THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Christmas is in our grasp as long as we have hands to clasp.
Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we!
Welcome Christmas while we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.
— Dr. Seuss

ENTERTAINMENT AT THE CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREES

— THURSDAY
5 to 5:30: Stanley County 4th-5th choir, Fort Pierre.
6 to 7: Tina England and family, Fort Pierre.
7 to 7:30: Riggs High School chamber choir, Pierre.
— FRIDAY
Noon to 1: Mobridge-Pollock High School choir.
5 to 7: Merlyn Tiede vocals, Parkston.
7 to 8: Jeff Speaect vocals and Ron Smith piano, Pierre.
— SATURDAY
10 to 11: Beresford Mennonite Church.
11 to noon: Huron High School orchestra.
Noon to 2: Happy Memories band, Parkston.
2 to 3: Mitchell Area Children’s Choir.
3 to 5: Andrea Royer Studio students, Pierre.
5 to 6:30: Andrea Royer Studio band, Pierre.
6:30 to 7: Carl’s Classic Christmas Choir, Pierre.
7 to 8: Lori Hall bells and Ron Smith piano, Pierre.
— SUNDAY
12:30 to 1: First United Methodist Church chancel choir, Pierre.
1 to 1:30: Andrea Krueger piano and guitar students, Onida.
1:30 to 2: Stanley Music Company, Fort Pierre.
2 to 4: Pierre Music Store students and instructors.
4 to 4:30: Woodwind quintet, Pierre.
5 to 5:30: Hanukkah menorah lighting.
5:30 to 6: Sabrina Patel violin, Burlington, N.C.
6 to 7: Pierre Youth Orchestra.
— MONDAY
Noon to 1: Sabrina Patel violin, Burlington, N.C.
5 to 5:30: Hanukkah menorah lighting.
— TUESDAY
Noon to 1: Lincoln High School choral ensembles, Sioux Falls.
5 to 5:30: Hanukkah menorah lighting.
7 to 8: Stephanie and Lainey Odden, Pierre.
— WEDNESDAY
Noon to 1: Watertown High School choir.
5 to 5:30: Hanukkah menorah lighting.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Boys basketball (2-0): The Governors rocked both Rapid City schools in the season-opening games. Pierre topped Stevens, 59-41, as Lincoln Kienholz scored 18 points, Jackson Edman nine, Benjamin Heisler nine and Carson Ahartz nine. Then the Governors dominated Central, 71-44, led by Kienholz with 21 and Heisler with 19.

Girls basketball (2-0): Even though they were on the road in Rapid City, the Governor girls won both their games there. In a 58-46 win at Stevens, Remi Price had 14 points, Ryann Barry 13 and Reese Terwilliger 11 along with 11 rebounds. At Central the Govs won by 62-35, led by Terwilliger with 15, Ayvrie Kaiser with 15 and Price with 12 points.

Gymnastics: At Aberdeen Central’s meet the Governors were fifth among 13 teams with a 134.350 score. Kalee Wilson placed 14th in the all-around standings. Pierre’s two best placers in each event: vault, Natalie Flottmeyer tied for seventh, Kirsten Korber tied for 12th; bars, Nevaeh Karber fourth, Ryen Sheppick sixth; beam, Isabel Jirsa sixth, Karber seventh; floor exercise, Jirsa 11th, Karber tied for 16th.

Girls wrestling: Pierre shelled Brookings in a dual, 39-0, with Sydney Uhrig, Lexie Hillmer, Gianna Stangeland, Hattie Baldwin, Ireland Templeton and Mary Mehlhaff all winning by pins. At the power-packed Rapid City Invitational the Governor girls were the team champions with 223 points, followed by Bismarck 161, Spearfish 139, Stevens 98 and Harrisburg 94. Uhrig at 106 pounds, Mehlhaff at 170, Marlee Shorter at 190 and Ciara McFarling at 285 all won individual titles. Other placers: 100, Shaylee Speck fourth; 120, Kezrey Benning seventh; 126, Dani Ringstmeyer sixth; 132, Stangeland second; 142, Abbigail Lewis second; 154, Baldwin fourth; 154, Ireland fifth; 190, Kyanne Traversie-Johnson sixth; 285, Heavenly Thompson, sixth.

Boys wrestling: The Governor boys are also off to a terrific start this season. Pierre defeated Brookings in a dual 57-7, with Jaxon Ducheneaux, Deegan Houska, Chance Carda and Josh Rydberg all winning by pins. At the Rapid City Invitational, Pierre won the team title with 196 points, followed by Sturgis 178.5, Watertown 180.5, Gillette Thunder Basin 149.5, Tea Area 144, Sheridan 143 and Stevens 132.5. The Govs did not have an individual champion but plenty of balance throughout the lineup. These were the placers: 106, Jacob Mason eighth; 113, Alex Oedekoven third; 126, Lincoln Schoenhard sixth; 138, Tristan Spencer second; 145, Jaxon Ducheneaux fifth; 152, Chase Cards seventh; 160, Deegan Houska sixth; 170, Trey Lewis eighth; 182, Chance Carda third; 195, Gavin Stotts fourth; 285, Joshua Rydberg fourth.

Wrestling: The Pierre-Aberdeen wrestling duals that were scheduled for Tuesday were postponed because of the winter storm. The makeup date is Feb. 9.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Wrestling: at Harrisburg, 7 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Sturgis, 7 p.m.
Boys basketball: at Sturgis, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Girls wrestling: at Ashley, N.D., invitational.
Girls basketball: home vs. Spearfish, 2 p.m.
Boys basketball: at Spearfish, 2 p.m.
Gymnastics: at Mitchell invitational, 2 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Watertown, 7 p.m.
Boys basketball: at Watertown, 7 p.m.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls basketball: at Philip.
Boys basketball: at Philip.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: at Mount Vernon-Plankinton invitational.
Gymnastics: home quadrangular, 11 a.m.
— MONDAY
Wrestling: at Faulkton quadrangular, 5:30 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Jones County.
Boys basketball: home vs. Jones County.

Girls basketball (0-3): The Buffaloes lost to Miller, 48-16, and lost to White River, 59-33. Tuesday’s Winner game was postponed.

Boys basketball (1-0): The Buffs opened the season with a 59-56 win over Miller. Tuesday’s Winner game was postponed.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— FRIDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Herreid-Selby Area.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: at Mount Vernon-Plankinton invitational.
Boys basketball: at Winner.

Onida/Sully Buttes Athletic Hall of Fame: Alexis (Yackley) Warner will be inducted into this Hall of Fame during the Chargers’ home basketball game Friday night.

Girls basketball: The Chargers opened the season with a 55-20 win over North Central in Bowdle. Lydia Hill had 19 points and Stevie Wittler 15 as the Chargers forced 23 turnovers.

Postponements: Tuesday’s Sully Buttes-Lyman games were postponed due to the winter storm.

COUNTDOWN

Tonight: Onida elementary Christmas concert, 7 p.m. (Dec. 15).
1 day: Surprise Package Christmas concerts (Dec. 16-17).
4 days: Georgia Morse Middle School band/choir concert (Dec. 19).
4 days: Sully Buttes High School/Middle School Christmas concert (Dec. 19).
7 days: Buchanan Elementary Christmas concert (Dec. 22).
10 days: Christmas Day (Dec. 25).
13 days: Kennedy Centers Honors, CBS-TV (Dec. 28).
16 days: College football national semifinals (Dec. 31).
23 days: Inauguration events, Pierre (Jan. 7).
24 days: FCS national championship game (Jan. 8).
25 days: College football national championship game (Jan. 9).
30 days: NFL playoffs begin (Jan. 14-15).
43 days: Rodeo Rapid City and Black Hills Stock Show (Jan. 27-Feb. 4).

WORDS OF WISDOM

Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It’s discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.
— Thomas S. Monson

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: The Caps pounded Sioux Center for 15 goals in two games in Iowa. In a 7-1 win Jarron Beck scored two goals, and Ashton Griese, Barret Schweitzer, Andre Carbonneau, Jonathan Lyons and Andrew Coughlin each scored once. Colin Lee made 24 saves. In an 8-3 win Coughlin had a hat trick with single goals coming from Beck, Keller Herman, Carbonneau, Aiden Dozark and Schweitzer. Lee made eight saves. The Caps play at Sioux Falls 2 at 6 p.m. Saturday and at Sioux Falls 1 at 10:15 a.m. Sunday.

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: The girls lost to Mitchell, 4-2, wth the goals coming from Elliot Bertsch and Emily Nemec. Abigail Stewart-Fromm made 27 saves in goal. Then the Capitals tied Rushmore, 4-4. Cameron Larson had a single goal, Brylee Kafka a pair of scores and Brenna Ullmann a goal for a 4-2 lead before the Thunder tied the score. Sophia Peschong made 20 saves. Nw 0-1-1-0, the girls play at Aberdeen at 8 p.m. Friday and at Sioux Falls at 2:15 p.m. Sunday.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings swept the weekend from Austin, 4-3 and 3-0. Aberdeen plays at Austin this Friday and Saturday.

Badlands Sabres (Mason Martin): The Sabres split with Bozeman, winning 4-3 and losing 3-0. The Wings next play at Blaine, Minn., against the St. Louis Junior Blues on Sunday.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush took two of three from Wichita, winning 4-3 and 2-1 and losing 4-1 with the loss snapping a six-game win streak. Rapid City is on the road to Idaho Friday and Saturday after playing Idaho last night.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild lost to Edmonton 5-2, then defeated Vancouver 3-0 and Edmonton 2-1. After playing Detroit last night, Minnesota takes on Chicago Friday, Ottawa Sunday and Anaheim next Wednesday.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Men’s basketball:
— SDSU (5-7): Defeated Eastern Washington 77-76 after trailing by 23 points with under 8 minutes left; defeated Mount Marty, 85-56.
Upcoming games: Monday, at Oral Roberts; next Wednesday, at Kansas City. (Scheduled to play Bellevue last night.)
— USD (5-6): Lost to UC-Irvine 83-71.
Upcoming games: Monday, at Kansas City; next Wednesday, at Oral Roberts. (Scheduled to play Coastal Carolina last night.)

Women’s basketball:
— SDSU (7-4): Defeated Kansas State 82-78; defeated Tennessee-Martin 75-36.
Upcoming games: Thursday vs. #1 South Carolina (at Sanford Pentagon); Monday, home vs. Oral Roberts; Wednesday, home vs. Kansas City.
— USD (4-6): Lost to Montana, 76-60.
Upcoming games: Monday, home vs. Kansas City; Wednesday,, home vs. Oral Roberts. (Scheduled to play UT-Martin last night.)

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves beat Utah 118-108, then lost to Portland twice, 124-118 and 133-112. After playing the Los Angeles Clippers last night, Minnesota plays Oklahoma City Friday, Chicago Sunday, Dallas Monday and Dallas again next Wednesday.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force had an all-winning week, beating Motor City 113-102 and 118-95 and beating Grand Rapids 89-83. After another Grand Rapids game last night, Sioux Falls is off until Dec. 27 at Oklahoma City.

SOCCER UPDATE

Men’s World Cup games this weekend:
— Third-place game, Croatia vs. Morocco, 9 a.m. CST Saturday on Fox.
— Final, Argentina vs. France, 9 a.m. CST Sunday on Fox.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Vikings: In a game in which a loss could be seen coming for days in advance, the Vikings lived up to the oddsmakers’ predictions and lost at Detroit, 34-23. Now 10-3, the Vikings still have the #2 seed in the NFC and would host the #7 seed in the first round of the playoffs. That opponent could be one of any number of teams that are still alive. The Vikings host Indianapolis at noon Saturday on NFL Network.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos lost Russell Wilson to a concussion during the game and lost to Kansas City again, 34-28. Now 3-10, Denver is home Sunday vs. Arizona.

FCS national semifinals:
— Friday, 6 p.m.: Incarnate Word (Texas) at NDSU.
— Saturday, 3 p.m.: Montana State at SDSU.
The championship game will be on Sunday, Jan. 8, in Frisco, Texas.

Midco Sports Network live games this week:
— MONDAY
Women’s basketball: UND vs. St. Thomas, 7 p.m.
Women’s basketball: SDSU vs. Oral Roberts, 7 p.m. (MS2).
— WEDNESDAY
Women’s basketball: USD vs. Oral Roberts, 6 p.m. (MS2).
Women’s basketball: UND vs. Western Illinois, 7 p.m.

NFL games on live local TV this week (games subject to change by networks):
— Thursday, San Francisco at Seattle, Prime Video, 7:15 p.m.
— Saturday, Indianapolis at Minnesota, NFL Network, noon.
— Saturday, Baltimore at Cleveland, NFL Network, 3:30 p.m.
— Saturday, Miami at Buffalo, NFL Network, 7:15 p.m.
— Sunday, Kansas City at Houston, CBS, noon.
— Sunday, Philadelphia at Chicago, Fox, noon.
— Sunday, Cincinnati at Tampa Bay, CBS, 3:30 p.m.
— Sunday, New York Giants at Washington, NBC, 7:20 p.m.
— Monday, Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay, ESPN, 7:15 p.m.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #19

In last week’s Contest #18 losses by the Vikings, the Buccaneers and Sacramento State caused problems, but at 8-2 Jon Boer, Jason Noyes, Thomas Voeltz and Jane/Terry Tousley earned 10 points each. At 7-3 for nine points each were Eric James. Debra Bollinger, David Ludwig, Nathan Vetter, Laurie Johnson and Dawn Magee. At 6-4 for eight points each were Mikal Kern, Levi Neuharth, Beth Rinehart, Kyle Richards and Randy Pool.

This week’s games (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by FRIDAY afternoon):
(1) NAIA national championship: Northwestern (Iowa) vs. Keiser (Fla.).
(2) FCS national semifinal: Incarnate Word at NDSU.
(3) FCS national semifinal: Montana State at SDSU.
(4) Fenway Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Louisville.
(5) New Mexico Bowl: SMU vs. BYU.
(6) Los Angeles Bowl: Washington State vs. Fresno State.
(7) Las Vegas Bowl: Florida vs. Oregon State.
(8) NFL: Miami at Buffalo.
(9) NFL: Indianapolis at Minnesota.
(10) NFL: Detroit at New York Jets.

Attention, contestants: Two—not just one—contests for next week will be posted Sunday night on Parker’s Facebook page and will be printed here in next week’s Midweek Update.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
— Burton Hills

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Div. I volleyball: The NCAA tournament has reached the semifinal stage. Watch the semis tonight (Thursday) at 6 p.m. CST (San Diego vs. Texas), followed by Pittsburgh vs. Louisville with both games on ESPN. The national championship game will be at 7 p.m. CST Saturday on ESPN2.

Mary women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): The Mary women lost a pair of NSIC games, 71-61 to St. Cloud State and 69-66 to Minnesota-Duluth. Now 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the league, Mary plays at Bemidji State Friday and at Minnesota-Crookston Saturday.

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk, Aislinn Duffy): In an 84-69 loss to Minnesota State, Aislinn was 2-of-3 (2-of-2 in threes) for six points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Augie beat Concordia-St. Paul, 84-52, as Aislinn was 6-of-16 (1-of-5 in threes) and 1-of-2 with 14 points with 10 rebounds, six assists, a block and two steals. Now 8-2 overall and 3-2 in the NSIC, the Vikings are home vs. Upper Iowa Saturday and Winona State Sunday.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes lost at home to California-Irvine, 83-71. Max was 1-of-2 for two points with three rebounds, three assists and a steal. After a game against Coastal Carolina last night, USD begins Summit League play at Kansas City Monday and at Oral Roberts Wednesday.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Aric Williams, Tyson Johnson): The Tigers’ scheduled dual against Briar Cliff last week was postponed by weather. DWU is off now until the Hastings Open on Jan. 7.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The Raiders (12-1) will play for the NAIA national championship against Keiser (Fla.) (10-3) at Durham, N.C., Saturday at 11 a.m. CST on ESPN3.

South Dakota State football (Regan Bollweg): The #1 seed Jackrabbits had no easy go of it and were tied with Holy Cross 21-21 after three quarters. But SDSU took the lead midway through the fourth period and scored a pair of late TDs to make the final score look like an easy win, 41-21. SDSU is home for a national semifinal game against #4 seed Montana State at 3 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison won their home quarterfinal game over Samford, 27-9. When #2 Sacramento State lost a 66-63 game to Incarnate Word, the Bison earned yet another home game in the playoffs and will entertain Incarnate Word in a national semifinal Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

South Dakota State swimming (Morgan Nelson): The Jackrabbits are in the midst of a long holiday break. They return to the water against St. Cloud State Jan. 14.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): The Tigers lost a GPAC game to Dordt, 77-74. Nick was 2-of-6 (2-of-4 in threes) and 0-for-1 for six points with two rebounds and two assists. Now 5-6 overall and 3-3 in the conference, DWU plays at Northwestern tonight, then goes to Florida for games against St. Thomas (Fla.) and Rochester Sunday and Monday.

Augustana swimming (Ella Ward-Zeller): The Vikings are off for the holidays until a dual against Omaha Jan. 19.

Mary wrestler (Lincoln Turman): The Marauders defeated Minot State in a dual, 25-6, with LIncoln scoring a pin in 1:01. Mary wrestles this weekend at the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): The Lancers lost last week to Concordia (Neb.), 86-64, in GPAC play. Lincoln went 6-of-10 for 12 points with two rebounds, an assist and two steals. In an 87-67 loss to Jamestown he was 2-of-4 for four points with a rebound and an assist. In non-conference play Monday the Lancers lost at SDSU, 85-56, and Lincoln had four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Now 5-9, Mount Marty is home tonight vs. Dordt, then goes to Florida to play Webber on Monday and Fort Lauderdale Tuesday.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• We call your attention to the 30th anniversary celebration of “Beauty and the Beast” on ABC-TV from 7 to 9 p.m. CST tonight (Thursday). The show is partly live, partly animation and features such celebrities as H.E.R. as Belle, Josh Groban as the Beast, Shania Twain as Mrs. Potts and Rita Moreno as the narrator.
• After four weeks of watching World Cup soccer games, I wonder if our local coaches are properly teaching their young soccer players how to fake painful injuries in the manner of these world-class athletes we’ve been watching.
• If you’re home alone on Christmas Eve—or if you want to record the program—we point out that the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and its chorus will perform Handel’s “Messiah” on South Dakota Public Broadcasting at 6:30 p.m. CST.
• A downtown bar in Rapid City has a neat promotion going. They call it “New Year’s Eve for Old People.” They will open at 5 p.m., and their ball will drop at 8 p.m. instead of midnight.
• I still hope you are sending out Christmas letters will include me on your mailing list. I might even put some of your 2022 highlights in an upcoming issue of the Midweek Update. Meanwhile, my own Christmas letter for 2022 will appear at the bottom of next week’s Midweek Update.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Dec. 15:
Steve Withers, Shirleen Fugitt, Kelly (Kafka) Schrempp, Derek Dehne, Wayne Crawford, Creed Kendrick, Paul Lepisto, Linda Johnson, Jennifer (Schlekeway) Heggelund.

Friday, Dec 16:
Rachel (Weber) Bishop, Nathan Hamm, Steve Hinker, Bonnie (Pitlick) Rus, Brooke Lee, Natalie Likness, Rod Burley, Eric Serbousek, Brenda Goeden, Augustus Gross, Vicki Hagemann.
— 5th anniversary, Brandon/Kelli (Cronin) Nagel.

Saturday, Dec. 17:
Kathie Patten, Molly (Robertson) Golla, Jessica Jockheck, Jackson Palmer, Mason Frohm, Edna Brunmeier, Ryan Nuttall, Austin Mammenga, Kade Anderson.

Sunday, Dec. 18:
Jeff Swartz, Joseph Bock, Ruth Smith, Jordan Jarvis, Kai Hanson, Calvin Hofer, Ross Olson, Devan Bruns, Gary McMath, Sandy Tillman, SuzMarie Squires, Jayne Parsons, Kirsti (Garrett) Cuppy.
— 18th anniversary, Jamison/Cathy Rounds.

Monday, Dec. 19:
Blake Hemminger, Alexander Meagher, Karin (Unkenholz) Hansen, Dianne Noyes, Tim Bjorneberg, Jim Costello, Breanna Costello, Georgia Hanson, Miles Hunsley, Elise Titze, Lisa Dorschner.
— 2nd anniversary, Allen/Zoe (Donahue) Hiller.

Tuesday, Dec. 20:
Conor Getty, Henry Melius, Steve Hosman, Dustin Garber, Michaela (Thompson) Novak, Charlette Beesley, Louis Mehlhaff, Joel Schwader, Marcie (Lyngstad) Long, Mathis Joens, Maddy Jo Sayer, Valori (Kunsman) Fairbanks, Josh Lamb, Mary Sarvis, Jean Cowan, Nicole Neal, Kari Dale, Rick Dopps, Luke Studer.

Wednesday, Dec. 21:
Isaac Vogel, Thomas Ahlers, Eric Sprenkle, Sarah Gran, Delaney Uecker, Matt Jahraus, Laura (Winter) Anderson, Timaree (Ice) Axlund, Chris Frost, David Zellmer, Jamie Goff, Allison Guindon, Erica Schipper, Tyler Moodie, Brad Moore, Colt Norman, Evan Nielsen, Caitlin Bingner.

Thursday, Dec. 22:
Gerad Johnson, Brandon Rausch, Neil Eichstadt, Cameron Bullard, Twila Merkwan, Jeff Adel, Susan (Erickson) Ogan , Seneca Hertel.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Blunt native Jeff Pool can be properly called Dr. Pool now. He completed his doctor of educational leadership degree from Minnesota State-Mankato last week. Jeff is dean of student affairs at Northland Community and Technical College in Grand Forks, N.D.

Snow days in the Pierre school district aren’t quite as rare nowadays as they were when my kids were going to school there. They weren’t rare then; they were non-existent. But the Pierre schools were actually closed Tuesday because of the impending storm, and the announcement was made before the storm got there! Wow! And then they were closed again Wednesday!

Denise (Hart) Telkamp, 64, died of breast cancer Dec. 8. Visitation will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Feigum Funeral Home, and the funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Lutheran Memorial Church. Denise was married to Warren White from 1985 to 2012. She married Bruce Telkamp in 2019. Denise earned a nursing degree from SDSU in 2000 and worked for several years for Avera. Survivors include her husband; her sons, Mason White and Dylan White; her stepchildren, Tyrel (Candy) Telkamp, Trista (Dan) Thennis and Tara (Jacob) Kupcho; five stepchildren, and two siblings, Randi Hart and David (Kristi) Steichen.

The local Surprise Package vocal ensemble will present its Christmas concert at 7 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Jackson Dugan, 40, Fort Pierre, died Dec. 7. A memorial service will be scheduled later. He lived in Montana and South Dakota, most recently settling in Fort Pierre. He is survived by his mother, Karla (Hedman) Hallock and her husband Ken; his father, Jack Dugan (Jean Claire Hamblin); his sister-in-law, Tarra (Scotty) Mathews; his niece, Jolie Dugan, and his nephew, Cole Dugan.

The funeral service for long-time Pierre resident Ed Baer was held in Los Angeles last weekend. There will be a service in Pierre at a date to be determined in 2023. Donations in memory of Ed can be made locally to Capitol City Campus. Ed was a founding professor of this community college, and he was its entire sociology department for 20 years. Donations in his memory can also be made to his last home church, Hope Lutheran Church in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Riggs High senior quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, who earlier had announced his commitment to the University of Washington to play football for South Dakota native and head coach Kalen DeBoer, changed his mind. He announced yesterday he has decommitted to Washington and instead verbally committed to Ohio State for football.

Chuck Ross, 80, died Dec. 3. A celebration of his life will be held at the Isburg Funeral Chapel on Friday at 2:30 p.m., preceded by visitation from 1 to 2:30. After the service a reception will take place at Scattergun Lodge. Another celebration of his life is planned for Jan. 14 at Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove, Minn. Chuck lived in Minneapolis for 58 years. He had four sons with his first wife, Jacqueline. He married Sheila in 1998 and moved to Pierre. In the 1970s Chuck was host of “The Outdoors and You” on WCCO-TV in the Twin Cities. In 1988 he co-founded Thunderstik Lodge at Chamberlain. In 1998 he left Thunderstick and opened Scattergun Lodge in 2000. The Rosses hosted a five-star pheasant hunting experience for celebrities, governors and others from around the world. He is survived by his wife, Sheila; his sons, Mike (Lisa) Ross, Tim Ross, Pat (Shelly) Ross and Charlie (Tina) Ross; 11 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren, and his bonus family of three children and eight grandchildren.

Eleanor (Vik) Miller, 97, died Dec. 9. Visitation will begin at 6 p.m. Friday at the Isburg Funeral Chapel, followed by a prayer service at 7:30. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church. Eleanor grew up in the Draper area and attended high school there. She attended National College of Business, graduating in 1944. She married Gene Miller in 1945, and they raised four children on their farm near Draper. After her husband’s death Eleanor continued to travel, spent more than 20 years volunteering, and supported local fine arts events regularly. She is survived by her children, Cheryl (Wayne) Heisinger, Curt (Janet) Miller, Dale (Marlyce) Miller and Kim (Dan) Smith; 11 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

PONDER THIS

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.
–— Roy L. Smith