Category Archives: News

By Dan Merritt, Advocate reporter

They decided someone needed to clean-up this town and they were right.

A cleaning business begun in winter 2014 is flourishing in Winner — and the area, as well — to the point of possibly hiring more workers, says Mardi Pederson.

“It’s going really well. Really well. We’re really busy. Better than I could have hoped.”

After several months of consideration, she and her mother Kaye Eckerman launched SPARKLE Cleaning Company, LLC on Feb. 14, 2014.

They have a crew busy every day cleaning homes, some businesses, and plenty of automobiles, as well.

(Yes, they will take-on that messy inside and muddy exterior car of yours and make that dirty ride all clean and shiny inside and out.)

Appointments for cars need to be made at which time costs for the service can be discussed, Pederson added.

By Dan Bechtold

Editor 

Growing up in Winner, Jimmi Watts always had a passion for teaching.

As a first grader, Watts had Jo Haffield as a teacher. The first grade teacher so inspired Watts that even in first grade the student made a vow to become a teacher. That promise carried over to  high school. When Haffield was an elementary counselor she worked with the Character Counts program and Watts had the opportunity to work with elementary youths.

Now, Watts is teaching kindergarten students in Omaha, Neb., and is part of a program known as Math Studio in the Omaha Public Schools.

Watts, daughter of Rusty and Penny Heenan of Winner, graduated from Winner High School in 1998. In 2003, she received her degree in in elementary and special education from the University of South Dakota. In 2006, Watts earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. In 2010, Watts received a elementary math specialist degree.

She teaches in the Belle Ryan School in Omaha and has 21 students in kindergarten. In that class, the students speak seven different languages.

Watts is taking part in a process called Math Studio, a model classroom that provides professional development for teachers, coaches and administrators. It’s a small piece of a $5.5 million grant to bolster math instruction in the Omaha Public Schools from the Sherwood and Lozier Foundations.

Winner High School freshmen English students took part in the South Dakota 4-H Quotes to Live By essay contest.

WHS freshmen English teacher Cyndy DeMers said she had every freshmen write an essay about their favorite maxim.

Statewide record numbers participated in this year’s contest.

Karelyn Farrand, SDSU Extension 4-H Character education field specialist, said “The increase in participation is exciting news. I am especially pleased that more students have been given the opportunity to learn from maxims.”

Participants use critical thinking skills to examine how a maxim impacts their lives. “It helps them build a stronger character foundation by reflecting on their own lives and who they are and are going to be as a persons of character. It is also good to see more students practicing and improving their reading and writing skills by participating in this contest.”

The contest is designed to promote reading, critical thinking and composition skills. Participants choose a maxim from a predetermined list and write an essay that shows how the maxim fits into their lives. The contest was offered to all South Dakota youth in fourth, seventh and ninth grades.

By Dan Bechtold

Editor 

Nick Hossle and Lesley Soles received their state FFA degree at the recent state  convention in Brookings.

Wyatt DeJong, Winner High School FFA advisor, says less than one percent of the start Future Farmers of America membership received his degree.

“It takes a lot of work and commitment on the part of the student,” said DeJong.

Students must keep records for three years in a certain project area.

Soles worked in food science and technology and Hossle worked in beef production.

In addition to keeping records for three years, a student must have a minimum of 15 community service hours plus need a grade point average requirement.

“It is a nice honor and I am impressed to have two students receive it. I am blown away by their commitment,” said DeJong.

Dr. Muna Ashraf is spending a month in Winner as part of her family practice residency.

She started work at Winner Regional Clinic April 6 and will leave May 1. She will return to Sioux Falls where she has two months left on her residency.

In September, she will start  work for McGreevy Clinic in Sioux Falls.

The doctor graduated from the University of South Dakota Medical School in 2012 then went into a family practice residency program at Center for Family Medicine in Sioux Falls.

This is not her first visit to Winner, as a sophomore in medical school, Ashraf spent a month working with doctors at Winner Regional Clinic.

In Winner, she has been seeing patients at the clinic and being on call in the emergency room at the hospital.

“In a small community, I enjoy the variety of being able to do emergency medicine plus also work in the clinic. I enjoy the warmth of people in a small community. They are very kind,” she said.

Ashraf has a degree in computer science graduating from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, graduating in 2000. For five years she worked in the computer field at Citi Bank and Sencore. For these firms she did a lot of programming.

Ashraf is a graduate of Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls and always had an interest in science. While working with computers, the doctor found she missed working with people.

For three years, she worked with people with disabilities at Lifescape and also took pre-med classes.

“I enjoy interacting with patients and I have a passion for medicine,” she explained.