OUR VIEW: Week in review: the best and worst

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CHEERS to Joe Vasek, who recently made a donation of $275,000 to the Mitchell Avera Brady Health and Rehab capital campaign. The pledge was announced earlier this year but was anonymous until Vasek came forth as the donor. Vasek is a U.S. Army veteran and bravely fought in the Korean War — anyone who read The Daily Republic’s feature on him must have noted his harrowing account of combat. Now, Vasek is a hero of a different kind after his donation to Avera Brady.

CHEERS to Seventeen magazine, which recently heeded the calls of young girls to stop editing the photos of its models. Top editor Ann Shoket recently promised to use photo-editing tools only for stray hair, wrinkled clothing and the like, and stop using those tools to make models look thinner or bustier than they actually are. This is a good policy, and one that we hope other magazines adopt, too. There is too much pressure on today’s youth to be something that most of us aren’t.

HISSES, once again, to anyone who’s not being careful with fire during these days of drought. Things are getting bad out on the prairie, folks, and any stray spark could prove disastrous. Please pay attention to what you’re doing, and please be careful with fire.

CHEERS to Mitchell Aquatic Club member Christian Fossum. The 14-year-old broke five team records during a recent meet, setting new marks for the 200-meter freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 400 medley. Most of those records are for his particular age group, but the medley effort broke an all-ages mark for the team. Fossum also shows promise as a track and cross country runner, and his early success is great PR for all of the programs in which he is involved.

CHEERS to White Lake native Ali Haines, who was profiled in a Daily Republic feature last week. Haines is the recipient of a $16,000 scholarship from the Modern Woodmen of America and also is an exceptional athlete.

HISSES to the rising goose population in South Dakota. On one hand, the goose boom is great for the sportsmen who stalk the great birds. But on the other hand, geese are becoming a nuisance for South Dakota landowners and crop producers. The state Department of Game, Fish and Parks recently adopted rules to increase the goose limit during an August hunt; we think that’s a great idea but also realize that it probably won’t do much to slow the rising goose population.

Tags: opinion, updates, editorials