The Buglin’ Bull Restaurant and Sports Bar received a pat on the back this month, as it is front and center in an article in AAA’s “Home & Away” magazine that features food and restaurants throughout the state.

The article, entitled “Prairie on a Plate,”â��is written by Elaine Warner and featured in the May/June 2013 issue of the magazine. 

The Buglin’ Bull is the first restaurant mentioned in the article and gives kudos to the restaurant’s variety of culinary choices, and highlights its wide- variety of meals made from buffalo and pheasant.

Janet Randall of Custer remembers the hottest day of the year in Battle Creek, Mich. It was Aug. 9, 2001, and her first granddaughter, Hannah, was about to be born. 

“All of the lights went out in Melissa’s (Randall’s daughter) place and we had to get out of there,” she said. “She was not going to be born in a place with no power.”

Three hours, 17 minutes and 26 seconds after beginning the Boston Marathon, Tori Vette crossed the finish line. Waiting for her at the family gathering area was her boyfriend, Ryan Bissell.

Bissell, 30, a Custer High School Class of 2000 graduate, met Vette in Spearfish, where the couple lives. After the race, he caught up to her at the family area past the finish line and had a big surprise for her.

Over 160 people turned out to the Custer YMCA last Saturday evening to take in the Bark Beetle Blues variety show. The show was over two hours of entertainment, with over 20 acts ranging from singing to dancing to juggling.

The show was part of the Bark Beetle Blues series of events. Last week’s events included a landowner discussion on the effects of the beetle, as well as a book discussion.

For nearly 125 million twins in the world, April is a time to celebrate. Five years ago, April was declared as National Twin Month in the United States and some cities have participated in the celebration with twin-themed fairs and events. While it may seem like a rarity to have twins, nearly one in 30 pregnancies are twin births. Custer alone has multiple sets of twins.

Fraternal twins Ashley and Alisha Schultz do not have identical DNA, but grew up loving to do the same things.

After years of serving America, two Southern Hills veterans finally received the recognition and awards they earned.

“It’s a special day for these two gentlemen,” said DD Couch of Custer, State Senior Vice Commander of the VFW. “Even though these two men are from different eras, it’s amazing how consistent war is. When you sign on the dotted line and say you want to be a soldier, you defend America from whosoever. You don’t do it for the awards. I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘I can’t wait to go to Vietnam and get a medal!’ These two men are finally given their just due.”

For Tammy Jo Schlechter, teaching isn’t just a job, it’s a way to touch lives.

“I call teachers ‘lifetouchers,’ because that’s what we do, touch lives,” she said. “We teachers want to benefit our students and help them.”

Schlechter and her sparkling personality light up the halls at Hermosa, where she teaches math, American history and reading. She has been with the Custer School District for six years.

It’s war at the Hitchrail — a cook-off war, that is. 

On Monday, March 25, co-owner and chef Dennis Boitnott and friend chef David Melmer will participate in the first cook-off at the Hitchrail restaurant in Pringle. The secret ingrediant? Spam.

“Dennis and I decided that we wanted to do something fun for the community that would benefit a local charity,” said Ann Bonestroo, co-owner of the Hitchrail. 

The idea for the Spam cook-off came after Bonestroo talked with friends about the product over the winter.

Imagine standing inside a transparent ball suspended 50 feet above the Grand Canyon floor. You are higher than some canyon walls and lower than others. You have paints and a brush and you begin to paint what you see on the inside surface of the ball. You paint the north face, then the east, south, and west. Finally, you paint everything visible above and below you. You move your globe to safe ground and step out to observe your paintings. Walking around the sphere, you see that you have captured the entire three-dimensional landscape. In fact, you’ve discovered the structure of your visual experience.

Dick Termes, the only visual artist on the South Dakota Arts Council Touring Arts program, will conduct a free public evening lecture in the music room of Custer High School, Thursday, March 21, at 6 p.m. 

Wind Cave National Park is now 200 elk lighter after an operation to facilitate movement dispersed some of the park’s burgeoning elk population out of the park.

State wildlife officials directing two helicopter crews shooed the elk out of three different areas of the park in an operation that saw the helicopter crews flying as low as 15-20 feet to chase the deer out of the park. The operation was a joint state and federal project, paid for and run by the state.

For many, obtaining a wheelchair is as easy as picking up a phone and dialing a number. But it’s not that easy for the immobile people in Mexico, Romania or the 104 other countries Hope Haven International helps by donating used wheelchairs. That’s why Mike Chase and Don Kraus got involved. 

Hope Haven International, based in Rock Valley, Iowa, collects old, broken-down wheelchairs — most of which are donated — and sends them to be refurbished before taking them to a country of need. The program started after someone traveled to a foreign country and saw that need. To date, over 90,000 wheelchairs have been donated in 106 countries. 

Even though Custer County planning director David Green enjoys taking pictures, he doesn’t consider himself an artist.

“I like taking spontaneous pictures of people and scenery,” he said. “I always carry my little Sony digital camera with me because you never know when you’ll come across a unique or captivating scene.”

The three photographs on display at the gallery represent moments where Green has caught himself saying “wow” as he happened upon the scene.

“They represent sceneries that were evolving at that moment in time,” he said.

The photograph of Sylvan Lake was taken in the spring when the ice was melting off of the lake, the photograph of frost covered pine trees was taken in the early morning on Green’s property before it dissipated from the sun and the cloud formation photograph forever captures an image before the configuration changed with a coming breeze.

“Beyond each captured image, each photograph reminds me of where I was and what I was doing at that moment,” Green said. 

The image of Sylvan Lake reminds Green of his daughter, since they were walking around the lake that day. The frosty pine tree reminds him of checking the mail, since he was walking to the mailbox when he noticed the scenery. The cloud formation reminds him of driving an old truck he has since parted ways with.

“I looked up, noticed the sky, pulled the truck over and rolled down the window — with a crank handle — and snapped the picture,” he said.

Green also made the frames the photographs are housed in our of reclaimed lumber from an old building on his property.

If you’re looking for a foot-tapping, body-moving, music-filled good time, look no further than the Custer Senior Center and its line-dancing classes.

Line dance instructor Rachel Nepper started teaching the class in 2008 after the center’s director approached her about teaching it to a group.

“There was an instructor at the Hill City Senior Center, so I went there and she taught me the steps,” Nepper said. “I’ve never line danced before, but I got into it.”

Four years ago, Jenny Behlings was introduced to the sport of curling, albeit involuntarily.

Her sister, Joann Stearns, had been in Rapid City, where she and her husband, Dan, saw a billboard advertising an open house to learn the sport. The Stearnses had watched curling during the Winter Olympics and decided to give it a try. After attending the open house, they signed up. Behlings soon learned she was signed up too.

“She came home and called me and said, ‘You’re signed up,’” Behlings said.â��“I ended up being the guinea pig.”

When Bailey Konst, 16, heard her name announced as the winner of the Miss Gold Rush Outstanding Teen, she didn’t know what to think.

“I was in shock,” she said. “Everyone kept saying, ‘You won’t win your first pageant.’ I really didn’t know what to think.”

Konst proved them all wrong.

A year ago at this time, Dawn Ramsey was six months away from her 30th class reunion and wanted to lose 30 pounds before the big event.

Ramsey, a Hermosa resident, joined forces with her sister-in-law and fellow Hermosa resident, Crystal Wiles, to form the “Hermosa Hopefuls”â��and set out on the Custer County Chronicle’s “Biggest Loser”â��contest, hoping to shed that weight.

Together, the two dominated the competition, with Wiles placing first, Ramsey placing second and the team lapping the field in terms of weight lost. By herself, Ramsey shed 27-1/2 pounds through diet and exercise.

The old proverb “good things come in small packages” proves true when talking about Custer, the trick cattle dog. 

Custer and his owners, Carolyn and John Mastin, moved to Custer from Minnesota and operate Pinewood Stables. The Mastins knew a decade ago they would move and retire in the Black Hills, with the intent of living on the property they purchased near Hot Springs.

After more than a year of extensive public and partner involvement, Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) Supervisor Craig Bobzien announced the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and his Record of Decision for the BHNF Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project on Monday, Dec. 17. This decision will involve treatment on portions of approximately 248,000 acres of high-risk forest that officials believe will likely be affected by the mountain pine beetle. Bobzien said comments he received on the EIS were valuable to him in considering options for his decision.

The school year is nearly half over and the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA), which set new nutritional standards for school lunches, continues to undergo changes due to recent opposition from state representatives and senators, including South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack responded to complaints of lawmakers and school administrators with new regulations allowing more meats and grains in school lunches. The exact amount is not yet known, but schools will be considered in compliance as long as they meet the minimum amount, regardless of exceeding the maximum. 

According to a Dec. 4 article by Matthew DeLuca in Newsweek/The Daily Beast, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) may be making their way to the Custer County compound.

As Texas moves to seize the FLDS Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch near Eldorado, Texas, FLDS members may look for a safe haven here.

A 91-page affidavit has been filed in Schleicher County, Texas, by the Attorney General’s office for seizure and forfeiture of the 1,600-acre Yearning For Zion (YFZ) Ranch belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

The affidavit alleges that the ranch was purchased to provide a safe place where systemic sexual assault of children could take place without interference from law enforcement. 

It is said those who sleep under a quilt, sleep under a blanket of love. Several Custer Piecemakers Quilt Guild members exhibiting through December at the Custer County Courthouse Art Gallery have covered many with their quilted love. The quilters exhibiting are Norma Horkey, Phyllis Terrall, Joyce Jindra, Lois Sietsma, Sue Parker, Janice Moore, Karen Kraus, Carol Roberts Caster, Jackie Kennedy Groves French, Linda Polito, Lyn Kolund, Marcia Busskohl and Mary Zolmosky.

The guild was established September 1990 to share ideas, inspire each other and keep the art of quiltmaking alive. Membership has grown to 45 members.

Many spend hours, days and even decades looking for treasure, but for mountain pine beetle tree markers, the treasure they find is merely stumbled upon.

Priscilla Engen has been marking pine beetle trees for a little over a year and has found many historical and unique treasures.

“I found a stone quarry canyon that someone was going to start in the 1930s but abandoned once the Depression hit,” she said. “I’ve found huge round wheels, arrowheads and many cool looking rocks.”

Even though the tourists have left for the most part and the elevators were down for the better part of the month, work has continued at a furious pace at Jewel Cave National Monument.

Park staff have used the down time to do landscaping, prepare new exhibits and do other maintenance work that normally can’t be done during the hustle and bustle of the summer.

The focus last week was landscaping around the visitors center, a project 40 years in the making. When the building was constructed in 1972, the landscaping was designed, but lack of funding prevented it from being completed or maintained. That led to the landscaping looking “pretty ratty,” said Jewel Cave superintendent Larry Johnson.