OUR VIEW

Our View: Week in review

CHEERS to the new football stadium that will be constructed in Alexandria. Scheduled to be ready for this fall’s football season, the stadium will give Hanson High School fans a modern venue, complete with 600 seats, concessions stand, press box, bathrooms and storage. The project — which will cost between $250,000 and $300,000 — will be completed after several years of discussion and will be paid for with capital outlay funds and donations. A five-figure anonymous donation has been among the early highlights. We love progress, both in Mitchell and the region, and consider this a worthy, lasting project.

By Editorial board , June 01, 2010

Our View: Severity of spill shown by live video

We all have read about the month-long oil spill that is tainting the Gulf of Mexico.
The equivalent of thousands of barrels of oil are flowing uninhibited into the ocean off Louisiana, the result of an oil rig explosion last month that severed a mile-long line from the ocean floor to the surface platform.

By Editorial board , May 28, 2010

Our View: County’s record with Tower gets even worse

We were disappointed by a statement made following Tuesday’s Davison County Commission meeting.
The statement was made after a discussion about the upcoming demolition of the Tower Building, the albatross on Miller Avenue that the county commissioners can’t seem to pull away from their necks.
The county bought the building, which formerly was part of the old Methodist Hospital, back in 1993 for $425,000. Time showed what a bad idea the purchase was. The county filled only a tiny fraction of the facility with offices and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to heat, cool and maintain it.

By Editorial board , May 27, 2010

Our View: Good to see Indians win ‘for once’

Sometimes it seems that all we ever report about American Indians in the media is bad. The problems of poverty, alcoholism, joblessness and general despair on this state’s Indian reservations, for example, have been chronicled so exhaustively that some readers barely consider it news anymore.
This week, though, we’ve had the pleasure of including two stories about Indians in our newspaper that were decidedly positive.

By Editorial board , May 26, 2010

Our View: State losing opportunities for athletes

Two more universities in South Dakota are showing interest in moving up a division in athletics, continuing a trend in the state that suddenly borders on overkill.
The presidents of Black Hills State University in Spearfish and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology — generally referred to as South Dakota Tech — in Rapid City want to move upward, with a decision likely expected this year.

By Editorial board , May 25, 2010

Our View: Week in review

CHEERS to the new Pepsi Cola Soccer Complex, which was dedicated during a ceremony Thursday evening. The 10-field complex cost $1.9 million, with much of the money being raised through private donations. There are still some things that need to be finished out at the paved fields — parking picnic lot areas and , a HISSES such — but it’s up and AND running for game play and local teams already are taking advantage. It’s an athletic facility to be proud of; better yet, it’s a complex that will be used greatly in the years to come.

By Editorial board , May 24, 2010

Our View: Decision on Hanson jury was sound

RV owners who call Hanson County home — despite only using the county as a mailing address — could be on their way back to sunny South Dakota after a court ruling this week.
Judge Sean O’Brien ruled Wednesday that patrons of My Home Address Inc. shall be eligible to serve on the jury that will decide the fate in a murder case later this year.
O’Brien made the right decision, although it certainly is not convenient for those whose lives, and busy travel schedules, it will affect. My Home Address Inc. is a business that offers full-time RV owners “residency” in South Dakota. The company offers opportunities for RV owners to gain true residency in the state, even though they don’t actually live here.

By Editorial board , May 21, 2010

Our View: Judge was right: Officers must have some leeway

A judge recently dismissed a civil lawsuit against two South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers who were involved in a deadly shooting in a farm field in 2007. Although the case is a difficult one, we are glad U.S. Judge Lawrence Piersol determined that Trooper Ryan Lantz and Scott Sheldon did not react unreasonably that night almost three years ago.

By Editorial board , May 20, 2010

Our View: Death of an arena? Too bad for city, but predictable

We always have believed that someday, Mitchell will have a new events center — one that can host state tournaments, rodeos and boat shows with ease.
It would, we have assumed, bring people to town. Its construction would be a progressive step forward for Mitchell, a town that has a great facility already in the Corn Palace, but a town that has been limited somewhat by the limitations of that historic building.
It appears, however, the chances of getting that new arena are fading.

By Editorial board , May 19, 2010

Our View: Help addicts resist the temptation of unused drugs

Abuse of prescription drugs is a problem in South Dakota, according to police and pharmacists, but when it comes to the evils of prescription addiction, listen to Wade Juracek. The former mayor of Gregory became addicted to Vicodin after taking painkillers to treat an inflammatory disease of the intestines. At its peak, Juracek’s addiction was leading him to take up to 100 pills a day; he sometimes obtained the drugs by calling on Gregory residents for business and asking to use their restroom, where he would go through medicine cabinets. He resigned as mayor shortly after he was caught. But after being convicted last year on three felony charges, Juracek is now clean and sober and has a message to tell. “It can happen to anybody,” he told The Daily Republic last week.

By Editorial board , May 18, 2010

Our View: Week in review

CHEERS to Frederick Ellwein, a former Mitchell High School band director who is taking over command of the U.S. Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. Ellwein will begin the new position June 7, moving from his current position as commander of the Army Material Command Band at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

By Editorial board , May 17, 2010

Our View: Democratic candidate gambles on independents

Independent voters could be the deciding factor when South Dakotans elect their next governor Nov. 2.
Apparently, that’s what Democratic candidate Scott Heidepriem thinks.
The Sioux Falls lawyer and state Senate minority leader has taken to calling himself an “independent Democrat for governor.”
When The Daily Republic editorial board asked him to explain that approach this week, one of his answers was particularly revealing.

By Editorial board , May 14, 2010

Our View: Listen when the warnings sound this storm season

Some Oklahomans, it appears, have become complacent about severe weather, and especially tornadoes.
In the days that led up to a recent string of deadly weather in that state, forecasters correctly predicted that tornadoes were on the way.
Yet when the tornadoes struck Monday — and there may have been as many as 19 — dozens were injured and two people were killed.

By Editorial Board , May 13, 2010

Our View: Recognizing ‘elephant’ is the first step

There was an elephant in the room Monday night at a meeting of the school board in Chamberlain and it appears board members recognize it.
Six white students recently wore shirts that denoted “White Pride World Wide” to school, sparking a controversy in the school district, where 36 percent of the students are American Indian. Four of those students ended up leaving school that day after refusing to change out of the shirts.
Monday, board president Susan Knippling said racial issues exist in the Chamberlain School District. That’s obvious, she said.

By Editorial board , May 12, 2010

Our View: Special interests run deep in river study

For years, the Missouri River’s official management plan has been questioned by residents of the states through which that long, deep river runs.
Finally, we see some progress in the form of the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study.
And now, predictably, the study itself is being questioned by — also predictably — lawmakers from Missouri.

By Editorial board , May 11, 2010