding where two of my good friends got married. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the bride and groom waited many years for this day. They lived out “in sickness and health” before ever saying their vows, and there was much celebration as a result. 
In general, weddings seem to have three parts. There’s a time to reflect, a time to congregate and a time to celebrate. 

Please don't feed the animals

Published by admin on Wed, 05/03/2023 - 8:59am
There has been a lot of hoopla about feeding lately. Whether it’s the wild animals of Keystone or the human animals of Hill City, I am hungry to tackle these topics.
I sat in disbelief as the Keystone trustees voted against the proposed deer ordinance that would have prohibited the feeding of wild animals within city limits.

Trying to communicate in a world of perceptions

Published by admin on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 8:42am
Several of my friends and family members have recently discovered Duolingo and are happily learning new languages. One is learning Bosnian, another Spanish and a couple are learning German. One of my friends is even learning five languages at once. 
For a while, I was tempted to jump on the bandwagon. I’ve always wanted to learn another language fluently, and my high school attempt just didn’t stick. But I’m also still drawn to the intricacies of English. 

Calling foul on the soccer decision

Published by admin on Wed, 04/19/2023 - 8:37am
I’m not a gal who’s easily impressed at meetings I cover. But as I sat at the most recent Hill City School Board meeting I was blown away by the passion and well thought out arguments some of the youth soccer players had. They spoke from the heart about their desire to have a soccer co-op with Custer so  they could continue to play a sport they love.
Too bad their pleas fell on deaf ears.
From my vantage point it seemed like no matter what they said or how well they said it the co-op idea was DOA from the start.
And why, you might ask?

Laughter is good for the soul

Published by admin on Wed, 04/12/2023 - 8:48am
The other day as I was walking into the bank the man clearing the parking lot of snow held out his shovel to me and said, “Your turn.”
I laughed and told him I’d already shoveled enough that day. We joked about the weather, said how we wished spring would come at last and then said goodbye. 
I don’t know who he was, but I laughed about that interaction for the rest of the day. It felt good to laugh. 

Some pedaling and a pup

Published by admin on Wed, 04/05/2023 - 8:44am
As many of you already know, my little girl Sadie passed away Dec. 26. I vowed two things the day that she died—one was that I was going to book a trip to Europe—and the other was that I was going to remain dog free for a long time, not only because the heartbreak of losing a dog is too much to bear but also to enjoy the freedom of not having a dog after nearly two decades of dog ownership.
One of those things took place and one I failed miserably at.

Saying no in order to say yes

Published by admin on Wed, 03/29/2023 - 8:43am
I was reading “Present Over Perfect” by Shauna Niequist. In it she shared a story of a church that grew exponentially seemingly overnight. The pastor kept insisting that they didn’t do anything different or anything to draw these people in. Another pastor reminded him that they did indeed do something. They put up more chairs. They made space. 
This story left me rather perplexed because putting up chairs is such a natural response. Making space is simply what you do. But how often does that same mindset come to play in our daily lives? 

The district’s ‘Gold Standard’

Published by admin on Wed, 03/29/2023 - 8:37am
Recently, I read a book called “The New Gold Standard” that examines the Ritz-Carlton hotels and how they have created a gold standard. I started thinking about my own guiding principle and it is “to provide the best education for our kids!”  

Let’s take action on taxes

Published by admin on Wed, 03/22/2023 - 9:04am
Most of us right now are up in arms about our property taxes. 
I know mine personally went up 29.96 percent. Basically in terms of valuation my house is worth a $100,000 more this year than it was last year.
 I can sell my shoebox (896 square-feet) for $332,000, according to Pennington County. 
That’s more than my friend in Chapel Valley can sell her house for and it’s nearly double the size. If I planned on selling my house I’d make a pretty good profit. But like most of you I plan on living in my house.