Custer County Chronicle

Christmas services scheduled

Published by admin on Thu, 12/23/2021 - 9:26am

Custer County churches are holding special services to celebrate the Christmas season this week and several will have services on Friday, Christmas Eve.
In Custer, Christmas Eve services are planned for Custer Lutheran Fellowship ELCA at 4 and 6 p.m. with candle lighting and holy communion at both services.
Custer Community Church is planning a Carol and Story Service featuring candle lighting at 5:30 p.m. and Crossroads Church will hold its Christmas Eve service at 5:30 p.m.

CDC recommends certain shots

Published by admin on Thu, 12/23/2021 - 9:24am

Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health advisers recommended Thursday, according to a recent Associated Press report.
The clotting problem has caused nine confirmed deaths after J&J vaccinations — while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t come with that risk and also appear more effective, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Fire damages Sylvan Lake Lodge

Published by admin on Thu, 12/23/2021 - 8:29am
Custer State Park’s (CSP) Sylvan Lake Lodge along Hwy. 87 near Sylvan Lake sustained major damage in a fire Saturday night that brought firefighters from more than a dozen departments and from as far away as north of Rapid City and Newcastle, Wyo., to help in the battle. 
Frigid temperatures, gusty winds and flames shooting through the roof of the two story building greeted the first responders to the scene. 

Custer Care Center to close

Published by admin on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 9:18am

Healthcare workforce shortages are being cited as the main reason for Monument Health’s announcement of the upcoming closure of the Custer Care Center, which is currently home to 30 elderly residents from around the area.
Monument Health Custer Hospital President Mark Schmidt announced the closure on Friday in the following prepared statement:
“Due to ongoing staffing challenges at the Custer Care Center, the Monument Health Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to pursue closure of the center.

Sheriff will cover Hermosa

Published by admin on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 9:15am

The Town of Hermosa will pay the Custer County Sheriff’s Office $21,000 for six months of law enforcement coverage in the wake of the town’s marshal, Jim Daggett, retiring following  the South Dakota Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission revoking Daggett’s certification as a state law enforcement officer.

Hermosa School is on time and under budget

Published by admin on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 9:14am

It appears the entire new Hermosa School will be ready for full occupancy by early in the new year if work continues at the current pace. That announcement was made at the December meeting of the Custer School District Board of Education held in Hermosa on Monday.
Jeremy Altman of Architecture Inc. was on hand to brief the school board on the progress of Phase II of the project which includes a new gym and music room on the east end of the sprawling facility.

School forms advisory panel

Published by admin on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 9:14am

With the goals of improving student achievement and fostering better communication with the community in mind, the Custer School District Board of Education is forming a working group made up of parents, teachers and other school staff as well as community members at large to work on goal setting for the district.

More omicron cases surfacing

Published by admin on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 9:10am

Several states within the United States are requesting and receiving aid from the National Guard in combatting the coronavirus pandemic threatening to overwhelm hospitals. Maine, Michigan and Indiana were among the latest states to do so, according to a recent report in USA Today.
Last week about 75 National Guard members were deployed in Maine to help amid a pandemic high of 400 patients hospitalized with COVID. In New York, 120 Army medics and Air Force medical technicians were deployed to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Kidnapper sentenced

Published by admin on Thu, 12/09/2021 - 9:53am

The woman who kidnapped her two young children from a Custer foster home in May and led authorities on a statewide chase resulting in an Amber Alert has been sentenced to 10 years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary for her crimes. Katrina Seay of Rapid City appeared before circuit judge Matt Brown Aug. 12 and pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping in the second degree.

Road work continues in CSP

Published by admin on Thu, 12/09/2021 - 9:51am

One road project is beginning in Custer State Park as another is set to wrap up.
Starting Wednesday, Dec. 8, the entirety of Playhouse Road within Custer State Park will be closed as the bridge over Iron Creek at the junction of Needles Hwy. and Playhouse Road will be replaced as part of a multi-year effort to replace all of the park’s bridges on Playhouse Road.