Category Archives: News

By Dan Bechtold
Editor

Friendship. Renewed determination. Embracing life.

All these elements make for a great Winner Community Playhouse production of “The Savannah Sipping Society.”

Four veterans of the Winner stage carry the show. It is an outright hold onto your seat laugh riot of a play.

You have not missed the play yet. It will be presented Oct. 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 each night at the playhouse. For reservations call 842-1958.

The cast includes Tami Comp, Sandra York, Barb DeSersa and Brandy Biggins.

There are cameo roles by Victoria Gronlund, Becca Carlson, Cheril Meiners and Linda Watson.

Four unique Southern women, all needing to escape the sameness of their day to day routines, are drawn together by fate and an impromptu happy hour.

Randa, (played by Comp), a perfectionist and workaholic, is struggling to cope with a surprise career derailment that reveals she has no life and no idea how to get one

Dot (played by York), is still reeling from her husband’s recent demise and the loss of their plans for an idyllic retirement. She faces an unsettling prospect for starting a new life from scratch.

Marlafaye (DeSersa) has blown into Savannah fresh from Texas.

Also new in town is Jinx, (Biggins) a life coach and veritable force of nature who offers new skills to help the group.

I like the solo parts each woman has as it helps weave the story together. It also allows the other women time to do a costume change as there are named changes of custom in this production.

York wears two hats in this production. She is the director and also is one of the actresses.

Dan Patmore is the technical director and created a southern home verandah where most of the action takes place.

“The Savannah Sipping Society” is filled with laughter, hilarious misadventures as these four women bond and find the confidence to jumpstart their lives.

However, most importantly, they learn it is never too late to make new old friends. A lesson we can all take to heart.

Go see the play—it is really enjoyable.

By Dan Bechtold
Editor

On an overcast cool afternoon, the Winner community celebrated the great news of the expansion of the Winner Regional Healthcare Center.

The official groundbreaking was held at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 4. Hospital board members, speakers, and hospital executives threw out the first shovel of dirt signifying the official start of the $23 million project.

As the officials put on construction helmets and picked up their shovels, the crowd applauded.

Several speakers spoke at the ground breaking.

Jody Engel, communication/foundation director at Winner Regional Healthcare Center, said “We find ourselves coming together as a community to take another step forward in ensuring our neighbors, friends and families continue to receive the quality health care we all expect and deserve for generations to come.”

Engel explained the healthcare center has a talented staff and this is truly a community hospital.

Carol Horstman, who has been a nurse at the hospital for 33 years, says she has seen many changes over those years. She looks forward to having an ER that will have private exam rooms instead of just drawing a curtain as is the case in the current ER.
Horstman noted the use of computers for charting was a big change.

She added the new addition will be a great asset. “This expansion shows we are progressive,” Horstman said.

Jill Swallow has worked in radiology for 27 years at Winner Regional. “I am so fortunate to work her,” she said. Like Horstman, Swallow has seen changes and for her department it was moving into the digital age where all the images are now digital, there is no longer the use of film to taking x-rays.

Swallow says her co-workers make this a great place to work. She noted there is need for expansion as they have outgrown their space in the facility.

“We want to continue to grow so patients can stay close to home,” she said.

Cally Night Pipe works at the long term care side of Winner Regional Healthcare Center. Even thought there will be no addition to the long term care unit, Night Pipe sees the benefit that the expansion will provide.

“This project is what Winner needs for future generations,” she said.

Dr. Tony Berg has been a family practice doctor in Winner for 35 years. He is now the chairman of the fundraising campaign for the new expansion.

“This is a great day for Winner,” he said.

Berg told the crowd this is your hospital and will be here for generations to come.

He noted the governing board had faith in this community and voted to move ahead with the building project.

Following the groundbreaking, a community meal was served in the Winner Armory. There were also free cupcakes for anyone who was born at Winner Regional.

At the meal, persons has a chance to look at the building plans.

Winner competitive cheer team won first place in Faulkton on Monday.

“They nailed everything and their stunts were great,” said coach Val Ewing.

It has been a busy week for the competitive cheer team.

A week ago the girls traveled to Northwestern to compete against some teams from the northeastern part of the state. The Lady Warriors came home with a second place finish.

“This competition was hard because it was homecoming week and it started so late,” said Ewing. “I feel the girls did a great job but we lost some needed points due to deductions. Deductions have been killing us this year,” said Ewing.

Friday of homecoming the girls provided halftime entertainment for the large crowd at the football game.

“As I coach I love to have the girls having the chance to perform their routine for the entire town. We don’t get a lot of spectators at our local competition so this is the girls chance to show everyone the talent we have,” noted the coach.

On Saturday, Sept. 30 the girls hit the road at 5:30 a.m. for Sioux Falls Roosevelt competition. “This was an awesome environment as we got the chance to cheer in the Pentagon and we go to see a lot of ClassAA schools.

Ewing said the girls came back to practice with a vengeance and we have made some big adjustments in our routine in order to get us some more difficulty points.

The girls will have one more competition before the state on Oct. 14 when they travel to Platte.

The state meet will be Oct. 20 in Rapid City.

Brooke Swier-Schloss of Swier Law Firm has been selected to the 2017 South Dakota “Rising Stars” list in Family Law.

Each year, a small percent of the lawyers in South Dakota are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. To be eligible for inclusion as a Rising Star, a lawyer must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less.

“We are excited and proud that Brooke has been selected to receive this honor,” said Scott Swier. “We congratulate and thank Brooke for her commitment to her clients, which is evident with this well-deserved recognition.”

The annual selections are made using a multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country.