Roland Wayne Piper, 96

Roland Wayne Piper, 96, of Hot Springs, SD, passed away on Oct. 11, 2023, at his residence surrounded by family.

Roland was born on Feb. 18, 1927 to Verne and Beatrice (Casey) Piper at Carter, SD.  He was the first of five boys born into this family.  During his early years, the family lived on ranches near Wood, SD.  He attended country school for eight years then went to Wood High School where he graduated in 1945 as Salutatorian.  Roland married his high school sweetheart, Twila O’Connor, on Sept. 21, 1946 in Winner, SD.  They lived on a farm in the area until 1949, when they moved to Rapid City where Roland managed a Phillips 66 service station.  From 1951-1958 they resided on various farms near Draper, SD and Vivian, SD.  Together they milked cows and cared for a very large flock of sheep along with feeding a few thousand market lambs.

In 1958, they purchased a ranch south of Hot Springs, SD where they lived for nearly 30 years.  During this time their son was born.  Together they maintained a sizeable herd of cattle and sheep while working full time jobs in town.  Roland started his building construction company, doing all types of carpentry and masonry projects in the local area until his retirement in 1989.

He married DeAnna Wotier in 1988, and operated an irrigated farm near Oral, SD from 1989-1996.  To that union, two sons were born.

Roland was baptized into the Lutheran Church after moving to Hot Springs.  He was an active member of both Bethesda Lutheran Church and then later, Grace Lutheran Church serving various leadership roles in both congregations.

Roland didn’t shy away from a hard day’s work during his lifetime, although he enjoyed spending time with his sons and their activities.  He had a passion for family history and believed in carrying forward our family stories.  He was also an avid player of cribbage and card games, he enjoyed watching rodeoes and antique tractor shows.   But above all, Roland loved socializing, especially dancing.  He spent many Thursday afternoons at the Minneluzahan Center in Rapid City, along with any dance in the region he could attend.  He was also a member of the Black Hills German Good Time Club.

Grateful for sharing Roland’s life include his survivors, sons, Randy (Karmen) Piper of Sioux Falls; Wayne Piper of Edgemont; Drake (LaShia) Piper of Fort Pierre; chosen daughter, Jazmine (Piper) Tarant of Hot Springs; twin granddaughters, Erika Piper of Omaha, NE; Brooke Piper of Sioux Falls, brothers, Don Piper of Osage, WY; Harold (Charlotte) Piper of Wood; Rodney Piper of Wood; sister-in-law, Dorothy Piper of Winner; numerous nieces and nephews and a host of relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Twila Piper; one brother, Edward Piper; sisters-in-laws, Ina Piper; Nancy Piper; Gwendolyn Sherwood; brother-in-law, Glen Sherwood Jr. and a nephew, Roger Sherwood

Visitation will be held 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, at Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Hot Springs, SD.

Funeral service will be held 10 a.m., Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at Grace Lutheran Church in Hot Springs, SD.

Committal services will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at the Wood Community Hall and Evergreen Cemetery in Wood, SD.

Arrangements have been placed in the care of Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Hot Springs, SD.

Pheasant season opens Saturday

By Dan Bechtold

Editor

The population of Tripp County will increase this weekend as the opening of the state pheasant season is Saturday, Oct. 21.

Hunters from across the country flock to Tripp County which is one of the best pheasant hunting areas in the state.

Hotels and motels will see added guests and lodges will be full with hunters.

The hunting season runs from Oct. 21 to Jan. 31. Shooting hours are 10 a.m. to sunset.

The daily limit is three rooster pheasants with a possession limit of 15  rooster pheasants.

The resident only season was Oct. 14-16 on public lands only.

Places in Winner where persons can obtain a pheasant hunting license are: Winner True Value, Runnings, Jeff’s Gun Vault, Gus Stop and Buche Hardware.

Winner Area Chamber of Commerce is ready to welcome hunters. Banners have been placed on Main Street. The Chamber has information on the community at local motels.

The Chamber is asking business employees to wear orange or Hunt SD t-shirts on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. “This is a way to show uniformity in the community. It lets hunters know they are welcome and we appreciate them for coming here to hunt,” said Mike Scott, executive director of the Chamber.

Scott added the Chamber will have the doors open if hunters have questions on lodging, restaurants, gun service, vet service or helping them find hunting land.

“I think it will be a strong year for bird numbers,” said Scott.

Conservation officer Dillon Bates says bird numbers should be good. However, he was so sure as he looked out of his office window in February. Winner had a punishing winter with lots of snow.

“Winter was rough and that knocked our numbers down,” said Bates who has been in Winner for three years.

“We really had a good spring and summer so the broods we did have were big. There was a lot of moisture and bugs which was good for the pheasant chicks,” he said. Bates noted hunters are going to see a lot of young birds this year.

He said numbers wise it is going to be close to last year. “We are sitting ok. It is a lot better than I thought we were going to be in February,” Bates said.

The conservation officer says it is hard to tell how many hunters are coming until the day they get here. “I have not had as many calls as I usually have.”

In looking at concentration of birds in Tripp County, Bates says there are more birds in the northern part of the county. He explained the Ideal area is the epicenter of the pheasant population.

“It looks like the weather is going to be good for the opening weekend with weather maybe 60-65 degrees. I am excited,” he said.

Bates says Winner is a great town to work in. “People are super nice to me and glad to see me around. They are very welcoming. It has made it easy for me. It is good to see people come back to the area year after year.”

When asked what he enjoys about the pheasant season, he said: “What I like most is how it brings the community together. Everyone is excited about it and everyone is having a great day. I like being part of it all. I get to be outside and while I am not hunting pheasants I am watching everyone else having fun. It is always enjoyable to me.”

When asked what he wants hunters to remember, Bates said to read the rules and regulations before going hunting. If road hunting, remember to pull over to the side of the road, shut the door and get out of vehicle. “We don’t want guns going off in a vehicle,” Bates said.

The economics of pheasant hunting is big for South Dakota. Tripp County is one of the areas where total dollars spent is high.

In 2022, $11.8 million was the total dollars spent in Tripp County. This includes $2.5 million by resident hunters and $9.4 million by non-resident.

The total number of non-resident hunters last year in Tripp County was 4,151 according to GFP.

Total birds harvested in Tripp County was 48,088 including 34,709 by non-resident and 13,379 by resident.

Luncheon for veterans

Winner Legion Auxiliary and Winner VFW Auxiliary will be hosting a soup and sandwich luncheon for veterans and their spouses on Nov. 9 at the Legion. Serving will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A veterans day program will be held on Nov. 9 at the Armory at 10 a.m. This is put on by the Winner High School and middle school student council.

Rain

Heavy rain hit the Tripp County area this past week that lasted through the weekend.

Winner had a total of 5.05 inches in this period. One day Winner received 4.10 inches of rain, the most in a one day period for a long time.

Single day rain totals posted on Facebook include: Ideal, 4-5.5 inches, Randy Kludt, 4.45; Bill Soles, 5 inches, Tresh Swedlund, 4.45 inches, Tara Pajl, 5 inches, Keith Kaiser, 4.4 inches east of Dog Ear Lake, Whitney Engel, 5.20 inches, Littau Land and Cattle, 4 inches, Kaye Eckerman, 4.6 inches and 4.5 inches at Hidden Timber.

Oral interp opens season

The Winner High School oral interp compete at Brandon Valley on Saturday.

This was the first contest of the year.

Grace Brown competed in varsity serious and placed 10th.

Noah Manke competed in varsity humor and placed 12th.

Jacob Manke competed in storytelling and placed 8th.

Other placers were: Shannon Rank, novice serious, 12th; Wyatt Winfield, novice poetry, 12th; Jocelyn Soles, novice humor, 9th; Sharlotte Tuttle, novice serious, 14th; Peyton Jensen, novice humor, 10th; Brayden Woods, storytelling, 13th and Ryann Assman, novice serious, 15th.

The next meet is Oct. 21 at Sioux Falls Washington.

Colome Consolidated School District School Board earns highest honor for board work

The Colome Consolidated School District School Board earned the highest honor for their board work during the 2022-23 school year.

The Colome Consolidated School District School Board earned a Gold Level award for their participation in the Associated School Boards of South Dakota’s board recognition program: ALL, which stands for Act, Learn, Lead and honors the work of school boards who strived to enhance their knowledge base for effectively serving students.

By participating in ASBSD activities, training opportunities and demonstrating leadership at the local, state and national level, school boards accumulated points throughout the previous school year. To earn the Gold Level award, the Colome Consolidated School District School Board accumulated 500 or more ALL points.

“The Colome Consolidated School District School Board put in a tremendous effort during the 2022-23 school year to achieve the Gold level ALL award and we’re thrilled to honor them for their dedication,” ASBSD Executive Director Dr. Douglas R. Wermedal said.

“The board’s efforts will undoubtedly benefit the district’s students, staff and community.”

The Colome Consolidated School District School Board received their ALL plaque in September.

In the seventh year of the program, 90 public school boards – the second most in the history of the program – earned an ALL award.

“Congratulations to the school boards who earned this distinction and thank you for your commitment to enhancing public education locally and statewide,” Wermedal said.

ASBSD is a private, non-profit association representing more than 850 South Dakota school board members, the 148 schools they govern and the students they serve.

South Dakota High School Activities Association fall officials appreciation week

Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
Winner and Mobridge/Pollock volleyball players took time Thursday night to honor the referees of the volleyball match in Winner. The week of Oct. 1-7 was the South Dakota High School Activities Association fall officials appreciation week. During the season these dedicated men and women take time away from their personal schedules and families to provide opportunities for student-athletes that participate in SDHSAA activities.