Monthly Archives: May 2016

Kathy Hutton, 54

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hutton obit

Kathy Hutton, age 54, of Winner, passed away at her home on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Memorial service were held on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 10 a.m. at the Mason Funeral Home in Winner. Burial will be held at a later date.

On February 14, 1962, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Duley were blessed with a baby girl that weighted 10 lbs. Vera thought she was her special Valentines gift. Kathy joined 2 older brothers Darrel and Thomas Duley and later a younger sister Christina Luebke and brother Andy Bender.

Kathy lived and went to school all 12 years in Colome. She got married in 1980 to Rand Reterstorf and they moved to Arizona where she lived for 30 years. She had several different jobs there, finally going to work for Norris Air-conditioning as a secretary and was there for 15 years.

She has 2 children: Jeremy Duley of Green Isle, MN and Tasha Reterstorf of Phoenix, AZ.

Kathy came back here in 2014 and worked in many different jobs until she got hired at the hospital. Kathy loved the job and the people there. She had a stroke in April of 2015.

She was predeced in death by her three brothers Darrel, Thomas, and Andy; her father Jack; and her grandparents Joel and Addie Duley and Herald and Emma Condon.

Spirituality: A Unique Summer Tour

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crosses with s.d mag storyBy Katie Hunhoff

Grasshoppers swarmed our fields and towns, devouring everything in their path in the 1870s. Farmers were ruined and entire communities suffered. Kampeska City, the precursor to Watertown, became a ghost town after the plague.

Father Pierre Boucher took action to protect Jefferson in the very southeast corner of today’s South Dakota. He planned a spiritual procession to ward off the hated insects. He announced his plan in Mass on a Sunday in the spring of 1876. The next morning, both Protestants and Catholics convened south of Jefferson and Boucher led them on an 11-mile procession. They ceremoniously placed crosses at four points, and another in the Jefferson cemetery. Soon after, throngs of dead grasshoppers were found nearby at the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers.

The crosses later became spiritual relics to Jefferson residents. One, outside St. Peter’s Catholic Church, was replaced in 1967. Others can be found 4 miles northwest of town on County Road 1B near the Southeast Farmers Coop Elevator and another near the corner of 330th Street and 480th Avenue west of Jefferson. The wooden crosses are just one of many spiritual places that we recommend exploring in the May/June issue of South Dakota Magazine. South Dakota residents have always been spiritual; currently we are listed as the 16th most religious state according to a Pew Research study based on time spent in prayer, church attendance, belief and “self-described importance” of religion. Early residents relied on their faith to endure the many challenges of life on the prairie — natural woes like drought and floods and storms and more personal challenges such as the mental strains of carving out a new life on the lonesome prairie.

South Dakotans have built beautiful churches as the focuses of our faith. But our story also explores some lesser-known spiritual sites. Reynold’s Prairie, located high in the Black Hills, is one of five mountain places considered sacred to the Sioux. Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Interior declared the meadow is once again Indian trust land and will be managed as a sacred site.

Our story on spirituality also references the gravesites of two brothers, Michael and Joseph Hofer, in the cemetery at Rockport Hutterite Colony in Hanson County. The Hofers, who adhered to the Hutterite tenet of pacifism, refused to serve in World War I after being drafted. They were sentenced to military prisons and were tortured. Eventually both died of pneumonia. Hutterites throughout North America make a pilgrimage to pay their respects at their gravesites.

Many of the spiritual sites we selected are obvious — the Cathedral on the Prairie at Hoven, the Wounded Knee cemetery and Stavkirke in the Hills. But others may surprise you, including Black Elk’s log cabin, Wind Cave and the five Medicine Buttes in South Dakota.

A South Dakota summer is the perfect season to seek out some of these spiritual spots for reflection and contemplation. Lakota scholar Vine Deloria, Jr. once wrote, “The plains of the Dakotas are both hospitable and hostile to people. You must welcome their bounty but ensure that they do not sweep you up, taking your life and making you a part of their restless spirit.” We think Mr. Deloria, who died in 2005, would have liked our spiritual tour. We hope you do as well.

Nelson Elected to Banker Board

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The South Dakota Bankers Association (SDBA), the professional and trade association for South Dakota’s financial services industry since 1884, recently held elections for two of the nine seats on its Board of Directors.

Elected to serve on the SDBA Board of Directors were:
· Kristina Schaefer, General Counsel & Director of Risk Management, First Bank & Trust, Sioux Falls
· David D. Nelson, Sr. Vice President & Branch Manager, First Fidelity Bank, Platte

Nelson is formerly of Winner.

Schaefer and Nelson began their three-year directorships on May 1. This is their first term on the SDBA Board of Directors

Bechtold to Receive National FCCLA award

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dan bechtold at reunion

Dan Bechtold, editor of the Winner Advocate, has been named the recipient of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America national outstanding media award.

Bechtold’s name was submitted by the Winner FCCLA chapter. Kris Brockhoft is the Winner High School FCCLA advisor.

The newspaper editor will receive the award at the FCCLA national leadership conference in San Diego, Calif., on July 6.

Finney Takes Oath as Mayor of Winner

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Finney

By Dan Bechtold, Editor

Frank Finney was sworn in as the new mayor of Winner at Monday’s meeting of the Winner City Council.  Finney takes over from Jess Keesis who served as mayor for six years.

The new terms of council members also started on Monday. Val Sherman rejoins the city council in Ward Two, Dave Baker in Ward One and Brad Schramm in Ward Three.  Appointed to serve the one-year term in Ward One vacated by mayor Frank Finney was Isaiah Curtis.

The city presented plaques to out going mayor Keesis and to Jena Littau who served one term in Ward Two. Littau and Keesis did not run for re-election this year.

Jody Brozik was elected the president of the council and Dave Baker was named the vice president.

City council committees include:
Police commission—Frank Finney, Val Sherman and Jody Brozik
Cemetery/parks and recreation—Val Sherman, Brad Schramm and Isaiah Curtis
Utilities/street/drainage—Brad Schramm, Jody Brozik, Isaiah Curtis
Finance and ordinance—John Meyer, Sherman and Dave Baker
Insurance/Administration building and Fire Hall—Brozik, Schramm and Curtis
Union committee—Finney, Baker, Augspurger and Paul Jensen
Administrative policy/Personnel—Baker, Sherman and Meyer
Emergency Management/Airport—Brozik, Schramm and Baker
Third District Planning/Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development—Finney and Meyer
Housing/County Relations—Finney
Senior Citizens—Finney

Suspect Arrested in Armed Robbery

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An 18-year-old has been arrested following an armed robbery at Casey’s General Store in Winner on April 10 at 9:29 p.m.

The gunman brandished a gun at the clerk and demanded money. An undisclosed about of cash was taken from the store.
Cody DuBray, 18, Pierre, was arrested at 11 p.m. that night. DuBray turned himself into police chief Paul Schueth.

DuBray was charged with several offenses including first degree robbery, aggravated assault, commission of a felony with a firearm.
DuBray is being held in the Winner jail. He appeared in court and pled guilty but has not been sentenced.

Schueth says the gun has not been recovered. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 842-3939.  Schueth says the police department appreciates the help in quickly capturing the suspect.

Tripp Co. Receives Bridge Improvement Grant

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The South Dakota Transportation Commission awarded 19 Bridge Improvement Grants (BIG) for a total of more than $8 million at their monthly meeting April 28 in Pierre.

The grant funding includes 14 bridge preservation projects totaling $4.079 million and five bridge replacement projects totaling $4.012 million. This is in addition to the $0.908 million for 40 preliminary engineering grants awarded by the Commission in February.

Preservation grant recipients are: Beadle County, Brookings County, Davison County, Fall River County, Hughes County, Meade County, Rapid City and Tripp County.
Tripp County’s grant will be $225,600 capped for design and construction. In addition to the capped grant, the county will also receive 80 percent reimbursement for all construction engineering costs for the project.

Bridge Replacement grant recipients are: Aberdeen, Marshall County, Moody County, Roberts County and the City of Yankton.

Grant funds are limited to a maximum of $4 million per entity over a three year period to ensure the funds are shared among as many local governments as possible. The local governments are required to pay a minimum of 20 percent matching funds and have three years to expend the grant.

One hundred applications totaling $14.4 million were received by the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT). Seven cities submitted 10 applications and 30 counties submitted a total of 90 applications.

The BIG program was created last year in Senate Bill 1. SB 1 set aside $7 million per year from funds generated by license plate fees to be used to repair and replace the aging local government bridges. The SDDOT added an additional $2 million this year, making $9 million available.

These grants are in addition to the $6 million in federal highway funding that SDDOT provides for local bridge projects for each of the years 2016-2018.

The grants are divided into three categories: preliminary engineering, preservation and replacement.

· Preservation work is done to help extend the life of the structure. Project types include bridge deck overlays, railing repairs, adding riprap for scour protection, repairing backwalls, etc.

· Bridge replacement projects are more expensive and these projects are ranked using a point system. Structure condition, detour route length, traffic counts, economic development factors, amount of wheel tax and additional financial commitment are aspects used to rank the projects.

· The preliminary engineering grants included funding for survey, hydraulic analysis and structure sizing. This project work will ensure the grant requests for replacement funds will be more accurate. After this phase is completed, some counties and cities may choose to construct the bridges on their own, without grant funding.

Marie Valentina (Nespor) Spreckels, 91

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spreckels obit

Marie Valentina (Nespor) Spreckels, 91, a longtime resident of Winner went to be with her heavenly Father on April 26, 2016. At the time of her death she resided at Fountain Springs Healthcare in Rapid City.

Services were held on April 30 at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Winner with Rev. Will Harley officiating. There was a reception and lunch at the church following the service.   Private internment will be at the Winner Cemetery at a later date.

Marie was born February 14, 1925, in Hamill, SD to Joe and Agnes (Klima) Nespor. Marie grew up on the family farm east of Hamill. She attended a country grade school through the eighth grade, then attended high school in Winner, graduating in 1943. Marie lived a short time in Omaha, NE working for an insurance company. Thereafter, she met the love of her life, Norman. They were married on December 27, 1945 at Zion Lutheran Church in Colome, SD and shared 57 years of love and blessings. To this union four children were born: Judy, Sondra, Donald and Dona.

Marie was baptized and confirmed on September 16, 1944 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Omaha, NE. She became a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Winner, SD in 1946 and was dedicated to her Lord and to her church for her whole life.

Marie was a devoted farm and ranch wife working alongside Norman. During those years she raised chickens, grew large gardens and canned anything she could get her hands on to prepare for the winter months. She was a hostess that always had a coffee pot on and a freezer-full of baked goodies in case company would drop by. In her spare time she would spend time at the sewing machine sewing for herself and her three girls, embroidering tea towels and scarves and also enjoyed making her quilts. Dancing nearly every Saturday night, especially at Carlock, and playing cards were Norman and Marie’s best entertainment, but always up on Sunday morning to attend worship at Trinity Lutheran Church until she became a care-giver for Norman the last eighteen years of his life. Due to declining health, Marie moved into Golden Prairie Manor in Winner in October of 2010; Morningstar Assisted Living in Rapid City in May of 2012; and her final home was at Fountain Springs Healthcare, Rapid City on March 11, 2016. Marie was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and will be greatly missed.

Joyce G. Songer, 79

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joyce songer obit

Joyce Gladys Songer was born to Joe and Bertha (Totton) Story on April 16, 1937 at Norris, South Dakota, and was called home on April 26, at the West Holt Memorial Hospital in Atkinson, Nebraska.

Joyce had four sisters, Melba, Dorothy, Ruby and Vera, and five brothers, Ernie, Jasper, Bud, Bill, and Glen. She grew up around the Dallas and Herrick, South Dakota area, going to school through the eighth grade. Shortly after school, she married William Fred Ronfeldt and together they had five children, Joseph Ronfeldt of Corning, Iowa, Katherine Ronfeldt of Colorado, Stanley Ronfeldt of Washington, Rebecca Baldwin of Red Oak, Iowa, and Connie Ball of Arizona. Together, they lived in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota, finally settling in Bassett, Neb., where she remarried and had 2 more sons, Robert Johnston and Raymond Songer. Joyce lived in Bassett for 40+ years, working as a dietary cook, and as a painter and house cleaner while raising her two boys. She enjoyed many hobbies, everything from needle point, antique shopping, cooking, gardening, and bird watching. The times dearest to Joyce’s heart, were spending time with friends and family. She enjoyed having them over at holidays and any other occasion possible. She was also known around the country for her garage sales, baked goods and her service to the community. Joyce lived a long happy life with seven children, 20 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren, and other family members. She leaves behind a life time of loving memories that we all will cherish and pass along to generations to come.