Vol. 19, No. 40; Thursday, June 28, 2018

Jun 28, 2018 | Parker's Midweek Update | 0 comments

ISN’T IT THE TRUTH!

Rain is the perfect reason to stay inside and do absolutely nothing with your life!

BASEBALL UPDATE

Post 8 schedules this week:
LEGION:
Friday-Sunday: at Minot tournament.
July 6: at Mitchell, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
July 7: at Rapid City Post 22, 4 p.m. MDT doubleheader.
JUNIOR LEGION:
Thursday-Sunday: at Sioux Falls invitational.
July 7: home vs. Pierre U16, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
U16:
Thursday: home vs. Sioux Falls East, 3 p.m. doubleheader.
Saturday: at Brandon Valley, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
July 5: at Watertown, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
July 7: home vs. Pierre Junior Legion, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
U14:
Friday: at Huron, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
Sunday: at Aberdeen, 2 p.m. doubleheader.
Monday: at Onida, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
July 5: home vs. Mitchell, 5 p.m. doubleheader.
July 6-8: at Aberdeen tournament.
U13:
Thursday-Sunday: at Sioux Falls invitational.
July 6: at Sioux Falls West 13-14, 3 p.m. doubleheader.
July 7: at Brandon Valley 13-14, 1 p.m. doubleheader.

Post 8 varsity: After struggling to a 1-7 record in their first eight games, Post 8 has rebounded with nine wins in their last 12 games and now stand at 10-10 (prior to last night’s doubleheader at Rapid City Post 320). At the Renner tournament in Sioux Falls, Pierre went 4-1, defeating Fargo 8-0, Gillette 1-0, Norfolk 8-1 and Viroqua, Wis., 6-5 and losing to Gretna, Neb., 4-0. Pierre split with Sioux Falls East and MItchell. The latest game was an 8-1 win over Huron Tuesday. Grey Zabel threw five innings, striking out six and giving up one hit and one run. Garrett Stout and Michael Lusk held the lead in relief.

Pierre Trappers schedule:
Thursday: home vs. Casper, 6:35.
Friday: home vs. Casper, 6:35.
Saturday: home vs. Casper, 6:35.
Monday: Expedition League all-star game at Hastings.
Wednesday: at Hub City, 6:35.
July 5: at Souris Valley, 6:35.
July 6: home vs. Souris Valley, doubleheader 4:35.
July 7: home vs. Souris Valley, 6:35.
July 8: home vs. Hub City, 5:35.
July 9: home vs. Hub City, 6:35.
July 10: at Hub City, 6:35.
July 11: at Hub City, 6:35.

Pierre Trappers: Five members of the Trappers have been selected to represent the Pierre team in the Expedition League all-star game in Hastings Monday. They are Seth Brewer, Michael Herrera, Connor McDonald, Teddy Petersen and Cal Smith. Another Trapper, Zane Phelps, will compete in the home run derby there.

Pierre Trappers: In the past two weeks the Trappers have gone 1-5 against Western Nebraska, 2-1 vs. Casper, 2-0 vs. Spearfish and 0-1 vs. Souris Valley. In their latest win, a 16-4 victory over Western Nebraska in Gering (not, Gehring, by the way), Landon Badger slugged his third home run of the season. Zane Phelps had two homers, bringing his total to six for the summer, and Ken Scott one, his third. Jackson Back threw seven innings for the win, giving up eight hits and two runs while fanning four. The Trappers are home for three games against Casper starting tonight (Thursday).

Expedition League standings (as of Wednesday morning):
Clark Division—Western Nebraska 19-10, Hastings 13-17, Spearfish 11-15, Casper 8-19.
Lewis Division— Souris Valley 21-8, Badlands 18-11, Pierre 12-16, Hub City 12-18. (The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, so the Trappers at the moment are 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.)

Colorado Rockies (times are MDT):
Thursday: at San Francisco, 1:45.
Friday: at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:10.
Saturday: at Los Angeles Dodgers, 5:15, Fox.
Sunday: at Los Angeles Dodgers, 2:10.
Monday: San Francisco, 6:40.
Tuesday: San Francisco, 6:10.
Wednesday: San Francisco, 6:10.

Chicago Cubs:
Thursday: at Los Angeles Dodgers, 2:10, MLBN.
Friday: Minnesota, 4:05.
Saturday: Minnesota, 1:20, MLBN.
Sunday: Minnesota, 1:20.
Tuesday: Detroit, 1:20.
Wednesday: Detroit, 1:20.

Minnesota Twins:
Thursday: at Chicago White Sox, 1:10, FSN.
Friday: at Chicago Cubs, 4:05, FSN.
Saturday: at Chicago Cubs, 1:20, FSN, MLBN.
Sunday: at Chicago Cubs, 1:20, FSN.
Monday: at Milwaukee, 7:10, FSN.
Tuesday: at Milwaukee, 3:10.
Wednesday: at Milwaukee, 3:10, FSN.
Thursday: Baltimore, 7:10, FSN.

Sioux Falls Canaries: In the past two weeks the Birds beat Chicago twice, lost two of three to Winnipeg, were swept in three by Wichita and lost two of three to Texas. Heading into this week’s midweek series against Cleburne, Sioux Falls stood at 12-22, fifth in the six-team North Division, 7 1/2 games behind first-place St. Paul. The Canaries go to Texas and to Kansas City after leaving Cleburne, then returen home July 6-8 vs. Gary.

Mankato Moondogs (Quinn Reimers): Quinn appeared in three games for the Moondogs in the Northwoods League. On June 14 he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Waterloo, giving up an earned run on three hits and a walk. Mankato stands at 17-10, tied for second in the 10-team North Division. In the next two weeks the Moondogs play three games each against LaCrosse, Duluth and Bismarck, two each against Thunder Bay and Eau Claire and one game against Willmar.

RECOMMENDED READING

“Things to Do at a Party” by Bob Frapples
— Literary WordPlay

THIS WEEK’S CROSSWORD

Directions: Draw four boxes side-by-side. Then draw another row of four boxes directly below the first row. Then draw still another row of four boxes directly below the other two rows. Number the boxes in the top row 1, 2, 3 and 4 from left to right. Number the left-hand box in the middle row 5. Number the left-hand box in the bottom row 6.

Clues:
1 across: Leave out.
1 down: Brand of bug spray.
2 down: Scratch.
3 down: President Eisenhower.
4 down: Where a golfer starts play.
5 across: Not authentic.
6 across: Release from captivity.

(Solution at the bottom of this Update.)

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: pineapple.
Friday-Sunday: black cherry.

LIFE LESSON

Surround yourself with people who push you to do and be better. No drama or negativity. Just higher goals and higher motivation. Good times and positive energy. No jealousy or hate. Simply bringing out the absolute best in each other.
— Weird People

COUNTDOWN

2 days: Stanley County High Class of ’83 reunion (June 30).
6 days: Independence Day parade, rodeo, Fort Pierre (July 4).
15 days: Black Hills Playhouse’s “Oklahoma!” (July 13-29).
19 days: MLB All-Star Game, Washington (July 17).
20 days: Espy awards, ABC (July 18).
22 days: JazzFest, Sioux Falls (July 20-21).
22 days: Pierre Players’ “Guys and Dolls” (July 20-22, 26-29).
23 days: HIllsAlive Christian music festival, Rapid City (July 21-22).
30 days: WNBA All-Star Game, Minneapolis (July 28).
34 days: State Legion baseball tournament, Pierre (Aug. 1-5).
36 days: Black Hills Playhouse’s “The Game’s Afoot, or Holmes for the Holidays” (Aug. 3-19).
36 days: Riggs High Class of ’78 reunion (Aug. 3-4).
36 days: Sturgis motorcycle rally (Aug. 3-12).
36 days: Sioux Empire Fair, Sioux Falls (Aug. 3-11).
42 days: Sully County Fair, Onida (Aug. 9-12).
43 days: Pierre soccer openers (Aug. 10).
44 days: LillyFest, Fort Pierre (Aug. 11).
50 days: Stanley County football opener (Aug. 17).
50 days: Sully Buttes football opener (Aug. 17).
53 days: First day of school at Riggs High (Aug. 20).
54 days: First day of school at Stanley County (Aug. 21).
55 days: First day of school in Pierre elementary and middle schools (Aug. 22).
57 days: BluntFest, Blunt (Aug. 24-26).
58 days: Stanley County volleyball opener (Aug. 25).
58 days: Pierre football opener (Aug. 25).
63 days: State Fair, Huron (Aug. 30-Sept. 3).
70 days: NFL opening night (Sept. 6).
73 days: Minnesota Vikings season opener (Sept. 9).
78 days: Pierre homecoming day (Sept. 14).
78 days: Dakota Western Heritage Festival (Sept. 14-16).
78 days: Riggs High Class of ’68 reunion (Sept. 14-15).
79 days: ‘M’ Day at School of Mines (Sept. 15).
81 days: PGA Champions Tour’s Sanford International tournament, Sioux Falls (Sept. 17-23).
81 days: Emmy awards, NBC (Sept. 17).
84 days: S.D. Festival of Books, Brookings/Sioux Falls (Sept. 20-23).
85 days: Pierre Players’ “The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church” (Sept. 21-23, 27-29).
89 days: Pierre Players annual membership meeting (Sept. 25).
92 days: Sully Buttes homecoming day (Sept. 28).
92 days: Stanley County homecoming day (Sept. 28).
92 days: Custer State Park buffalo roundup (Sept. 28).
93 days: Trojan Day at Dakota State (Sept. 29).
93 days: Swarm Day at Black Hills State (Sept. 29).
93 days: Cougar Day at USF (Sept. 29).
93 days: Gypsy Day at Northern (Sept. 29).
93 days: Homecoming at Nebraska (Sept. 29).
94 days: Grand opening of the Helmsley Center (Sept. 30).
95 days: State boys golf tournaments, ‘AA’ Brookings, ‘A’ Dell Rapids (Oct. 1-2).
96 days: Baseball playoffs begin (Oct. 2).
98 days: State girls tennis tournament, Rapid City (Oct. 4-6).
98 days: Minnesota Wild season opener (Oct. 4).
100 days: Dakota Day at USD (Oct. 6).
100 days: Halo Day at Presentation College (Oct. 6).
107 days: Blue and White Day at DWU (Oct. 13).
107 days: Hobo Day at SDSU (Oct. 13).
113 days: State competitive cheer/dance meet, Brandon (Oct. 19-20).
114 days: Viking Day at Augustana (Oct. 20).
114 days: State cross country meet, Sioux Falls (Oct. 20).
116 days: Voter registration deadline for general election (Oct. 22).
121 days: All-State Chorus/Orchestra concert, Rapid City (Oct. 27).
131 days: General election (Nov. 6).
133 days: State football championships, Vermillion (Nov. 8-10).
140 days: State volleyball tournaments, Sioux Falls (Nov. 15-17).

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Lynx: After a shaky start to their WNBA season, the Lynx have suddenly won five straight to improve to 8-6. Minnesota has beaten New York, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Seattle in order. Coming next are Atlanta Friday, Dallas Sunday, Indiana Tuersday, Los Angeles July 5, Chicago July 7 and Indiana July 11.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“The United States is going to need every minute of the next eight years to get ready for its turn as the world’s host for the World Cup. What this country needs is manners and civility, particularly when it comes from outside our borders. Given the current cliumate, reminding Americans how to roll out the welcome mat might be the biggest challenge—and the biggest benefit—for the U.S. organizers.

“What makes the U.S. unique is that we all came from somewhere else. This patchwork of people from different countries and cultures, different traditions and experiences, has made the U.S. exceptional.

“We seem to have forgotten that, however our government now treats immigrants and refugees as if they are less than human, people who look or sound different are the object of hate and sometimes violence. Not all of us are so small-minded and rude but enough to be embarrassing.

“The world is coming our way. The timing couldn’t be better.”
— Nancy Armour, USA Today

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons lost at Houston, 1-0, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. Back in regular-season MLS play, Minnesota lost to Colorado, 3-2, on a goal in stoppage time. The Loons play at Dallas Friday and at Toronto next Wednesday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Storm: In an overtime thriller, the Storm defeated Arizona, 69-68, to win their conference championship and advance to the Indoor Football League’s United Bowl in Des Moines against Iowa on July7. It will be the 11th time Sioux Falls plays for the IFL championship. The previous week in the regular-season finale, the Storm defeated Green Bay in three overtimes, 69-61, to finish the regular season 11-3. The winning point in the Arizona game that propelled the Storm into the championship game was kicked by former USD kicker Miles Bergner, who was perfect in nine of nine extra-point kicks as well as kicking two field goals, every point of which was needed.

PONDER THIS

“Being open and respectful toward each other is much more powerful as a way to defuse hatred and anger than layering on big walls and oppressive policies.”
— Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour: In Madison, Wis., at the American Family Insurance Championships, Tom Byrum tied for 56th with a scorecard of 71-73-70=214, 2-under-par. His earnings of $3,900 made his total for the season $229,389. This weekend the Champions Tour golfers are at the U.S. Senior Open in Colorado Springs.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“When the world around me is going crazy, I just have to look at my dog to know that good still exists.”
— The EmBARKadero

WEDDING DAYS

June 29: Jack Markel/Eileen Leong.
June 30: Jason Graves/Sarah Seibel.
July 7: Matt Tetzlaff/Korie Lebeda.
July 14: Shawn Hlavacek/Rebekah Hartmann.
Aug. 11: Steve Long/Cassie Amundson.
Aug. 18: Todd Leiferman/Hillary Handcock.
Aug. 18: Jason Noyes/Micki DeCurtins.
Aug. 19: Derek Berman/Danea Duxbury.
Aug. 25: Steven Gordon/Katelynn Engh.
Sept. 29: Tyler Arbach/Rachel Hartmann.
Oct. 6: Rodd Bauck/Megan Vockrodt.
Oct. 6: Cale Pell/Sarah Lihs.
Aug. 31, 2019: Devin Maki/Karlie Warne.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“The most important thing any of us can do with our lives—and with the minutes of our days—is to try our best to make them matter for ourselves and for those we care about.”
— Maria Shriver

MORE GOOD ADVICE BUT HARD TO DO

“Voices that are raised with confidence and certainty can be heard. Voices that scream and rage often fall on deaf ears. So may we raise up. May we speak out. May we speak from our hearts without losing our minds.”
— Maria Shriver

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, June 28:
Torin Coolidge, Brendan Newman, Brooke (Drewes) Dozark, Leah Ahartz, Kari Porch, Kathryn Rich, Pam Wenbourne, Brent Sutton, Derrick Haskins, Clayton Colson, Kathy Sarvis, Amanda Fredericksn, Samantha Bahe, McKayla Kirkpatrick, Nick Formanek, Addison Van Houten, Cole Uecker, Marcia Mentele, Zach Kinsman, Trey Johnson, Fran Welch, Hilary Gray, Spencer Wedin.
— 4th anniversary, Matt/Allison Englund.
— Anniversary, Monni/Karen Karim.
— 54th anniversary, Bob/Janet Judson.
— 54th anniversary, Arden/Judy Rapp.
— 21st anniversary, Cory/Dawn (Henderson) Holmes.
— 5th anniversary, Cody/Aimee (Vogel) Van Houten.
— 4th anniversary, Zach/Alisha Kemink.
— 10th anniversary, Michael/Heather Herman.
— 21st anniversary, Eric/Julie (Shangreaux) Sibson.

Friday, June 29:
Laurie (Koehn) Gilman, Corbin Heiss, Addison Eisenbeisz, Jessica (Wilson) Bosma, Scott Rislov, Mya Parsons, Craig Dilley, Quinn Palmer, Mike Clegg, Tyler Smith, Daphne Jones, Hudson Stoeser, Matt Joens, Mark Knudson, Aaron Denton, Esther Barnes.
— 50th anniversary, Wally/Nancy Thomsen.
— 22nd anniversary, Todd/Roberta Peterson.
— 44th anniversary, Don/Darla (Pollman) Rogers.
— 44th anniversary, Jay/Beverly Mickelson.
— 5th anniversary, Chris/Tracy (Shangreaux) Boom.
— 16th anniversary, Troy/Kristina (Buxcel) Fredde.
— 5th anniversary, Josh/Alana Breske.
— 5th anniversary, Bryon/Karen (Engbrecht) Reiser.
— 5th anniversary, James/Mandy (Jung) Moisan
We fondly remember Jack Mitchell on his birthday.

Saturday, June 30:
Sequoyah Chavez, Melita Hauge, Laurie Gill, Wesley Huxford, Ross Wright, Dylan Nielsen, June Hansen, Phyllis (Bollweg) Perkovich, Taylor Anderson, Parker Merriam, Chris Williams, Arick Graham, Trait Thorne, Greg Adams, Raury Cruse, Lillian Bell, Dick Bradley, Zane Erickson, Deryn Beck, Maggie Thorne.
— 28th anniversary, Revi/Kea (Boyd) Warne.
— 56th anniversary, Lou/Pauline Manus.
— 12th anniversary, Derek/Michelle Hunsley.
— 6th anniversary, Tyler/Jill Merriam.
— 9th anniversary, Josh/Katie (Shoup) Nebelsick.
— 11th anniversary, Ty/Cathy (Comes) Richter.

Sunday, July 1:
Nadine Kepford, Quinn Reimers, Trevor Samkuelson, Catie Schroeder, Nathan Dryden, Cathy (Comes) Richter, Dennis Ries, Hazel Leidholt, Eleanor Berghorst, Jodi Hartmann, Owen LeBeau, Reese Richardson, Crystal Blue Dvorak, Misty (Keller) Skinner, Beckett Larson, Joseph Nebelsick.
— 13th anniversary, Justin/Shawna (Claussen) Diedrich.
— 13th anniversary, Jeremy/Amy Webb.
— 56th anniversary, Ron/Marlys Mullivan.

Monday, July 2:
Heather (Nuttall) Westover, Taylor Smalley, Matt Clark, Kellie Parker, Eric Juhala, Kelly Mikkelsen, Gerry Barnes-Baucom, Luke Edwards, Linda Steele, Sandi (Hindman) Laird, Ashlie Tisland, Grace Kachelmyer.
— 7th anniversary, Jeff/Kim Marso.
— 7th anniversary, Dan/Susan (Gregory) Walker.
— 2nd anniversary, Devin/Laranda Bruns.
— 2nd anniversary, Chad/Andrea (Bartel) Sharkey.
— 13th anniversary, Chris/Aftin (Riehle) Eich.

Tuesday, July 3:
Trace Franks, Dave Sayler, Claire (Garry) Peschong, Jenah Feiler, Judy Perry, Rick Dockter, Mike Dierks, Dana Martin-Hess, Bethanna (Feist) Baloun, Allyson Formanek, T.J. Gabriel, Craig Schochenmaier, Jody Ryland, Chip King, Walker Jacob, Ryan Bear.
— 2nd anniversary, Aaron/Erin Bumann.
— 50th anniversary, Roger/Jean Easland.
— 13th anniversary, Jason/Michelle Glodt.
— 8th anniversary, Steve/Kaydee (Hewlett) Withers.
— 47th anniversary, Jerry/Eileen Krom.
— 9th anniversary, Nathan/Carrie (Schlaak) Barnes.

Wednesday, July 4:
Jason Bucholz, Dax Salmonson, Joshua Dutt, Peggy Huber, Zach Clark, Aurora Zakahi, Shalista (Wendt) Anderson.
— 12th anniversary, Lee/Aubree (Vance) Smith.
— 48th anniversary, Daryl/Linda Johnson.
— Anniversary, Scott/Gina (Kotilnek) Hickenbotham.
— 9th anniversary, John/Annie (Fuller) BonneCarre.

Thursday, July 5:
Terry Fisher, Marina (Baltzell) Rawls, Sarah Hawkins, Billy Beesley, Kayla (Johnson) Koob, Jim Telford, Kyle Richards, Amber (Anderson) Edelen, Jason Bisbee, Jessica Anderson, Morgan Shaffer, Devin Kampfe, Dylan Workman, Angelica Lasley.
— 4th anniversary, Jeff/Kristin (Rau) Hayward.
— 43rd anniversary, Chuck/Susan Quinn.
— 16th anniversary, Bill/Jamie (Breske) McEntaffer.
— 16th anniversary, Joe/Julia (Guhin) Yach.
— 10th anniversary, Pat/Sara (Tillman) Anderson.
— 15th anniversary, Chris/Lindsay (Peitz) Rounds.
— 4th anniversary, Trent/Linsey (Peterson) Robbins.

Friday, July 6:
Jolene Kern, Dalton Blair, Michael Buhl, Tyler Johnson, Ericka Williams, Clara Marsh, Tynell Grant, Isaiah Grant, Blake Simon, Jon Ellenbecker, Winney Belle Denton, Jessica (Melvin) Moore, Jude Nill.
— 16th anniversary, Jayson/Jennifer (Thorson) Nedrebo.
— 5th anniversary, Steve/Becky (Markley) Wosick.
— 6th anniversary, Nathan/Catherine Chicoine.
— 5th anniversary, Will/Jenna (Deutscher) Hansen.

Saturday, July 7:
Austin Christopherson, Michelle Moreno, Marylinn Baker, Derald Gross, Kris Monroe, Chelsea (Neuhauser) Hoy, Lucas Solberg, Crayton Bouchie, Jessica Nicholas, Kirk Albertson, Derek Newcomb, Brydon Denton.
— 1st anniversary, Zach/Christina Merrill.
— 6th anniversary, Jared/Courtney (Thompson) Geigle.
— 28th anniversary, Jeff/Gea (Gjesdal) Eckhoff.
— 6th anniversary, Austin/Kristy Unruh.
— 11th anniversary, James/Audra (Meyer) Cardwell.
— 11th anniversary, Darin/Molly (Huber) Hausmann.

Sunday, July 8:
Megan (Snow) Fischer, Bret Graves, Kolton Knox, Paul Denton, A.J. Domeyer, Traci Corcoran, Jaden Griese, Rachel Propst, Kaelyn Konechne, Kayla Gabriel, Jeannette Schipper, Angie Bishop, Cooper Stoeser.
— 29th anniversary, Dennis/Dorothy (Nygaard) Gibbs.
— 1st anniversary, Cole/Sierra Oakley.
— 12th anniversary, Joe/Beth Stolp.

Monday, July 9:
Adeline Bollinger, Allen Geuther, Lindsey (Haskins) Philips, Thomas Butler, Andrea Johnson, Michael Hanson, Ryan Mikkelsen, Liz Markley, Maurya Petrick, Drew Palmer, Trigg Townsend, Carol Carney, Nick Nuttall, Matt Tetzlaff.
— 7th anniversary, Darrin/Anna (Schreiner) Galinat.
— 7th anniversary, Dylan/Susan (Zabel) Dowling.
— 57th anniversary, David/Judy Perry.
— 14th anniversary, Joe/Christina (Zellmer) Nath.
— 2nd anniversary, Shawn/Whitney (Stoeser) Schnabel.
— 7th anniversary, Paul/Amy (Hyde Petersen) Kolb.
— 30th anniversary, Clark/Jayne (Knox) Kraemer.

Tuesday, July 10:
Tenley Hipple, Christian Petrick, Julie Jeffries, Shad Ludemann, Kennen Barber-Ensz, Lukas Leidholt, Adam Reiss, Shane Hillmer, Casey Crawford, Lynne Reuter, Don KIetzmann, Brad Wire, Jill (Storsteen) Weber.
— 48th anniversary, Tom/Esther Harmon.
— 42nd anniversary, Jim/Rosa Iverson.
— 26th anniversary, Steve/Angela (Voeltz) Lang.
— 14th anniversary, Chris/Molly (Weisgram) Maxwell.
— 14th anniversary, Brandon/Crystal Lowery.
— 14th anniversary, Scott/Laura Carbonneau.

Wednesday, July 11:
Ty Falcon, Sarah Frost, Aric Frost, Somer (LaRosh) Garrigan, Father Tom Anderson, Denise Gehring, Taya (Dockter) Runyan, Jackie (Thorson) Richey, Jennifer (Thorson) Nedrebo, Joe Martin, Don Sieck, Jaime Rutschke.
— 3rd anniversary, Devin/Jessica Rounds.
— 3rd anniversary, Matt/Katie (Gordon) Field.
— 3rd anniversary, Taylor/LaTora Becker.
— 15th anniversary, Kristian/Steph (Vogel) Lund.
— 15th anniversary, Craig/Tara (Hicks0 Knapp.
— 15th anniversary, Jonathan/Ranelle (Knight) Lueth.

Thursday, July 12:
Marla Mosiman, Stephen Rae, Jason DeWitt, Nick Jeanotte, Kelsee (Larsen) Stahl, Mary Jo Johnson, Cailyn Hausmann, Jesse Ahlers, Melissa (Stevens) Gibson, Sherise (Baumberger) Wittler, Jessica Kuchta-Miller, Leesa Johnson, Scott Stabnow, Edward Ford, Hallie Pottorff.
— 4th anniversary, Jacob/Kashia (Axthelm) Shumaker.
— 69th anniversary, Ed/Rhoda Baer.
— 15th anniversary, David/Jocelyn (Freidel) Ragan.
— 21st anniversary, Jim/Joette (Johnson) Nesladek.
— 4th anniversary, Jared/Carrie (Gonsor) Sanderson.

FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS ONLY

Eight vowels, 11 consonants, an exclamation mark and a comma appeared in court today. They are due to be sentenced next week.
— Grammarly

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

— Big-time men’s college basketball is coming back to Sioux Falls, thanks to the Sanford Pentagon people. Nebraska will play Oklahoma State there Dec. 16.

— Considering how often I check obituaries online and in the daily papers, I know a good one when I read it. You should check out the obituary of Steven L. Stephenson either at the Kirk Funeral Home website or in the Rapid City Journal archives (it was published June 17). Scroll down in Mr. Stephenson’s obituary to find a long paragraph citing various issues on which he was known to rant. Obviously a man after my own heart!

— I don’t know who Tim Grierson is, but someone by that name posted a tweet that applies to these times in this country: “Being angry all the time is exhausting and corrosive. Not being angry feels morally irresponsible.”

— A month ago we asked Update readers who are also sports fans to submit their lists of favorite all-time athletes and favorite current athletes. Here are the names Brian Oakland submitted:
All-time favorites—NFL, Barry Sanders; college football, Doug Flutie; NBA, Julius Erving; college basketball, Grant Hill of Duke and Sam Ostarello of Purdue; baseball, Kirby Puckett and Mickey Mantle; hockey, Dino Ciccarelli; tennis, Andre Agassi; golf, Tiger Woods.
Currently-playing favorites—NFL, Antonio Brown; college football, anyone not in the SEC; NBA, Kevin Durant; college basketball, Mike Daum of SDSU; baseball, Brian Dozier and Matt Scherzer; hockey, Alex Ovechkin; tennis, Serena Williams; golf, Jason Day.
You are still invited to submit your list to parkerhome16@hotmail.com.

— The other day as I was listening online to Oregon State’s radio broadcast of their College World Series game, two Beaver players collided in chasing a foul ball, but one of them held on to the ball. Their sportscaster, Mike Parker, who obviously is more literate and well-read than a lot of those in his field, remarked that their players made the play “safe and secure from all alarms.” That rang a bell with me, but from where do those words come? I thought and thought, trying to solve the puzzlement on my own. Eventually I gave in and googled that phrase. Sure enough; that is one of the lines from the old gospel hymn, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” Now I haven’t been able to erase that tune from my brain for several days.

Here are more violations of the English language I’ve heard recently:
A newspaper headline, “Refugee surprises woman who took he and his brother in years ago.” . . . A comment on the rains: “I seen that the river was out of its banks.” . . . A comment on sportstalk radio: “I don’t trust nobody.” . . . Somebody being interviewed on NPR: “. . . how that should have went.” . . . From an ESPN baseball broadcast: “He must have saw something.” . . . In a Facebook post: “I found it laying on the ground.”

— I was reminded that I never did publish in the Update the winners of last fall’s weekly football contest. The champion was Jason Noyes, scoring 166 correct guesses while competing in all 22 weekly contests for an average of 7.545 correct answers per week. Greg Dean was second (160 right in 22 entries, 7.273); Randy Pool third (132 right in 21 entries, 6.286); Jason Knox and Nathan Vetter tied for a fourth (122 right in 22 entries, 5.545).

— Advice we sometimes need to hear: “You’ll have good days, bad days, overwhelming days, too-tired days, I-can’t-go-on days. And every day, you’ll still show up. You will get through it.” It comes from the TobyMac SpeakLife website.

— I’m sorry I let the following slip through the cracks and not publicize it, especially since the young man involved is a senior basketball player at Duke University! I saw nothing about his passing through Pierre and Fort Pierre in either of the radio stations’ daily newsletters, but perhaps the Capital Journal called your attention to it, and perhaps not. Brennan Besser and his sister, Rachel, are conducting their “Walk On, America!” campaign by crossing the country from Seattle to New York to raise awareness and to collect charitable donations to support the undeserved Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) community. One such person is their non-verbal sister, Jacqueline. Brennan is on a bicycle crossing the nation, and Rachel accompanies him in a car. I knew they had left the Northwest, but I forgot to keep checking on them. According to their website, they came through South Dakota starting at Belle Fourche and made overnight stops at Rapid City and Philip before getting to Pierre-Fort Pierre June 8. On their website, which you can access at www.walkonamerica.org, one of the videos shows Brennan conducting a basketball clinic at Parkview Gym for Fort Pierre for local developmentally disabled athletes. They went on to overnight at Miller June 9 and Brookings June 10 before crossing over into Minnesota. They spent a few days in Chicago where home is with their sister and their family but now are back on the road again. Today (Thursday), if all has gone well, they are traveling from South Bend to Fort Wayne in Indiana. They expect arrival in New York on about July 18-20. Go, Duke!

— Oh, the pain! Oh, the agony! Even if you don’t care who wins these World Cup soccer games that are on TV almost every day, watching the floppers after they are supposedly injured adds a good deal of humor to one’s day. By this weekend we will be down to 16 teams. The Round of 16 games can be seen at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The quarterfinal games wll be at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. July 6 and 7. The semifinals are at 1 p.m. July 10 and 1 p.m. July 11. The third-place match is at 9 a.m. July 14, and the World Cup final is at 10 a.m. July 15.

— It is always great to hear from former Pierre resident Don Summerside in Omaha. He responded to my column of two weeks ago recalling Pierre Cowboys baseball from the Basin League days. Don recalls as a junior high kid sneaking into the old ballpark with his buddies through a hole under the fence out there in the left-field corner near Capitol Creek. Later he worked concessions and remembers having to climb those steep cement steps in the grandstand while hawking popcorn. Don remembers how many people used to keep score of the games as they were being played. (I told him the reason I used to spell players’ names over the P.A. system was so that the personal scorekeepers could write those names on their scorecards. There is still at least one person I see at Post 22 games in Rapid City keeping her own scorebook at each game!) In my column two weeks ago I mentioned Johnny Herrnstein, the Michigan football player who was a terrific baseball player for the Cowboys, and Don remembers working alongside Johnny in the testing lab at the DOT in the summer of 1957 before Don left Pierre to go to college. He also mentioned hometown hero Sox Walseth, who played for the Cowboys before and during Basin League days, and Milt Welch, who ran a men’s clothing store downtown at the same time he was a catcher for the Cowboys. Great memories!

— We will continue our summer schedule of an Update every other week, so watch for the next one two weeks from today on Thursday, July 12.

— Oh the things across which one stumbles while skimming Facebook! I knew nothing of Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary until yesterday. It is described on its Facebook page as “a quiet, safe, sacred place where visitors can spend time walking.” The sanctuary was created by former Pierre resident Dave Snyder on his Black HIlls ranch near Lead. The story behind Dave’s creation of Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary began in a tin shed called The Turkey Shack. That is the title of his new book, “The Turkey Shack: A Journey to Love,” which is now available in paperback and will be available in e-book form in mid-July. For information on the book and the sanctuary itself, find the Facebook page entitled “Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary.”

— A new documentary film, “Awakening: After Parkland,” will be available for full viewing July 2 online at Topic.com. However, an official trailer is out now. Local teen-agers in Parkland, Fla., including six from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, were in the midst of rehearsals for a community-wide production of the Tony-winning musical, “Spring Awakening,” when the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas took 17 lives. As the survivors returned to class a week later, the young performers across Parkland decided they needed their production of “Spring Awakening” at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts more than ever. A pair of award-winning filmmakers teamed up for a documentary to spotlight the strength of these students and the significance of the message of the musical. The trailer can be viewed now at www.playbill.com/article/exclusive-watch-the-official-trailer-for-new-documentary-awakening-after-parkland

COMMENT ON THESE TIMES

“Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity, nothing exeeds the criticism made of the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed and well-fed.”
— Herman Melville

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The Pierre Players community theater organization completed the announcement of the five shows for its 2018-19 season. Here in review are the shows you will see starting this fall:
— Sept. 21-23, 27-29: “The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church”
— Nov. 30-Dec. 3, Dec. 6-8: “Whodunit, Darling?”
— Feb. 22-24, Feb. 28-March 2: “Bill W. and Dr. Bob”
— April 26-28, May 2-4: “Born Yesterday”
— July 19-21, 25-27: “Peter and the Starcatcher”

Shawn Lyons resigned as executive director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, effective June 1. He was first hired as assistant executive director of the SDRA in 2005.

Jay and Lindsey (Suedkamp) Griffith of Napa, Calif., welcomed their first child on May 28. Their son, Jaxon Suedkamp Griffith, weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 19 inches. His maternal grandparents, Jim and Pat Suedkamp of Pierre, were quickly out to Napa to spend a week snuggling their new grandbaby.

Gordon Van Ash celebrated his 87th birthday yesterday (Wednesday).

Nic Lohman and his partner again participated in the 800-mile Yukon 800 marathon boat race in Alaska. In the downstream portion of the race their boat stood in fourth place in 6:45.24. Going back upriver to Fairbanks in 11:46.25, they finished fourth overall in a time of 18:31.39. That’s a long time to ride in a boat! Nic works at the Riverboat Explorer in Fairbanks.

At the South Dakota Golf Association’s senior husband-wife championship, Cory and Nancy Berg placed third with a 158 score, four strokes behind the winners.

Among the 10 recipients of the South Dakota High School Activities Association’s Distinguished Service Award during the upcoming school year will be Pierre native Sandy (Case) Klatt of Brandon in the board of education category and Fort Pierre native Tom McGough of Miller in the contest officials category.

Abby Javurek, who has been director of the Division of Accountability Systems for the South Dakota Department of Education, has been appointed senior director of large-scale assessment solutions for NWEA, a not-for-profit provider of assessment solutions headquartered in Portland, Ore. She begins her new job July 23. Abby, a graduate of Riggs High School, has master’s degrees in sociology and industrial engineering and a certificate in systems engineering from New Mexico State University and will soon complete a Ph.D. in political science with an emphasis on public education policy through the University of South Dakota.

As a result of the two party state conventions held this month, here is the slate of candidates we will be considering in the general election on Nov. 6:
— Governor: Billie Sutton (D) vs. Kristi Noem (R).
— Lt. governor: Michelle Lavallee (D) vs. Larry Rhoden (R).
— Attorney general: Randy Seiler (D) vs. Jason Ravnsborg (R).
— Secretary of state: Alexandra Frederick (D) vs. Steve Barnett (R).
— Public utilities commissioner: Wayne Frederick (D) vs. Kristie Fiegen (R).
— Auditor: Tom Cool (D) vs. Rich Sattgast (R).
— Treasurer: Aaron Matson (D) vs. Josh Haeder (R).
— Commissioner of school and public lands: Woody Houser (D) vs. Ryan Brunner (R).

When Larry and Meleta DeJong of Pierre arrived in Minneapolis last week, they thought they were there simply to see a Twins ballgame with their son Brian and his family from Sioux Falls. Much to their surprise, however, they found all of their kids and grandkids waiting for a family reunion. A group of 16 in all enjoyed getting together and filling up a good section of Target Field for a Twins-Texas game. The party included Jackie DeJong of Pierre; Ken and Robin (DeJong) Anderson of Cupertino, Calif., and their children, Nicole, 24, and Christopher, 18; Tim and Erin (DeJong) Schieffer of Des Moines and their children, Hilary, 22, and Lauryn, 18; and Brian and Holly DeJong of Sioux Falls and their children, Conner, 18, Amelia, 15, and Charlie, 7. Incidentally, Ken Anderson’s parents are Pierre residents Gordon and Kay Anderson.

According to Bishop David Zellmer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s South Dakota Synod, South Dakota again has the largest delegation at the ELCA national youth gathering being held in Houston. There are 1,382 youth and adult leaders from this state there.

Former Pierre resident Lynsey Nold, 25, Rapid City, died suddenly from an undiagnosed brain tumor at Rapid City Regional Hospital June 19. She grew up in Pierre and graduated from Sunshine Bible Academy in 2011. She attended Headlines Academy in Rapid City, then began work as a hair dresser, which she continued for the rest of her life. Among her survivors are her parents, Ervine and Lisa Nold; her siblings, Jonathan Nold in California, Abigail Nold in Spearfish and Sarah Henson in Fort Pierre, and many other relatives. Services were held June 23 at New Life Assembly of God in Pierre.

The spring semester Dean’s List at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln included these area students: Emily Petersen, Meagan Potrzeba, Jade Thompson, Jessica Weber, Brianna Zimmerman.

The Oahe YMCA has announced plans to expand its building on Church Street. A multi-phase project will see work beginning on Phase One July 9 with completion expected early in 2019. The playground will be moved to the back of the building, and two classrooms for specialty classes will be constructed where the playground stands. The daycare facility will move from the basement to the north end. Another studio and more fitness equipment will go into the basement. Phase Two will be announced after this Phase One is completed. (News courtesy of “Today’s KCCR News.”)

The Matthews Opera House in Spearfish has these shows and events coming up soon:
— “Phantom of the Matthews Opera House,” 14 performances between July 2 and Aug. 1.
— Eliza Blue’s “South Dakota: First of May” album release concert, 7:30 p.m., July 7.
— 41st Festival in the Park, July 21-22.

A teacher who was loved by hundreds of her students in Pierre over the years, Marrietta Catlin, passed away June 22 at the age of 79 at Kelly’s Retirement Home. Services were held Wednesday at First United Methodist Church. A native of Platte who attended Yankton College and USD, Marrietta married Ron Catlin in 1962. She was an elementary teacher in Yankton, Rapid City, Brookings and Meckling before coming to Pierre where she taught at St. Joseph Elementary and then in the public elementary schools. She was also a Sunday School teacher and hard worker in various other aspects of the Methodist church. She served in PEO, SDEA, Pierre and state retired teachers associations and the Pierre Senior Center. She worked for the food bank and as a tutor as well as other local programs serving youth. She played in the Capital City Band and the Over Forte Orchestra. Among her survivors are her husband of 56 years, Ron Catlin of Pierre; their two sons, Stephen Catlin and his wife Laurie and their three children of Dumfries, Va., and Joel Catlin and his wife Kristi and their two children in Pierre, and a brother, Richard Vander Pol.

Max and Lisa Huber are the parents of a son, Rocco August Huber, who was born June 13. He weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and measured 19 inches. He joins a sister, Dakota, 2, in the Huber family, who live in the Twin Cities.

The Dean’s List at Augustana University for the spring semester included Jebben Keyes, Trevor DeSchepper, Dagne Ode, Nolan Ortbahn, Peter Sanchez and Steven Schaefer.

Among the May graduates from the University of Sioux Falls was Moira Duffy, who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in nursing.

During the week of Girls State on the USD campus, Katelynn Van Dusseldorp of Pierre was one of the Supreme Court justices elected to that position. Jordan Thompson was awarded the Bonnie Slade Memorial Scholarship at the end of the week.

Our sympathy to the family of Wayne and Barb Heien up at Onida. Barb’s mother, Bernice Cuppy, 87, Faulkton, died at Faulkton Senior Living on June 21. Funeral Mass was held Monday at Faulkton. She is survived by nine children, including Barb; 25 grandchildren, including Krista Wright, Cory Heien, Eric Heien and Jason Heien; 37 great-grandchildren, a brother and a sister.

Sully Buttes High and Black Hills State alumnus Max Foth has been named head football coach at Stanley County High School. He was assistant to head coach Tom O’Boyle, who resigned to become middle school principal at Vermillion. Max is also head boys basketball coach at SCHS. His assistant in football will be Ryan Royer. In another coaching move at SCHS, Kurt Seibel resigned as head track coach and assistant in football and boys basketball.

Derrick and Jenny (Hallenbeck) Orr became parents for the first time on June 17, Fathers Day. Their son, Miles Oliver Orr, weighed 7 pounds and measured 20 1/2 inches. They live in Bismarck where Jenny is pastor at McCabe United Methodist Church. She is a former pastor at First United Methodist Church in Pierre.

Tammy Castle, 56, died June 15 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. A memorial service was held June 23 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. The daughter of Marvin and Imogene Goglin, Tammy grew up in Fort Pierre before graduating from high school at Helena, Mont., in 1979. She lived in California, Oregon and Missouri before returning to South Dakota. She worked for more than 20 years as a med aide CNA at Maryhouse. In 2006 she married Jess Castle. She is survived by her husband; her children, Jamie Goglin of Rapid City, Alex Thurber of Brookings, Jessica Naylor of Pierre, Marty Hendrick of Portland, Ore., and Danny Tibbs of Sioux Falls, and a sister, Joyce Goglin.

This Sunday’s 8 a.m. service at the Oahe Chapel (July 1) will be conducted by members from Trinity Episcopal Church. Handling the July 8 service there will be St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

A very unique moment occurred during the first Run with the Govs 5K race recently. Former governor Frank Farrar, who is 89, posed to next to his own statue which is part of Pierre’s Trail of Governors series of statues of former governors.

Former Pierre residents Lloyd and Jeannette Schipper of Sioux Falls celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last weekend.

One of the musicians who performed during the Oahe Days music and arts festival last weekend grew up in Pierre. Steph Snow is the lead singer in a band called The Common Ground Company. She lives now in Minneapolis where she is a special education teacher. Hear more from her through a link in this news story at www.drgnews.com. Steph’s band has its own website, too, and you can find that at www.thecommongroundcompany.com or on their Facebook page. (News courtesy of Dakota Radio Group’s “My Daily News”)

Next week the Capital City Band’s traditional Independence Day concert Wednesday, July 4, will have a theme of “God Bless America.”

Gary and Diane Kafka celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last week while on a trip in Alaska.

The Sully Buttes Class of 1978 is planning a 40-year reunion get-together on the patio at the Blue Goose in Onida on Saturday night of the Sully County Fair (Aug. 11) from 4 to 7 p.m. Class members are encouraged to check in for information on the Facebook page entitled “Sully Buttes High School Class of 78.”

Recent Riggs High graduate Joana Zanin was named Gatorade State Player of the Year from the girls’ soccer season. She will be a freshman at USD this fall.

Senior Airman Karlie Westall, 21, who was stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base southeast of Boise, Idaho, was one of four fatalities in a seven-vehicle chain-reaction crash on I-84 in Boise on June 16. She was the granddaughter of long-time Pierre residents Red and Bea Westall and the daughter of Mike and Kim Westall of Harrisburg. She is also survived by a brother, A.J., and a sister, Crystal. A memorial service is being held today (Thursday) at 2 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tea.

Robert and Samantha (Merrill) Pietz became parents of twin boys on June 1.

David Mickelson of Sioux Falls, a 1990 graduate of Riggs High School, has been appointed to the Board of Regents by Governor Daugaard. David, who lived in Pierre while his father was governor, is president and CEO of Graham Tire Company, which operates 17 locations in South Dakota and Nebraska. He graduated from Black Hills State University in 1994. He will complete the Regents term of Bob Sutton, who recently resigned to become CEO of the Avera Health system. Mickelson will resign from the South Dakota Lottery Commission to assume his Regents seat.

Pierre native McKayla Marso has become engaged to Seamus McDonough. They live and work in suburban Denver.

To complement the Bassmaster Elite Series fishing tournament on Lake Oahe this weekend, the Pierre community is hosting The Great Outdoor Festival, and the folks at the Chamber of Commerce have come through again. There will be boat rides, a plethora of free activities at Steamboat Park and food and beverage vendors from 11 to 5 Saturday and Sunday. The public is welcome to watch the fishing tournament’s weigh-ins at Steamboat at 3 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. For information on all that is going on this weekend go to www.pierre.org or call the chamber office.

Austin Lentsch and his a capella singing group at Harvard University, The Harvard Din & Tonics, are on their world tour. You can check for updates on their tour at dins.com.

Loa Marie Burke Sichterman died of pancreatic cancer on June 14. Services were held June 19 at Dove Christian Center in Rapid City. She was a Pierre High School graduate in 1957 (her obituary did not list her maiden name). She met James Burke at Northern State College, and they married in 1958. She later married Dick Sichterman in 1994. For the last 15 years both she and her husband were employed at All Metal Mfg. Inc. Among her survivors are her husband; her four children, Tim Burke of Rapid City, Tami Kveane, Todd Burke and Tori Eickelman; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Upcoming music performers on the deck at the American Legion cabin at 5:30 p.m. will be Cody Henson Hullinger on Sunday, July 1; The Sidehackers on Wednesday, July 4, and The Homestretch Band on Sunday, July 8.

Music performers at Drifters at 6:30 p.m. will include Lance Spears tonight (Thursday) and Library Advocate on Thursday, July 5.

The golden wedding anniversary of Wally and Nancy Thomsen will be celebrated at the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce community room from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 30. Ice cream sundaes featuring SDSU ice cream will be served. (No gifts, please!) The Thomsens’ actual 50th anniversary date is Friday, June 29.

Jeannine Loesch of Pierre was elected state president of the American Legion Auxiliary. The second vice president is Mary Jo Stier of Onida.

Services for Jim Smith, who passed away this spring, are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, June 30, at Trinity Episcopal Church, followed by internment at Riverside Cemetery and then a luncheon back at the church.

The last Update mentioned the news that Pierre’s high school trapshooting team won their state championship. Here are the scores for the Pierre shooters there: Isabel Myren 91, Jacob Page 91, Wyatt Rose 95, Hudson McLaury 94, Carter Knecht 94, Erik Gutenkauf 96, Melissa Hedglin 69, Nick Loe 92. The team’s score was figured on the basis of the five best individual scores.

A patriotic concert entitled “An American Salute” will be performed by vocalist Jeff Speaect and organist/pianist Ronnie Smith at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 1 at First United Methodist Church. It is a free concert, but donations for Church of Hope at the state women’s prison are encouraged. Everyone is invited to an ice cream social in the church’s Trinity Center after the concert.

The “Tales on the River” series of programs hosted by Short Grass Arts Council continues tonight (Thursday) at the Moose Lodge with Tom LeFaive, manager of the Ted Turner Ranch, describing his work and his adventures with the buffalo out there on the ranch. The program begins at 7 p.m.

Capital Area Counseling Service is going ahead with plans for a 22,000-square-foot building in which to better house its services to people in a nine-county area and expand them. The building will be constructed near the Goodwill and Dollar General stores in northeast Pierre, north of Beck Motors. Groundbreaking is set for August, and it is hoped a ribbon-cutting will be possible some time next summer. (News courtesy of “Today’s KCCR News.”)

Pauline “Polly” Nelson Donaldson, who was born in Pierre on Feb. 19, 1920, died at the age of 98 at Clarkson Health Care in Rapid City on June 22. A celebration of her life will take place at Big Bend Presbyterian Church west of Rapid City at 10 a.m. next Thursday, July 5. Internment of her ashes will occur at a later date in Pierre. The Osheim Schmidt Funeral Home of Rapid City is handling arrangements.

Mark the evening of Wednesday, July 11, on your calendars to dine in, drive through or carry out from Pizza Ranch between 5 and 8 p.m. On June 22 Chris Boxley sustained third-degree burns when a motorcycle that was being started malfunctioned, spewing gas and flames on to Chris’ body. He was flown June 23 to the Trauma ICU Burn Center at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. A percentage of all proceeds at Pizza Ranch during those three hours July 11 will go toward Chris’ medical expenses.

Another fund-raiser on behalf of Chris Boxley is set for the Bill of Rights Brewery on N. Harrison Ave. from 4 to 10 p.m. next Thursday, July 5.

A celebration of the life of Bruce Hammer will take place at 2 p.m. Friday, June 29, at Lutheran Memorial Church. He passed away June 15. Bruce grew up in the Milbank-Revillo area and was a high school teacher at South Shore and Clark. In 1965 he joined the National Guard and served in units in Milbank, Clark, Webster and Pierre. He began a career with the U.S. Army and retired in 2000 after 27 years of service. Among his survivors are his wife of 47 years, Arline Hammer; their children, Jason, Jordan and Amanda Hammer; three sisters and a brother.

A holiday reminder: The Independence Day parade in Fort Pierre begins at 10 a.m. this year, an hour EARLIER than in past years. Line-up begins at 8 a.m. next Wednesday.

Tyler Bonnett is now one of the Hometown Heroes displayed on banners in downtown Pierre. The banners honor local men and women currently serving in the military. A plaque was presented to Laurie and Mike Kelley and their family Monday night in a color guard ceremony on Pierre Street. Tyler’s banner hangs on the west side of upper Pierre Street about a half-block north of Pleasant Drive.

Onida native Tom Merrill and his wife Dorothea were in Germany yesterday when the German team, the defending World Cup champions, was eliminated. “We’re in Germany right now, and it got very quiet around here an hoiur or so ago,” Tom said. Both the Merrills were long-time educators in the Yankton school system.

NEW DOG CROSSBREEDS

Malamute + pointer = Mootpoint, owned by . . . oh, well . . . it doesn’t matter anyway.

CROSSWORD SOLUTION

O M I T
F A K E
F R E E

WHY ENGLISH IS SO HARD TO LEARN

Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

PARKER’S COLUMN

A problem without a satisfactory solution

Two summers ago I wrote in this space that the coming year—the 2016-17 school year—would be the last for the Midweek Update. I failed to live up to that promise last summer and kept this thing going for our 19th year. Now comes the time to decide if we will go to Volume 20 come the end of August or call it quits.

The problem for me is not that I don’t have time to do this. I have plenty of time! The stumbling block is that, in order to come up with the material for the news items in the Midweek Update, I have to skim through my Facebook account every day. And these days there is nothing fun about Facebook.

Even though I have always felt the need to have a daily newspaper in my hands, I have recently let my home-delivery subscription to the Rapid City Journal expire. The main reason is the “Two Cents Worth” column in the first column of Page 2 in that paper every day. It’s a place where people can anonymously submit comments on the issues of the day. It’s a place where the whiners in this city—yes, Rapid City has them just as Pierre and Onida and most towns do—as well as the CAVEs (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) submit comments that for several years since I moved back here have spoiled almost every morning. They frequently get me so riled up I want to kick the dogs.

So I don’t get the paper any longer, even though I would if the Journal would get rid of that “Two Cents Worth” bunch of drivel.

Now it’s Facebook that spoils every day for me. I could close my account and never look at Facebook again, but that would mean the end of the Midweek Update because it is from Facebook where I get all my news information (since hardly any of you ever contribute!). Thus my dilemma is that, over the next few weeks, I must decide if I want to keep going through this every day. Usually I get so angry at what I consider the stupidity of so many people that I can’t resist responding. In so doing I’m no better than the Tweeter-in-Chief himself.

I don’t like myself after I do respond to the various posts, most of them political in nature. Almost everything that is wrong today is political in nature, and I can’t believe the things so many people believe, support, ignore and refuse to do anything about. Hundreds of them are people who are reading this right now—people whom Facebook calls my “friends.”
I fear that, if I continue to have to use Facebook for my material for this Update, I am going to make myself even more miserable and angry and probably say something without cooling off first.

I have seen recently several of you comment on Facebook that you simply block political posts. Well, that’s fine, but I don’t know how you avoid them. I want to know when breaking news occur, so I get posts from the TV stations in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. I want to know of things happening back home in Pierre, Onida and area, so I get news posts from KGFX and KCCR. I want to keep up on sports, so I get posts from various schools and major leagues. I can’t live without knowing what’s going on, even if almost all of the news is bad news.

The problem is that these days so much of what’s going on, in government and politics both nationally and in this state, is that with which I strongly disagree. To just ignore it all is difficult. To remain quiet and to let it all continue to happen make me angry. My only solution is to vote, and in this state my vote for the most part is completely worthless except perhaps in the case of local issues like supporting a school bond issue or a new civic center arena.

So I sit here, pounding harder on my keyboard’s keys than usual because just thinking about it angers me.

I realize that quitting the Midweek Update won’t change anything outside my front door. But I’m going to take a few weeks to consider my decision. Perhaps I can find a way to use Facebook only to accumulate news items from the people for whom the Update is written. Maybe some of you can advise me on what you do to stay calm and sane in these times. We all know nothing is going to change but only get worse so long as the same people keep getting elected, the people they appoint to positions are gutless and blindly loyal—nothing more than rubber-stampers to the big guy—and their millions of supporters cannot be swayed from their opinions, even with facts. I get angry when I read on Facebook of the latest damage they have done to our country, and I get angry when I read people supporting them and even agreeing with them.

Now a new Supreme Court Justice is about to be appointed, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that he or she will be another of Trump’s minions, just as the Congressmen are. What a right-wing Supreme Court will do is downright scary. And there is nothing we can do about it except hope that voters in other states somehow change the majority in one or both houses of Congress.

I’ll be out of here for good one of these years, so the damage won’t matter to me, but it will to my grandkids and their generation and their kids. By that time what those in control have done to the U.S.A. may be beyond repair. Those who are responsible will be gone, too. Even their wealthy donors who decide what happens in this country will be gone, taking their billions with them, no doubt. But what they have left in their wake will remain.

But back to my problem. Do away with Facebook? Never read a newspaper? I already have stopped watching TV newscasts.

If the Update passes into oblivion later this summer, I know I would miss checking each week on our local athletes competing in colleges. I would miss doing a football contest each week. I would miss telling you about the births, deaths, graduations, promotions, adventures and honors that come to people you and I know. But I would also like to get through a morning without having any reason to throw my coffee mug at my computer.

Maybe you wouldn’t miss the Midweek Update if it disappeared. That’s fine. I am still humble enough to realize that you could survive without it. You would eventually hear news of people about whom you care some other way.

But I would miss it. And in line with the way the majority of the people in power think these days, I’m really the only one who matters.

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