Members from the Spring Creek and Fairburn communities sat in the stuffy Hermosa gym at Monday’s meeting of the Custer School District Board of Education making one last plea to keep their schools open. 

“These land owners paid for that school,” said boardmember Moritz Espy, who made the motion to open Fairburn school. “My argument is for the landowners there, who are paying taxes for the school, which is the center of the community. It’s the hub of the community.”

Street reconstruction and improvement, the creation of an animal shelter and continued work on the new city community center are all parts of an ambitious five-year plan approved by the Custer City Council at its June 3 meeting. Over one million in such projects are slated for fiscal year 2014. Money for the projects will come from a variety of sources, including reserves, general fund revenue, state funding and the city’s enterprise (sewer and water) funds.

The approval came after months of crafting by the council with input from the city’s department heads. At the top of the list for 2013 is West Dam, which needs its outlet structure replaced. The project, which is expected to cost $250,000, may require some demolition of the dam and subsequent reconstruction to replace the valve and install a new anti-seep collar. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks is interested in participating in the project and may want to include dredging of the pond.

The ever-increasing cost of having property in Custer County is keeping young people out of Custer County, driving older people out of Custer County and causing the rest of those who live within the county to scratch their heads as to a perceived inequity as to how property is taxed.

That was the message delivered by the “Realtors Tax Force” of Lane Munger, Ramona Flaig and Patty Hauschildt to the Custer County Commission at the commission’s June 5 meeting.

Are you enthusiastic? Energetic? Do you combine a good sense of humor with a sense of community pride? If you answered yes to these questions, the Gold Discovery Days committee wants you.

Each year in July for the past 89 years, Gold Discovery Days has taken place in Custer. And while it’s three days of fun, family and friends for most people, for a select group of dedicated citizens in Custer, it’s also a great deal of work.

Downtown Custer businesses were a heavy topic during Custer Cruisin’ committee’s Friday meeting. The committee discussed creating a map detailing businesses and services throughout town. The maps would be left in stores, restaurants and hotels, as well as posted throughout town, in order to promote businesses during the Custer Cruisin’ Rally. 

 “Is there really a benefit in doing that?” Jim Understock, committee member asked. “We’re only occupying three-blocks. I encourage people to stay open later, but the business district during that time is three blocks.”

Despite chilly temperatures on Saturday, over 10,000 people flocked to Crazy Horse Memorial for the 28th annual Volksmarch. The first day saw 4,473 checking in while blue skies and sunshine brought in 5,621 hikers on Sunday—a grand total of 10,094 over the weekend. While the turnout was down from 11,662 last year, organizers were pleased with the weekend turnout and regretted having to turn away many people who arrived too late to take the walk.

The 6.2 mile (10K) hike, which takes about three hours to complete, is sponsored by the Black Hills Volkssport Association and is co-chaired by Bonnie Miller, who has been involved with the association for over 25 years.

“Sunday was a better day for us; it was very steady,” she said. “We never know what the weekend will hold.”

What started as a simple piece of business during a work session evolved into a full-scale discussion that was culminated by a symbolic vote against government land purchase.

At the May 22 meeting of the Custer County Commission, the commissioners were asked to consider writing a letter to the state giving its support for the state’s purchase of 40 acres of land on Pleasant Valley Road. Instead, members of the commission railed against more government ownership of land in the county, and, ultimately, took a near-unanimous vote against supporting the purchase.

In a nearly packed room, representatives from the Dewey-Burdock project, as well as leading researchers from the School of Mines and the United States Geological Survey (UCGS), discussed PowerTech’s mining operation, located northwest of Edgemont near the Wyoming border. 

Uranium, a heavy, natural — yet, unstable — element can be found in the ground, seawater and in the Earth’s crust. Yellowcake, the powdery product from uranium, would be harvested from the site and used for nuclear power, medical isotopes, smoke detectors, luminous watch dials, military armor and counterweights on ships. 

One year to the date after four North Carolina National Guardsmen died when their C-130 went down while battling the White Draw Fire near Edgemont last year, an intepretive site telling about the fire and and those who fought it will be dedicated near the site where the plane went down.

With the help of over $3,700 in private donations, with checks ranging from $10 to $2,300, the site is being constructed, a joint project between the donors and other volunteers, the U.S. Forest Service and the South Dakota Army National Guard (ANG).

There was no packed council chambers and little discussion when the Custer City Council approved the second and final reading of its ordinance prohibiting living in campers in town Monday night.

Ordinance No. 731, which prohibits the use of any recreational vehicle, travel trailer, motor home or converted car/bus for dwelling purposes within the jurisdiction of the City of Custer received its second reading with little fanfare, with only alderman Jim Hattervig voting against the second reading. 

The rain held off long enough on Saturday, May 18, for the Custer High School commencement ceremony during which 68 seniors graduated.

Speaking at the ceremony was student body president Victoria Dahlstrom, senior class vice president Karrah Dawson and senior Logan Huntington. Class president Kayla Halbmaier was master of ceremonies while senior class representative Cheyenne McMillian presented a slide show of past memories.

An eerie silence hung over the Custer school complex last Tuesday afternoon. In the midst of a lockdown that had shuttered both the junior/senior high school and the elementary, the only sounds that could be heard were flags flapping in the breeze, the occasional song from a passing bird or the crack of radio traffic between first responders.

A single 8-1/2 x 11” flier started a full-scale emergency services exercise in Custer, Fall River and Lawrence counties, an exercise responders hoped would show them what their strengths were in responding to such an incident, as well as where they needed improvement. The flyer read:

A landowner in the Spring Creek area is protesting the taxes he just paid to Custer County over his disgust with a local branch of government. However, it’s not the county he has the beef with.

Richard Rausch came before the Custer County Commission at its regular meeting May 8 to say he was protesting his taxes due to the closing of Spring Creek School.

“That’s all we have down there,” he said. “That’s our community.”

After years of crafting, debate, arguments and tinkering, the City of Custer has a comprehensive plan.

At its May 6 meeting, the council unanimously passed the first reading after an hour and a half of discussion and questions among the council, members of the planning commission and those in the audience.

“There was blood. Lots of blood. And screaming. Lots of screaming,” one freshman student said, describing the scene he witnessed earlier in the day. “It was scary. I’ll definitely think before I drink and drive.”

Similar comments were shared on Wednesday, May 8, when 155 freshman students from Custer, Edgemont, Hill City and Hot Springs gathered at the Custer Armory for Freshman Impact: Caught in the Moment, a one-day prevention program giving students the chance to see up close and learn through hands-on activities the possible consequences of wrong choices and their lasting effects.

The teen brain is like a lump of clay—moldable and impressionable. It’s shaped by every experience during those formative years and is particularly vulnerable during that time, especially to the formation of bad habits.

Those were the words spoken by Steven Dewey of the Brookhaven National Laboratory and Aaron White of Duke University, two researchers who have done voluminous work on studying the developing adolescent brain. 

It’s back to the drawing board for a proposed ordinance that would prohibit people from living in campers within city limits.

Ordinance No. 731, which would prohibit the use of any recreational vehicle, travel trailer, motorhome or converted car/bus for dwelling purposes within the jurisdiction of the city, was set for its second and final reading at the Custer City Council’s regular meeting Monday night. 

It was always a dream to open a restaurant, but Claude and Christie Smith never expected they would win an award for doing so. Come this Friday, the Smiths, owners of Black Hills Burger and Bun Co. in Custer, will accept the award for Small Business of the Year after being secretly nominated by the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We were in shock! We were so surprised,” Christie said. “We didn’t know much about this type of award and we didn’t even know the chamber nominated us. We were just thrilled.”

Bikers will get an entirely new view of Custer in August with the addition of a photo tower, available during the Custer Cruisin’ Rally. Last week, the Custer Cruisin’ Committee discussed more about the photo tower, an old military aircraft lift that stands 10 feet in the air, which would be located on Main Street near the VFW with a marked-off area for bikers to pull in with their motorcycles. The lift can hold up to 500 pounds and has stairs and a handrail to take visitors to the top. The lift is not handicapped accessible. 

Custer Cruisin’ chairman Don Herren suggested adding banners with the Custer Cruisin’ logo to the tower and selling sponsorship spots on the banner to help pay for someone to watch over the tower. The banner would welcome bikers to Custer Cruisin’ and feature the group’s logo.

The staff of the Custer County Chronicle brought home a record number of first place awards in the Better Newspaper Contest, sponsored by the South Dakota Newspaper Association and held last weekend in Rapid City. 

The  staff received a total of 25 awards with 13 first place awards, in addition to receiving the Sweepstakes Award, given to the paper with the highest total points from awards. 

New Custer County Housing and Redevelopment Commission (CCH) chairman Leonard Wood didn’t mince words about the financial situation—and bookkeeping in general—of CCHâ��when he addressed the Custer County Commission at the commission’s April 24 meeting.

“So messed up,”â��was how Wood described the situation, saying he and fellow new board members Dennis Moulton (vice chairman) and Tim Holland (secretary/treasurer) were just diving into the financial situation, but had seen enough to know it’s not good.

Paul and Carol Niemann attended the April 17 auction of the former Songbird Cafe building out of curiosity. They left as its new owners.

“We didn’t go there to buy it,” Paul said. “I was mildly interested in the beer cooler.”

Once the bidding started and Paul realized what he could get the building for, however, he bid once, which turned out to be the winning bid. The Niemanns ended up paying $210,000 for the building, while also paying some for the equipment inside the building.

Owners and employees of over 30 area tourist attractions all converged on Rocky Knolls Golf Course last Thursday morning to kick off the tourist season with the annual attractions meeting, hosted by the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber executive Dave Ressler welcomed the crowd, reminding those in attendance to continue to focus on the customer service Custer is known for.

“Customer service is what makes all our businesses work,”â��Ressler said.â��“That’s what keeps them coming back.”

Franchise documents are being drawn up and a group in Chamberlain has purchased a building for the first Lintz Bros. Pizza franchise store in the state, according to Brian Lintz, owner of the popular Lintz Bros. Pizza place in Hermosa.

“We’ve grown so much that some folks in Chamberlain want to start a franchise. We looked at their location and it’s a good one,” Lintz said.

The Custer City Council took the first step toward eliminating allowing motorhomes to be used as a dwelling within city limits, an issue that has long been a source of consternation for some town residents.

At its regular meeting Monday night the council voted unanimously to pass the first reading of Ordinance No. 731, which prohibits the use of any recreational vehicle, travel trailer, motorhome or converted car or bus for dwelling purposes within the jurisdiction of the city.