Category Archives: Local

Ring to serve as SDEMSA President

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During the annual conference of the South Dakota Emergency Medical Services Association (SDEMSA) last Friday-Sunday, Oct. 29-31 in Pierre, Brian Ring was promoted to the office of state president.

Ring is originally from Colome. He graduated from Colome High School in 1985. He is the son of Don Ring of Colome and Jolene Ring of Spearfish.

As president, Ring will preside over SDEMSA meetings, work closely with the South Dakota Department of Health on EMS related legislative affairs, act as a spokesperson on EMS, encourage association membership, coordinate association activities, and make committee appointments.

A Lifetime Member of the SDEMSA since 2018, Ring has served as SDEMSA Vice President for the past four years. He has also served numerous years as District V Secretary.

Ring received his EMT training thirty years ago. He says that he felt like the knowledge would be beneficial to him as he was growing his family. He worked for ambulance services in Chamberlain and Milbank, and joined the Onida Fire Department soon after arriving here in 1995.

During his tenure with the OFD, Ring has undergone training to become an EMT Intermediate I-85, responsible for providing basic emergency treatment for respiratory, trauma and cardiac emergencies, as well as obstructed airways, and trained to administer some medications, as well as intravenous fluids. He also became a firefighter instructor and has conducted firefighter courses. He currently serves the OFD as department secretary, and has held other offices including serving as training officer for ten years and as chief for five.

Ring has worked for the USDA for more than 31 years. This summer, the USDA announced his selection as the new Community Programs Director for the Rural Development agency in South Dakota.

Ring makes his home in Onida with his wife Sheila. They have two grown children, Lyndsey who lives in Denver, CO, and Cordell who recently moved to Mobridge.

Veterans program set for Nov. 11

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A special Veterans Day program will be held in Winner on Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. in the Winner Armory.

The program is put on by the Winner High School and middle school student councils.

All veterans and the public are welcome to attend this program.

The posting of the colors will be by the Winner American Legion and the Winner VFW.

The guest speaker will be Glen McCready who will talk about his Honor Flight experience. Honor Flight takes veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the war memorials.

The Voice of Democracy and Patriot Pen winners will give their speeches.

The Winner High School band and chorus will perform.

There will be a special recognition of veterans. They will be allowed to come up front and introduce themselves and tell what branch of the service they served in.

There will be special recognition of veterans at the Winner Regional long term care center.

Winner High School and middle school choir will sing “American Tears” and “God Bless America.”

The band will play the “Marches of the Armed Forces.”

One of the features of the program will be a power point presentation honoring area veterans.

Cookies and coffee will be served to all veterans following the service. After the service at the Armory, there will be a free lunch for veterans and their spouses at the Winner American Legion. The event at the Legion will start at 11:30 a.m.

Time to prepare float for Parade of Lights

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It is time to start  thinking about putting a float together for the Parade of Lights.

The Winner Area Chamber of Commerce 17th annual Parade of Lights will be held Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. on Main Street.

Mike Scott, executive director of the Chamber, encourages persons and organizations to enter  a float. The parade was a success last year with 25 entries. Scott would like to see that same number or even more his year.

There will be two categories–business and organizations.

There will be a first, second and third place in each division. The prize money of Winner Cash is $300 for first, $200 for second and $100 for third

This year there will be a people’s choice winner and that winner will receive $200 in Winner Cash.

A picture of all the floats will be put on the Chamber’s Facebook page. The float with the most likes will be the winner.

Persons who would like to enter a float can call the Chamber office at 842-1533 or e mail thechamber@gwtc.net

In addition to the Parade of Lights, there is a lot going on Saturday, Nov. 27 that persons and kids do not want to miss.

The Moon Lake Ranch Reindeer will be in the parking lot on 3rd and Main St. from 1-4 p.m.

Persons can come and see Santa at 3rd and Main St from 1-3 p.m.

A S’mores pit will be set up on 3rd and Main St from  1-4 p.m.

Hayrides will be given from 2-4 p.m.

There will be a free movie at the Pix Theater at 4 p.m. The movie will be “The Santa Clause.”

Also on Nov. 27 will be Small Business Saturday. Scott asks everyone to support their small businesses.

The holiday promotions from the Chamber are just beginning. Over the  course of the holiday, there will be $5,000 in Winner Cash drawn.

This year the drawings will be on Friday instead of Saturday. Persons do not need to be  present in a business to win.

The first drawing will Nov. 26 with five $100 winners.

Starting Nov. 12 the green sheets for shoppers to pick up will be available in participating Chamber stores.

When the sheets are filled there are drop off locations to leave the sheets. These include True Value, Winner Food Center, Winner Super Foods, Frontier Motors, Chamber of commerce, Jeff’ Gun Vault, Runnings, Office Products Center, Grossenburg Implement, First Fidelity Bank and Marty’s.

Scott says the holiday promotion was very successful last year.

me to prepare float for Parade of Lights

John E. Leetch, 78

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John E. Leetch passed away on Nov. 2, 2021, with his family by his side. 

John was born on Aug. 1, 1943, to Regina (Horst) and Matthew Leetch in St. Charles, SD.

John married his best friend and love of his life, Margaret Hansen in 1968.  They were married 53 years and raised two children, a daughter, Melynda (Jay) and a son, Damon (Shannon). 

John loved spending time in the Black Hills.  He loved playing online poker, and he enjoyed watching old westerns and listening to ’50s rock like Buddy Holly and old time country.  He grew up watching boxing in black and white and changed to MMA as he got older.  He also enjoyed panning for gold with his friends and family. Some would even say he had the gold fever his whole life.

He was always there for all of his family to help with every project, big or small.  He was very talented as there wasn’t much that he couldn’t do or figure out how to do.

John had an amazing sense of humor, quick wit, and an infectious laugh that we will forever miss. He had great stories, and usually all of them were funny.

John’s favorite name to be called was “Pa”.  His grandchildren were the biggest joys of his life.  He spent every moment possible with Dalton (his Dalty), Morgan (his lil princess) and Greyson (his big boy).   All of the grandchildren have timeless memories and funny stories about their Pa.  

He is now at peace and will never be forgotten.

John is survived by many family and friends who love and will miss him very much.  The family will honor John’s wishes to not have any services.

Donna Dice, 91

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Donna Dice, 91, of Winner, SD passed away on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 at the Winner Regional Healthcare Facility in Winner, SD. 

 Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021 at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Winner.  Burial will follow in the Winner City Cemetery.  A visitation will be held one hour prior to funeral service.

 Donna was born Oct. 6, 1930 to Albert and Clara Christensen.  Her mother passed away right after her birth and it was her mother’s death request that Donna’s Uncle Claude and Aunt Lizzie raise her.  She joined the Larsh family who were always her Mom & Dad and also gained a big brother, Oliver Larsh.

Donna graduated from Winner High School in 1949 and married Andrew Dice on April 2, 1950.  Together they raised four children on the family farm northwest of Winner.  Donna worked beside Andy on the farm keeping busy cooking meals, baking caramel rolls, driving tractor and any other chores that needed to be done.  She also had many jobs in Winner.  She managed the Outlaw Café, enjoying the girls she worked with and her many customers.  Her last job was department head of laundry at the Winner Regional Healthcare.

Andy and Donna moved to Winner after their children were grown and enjoyed the social side of town life.  You could always find them at one of the local restaurants enjoying a meal with friends followed by a good game of cards at their house.

Donna is survived by her children Dale (Joan) of Chester, VA, Roger (Rickita) of Winner, SD, Shirley (Shane) Bingen of Ideal, SD, Bonnie (Doug) Percy of Winner, SD, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.  She is also survived by her half-sister, Joan Songer, half-brother, Marvin (Jan) Christensen, sisters-in-law, Margaret Lewis, Dorothy Taylor and Catherine Ambur as well as many nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Andy of 66 years, her parents, Claude & Elizabeth Larsh and numerous relatives.

9TH ANNUAL TRIPP COUNTY PROSPECT SHOW TO BE HELD

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The 9th annual Tripp County Prospect Show will be held at the Tripp County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Nov. 6.

This show has brought youth and their families to Winner from all over the state, Nebraska, and Minnesota.  Last year there were 66 youth exhibitors and approximately 125 head of cattle at the show.

New this year, the Tripp County Fair board will be hosting a vendor/trade/craft show the same day.  They will also be providing concessions for those attending the show and/or vendor/trade/craft fair.  This will add a whole new aspect to the event. 

The Tripp Co Prospect Show was started in 2013 after the Western Junior Stock Show in Rapid City was cancelled due to the Atlas blizzard.  In about two weeks’ time, a group of people rounded up a few sponsors, found a judge who was Miles DeJong, and put on a show for not only our local youth but anyone else who wanted to attend. 

Generous sponsors from our community have made this all possible.  The number of sponsors has grown over the years and are the backbone of this show.  Sponsors so far for this year include the following: 605 Sires, AgriMax, BankWest,  CC Photography, CHS, Covey Custom Application LLC, Covey Cattle, DeJong Ranch, DeJong Ranch North, DeMers Ranch, Elevate Agronomics, Engel Trucking, Farm Credit Services of America, Farmers Union Insurance, Fenenga Ranch Inc., Fidelity Agency, First Fidelity Banks—Winner and Colome, Frontier Motors, Gant Mineral Co., Grossenburg Implement inc., Hansen Mueller Co, Mathis Implement Inc., Pharmco, Runnings Supply Inc., South Central Livestock Supply, Southern Belle Cattlewomen, Statewide Ag Insurance Inc., Town and Country Sales Inc., Tripp County 4-H Leaders Corporation, Tripp County Farm Bureau, West River Ag Services and Winner Livestock Auction LLC.

In addition to sponsors, there are several families who helped start this show and continue to do the leg work to keep it going. These include the Craig Covey Family, Lou DeJong Family, Miles DeJong Family, Ross DeMers Family, Jeremy Schroeder Family, and the William Vogel Family.  On top of these families, there are several other volunteers from the community who have helped in many, many ways. 

The Tripp County Prospect Show is sanctioned by the South Dakota Junior Points Association.  Youth can accumulate points determined on their placings at these sanctioned shows.  There are approximately 15 shows throughout the state that youth exhibitors can attend.  The dates of these shows run from October – August.  There is an awards event each year at the South Dakota State Fair where those accumulating the most points are given awards. 

This show not only provides an opportunity for youth to learn about beef cattle and give them an opportunity to show, but it also brings people to Winner.  Several families choose to come in on Friday night before the show due to the distance they travel.  This gives them an opportunity to see more of what our community has to offer.  Hosting this show gives us an opportunity to show off our community and our fairgrounds.

We invite the community to come out to the fdairgrounds to watch the show and take in the vendor/trade craft show.  The schedule for the day is:

Tripp Co. Prospect Show – starts at 11:30 a.m.

Tripp Co Fairboard Concession – open 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Vendor/Trade/Craft Show – runs from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.