Core to replace Mid-Central

The Core Educational Cooperative became a reality on Thursday.

Core, which plans to run in place of Mid Central Educational Cooperative will focus on providing special education services to students enrolled in its 12 member school districts.

Districts involved in Core are: Colome, Armour, Burke, Corsica-Stickney, Gregory, Kimball, Plankinton, Platte-Geddes, Wessington Springs, White Lake and Wolsey-Wessington.

Core members decided the city of Platte will be the home of the newly formed cooperative. The building that will house the cooperative’s operations will be determined at a later meeting.

Mental Health Task Force Submits Recommendations To Gov. Daugaard

The South Dakota task force studying mental health and criminal justice today submitted a report with 15 recommendations for consideration by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the Legislature. Expanding training and tools for law enforcement, standardizing mental health screenings in jails, and increasing opportunities to divert individuals with mental illness to treatment are among the task force’s recommendations.

Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson convened the 22-member Task Force on Community Justice and Mental Illness Early Intervention from March through October. With support from the Governor, the Chief Justice established the group to address delays in court-ordered mental health evaluations and shortfalls in treatment for mentally ill individuals within the justice system. The task force consisted of representatives from all three branches of government and local governments, criminal justice officials, and mental health stakeholder groups.

The task force’s work was funded through a $302,500 grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The Crime and Justice Institute at CRJ, which assisted the Governor and Chief Justice with recent adult and juvenile criminal justice reforms, provided technical assistance.

“I thank the Chief Justice and task force members for undertaking this work. Prior to this, we had not had a comprehensive review of the evaluation and treatment of individuals in the criminal justice system who struggle with mental illness,” said Gov. Daugaard. “I will take this report seriously and carefully review each of the recommendations.”

The task force met eight times to review state laws, requirements for mental illness evaluations, court and jail data, and input from more than 100 stakeholders statewide. The group surveyed 24 jails and found the majority of surveyed jails had no access to a staff or contracted psychiatrist and little to no access to other mental health staff.

“Through our research we learned that diversion options are limited to certain geographic areas and there is a lack of procedures for early identification of mental illness. We also found that people with signs of mental illness were more likely to be detained pretrial and to spend more time in detention,” Chief Justice Gilbertson said. “South Dakota can do better. The recommendations of the task force represent common sense approaches to move us in the right direction. That should not only reduce the time these individuals spend in the criminal justice system, it will save the taxpayers considerable tax dollars in the running of the jails.”

The task force’s list of recommendations includes:

– Expanding Crisis Intervention Team training;
– Establishing a grant program for counties and regions to set up crisis response options;
– Identifying mental illness through timely mental health screenings;
– Providing training to criminal justice stakeholders on options to de-escalate crises and divert people safely into treatment in the community;
– Piloting a mental health court in Pennington County; and
– Expediting completion of court-ordered competency evaluations.

Too Long in the South Dakota Sun

Humor is tricky and fickle. Stories we find hilarious don’t always resonate with our South Dakota Magazine readers. But we’ve had good luck with a regular feature we call “Too Long in the Sun,” maybe because it’s mostly stories submitted by our readers.

In fact, it’s such a hit that it has survived for 100 issues, dating back to 1999. Let’s celebrate the birthday with a few favorites.

One of our most popular “Too Longs” was by Terry Williams on the Gettysburg turkey giveaway in the 1940s. The town’s business group heard of a popular promotion in another state where turkeys were given away from an airplane flying over town. So the Gettysburg businessmen bought six live Easter turkeys and arranged for a pilot to fly over main street at an advertised time. But when volunteers in the plane threw out the turkeys they didn’t fly or even float. They dropped like rocks. One hit the bank roof and five splatted on the pavement. Nobody was hurt but one lady was drenched in blood and turkey parts. The confused businessmen contacted the community that had successfully pulled off the turkey promotion.

“You don’t drop turkeys!” was the answer. “You drop ping pong balls and whoever catches the ball gets a turkey!”

We’ve learned that our best “Too Longs” are a bit zany, but as true stories of life in South Dakota they help to show who we are as South Dakotans (the Gettysburg turkey incident notwithstanding). One of my favorites in that regard was an excerpt from an autobiography by Allen “Jack” Kleinsasser titled Dakota Jack. Kleinsasser worked for decades with the Rapid City water department. One of his jobs was to collect from delinquent customers. Art’s Café in Rapid City was a regular stop on his list of late payers. Strangely enough, Art was always happy to see him and would immediately write a check for the bill and offer him coffee.

Kleinsasser was confused why Art wouldn’t just pay the bill on time, and he finally asked. Art’s answer? “Back in the ‘30s, when times were hard and there were a lot of people unemployed, my mother forgot to pay a utility bill and this guy came to collect or shut off service. The collector told her ‘thank you’ and said without people not paying on time, he wouldn’t have a job.” From then Art’s mother never paid a bill on time, viewing it not as an act of rebellion but as job creation. Art was simply following his mother’s philosophy. “Besides,” Art told Kleinsasser, “I like to visit with you once in a while.”

Kleinsasser noticed that Art was generous with the needy folks of Rapid City, often serving free hamburgers and fries, and a glass of Kleinsasser’s city water.

Other memorable “Too Longs” have recalled Claremont baseball champ Bill Prunty playing dead after being hit by a wild pitch and rodeo star Casey Tibbs proving his skeptics wrong at the twilight of his career. Then there was the veterinarian at the Sioux Falls stockyards who was asked how long pigs can live.

“I know some pigs that have now lived for 27 years,” he said. “I vaccinated them and the farmer told me he’d pay me when he sold them. That was 27 years ago.”

The Many Nicknames of South Dakota

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The Mount Rushmore State. The Sunshine State. The Swinged Cat State.

Of all the nicknames for South Dakota, perhaps none is more unusual than” The Swinged Cat State.” This nickname originated from remarks made by South Dakota’s first governor, Arthur C. Mellette, according to an article from the South Dakota State Historical Society – State Archives.

In 1890, South Dakota was in the midst of a drought. Mellette was doing everything in his power to help settlers and keep them from leaving the state. On a trip to Chicago for aid, Mellette was met by Moses P. Handy, a friend and newspaperman. Handy asked Mellette, “Well, governor, how is South Dakota?” Mellette replied, “Oh, South Dakota is a swinged cat, better than she looks.” By swinged, Mellette meant “burnt” or “singed,” according to the article. The next day, the Chicago Inter Ocean newspaper had a story about Mellette, governor of the “swinged cat State.”

“Coyote State” might have been its first nickname, and while most people probably assume the nickname was inspired by the state animal, it may actually have been inspired by a horse.

According to Volume IX of South Dakota Historical Collections Compiled by the State Department of History, a race took place in October 1863 at Fort Randall between horses owned by two soldiers from Company A Dakota Cavalry and a major from the 6th Iowa Cavalry. The major’s horse was badly beaten. A soldier from the Iowa infantry remarked “that the Dakota horse ran like a coyote.” The owners immediately gave their horse that name, which became applied to the entire Dakota Company and to all residents of the state. With a nod to the number of artesian wells in the state, another South Dakota nickname is “The Artesian State.” With plains, hills, mountains, cities, towns, farmland, pasture, lakes, rivers, hot weather and freezing cold, South Dakota has also been called “The Land of Infinite Variety” and “The Land of Plenty.”

Weather is a factor in two of South Dakota’s nicknames. As “The Blizzard State,” it shares a nickname with Texas because of both states being subject to frequent storms. And while “The Sunshine State” is Florida’s official nickname, it was also South Dakota’s slogan for decades.

In 1992, the sun set on “The Sunshine State” as South Dakota’s official nickname. State Rep. Chuck Mateer, a Republican from Belle Fourche, introduced legislation that year to change the state’s nickname from “The Sunshine State” to “The Mount Rushmore State.” “Everybody’s got a lot of sunshine, but we’re the only ones who’ve got Mount Rushmore,” he was quoted as saying in an article in the Jan. 26, 1992, Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Getting the bill passed wasn’t all sunshine for supporters. Opponents argued that dropping the nickname “The Sunshine State” would cause people to think the state was in a “frozen tundra,” according to Republican Rep. Mary Edelen of Vermillion in the Feb. 1, 1992, Argus Leader. Others in favor of keeping the sun shining on South Dakota said that the state’s American Indian population did not want South Dakota to be known as “The Mount Rushmore State.”

The legislation did pass and was signed into law by Gov. George S. Mickelson, who favored the new nickname. Who knows what the future will hold for South Dakota’s nicknames? While “The Mount Rushmore State” might seem set in stone, clearly nicknames come and go.

This moment in South Dakota history is provided by the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Find us on the web at www.sdhsf.org. Contact us at info@sdhsf.org to submit a story idea.

17 Apply to be Executive Director of Activities Association

By Dana Hess
For South Dakota Newspaper Association

PIERRE—The South Dakota High School Activities Association has received 17 applications for the position of executive director. Current executive director Wayne Carney is retiring.

According to board member Brian Maher of Sioux Falls, they would meet in executive session at its Nov. 2 meeting to vet the applications. Interviews would likely take place in January or March to coincide with SDHSAA board meetings.

To determine the characteristics and qualities of the next executive director, SDHSAA surveyed state groups representing school superintendents, athletic directors and high school principals.

At its meeting, the board heard from Lynn Vlasman, superintendent of the Lyman School and president of the South Dakota School Superintendents Association. He presented the SDHSAA board his organization’s four recommendations for qualities needed in the next executive director:

Leadership and a broad sense of the importance of athletics and fine arts in the development of young people.

A commitment to expanded use of technology to enhance communication, transparency and accountability.

A broad sense of school finance and how mandated expenditures in one budget area can negatively impact financial priorities in other ares of a district budget.

The ability to follow through on initiatives that represent the will of the majority of the association’s member districts even if they conflict with the director’s personal vision.

Election Signs Not Allowed in Right of Way

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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 general election coming up, election signs are showing up along the state’s roadways,” says Kristi Sandal, public information officer. “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.

Mellete County Jailer Sentenced on Accessory to a Felony Charge

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Attorney General Marty Jackley and Mellette County States Attorney Zach Pahlke announce that Kimberly K. Dewes, 47, White River, was sentenced to 12 months, with 6 months suspended, in the Winner Jail on one count of accessory to a felony.

Dewes, who was employed as a jailer at the Mellette County jail, allowed a 24/7 Sobriety Program participant to submit a “clean” urine sample instead of urinating into a specimen container provided by the jail. Dewes was terminated from her position as jailer. “The entire concept of the 24/7 Sobriety Program relies on the integrity of the participants and the testing facilities and Dewes, with her actions, directly violated the public’s trust in the program,” said Jackley.

This case was investigated by the Mellette County Sheriff’s Office and the Division of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the Mellette County States Attorney and the Attorney General’s Office.

THOUSANDS GATHER FOR CUSTER STATE PARK BUFFALO ROUNDUP

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Picture perfect weather drew near-record crowds for the 51st Annual Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival at Custer State Park.

Last year during the 50th Anniversary, attendance reached nearly 22,000 spectators. This year’s attendance was close to 21,000, almost matching last year’s record-setting numbers.

Custer State Park also hosted its three-day arts festival in conjunction with the Buffalo Roundup. Good crowds gathered throughout the three-day celebration to enjoy entertainment, educational programs, the buffalo chip flip as well as the Buffalo Wallow Chili Cook-off and Buffalo Art Stampede Arts Auction.

“All in all it was a fantastic three days in Custer State Park with the Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival,” said park superintendent Matt Snyder. “We’re already planning for next year’s event which will be held Sept. 28-30.”

The annual Roundup serves as a tool to help manage the park’s buffalo herd. About 200 buffalo will be sold at the park’s annual auction on Saturday, Nov. 19. For additional information on the auction, contact the park at 605.255.4515 or email CusterStatePark@state.sd.us.

Upcoming Buffalo Roundups will be held on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017, and Friday, Sept. 28, 2018.

Dorothy Brown, 92

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Dorothy Marion (Osterman) Brown was born November 12, 1923 to Albert and Mary (Mauch) Osterman at Mariville NE in Rock County. Brother Lavern welcomed her with loving arms. In the coming years sisters Virginia, Patty and Maxine would complete the family. Dorothy walked all 8 years to Rock Creek School not far from their home. Dorothy waited 1 year for Virginia to finish grade school than they both went to Rock County High School at Basset, NE. They stayed with grandma Mauch while attending their 1 year of high school. Their brother was very ill with a heart problem caused by rheumatic fever and passed at the age of 20. He was in the hospital so long the folks couldn’t afford to send them to high school. Dorothy worked out in Ainsworth, Bassett and for several neighbors. Dorothy had to learn to make the weekly supply of bread and rolls at a very early age for her family. She loved to go hunting and fishing with her brother till he passed away. She met a fellow, Udell Brown, dated and married him on March 15, 1943. They had one daughter Julia. Dorothy was Udell’s right hand helper. She milked cows, raised a big garden, raised chickens and worked in the fields learning to drive all the tractors and mastered handling 3 dump rakes. She joined the Cowbells and was a Cowbell for several years. Then she took on a job of selling Tupperware and sold that for 10 years. She met lots of lovely people and excelled at this job. Dorothy and Udell went to Mesa, Arizona for 12 winters and there they did lots of dancing, playing cards and working on crafts. Udell would cut out wood items and Dorothy would paint them along with her favorite crafts.

Udell had a stroke in 1992. In 1997 they sold the ranch, built their house in Gregory and made the hard move to town. She was very strong willed and granted both of their wishes by caring for Udell for 9 years around the clock till he passed away in 2001. She took care of her yard and had a lot of flowers while living in town. Her daughter gave her 2 granddaughters and they gave her 6 great grandchildren. Now she has 2 great great grandchildren.

Dorothy was able to stay in her own home till August, 2016 then she had to go into the Gregory Hospital and from there to the Lake Andes Senior Living Center. On September, 21, 2016 at the age of 92 years Dorothy peacefully passed away.

Gas Prices

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The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline remained relatively stable over the past week, settling at today’s price of $2.21 per gallon. Drivers are paying the same price per gallon month-over-month, and 8 cents less per gallon year-over-year. Although today’s average remains flat compared to one week ago, pump prices have been pressured higher in some regions due to disruptions on the Colonial Pipeline.

South Dakota’s price average today for self-serve regular gasoline has also held steady over the last week at $2.261 per gallon, according to GasPrices.AAA.com. One year ago gas prices were 12 cents higher in the state.