News

Around 20 stranded at golf course

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:14am

Custer resident Paul Kelley was headed out to Rocky Knolls Golf Course for a round of golf last Friday when an alert came over his cell phone that Custer had a flash flood warning. He remembers thinking, “We never get that indication on our phone in Custer.”

Drone surveys damages

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:07am
“We were scrambling to make sure people were safe and not going into the water,” said Custer County Search & Rescue (SAR)  director Rick March.
“After the fire departments arrived, we moved into traffic control duty,” he said.
“We were amazed that West Dam stood up after such a heavy hit,” March said. SAR was downtown  when the heaviest floodwater hit.
When things started calming down a few hours later, he was able to get the department’s newest drone up in the air to survey the damage through Custer from the west to the east.

The Flood of 2019: A disaster timeline

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:06am
By Ron Burtz
 
While water rose quickly in Custer and rescues were taking place at a rapid rate on Friday evening, the Flood of 2019 actually developed gradually over several hours starting with a slow-moving thunderstorm that covered a large area between Custer and the Upper French Creek watershed. 
Here is a timeline of the event gleaned from eyewitness accounts, Custer County Dispatch logs and internet posts:

City to seek state, federal flood relief

Published by admin on Wed, 08/07/2019 - 4:21pm

City council awash in flood talk

Published by admin on Wed, 08/07/2019 - 4:13pm
Last Friday’s flood was the big topic—and pretty much the only topic—discussed during the regular portion of the Aug. 5 meeting of the Custer City Council.
City public works director Bob Morrison was quick to give city staff a pat on the back, saying by Saturday at noon a lot of cleanup had already been completed, while acknowledging there was still much work to do.
“We swallowed the hippo Friday night,” Morrison said. “Now we can eat the elephant one bite at a time.”

First responders prepare for Rally

Published by admin on Thu, 08/01/2019 - 9:52am
First responders from in and around Custer County gathered at the Custer County Courthouse last Thursday, July 25, for the group’s annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally roundtable, discussing action plans, preparing and strategizing the best ways to keep people safe and to assist those who need help as the annual Rally rolls into town later this week.
The meeting was led by Custer County emergency management director Mike Carter, who said projections for this year’s Rally “border on mundane,” but adding that first responders can’t count on that.

Custer Cruisin' starts Friday

Published by admin on Thu, 08/01/2019 - 9:48am
As always, Mt. Rushmore Road will be barricaded for center lane parking for motorcycles, with one lane of traffic heading both east and west from 5th Street to 8th Street. In addition, city crews will block off south 6th Street so Cruisin’ vendors can set up  their tents. Vendors will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day of the event.
Several events will take place in Custer, including the annual Veterans Ride and the Mayor’s Ride and Poker Run.

County says it won’t fight private dust

Published by admin on Thu, 08/01/2019 - 9:48am

magnesium chloride, or mag water, for private homeowners on gravel roads has come to an end.

Too wet to burn!

Published by admin on Thu, 08/01/2019 - 9:47am
Conditions are so wet in the Black Hills National Forest this year, the S.D. Department of Agriculture’s Wildland Fire Division (WFD) was able to hold a rare July live fire training exercise last week in Custer State Park. However, because of those same wet conditions, the exercise was not quite as intense as it might otherwise have been.
The problem: keeping grass and brush fires burning long enough and hot enough for crews to get good exercise putting them out. 

State: Support your equalization office

Published by admin on Wed, 07/24/2019 - 3:35pm
By Jason Ferguson
 
Understanding property assessment in South Dakota—with terms such as “true and full value,” “median assessment ratio,” “adjustment factor” and “coefficient of dispersement” can be confusing.
The message delivered to the Custer County Commission by the State of South Dakota at the commission’s July 10 meeting, however, was much less confusing: support the local director of equalization office and get on board with this year’s increased property assessments.