OUR VIEW: Week in review: The best and worst

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CHEERS to the arrest in the vandalism spree that happened in Mitchell late last month. Although it has not been proven that the suspect is guilty of the crimes, it is good news that local police were able to make some headway in this case. Whoever committed the crime apparently drove a stolen vehicle through Mitchell School District property and smacked several fences to the ground while joyriding on the football field at Joe Quintal Stadium. There is no better deterrent to crime than success in high-visibility cases, and we hope this case ends with some kind of successful closure.

CHEERS to Sturgis bike week, which is under way out in the Black Hills. We know that the thousands of visitors who roll through en route to Sturgis produce a lot of noise and traffic, but we also know that they are tourists who help make our economic engine roar. We welcome them to South Dakota.

HISSES to news that the drought may persist over the next three months, according to Dennis Todey, state climatologist. The Daily Republic last week reported that Todey is predicting little relief from current conditions, even though some areas may have gotten some rain in the past week. We know we sure were excited when storms brewed on the western horizon Wednesday, but our giddiness was tempered somewhat when we saw only a quarter of an inch in the rain gauge. We hope Todey is wrong with his prediction.

CHEERS to U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem and her challenger Matt Varilek for agreeing to debate Aug. 22 at Dakotafest. We hope it’s the first of many debates, and we’re proud that Dakotafest and Mitchell have taken center stage in so many early campaign season debates over the years. It’s become a great tradition.

HISSES to Congress for going home for its August recess without doing more to help farmers and ranchers hit by drought. Veteran CBS newsman Bob Schieffer said it pretty well Friday: “Congress managed to get through last year without passing one single piece of significant legislation. It would be hard to do worse than that, but this crowd may actually manage to do it.

“Anyone who’s been watching television lately knows American crops are dying on the vine. But when Congress left town Thursday night, they couldn’t even agree on drought relief for struggling farmers and livestock producers.

“… The way it stands right now, if the U.S. Capitol caught on fire, this Congress could find a way to make it a partisan issue and do everything but call the fire department.”

Tags: opinion, updates, editorials