Winner wins Huron Invite; Prepares for regional

Winner grabbed five individual titles on Saturday on is way to winning the Huron Invitational.

The Warriors scored 231 points with Aberdeen Central taking second with 191 points. Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon rounded out the top three with 163 points.

Individual champions for Winner were Maxon Brozik (113), Karson Keiser (120), Kaden Keiser (145), Jack Peters (152) and Riley Orel (160).

Also placing for Winner were Konnor Osborn, 4th; Jude Sargent, 3rd; Ryken Orel, 6th; Jack Kruger, 2nd ; Charley Pravecek, 2nd; Achilles Willuweit, 2nd; and Stetson Shelbourn, 6th.

The Warriors, top ranked in Class B, will compete in the regional on Saturday, in Wagner. The meet will start at 10 a.m.

Coach Spencer Novotny says the Region 3B tournament is going to be a tough tournament. Winner is the defending champion.

The seeding for the regional will not come out until Thursday.

In practice the team needs to work on figuring out their moves.

“In most weight classes, we kind of have an idea on who we are going to wrestle but sometimes there are late season moves and kids are moved up into a different weigh class. We are going  to wrestle where we have all season. We are hoping to have all 14 guys practicing full time this week preparing for a late season run.

“One of our goals this season is to win regions and get 14 out of 14 guys through to state. Those are lofty goals but it is attainable. We need to start peaking right now and carry that level to the state tournament next week,” said Novotny.

Winner has qualified for the state dual tournament but don’t know who they will be wrestling so the main focus this week is regions.

“This is when your whole season comes to a point and you need to get in the top four in your weight class. The kids are ready and excited. I hope to see a big Winner Warrior crowd in Wagner this weekend,” said Novotny.

The state meet is Feb. 24, 25 and 26 in Sioux Falls.

Results of AAU wrestling meets

AAU wrestlers have competed in several tournaments.

Results include:

Wagner on Jan 28

Rhogan Robbins, Rylan Robbins, Teegan Shelbourn and Bridger Stirling, all 1st; Cooper VanZandbergen, Coy Shelbourn, Jedediah Blare, all 2nd; Blayden Stiring, Jake Kucera and Liam Schroeder, all 3rd; Addison Wingert-Hempe, Eli Orel, Rex Pederson, all 4th

Ainsworth tournament on Jan. 30 results:

Clay McMurtrey, Mason Curtis, Owen Novotny, Rouken Robbins, Rylan Robbins,Talon Labahn and Teegan Shelbourn, all first; Eli Orel, Hudson Peters, Liam Schroeder, Rhogan Robbins, Rowdi Moss, Rylan Assman,  all 2nd; Blake Paulson, Braxtyn Olson and Gage Tucker, 3rd and Rex Pederson, 4th.

Legend Benedict placed first at the Aberdeen tournament on Jan. 30.

Results of the Burke tournament on Feb. 4 include: Apollo Willuweit, Bohdy Assman, Bridger Stirling, Gus Tobin, Karsten Storms, Lawson Helkenn, Mason Curtis, Rhogan Robbins, Rowdi Moss, Rylan Robbins, Teegan Shelbourn, all first; Cooper Craven, Crawston Craven, Hudson Peters, Jedediah Blare, Liam Schroeder, Lucchese Helkenn, Owen Novotny, Rex  Pederson, Sterling Assman, Talon Labahn, all 2nd; Blayden Stirling, Blaze Mead, Christian Barnes, Kaeden Eagle Star, all third; Isaiah Barnes, Jehtt Assman, Ryken Kaup, Tatum Swan, all fourth ; Harvey Nicholas, Julius Eagle Star, Nathan Melius, Raeleigh Mead, Wynn Sargent, all fifthand Jack Ross, 6th

At the Stanley Co. tournament Addison Wingert-Hempel took first and Gus Tobin, 2nd.

Results of the Kimball tournament:

Clay McMurtrey, Rhogan Robbins and Blayden Stirling, all first; Rouken Robbins, Bridger Stirling, Talon Swan, all 4th and Liam Schroeder, 5th.

A drawing was held for two bouquet of flowers at a Winner basketball game

Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
A drawing was held for two bouquet of flowers at the Winner basketball game on Friday. The drawing was sponsored by Winner High School student council with proceeds going to the Children’s Miracle Network. Winning the flowers were Chad Duffy, second from left and Stormy Halligan, second from right. Making the presentation are student council members Ellie Brozik, right and Skyler Hanson, left.

Offices closes for Presidents Day

Government offices in Winner will be closed on Monday, Feb. 21 in honor of Presidents Day.

The Tripp County Courthouse will be closed along with the Tripp County Library.

The Winner city office will be closed on Feb. 21. The city council meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.

All state and federal offices in Winner will be closed.

The Winner Post Office will be closed and there will be no mail delivery.

Financial institutions in Winner and Colome will not be open for business on Feb. 21.

There will be no noon meal served at the senior citizens center. There will be no transit in Winner on Feb. 21.

Southern Plains Behavioral Health Services will be closed Feb. 21.

Little Cheer Camp Preforms

Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
The Little Cheerleaders performed at the halftime of the Winner boys and girls doubleheader with McLaughlin on Friday. There were 95 girls at a camp held in the morning. This is the largest group that has attended a cheer camp.
Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
This group of girls who attended a Little Cheer camp performed at the halftime of the Winner and McLaughlin game on Friday.

Mavis Fleming, 65

Mavis Fleming age 65, passed away on Jan. 18, 2022 at Bryan East Hospital in Lincoln, Ne.

Mavis was born Jan. 2, 1957 in Pierre SD, to Clarence and Lorraine (Kruse) Kuper.  She attended Eagle township school for 8 years then high school in Highmore, SD.

She loved animals with a passion. She was active in 4-H while growing up, and showed her animals. She was also active in rodeo while in high school and continued as an adult. 

Mavis married Lawrence Joe Fleming on Oct. 17, 1980. They worked on ranches in South Dakota and Nebraska until the purchased their own ranch in South Dakota, north of Valentine. 

Her passion for animals continued throughout her life. She had several Brown Swiss milk cows that she called her babies. Pistol and Okie were her two favorite horses. She won several barrel racings and horse races with them. She loved her dogs also, Miso and Poncho. They went everywhere with her.

She was a friend to everyone that she met, and was willing to help when they needed her. She took care of her mother for several years until her death in 2018. They loved to go to the senior center and play Bingo and cards. 

Mavis is preceded in death by her father Clarence 1999, mother Lorraine 2018, husband Joe 2018, and daughter Jill 2021.

She is survived by her brothers, Karl (Diane) Kuper of Tripp, SD., Marvin (Elaine) Kuper of Sturgis, SD., stepchildren, Jackie (Wayne) Hollenbeck of Rose, NE., Larry Fleming of Hudson, CO.,  Lori Witte (Rob Clay) of Valentine, NE.,  nephews, Ryan (Jamie) Kuper of Grant, NE., Jimmy Kuper of Tulare, CA.,  and niece Nancy Kuper of Tulare, CA., step grandchildren, Kelsey Witte of Grand Island, NE., Jessie (Loncey) Johnson of Dillion, MT., Ryan O’Kief of Valentine, NE., KayCee Hollenbeck (Rob Parker), Rose, NE.,  Jade (Caleb) Martin, Wichita, KS.

Memorial service were held on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022 at the United Methodist Church in Valentine, NE.  Memorial service was also held on Feb. 12, 2022 at  the Church of Christ in Highmore, SD.  Inurnment  followed at the Highmore Cemetery in Highmore, SD.

Sandoz Chapel of the Pines in Valentine, NE was in charge of service arrangements.

Betty Vaughn, 76

Funeral services for Betty Vaughn, 76,  Gregory, were held on Feb. 12 at 10:30 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church. Burial followed in the IOOF Cemetery in Gregory.

Betty Lou Vaughn was born on March 13, 1945, at the Gregory Community Hospital in Gregory, SD, to William and Mary Jane (Vosika) Manke. She was the second oldest of five children and her family often lovingly referred to her as “Bucky”. She grew up on the family farm seven miles south of Gregory. Family devotion and wonderful memories were made with siblings Larry, Beverley, Donnie, and Sandy. Life on the farm was filled with wholesome fun…from playing in their make shift “playhouse” making “mudpies” to pretending to run a “country store” with her sisters.  

Life on the farm was also busy from milking cows, stripping bluegrass, turning and stacking square bales, cleaning chickens, to cooking and cleaning for the family helping their mom.  The family found enjoyment while working hard and just being together. A big highlight was saving up enough money in her jar to buy a new Fourth of July dress and shoes. The love of family and hard work were forever engraved in her!

Betty attended the Climbing Hill School through eighth grade completing her  schooling at Gregory High School.  As customary in those days due to no busing, country kids boarded in town.  She met her lifelong friend, Carol Schweigert Stevicks, while staying at Carol’s Grandma Burr’s house. Betty also stayed with her beloved Grandma Mollie Manke who instilled the love of Jesus in the family.

She was baptized and confirmed into the Lutheran faith.  She was a lifetime member of the St. John Lutheran Church in Gregory and the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. Her faith was strong and unwavering until the very end! There was never a doubt in her mind that she was going to heaven. Her church life was extremely important to Betty. The church family and her friendships there were very dear to her.  Serving at funeral dinners, past Sunday Bible classes, and the ladies Friday workdays were some of the activities that she enjoyed.

Betty met her loving husband, Paul Vaughn, at a dance in Colome, SD.  They were united in marriage on Nov. 3, 1962.  They had 53 years of devoted marriage together before Paul passed away from pancreatic cancer on May 16, 2016.  To this union one daughter, Rhonda Lou, was born.  She was the apple of their eye!  Later son-in-law Tom Waterbury joined the family.   Tom was truly like a son to them, and they had a very special relationship.

In 1968, Paul and Betty began their career endeavors in the insurance business with the formation of the Vaughn Insurance Agency.  While Paul was in the forefront of the business, it was Betty who was the behind-the-scenes backbone of the day-to-day operations! She managed the paperwork while often jokingly saying she also has to manage Paul! The business was awarded many accolades in part to Betty’s contributions and hard work!

Never one to sit idly, she was always doing something….and that something was always done to perfection and usually in a big way!  She was a woman of many talents. Her Christmas goodies, baked goods, and scrumptious desserts are legendary with her family and friends!   Rhonda’s friends would often ask if there was going to be a “Betty treat” at parties. One of her specialties was beautifully decorated white cakes even making a few wedding cakes.  Hosting family get-togethers created cherished memories with her family and was something she loved to do!  She was an impeccable seamstress making many clothes for herself and Rhonda. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t mend. One of her biggest projects was making all the dresses for Rhonda’s wedding plus numerous other details like flower bouquets and decorative accessories!  For family members, it’s easy for them to spot something made by Betty!

Betty was truly a beautiful person with her dazzling smile and classy style. However, she was always the most humble, selfless, and kind person. Her family will always be grateful for her helpfulness, generosity, and protective nature.  Her biggest love was her daughter Rhonda.  They had an incredibly devoted and loving relationship. They thoroughly enjoying being together and were happiest working on some sort of project together.

In 1995 after years of saving and planning, Betty used yet another of her talents and designed Paul and her dream home east of Gregory. She loved to decorate her home especially at Christmas.  The Vaughn Christmas lighting displays were dazzling.  She thoroughly enjoyed her yard, watching the trees grow, building rock gardens, water fountains, and her flowers…..her beautiful, beautiful flowers.  She also had passions for collecting teapots, Avon Cape Cod dishes, ceramic dolls, Christmas villages, and anything Victorian! She was the most organized person you would ever find and had a knack for always having what you needed.  It was joked about in the family that if you needed something Betty would have it, and she could find it!  You wouldn’t find a more organized person.  Tom will miss her detailed diaries on the weather especially rain. Spending time at home was a joy to her!  She also loved going for drives, staying in touch on Facebook, and enjoying anything Rhonda was involved in. She was an avid fan of the Gregory County Polka Band where she loved listening to Rhonda play her saxophone. After Paul died, most evenings were spent at Tom and Rhonda’s just enjoying each other’s company or spending time with her sister Bev.

In the fall of 2020, Betty started developing health issues due to cardiomyopathy. Her stamina and strength began to falter.  On May 18, 2021, she underwent open heart surgery to correct her thickened left ventricle.  Complications occurred during surgery and her aorta tore resulting in major blood loss.  Betty was on life support for several weeks and was severely debilitated.  Doctors were often not optimistic due to numerous setbacks while spending 125 days in the Mayo ICU, but she was a fighter.  Miraculously after five months to the amazement of her doctors and physical therapists, she was able to start walking and finally returned to the Gregory hospital.  Unfortunately, shortly thereafter she developed pneumonia along with Covid.  She was flown to Sioux Falls and never could bounce back.  The final straw was the development of seizures, and she spent the last three weeks of her life in a coma.  She died very peacefully in Rhonda’s arms on February 7, 2022, surrounded by her loving sisters and her devoted Tom. She had put up a truly tremendous and courageous fight during the 266 straight days in the hospital.  She was 76 years, 10 months and 25 days.

Betty is survived by her loving daughter, Rhonda, and her husband Tom Waterbury; siblings: Larry Manke of Pierre, SD, Beverley, Donnie both of Gregory, SD, and Sandy (Gene) of O’Neill, NE; sisters-in-law DeAnne Vaughn of O’Neill, NE, and Rosemary (Lamone) Kerner of Burke, SD; and brother-in-law Clayton Steele of Burke, SD; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her dear husband Paul; parents, William and Mary Manke; mother and father-in-law, Lyle and Cecil Vaughn; in-laws Jim Keegan, Lyle and Loretta Vaughn Jr., Adamae and Don Moody, Darrell and Inez Tech, Ray Vaughn, Sharon and Helmer Jensen, Karon Steele, and nephews Jay Keegan and Lemars Manke, niece Mary Ellwanger, and her precious little dog Patchy Boy

Betty was a loving wife, sister, friend, mother-in-law and especially mother! She will be greatly missed.

Edwin James Tech, 79

Edwin James Tech, 79, of Grand Island, NE passed away on Jan. 1, 2022 at his home.

Memorial services will be 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at the Northridge Assembly of God in Grand Island with Pastor Mark Oberbeck officiating. Military honors will follow the service at the church.

Edwin was born on Aug. 13, 1942 in Gregory, SD to Benhard and Marie (Gall) Tech. He grew up in Winner, South Dakota. He enlisted in the Army on Nov. 5, 1964 and served during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged on Oct. 23, 1966. During his life Ed was married three times; his first marriage was to Bev Hopkins and to this marriage was one son, Brent. He was then married to Gretchen Pollock and to that marriage was a daughter, Crystal. He was then united in marriage to Bonna Wedige on Oct. 8, 2000 at Stuhr Museum in Grand Island. The couple then lived in Grand Island where Ed helped Milton Stoppekotte for 13 years and later worked for Mike Panowicz as a hired hand. 

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Bonna; daughter, Crystal; stepsons, James, John, Roger and Darrell; 16 grandchildren and two great grandchildren; two brothers, Ron and Steven Tech; and two sisters, Linda Truitt and Bonita Tech.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Brent; great grandnephew, Kevyn, sister, Carol (Don) Zaugg, and nephew, Brian Zaugg.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.apfelfuneralhome.com