BY CRAIG WENZEL – TRUE DAKOTAN EDITOR

I’ve always been ready for a sled ride down the big hill in the Springs city park, at least in the winter when there is sufficient snow on the ground. The Christmas blizzard that we had over the holiday was a tough one, but it did provide the basic needs for a fast ride on an aerodynamically designed piece of plastic.

Our three-and-a-half year old grandson Layne and his nine-month old baby sister, Londyn, stayed with us overnight after their parents, Matt and Amber, went back to Pierre.

Which do you think? Was Duke out taking pictures of this beautiful frosty area in Jerauld County at 7:45 a.m. or 5:10 p.m. last week?

A page from the December 2, 1948 Wessington Springs Independent

click here to view td Jan 12 p6

Interested people have until February 26 to file petitions for the Wessington Springs city election. Offices that are open for re-election and the current office holder are, Mayor (Jim Burg), 1st Ward (Melissa Mebius), 2nd ward (Dave Ness), 3rd Ward (Kim Christensen) and 3rd Ward (Lee Zastrow).

It has been said that Mayor Burg will not run for re-election.

Petitions may begin being circulated on January 29.

WITH JUST A WEEK to recover from the Christmas blizzard of 2009, the area was hit with another one. On Wednesday and Thursday, January 6 and 7, around five or six inches of new snow accompanied by 30 to 40 MPH winds created a ground blizzard. Visibility was near zero at times as the snow blocked many roads making travel impossible over the county. Statewide, the Interstate highway was closed for up to two days because of the poor visibility and drifts. The Wessington Springs School was closed the latter part of the week due to the storm. The photo above shows the DOT plow cresting the hill on Thursday. The plow is kept in Wessington Springs during the winter months and is operated by Randy Doty. Life pretty much was back to normal in this area by the weekend.

THE 2009-2010 wrestling season is underway for the Wessington Springs/Woonsocket Blackhawks. Shown are, back row: Kole Kopfmann, Cordell Muilenburg, Alex Muilenburg, Dylan Ochsner, and Trevor Easton; front row: Austin Messmer, Blake Willman, Zac Privett, Blake Messmer. John Stevens is the head coach and Bruce Schmiedt is the assistant. The team competed in the Miller Invitational last week with two wrestlers in the finals. See wrestling results inside.

The Wessington Springs Lady Spartans defeated Iroquois, 62-40 to earn their first victory of the 2009-2010 cage season.

PIERRE, S.D. – Sixteen rural hospitals will receive a total of $244,376 in grants for technology projects from laboratory electronic medical records to a medication labeling and bar code system, a health official announced today. Avera Weskota Memorial Medical Center in Wessington Springs will receive $17,500 to participate in the Avera eEmergency project.

“From electronic medical records to telemedicine capabilities, technology is increasingly important in delivering health care in both urban and rural settings,” said Doneen Hollingsworth, Secretary of Health. “However, it can be challenging for rural hospitals with limited resources to keep up with these rapid changes. That’s why we’re pleased to provide these grants to help support technology projects in rural facilities.”

CORDELL MUILENBURG (RIGHT) is shown against Kingsbury County’s Clinton McKee during championship action at Salem in the McCook Central/Montrolse wrestling tournament. The Springs wrestler took the match and the tournament championship with an 8-4 decision.

A state plow pushes snow on SD Highway 34 Wednesday afternoon. The wind came up during the night and really left some drifts around the area as the Christmas Blizzard that dropped 15 inches of snow had already blown the tree belts and ditches full.

You could barely see South Gulch, which is immediately south of Wessington Springs, during the New Year blizzard on Wednesday, January 6, 2010.