THOUGHT FOR TODAY

When nobody else celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else compliments you, then compliment yourself. It’s not up to other people to keep you encouraged. It’s up to you. Encouragement should come from the inside.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls golf: at Harrisburg, 9 a.m.
Boys tennis: home vs. Aberdeen Central, 1 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Track: at Rapid City Track-o-rama, 9 a.m.
Softball: at Yankton, 4 p.m.
Baseball: at Brandon Valley, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Softball: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 2 p.m.
Baseball: at Sioux Falls Jefferson, 2:15 p.m.
— MONDAY
Girls golf: at Rapid City Stevens, 10 a.m.
— TUESDAY
Girls golf: at Rapid City Central, 10 a.m.
Track: at Charger Invitational, Onida, 10:30 a.m.

Baseball: The Governors swept a doubleheader at Sioux Falls Lincoln, 10-1 and 3-2. In the first game the Govs outhit the Patriots 14-3. Jett Zabel, George Stalley and Ridge Leimbach each had two runs batted in, and all three of those men plus Spencer Easland had two hits each. Zabel pitched six innings, giving up one run, two hits and four walks while striking out seven. In the nightcap a three-run fourth inning brought Pierre from behind, thanks to a sacrifice fly off Charlie Simpson’s bat and a two-run single by Stalley. Leimbach pitched the first five innings and got the pitching win. He allowed only two unearned runs, three hits and no walks while fanning 10. J.J. Bucholz came in to finish the game’s final two innings and earned a save. He gave up no hits and two walks and struck out two. On Saturday in a howling wind the Govs split with Washington, losing 10-0 in six innings but winning 13-1. In the opener, after Pierre stranded the bases loaded in the first inning, they had only one baserunner get as far as third the rest of the game. But in the nightcap Pierre scored four in the first inning and never looked back. The dagger was a three-run home run by Sutton Sonnenschein. Will Danburg pitched the five-inning complete game, giving up one walk and five hits while striking out eight. Winning three of four in Sioux Falls put the Pierre record at 4-2.

Softball: The Governor girls found a relatively nice day on which to play a game and took advantage, destroying Rapid City Central in a four-inning game, 24-2. Central gave up 12 unearned runs. Ely Broers drove in four runs, and Aliya Erickson and Erin Leiferman each drove in three. Leiferman pitched a complete four-inning game, allowing three hits and three walks and only two unearned runs while striking out nine.

Track: At Huron’s meet last week there were four boys getting first-place medals and four girls doing the same. Jared Lutmer won both the 1600 and the 3200, Greyson Schuetzle the 100-meter hurdles and Coltor Babcock the javelin. Kali Ringstmeyer won both the 100 and the 200, Charlee Williams-Smith the 400 and Reese Terwilliger the shot put.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Track: at Todd County Invitational.
— TUESDAY
Track: at Big Dakota Conference meet, Mission.

Track: At the Mobridge-Pollock meet, Brendon Bothwell won the 400-meter dash. The Buffaloes’ 4×400 relay team of Spencer Sargent, Bothwell, Landon Bame and Tyson Peterson won their race.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Golf: at SESD Conference meet, Yankton.
— SATURDAY
Golf: at Battler Invitational, Gettysburg, 11 a.m.
— TUESDAY
Track: home for Charger Invitational, 10:30 a.m.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: pina colada.
Friday-Sunday: strawberry cheesecake.
Monday-Tuesday: cinnamon.
Wednesday-Thursday: coffee.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Twins schedule:
— Thursday, at Detroit, 12:10 p.m.
— Friday, at Detroit, 5:40 p.m.
— Saturday, at Detroit. 12:10 p.m.
— Sunday, at Detroit, 12:40 p.m.
— Monday, at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m.
— Tuesday, at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m.
— Wednesday, at Baltimore, 12:05 p.m.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Happiness isn’t about getting what you want all the time. It’s about loving what you have and being grateful for it.
— Peanuts by Charles Schulz

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

South Dakota State track (Rylan McDonnell, Jessica Lutmer, Lydia Hill): At a meet in Fargo, Rylan placed eighth in the long jump at 22’2 1’2″. Lydia threw a personal-best distance of 101’1″, placing 11th in the discus. SDSU sends athletes to meets in California and Vermillion today through the weekend.

Dakota State track (Houston Lunde): At USD’s early-bird meet Houston placed 20th in the hammer throw with a personal-best distance of 148’3″. He placed 35th in the discus at 118’9″. DSU sends its tracksters to the Sioux City Relays Friday and Saturday.

Northern track (Addison Cumbow): At USD’s early-bird meet Addison competed in the heptathlon, placing eighth. Her times/distances included 16.05 in the 100-meter hurdles, 1.95m in the high jump, 2.40m in the shot put, 4.82m in the long jump, 31.34m in the javelin throw, 3:08.18 in the 800, and :28.61 in the 200. Northern goes to the Sioux City Relays this weekend.

Northern softball (Tessa Bryant): The Wolves split a pair of doubleheaders—winning 5-4 in 12 innings and losing 8-5 to USF and winning 8-4 and losing 3-1 to Wayne State. Now 18-16 overall and 4-10 in the NSIC, Northern played Minot State twice yesterday, hosts Southwest Minnesota State for two games Saturday and hosts Mary for a twinbill net Tuesday.

South Dakota State baseball (Brady Huckins): The Jacks took two of three from NDSU. In a 5-1 win, Brady was the first reliever, going two-thirds of an inning, facing four batters, hitting two of them and giving up one hit and one ground-out. SDSU also lost 9-8 and won 11-7. Now 12-16 overall and 5-5 in the Summit League, SDSU played Northwestern (Iowa) last night, plays three Friday through Sunday at Omaha and goes to Minnesota next Wednesday.

Dakota Wesleyan baseball (Jonathan Lyons): The Tigers split four games at Hastings, winning 4-0 and 12-0 and losing 3-1 and 7-2. Now 13-21 overall and 5-9 in the GPAC, DWU after two games against Dordt Tuesday will play Jamestown in four games this weekend and go to Dakota State next Tuesday.

Augustana baseball (Jack Sutton): The Vikings swept four weekend games from Mary by scores of 10-0, 16-1, 11-3 and 10-0. Now 22-6 overall and 14-4 in the NSIC, Augie played USF twice yesterday, then goes to Winona State for three games this weekend and goes to Wayne State for a pair next Wednesday.

Texas State baseball (Peyton Zabel): In three games at Marshall in Huntington, W.Va., the Bobcats won once and lost twice. In a 5-0 loss in the middle game of the set, Peyton came in as the first reliever out of the bullpen and threw two innings, facing eight batters, giving up one hit and one run, walking one, striking out three and getting two men on fly balls and one on a grounder. Texas State lost the first game, 7-1, and won the third, 7-4. The Bobcats took a 16-16 record into a midweek pair against Texas. They play three this weekend at Louisiana-Monroe, then play at Incarnate Word next Tuesday.

COUNTDOWN

2 days: Stanley County High School prom (April 13).
5 days: Charger Invitational track meet, Onida (April 16).
8 days: Pierre Legion Relays (April 19).
8 days: Absentee voting for June 4 elections begins (April 19).
8 days: Pierre Players’ “Love, Loss and What I Wore” (April 19-27).
19 days: Riggs High awards night (April 30).
21 days: Pierre Educational Foundation’s Evening of Excellence (May 2).
23 days: All-State jazz band and show choir concert, Aberdeen (May 4).
23 days: Oahe YMCA half-marathon (May 4).
26 days: ESD Conference boys tennis tournament, Pierre (May 7).
29 days: Sioux Falls Canaries season opener (May 10).
30 days: ESD Conference track meet, Brookings (May 11).
31 days: Mothers Day (May 12).
32 days: State “A” boys tennis tournament, Rapid City (May 13-14).
35 days: State “AA” boys golf tournament, Rapid City (May 16-17).
39 days: Voter registration deadline for June 4 elections (May 20).
40 days: ESD Conference girls golf tournament, Yankton (May 21).
40 days: Softball SoDak 16 games (May 21).
42 days: State track meets, Sioux Falls (Mayu 23-25).
42 days: Oahe Zap season opener (May 23).
44 days: Pierre air show (May 25-26).
49 days: State softball tournaments, Aberdeen (May 30-31, June 1).
53 days: State girls golf tournaments, AA Yankton, A Sioux Falls, B Brookings (June 3-4).
53 days: State “B” boys golf tournament, Brookings (June 3-4).
54 days: Primary election and local elections (June 4).

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Black Hills Community Theatre of Rapid City revealed its 2024-25 season last week. The fall show will be a musical, “School of Rock.” The spring musical next March will be “Cabaret.” The three shows in the Studio Theatre will be “Ripcord,” “Women of Lockerbie” and “Everybody.”

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, April 11:
Jessica Kost, Terry Barber, Chase DeJong, Sheena Carlisle, Amber (LeFaive) Larsen, Mike Haas, Teresa (Sprinkel) Gillaspie, Lillian Campbell, Austin Lucas, Mason Fisher, Amy Burger, Eric Hillestad, James Bobby.

Friday, April 12:
Nathan Bishop, April (Thompson) Schroeder, Darby (Warne) Boyd, Austin Neilan, Carter Royer, Cheri Bartlett, Amanda (Stewart) Shindle, Colton Carter, Mike Eaton, Frank Turner, Luke Nelson, Stacie Suedkamp, Terry Nelson, Brian Grunewaldt, McKenna Yach, Lee Fosheim, Trent Withers, Meleta DeJong, David Volk.
— 21st anniversary, Aaron/Laura Scheibe.

Saturday, April 13:
Clara Miller, Michala Huse, Brenna Mikkelsen, Sarah (Adam) Axtman, Emily (Bloomberg) Meier, George Hollingsworth, Derek Schiefelbein, Tanner Pruess, Austin Van Houten, Wynne (Nafus) Sayer, Maggie Brindza, Raina Christenson, Sara (Sperry) Thomas, Carol Garry.
— 12th anniversary, Justin/Theresa (Frick) Jones.

Sunday, April 14:
Matt Bump, Lola Schreiber, Carolyn Elwood, Evan Zuercher, Dee Lundeen, Mark Menning, Sadie (Fitzke) Goodman.
— 12th anniversary, Eric/Niki (Cowan) Jaworski.
— 6th anniversary, Kai/Kayla Hanson.
— We fondly remember Musette Huse on her birthday.

Monday, April 15:
Jacob Wagner, RyLee Fischer, Jason Wulf, Nevaeh Hight, Kelly Gerber, Shannon (Dykstra) Herbert, Dusty Beringer, Matt Christie, Brian Deal, Spencer Safe, Rachel (LeBeau) Hachem.

Tuesday, April 16:
Geoff Simon, Nina Jordre, Tyler Bonnett, Mia Feyereisen, Brett Wheelhouse, Sherri Zeller.
— 8th anniversary, Kevin/Kaitlyn (Forman) Stiles.
— 3rd anniversary, Conrad/Kaitlyn (Severyn) Adam.

Wednesday, April 17:
Anita (Shoup) Spitzer, Vinnie Olson, Brandon Tedford, Beckett Merriam, Adam Molseed, Pat Weeldreyer, Nancy Woster, Mateo Iverson, Ellen (Meyer) Walker, Ann (Schaack) Humphery, Aidan Stoeser, Ami Jo Davids.
— 42nd anniversary, Tim/Kara Brandlee.
— 53rd anniversary, Mike/Mary Thorson.
— 13th anniversary, Nick/Mallori (Barnett) Johnson.

Thursday, April 18:
Nathanial Gough, Blake Yackley, Darrel Curtis, Madi Gilkerson, Amelia Corbin, Harper Pool, Scott Raue, Leo Mortenson, Jackie Haggin, Josia Fuerst, Darcy Unruh, Carly Myers, Doug Jennewein.
— Anniversary, Reid/Tiffany Alt.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Do your little bit of good where you are. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
— Desmond Tutu

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Linda (Rieger) Culver, 76, died April 2. She was a Pierre High School graduate. She married Dick Culver in 1996. She is survived by her husband; her son, Todd (Vonda) Culver; her grandson, Daulton (Kylie) Culver; her great-granddaughter, Kwynn, and her sister, Judy (Jimmy) Carter. She was preceded in death by her husband and her brother, Jimmy Rieger.

Sam Bowles, 89, died April 5 at Avantara of Pierre. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Friday, April 12, at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Raised near Harrold, he married Pat Burley in 1961. They ranched in Hughes and Sully counties. Sam was a rancher, a horse trainer and a true cowboy. He is survived by his daughters, Maria Kraft of Onida, Linda Bowles and Shawn Bowles of Fort Pierre and Susan Bowles of Pierre; his brothers, Tom and Louis Spaid; his sister, Erma McGee; 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Stanley County High senior Broch Zeeb last week signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Minnesota-Morris to play basketball there.

“Love, Loss and What I Wore” opens at Pierre Players’ Grand Opera House next weekend. There will be evening shows April 19-20 and 25-27 and a matinee April 21. Call 224-7826 for ticket reservations.

Marlys (Eide) Nellermoe, 92, died April 4. Her funeral was held Monday at Feigum Funeral Home. She graduated from Burke High School in 1949. Her career as a secretary in Pierre covered 43 years. She married Dale Nellermoe in 1953, and they raised three children—Mark (Karren) Nellermoe of Ruston, Wash.; Debra (Todd) Mortenson of Hayes, and Brian (Kim) Nellermoe of Bourne, Texas. Marlys is also survived by seven grandchildren; her sisters, Donna Zarling of Spokane, Wash., and Lynn Eide of Phoenix, and her brother, Terry (Kate) Eide of St. George, Utah. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her brother, Oakley Eide.

A 16-member “America 250th South Dakota Commission” has been created to join in celebrating the United States’ sesquicentennial in 2026.

Riggs High Class of 1994, your reunion is fast approaching. Mary (Wendt) Curtis urges you to respond soon. The Facebook page with reunion information is entitled Pierre T.F. Riggs Class of 1994.

Unless one or more third-party or independent candidates file by the end of this month, there will be no competition either in the primary election or the general election in District 24 (Hughes, Sully, Hyde, Stanley, Haakon counties). Returned to their positions without challenge will be Mike Mehlhaff in the Senate and Mike Weisgram and Will Mortenson in the House of Representatives.

Riggs High School’s musical, “Freaky Friday,” will be performed at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday), Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

Larry Venner, who developed the vocational agriculture program and the local Future Farmers of America chapter at Riggs High School, died at the age of 90 March 24. Services were held April 2.
Under his leadership from 1969 and beyond, the Pierre FFA achieved great success. Within three years of its start, the FFA ranked in the top four of every judging category, and by 1973 when he concluded his teaching career, he had led several students to become FFA state officers. Larry grew up on the family farm near Agar and graduated from Agar High School in 1952. He joined the U.S. Navy submarine service in 1954 and served with distinction off the coast of Washington state and as a radioman in Alaska where he intercepted foreign messages and communicated distress signals. He was honorable discharged in 1958. He completed a degree from SDSU in 1963 and taught for the next seven years at Wessington Springs. He completed a master of education degree from SDSU in 1968 and came to Pierre to teach. After teaching he served as deputy secretary of the state Department of Agriculture from 1976 to 1979. In 1979 he became a district sales manager for Funk-O Hybrid/Ciba Geigy Seed Division, retiring in 1999. He later was a Hughes County commissioner. Larry and Lillian Schlenker were married in 1960 and were married for 39 years. After Lillian’s death Larry married Alice Donovan in 2000 and shared 13 years with her. He is survived by his children, Steve (Lisa) Venner of Spokane Valley, Wash., Marty Venner of Tehachapi, Calif., Eric (Rae) Venner of Sioux Falls, Carrie (Craig) Howard of Pierre, Bruce (Heather) Venner of Pierre, Jesse (Oksana) Venner of Rapid City, and Jonathan Venner of Rapid City; 14 grandchildren; two sisters, Delores Morgan Evans of Mellette and Madonna Leimer of Paynesville,, Minn., along with Alice’s children and many other relatives.

Prom court candidates for Stanley County’s prom this Saturday are Mattie Duffy, Adi Longbrake, Rachel Nemec, Tommie Martin, Ehran Cantu, Rylan Shrake, Levi Wagner and Broch Zeeb.

Charlene Benjamin, 88, died at home April 6. A memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Calvary United Pentecostal Church in Pierre. She grew up in Worthington, Minn., and married Harry Benjamin in 1952. They lived in many places due to his military career. She is survived by six children, Susan Benjamin in Colorado, Connie Bolei in Minnesota, Barbara Benjamin in South Dakota, Harry Benjamin in Minnesota, Jack Benjamin in South Dakota and Jerry Benjamin in Indiana; 13 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren, and a sister, Carole Hoefker.

PONDER THIS

We lost the habit of readings because we’re afraid of wasting our time. We think we need to be productive and “on the go” at all times. But people are nourished by naps and fiction and basking in sunlight, no less than by food and drink.