Submitted photo Gavin Running Horse of Community Connections, right, presents cookies to Dan Clark. Running Horse is employed part time at Clark’s business. October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
By Keenan Knutelski
Community Connections
October is National Disability Employment
Awareness Month and Community
Connections would like to take this opportunity to celebrate with the
community. It is self-evident that employment is a significant component to a
person’s life. Whether employment is a means to a living or a method of
self-expression, employment is an important part of a person’s identity. At its
core, there is a great deal of satisfaction that emerges from a person’s
ability to meaningfully contribute to the society in which they live.
At Community Connections, we strive to help facilitate opportunities for our participants to find meaningful employment and join the workforce around Winner. Historically, people with disabilities have been marginalized and excluded from employment opportunities which has led to persistent poverty and below average living standards. While some issues still exist, great strides have been made to improve the working conditions and opportunities for those with disabilities; most notably the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is important to highlight the importance of employment for those with disabilities, and thank the employers who provide these vital opportunities to our community members living with disabilities.
We would like to extend a grateful
appreciation to:
Winner Food Center, Pharmco, Kucera
Electric, Lil Feller, Winner Pharmacy, Black Lab, Holiday Inn, Kay’s Day Care,
South Central Livestock Supply, Winner Airport, Harry K Ford/ NAPA, Dan Clark
Realty, and The Elk’s Club.
Please
join us in celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month and
thanking these wonderful employers.
The Highway 18 and 44 reconstruction
project in Winner is in the home stretch according to the Department of
Transportation.
A highway update meeting was held Oct.
27 in the city building. Doug Sherman, area engineer for DOT and Conner
Christensen of T&R Contracting Inc. Sioux Falls, gave updates on the
project.
T &R is the prime contractor for
phase I of this project.
The main area of the project features
new concrete highway from 7th to just west of Monroe Street.
Sherman says the big push now is to open
side streets like 4th and 5th St that have been closed
due to the construction work.
Sherman thanked the public for being
patient through the whole project but especially when so many side streets have
been closed.
Morris Inc., Ft. Pierre, was to be in
Winner on Oct. 28 to start doing the asphalt tie-ins on the side streets. Once
this is done the street can be open again
Muth Electric of Mitchell is in Winner
doing electrical work and placing the traffic light footings.
Big O Concrete is working on sidewalk
getting the ready for pedestrian traffic.
Sherman added that most of the big concrete
pour on the highway is finished. He hopes that by Thanksgiving traffic will be allowed on the
new concrete.
The DOT reported there have been some
close calls and minor accidents as the traffic is going to head to head while
construction crews work on the south side of the highway. “Please be careful,
slow down and give motorists room,” said the DOT.
“We are in the home stretch and we
thank the public for being patient with
us,” said Sherman.
Persons who want to follow the progress
of the construction can follow on Facebook.
The public meetings of the DOT and
T&R are live streamed for the public to view.
Submitted Photo Felicia Hughes of Winner, center, won first place and the overall championship in the bikini division at the NPC North Americans show in Pittsburgh, Pa. She also received her pro bodybuilding card. She is shown with the top five placers in the bikini division.
By
Dan Bechtold
Editor
Felicia Hughes of Winner won the
overall bikini division at the NPC North Americans bodybuilding show.
The competition was Sept. 4 in
Pittsburgh, Pa.
There were over 1,200 competitors.
Hughes, the daughter of Jon and Susan Hughes of Winner, competes in the bikini
division. There were over 400 bikini competitors.
She said this was the biggest bikini
show in history. “I think this is pretty neat,” said Hughes.
“To win a show of that magnitude felt
really good. All the hard work I put in paid off,” she said.
She explained that pre-judging was held
in the morning and a competitor has to win their height class to move on to the
next round. Hughes competed in the 5-5 height class.
The Winner woman was proud to make the
top five and competed before an audience in the evening. With winning her
height class it earned her an IFBB pro card which was her goal.
Once the first place winners for each
height class are announced they take all the winners in that division to
compete against each other to determine the overall winner of the bikini
division. Hughes came out on top winning the entire division in this national
show.
“So I earned my pro card by placing first
in my height class and am now considered a professional bodybuilder in the
bikini division . Next year I will be invited to compete in pro status shows,”
she explained.
This is not the only bodybuilding show
she has entered. Hughes placed second at a show last year in Omaha and then did two
shows nationally both in South Carolina. In one she placed second and the other
got fourth but missed getting her pro card.
“I thought I would give it more shot in
Pittsburgh,” she said.
Her coach is from Canada who makes
suggestions on her diet and how many calories she needs to eat each day.
A lot of lifting weights eventually
turned into a love for bodybuilding.
Hughes went to school in Winner until
her sophomore year in high school and then went to Colome High School her
junior and senior year. She is a 2007 graduate of Colome High School.
It was Dean Keith who instilled the
love of weight lifting in Hughes.
Keith was a former WHS principal and
started a weightlifting class for girls in the gymnastics program.
“I just kept on weight lifting and when
I went to college at South Dakota State University I used the wellness center.”
In every town she worked one of her goals was to find a gym to work out.
In one of those gyms, someone asked her
if she had thought about bodybuilding. “I kind of laughed at them but I did
some research and found there were different
divisions for women and started looking into it more,” Hughes explained.
She started doing bodybuilding with a
natural federation where they drug test, lie detector test each participant.
She stayed with that federation for year
but was looking for something more challenging and that is when she joined NPC.
“NPC is where Arnold Schwanzengger got
his start,” she said.
In bodybuilding, Hughes loves the
regiment and the structure. “It was difficult for me at first because I am not
someone who likes to diet but I love lifting weights. I like having something
to keep me on track for my goals,” she added.
For Hughes, dieting is not fun but she
does it to reach her goals. She says she eats a lot of chicken, rice and
vegetables.
“You
have certain calories and as you get closer to a show you start to
dwindle those calories down so you can get leaner and leaner. As you come off a
show you eat more calories so you bulk up.”
Hughes works out five to six days a week at Performance Fitness and Tan. She has used
The Body Shop in Winner also but likes to have just one fitness gym for consistency.
Her workouts are usually an hour to two
hours. She makes her own routine, “It gets creative at times as I like to play
around with it. I do a lot of lower body work in addition to working on my
upper body.”
Hughes has a degree in graphic design
from SDSU graduating in 2012. She then moved to Massachusetts and worked there
for a year as an administrative assistant for ABLS.
From the Boston area, she moved to
Sioux Falls and started work as a recruiter. She currently works as a recruiter
for Interstates. In her job she recruits electricians.
Hughes travels all across the country
to tech schools to attract these students to work for Interstates.
She is able to work remotely from home
in Winner. When she is not traveling she spends a lot of time interviewing
persons over the phone.
Interstates is a national company based
out of Iowa.
Hughes moved back to Winner last June
to continue her job.
Last week she was in Louisiana to talk
to students.
“I enjoy talking to students who are
bright eyed and bushy tailed about their future. I like being able to steer
people in a certain direction it is sort of like being a career advocate. That
is also why I like fitness because I am able to help people.”
That help has come as a personal
trainer to some women in Winner. She does it for fun and a hobby.
The A’Cafellas Barbershop Chorus will
perform its annual concert on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Dixon Town Hall in
Gregory at 3 pm and at the Winner Community Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. The group has performed every year since 1997
with the exception of last year.
“It is exciting to be back on the stage
after all these months of COVID keeping us apart”, says the group’s director
Don Tuttle. “We have a very special
quartet known as “Affinity” as our guest this year. Affinity is a female quartet from Spirit
Lake, IA who performed in Winner 20 years ago in 2001. We are happy to have them return”.
Tickets are available from any of the 10
members of the group and are only $10 each for adults. Children under age 18 are free when
accompanied by an adult. To make reservations
call 842-1958 and tell how many people and whether you want the afternoon or
evening show.
“We are so happy to perform many songs for
our communities giving you an opportunity to enjoy some of our favorites”,
added the director.
J. Marilyn Gronlund, 92, of Rapid City
passed away Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.
Services were held on Thursday, Oct. 21, at
South Canyon Lutheran Church in Rapid City. Interment was at the Black Hills
National Cemetery.
Marilyn was born March 26, 1929, in Huron,
SD to Jonas and Olga (Andersen) Jonason.
She graduated from Huron High School and South Dakota State College with
a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. This background led her to a career as a
Registered Laboratory Technologist.
On Aug. 26, 1951, she married Arden
Gronlund and they were married for over 56 years. Her hobbies included counted
cross stitch, crossword puzzles, and knitting baby sweaters. Many family members and friends possess one
of her works of love. She was most proud
of the fact that all of her children had college degrees and successful
careers. Her love of sports extended to cheering for Rapid City Stevens High
School Raiders and the Denver Broncos. Marilyn was a faithful member of South
Canyon Lutheran Church and had been a member of Altar Guild and Piecemaker’s
Quilting Group.
Marilyn is survived by her children; Mark
(Victoria) Gronlund of Winner, Eric (Laurie) Gronlund of Pierre, Joan Ehrismann
of Colstrip, MT, Karen Overholt of Gillette, WY, Diane Gronlund of Rapid City,
Nancy (David) Bassett of Macedon, NY, and 8 grandchildren; Aislinn, Cade,
Garrett, Natalie, Halle, Kenzie, Steven, and Mark.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her
husband, parents, sisters; Velma Billington, Verna Schramm, sons-in-law; Rex
Overholt and Mark Ehrismann.
Margaret Meyer, 78, of Winner, SD passed
away on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021 at the St. Gabriel’s Hospice Facility in
Arlington, Texas.
Funeral service will be held on Saturday,
Nov. 6, 2021 at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Winner, SD. Burial will follow in the Winner City
Cemetery. A visitation will be held one
hour prior to funeral service.
Margaret Ann Meyer went to be with her
Savior on Oct. 27, 2021
Margaret was born on May 19, 1943 in Winner
to Oliver and Mildred (Hedlund) Larsh. She was tiny but feisty. She spent the
first few years of life growing up on her parents’ farm, where she loved to
play with the chickens. Her brother Ivan was born when she was 3, and at age 6
the family moved to town so that she could attend school.
Margaret grew up attending First Baptist
Church of Winner, where she played piano from a young age. She dreamed of
becoming a missionary.
She started dating the love of her life,
Keith Meyer, during their senior year at Winner High, and they graduated
together in 1961. Margaret received her Teaching Certificate from Southern
State Teacher’s College in May 1963.
Keith and Margaret were married on Aug. 17,
1963. They moved to Pierre, where Margaret taught elementary school and where
their first daughter Keatha was born in 1966. Keith’s career took them to
Cheyenne and then Green River, Wyo., where their daughter Megan was born to
them in 1980. They then moved to Edwards, Colo. where their daughter Cathy
joined the family.
In 2003, Keith and Margaret moved back to
Winner to care for her mother Millie. Together they remodeled Margaret’s
childhood home. They again became active members of First Baptist church, where
she played piano and taught children’s and adult Sunday School.
Margaret was a very talented teacher,
artist, homemaker and musician. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and
great-grandmother. She loved to plan fun activities with her granddaughters
during summer visits. She leaves behind for us all a legacy of love and faith.
Margaret was preceded in death by her
husband and parents.
She is survived by her brother Ivan;
daughters Keatha, Megan and Cathy; grandchildren Jake, Ben, Luke, Seth, Sierra,
Nykyta, Kaylee and Kara; and great grandchildren Kassidy, Eleanor, Kinley and
Landon.
She will be so greatly missed by her family
and many friends.
Carla Lebert, 58, of Winner, SD passed away
on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 at the Winner Regional Health Care Facility in Winner,
SD.
A private family graveside service was held
on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. at the IOOF Cemetery in Gregory, SD. A
celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Carla Jo Lebert was born on Oct 17, 1963 in
Gregory SD. The third daughter of Bill Lebert and Helen (Frank) Bateman of
Winner SD. She passed away on Oct. 22,
2021, at the Winner Regional Health Care Facility in Winner, SD.
Carla grew up on the family farm southwest of
Dallas, SD where she helped with all the usual farm work. She attended 1st and
2nd grade at the New Valley School in rural Tripp County, SD, then went on to
Colome grade school and high school and graduated in 1981. Carla went on to
Mitchell Vo-tech where she graduated with a diploma from the secretarial
program.
She returned to Winner working at the
Winner Advocate, Cendant Ramada Reservation Center, Sargent’s Café (where many
friendships were made), Joie’s Café, the Holiday Inn (where she loved hunting
season and made many friends throughout the years), Country Pride Convenience
store, and a caretaker. Carla never met a stranger. She talked to anyone that
would listen, and then left as friends. Her conversations where always full of
pride and joy of her family.
Carla loved her family. She didn’t have
children of her own but her nephews, Roy, Craig, and Will were definitely her
children. She was a 2nd mother figure to Craig and Will and helped raise them
as her own. Her love and caring heart continued to help raise Craig and Will’s
children also. She was the best babysitter around and if any of the kids needed
anything she was the first to offer to help.
In the recent years Carla had some health
problems which made her have to stay in the Winner Regional Nursing Home for an
extended period of time where she also made “many” new friends. Carla was no
longer able to work outside of the house. She moved in with her mother Helen
and companion dog Angel a few years ago and was a great caretaker of her. She
was always willing to babysit any of the grandkids anytime, any day.
Carla is survived by her loving mother,
Helen (Frank) Bateman; Carla’s siblings Joan (Larry) Sargent, Tammy Turner;
Carla’s nephews Roy Turner and his 3 children Isabella, Jazmyne, Alyxzandria.
Craig (Heather) Sargent and their children Jude, Oren and Elsie. The children
of Will Sargent (Therese) Wakely and Wynn.
She was preceded in death by her father
Bill Lebert, younger brother Oren Lebert, nephew William (Will) Sargent.
Erika Michele Kaupp, age 41, of Flandreau,
SD, passed away on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, at Ava’s Hospice House in Sioux
Falls, SD.
Erika was born on Jan. 6, 1980, to John Kaupp and Julene Lupkes in Omaha, NE. She spent her early years in Gregory, SD and then moved to Colome, SD, graduating in 1998. Erika joined the Air Force and was stationed in Texas. After the Air Force, Erika moved to the Flandreau area and started working at the Royal River Casino. Erika attended school at Southeast Technical Institute, graduating in 2012 with her associate degree in marketing. She became the marketing director for the Royal River Casino. She also worked in marketing for the Chewelah Casino near Spokane, WA and the Ft. Randall Casino in Lake Andes, SD.
Erika enjoyed playing softball and
volleyball in her younger years, was a music enthusiast, loved to go on
adventures, and had a huge heart for all animals. She spent her free time
hanging out with her friends and family and will be remembered for her
spontaneous, outgoing energy, and her motivated spirit. Those who knew her will
miss her great sense of humor and companionship.
Erika is survived by her mother, Julene
Lupkes, Colome; sisters: Stacia (Jason) Paulson, Colome; Dana Ellwanger,
Flandreau; Shana Kaupp, Flandreau; and Chelsea Lupkes, Huron, SD; 10 nieces and
nephews; 3 great-nieces and nephews; and many other extended relatives and
friends.
Erika was preceded in death by her father,
John Kaupp; her grandparents, Oswald and Ellen Kaupp, Stanley Pitsenberger, and
Blanche Hiller-Taylor; and her dog & fur baby, McGhoo.
Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. on
Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 at the Wicoicaga Otipi Community Center, Flandreau, with
burial in the First Presbyterian Cemetery. Visitation was Thursday from 5 – 7 pm with an all-night wake
service beginning 7 pm at the community
center. Arrangements by Skroch Funeral Chapel, Flandreau. www.skrochfc.com
Norma Jean Storms, 92, passed away on
Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 at the Good Samaritan Society–Valley Vista, in Wamego,
Kansas.
Norma was born to Fred and Lillian Daughters on April 11, 1929 at the Bull Creek Township homestead of her paternal grandparents, Frank and Katherine Daughters. Norma was the first of eight children.
Norma attended grade school with her siblings at Sunnyside School. She attended Winner High School, graduating in 1946. After graduation she worked at JC Penney for five years as a cashier/bookkeeper then as a bookkeeper at the Winner Livestock Auction Company.
As a career girl, Norma enjoying spending time with her many friends and family, traveling and even hiking the buttes west of Winner! Her vast wardrobe was the envy of her younger sisters who often ‘borrowed’ favorite outfits.
On Aug. 28, 1953, Norma married James Storms from Keyapaha, SD after his return to the U.S. from his Korean War deployment. They were married in Clearfield, SD then lived in Tampa, FL during the remainder of Jim’s enlistment in the US Air Force.
Throughout their marriage, Norma was always a partner in the true sense of the word. Through Jim’s law enforcement career, she was an active member of the Tripp County Republicans, working for his re-election every two years. From the mid-1970’s on, she was a partner in businesses she and Jim owned. In addition to this, community involvement played a large part of her life. She was a life-time member of the VFW Auxiliary holding several post positions including the South Dakota District President. She was an active member of the Immaculate Conception Parish for over 60 years. She was a charter member of the local chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, a member of the Catholic Daughters, Avenue of Flags, a volunteer at the Tripp County Historical Society and in the Winner Public Schools.
In her retirement Norma continued her community involvement while playing bridge with her friends, entertaining, baking and being a Grandma.
Norma was preceded in death by her parents, her husband James, her son, William, brothers Donald, Roger and Russell Daughters, and sisters Avis Bilyeu and Marilyn Laycock.
She is survived by her children Gail Dunford (Lynn) of Wamego, KS and Susan Storms (Bob) of Eden Prairie, MN; a daughter-in-law, Carolyn Storms of Winner, SD; grandchildren Dr. Gretchen Dunford of Colby, KS, Claire Shaver (Daniel) of Kansas City, MO, Kaelob Storms and Jacob Storms of Flandreau, SD; a great-grandson, James Shaver; a sister, Kathryn Wanek of Green Valley, AZ; a brother, David Daughters (Deborah) of Rapid City, SD; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Cremation arrangements are in the care of Campanella & Stewart Funeral Home in Wamego, Kansas.
Memorial Mass will be held Tuesday morning Nov. 9, 2021 at 10 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church in Winner, South Dakota. Inurnment will be in the Black Hills National Cemetery.
A vigil service will be Monday evening Nov. 8, 2021 at 7 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Good Samaritan Society-Valley Vista; Immaculate Conception Church; Tripp County Historical Society or the Winner V.F.W. Auxiliary #4674 and can be left with Campanella & Stewart Funeral Home, 4370 Salzer Road, P.O. Box 48, Wamego, KS 66547
Loading ...