Custer County Chronicle

Sept. 11 will be a special day

Published by admin on Thu, 09/03/2020 - 9:40am
Not everything bad happened on Sept. 11. For one thing, our oldest son was born on that day five decades ago. For another, the Custer County Chronicle was founded on that day 140 years ago, making us the oldest continuously-operated business in the Southern Black Hills. This is something we plan to celebrate Friday, Sept. 11, with an open house, refreshments and drawings. It will be held in our building at 522 Mount Rushmore Road from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in order to stay away from any large groups coming in a tighter time period. 

Prescient words from Mr. Lincoln

Published by admin on Thu, 09/03/2020 - 9:17am
Back in early ’70s my oldest brother, Durwin, came back from a several month sojourn in California overflowing with tales about the glories of The Golden State. I especially hung on his every word when he described his several visits to Disneyland, Walt Disney’s “Happiest Place on Earth.” 

Breaking down the Electoral College

Published by admin on Thu, 08/27/2020 - 10:09am
Greetings! With the Democratic Convention completed and the Republican Convention taking place, I thought it would be a perfect time to visit about the mechanics of the presidential election.  First off, the winner of the election needs 270 or more electoral votes to become president, right? Well, what happens if neither candidate gets to 270? Let’s discuss.

Jasper was one fire for the ages

Published by admin on Thu, 08/27/2020 - 10:08am
Twenty years ago on Thursday, Aug. 24, at about 3 p.m.  or so we were on our way back from Newcastle, Wyo., heading to Custer on Highway 16 when we spotted a plume of black smoke several miles up ahead. This would be the start of the Jasper Fire of 2000 and occurred just about seven months after we had purchased the newspapers in Custer and Hill City. We had already experienced a big April snowstorm earlier in the year.

Positives in a negative world

Published by admin on Thu, 08/27/2020 - 10:07am
Man, is the world a bummer right now. Maybe more specifically, the U.S. is a bummer.
This has been a year for the books, and not in a good way. Who would have thought the devastating Australian bushfires from January wouldn’t even register anywhere near the top of the bad things that have happened this year when they were burning out of control?

More on coronavirus relief

Published by admin on Thu, 08/20/2020 - 9:05am
Greetings! Since writing last about the $1.25 billion received from our federal government, here is where we are now:
• $1.25 billion received.  
• Spent $200 million on cities and counties, $100 million on state’s unemployment fund and other coronavirus-related expenses. 
• That leaves over $900 million yet to be dispersed.

An open letter to state parents

Published by admin on Thu, 08/20/2020 - 9:05am
When your child’s school gives you a form to sign, please read it thoroughly and think about what permission you are giving to the school district.  Don’t sign any form if you don’t understand it or if you have reservations about what it does. Parents have told me they are given so many forms in the process of registering children for school that they don’t always take the time to read them closely—they just sign them and send them back.  

College football should be played

Published by admin on Thu, 08/20/2020 - 9:03am
When we lived in Broken Bow, Neb., for 10 years it coincided with the last years of coaching for legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, who won three national championships. Naturally, we became avid Husker football fans and managed to attend a game or two every year in Lincoln. 

Why not discuss the Convention of States

Published by admin on Thu, 08/20/2020 - 9:01am
I am again shocked to see my 20-year friend, Rep Goodwin, repeat his disdain of hearing from you, his Constituents. His column in this paper repeats his complaint about receiving too many letters from citizen patriots in District 30 seeking his support for the Convention of States (COS).  

Visiting the wall construction

Published by admin on Thu, 08/13/2020 - 9:14am
I received an invite a few weeks ago to fly to El Paso, Texas, to attend a seminar on the border wall being built where the Texas, New Mexico and Mexico borders meet. Attendees included sitting state legislators, both state and federal Senate and House candidates, a Secretary of State and a U.S. Attorney nominee. I was the only attendee from South Dakota who  ended up going and am glad I was able to attend.