Category Archives: News

Legion baseball is on for the summer

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After a crazy week of on again, off again Legion baseball, the Winner Baseball Association approved a summer season for the Legion program.

The Winner Baseball Association met Friday night and approved a summer season.

Coach Kory Foss said last Saturday the state Legion board came out and said there would have a Legion season. Then the next day the national Legion board said it would not support baseball in any state.

“At that point it looked like our season was over,” said Foss. “But Class A teams began discussing the possibility of playing an independent program outside of the Legion banner,” said Foss.

After a few days of discussion, the South Dakota Legion board came out and said it would allow teams to use the Legion logo and insurance, it just would not be a part of the season. “So with that new information, the Winner board felt comfortable moving forward,” explained the Legion coach.

“We have a lot of excited kids and coaches now that we finally have a true green light. There has been so much uncertainty not just over this past week but since our spring season was postponed before we even got a practice in.

I’m most happy for our players and for our seniors. They’ve had their final school year thrown into such a tailspin. I hope this can help provide some kind of closure to their high school baseball careers,” said Foss.

He added everyone is ready for some kind of normalcy and “I think baseball could be a big part of providing that. Baseball is something we’re all used to every summer.

I think being out at Leahy Bowl on a beautiful night and watching a ball game is something everyone can enjoy, especially after everything we have all experienced these last couple of months.”

Foss explained there are going to be new rules and regulations that the team has never had before when it comes to travel and social distancing whenever possible “but these are small prices to pay to get back out on the field.”

The team will be looking to have signups this week and after waivers are signed the team will be able to hop right out there for practice. Winner cannot play ball before June 5.

“That will give us some time to get ready after such a long period off. We’ll use that time to get arms healthy and see some pitches in cages. We’ll probably look at scrimmaging the junior legion team or things like that where we can simulate some live action.

Whatever the case, I think everyone will just be happy to be back on the field with a glove, a bat or ball in hand,” said Foss.

2 students leaving for basic training received their diplomas

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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
 A graduation ceremony was held for two Winner High School seniors who will not be at graduation on June 13. Cailob Week and Zane Mandl will be leaving for military training. The ceremony was held May 16 before the graduation wave parade. Pictured from left are Brett Gardner, who served as interim high school principal; Cailob Week, Zane Mandl and Supt. Keven Morehart.

Winner City puts up Winner High School senior banner’s on Main Street.

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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
Troy Kruger, Winner city public works director, puts up a Winner senior banner on Main Street. All 45 WHS graduates have pictures on a light pole. This was one way to honor the graduating class who have been through a lot during this pandemic. The banners were put up in time for Saturday’s graduation wave parade.

Two high school rodeo competitor’s receive their diploma

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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
A graduation ceremony was held for two Winner seniors who will not be at graduation on June 13 due to their competition in the regional rodeo. Saige Schuyler and Dawson Phillips were honored on May 16 prior to the graduation wave parade. Pictured from left are Brett Gardner, who served as interim principal; Dawson Phillips, Saige Schuyler and Supt. Keven Morehart.

Paint grant awarded to Winner, Colome schools

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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
A paint donation from Winner True Value will help the Winner School District. True Value donated 20 gallons of paint to the school. Pictured from left are Keven Morehart, superintendent of the Winner School District, Dan and Coleen Patmore, owners of True Value.

The Winner and Colome School Districts are able to reap the benefits of a paint program sponsored by True Value.

The Winner store donated 20 gallons of paint to both Winner and Colome schools.

“This year we were able to nominate more than one school and we were very pleased to find out both Winner and Colome schools were both awarded the grant of 20 gallons of paint each,” said Dan and Coleen Patmore, owners of Winner True Value.

Colome will use the paint for the lobby by the gym, bathroom area and hallway.

Winner will use the paint for several touchup areas in its buildings.

The paint comes from True Value Foundation’s Painting a Brighter Future program.

The paint grant can help improve learning environments and can have an impact on youth attitudes performance.

Over 1,800 schools and youth development focused organizations across the country have been awarded paint since the program’s inception in 2009, covering 22 million square feet of learning space.

Senior Wave Parade

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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
Winner High School seniors line Main Street during a graduation wave parade. Rain did not stop the parade. May 16 was to have been the date of Winner’s graduation but due to COVID-19 the date was moved to June 13. There are 46 graduates in Winner’s senior class.

Winner Quarter Back Club donates to the EMT’s

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Dan Bechtold/ Winner Advocate Photo
Winner Quarterback Club donated Gatorade to Winner Volunteer Fire Department and Tripp County EMTs. This was Gatorade left over from the QB Club Y ball tournament. Normally, the QB Club donates it to Winner High School for
spring events when teams travel. Due to COVID-19 all spring sports were canceled in addition to school. Since the QB Club was not giving the Gatorade to the school they decided to donate to the firemen and EMTs. Pictured in front from left are Kathie Cole and Sissy Orel, co ambulance directors. In back from left are Paul Schueth, Tripp County ambulance; Zane Hamiel of the fire department and Jason Sachtjen of the QB Club.

Sandra Young, 75

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Funeral services for Sandra Kay Young were held May 19 at the Lucas Baptist Church with Rev. Mark Tuttle officiating.

Burial was in the Graceland Cemetery, Burke.

Sandra Kay Vosika was born in Gregory SD to Stanley “Skyk” & Velda (Johnson) Vosika on May 10, 1945. She was baptized and confirmed in the United Methodist Church in Gregory.

She attended the Powell School east of Gregory through the 8th grade and then graduated from Gregory High School in 1963. In high school she participated in band and chorus.

She worked at the Gregory Hospital for 2 summers during high school as a nurse’s aide and also worked at an ice cream shop.

She attended the Sioux Valley Hospital School of Nursing for 1 year.

In 1964 Sandy met the love of her life, Weary Young, and they were married in Gregory on Nov. 14, 1964. They became the parents of five children: Brent, Brenda, Brian, Brett, and Breana. T

ragically they lost their first-born, Brent, to a freak electrical accident in 1967 when he was 2 years old.

Sandy was a homemaker as she and Weary moved around the state while he was working on various construction projects. They then moved to Gregory in 1967.

In 1973 she and Weary moved out to the farm northeast of Burke and Sandy then worked milking cows for her father-in-law until 1989. She worked at the bowling alley in Burke from 1994-2000.

Sandy bowled on a league in both Gregory and Burke for 33 years and enjoyed attending state bowling tournaments every spring.

She also enjoyed playing cards weekly starting in 1996 with a group at the bowling alley and then later at the Senior Center in Burke.

For many years she had a large garden and did a lot of canning. Her greatest joys were the births of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She babysat her grandchildren a lot over the years and enjoyed attending their various extracurricular activities as much as possible. She enjoyed doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles.

Sandy and Weary celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 2004 with a trip to Nashville, TN, and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2014 with a trip to Branson, MO with their children and grandchildren.

She enjoyed many vacation trips through the years to the Black Hills and also traveled to Yellowstone National Park, Texas, Montana, Illinois, and Minnesota.

Sandy is survived by her husband, Weary; four children, Brenda Young of Midland TX, Brian (Dodi) Young of Sioux Falls, Brett (Betsy) Young of Sheldon IA, and Breana (Jack) Kennedy of Mitchell; nine grandchildren, Nicholas, Tyler (Karisa), Jenna (Zach), Taylor, Isaiah, Jackson, Paige, Ashlyn, and Drake; three great-grandchildren, Braxton, Gunnar, and Jolee; a brother, Craig (Roberta) Vosika of Gregory; brothers-in-law, Doyle (Barbara) Young and Boyt (Theresa) Young; an uncle, and several aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, as well as two special “sisters,” Stella (Jack) Christensen of Council Bluffs IA and Cheryl Whiting of Gregory.

She was preceded in death by her parents; son, Brent; parents-in-law, Darrel & Helen (Brevik) Young; a brother-in-law, a niece, and several uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Grace Neyens, 95

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Grace Neyens, 95, of Winner, SD passed away on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at the Winner Regional Long-Term Care Facility in Winner, SD.

Graveside service will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 11 a.m. at the Winner City Cemetery. A visitation will be held one hour prior to service at the Mason Funeral Home from 10-11 a.m.

Grace Ellen Neyens daughter of the late Ernest and Nancy Ham of Viewfield, SD was born Oct. 22, 1924 in Rapid City, South Dakota. She attended grade school in Viewfield and graduated from high school in Rapid City in 1943.

She received her Bachelor of Science in Journalism from South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD in 1948. After graduation Grace moved to Winner and was employed as a reporter for the Winner Advocate.

On April 28, 1951 she was united in marriage to Harold Neyens, son of the late Pete and Carrie Neyens of Winner in the St. John Evangelist Catholic Church in Rapid City, SD. T

o this union two sons were born, Ross in September of 1952 and Lee in September of 1957.

Harold and Grace lived in Winner for a few years while Harold was employed by C.H. Sturgis Company. In 1960 they moved to the Neyen’s farm southwest of Winner where Harold and Grace farmed with Harold’s brothers, Lawrence and James Neyens. T

hey farmed together until Harold passed away in 2009. Grace continued to live on the farm until 2014 when she moved to the Winner Regional Long-Term Care Center.

Grace was a very active member of the Winner Catholic Daughters and the Weaver Tripp County Extension Club. She was a loving and kind person and a wonderful cook.

She was known for her “from scratch” Angel Food cakes. She enjoyed gardening and was an avid reader.

Grace was preceded in death by her parents, her three brothers; Guy, Ross, and Donald Ham and her only sister, Ruth Ann.

She is survived by her sons, Ross and Lee both of Winner, sister-in-law Alice Stewart of Sun City, AZ and several nieces and nephews.