Category Archives: News

Betty Beatrice “Bea” Mann, 89

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betty mann obit

Betty Beatrice “Bea” Mann a resident of the Michael J. Fitzmaurice SD State Veterans Home, died Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 89 years old. She was born November 3, 1926 in Hamill, SD and married her high school sweetheart Vernon on December 14, 1946 in Valentine NE. They lived on a ranch at Dog Ear Lake in the Winner area until 1957 when they moved to Hot Springs. She enjoyed working at Jack & Jill’s for many years until she retired. Bea loved playing cards, fishing, camping, gardening, chocolate ice cream, and winning at Bingo. Vernon preceded her in death on July 4, 2011 after 64 years of marriage.

Nancy Ann (Kaiser) Kewley, 59

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Nancy Ann (Kaiser) Kewley, 59, passed away unexpectedly on March 9, 2016. Nancy was born May 7, 1956, to Francis and Idalee (Johnson) Showalter in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her mother later remarried and Nancy was adopted by her step-father, Arthur “Bud” Kaiser. She grew up in Winner, South Dakota, and attended Winner High School.

She married Harvey Kewley on July 7, 1974 and gave birth to a daughter, Anne Marie, in 1975. Having grown up in the 60’s and early 70’s, Nancy was a bit of a “hippie.” She loved rock music, with the Beatles, Joni Mitchell and the Rolling Stones among her favorites. She burned incense, wore patchouli and collected vintage velvet tapestries in true bohemian fashion. She was also a bit of a clothes horse and liked to bargain hunt for designer finds. Nancy was disabled by severe mental illness. During her periods of wellness, she loved to sew and enjoy a good novel. She was an excellent cook and once dreamed of becoming a chef.

Gregg Michael Schwartz, 60

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gregg schwartz obit

Gregg Michael Schwartz, age 60 of Denver, Colo., formerly of Colome, passed away suddenly on April 24, 2016 at his home in Denver, CO. Gregg was born to the late Richard Lee Schwartz and the late Ruth Marlene Harter Schwartz.

Funeral services were held April 30 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Colome. Burial followed in the Colome City Cemetery.

Gregg’s childhood was a busy one spent with his dog Brownie. Greg and lifelong friend, Dave Cahoy went hunting and fishing every chance they would get. He had an old pickup that was referred to as Mergatroid and he put a lot of miles on it as a teenager. He played ball on the Colome baseball team. He attended eight years of grade school in a country school northeast of their farm. Gregg graduated from Colome High School in 1974. After high school he went to Gillette, WY and pursued work for a short time and then enlisted in the United States Navy. While stationed at Moffet Field in California, Gregg was involved in an auto accident that left him a paraplegic for life. He spent time in the Minneapolis VA Center prior to his mother taking care of him on the family farm. He moved to Sioux Falls, SD where he worked as a volunteer at the Sioux Falls VA Hospital. Gregg moved to Denver, CO March 30, 2001 where he met Marilina on August 22, 2001. They were married October 13, 2005 and purchased a home in Denver where they resided for the last five years. Gregg enjoyed the backyard filled with beautiful flowers tended by Marilina. During those five years Gregg was in the hospital only two days.

Gregg won the National Volunteer of the year award multiple years. Gregg enjoyed attending concerts, collecting baseball memorabilia and clocks, watching movies, and playing pitch. He also enjoyed watching his favorite football team the Kansas City Chiefs. Joe Montana was Gregg’s favorite football player.

Take Steps To Prevent Tick-Borne Illness

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A state health official is warning South Dakotans to be aware of tick-borne illness as they head outdoors this spring.

“Every year we see cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and other tick-borne diseases in South Dakota. Last year was a particularly bad year for tularemia with 25 total cases when we typically see seven cases a year,” said Dr. Lon Kightlinger, state epidemiologist for the Department of Health. “The best way to protect yourself when you’re outdoors is to check for ticks often and remove them right away. Tucking pants into your socks and spraying clothes and exposed skin with repellent can also reduce your risk.”

The department investigated two cases of Lyme disease and two of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in addition to the 25 cases of tularemia in 2015, the most tularemia cases in over 30 years. Kightlinger said most areas of South Dakota are not suitable habitat for the Ioxdes deer tick that carries Lyme disease, as it prefers more heavily forested areas such as those in Wisconsin and Minnesota. South Dakota Lyme disease cases have typically had deer tick bites out of state.

A tick bite is a small, painless red bump with a bright red halo. If a tick is attached, remove it with tweezers or tissue, pulling slowly and steadily, being careful not to crush it. Then apply antiseptic to prevent infection. If you use bare hands wash thoroughly with warm, soapy water and avoid touching your eyes before washing.

Symptoms of tick-borne illness include sudden onset of a moderate-to-high fever, stiff neck, deep muscle pain, arthritis, fatigue, severe headache, chills, a rash on the arms and legs or around the site of the bite, and swollen lymph nodes, particularly in the neck. If you develop any of these symptoms after a tick bite, see your doctor.

Other precautions include:
Check small children thoroughly for ticks when they’ve been outside or had contact with pets or livestock that may have ticks.
Use insecticides and collars to protect pets from ticks and limit the number they carry into the home. Apply insecticides and tick repellents to pet bedding.
Check your animals frequently for ticks. Remove ticks from animals using forceps or tweezers to apply constant traction. If you must use your fingers, wear disposable gloves then wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.

Election Signs Not Allowed in Right of Way

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PIERRE, S.D –The South Dakota Department of Transportation reminds the public that political campaign and ballot-issue signs cannot be placed on state highway rights of way.

“With the primary election coming up in June, election signs are showing up along the state’s roadways,” says Jason Humphrey, construction engineer for the DOT. “We’re asking everyone to pay attention to where they put the signs and make sure they are outside of the rights of way and in locations that will not create safety hazards or distract motorists.”

The use of right of way is reserved for official highway signage. All signs in the right of way that are not required for traffic control, as authorized by law (SDCL 31-28-14), are prohibited and will be removed. That includes both candidate and ballot-issue signs.

Municipal ordinances regulating placement and removal of campaign signs within towns and cities do not have precedence over state jurisdiction and supervision of state highway rights of way within municipalities.

Collins Runs in Boston Marathon

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guy collins boston marathon

Guy Collins, formerly of the Winner area, ran in the Boston Marathon on April 18.

He is the son of Vern and Paulena Collins of Witten.

It was the 120th running of the most historic and prestigious marathon in the United States.

Collins ran the 26 miles in 3 hours and 39 minutes.

Collins has run 88 half marathons including one in each state, Washington, D.C., Canada and Mexico. This was only his third full marathon.
In order to qualify for Boston, Collins ran the Whistlestop marathon in Ashland, Wis., in 3:05 well below the qualifying benchmark for his age range.

He was joined and supported in Boston by his wife, Anita Collins; his sister, Leslie Bowar and his three children: Sean, Erin and Brendan Collins.

Guy is a member of the Winner High School graduating class of 1985. He now lives in Plymouth, Minn., with his wife, children and dog Winston.

Science Fair Winners Named

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scicne fair ian tunnissen

There were several participants in this year’s Winner Science Fair.

In the biological division, Ian Tunnissen won best of show with a project on hand sensitivity.

Luke Hennebold won best of show in physical science with a project on row crop erosion.

Lucas Jedlicki and Nick Bare won best of show in ag for a project on phosphorus addition.

Biology results include: Rile Calhoon, gold; Levi McClanahan, Lauren Norrid, both silver; Destiny Ruden, Samantha Marts/ Madyson Frazier, all bronze.

Ribbons were awarded to: Matt Hartley, Dalton Baker, Charlie Novak, Zach Lapsley, Savannah Vogel, Emalie Duley, Ronae Klein/Daesha Klein; Mason Schuyler/ Alex Schaeffer and Aidon Bachmann.

Brandon Volmer received a gold medal in physical science. Silver medals went to Tyler Olson, Tedra Vrbka/Sophia Lewis.

Receiving bronze were Asher Kraft, Andrew Taylor. Ribbons were awarded to: Logan Tunnisen, Katy Lantz, Shea Connot, Sierra Hanson/Gracie Littau, Tyson Westendorf, Hunter Shopene, Alexis Richey and Sadie Woods/ Makenna Pederson.

Sid Durrin and Sam Hossle win a gold medal for a pH effect on a radish project.

Silver went to Devon Leiferman and Windsor Barry and a bronze went to Tristan Watzel.

Ribbons were awarded to Michael Massa/ Nathan Ducheneaux and Nathan Erickson.

Welker Honored at USD

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logan welker and dr. quevillion

Logan Welker of Hamill, was recently honored by the psychology department at the University of South Dakota.

He has a double major pursuing two bachelor of arts degrees in psychology and Spanish. He is a junior and plans to attend graduate school for clinical psychology.

On April 6, he was inducted into Sigma Delta Pi, a Hispanic studies honors society. On April 19, he was inducted into Psi Chi, a nationally recognized psychology honors association.

Additionally, this year the USD psychology department awarded Welker with an outstanding research award, an outstanding junior award and the Royal D and Helen B. Doner scholarship.