Ilene Hickey, 88

A prayer service for Ilene Hickey, 88, Burke, formerly of Iona, was held July 29 at Kotrba-Smith Funeral Home, Gregory. A private burial will take place at a later date.

Ilene Marie Konop Hickey was born Oct. 21, 1931 in rural Dixon, SD, the third of five children born to Chas (Charlie) and Marie Feyereisen Konop. The family lived on a farmstead north of Gregory. She attended the rural Washington School and Gregory High School, graduating on May 14, 1948, in only three years and as the salutatorian of her class.

She then received her teacher’s certificate and taught for two years in a country school. She was smaller and almost the same age as some of her students.

Ilene met and later married the love of her life, Claude Hickey, on Aug. 28, 1950, in Pierre, SD. She and her younger sister Alvena Joy (Jody) lived together in Winner while their husbands were in the service. Ilene later moved to California to live with her mother to be closer to Claude, who was stationed at Camp Pendleton. After Claude finished his military duty, the couple lived west of Iona, SD on his parent’s farm, then in the Iona Hotel before purchasing their farm north of Iona, where they made their home for many years.

They worked side by side raising hogs and cattle, milking cows, and farming the land. To this union were born four children, Karen, Marvin, Darla, and Claudia. The couple also provided a home for her dad for many years.

Ilene, also known as Ikie to her friends, worked for a brief period of time sewing collars on shirts in a factory in Reliance, SD. Civic responsibility was important to Ikie as she served the community as an election worker in Lyman County about 25 years and as the Iona Township Treasurer for 40 years.

After the couple retired from farming, they moved to Burke, SD to a house on Main Street and later on to an apartment in Parkview Manor. After Claude’s death, she continued to live at the apartments until a series of strokes required the move to Butte Senior Living in Butte, NE in December of 2019. She resided there until her death.

She was a favorite of the nursing home staff because of her sweet and gentle personality and quick wit. Ikie’s skill for cooking became well known, and there was always room for one more at the family table. Liver and onions was a favorite meal served to her loved ones. Sheloved to bake and share homemade goodies, such as caramel cinnamon rolls, angel food cakes, raised and glazed donuts and pumpkin pies. Another specialty was making homemade candy, especially peanut brittle.

Ikie was an avid seamstress, making clothes for her children and grandchildren. She even put in an “all-nighter” sewing a Halloween costume for one of her granddaughters. She enjoyed gardening and in her later years she spent hours reading and following her beloved Chicago Cubs. She was thrilled when the Cubbies won the World Series in 2016.

She is survived by daughter Claudia (Glenn) Smith of Ainsworth,NE; daughter Darla Viereck of Sioux Falls, SD; and daughter Karen (Marvin) McIntosh of Iona, SD. She is survived by many grand and great-grandchildren; sister Jody (Jerald) Tagtow of Kandiyohi, MN; many nieces, nephews, and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her infant sister, Mary Ann Konop in 1939; parents Charlie in 1988 and Marie in 2004; husbandClaude in 2013; son Marvin in 2011; sister Betty Jean Rice in 1990, and brother Chuck Konop in 1986.

WHS outstanding athletes

Submitted photo
Outstanding Winner High School athletes for the 2019-2020 school year have been
chosen. Due to COVID-19 there was no athletic awards ceremony this year.
Pictured from left are Morgan Hammerbeck, female outstanding athlete; Saige
Schuyler, most inspirational; Phillip Jorgensen, most inspirational and Trevor
Peters, outstanding male athlete.

Colome school plan

The Colome Consolidated School Board has put on first reading a plan for the safe return to school for all students and staff in the district. The board has had two meetings to discuss and make changes. Each time the board has met there has been some tweaks to the plan.

By Dan Bechtold/ Editor

The tentative passage of the plan is set for the Aug. 10 board meeting. School in the Colome district will start on Aug. 18. There are three levels to the plan which takes into consideration if there are any cases of COVID-19 in the school.

Level one is green which allows school to be open as normal as possible with precautions in place. There will be hand sanitizers, signs posted to wash hands and adjust lunch time if needed. Social distancing measures will be increased.

Masks will be available and it will be parent/student choice if they wear a mask. Masks will not be mandated. Some staff members may make the choice to wear a mask during the school day.

The school emphasized there will be no bullying tolerated of students who choose to wear a mask.

Level 2 is yellow and includes more precautions as suggested by the South Dakota Department of Health and the state Department of Education. This level will require the wearing of mask and clear plexiglass dividers in certain areas .More custodians will be hired for additional cleaning, if needed.

If needed in level 2 there will be a modified schedule such as staggered arrival and release time and bus routes may be changed. There may be a combination of face to face and online learning using Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams for a limited time. With the online learning the students would be at home and not in the classroom.

Level 3 red is the most serious and would mean school cannot be operated as usual and all learning will be online. The school may consider full distance learning.

The Department of Health and the department of education will work with the school district leadership to determine if a shut down is needed. This would happen if there were multiple cases of COVID-19 in the school. The school plan is very fluid as things change day to day with COVID-19.

Supt. Dr. Debbie O’Doan said the plan is to open the schools in the best way possible keeping everyone as safe as possible. O’Doan noted the school will be flexible enough to make changes as needed in accordance with the local COVID-19 case data.

Water bottles will be highly encouraged to avoid sharing water fountains. Hand sanitizers have been installed in every classroom plus multiple places in hallways and common areas. With COVID-19 there will need to be extra cleaning by the custodial staff. Rooms and hallways will be disinfected two times weekly. Temperature checks of students will happen in the main office and Title I room. Temperature checks will be taken if a student shows signs of illness. Students with a fever will be required to put on a mask and will wait in the isolation room until parents come to pick them up.

Parents are expected to monitor their children and keep them home if they are sick.

For sports and extracurricular activities the school will follow South Dakota High School Activities Association guidelines. At the present time all fall sports are a go and have been approved by the SDHSAA with restrictions. O’Doan noted if the school reaches the red level and in order to avoid becoming the next hot spot the school will move to full distant learning for a limited period of time. O’Doan says communication is a key as the school year starts and students and staff work their way through a pandemic.