Category Archives: News

North Main Street traffic will be detoured for a about a week with the Highway 18 construction.

There is utility and grading work that needs to be done at this  major intersection. There will be signs saying North Main Street is closed. Persons are asked to follow the detours. 

Traffic going south on Main Street will still be open.

East 7^th St will be stop sign controlled with one lane traffic to allow for half road construction for PCC paving.

Jefferson Street will remain closed until the concrete paving is in place.

By Dan Bechtold

Editor

A group of people are cycling from coast to coast this summer with a  purpose: helping people struggling to have affordable housing.

For 14 years, the Fuller Center for Housing has hosted a bicycle adventure. This year the bike ride stopped in Winner on July 6. The 12 riders stayed at the Methodist Church in Winner and were on the road early last Wednesday morning.

Over 10 weeks the Fuller Center Bike Adventure will experience the country from Amelia Island, Fla., to Florence, Ore., on Oregon’s famous coastline.

The ride started May 28 and will end Aug. 8 covering 3,750 miles.

The riders, most of them retired individuals, come from various locations and all walks of life.

Neil Mullikin, bike adventure coordinator, said each rider had a  fundraising requirement in order to go on this adventure.

The group gets donations from people along the way. “We have had donations from people who saw us in a newspaper story or on TV,” said Mullikin.

As they were traveling from Parkston to Winner, they had some individuals stop them in Platte and give them a donation of $50.

Built into this ride are six build days where they stop and help a family fix up a home.

The group has worked on everything from flooring, wheelchair ramp, painted a home and roofing.

The closest build to South Dakota was in Kansas City where they group actually worked on two homes.

A requirement of the riders is they have to be able to ride 12 miles an hour. There is a support van and car that make sure  the riders are safe.

Mullikin explained the ride is different for each individual. Some like the challenge of the ride and others like the help they are able to give people.

“It is the families we help that makes the biggest impact on our riders,” said the ride coordinator.

Mullikin says he enjoys cycling. He works full-time for the Fuller Center in Georgia. Prior to joining the Fuller Center he worked as a financial advisor.

“I felt this was a calling the Lord led me to and so I joined Fuller Center in March,” he said.

Tony Drake, another rider, is a retired registered nurse from Flagstaff, Ariz. He has been involved in healthcare for over 40 years in California and Arizona. He started out working in mental health for five year and the last 25 years has been working in emergency rooms and intensive care units.

For 36 years, he worked on the Navaho Reservation. “I have a good understanding of people who live in poverty.  I feel very blessed to be on this type of adventure. I feel like I am doing something and making a difference for people.”

Drake is fascinated by the people he meets on the build days.  “They are very grateful for the work we are doing,” he said.

One particular project sticks out in his mind  and one he will remember for the rest of his life. He said there was a man who had stage 4 cancer and he life in this home in Georgia with his wife. When a person asked what they could do for him he said “I would like for the rain not to come down on my wife’s head in he bedroom. I would like for my wife to not fall through a hole in the kitchen floor.”

Drake explained that prior to the biker’s arrival, work had been done on this house to fix the roof and flooring. The bike riders painted the exterior of the home.

“This man and woman were so grateful for the work we had done. When we were leaving they were hugging us and the wife was weeping. This is an experience that stays with you the rest of your life,” said Drake.

Another rider is Randi Topps, Orlando, Fla., who has been an elementary physical education teacher for 33 years. She is still teaching in Orlando.  

This is her second bike adventure with the Fuller Center. Previously, she went on a trip through Florida.

But she had always wanted to ride a bike across the country. She started looking into different agencies that lead tours across the United States. She felt many were too commercial. “I wanted a reason to go and I wanted some kind of benefit. When I found the Fuller Center I found what I was looking for,” she said.

The bike rider noted in Orlando affordable housing is hard to find. “People live in homes that are in terrible condition because that is all they can afford.”

Topps enjoyed cycling her entire life and just took it up again seven years ago.

“I love the scenery, I love seeing the country from the perspective of a bike; you hear the sounds and smell the smells,” she said.

Topps explained she has gotten a lot out of this bike ride. She has met new friends and has been able to help people she has ever met in her life. That is the joy of this ride for her.

The purpose of the cross country bike ride is to raise money and awareness for the Fuller Center for Housing, whose international office is in Americus, Ga.

According to the organization’s web  site, the Fuller Center for Housing is a faith-based and Christ-centered organization that promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for people in need.

The Tripp County 4-H Rodeo will be held July 15 and July 16.

The ambassador contest will be held July 15 with horsemanship starting at 6:30 p.m. followed by interview and speeches in the 4-H building. Horsemanship and speeches are open to the public to attend.

Ambassador coordinators are Sarah Gustafson and Shayna Dillon.

Judges for the horsemanship are JoLynn Grieves and Dustin Schmidt. Appearance and interview judges are Amanda Willuweit and Dr. Eric Heath.

Speech judges are Sandra York and Brandy Biggins.

The crowning of the ambassador will be July 16 at 8:30 a.m. at the rodeo grounds.

The ambassador contestant in the senior division is Avery Schacht of Lake Andes.

The junior ambassador contestants are: Brecken Vosika, Gregory; Savannah Lyon, Burke: Draya Haase, Winner; Oakleigh Elwood, Reliance and Candice Aamot, DeSmet.

The 53^rd annual rodeo will be held at the Tripp County Fairgrounds on July 16 starting at 9 a.m.

Events are:

Junior girls—flag race, pole bending, barrel racing, goat tying and breakaway roping

Jr.  boys—Bareback steer riding, flag race, cattle riding, goat tying and breakaway roping

Junior dally team roping is open to both boys and girls.

Sr. girls—pole bending, barrel racing, goat tying, breakaway roping and ribbon roping

Sr. boys—Bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, steer wresting, calf roping

Senior dally team roping is open to both boys and girls.

Rodeo stock will be provided by Hollenbeck Rodeo Co., Winner.

This year will see over 125 contestants competing to qualify for a spot at the SD state 4-H  finals to be held in Ft. Pierre Aug. 20, 21 and 22. This will be the 50^th anniversary for the state 4-H finals rodeo. Contestants who place first through fourth will earn a spot at the finals.

There will not be a gate admission to attend the rodeo in Winner and  concessions will be available on the grounds.

Karri and Denny Allen with Healing Hope Ministries are bringing the walk to remember to Winner. It will be held on Sunday, July 18 at 1:30 pm at the city park. There will be cookies and drinks donated by local businesses. There will be various door prizes also donated by local businesses. There will be  signs remembering children that have passed  along the walking path at the park.

Katie Hurley lost her son, Brooks, in an accidental shooting.

Brooks Dean Hurley was a wild, bright and ornery three and a half year old boy. He loved everything about life; animals, movies, anything that went “vroom”, the rain, “Garth Me” songs,  lightning bugs, “nuggles” with Mom or Dad, he loved it all. He lit up a room with his contagious smile and deep blue eyes.

This is Katie’s story about what happened three years ago that changed her life forever.

On Feb. 16  2018 at 6:37 pm my world stopped spinning. I was on my way to pick up my kids after work and I received a phone call from my now ex boyfriend whom had been watching my kids while I was at work. He was screaming that Brooks had been shot. I just remember dropping my phone, my ears were ringing and the only thing I could think about was my sweet little boy and how I could not hear him crying on the other end of the phone. Surely he should be crying, if he was hurt he would cry.  There was no crying.

Brook’s death was caused by an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. He found a handgun that was loaded in a nightstand drawer that Katie did not know was there.

I raced to the house, and ran inside to find my little boy laying lifeless on the floor. My daughter, who was ten years old at the time, was there. She had called 911 while CPR was performed. When I arrived I took over CPR. Somehow the directions to where we were confuseding and the ambulance had taken the wrong turn. So my daughter, being so brave, ran down the driveway to the road to flag them down. Everything was happening so fast and at the same time so slow. I know now in situations like this that adrenaline takes over your body. I have been CPR certified for many years but never in my life did I imagine I would have to use those skills to try to save my own child’s life.

When the ambulance arrived they scooped my sweet boy up off the floor, ran him to the ambulance and headed to the hospital. My daughter and I followed behind the ambulance. She called family and close friends on the way to have them meet us at the hospital. I had never prayed so hard in my life.

When we arrived at the hospital we were met there by familiar faces. The pastor who married Brooks’s father and I being one of them. He took me in a room and prayed with me. I had never felt so close yet so abandoned by my faith. I did not understand how or why this could be happening. This was the kind of thing that only happens in movies.

After a short time I was allowed into the room where the nurses and doctors were working frantically to save my sons life. I stood at the foot of the bed and prayed and pleaded with God to please save my little boy.  I knew that the more time that went by the odds of my little boy coming home with me were diminishing.

I was told I was needed in the lobby as more family were arriving. They said that they had a flight crew coming to fly Brooks to the Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls. I held onto that hope. It sounded so promising. After sitting in the waiting room for a few short minutes a man whose name I can’t remember but will forever remember his face, came out and knelt down in front of me, took my hands in his hands and said the hardest words I’ve ever had to hear. ” I’m so sorry, we did everything we could…but your son did not make it.” 

It has been three years now since we lost Brooks. It has been a daily struggle to keep moving forward and I couldn’t have kept my head above water if it weren’t for my family and friends but mostly my faith. I am a very private person when it comes to my faith, losing Brooks really tested my relationship with God. It is so hard to understand the “why?”

Two years ago I was pointed in the direction of Healing Hope Ministries by my boyfriend, Ted Kahler’s mom, Julie Kahler. I found them on Facebook and saw they were having a walk to remember children who had passed away. So I decided to reach out to Karri and we attended the walk in Valentine, NE last year. It was wonderful and made me feel supported and reminded me that I am not alone on this journey. It has helped me in finding my faith again and knowing that Brooks is okay and that we will see him again some day.

I wanted to help bring this event to Winner as I know there has been so much loss in our local communities. I hope that this brings parents, grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins and anyone else who has been affected by the loss of a child together to support each other in our journeys. Every child deserves to be remembered and every child’s story deserves to be heard.