More than 140 power line workers from South Dakota and Iowa are working to help restore power at six electric cooperatives in western South Dakota that were hit hard by the winter storm that pushed through western South Dakota November 5 and 6.

Initial reports from the six co-ops hardest hit indicate that nearly 4,900 electric co-op members were without power Friday afternoon, November 7. An estimated 2,000 members served by the six co-ops have been without power since the storm hit. The wet, heavy snow caused numerous line breaks and downed more than 2,300 power poles.

The Haakon County Public Library will host a Scholastic Book Fair Monday through Friday, November 17 to 21, in the community room of the Haakon County Courthouse.

The fair will run from 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day except Tuesday, when it will be open until 7:00 p.m. It will end at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. All are invited to attend the fair featuring the theme "Book Fair Safari." All parents are invited to bring their children that evening to shop for books for themselves, the school or the public library.

The football game between the Philip Scotties and the Sully Buttes Chargers was action-packed, exciting for the teams and the audience and was close.

The second round play-off game hosted by Philip on November 3 was the final game of the 2008 season for Philip. The 18-22 loss stopped the Scotties and sends the Chargers on the ladder toward State.

Philip 6 6 0 6 = 18

Sully Buttes 8 0 6 8 = 22

Philip's game-beginning kick put Sully Buttes on their 35 yard line, but a quick first down moved it up to the 45.

Philip High School hosted its first round of football play-offs on Tuesday, October 28, against the Irene-Wakonda Eagles. The final score was a 24-0 walk-away win for the Scotties.

Philip 8 0 16 0 = 24

Irene-Wak. 0 0 0 0 = 0

At the 3:23 mark in the first quarter, Philip's Jeb Stewart carried the ball the remaining four yards to score the game's first touchdown. Mick Trask rushed in the two point conversion and the score was 8-0. The Scotties held the Eagles until the clock's 1:29 point.

The Lady Scotties hosted the Wall Eagles for their last regular season volleyball match on Thursday, October 30.

The Eagles won the first game 18-25. This was one of very few game losses for the Scotties, who now have a season record of 27-3 and a history this year of not losing a single game to their opponents during a match. In the second game, Philip came back with a vengence. The score was 16-0 before Wall could even get on the scoreboard. That game ended 25-8, with the next two finishing 25-20 and 25-16.

The Philip City Council held its November 3 meeting in the Commissioner's Room of the Haakon County Courthouse, since the community room was set up for election day.

Many issues were tabled until the next meeting. The city will be getting and erecting up "no parking" signs in specific spots downtown. The council will look into cost differences in buying new retro-reflectivity street signs or having resurfacing done.

In order to comply with the federally mandated Identity Theft Prevention Program, the council has approved a committee.

Employee overtime was just one of several issues that came to the forefront in the past few months as the Haakon County Board of Commissioners had to take a hard look at budget constraints when formalizing the 2009 budget.

During their November 4 meeting at the Haakon County Courthouse the board looked at the overtime issues. It has been the board's directive for a long time that the courthouse employees not accrue overtime. This has been a hard issue for the departments to juggle as more state regulations and new programs have been required of the offices.

Dorothy Jean "Bunny" Tyler, 79, Rapid City died Nov. 1, 2008 at Rapid City Regional Hospital.

Bunny was born March 20, 1929, in Sioux City, IA, to Wilhelm (Bill) Monson and Verna Fletcher. She had one brother, Dick Smikle, and one sister, Ruth Ann Petty. Her parents, brother and sister all preceded her in death.

Bunny spent her younger years in Kennebec, SD, and then moved to Rapid City with her family where she graduated from Rapid City High School in 1947. After graduation Bunny attended MacMurry College in Jacksonville, IL, for two years.

Esther L. Simmons, 90, of Aurora, passed away Sunday, October 12, 2008 at Asbury Gardens in North Aurora. She was born September 21, 1918 in Philip, SD, to Frank and Bertha Gebes.

Esther moved from Kentucky to the Aurora area in 1959. She retired from Johnson & Johnson in 1981 after 25 years of employment as a Supervisor. Esther was an avid bowler, loved playing bingo and also belonged to a bridge club. She was a member of St. Joseph Church and the V.F.W.

Harold Kleinschmit, age 83 of Wall, SD, died November 2, 2008, at the Hospice House in Rapid City.

Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 6, at the Rush Funeral Chapel in Wall.

Military graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, November 7, at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis.

Harold Jacob Kleinschmit was born June 18, 1925, on a farm near Dallas, SD, the son of Henry and Mary (Kast) Kleinschmit. He grew up and received his education at the Meadowbrook Rural School in that area.