Opinion

Some of our readers have had questions about the pool fund balance shown in the Gregory Times-Advocate from time to time, so the City Finance Office provided the following explanation to help clear up any confusion: Although it is perfectly clear to me, I realize that I am sitting in front of all these numbers that I have meticulously organized and broken down in this file in the cabinet and that file on the computer, but it occurred to me that maybe this is not as clear to those that do not stare at numbers all day. I thought I would take a moment and better explain the pool funds/accounts.

hoden South Dakota is the freest state in America, and that holds extra true for our 2nd Amendment rights. We have a long history of recognizing the 2nd Amendment dating all the way back to our early homesteaders – in fact, I just saw a mock shootout in 1880 Town.

Independence Day marks a pivotal moment in American History. On a summer day 249 years ago, inside Independence Hall, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and declared liberty from tyranny. Their Declaration confirms that liberty is not a privilege, but a right given by our Creator. This day is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the American spirit – and of American freedom.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.

The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office is pleased to announce that the State of Minnesota has officially recognized Restricted Enhanced Permit holders who are under the age of 21 years old. This expanded recognition allows permit holders to legally carry in Minnesota.

The South Dakota Department of Health is notifying the public of potential measles exposure at two locations in Hot Springs, SD. An outof- state resident with a confirmed measles infection visited these public places while infectious.

Just below the South Dakota border in northern Nebraska on the Sunday before Memorial Day in the 1890’s, a most unusual situation was created by the older children that took their parents several weeks to resolve.

DITOR Dear Editor, This letter is to inform people about the dire need of a family from our area. Jim and Donette Lyon’s daughter JeanAnn and husband Beau Bryan have two beautiful boys Sawyer and Wesley who have been diagnosed with the extremely rare disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This rare form of muscular dystrophy is fatal. But there is hope.

The first Fourth of July celebration in South Dakota, according to the best available information, occurred in 1876, the same year as the state’s centennial. The merrymaking included a parade of wagons, dances, speeches, lots of food, and a grand ball. It is assumed that only their best wagons were entered in the parade. Mom probably made the children wash all the dirt from the wagons.

Dear Editor, Government is Doing Bad #1 On June 5 my husband and I headed to our state capital building in Pierre to participate along with around 200 other persons in the nation-wide NO KINGS citizen rally against Donald Trump’s governmental actions. The poster of a fellow protester perfectly expressed the reason for our participation: “Things are so bad that this is our first protest.” What we felt to be intolerably bad about Trump’s actions were: 1) his stripping away of social care services from VAST numbers of South Dakotans, particularly rural citizens, and 2) his undermining of fundamental principles of democratic politics.