HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP

The South Dakota High School Activities Association has posted the football schedules for all schools for this coming fall, just in case there is a football season. The dates listed below are tentative; they are all Fridays, but some games may be on Saturdays, and the last Pierre game shown will likely be on a Thursday.

Pierre Governors—
Aug. 28: at Sturgis
Sept. 4: West Central
Sept. 11: at Yankton
Sept. 18: at Tea Area
Sept. 25: Spearfish
Oct. 2: Huron
Oct. 9: at Brookings
Oct. 16: Mitchell
Oct. 22: Douglas

Stanley County Buffaloes—
Aug. 21: Winner
Aug. 28: at Chamberlain
Sept. 4: open
Sept. 11: at Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central
Sept. 18: Miller/Highmore-Harrold
Sept. 25: at Wagner
Oct. 2: Mount Vernon-Plankinton
Oct. 9: Hot Springs
Oct. 16: at Groton Area

Sully Buttes Chargers—
Aug. 21: at Warner
Aug. 28: Wall
Sept. 4: Potter County
Sept. 11: at Herreid-Selby Area
Sept. 18: open
Sept. 25: Hitchcock/Tulare
Oct. 2: North Border
Oct. 9: at Faulkton Area
Oct. 16: at Ipswich/Edmunds Central

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

South Dakota State swimming: SDSU’s athletic department awards the Jackrabbit Impact Award to one athlete per team. Ashley Theobald is the recipient for the women’s swimming and diving team.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: laffy taffy.
Friday-Sunday: strawberry.
Monday-Tuesday: coconut.
Wednesday-Thursday: root beer.

COUNTDOWN

4 days: Voter registration deadline for June 2 primary/city/school elections (May 18).
11 days: Memorial Day (May 25).
13 days: NASA launch of SpaceX astronauts (May 27).
19 days: Primary/city/school elections (June 2).
28 days: PGA Tour resumes, Fort Worth, Texas (June 11-14).
38 days: Fathers Day (June 21).
51 days: Independence Day (July 4).
66 days: National high school rodeo, Lincoln (July 19-28).
84 days: NFL Hall of Fame game, Canton, Ohio (Aug. 6).
85 days: Sturgis motorcycle rally (Aug. 7-16).
85 days: Pierre Players’ “Native Gardens” (Aug. 7-9, 13-15).
92 days: State 4-H finals rodeo, Fort Pierre (Aug. 14-16).
95 days: Democratic National Convention, Milwaukee (Aug. 17-20).
98 days: First day of school in Pierre (Aug. 20).
99 days: BluntFest (Aug. 21-23).
102 days: Republican National Convention, Charlotte (Aug. 24-27).
119 days: NFL opening night, Houston at Kansas City (Sept. 10).

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Directions: Draw a square box of 16 boxes, 4×4. Number the top row of boxes from the left 1, 2, 3 and 4. Number the left-hand row of boxes from top to bottom 1, 5, 6 and 7.

Clues:
ACROSS—
(1) Prayer finale.
(5) Angie, Brad, Amy.
(6) —- Neuharth.
(7) “One if by —-.”
DOWN—
(1) Gone without permission.
(2) Small town near Aberdeen.
(3) Nielsen who married a Nielsen.
(4) Desire.

RIGGS HIGH SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS NIGHT

More than a million dollars in scholarships were earned by Riggs High seniors, but the annual Scholarship Awards Night was staged by the administrative staff in an empty Riggs theater and broadcast in the community via the Oahe TV channel.

It’s not often that an appointment to one of the United States military academies is part of this program, but it was this year. Isaac Buchholtz has been appointed to a spot beginning this summer in the Class of 2024 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Sara Hancock was revealed as a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, and Ruth Howard was awarded a certificate of merit from the National Merit program.

The competition for the prestigious R.E. Rawlins Memorial Scholarships was as tough as ever this year, according to Supt. Kelly Glodt, who presented them. Among the 53 applicants, 18 had 4.0 grade-point averages, and 13 had ACT scores of 30 or higher. A minimum GPA of 3.75 is required just to apply for the Rawlins. This year’s recipients are Ruth Howard, Natalie Mohr, Isabel Myren, Morgan Oedekoven, Hattie Shaffer, Addy Smith and Cobey Carr. Will Kessler is an alternate.

Other scholarship recipients included:
— Mortenson Family Scholarship: Mackenzie Sarratt.
— Oahe Electric Coop Scholarships: Morgan Jones, Will Kessler, Maria Noyes, Ethan Ogan, Mikah Moser.
— Pierre Fire Department Scholarship: Morgan Jones.
— General Federation of Women’s Clubs Scholarship: Cassidy Miller.
— BankWest Scholarships: Morgan Jones, Chase Sattgast, Kylee Thorpe.
— Glen and Geoff Garrett Scholar Athlete Scholarships: Cobey Carr, Mikah Moser.
— Perry and Dee Anderson Community Service Scholarships: Max Sevier, Cassidy Miller.
— Danforth Music Scholarship: Melinda Clements.
— Elks Most Valuable Student Scholarships: Justin Houlette, Morgan Jones, Hannah Jerome, Addy Smith.
— PEO Scholarships: Hattie Shaffer, Maria Noyes, Morgan Jones.
— Emma Fiedler Mickelson Scholarship: Morgan Oedekoven.
— West Central Electric Coop Scholarship: Matoya Geppert.
— Martha Rankin Scholarship: Mikah Moser.
— Cyril Van Hise/Sooper Dooper Scholarship: Kamden Carter.
— A.A. Thompson Memorial Scholarship for GPA improvement: Spencer Wedin.
— Brian Weiss Memorial Scholarship: Justin Houlette.
— Capt. Kenneth Scurr Memorial Scholarship: Matthew Heilman.
— PEO Star Scholarship: Natalie Mohr.
— Don Shields Lasting Legacy Scholarship: Cobey Carr.
— President’s Volunteer Service Award: Morgan Oedekoven.
— G.A. and Pearl Johnson Memorial Scholarships: Max Sevier, LaToya Bruns, Clayton Alban, Halli Drewes, Matthew Heilman, Thomas Kropp, Catie Natvig, Kyla Keyes, Maria Noyes, Nathan Shoup, Miriam Thompson.
— Harriet Woodward Thomas Scholarship: Hunter Martell.
— Oahe YMCA Youth Citizen of the Year Scholarship: Cobey Carr.
— Shane Cronin Future Educator Scholarships: Kyla Keyes, Max Sevier, Megan Van Liere.
— Mid-Dakota Rural Water System Scholarship: Maria Noyes.
— BJ PEO Scholarships: Kamden Carter, Ruth Howard.
— AAUW Scholarships: Taryn Senger, Josi Stevens.
— Class of 1960 Scholarships: Cassidy Miller, Max Sevier.
— Dakota Prairie Bank Scholarship: Phil Adam.
— Hughes County Conservation District Scholarship: Michael Merriman.
— Masonic Lodge Scholarships: Kyla Keyes, Maria Noyes.
— Knights of Columbus Scholarships: Justin Houlette, Ruth Howard, Will Kessler, Matthew Lusk, Hattie Shaffer, Miriam Thompson, Kylee Thorpe.
— Fine Arts Booster Club Scholarships: Sarah Hancock, Emily Hughes, Natalie Mohr, Melnda Clements.
— Pierre Tennis Association Scholarship: Grant Judson.
— Pierre-Fort Pierre Kiwanis Club Scholarships: Cobey Carr, Ruth Howard, Hallie Jerome, Morgan Jones, Hunter Martell, Morgan Oedekoven, Deni Zeeb, Taryn Senger.
— Kiwanis Vocational/Technical Scholarship: Kamden Carter.
— Kiwanis/Jim Valnes Community Volunteer Scholarship: Phil Adam.
— Kiwanis/Don London Scholarship: Hattie Shaffer.
— Kiwanis/Mel Wall Scholarship: Natalie Mohr.
— Charles E. Thorne VFW and Auxiliary Scholarship: Deni Zeeb.
— Pierre Athletic Booster Club Scholarships: Mikah Moser, Taryn Senger, Grey Zabel, Cobey Carr, Kylee Thorpe, Will Kessler, Kodi Severyn, Chase Sattgast.
— Moose Lodge Scholarship: Grady Klundt.
— Central Chapter/S.D. Engineering Society Scholarship: Justin Houlette.
— Pierre Players Scholarship: A.J. Holland.
— Rotary Club Scholarships: Ruth Howard, Morgan Jones, Hattie Shaffer, Natalie Mohr.
— Exchange Club Youth of the Year Scholarship: Natalie Mohr.
— Exchange Club Legacy Scholarship: Jasmine Rounds.
— Exchange Club General Scholarships: Maria Noyes, LaToya Bruns, Deni Zeeb.
— Post 8 Baseball Scholarship: Cobey Carr.
— Tyler Wilcox Flying Five Foundation Scholarships: Phil Adam, Morgan Jones.
— Stanton and June Boyd Scholarship: Clayton Alban.
— Pierre Area Dart League Scholarship: Mackenzie Sarratt.
— Zonta International Lillian Brady Memorial Scholarship: Emry Heiss.
— Matt Larson Memorial Scholarships: Kyla Keyes, Megan Van Liere.
— Oahe Home Builders Association Scholarship: Jaden Jessop.
— Gov-to-Gov Scholarships: Phil Adam, Grady Klundt, Hallie Jerome, Morgan Jones, Mackenzie Sarratt.
— American Bank & Trust Scholarship: Grady Klundt.
— Reinke Family Education Scholarships: Cobey Carr, Hunter Martell.
— Yankton College Scholarship Program Scholarship: Deni Zeeb .
— Charles “Lindy” and Shirley Feeney Scholarship: Cobey Carr.
— Herbert and Irene Emde Scholarship: Max Sevier.
— Pierre Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship: Kamden Carter.
— Spilde Family Scholarships: Max Sevier, LaToya Bruns.
— James and Gertrude Mueller Scholarship: Natalie Mohr.
— Schliessman Family Scholarship: Deni Zeeb.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Vikings: In the preseason the Vikings will be at home twice—against Houston Aug. 13-17 (date to be determined) and against Seattle Sept. 3. Here are the Vikings’ regular-season home games and dates (Central Time):
Sept. 13: Green Bay, noon.
Sept. 27: Tennessee, noon.
Oct. 18: Atlanta, noon.
Nov. 8: Detroit, noon.
Nov. 22: Dallas, 3:25.
Nov. 29: Carolina, noon.
Dec. 6: Jacksonville, noon.
Dec. 20: Chicago, noon.

Denver Broncos: In the preseason the Broncos will host San Francisco during the week of Aug. 13-17 and be home against Chicago the week of Aug. 20-24. Here are the Broncos’ regular-season home games and dates (Mountain Time):
Sept. 14: Tennessee, 8:10.
Sept. 27: Tampa Bay, 2:25.
Oct. 18: Miami, 2:05.
Oct. 25: Kansas City, 2:25.
Nov. 22: Los Angeles Chargers, 2:05.
Nov. 29: New Orleans, 2:05.
Dec. 20: Buffalo, time to be determined.
Jan. 3: Las Vegas, 2:25.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Legion baseball: For about 24 hours over the weekend an American Legion baseball season in South Dakota was a possibility after the state Legion athletic commission decided to proceed with a season and a state tournament, even though national regionals and the Legion World Series had earlier been canceled. But on Sunday the national Legion decided no state would have Legion baseball this summer. South Dakota Legion coaches were to have a meeting Wednesday to decide if and how to proceed with some sort of independent baseball season but without the Legion’s sponsorship.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• President Barack Obama will give the commencement address for a national TV graduation program honoring 2020 high school and college graduates. It will be broadcast on all the major networks—ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox—as well as 20 other streaming and broadcast partners at 7 p.m. CDT this Saturday night, May 16. Also appearing during the telecast will be basketball star LeBron James, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Broadway musical star Ben Platt of “Dear Evan Hansen,” the Jonas Brothers, American singer H.E.R., actress/activist Yara Shahidi, Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, screenwrite Lena Waithe and rapper Pharrell Williams.
• We don’t know yet if we can safely gather in large family groups on Thanksgiving this fall, but many of you will do it anyway because, by golly, nobody is going to take away your rights! Here are the NFL games you will be watching that day if all goes well: early game, Houston at Detroit; afternoon game, Washington at Dallas; evening game, Baltimore at Pittsburgh.
• On Midco Sports Network the voting on their 64-team Mascot Madness bracket is done, and the Sabres of Legacy High School in Bismarck are the winners as best mascot in the Dakotas, defeating the Gregory Gorillas, the South Dakota champion, in the finals voting.
• And the final result is in from NCAA Baseball’s vote on what is the best ballpark food. The winner is nachos, beating out hot dogs in the final round of voting.

QUOTE FOR THESE TIMES

“There is nothing we’d like more than to welcome you through our doors, but we truly believe that as a community we aren’t at a safe point to do so yet. We have not reached the other side of this.

” What will surely put us and many other small businesses out of business is if the community rushes back into prepandemic lifestyles. I witness signs of this every day—no masks, large groups, little concern—and it terrifies me. A second shutter will be nearly impossible to survive.”

— from the Zandbroz Variety page on Facebook
(business in downtown Sioux Falls)

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, May 14:
Lora (Den Ouden) Moore, Dustin Byrum, Paula (Roddewig) Ruedebusch, Bodhi Hindman, Mindy (Stearns) Sivage, Paulette Petersen, Tom Kallemeyn, Tyler Stoeser, Jenna Paxton, Tayson Mitchell, Bryant Naylor.
— 4th anniversary, Matthew/Stacy (Zeigler) Cwach.
— 15th anniversary, Patrick/Holly (Lunn) Miles.
— 15th anniversary, Steve/Brittany Novotny.
— 15th anniversary, Guy/Ellen Erlenbusch.

Friday, May 15:
Ava Vermeulen, Barb Mitchell, Brian Graves, Cody Stoeser, Russell Hofeldt, Ellen Dulas, Carol Van Roekel, Deb (Stoeser) Schiefelbein, Emmy Anderson, Nathanial Smith, Zach Erickson, Brooke Anglin, Jared Lindbloom.
— 16th anniversary, Jason/Amanda Dodson.
— 16th anniversary, Matt/Heather (Hageman) Elwood.
— 16th anniversary, Damon/JoLynn Parks.
— 10th anniversary, John/Lisa (Wallace) Peary.
— Anniversary, Jerry/Monica Ortbahn.

Saturday, May 16:
Nick Jung, Becky DeYonge, Jack Shives, Whitney Jandreau, Paul Kenefick-Aschoff, Cody Nicholas, Emma Lusk, Jett Zabel, Grady Larson, Brent Baumberger, Colleen (Colson) Pool, Scott Kennedy, Tammy Williams.
— 11th anniversary, Jay/Kasey (Anderson) Cappellano.

Sunday, May 17:
Gus Terveen, Eileen Bertsch, Josh Davis, Bill Squires, Calla Ellis, Diana Melvin, Angie (Wire) Fouts, Meshanna Heckenlaible, Lanete (McFarling) Kotilnek, Uncle Matt Schatz, Tyler Hoffman, Blair Krueger, Mat Ripperger.
— 17th anniversary, Arlo/Chandra (Miller) Brower.
— 17th anniversary, Dan/Sarah (Shepherd) Schulte.
— 40th anniversary, Hal/Marie Rumpca.
— 6th anniversary, Charlie/Stephanie Moore.
— 11th anniversary, Matt/Blair (Simon) Picchietti.

Monday, May 18:
Clay Roberts, Doug Marsh, Sara (Tillman) Anderson, Josh Zellmer, Sommar (Jastorff) Nelson, Joanne Andersen, Bryce Harr, Will Hansen.

Tuesday, May 19:
Darin Boe, Julie Smith, Jack Runyan, Casey Hight, Matt Koester, Emily Swanstrom, Shawna (Miller) Lizotte, Michelle (Beemer) DeWitt, Mike Yackley, Casey Templeton, Paula Welch, Jeff Hayward, Nola Terveen, Tim Davis, Gordon Woods.
— 41st anniversary, Kevin/Brenda Goeden.
— 8th anniversary, Seth/Karae (Englehart) Parsons.
— 13th anniversary, Tim/Melissa Schumacher.

Wednesday, May 20:
Lisa Chamley, Taynen Stout, Maggie Lanning, Murray Thompson, Caleb Kuszmaul, Mark Leiferman, Renessa Williams, Polly Gill, Katie (Hallock) Moberg, Caelum Carr, Owen Joy, Elliesia Nelson, Dave O’Connell, Deanna Smith, Ansley Askew, Chad Johnson.
— 15th anniversary, Doug/Krista (Beastrom) Stevens.

Thursday, May 21:
Garrett Weber, Bob McCarty, McKenna Halverson, Sam Booker, Tara (Hyde) White, Boomer Kuiper, Tessa (Heiss) Krueger, Lindsey Kozel, Hayse Moore.
— 4th anniversary, Tyler/Erika Tordsen.
— 16th anniversary, Josh/Kelli (Snow) Rohrer.
— 43rd anniversary, Mark/Sheryl Nielsen.
— 9th anniversary, Mark/Alysia Livermont.
— 9th anniversary, Harry/Emily (Goeden) Decker.
— 26th anniversary, Paul/Toni Kenefick-Aschoff.
— 4th anniversary, Cliff/Alexis (Yackley) Warner.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

— President Abraham Lincoln

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Brady Smith (’97) has received his retirement orders from the U.S. Army. Stationed now at Anchorage, Alaska, Brady’s retirement ceremony will be this Friday, and his last day in the Army will be June 2.

Added to the list of 2020 cancellations in the past week are this June’s Miss South Dakota pageant at Hot Springs and all of the Midwest Honor Flights taking aging veterans to Washington, D.C. Also called off for this summer is the Hills Alive music festival in Rapid City. Next year’s World Baseball Classic has already been canceled.

The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis will remain closed until March. One of the plays lost in the shutdown will be Larissa FastHorse’s “A Thanksgiving Play.”

The top choral music awards given by Riggs High choral director Rodd Bauck:
— Outstanding freshman: Brooke Allison.
— Outstanding sophomore: Claire Koenecke.
— Outstanding junior: Jacob Larson.
— Outstanding senior: Max Sevier.
— National Choral Award: Eli Houdyshell.

Vashti Gibson, Spanish teacher at Riggs High School, was named by BankWest as its Educator of Excellence award winner for this school year. She will receive a $1,500 grant to go toward continuing education.

Our sympathy to former Pierre residents Dee and Jon Clegg and their family. Dee’s father, Dean Axtell, 89, Harrisburg, died May 4 at the Sanford Foundation hospice cottage in Sioux Falls. He is survived by his wife, Min; five children, Arlene Steen of Sioux Falls; Dee Clegg, Kathy Wells and Betty Jo Cox, all of Omaha, and Scott Axtell of Harrisburg; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.

The prom was one of many end-of-the-year events that didn’t happen at Riggs High School because of the coronavirus pandemic, but prom royalty were determined nevertheless. From among the 10 candidates for king and queen, a vote by students determined that Grant Judson was the prom king and Addy Smith the prom queen.

Former Pierre resident Les Traut of Rapid City and his sister went to Minneapolis for medical appointments recently. Before he could be admitted, Les was tested for COVID-19, and the result was positive, so he now has been on a two-week quarantine there.

Riggs High alumnus Elliot Harmon of San Francisco posted disturbing personal news last week. Two years ago Elliot had a melanoma scare. He learned recently that the cancer had not been totally removed, and it now has spread to his brain, spine, right arm and right lung. He was to begin immunotherapy this week. Elliot said he expects rough side effects but trusts his team of doctors to pull him through this.

We told you last week that Alma Buechler will observe her 108th birthday next Wednesday, May 20. Hopefully her family’s friends and many others will join in a birthday parade past Maryhouse where Alma will be situated out front to wave. Meet in the parking lot next to the Griffin Park tennis courts about 2:45 p.m. to be ready for a 3 p.m. drive-by in front of Maryhouse. If you want to send a greeting to Alma, her address is: Alma Buechler, c/o Avera Maryhouse, 717 E. Dakota Ave., Pierre SD 57501.

Riggs High School will have a virtual graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 24, starting at 2 p.m. It will be streamed at https://oahetv.com/ Following that ceremony there will be a drive-by roll call and diploma handout in the upper parking lot, also livestreamed by Oahe TV starting at 3:30 p.m.

For a few minutes of musical entertainment almost every day, go to the Facebook page entitled “Lora Leigh Moore.” There the former Lora Den Ouden, who was a mean saxophone player in her Riggs High band days, joins her children—12-year-old Jessica and 10-year-old Travis—in performing a song or two on Facebook. Lora says her husband, Dan, doesn’t join in the music or even run the camera. “He just taps his foot and cheers us on,” she said. The Moores live at Blue Earth, Minn.

Sam and Ashley Leidholt revealed this week they are expecting their first child in late October. They recently bought a home in Minnetonka, Minn. Ashley is teaching in Hopkins while Sam works at Optum Health.

In Bismarck Matt and Korie Tetzlaff revealed their first child will be a boy.

It was a dual graduation weekend—without commencement ceremonies—for Jim and Jackie Protexter’s sons. Evan graduated with his MBA degree from Missouri State, and Graham graduated with his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from SDSU. Evan continues to work as an engineer in Madison, Wis., and Graham will be working as a pharmacist at the Lewis drug stores in Sioux Falls.

Eugene Kreitman, 84, died at home in Pierre May 8. A private family service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Faith Lutheran Church. He grew up in Nebraska and California, coming to South Dakota with his family in 1947. He attended high school at Agar where he played basketball. He later attended high school in Pierre but quit to join the Navy during the Korean War. He and his wife were married in Wisconsin in 1962, and they moved to Pierre that year. He is survived by his wife, Eleanor Kreitman; his sons, Paul Kreitman and Kevin Kreitman and his wife Donna, all of Pierre; his daughter, Julie Jonas and her husband Jay of Onida, and two grandchildren.

Four F-16 Falcons from the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Wing will use training flights on Saturday to salute hospital and other health-care workers in nine South Dakota cities. The planes will buzz the hospitals starting at 1 p.m. in Brookings, moving on to Watertown and Aberdeen. They will pass over Avera St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre between 1:55 and 2:05 p.m., then go on to Huron, Mitchell, Yankton, Vermillion and Sioux Falls.

Madison Brink with a 4.0 grade-point average earned a spot on the spring semester President’s List at Presentation College in Aberdeen.

Pierre native Jamison (Jamie) Rounds is chair of the department of business and an assistant professor of business at Mount Marty College in Yankton.

Dakota Wesleyan University could not hold its annual honors awards night as a public event but distributed the honors nevertheless. Elena Svingen receied the Vicki Clark Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Leadership and Service to use during her senior year at DWU. Named Scholar Athletes with grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher were senior Lukas Chase and junior Elena Svingen. Receiving Honors in Scholarship were seniors Lukas Chase and Jerika Mennenger and juniors Davis Anderson and Elena Svingen.

Katie Nielson, after graduating from Black Hills State this month, will attend the Sanford School of Medicine at USD beginning this summer. At BHSU Katie majored in biology and chemistry and was part of the first-ever soccer team there. She did summer research in Spearfish, was part of the BHSU Health Services Student Organization and volunteered at the Good Shepherd Clinic in Spearfish.

Graduating from Northern State University in Aberdeen this month are these area students:
— Colten Drageset. business administration.
— Tara (Hyde) White, M.S. in Education in leadership and administration.
— Joshua Albright, criminal justice.
— Haelly Pease, management.
— Bailey Regynski, elementary education (cum laude).
— Audrey Steele, M.S. in Education in teaching and learning.
— Matthew Thorson, M.S. in Education in teaching and learning.

Long-time Pierre resident Herb Sibson passed away at the age of 83 on May 8 at Parson’s House, an assisted living facility in Omaha. A private family service will take place at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Pierre at 2 p.m. Friday. Friends can view the service on their mobile devices. Those who wish to do so are welcome to join a funeral procession from the church to Calvary Cemetery. Herb grew up in Mitchell and graduated from Notre Dame Academy there. He spent 13 years in the National Guard. He married Georgie Pierson in 1957, and they lived in Philip, Midland, Pierre, Fort Pierre, Tucson, Ariz., and Omaha. He was a grain elevator manager in Pierre for 20 years and was an entrepreneur farmer of thousands of acres in the Pierre area. He is survived by his wife, Georgie Sibson; their seven children, Julie Dunham and her husband Mark, Greg Sibson and his wife Laurie, Brad Sibson, Cheryl Reed, Diane Pfeiffer, Connie Askew and her husband Tom, and Eric Sibson and his wife Julie; 17 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren, and three siblings, David Sibson, Jean Danielson and Margaret Pierson.

Joining the cancellation list due to the coronavirus pandemic: No Broadway shows in New York until at least Sept. 7. The North Dakota State Fair at Minot and the Red River Valley Fair at Fargo both canceled for this year. The Hollywood Bowl has canceled its season for the entire year.

Former Pierre teacher Judy Bassett passed away May 9 in Rapid City after battling cancer for 10 years. She was a native of Washington state and married Cecil Bassett in 1957. She was a powerful force in the rise and spread of the Odyssey of the Mind program in Pierre schools and statewide. She is survived by her husband, Cecil Bassett of Rapid City, and their three children, David, Mark and Marianne, and their families. A celebration of Judy’s life will be held at a later date.

The Pierre School District could not hold its annual tea for retiring teachers this year due to the pandemic. Lynne (Bonrud) Guthrie is retiring after 36 years in the district. A 1979 graduate of Riggs High School, Lynne most recently has been fifth grade teacher at Buchanan Elementary. Dan Snyder, who graduated from Riggs High in 1974, is retiring after 30 years in the district. He has been teaching and coaching at Riggs High.

Ryder Kirsch of St. Thomas More High School in Rapid City this week was named Mr. Basketball in South Dakota for the 2019-20 season. He is the son of Karl and Shannon Kirsch. Karl lived in Onida and went to school at Sully Buttes while his father, Richard, was superintendent of the district in the mid-1970s.

Because the state basketball tournaments were not held, the Spirit of Su award could not be presented in person to this year’s six recipients. A member of a team qualifying for the state tournament in each classification is selected from among the nominees submitted by each team. This year’s winners; Class AA, Cooper Cornemann of Yankton and Emma Osmoundson of Sioux Falls Lincoln; Class A, Maxwell Nielson of Sioux Valley and Morgan Hammerbeck of Winner; Class B, Nicholas Sayler of White River and Sydnie Schauer of Faith.

Randy Pool is retiring after 30 years of teaching, the last 16 years at the Blunt center of the Sully Buttes district. Prior to that, the Blunt native taught one year at Tea and 13 years at Montrose.

Riggs High band letters, pins and awards were distributed online by director Mackenzie McKeithan-Jensen this week. Earning the most points to become the outstanding band member in each class were freshman Owen Seibel, sophomore Alexis Moran, junior Sophia New and senior Isabel Myren. The following three major awards voted on by band students were presented: Louis Armstrong Award for jazz band, Eli Houdyshell and Will Kessler; Patrick Gilmore Award, Isabel Myren; John Philip Sousa Award, Jasmine Rounds.

The Ripperger kids—Jeremy, Amy Grunewaldt and Mat—lost an uncle last week. Warren Bult of Mitchell died unexpectedly at the age of 56 at Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls. Services were held May 9. Mr. Bult was a brother of Jerry Ripperger’s wife, Pam.

Onida native Rob Shoup and his wife Nikki of Sioux Falls, who have had two daughters, now have a third. Brynlee Marie was born this week. Rob is a financial adviser with Edward Jones, and Nikki is a physical therapist at Orthopedic Institute.

An update on former Pierre resident Les Traut, who has been hospitalized with the coronavirus in Minneapolis and mentioned above in this Update: Word yesterday is that Les will remain in an ICU there until he is well enough to go home. He would welcome cards and letters. His address; Les Traut; MHealth Fairview; 500 Harvard St. SE; Room 4208; Minneapolis MN 55455.

Angie (Wire) Fouts, Riggs High alumna who is a clinical pharmacist in Mason City, Iowa, at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center, was interviewed on a news segment by KIMT-TV, which serves Mason City, Albert Lea, Austin and Rochester. Remdesivir is a drug authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for use on severe coronavirus patients, and it is now being shipped to hospitals. Angie said on the interview that the supply is going largely to hospitals with the highest volume of cases. She emphasized to the interviewer that we don’t know yet if remdesivir is one of the “silver bullets” that will curtail the pandemic.

Stanley County High’s graduation ceremony will now be held, weather permitting, at noon this Sunday at Ole Williamson Field, open only to seniors and their immediate families. While the seniors are seated at appropriate distances around the field, families will watch from their cars. After the diplomas are awarded, the seniors will return to their families’ cars, and the fire department will lead the vehicles off the track and onto the streets to be led around Fort Pierre in a parade.

DAY BY DAY

THURSDAY, MAY 7
With all my free time in retirement, even during “normal” times, my guilty pleasure is watching the two CBS soap operas each morning. But lately those casts of actors have apparently been under shelter-in-place orders and unable to gather in groups to film their shows. CBS is running what they like to call “classic” episodes from years gone by, and in some cases many, many years gone by. I’ve given up on them, at least for now until we’re back to real-life episodes. So what have I been doing those two hours between 10 a.m. and noon MDT? Just walking more, figuring out what my new phone will and will not do, and writing at least one note per day to somebody at my church or around town whom I haven’t seen for two months.

FRIDAY, MAY 8
This morning I began carrying out the social distancing thing to the extreme, leaving the hordes of people violating common sense in Rapid City to come out here into southern Meade County where for a few days I am cat- and dog-sitting for my daughter-in-law’s sister and her husband while they are out of the state. It is quiet and peaceful out here, and Millie, the big Newfoundland, does nothing but eat occasionally and sleep all day and all night. As for the cat, she shows up to eat but otherwise loses herself somewhere in this monstrous ranch house. Meanwhile, so long as the Dish TV system and the wi-fi work, I am fine for a few days. Not a human in sight. I am exercising a social distancing distance of about a half-mile instead of six feet.

SATURDAY, MAY 9
I was awakened at 4 a.m. not by a dog wanting to go outside but by the thunderous roar of the wind. The house where I am spending a few days sits on a high elevation with nothing around it to shield it from the wind, so it was a blast-furnace sound. And, as you know, the wind has stayed around all day with gusts up to 60 MPH and beyond in some parts of the area. I borrowed a time-honored idea from the late Johnny Carson and asked on Facebook, “How windy was it? It was SO windy that . . . . .: and then I let my Facebook friends provide answers. Here are some of them. It was so windy today that . . . . .
— the polka dots are flying off my blouse.
— I saw my neighbor’s hat blowing down the street, and he was still in it.
— my plants are now sitting at my feet inside the patio.
— standing in the right direction could make a fart in a windstorm a lethal weapon.
— we can feel it in North Dakota.
— I got a new trampoline.
— I saw a chicken lay the same egg three times.
— it’s rolling the rocks around.
— it’s too wet to plow and too windy to haul rock.
— I had to hang on to my coat on the walk to the mailbox.
— I want to kite board.
— even MY hair is getting messed up.
— when my dog went to mark one tree, she marked all three in one whiz.
— the birds don’t even have to flap their wings to fly.
— if it stops suddenly, every cow in South Dakota will fall over.
— I stepped out the door and landed in Winner.
— the bucket of water in my yard has whitecaps.
— the color left my hair.
— my garbage container was found in Blunt.
— my small dog almost flew away.
— there are waves in the water in the toilet bowl.
— I was looking for politicians everywhere I went.
— I had to put rocks in my pockets.

SUNDAY, MAY 10
There will be a time—a safe time!—when we can get together to celebrate the mothers in our families—but today was not the day. I see from Facebook posts and news photos that a lot of people did it anyway. I don’t understand that, but what do I know! I don’t have to look far to find magnificent mothers. Mine was one of them, and I regret she has been gone for 29 years. The girl I married proved that a tomboy makes a wonderful mother. She raised our four kids almost single-handedly while I was working what seemed to me like round-the-clock jobs in two towns. They all turned out to be good, kind, decent people. The other mothers in our families have also written the book on motherhood. And to see how my girls have done as mothers makes me proud and brings a lump to my throat. So happy Mothers Day for now. We’ll party later.

MONDAY, MAY 11
High schools are finding different and unique ways to celebrate their Class of 2020 seniors. My oldest grandchild, Olivia Perli, and fellow seniors at Rapid City Central went through a virtual ceremony today. Individually they crossed a decorated stage in the fine arts theater, posed for photos and received a diploma, and I hear Olivia was one of the speakers. She is quite the young lady! The entire ceremony will be streamed later and also shown on local television June 7. The district has plans for an in-person graduation ceremony inside the civic center on July 26, but that event of course remains questionable. One has to admire these 2020 seniors, both here and wherever. They seem to have handled all the disappointments and cancellations well, perhaps even better than we adults who had been looking forward for so long to their final concerts, plays, proms, track meets, awards programs and commencements. They shall prevail!

TUESDAY, MAY 12
In a phone conversation today with Marvin and Dorothy Massey, formerly of Blunt, now of Rapid City, I learned that the youngest of their children, Barry Massey (Sully Buttes Class of 1979), has been working remotely from home for more than eight weeks in Portugal where he lives. Barry watches American sports on TV over there, but there has been a total lack of those for the last two months. Barry, who visits his parents daily using Skype, says the three best things he has found to watch on TV: (1) an Icelandic weight-lifter setting a world record; (2) a cornhole tournament in South Carolina; (3) the South Korean baseball league games played with no live fans but cardboard cutouts of people in the stands. In an e-mail from Barry this morning, I learned that only grocery stores and pharmacies are open in Portugal although restaurants can serve drive-up customers but no inside dining. Some parks and retail businesses are beginning to open this week. Barry says he may get to return to his office some time in June. In the meantime he says he has had plenty of time to practice his Portuguese, “which I am still not very good at.”

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
For the first time in several days a step outside brings a sense of actual warmth. The sun is out this morning! And i saw a forecast of 88 degrees for Monday and Tuesday of next week. Somebody will be asking why the swimming pools aren’t open. Gee, I can’t think of a single reason. The posts keep appearing on Facerbook, bringing the message that we should agree to disagree with people rather than disrespecting them. Be nice. Be kind. Easier said than done these days. But hey! If Trump says the summer heat will eradicate the virus, who am I to disagree with such a profound scholar/scientist as he? Just when I think I will wrap this up and go outside and soak in the sunshine out here on the ranch, on the TV comes you-know-who and her month-old TV commercial—“We’ve flattened the curve 75%”—“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”—“We will get through this together.” I’m now heading outside to just scream. Nobody but the cows in the pasture will hear me. Mark Ovenden and Mike Henriksen on “Calling All Sports” call this a no-whine Wednesday, so I’m out of here.

THOUGHT FOR THESE TIMES

“We’ll be ready when we can show we can listen and follow safety guidelines. Freedom is a responsibility, not just an unearned privilege to do as we please. We are acting like a bunch of spoiled, whiny brats who are more than willing to hurt others and put others at risk. We’ll be ready when we treat each other with love and respect. We are not ready.”

— The Rev. Stephen McKinney-Whitaker

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