Our Community

Bawdon recalls people coming together

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:59am
Aug. 2 started as a normal day for Joe Bawdon, a Custer resident who lives with wife, Susan, along French Creek in southeast Custer. He was getting things done around the house, took a trip to the post office and then visited a friend.
When he came back, he unloaded his pickup and was about to mow the lawn. He saw the gray sky and changed his mind about the mowing, continued to unload his truck and rolled up the windows to prepare for the rain. About that time, the skies opened up.

Noems get new ‘duck blind’

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:58am
Jackson Scott stood on Sidney Park Road outside his grandfather Larry Noem’s home and watched as propane tanks floated by “spewing propane like whales spewing water.”
Propane tanks weren’t the only things floating by —nor were they the only things that found a resting place in the Noems’ yard. 
A large pile of weeds, which Larry calls a “duck blind,” came to rest in his driveway. 
“It provides some comic relief,” Noem said.

Wrestling propane tanks at the brewery

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:54am
Mt. Rushmore Brewery co-owner Johnathan Stahl was going about a normal afternoon when he received a phone call from a friend at Rocky Knolls Golf Course who had some advice.
“He said, ‘You better get to the brewery and tell people to move their vehicles because you’re going to have a major mess there in a very short time,’” Stahl said.
West Dam and Rocky Knolls had already been inundated with water rushing through French Creek from the north and was headed into the city limits. 

Texas man says ‘reality not hit yet’

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:53am
Donn Sickorez, a camper from Houston who is spending the summer here volunteering at Jewel Cave and who was staying at French Creek RV Park, noticed a Winnebago down by the creek with a lot of stuff behind it. When the water started rising, he moved the stuff to higher ground, but he noticed the water in the creek kept creeping up on it. 

House gone, family safe

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:43am
Kenzie Goodro was looking forward to her sixth birthday. The cake and decorations had been ordered and a special time to celebrate her birthday was greatly anticipated.
But Friday evening, everything changed.
She and her mother, Ashley Johnson, were taking a nap in their home located along French Creek on 8th Street, since Ashley works nights at Corner Pantry.
“My phone kept blowing up, so I finally answered it,” Ashley said. “It was my friend telling me to get out of the house. She said, ‘The water is coming. You gotta get out!’”

Lots of stuff ends up at Custer’s ‘White House’

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:40am
When the owner of the “White House” in Custer looked out at his front lawn early last Saturday morning he discovered a lot of items that didn’t necessarily belong.
“There was a dumpster, Jeep, propane tanks, picnic table and a piece of exercise equipment,” said home owner Jerry Lenander.
“That’s a natural disaster having exercise equipment on my property,” he joked.
“When I came out of the house around six Friday night the water was already 40-50 feet from the house. At 8:40 it started to recede.

LeClair loses home

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:18am
Tom LeClair said he will have to tear down his home on French Creek after the flood hit it hard.
The Iowa man found the house for sale in the Chronicle and bought it 22 years ago as a summer retreat.
“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” he said. “The house is trashed and I’ll have to take it down.”
LeClair had been here at the time, but got a call from his neighbor, Mark Morrissey, who told him, “We’ve got big problems.”
LeClair arrived aboutnoon on Saturday and found one to two inches of mud in the house.

Home ‘like blue house in ocean’

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:12am
When Rob and Theresa Maddix went for their nightly walk over the 7th Street bridge next to their home Friday about 5:45 p.m., they spotted a line of mice making a beeline toward town. 
“That should have been our first clue that something was coming,” Theresa said.
A county employee stopped to tell them they might want to step back.

Sheriff's Log July 24 - Aug. 3

Published by admin on Wed, 08/07/2019 - 4:27pm
Wednesday, July 24
5:30 p.m.: A “pitiful-looking man” was reportedly walking on Highway 79 near Hermosa. The pitiful man was spoken to and he denied needing any help. 
5:30 p.m.: A red pickup was reportedly stopped in an awkward place on 10th Street in Custer. A deputy checked the area, but the poorly-parked pickup was gone. 
9:38 p.m.: Deputies refereed a dispute at a trailer park on Hwy. 16 west of Custer. The incident was found to be verbal only.

‘Mamma Mia’ a crowd pleaser

Published by admin on Thu, 08/01/2019 - 9:46am
From the first strains of classic 1970s ABBA tunes to the final standing ovation and extended encore, the cast of “Mamma Mia” had the audience in the palms of their hands when the hit Broadway musical opened Friday evening at Black Hills Playhouse (BHP). 
Playing to a sold-out house, the cast sang and danced their way into the hearts of their audience in this kooky comedy of errors which weaves together many popular songs created by the Swedish pop group ABBA.