Ongoing sewer issues at the Union County Courthouse have prompted an emergency situation to fix old cast iron sewer lines. Curt Hlavacek of Midwest Pipe Lining out of Watertown, SD was present at the Union County Board of County Commission meeting Sept. 20 to discuss his business and how the courthouse could benefit from their services.

An Elk Point boy with special needs is busy gathering his gear for a big game hunt all courtesy of the PDR Disabled Youth organization. Thomas Kosinski has enjoyed South Dakota’s long-honored hunting tradition before. On a prior deer hunt with the PDR Hunt group his sharp shooting skill was spot-on, and he proficiently harvested a Whitetail deer.

The Union County Fairboard and Extension Staff would like to congratulate the 4-H members, leaders and parents on all the static and livestock exhibits and Youth-In-Action events that 4-H members participated in at the recent South Dakota State Fair. South Dakota 4-H follows the Danish ribbon system. 4-H awards are based on a standard, instead of a comparison of other exhibits in the class. By using the Danish system, each exhibit gets judged on its own merit. Each 4-H members are allowed to take up four display exhibits, four exhibits per each animal species and four exhibits per each Youth-In-Action event to the South Dakota State Fair. The State Fair in Huron was Sept. 1-5.

The “Jefferson Bridge” between Union County Highway #7 and Iowa State #12 will be closing on Monday, Sept. 19.

The South Dakota Specialty Producers Association (SDSPA) is seeking nominations for the 2022 South Dakota Specialty Crop Producer of the Year Award. Producers and members of the public are invited to nominate a farmer who has made a significant contribution to specialty crop production in the state. Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and nursery crops, including floriculture.

ELO CPAs & Advisors announced the acquisition of Quam, Berglin & Post, P.C., an Elk Point-based CPA firm with satellite offices in Alcester and Vermillion. The combination of these firms brings together two legacy firms that have been each rooted in South Dakota for 40 or more years each. This transaction will bring a wealth of additional services, technical expertise and resources to our mutual clients. The combination will:

An 8-acre pumpkin patch outside of Jefferson opens Sept. 15 for the fall season. Mike Dailey has had a family-owned and operated farm and pumpkin patch for several years. This year, the pick-your-own pumpkin patch has a new feature – a corn maze.

In July a carved bear was stolen on a Friday between the hours of 3-9 a.m. The owner put a sign out on their bench where the carved bear was missing with a sad face with tears and a message that said, “Please bring my bear back.” Four boys (triplets and their cousin) placed a stuffed bear on my bench Labor Day weekend when the owners were gone. The boy went to the house Saturday, Sept. 10 and knocked on the door to tell the owners they were the ones who replaced my stolen bear. They said, “Don’t worry if this bear is taken, we have three more bears.”

Three fund transfers were approved to “prepay the debt in full” at the Elk Point City Council meeting Sept. 7. All the funds were transferred from the electric fund. The first was prepayment of debt in full on the Sanitary Sewer Revenue Bond Series 2022 for $24,193.16; the second, $37,661.43 for prepayment of debt in full on Wastewater System Revenue Bond Series 2006; and the last, $66,156.99 to the Wastewater System Revenue Bond Series 2008.

An appraisal for the Union County Fairgrounds has been in the works since the June 14 meeting. A commercial appraiser from Sioux Falls was hired not to exceed $8,000 and half was to be repaid by the City of Alcester. However, after hearing nothing from the appraiser and seeing no progress, the Union County Commissioners approved a different appraisal company to handle the work at their meeting Sept. 6. Elwood & Martin Appraisals, LLC was approved to do the appraisal for the fairgrounds on the recommendation of State’s Attorney Jerry Miller.