Category Archives: News

Elroy Croston, 86

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Elroy Croston, 86, of Winner, SD passed away on Friday, March 30, 2018 at his home in Winner.

Funeral service were held on Tuesday, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Christian Church in Winner. Burial followed in the Colome City Cemetery.

Elroy Dean Croston was born on May 11, 1931. He is the son of Irvy T. Croston and Hermina M. Hespe. The family moved South of Colome near the Keypaha River at a young age. Elroy worked on neighboring farms before and after he went into the service in 1952. He served during the Korean conflict in 1952-1954 stationed in Japan.

On Sept. 1, 1956 Elroy was united in marriage to Velma Harter. They recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. To this union two daughters were born, Rose and Renee.
Shortly after returning from the service Elroy worked as a general contractor constructing homes, commercial buildings, and did concrete work. He also raised cattle. After retiring from carpentry at age 75 he continued to raise cattle.

He was a volunteer fireman for 37 years, a member of the Colome American Legion, and a member of the First Christian Church. He never tired of playing pitch with family and friends. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and riding his four wheeler. He enjoyed his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Later in life, the highlights of his day included his daily trip to the farm and checking his email for daily pictures of his great-grandchildren. He religiously watched The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, and the Minnesota Twins.

Elroy is survived by his wife Velma of Winner, SD, daughter Rose Croston of Gillette, WY and daughter Renee (Jeff) Holzer of Winner, SD along with grandchildren Jami (Andy) Dalchow, Kaycee (Luke) Bannister, Crystal (Josh) Kuchta and great grandchildren Mackenzie Loveday, Dominique Foster, Adriana Foster, Aspyn Bannister, Maizie Dalchow, and Kinsley Dalchow. He is also survived by brothers Orval (Betty) Croston, Alan (Deanna) Croston, and Myron (Jan) Croston, as well as in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents, one sister, and six brothers.

Annetta Almendinger, 92

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Annetta Almendinger, 92, of Winner, SD passed away on Monday, March 26, 2018 at the Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD.

Funeral service were held on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Winner. Burial followed in the Winner City Cemetery.

Annetta was born April 22, 1925 at Delmont, SD to Emil and Christina (Drefs) Nieman joining the family Leona, Ervin, Elta and Leonard.

Annetta grew up in the White River area and attended White River School.  After graduation she worked in California for a year and then returned back to the Winner area where she was united in marriage to Harold Almendinger in 1946.

Annetta worked at the West Side Café for many years until the establishment closed in 1976. She then worked at the Baptist Hospital in Winner until her retirement in 2000. Annetta enjoyed being with family and friends. In her spare time she enjoyed doing her find a word puzzle and watching game shows. She was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church.

Grateful for having shared her life are children Dennis Almendinger of Winner, Lana (Jack) Kettler of Forrest Lake, MN, Connie (Jim) Sandstrom of Philip, Kelly Almendinger of Winner; niece Darnell Connelly of Winner. 11 Grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren; 8 great great grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives.

She is preceded in death by her husband Harold Almendinger on Nov. 8, 2003. Her parents, grandson Jason Kewley; two brothers, Ervin Nieman and Leonard Nieman; and two sisters; Leona Parkas and Elta Frank.

Mary Johnson, 91

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Mary Johnson, 91, of Winner, SD passed away on Friday, March 30, 2018 at the Winner Regional Long Term Care Facility in Winner, SD.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church in Winner, SD. Burial will follow in the Winner City Cemetery. Visitation will be held one hour prior to funeral service.

Mary, daughter of James Dougherty and Mary (Magirl) Dougherty was born Sept. 16, 1926 in Colome, SD.

Mary completed her first 8 grades of school at the Churchside School near Clearfield, SD. She then attended Colome High School for 2 years and completed her high school education graduating in 1944 from Winner.

She attended college at Southern State Teachers College in Springfield, SD and began her teaching career at the Riverside School south of Clearfield. She attended several summer schools until she received her degree in teaching. She taught school for 26 years in 6 different rural schools.

In the fall of 1970, Mary took a leave of absence from teaching to care for her aging parents and never returned to full-time teaching. She did substitute teaching in almost all the rural schools in Tripp County in the 1970’s and also in the Winner Public Schools.

On Oct. 9, 1976 she was united in marriage to Gordon Johnson of Winner in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Winner, SD. Mary said “marrying Gordon was the best thing I ever did in my life”.

They resided on the farm as she loved the farm and always had a beautiful flower garden and yard. After the death of Gordon in 2005, she resided in Winner.

Mary was a member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Catholic Daughters, Retired Teachers Association, American Legion Auxiliary and the VFW Auxiliary where she held the office of president and also District #8 president. She received the honor of being named the outstanding president in South Dakota.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband and her parents and a cousin Jack Elder.. Grateful for having been part of her life are her step-son Joel and wife Claudia of Security, Colorado, sister- in-law Betty of Omaha, NE, and 2 step grandchildren, 3 step great grandchildren of Colorado, nieces; Vicki (Don) Covey, Judy (Larry) Wagner, nephew, Murray (Circe) Brown, cousins; Jean Adel, Avis (Clarence) Von Eschen, and many friends.
We rejoice that her struggles are over and trust she is with her Lord and is reunited with loved ones. May ye Rest In Peace, dear Mary!

Verlyn Victor Milk, 89

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Verlyn Victor Milk, known by family and friends as Victor, 89 of Winner, SD , died, March 24, 2018 at Ava’s House in Sioux Falls, SD.

He was born on Feb. 15th, 1929, to Jesse and Salina (High Rock) Milk. He was raised in Milk’s Camp near Herrick, SD.

A memorial service was held at 11 a.,m. March 28 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Winner, SD. Burial followed at Holy Spirit Cemetery in Ideal, SD .

Victor was united in marriage to Lucille Roubideaux in March of 1949 at the Episcopal Church in Winner. He was the oldest of five children and a direct descendant of Chief Asanpi (Milk).

Victor moved to Winner where he called home for the majority of his life. He and Lucille would have four children: Rose Melda (Wendel), Edward Charles, Verlyn Victor, Jr. and Violet Marie. Always a family man, he worked various jobs around the area to support his family.

Victor was an active member of the Episcopal Church in Winner. He was known very well and respected throughout the community as a hard working painter and carpenter. His family would describe him as a fun loving man who always put his family first. He loved going to rodeos, attending powwows especially Milk’s Camp, fishing, camping, and mostly spending time with his grandchildren after he retired.

Victor is survived by his daughter, Rose (Ralph); four grandchildren, Mark, Reid (Kaylene), Drake, and Marisa; four great grandchildren; one sister, Ruth Mason of Papillion, NE, and one brother, Roger (Lavina) Milk of Winner, SD. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jesse and Salina; his loving wife of 48 years, Lucille; two sons, Edward Charles and Verlyn Victor, Jr.; one daughter, Violet Marie; two brothers, Alfred Eugene and Jesse Thomas, Jr.

Attorney General Marty Jackley Helps Lead Bipartisan Coalition of State AGs in Demanding Answers from Facebook

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Attorney General Marty Jackley helped lead a bipartisan coalition of 37 state and territory Attorneys General in sending a letter demanding answers from Facebook about the company’s business practices and privacy protections. The letter to Facebook, was led by Attorneys General Tim Fox (R-MT), Marty Jackley (R-SD), George Jepsen (D-CT), Ellen Rosenblum (D-OR), and Josh Shapiro (D-PA).

“Facebook provides its users significant opportunity to share events and personal information,” said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. “As Attorney General, I am working to protect consumers from the loss of personal information through data-harvesting and breaches. Facebook is being cooperative with our office in determining the best course of action to deal with the data loss that might have occurred for South Dakota residents.”

As the Attorneys General write in their letter to Facebook, news reports indicate the data of at least 50 million Facebook profiles may have been misused by third-party software developers. Facebook’s policies allowed developers to access the personal data of “friends” of people who used certain applications – without the knowledge or consent of these users.
mThe Attorneys General raise a series of questions about the social networking site’s policies and practices, including:

 Were those terms of service clear and understandable?
 How did Facebook monitor what these developers did with all the data that they
collected?
 What type of controls did Facebook have over the data given to developers?
 Did Facebook have protective safeguards in place, including audits, to ensure
developers were not misusing the Facebook user’s data?
 How many users in the states of the signatory Attorneys General were impacted?
 When did Facebook learn of this breach of privacy protections?
 During this timeframe, what other third party “research” applications were also able to access the data of unsuspecting Facebook users?

The Attorneys General write in the letter: “Facebook apparently contends that this incident of harvesting tens of millions of profiles was not the result of a technical data breach; however, the reports allege that Facebook gave away the personal data of users who never authorized these developers to obtain it, and relied on terms of service and settings that were confusing and perhaps misleading to its users.”

Gov. Daugaard Signs Veterans Cemetery Bill

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Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed Senate Bill 91 to establish a new state veterans cemetery in East River South Dakota. The law authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for the design and construction of a cemetery in Minnehaha County on land donated by the City of Sioux Falls.

“This new veterans cemetery will give veterans a final resting place close to their homes and families,” said Gov. Daugaard. “This cemetery has been a longstanding goal of veterans organizations, and I am pleased to see it come to fruition.”

The legislation creates the South Dakota Veterans Cemetery endowment fund within the South Dakota Community Foundation. The endowment fund will provide a fund for any person who wishes to contribute to the construction and operation of the South Dakota State Veterans Cemetery. The foundation’s goal is to reach $3 million by July 2023.

In addition, the state has appropriated $450,000 from the general fund and $6 million in federal fund expenditure authority to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of creating the cemetery.

Senate Bill 91 contains an emergency clause, making the law effective immediately.

March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

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March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month is an opportunity to educate the community and create awareness about developmental disabilities.

A person with a developmental disability will have limitations due to mental or physical impairments. As a result of varying degrees of disabilities these individuals encounter many difficulties in language, mobility and independent living. National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month also brings to the front the incredible potential of these individuals. It’s an opportunity to share the stories of individuals with a disability to show that the goal of a successful life is within their reach. Community Connections of Winner supports and assists individuals to achieve this goal.

National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month’s goal is to promote positive attitudes towards individuals with disabilities by fostering a “See Me for Me” theme. To us, this means looking beyond someone’s disability and seeing them as a person.

Community Connections supports individuals to make informed choices about their life, whether it is about their choice of housing, employment, personal goals or life style. Community Connections supports individuals by building on their strengths and capabilities which, in turn, develops independence and self-advocacy enhancing an individual’s dignity and quality of life. Community Connections fosters inclusion for these individuals within the community. They provide exposure and educate individuals on their responsibility and privilege to be a contributing member of the community. “We, at Community Connections, don’t see a disability, we see potential,” said Melony Bertram, executive director.

All people, regardless of disability, deserve the opportunity for a full and inclusive life in their community. These individuals contribute and give back to the community in a number of ways, by shopping locally, maintaining jobs at local businesses and spending their leisure time out in the community enjoying eating out, going to the movies and attending local events.

“So we are asking the members of the Winner community to join with us in celebrating March as National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month,” said Bertram.

Community Connections held an open house on March 23.

There has been much growth and changes within Community Connections over the years.

Science Fair Winners Named

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Shelby Scott and Presley Foudrey won the grand prize for their project at the Winner Science Fair held on March 22. There project was: What percentage of people are amusic?

The best of show at the middle school went to Joselyn Kludt with a project on “does coffee have different pH’s.”

The gold medal physical science project winners include:

Mackenzie Levi and Brennan Bachmann, “How does air pressure effect bounce?”

Preston Norrid, “What are the effects of friction?”

Jude Laude, Steven Lin, “Does yeast effect elephant paste?”

Kayla Natoli, “Does the splatter matter?”

Megan Brozik and Meagan Blare, “Does a cookie sheet effect baking?”

Teresa Taylor, “Which fabric absorbs dye the best?”

The biological gold medal winners are:

Saige Schuyler, “Does a chiropractic adjustment effect horse performance?”

Kiersten Durrin and Kara Ewing,
Does washing hands affect mold growth?

Dawson Phillips, Does plant population affect its growth?

Jacob Clay, Is water still the champ?

Phillip Jorgensen, Is a dog’s mouth cleaner?

Addy Root, What mouth wash kills oral bacteria

Zane Mandl and Jaynee Gregg, what manure is best for fertilizer?

Several special awards were presented at the science fair.

These awards include:

Best engineering—Preston Norrid, $25 sponsored by Haley’s Hiway Lumber

Best display board—Isabelle Leyden, $25 from Jorgensen Land and Cattle

Best new idea—Heather Rowe, $25 from Schramm Furniture

Best oral health—Addy Root, electric toothbrush from Winner Dental Clinic

Best ag related—Zane Mandel and Jaynee Gregg, $25 from Jorgensen Land and Cattle

Best health project—Morgan Hammerbeck, $25 from Animal Clinic

Best animal project—Saige Schuyler, $25, Animal Clinic

Best use of data—Megan Brozik, $25, Schramm Furniture

Cast Chosen for WHS Play

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The Winner High School drama department will present the play “The Beverly Hillbillies” on April 5-7 at the Winner Community Playhouse.

The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and curtain time is at 7 p.m.

The cast includes: Taylor Audiss, Shelby Scott, Cam Irick, Megan Brozik, Meagan Blare, Mason Schuyler, Jack Ducheneaux, Teresa Taylor, Justin Hausmann, Katy Lantz, Hunter Shopene, Sadie Woods, Brielle Bachmann, Gracie Littau, Matt Hartley, Finn Bartels, Andrew Taylor, Mary Calhoon, Shannon Calhoon, Ty Bolton, Heather Rowe, Kendyl Bachmann, Leah Wielchelman, Madaline Watzel, Maggie DeMers, Elijah Blare, Lauren Norrid and Ronae Klein.

The play is directed by Kara Connot and Kelly Assman. Dan Patmore is the technical director.

Persons can call the Winner High School office at 842-8125 to reserve tickets.