Category Archives: Local

The awarding of both the Frank Yaggie Award and the Cornerstone Award by the Yankton Chamber of Commerce have become highlights of the annual Chamber banquet.

However, this year, it earned even more significance as the two awards were combined and presented to Dr. Wayne Kindle, superintendent of the Yankton School District, formerly of Winner.

Kindle is a graduate of Winner High School and his wife, Marge (Olson) is also from the Tripp County area.

“The first thing that came to mind when I was standing up there and hearing some of the things they announced that I had done, is that this is really a shared award in my mind,” Kindle said. “There are lots of great people in this school district and in this community that do so many great things, and I have just been lucky to be a part of those things — not by myself, but working side by side with people. While I am honored, I am humbled and I recognize that when an individual gets an award like this, it isn’t about me. It is really about all the other people who have involved in making a really great thing happen not only in Yankton but in the school district.”

According to the Chamber, the award winner must make significant contributions to the community by selfless acts of time and contributions throughout his or her life in Yankton. That vision and dedication to the betterment of the community must be evident through their daily lives, civic involvement and professional service. The individual must also contribute to the growth and success of Yankton.

“I was more than surprised getting the award,” Kindle said. “That I was chosen for something as meaningful as the Frank Yaggie/Cornerstone Award, particularly given that they had combined the two for the first time, I am honored. I finally had an opportunity to sit down and see what the two awards represent and the names that are on those lists, and I am really honored to be on both of those lists.”

Kindle has received several awards including: 2015 Ivan Dixon Administrator Award for the State of South Dakota Student Council, 2006 Mental Wellness Diversity Award, 2004 Human and Civil Rights Award from SDEA, and Minority Leaders Fellowship Award.

His professional and community involvement has included Avera Sacred Heart Hospital Board Member and Chair, Yankton Area Progressive Growth, Heartland Psychological Board of Directors, School Administrators of South Dakota, Association for School Curriculum and Development and Yankton Elks Lodge.

Kindle has also served on several boards and organizations including the Citizens Task Force for Yankton County Courts and Public Safety, Yankton Area Foundation Committee, Mount Marty College Executive Committee, Mount Marty Student Affairs Committee, Mount Marty Trusteeship Committee, United Way Advisory Board, War Memorial Committee, SHOW Cap Committee, Yankton Morning Optimist, Yankton Child Protection Team and Native America Day Wacipi organizer.

“Just that large opportunity to get out there and be part of many things that are not only going to help the community, but also our kids, is very important to me,” Kindle said. “(It’s about) what kind of legacy we are going to not only leave for our kids, but also build for their future — and I have some ideas.”

He said walking in the path of past and current Yankton leaders is also a challenge to do more.
“If you go back to Marian Gunderson, who is on that list of winners, when I first moved to town, it didn’t take me long to figure out that a person like her does things and gets things done. They are all very good things for the community and our kids. So, when I think of her and all of the (past winners) of those two awards, the one common thing that I believe they all share is they all really believe in Yankton. They are advocates for kids and they want to see us do some remarkable things moving forward. They are thinkers and planners — forward thinking people.”

He said they also had another quality in common, they need to share any recognition received with others.

“For them, it wasn’t about themselves, rather it was about what they could do for others,” Kindle said.

That is a lesson he said he learned at a young age.

“Growing up in my personal life, I didn’t have a lot,” Kindle said. “I am not embarrassed to say that. In fact, I learned a lot about making the most of what you do have. I will probably not have the resources that I would like to have to give to others and to give to causes. But, I know two things for sure: That my wife, Marge, and I give what we can and from our heart. I also know I am going to continue to give my time, which I encourage everyone to do. We are all blessed with time and the ability to help others with our time.”

Two Tripp County men were arrested for allegedly taking thousands of dollars worth of milo from an area grain elevator.

Rodney Farley, 55 and William Whitaker, 54, both of Witten, were arrested in March and charged with taking $9,000 of grain from the Witten Elevator.

On Feb. 19, Whitaker allegedly loaded up to four loads of milo onto a semi truck operated by Farley who delivered the milo to Dakota Mill and Grain in Presho under the name Advanced Grain Pricing.
Whitaker was arrested on March 1 and allegedly told law enforcement he expected to receive “a couple thousand dollars” from Farley after the deliveries were made, court documents state. Whitaker said he did not receive payment and he regretted the decision.

A warrant was issued for Farley and he was arrested a couple of weeks later.

Farley is charge with grand theft by receiving stolen property and Whitaker is charged with grand theft by embezzlement. Valued between $5,000 and $100,000, charges are Class 4 felonies, punishable upon conviction by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Farley also faces an alternate count of grand theft.

Bond for both men was set at $500 and both have been released.

Farley and Whitaker are scheduled to appear in court in May.

Several Winner High School students attended the 30th annual state convention of the South Dakota Student Council Association which was held in Rapid City April 9-April 11.

Winner High School received the outstanding student council award.

Abby Marts was elected capital region reporter and Gracie Littau was elected school representative.
Also attending the convention were advisors Mona LaCompte and Lorna Phillips. The high school students honored Phillips at a pot luck on April 12. After eight years, Phillips is retiring as student council advisor. Taking her place is Lisa Jankauskas.

Focusing on the theme “Lead Us West” the convention utilized a combination of breakout sessions and large group instructional presentations by their guest speaker and workshop presenters, which were focused on different aspects of leadership.

The convention also featured a state-wide community service project. This project made over 60 fleece blankets that will be distributed among communities throughout the state.

Perhaps the most inspirational moment during the state convention occurred as part of the closing general session when the student councils presented their checks for money raised as part of the SDSCA spring Children’s Miracle Network project. Winner High School student council helped raise money for Children’s Miracle Network. The Winner High School student council raised $750.

Tre Doren, a senior at Winner High School, has signed a national letter of intent to wrestle at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Doren was a state heavyweight champion this year for the Warriors. His record this year was 34-3.
“It is exciting to see a kid you have coached go to college,” said WHS wrestling coach Spencer Novotny.

“Tre is a good kid. If he is going to do this he is going to put all his effort into it. It will be fun to follow him,” said Novotny.

Doren said he went for a campus visit and it is a beautiful campus. “I love the coaches and I love the atmosphere there. I thought it was the college for me.”

The Winner wrestler said the staff welcomed him even though he had not yet committed to the school. “They made me feel at home.”

Doren is looking forward to getting his education where he plans to major in physical therapy.
“My next goal is to become a national champion,” he said.

Several students received medals for projects they entered in the Winner Science Fair held on April 6.

In 9th grade biology, Jacob Clay and Landon Debus won a gold medal for their project, “Which of these liquids sustain plant life.”

Also receiving a gold medal were Jack Ducheneaux and Trey Bingen with their project on “What is the speed of different weights of bullets.”

Sophia Lewis won a gold medal for her project on “How do chemical pollutants affect plant growth.”

The incumbents were the victors in the Winner city and school board elections held on April 11.

In the Winner city election in the Third Ward, John Meyer was re-elected to the council as he received 67 votes to 29 votes for Orville Lund.  Meyer will start his new term at the first meeting in May.

In the Winner School Board election, Rusty Blare and Bill Mann were re-elected to office. Blare received 179 votes, Mann received 177 votes and Wayne S. Meyer received 87 votes.  The voter turnout in the school board election was 7.64 percent.   The new term of the school board starts in the first meeting in July.

Colome School Board election

Brett Galbraith defeated incumbent Shannon Kortan in the Colome Consolidated School Board election.

Galbraith received 87 votes and Kortan, 45 votes.

There was a 15 percent voter turnout in the Colome election.

Doris Miner needed a little assistance. Doris, and her husband, Kenny, moved from their ranch in rural Tripp County in part to cut down on driving, and to be closer to services.

“I have driven thousands of miles on gravel roads in all conditions, including in the winter. I do not like it. We couldn’t stay on the farm anymore,” said the 81-year-old. “We have a nice little townhouse we like, but we needed a little help.”

Doris has faced multiple sclerosis for more than 40 years, and her husband has myasthenia gravis. She said bathing can be difficult.

“Bathing can really test our abilities,” she said. “Avera@Home gives the help with bathing and our medications that we need. We have four grown children, and they all live far away, and they know we’re in good hands with this service.”

Avera@Home nurses, nurse aids and other staff offer a wide range of assistance to families like the Miners. For Doris and Kenny, help with bathing and medications – which include prescription pickup and proper sorting and scheduling – allows them to continue a more independent life.
“This service makes sense to us, because we enjoy their visits and appreciate how they help,” said Doris. “It lets us live on our own. We don’t need too much help, but they have other services that someday we might need. It’s good to know that in case we do.”

Jennifer Allmendinger, BSN, RN, is part of the Gregory Avera@Home team, and often works with the Miners. She said for many families, like them, there’s a secure feeling that comes with regular visitors and the services she and her team offer.

“Many people might not know about the range of services we provide or how it all works,” she said. “Avera@Home has returned skilled nursing and therapy services to Gregory, and we now are now able to provide important care that allows patients and families to recover and heal right at home. Our service puts patients at ease knowing they can remain in their homes while receiving needed cares.”

Allmendinger said each family’s situation is different. She said the Avera@Home team is happy to answer questions and line up the appropriate services for anyone across the spectrum of care, from simple cares to more complex skilled nursing services and therapies.

For Doris Miner, the service is, as she said, “a godsend.”

“Hired help is hard to find in rural South Dakota,” she said. “This really works well for us, and I am sure there are others who could use it, too. We’re really thankful for it.”

You can learn more about Avera@Home services like those the Miners receive by calling 605-668-8327, or by visiting AveraAtHome.org.

Dispatcher week was celebrated April 9-15 at the Winner Police Department.

Full staff is 10 employees and the dispatch center is down one.

Deb Bice is the supervisor with Andrea Ptacek as the assistant supervisor.

The staff includes: A. J. Wiley, Ron High Rock, Clint Sinkular, Cami Woodward, Ashley Moseman, Misha Smythe, Michele Hagenlock and Tasha Welch, part-time.

The center in Winner dispatches for six counties including Tripp, Gregory, Lyman, Haakon, Mellette and Bennett. The population center served by this dispatch center is 23,000.

In 2016, there were 10,458 911 calls and over 57,000 administration calls.

There is always two persons working in the dispatch center 24/7.

Employees go through two weeks of 911 training in Pierre and also do three days of EMD (emergency medical dispatch).

Bice says this is a nice week to honor the dispatchers for all the work they do. Gifts and treats are provided to the workers during this week.

A dispatcher is generally the first point of contact, the true first responder and the unseen hero. A dispatcher’s job is a complicated one. It is exciting, rewarding, fulfilling and becomes a way of life. It is also stressful, exhausting, thankless and forgotten by many.

More than 200 graduating seniors from South Dakota public, private and tribal/Bureau of Indian Education schools will be honored at the 2017 Academic excellence recognition luncheon April 24 in Pierre.

Representing Winner High School will be Chase Kingsbury and representing Colome High School will be Adrianna Larson.

The luncheon is hosted by Associated School Boards of South Dakota in association with Gov. Dennis Daugaard, the school administrators of South Dakota and the Department of Education.

The event honors the top one percent of graduating seniors.

By Dan Bechtold, Editor

A Winner audience was swept away into the enchanted world of “Beauty and the Beast” this weekend as Winner High School presented this classic play.

It was absolutely wonderful, magical, colorful and full of energy.

I was amazed and so proud of this cast who put all for their energy into three nights of performances at the Winner Community Playhouse. The cast performed to a sold out crowd all three nights.

It is a large cast and each person did their part to make the play enjoyable for the audience.

Nick Blare was absolutely outstanding as the beast. He was fierce and powerful and the beast costume was just perfect.

Playing the prince who is turned into a beast was Matthew Hartley. He is just a joy to watch on the stage and he played the part of the arrogant prince to a tee.

The transformation from the prince to the beast was very good as two different persons played this role. It was a seamless transformation.

Playing opposite the beast as beauty was Elizabeth Jankauskas. In the musical, beauty is known a s Belle and the Winner senior was the perfect beauty.

And who else but John Kludt, Mason Schuyler, Isaac Naasz and Cam Irick could pull off playing a clock, masterpiece painting and a moving chair. They were having fun on stage and their enthusiasm was very evident to the audience.

Kenzie Irick is great as Madame Rondeau, a widow who owns a farm and the mother of Beauty.
Brielle Bachmann and Sadie Woods, played the princesses; Andrew Taylor was the captain, Katy Lantz as the old woman who casts the spell on the beast, Gracie Littau and Heather Rowe as servants, Hunter Shopene as the wolf, Molly Sperlich as the magic looking glass; Mary Calhoon and Shannon Duffy as sisters of Beauty; Jacob Woods as Graspo and Jack Ducheneaux as Greedo.
And Ty Bolton pulls off a wonderful performance as Brutus, the dog.

Emily Moser played Rose Legend.

Party guests were Alex Meiners, Jace Voegeli, Taylor Audiss, Tessa Mann, Maggie DeMers, Megan Brozik, Madaline Watzel, Kendyl Bachmann, Finn Bartels, Cam Irick and Liliann Jelinek.

Directing this play were Kara Connot and Kelly Assman and they did a wonderful job.

Dan Patmore did his usual great job as the technical director for this play.

Ruth Novotny was the artistic director and her design of the castle was very good.

The costuming was colorful and fit the play very well.

This was the non musical version of “Beauty and Beast.”

This classical love story showcased the wonderful talent we have in Winner High School and middle school.

Bravo to all for a job well done!