OUR VIEW: Week in review: the best and worst

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CHEERS to the residents of Lake Andes who were part of a contest sponsored by the magazine Reader’s Digest. Lake Andes received more than 1.3 million votes in the community improvement project and finished fifth in the final voting, thanks to an outpouring of online votes. Reader’s Digest then awarded Lake Andes $10,000 to be used for a renovation of a local park. An executive with Reader’s Digest called this “an example of the can-do American spirit,” and we agree.

CHEERS to the new library at Alexandria. Ground was broken last week for the new building, which is likely to cost around $1 million. Of that money, more than a quarter of the sum is being raised by a fundraising committee, and word is that its members are still taking donations.

HISSES to the spring storm season, which is upon us. We urge readers to pay attention to the warnings that are sure to come our way. For some reason or another — and the many reasons are debatable — storms seem to be picking up steam and strength in recent years. And speaking of storms, May 21 will be the 50th anniversary of a 1962 tornado that swept through Mitchell, injuring 32 people.

CHEERS to young Noah Larson, who donated his own money and raised the rest to purchase an iPad for his kindergarten classmate, Jacob Sehnert. The boys attend class at Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary in Mitchell, and Jacob has had a tough go these past few weeks. He and his brother were pulled from a burning home by a group of heroes, but the younger brother later died. Larson wanted to do something for his friend, and came up with the idea to purchase the iPad. He raised more than enough money, and through his thoughtfulness, rekindled our spirit in the generosity of man.

HISSES to the closure of Signatures, a downtown bar. The business shut its doors last week, not long after the closure of the human resources company Verifications. It’s been a bad stretch in Mitchell, with more than 80 people suddenly out of work.

CHEERS to the news that the Crow Lake Wind Project generated about $300,000 more in tax revenue for local entities than had been projected for the project’s first year. In all, the White Lake-area project brought a windfall of about $800,000 to county and local governments in Jerauld, Brule and Aurora counties, and the money has helped with everything from roads to school budgets.

Tags: opinion, updates, editorials