The South Dakota High School Rodeo Association's 2009 Finals Rodeo was held June 24-28 at the Black Hills Roundup Grounds in Belle Fourche.

This year's SDHSRA queen: is Kourtney Hauge, White Lake. All around cowboy is Jace Melvin, Ft. Pierre and the reserve all around cowboy is Cole Fulton, Miller. Taygen Schuelke, Newell, is this year's rookie cowboy. All around cowgirl is Joey Painter, Buffalo, and the reserve all around cowgirl is Calley Worth, Gettysburg. Kristi Steffes, Vale, is the rookie cowgirl.

by Del Bartels

The Philip City Council meeting on Monday, July 6, quickly finished up old business and then addressed guests concerning new business.

The replacement of 1,000 gallon water meters has been completed. The council has an updated version of a map concerning a comprehensive plan for future land use and building codes.

During the early morning hours of Thursday, July 2, the Midland business of Just Tammy's Bar and Grill was burglarized.

The establishment had also been broken into and looted on April 9. It once had video lottery machines for use by its customers, but they had been removed before the first burglary.

Entrance for the latest break-in was made through the back door sometime after the business was closed around 12:30 a.m. The metal door had been secured from the inside with a vertical cross beam braced from one side of the door frame to the other.

It is always interesting to bring someone to Philip who has never been anywhere in South Dakota. Carolyn Braun lives near Eugene, Oregon, and works for an airline.

She visited Mt. Rushmore, the Wall Drug Store, two usual tourist stops, and in Rapid City had lunch with my cousin, an employee of the city, Larry Noble. Larry is a native of the Midland area and the son of Francis Noble.

But Carolyn seemed most impressed by the cowboys and their horses. She met with Lester Pearson at his place near Philip.

It is always interesting to bring someone to Philip who has never been anywhere in South Dakota. Carolyn Braun lives near Eugene, Oregon, and works for an airline.

She visited Mt. Rushmore, the Wall Drug Store, two usual tourist stops, and in Rapid City had lunch with my cousin, an employee of the city, Larry Noble. Larry is a native of the Midland area and the son of Francis Noble.

But Carolyn seemed most impressed by the cowboys and their horses. She met with Lester Pearson at his place near Philip.

Vivian Minard celebrated her 101st birthday on June 4. "I feel just the same as I used to. I just have a few more aches and pains," she said.

Minard was born in 1908, to Clarence and Julia Hetland near Oldham, SD, and was an only child. When she was five years old, her family moved to Montana for land claims. At that time, if someone planted a crop on the land and lived on it for a period of time, they could own the land at no cost.

Cradles to Crayons Day Care Center started accepting children on March 9. After 29 years of being a babysitting team with her sister, Shar Moses, Cindy Kerns has opened Cradles to Crayons, located at 23200 Ponderosa Drive, Philip.

"I wanted a journey of my own and wanted to be on my own, but I loved what I was doing. My three boys tell me I just look so happy now," said Kerns.

The hours of Cradles to Crayons are 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, but Kerns is willing to also stay flexible.

by Del Bartels

The Haakon School District 27-1 board meeting on Monday, June 15, began with the news that the elementary parking lot was over half way done being blacktopped.

Superintendent Keven Morehart had already been given authority to sign off on such a project if the situation presented itself. The HJ Paving Company out of Oklahoma had been working near Kadoka. It had extra blacktop compound and inquired for paving jobs in the Philip area. Within minutes of making arrangements with Morehart at 8:00 Monday morning, the crew began preparing the parking lot.

Preliminary reports for the results of the 2009 Quad County Relay For Life event on Saturday, June 13, show that over $50,000 was raised for cancer awareness and research to help find a cure for cancer.

The 17 teams were joined by over 300 other participants during the evening. The overcast sky offered a comfortable day, with a light sprinkle during the evening and a rain that came at the event's closing time at midnight.

Opening ceremonies were followed by four speakers.

Philip is one of 19 locations in South Dakota that have been hit by one or more burglars targeting establishments that have video lottery machines.

Philip now stands at three such break-ins. The most recent business burglarized was The Steakhouse & Lounge.

During the early hours of Tuesday, May 9, the lower glass of its front door was shattered with a basketball-sized rock. The thief, or thieves, crawled through the opening, then took money out of a locked metal cabinet and out of the three video lottery machines. Coins were left in the open cash register.