Custer County Chronicle

Assisting with the escape - Part II

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:41am

This is the second in a series about Marty and Jen Mechaley and their involvement with assisting several of Warren Jeffs’ daughters in leaving the FLDS.

County reappraisal gets underway

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:39am

The Custer County Department of Equalization has officially begun its large and likely years-long task of reappraising the entire county, and at the Aug. 31 meeting of the Custer County Commission the commission heard from department director Leah Vissia and appraiser Tara Haswell about where the project has been so far as well as what is next.

Pine looper causes concern in Pringle

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:39am

Since July, concerned Pringle residents have begun to notice an insect they’ve never seen before infiltrating their property. Presently observed in both life cycles of caterpillar and cocoon, the insect was identified by Custer County’s Weed and Pest department as a pine looper.
Homes near Bowman Draw noticed the pine looper raining down from ponderosa pine trees, gathering all over the ground and crawling on homes.

Biker loses leg in collision

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:38am

A Rapid City man was severely injured in a collision between the motorcycle he was riding and a pickup driven by a Custer woman last Wednesday morning just north of Custer.
Lt. Jeff McGraw of the Custer County Sheriff's Office said the accident occurred at around 8:30 Wednesday morning near the Custer Crazy Horse Campground and the Custer Cemetery on Hwy. 16/385.

County gives green light to well drilling

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:37am

“Let’s get the well drilled.”
That was the consensus at the Aug. 31 meeting of the Custer County Commission, as the commission heard an update on the planned water well for the Custer Highlands, which included hearing that a driller is on board and ready to drill the well, even if it has to be capped until the rest of the required parts of the well are secured.

Continuing the history of the area feldspar industry

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:09am

The first step in the feldspar milling process is to reduce the large pieces of ore to smaller pieces that in turn become the finished product for industry. After the initial mining process, the large pieces of ore are taken by truck to a “sorting bin.” This was a huge wooden structure built on an incline. The ore came down the wooden incline and passed through square openings onto wooden tables made of four-inch thick planks. Here the ore was further broken down by sledge hammers or four- pound hammers.

Custer Cares calls on participants

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:08am

Custer Cares is a newly formed team who will commemorate those with Alzheimer’s disease at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Rapid City Sept. 24. And yet, Custer Cares is more than a fundraising group.
Not only is Custer Cares a real-time support for families currently experiencing a loved one’s dementia, the group is also a scaffold for grieving families affected by Alzheimer’s disease, and a group where volunteers are always welcome to offer time and care.

Poll shows recreational cannabis could fail in November

Published by admin on Thu, 09/08/2022 - 9:07am

A statewide poll conducted in late July shows that support for legalizing recreational marijuana for adult use in South Dakota has waned in the past two years and also appears to indicate that a referendum on legalization in November could fail.
The poll of 500 registered voters in July found that 43.8 percent of respondents support legalization of recreational marijuana, and that 54.4 percent oppose legalization.

Assisting with the escape

Published by admin on Thu, 09/01/2022 - 9:43am

For a few months last year, Marty and Jen Mechaley had a house full of guests who had never seen a movie, didn’t know who Elvis Presley was, didn’t know what a deck of cards was and didn’t know how a car radio worked.
“They thought someone was singing through the speakers,” Jen said.
If you were to think these visitors were very young or from another planet, that would be understood, and to an extent, they may as well have been from another planet.

Thompson signs plea agreement

Published by admin on Thu, 09/01/2022 - 9:42am

Nearly 18 months after she was first indicted and arrested on multiple federal charges, former Custer Sentinel Federal Credit Union manager Darla Thompson has reached an agreement in which she will plead guilty to one of the 11 charges originally leveled against her.