Philip High School golfers competed in the Wall sponsored meet held at Spearfish's Elk Hornridge Golf Course Saturday, April 17.

The 18-hole tournament consisted of the first nine-hole score added to the second nine-hole score for a total of 18 holes. To qualify as a team, there must be at least three players who complete the course. Only the top complete scores are counted in the team's total.

In the boy's section of the tournament, Wall's Blue team totaled 281 to earn first place. Darick Eisenbraun scored 39+42=81 to claim the individual first place.

The 2009-10 school year marks the 14th year in which the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) has sponsored the SDHSAA Academic Achievement Team Award program to recognize athletic teams and fine arts groups for their academic excellence.

The award reaffirms the reality that high school students learn lessons and lifetime skills, not only inside the classroom, but also through participation in school athletic and fine arts activities programs outside the classroom.

The Philip Scottie track and field team competed at the Todd County Invitational meet at Mission Thursday, April 8.

Jerry Rhodes, head coach for the Scotties, said, "Karch Foley qualified for state in the boy's discus, Casey Cvach improved his time in the 100 meter dash and Kaeley Fenhaus also improved her time in the 300 hurdles. The boys 4x100 relay team also improved their time.

The Philip boys' and girls' track team traveled to Mission Friday, April 16 to compete in the Bennett County Invitational.

Philip earned five first places and seven second places.

In the girl's 100 meter hurdles, Josie Guptill won in a time of 18.02 seconds. In the girl's 300 meter hurdles, Kaeley Fenhaus won with a time of 48.22, followed by second place winner Guptill with a time of 50.11. Misty Johnson ran the 400 meter dash in a time of 1:08.94 for second place.

The Philip track team traveled to Kadoka Tuesday, March 13, to participate in the annual Harry Weller Invitational Track Meet.

The rain and wind took their toll, and many events were canceled.

"The only comment that I can make about the Kadoka meet is that it was extremely miserable," said Philip head coach Jerry Rhodes. "With wind gusts up to over 50 miles per hour, it was hard to stay anchored down."

Of those events held, the Philip Scotties took their share of placings.

The Philip boys' and girls' track team competed in the Center of the Nation Track and Field Invitational at Belle Fourche Saturday, April 17.

"We had two more state qualifiers, Casey Cvach in the 400 meter dash in a time of 52.22 and Holly Iwan in the 3200 meter run in a time of 12:34.93," said Philip head track coach Jerry Rhodes.

Dear Editor,

In celebration of National Volunteer Week, April 18-24, the Black Hills State University Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) would like to thank all of its members for their ongoing service to our communities.

Last year, 514 RSVP volunteers gave 57,732 hours of service to area non-profits. That translates into $418,557.00 worth of labor at the current minimum wage rate.

Since its inception in 1973, RSVP has coordinated volunteers in western South Dakota to fill critical needs in service organizations.

Hero status is not reserved only for the those brave men and women who rush into burning buildings to save others or step into the front lines of war.

"There's a hero in all of us," said Beth-Anne Ferley, donor recruitment director of United Blood Services, this area's non-profit community blood service provider. "Ordinary people are saving lives every day. They do it while they are on lunch break or while they are running errands.

Hey. He was busy.

That is why it took Matt Schofield, 60, 26 years to write the sequel to his 1983 novel When Reason Fails. Schofield thinks his second novel, The Protest might be a literary record.

Published in hard copy in 1983 by Vantage Press in New York, his fictional novel When Reason Fails is about a South Dakota farm boy who is drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam. The time is 1970 when America was in a turmoil of protests, demonstrations and university takeovers against the war.

The Haakon School District 27-1 Board of Education had three main topics of business on its agenda during its April 19 meeting.

The negotiated contracts from certified instructors have been returned and accepted for next school year. The wages, including any steps upward because of longevity, have been frozen to what they were this current school year. The only concession is that an additional $300 per certified employee has been added to the fringe benefit package.