Holabird Advocate Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, has not always liked snow, but after the intense heat this summer, as well as the constant changing or cold, cool, and warmth of fall has him longing for winter weather. Back when he lived on the Ponderosa, snow made getting around difficult. However if one is careful, it's no big thing in the big city.

The Mitchell Area Community Theatre is putting on a production of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas". Jerry wonders if that will make it snow. He figures it might snow in the theatre. It'll be fake snow, but it will be welcome nonetheless. Jerry looked over his schedule and saw that he had Sunday afternoon free. So he got his golden ticket, and it's a good thing too! The show is close to selling out-and fast!

Rose Warney-Bad Con Artist

Our Publisher has occupied some of his spare time investigating a con artist. If you get a request from someone named Rose Warney from Tamale, Ghana. Be prepared for one sad story after another. Dead father, sick mother, and a younger brother. She may claim to have a Master's degree in accounting. One thing she will do is ask for money. she asked our Publisher for $150 to pay her internet bill, which is 3 months overdue. She claimed all this and more.

Old Home was Good Bread

It started out downtown. Our Publisher, Jerry Hinkle tells us about the times while he was growing up in the 70s,how seeing the sign reminded him of the commercial. Old Home sponsored Keloland's weather report with Dave Dedrick, and later on with CW McCall and his lady friend Mavis, who was a waitress at the Old Home Cafe. Jerry actually thought that store was the cafe and was bewildered when he went in the first time and saw nothing familiar.

Old Home and Keloland go way back. Dave Dedrick once said that once Metz Bakery, the producers of Old Home bread, advertised on Kelo, demand for the product forced them to buy a second oven. Times have changed. Corporations control the bread market now. In fact, Sara Lee, the company that owns Metz was bought not long ago by Grupo Bimbo, the same outfit that is trying to buy Hostess.

"Actor" Calls TV Show"Filth"

Angus T. Jones, who plays the youngest of the 2.5 men on the TV show of the same name was recently videotaped giving a religious testimony for the 7th Day Adventists in which he said, in part that his show is "Filth". All of us at the Holabird Advocate had a good laugh at that, since we knew that 10 years ago. Looks like Jon Cryer is gonna be looking for a job soon! (Somebody get Charlie Sheen's phone number)

Publisher's Notes by Jerry Hinkle

Some mornings I wake up wondering if there will be anything I can write about today. This was one of them. All the sudden things happen and then it's headline overdose time. Last night, I went to Walmart shopping for vittles and what do you know, I found some Twinkies. They were hiding, cleverly disguised at Great Value Golden Creme Cakes, but I saw through the box. I knew that wouldn't be enough, and then BOOM! More stories fall from the sky. you never know when inspiration will hit! It's hard to believe we've only been back for 4 weeks. Juggling this job and the job that pays has been tough at times, but well worth it. I hope you Readers have been enjoying your job as well! I'm planning on announcing Person of the Year on Monday. God be with you and do the best you can!

Corn Country Gets Colder

Variety is the spice of weather here in beautiful downtown Mitchell. Yesterday was jacket weather, but today it was 14 degrees, so even the girls at the Kongo Klub are wearing 7 layers. Tomorrow might be jacket weather again. Now all of us here at the Holabird Advocate don't mind a little cold weather. But how about some snow? In any case, short sleeves are out, unless it's an undershirt, so get hep!

Giving Tuesday by Bill Gates

Publisher's Notes by Jerry Hinkle

I hope that all of you Readers enjoyed our guest editorial. You don't need a Bill Gates sized bank account to be generous. The widow in the bible gave two copper coins, because it was all she had to give. The boy who gave his lunch of a few fish and a couple loaves of bread to Jesus fed 5000 people. The key is to give to the right people.

Am I alone in wishing that Larry Hagman's death could be a dream that we could wake up to, just like when Bobby died. Real life is not like reel life I guess. I understand that TNT only filmed JR in 6 episodes of season 2 of the Dallas reboot. The cynical part of me is wondering how much publicity the network will milk out of it.

Time Magazine is looking for input on who their Person of the Year is. Well, I've already selected ours, and I can tell you that she is not even on their short list. I had that selection in mind before I relaunched the Holabird Advocate. I'll let you know more about that next month. God be with you and do the best you can!

Publisher in the Soup

Holabird Advocate Publisher, Jerry Hinkle was taught by his grandfather, E.E. Hinkle, to be generous, especially to those in need, but to be discreet. This is easier said than done sometimes. Whenever he helped with the food drive at DWU, he always made sure to make donations when nobody was looking.

As it happens, the Methodist church here in Mitchell was collecting cans of soup to but in the food baskets that the Salvation Army food pantry gives to those in need. Jerry has done this before, but when his father found the receipt from the supermarket, he saw that Jerry bought name brand soup and really read him the riot act. This year, he bought generic, slipping in name brands if they were on sale (a trick Jerry learned from his mother).

Trouble was he spent the same amount as last year, but bought twice as much soup as last year as well. Jerry was concerned that someone would catch him before he dumped the soup at the collection point. After losing a fair amount of sleep figuring out how to keep it anonymous, he realized that he might be able to find strangers to help him make delivery. Then he slept peacefully, until 9 am. Since the downtown church started at 8:30 he would have to take the soup to the Fusion service.

Jerry made it to the Sherman Center early enough to scout the collection point. Turns out those making donations were to take them to the alter. In front of everyone else. When the time came, that's what Jerry did. Luckily the service was not well lit so nobody noticed it took 2 trips for him to leave his donation. Lesson learned? It sure takes a lot of effort to smuggle soup into the food pantry. Hopefully the needy are thankful for the effort that some go through.

Obviously by printing this article all of you Readers will know the secret now, so all of us here at the Holabird Advocate challenge all of you out there to be just as generous toward the food pantry in your area as our Publisher was to his. And to make it interesting, try not to get caught!

FB Game Review by Jerry Hinkle

Since I don't watch TV, most of the time I'm not working at either this job or my paying job is spent at either YouTube or at various Facebook games. This time around I thought I'd talk about "Journey of Jesus: the Calling". As FB games go, it's pretty harmless. The part I like the most is there is no mob to join. The player is rewarded for quests as he or she goes along.

Gold can be converted into nearly any resource needed to complete a quest, but it comes at a price, a real life credit card, and available credit. This reviewer prefers to wait for the energy recharge rather than spent hard earned money. The waiting is part of the fun. sometimes I leave the game altogether and wait do something else while recharging.

I recommend this game to anyone from 13-113. It can be frustrating, and it also help to have a lot of friends to beg for help, like any other FB game. I've never heard any complaints about this game, so if you try it out and find something you don't like other than what I've told you, be the first to complain to me about it.

Larry Hagman, TV's "JR Ewing" Dies in Dallas

All of us here at the Holabird Advocate are going to miss both Hagman and JR if there is a 3rd season of the Dallas reboot. We are under the impression that season 2 is already in the can! For many people Hagman and the man they loved to hate who he brought to life was "Dallas". It is so fitting that he died in that great city. It was hard to tell where Hagman left and JR started. The character had his own beer, and even his own money. You can bet those $100 bills are worth a lot more now! Life, as well as the show will be different. We will miss JR and the actor that brought him to life, but we will also be greatful for the many hours we spent on Friday night wondering what the old boy would be up to next.

Quick Thanksgiving Vacation for Publisher

Holabird Advocate Publisher, Jerry Hinkle has been working so much that it leaves room for little else. Despite that, he did make it out to the Ponderosa for a little while. Doug and Cade Hinkle were already there getting a taste of country life. Cade managed to shoot another doe on Thanksgiving morning. Doug and Grandpa, Harold Hinkle, are still working on processing the last deer that Cade shot. Harold fried up some of the deer sausage for morning vittles, and it was very good!

Jerry took a little walk through E.E. Hinkle's old house. He was a mite curious to see how the house took to all the "improvements" that Harold and Mary Hinkle have been making to it. the house still has that "lived in' feel to it. The new toilet works fine. the best part was seeing all the measurements on the wall. It's been a spell since any of the grand kids was measured. Conner Hinkle hasn't been measured at all it don't look like.

By the way, all of us want to salute the newly married Erin Powell, who together with her husband Dan Powell hosted their first Thanksgiving dinner. We've heard no complaints so it must have been a success. Any family get-together when you don't have to call the police, an ambulance, or Dr. Phil is a good one.

Growing Love by Jerry Hinkle

Some time ago, I was asked once how my grandparents, E.E. and Bergit Hinkle, managed 64 years of marriage. I believe that part of it was working. They were too busy working and sacrificing to run around on each other. no time to hang out at the bar, because the cows needed milking, eggs needed to be gathered, and sheep needed to be fed. On top of that the kids needed things as well: clothes, shoes, guidance. No time to be selfish.

A young lady named Rose who supposedly lives in Ghana has been after me via e-mail for some strange reason. Constantly wondering about love and romance. She seems to be in a hurry. But it takes 90 days under ideal conditions to grow a field of corn, and love is even more delicate. as she shares bits and pieces of her life with me, how her mother is sick in the hospital, how she has to help raising her brother, how she can't keep a job because the boss always wants her to sleep with him, I have to wonder why she's looking for love and romance at all. Sometimes I wonder if she is scamming me, but a con artist would be better at that sort of thing. She keeps asking me for my phone number too. She is amusing though! If she is for real, I hope things work out for her somehow.

Holabird Advocate Celebrates 1500 Issue

We had originally planned to revive "10 Questions" for the 1500th post of this website, but since nobody asked a question, all of us here at the Holabird Advocate can only assume that y'all already know everything you want to know for now! Instead we have temporarily moved the Home Office back to Holabird catch you up with all the latest news that we see fit to print!

Parade of Lights? Goodbye! Hello to Christmas at the Corn Palace!

The Parade of Lights has been a holiday tradition for the Mitchell area for years. Some were a mite disappointed that it was cancelled this year, but a new tradition in the making took place last Monday night with Christmas at the Corn Palace. Santa himself was available for pictures with kids of all ages. All manner of holiday entertainment, including the MHS Show Choir, and an ACT preview of "White Christmas". There was a chili feed, on top of free cookies and a choice of hot or cold apple cider. It was topped off with the lighting of the Christmas tree across from the Corn Palace. The 60 degree weather didn't spoil the Christmas spirit of the hundreds of people who took in the festivities, those who weren't in attendance really missed out on a good time!

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble!

Queen Brittany Reigns at Banquet

One of the duties of the Hyde County 4-H royalty is to preside over the Hyde County 4-H Banquet at the auditorium in Highmore. Brittany Hinkle was selected as this year's queen because she was the awesomest candidate. Of course as you can see the tiara fits, so she's wearing it! Brit also talked about her trip to Washington DC earlier this year. The warmer weather would indicate why she is also wearing a short sleeve shirt and jeans, but some of us here at the Holabird Advocate are wondering why she isn't wearing an evening gown. The again we rejoice that she's not wearing a tank top and booty shorts like the big city girls, so a big thumbs up from us!

FUMC Commitment Sunday Tomorrow

Sunday, November 18, the First United Methodist Church of Mitchell, and Mitchell Fusion, will have a commitment service where members and "regulars" can commit to make a pledge for 2013. Now, when out Publisher first heard the words "Commitment Sunday", being a confirmed bachelor and all, was a little nervous, but when he figured out that it was just a chance to invest in the Church and not a trap for some desperate female to get her hands on his money, he warmed up to the idea. Readers who live outside of Mitchell, and do not wish to contribute to FUMC or Fusion could sure commit their financial support to an institution of worth in their own area, and all of us here at the Holabird Advocate are quite sure any financial support will be welcomed.

Issue 1500 Coming Up

As hard as it is to believe the next post will be our 1500th post. To mark this occasion I will be bringing back the "10 question with..." segment with myself in the hot seat. so submit a question by e-mail or on Facebook, and I'll try to answer it. the earlier you ask, the sooner it gets published!

Most Likely to Secede? by Jerry Hinkle

First it was polarization, now it is secession that seems to be the latest media buzzword. The fact is that there is usually a few people who use the S word when an election doesn't go the way he or she may have hoped. For some reason it's becoming a big news story this year. I must admit that I was slightly curious as to why people in 47 states want to secede. It doesn't seems possible, yet the media tells us that it is happening.
I have no idea if any of you Readers are having the notion of separating yourself from the Union, but if you do have such notions I have just one thing to say: DON'T DO IT! This country needs you, And whether you know it or not, you need the country. Secession was tried 150 years ago, and it didn't work.
The American body politic is like the body of Christ, all of the parts are needed. As in the body of Christ, the eye can not say to the feet, "I don't need you" Neither can the right hand of the American body politic say the same thing to the left. The right hand and the left can do wonderful things when the work together.
The right foot and the left need each other to move the body ahead. Right now the left foot is leading the right, but in 4 years, that could change and the right foot may lead for a while. It's not quite the crisis situation you may think it is. I for one refuse to give up on this country. I hope you won't either! Our best days could still be ahead! God be with you and do the best you can!

Holabird Advocate Celebrates Veterans

McGovern Conference Carries On

Our Publisher, being a proud son of Wesleyan, took in some of the annual McGovern Conference on Monday. Senator McGovern himself selected this years theme, which was "Moving Beyond Political Polarization" before his death. Dr. Sean J. Flynn of the DWU History Department gave a short presentation on George Washington's Farewell Address and how it was related to the topic. There was also a session that touched on the media's role in politics. Because of his death, Senator McGovern was unable to give his usual closing remarks, so a moment of silence in his honor was observed instead. His absence was keenly felt.

Love Story by Jerry Hinkle

Jon was a young man, just 2 days past 41st birthday when he died. he left behind a wife and 2 kids who will miss him I'm quite sure. People die every day, but when it's someone who had a wonderful life ahead of them like Jon did it is especially sad. It's so unfair, so tragic. It is a painful reminder that Jon did not truly belong to us, but to God.

And yet I was reminded that while their marriage is over because of his death, the love is still there. Their love story has not ended. That is because God is Love. Every year on Facebook I mark my grandparent's wedding anniversary. Their marriage ended when my Grandma died nearly 18 years ago, but their love never did. It lives on in the hearts of their children, grandchildren, friends, neighbors and everyone else that their love touched since they got hitched 81 years ago. It's the same with Jon and his wife. we who knew Jon can be sad that his life is over, but I choose to be glad that his life happened. I hope all of you readers will keep Jon and his family in your hearts and in your prayers. God be with you and do the best you can!

Athena on the Way!

Today in Kornfield County the weatherman tells us it will get up to 58 degrees. Tomorrow we may see a high of 29 degrees, all due to the winter storm that the Weather Channel is calling Athena. We are told to expect an inch of snow in this area, the Black Hills may get as much as 3 inches. if you are in the path of Athena, please take all proper cautionary measures!

Less Bite for Mary Hinkle

Harold Hinkle reports that his wife Mary has to go to the dentist to get a tooth pulled. This bewildered all of us here at the Holabird Advocate, since Jerry Hinkle used to tell us stories of how his mother used to take her man-made teeth out at the dinner table and play with them after every meal. from what we see it didn't kill his appetite.

Are We Ready For a New State?

Recently the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico held a vote to see if they wanted to retain their Status as a commonweath, be an independent country, or be admitted to the Union as our 51st state. Usually when the people of that island do that, the vote is to remain a commonwealth, but time there seems to be a movement toward statehood. If they are ready to do so, then the question is are the other 50 state ready for this. There hasn't been a state admitted to the union since 1959. In fact this 53 year period is the longest the Union has gone without admitting a state. If this state is admitted, it will mean the nonvoting delegate will be replaced by 2 Senators and possibly as many as 8 members of the House of Represntatives giving them 10 votes in the Electoral College. This issue will be brought before Congress soon. Let us know your thoughts!

Upside-down Flag at Half-mast

A McDonald's Restaurant in Follansbee,West Virginia has become the center of a controversy when their American flag was flying at half-mast in the upside-down position. The local veterans are quite upset about the display. According to reports it was that way until sometime around 11:30 am when a customer asked why that was, and corrective measures were taken. the owner of the franchise claims that it was accidental. All of us here at the Holabird Advocate sure hope so! At any rate Mcdonald's reports that sales are dropping. Perhaps they need to fly their own flag upside down!

Publisher's Nephew Gets Birthday Surprise

Harold Hinkle has arranged for our a little surprise for his oldest grandson, who will be celebrating his 11th birthday at the Ponderosa this evening. Justin's uncle, our courageous dynamic Publisher, Jerry Hinkle will be giving him a very special gift tonight. That is all we will print now, other than to speculate that he will either really like this gift of hate it. You know how fussy kids can be!

Publisher's Remarks

Hello, it is I, Jerry Hinkle the man of 1000 personalities, and I just wanted to say a few things sort of semi-seriously about the nice welcome we've had on the web since bringing back the Holabird Advocate Newsblog a week ago. Last week, I had about 5 Readers on an average day, and since the relaunch we've had a little more than 250% increase at 13 Readers (unlucky for some). It may not be reaching 16 counties on 6 of the 7 continents like the old days anymore, but that's alright. Right now my only concern is that people may get bored with this site. Then again with the election over there may be a market for boring. At any rate I hope the blues states and red states can get together and for a purple nation if at all possible, but I won't hold my breath. 'nuff said!

America Voted

Election 2012 is in the can, as we say back in Holabird. I can't say that too much of what I saw on election night surprised me. All the people I thought would win their respective elections in South Dakota did so. I didn't know which ballot initiatives would stick, but a couple of them did pass, which shows that we are not resistant to all change, so that's good!

I thought both Obama and Romeny were super classy in their gracious respective displays of victory and defeat. It would be nice if some of their respective supporters could be as gracious and super classy, but that will take time. Those who have seen some of my postings on Facebook may be surprised to read this, but what I do on there is just for my own entertainment. I love yanking liberal chains when I can! I've tried to pick fights with conservatives, but they always get me with well reasoned and insightful arguments. I hate that! One of my liberal friends woke her son in the middle of the night to tell him that Big Bird was safe from the big bad Romney. PLEASE!

Closer to home, it was pretty much Republican victory all the way round. Holabird's Nick Nemec did not make it to the PUC. But as Grandad would say, all he lost was an election. He still has his wife, kids, and he still has the best job of all, feeding a hungry world! I sort of expected that, but Matt McGovern's defeat took me by surprise a little, if only because the main thing against him was his last name. Yesterday, when I was a guest at "100 Eyes on South Dakota Politics" I wondered out loud if I should change my name to McGovern. I see now that the name has a curse to go along with the blessing. It's all I can do to live up to my own grandfather's last name, let alone Matt's. One thing is for sure, the McGovern name can open a lot of doors, but if you don't have something to back it up, you'll get shown the door. From what I've seen, Matt has that something, and I hope it's put to good use!

In closing I'd like to publicly offer congrats to my Wesleyan brother, Kyle Schoenfish, and his fellow District 19 Representative, Stace Nelson. Both of these great gentlemen, who ran as Republicans have been blistered in the past for not always following their part line. They are called extremists. To me a better term is maverick, and there's nothing wrong with that. If I were a Marine, I'd say "Semper Fi" But since I'm just a Publisher, I'll simply say, "God be with you and do the best you can!"

America Votes

Today is election day, the day that sets democracy apart from every other system of government. Every 4 years, almost always without fail, this country elects, and sometimes re-elects someone to govern as President of these United States. There is usually a wrinkle or two in the process, but it all works out eventually. We haven't had an election go to Congress since 1824, nor to the Supreme Court since 2000.

Be that as it may, you have my fearless prediction here: Either Obama or Romney will be the declared winner by 9:30 pm Holabird time tonight! Look for Ohio and Florida to be the huge decider in this cycle. Either way, I won't be leaving this country for Canada based on who is elected President. If any of you want do, please do and the sooner the better. This country survived 8 years of Clinton and 8 Years of Bush, and it's still the best nation in the world! If you disagree find one better and move there ASAP!

Closer to home, however, there are a few things that I can predict. Romney will carry SD and the 3 electoral votes it contains will be his. Democrats have carried South Dakota, but it hasn't happened in my lifetime. If I'm wrong I will eat vegetables! Also I'm hoping that my good friend and Wesleyan Brother, Kyle Schoenfish is elected Representative from his home in District 19. I got $40 riding on that! And even though I never sent him any money, I hope that you'll vote for Nick Nemec in the 4 year PUC race. He didn't get the benefit of a fine DWU education, but his time in the USMC has given him the drive to fight for right and freedom, so keep your honor clean by voting him in. I'm not going to hold my breath on that because I know that many people won't vote for him just because he's a Democrat. It would be a shame if that was your only criteria!

Since, as my dad reminds me, it is a secret ballot I won't tell you how I voted. Grandad was looking over my shoulder, as I did, so y'all can probably guess how I voted from that! I'll be watching the returns tonight to see how it went, and hopefully be in bed by midnight. Until next time, god be with you and do the best you can!

Publisher Votes Early

Not wanting a good bath and shave to go to waste, our Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, put his walking shoes on and headed to the courthouse to see if it was too late to vote early. The County Auditor, who knows Jerry by sight, wasn't available, but one of the deputies filled in as the straight man for what could have been a really funny YouTube video.

Jerry walk up the step to the Auditor's office, asked if it was too late to vote early, trying hard not to sound like a hillbilly. After getting out his drivers license and having the deputy make sure he was registered. She asked if Jerry lived at his address. He spoke right up, "Oh yes ma'am. I walked all the way up here 'cause I didn't wanna drive all the way over to the Fairgrounds like I had to 2 years ago". She looked at the computer and said, "Well you've been moved to the Corn Palace this year." Not missing a beat, he replied, "Oh well, I'm hear already, I might as well go ahead". She gets out the ballot and the envelope making sure he understands the procedure. He went to the booth, filled in the proper ovals, placed the ballot carefully in the envelops so it wasn't bent, folded, stapled, or mutilated, and sealed it just as he was told. He then presented it to the deputy who looked it over as saw that her instructions were followed and let him know he did well! The easy part was over. The hard part kicks in while waiting for votes to get counted! some people don't take the time to vote, but Jerry enjoys voting. He does take it seriously, but always tries to have a certain amount of fun with it.

Publisher to the Manner Born

For the first time in 5 years of living in the big city, our Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, took his courageous, dynamic self to St. Mary's Episcopal Church for their turkey dinner. He went a few hours too early the first time. some dude named Rector told him that the dinner didn't start until 4pm. Well, you know how folks are in the big city. Jerry got there at about 5 pm and bought a $10 ticket, then made his way down to the basement through an amazing array of halls, finally making it to the dinning room, which was beautifully decorated. They let him pick up one dessert from the dessert table (he chose chocolate cake with whipped cream), and had him sit at a table with some random strangers. It turned out that one of the strangers was a retired trucker that used to frequent Mac's Corner. He asked if Jim and Eleanor King were still living, and was told they had both passed,

Jerry was presented with a plateful of food to eat consisting of a bit of turkey, mashed potaoes and gravy, dressing and a generous amount of cranberry sauce. He was quite proud of himself for eating carefully enough that he didn't get his clothes, or his hands, dirty. He drank about 3 cups of coffee along with the meal, and when it became evident that he was to get no more, he left to go outside into the chilly rain.

North of 40 by Red Green

I wanna talk to all you middle aged men out there because I've noticed that some people expect you and I to be fountains of wisdom just simply because we have reached a certain age. Well I've found a way to fake wisdom. It's really easy, all you have to do is smile and nod, maybe add a chuckle after someone else stops talking. See, If you're silent it gives the impression that you are in deep contemplation of the universe and all of its infinite mysteries, when really all you're really thinking about is "Didn't my wife want me to pick up something before I got home?"

Cade Hinkle Bags 1st Deer

In South Dakota there are many rites of passage. Killing your first deer is one such rite. Our Publisher killed his first deer with a car at age 24. His nephew Cade actually shot one (legally we hope) at age 10. As one can clearly see by the photo supplied by his grandmother, Mary Hinkle. This dry doe is nearly twice his size with the weapon draped across his prey the great equalizer in this story. When one figures the cost of the license, and the processing, it may have been cheaper to go to Cabela's and buy some jerky, but then we would not have this wonderful story of a boy and his deer!

Hinkle Waits for Dinner

One thing that country boys like Jerry Hinkle just doesn't seem to be able to get used to is the notion of Dinner as the evening vittles, but when in the big city you gotta do as the big citizens do! Namely have lunch at noon and have dinner closer to the evening. In this case 5 pm! The destination? St. Mary's Episcopal here in beautiful downtown Mitchell and the Turkey dinner therin!

When to Vote? That is the Question!

All of us here have been pondering if we should see if tomorrow is too late to vote early in this election. At the time, we were under the assumption that the polling place for the Home office was going to be the Kornfield County Fairgrounds just outside of town, which is a heck of a drive. Last night we got a piece of mail telling us that our polling place was the Corn Palace, which is actually closer than the Kornfield County Courthouse is in the first place. Feel free to weigh in by email: publisher@gmail.com

Surprise Guest at Newsblog Relaunch

Amid all the fun and frivolity of the Holabird Advocate relaunch party, one thing was forgotten. Somebody gotta read this site. At midnight, when we posted, someone from Sioux falls logged on. Of course none of us knows who it was, but our Publisher hopes that it was SD Blogwatch Man, or as we used to call him back in Holabird, "The Watcher".

Not much is known about The Watcher, except that he was reported to live in Sioux Falls and had the power of Cheese, whatever that means! If he is watching this, our Publisher standing offer of a prime rib dinner still stands. Failing that, feel free to send us any and all inside information at your disposal!

Not much Rest On Sunday

Our Publisher has the day off from his other job this Sunday, but he'll stay busy. Fusion is starting a new sermon series called "Enough", and the first service deals with "When dreams become nightmares". Also on Sunday. St. Mary's Episcopal Church here in Mitchell is having a Turkey Dinner . After that, he'll be at the new home office. So if you wanna find Jerry Hinkle on Sunday, now you'll know where to look!

Holabird Advocate Back on Web

It's been almost 4 years since all of us here at the Holabird Advocate gave you, the Reader, all the news we see fit to print. Much has changed, and some things haven't. We've been doing some experimenting to see where we can improve and freshen up the old Newsblog. Having you back here with us is the best change of all! As before, we'll depend on you to let us know how we are doing! You've already seen that the Pollmaster General is working!

McGovern Comes to Brown Bag

Matt McGovern, candidate for PUC was the featured speaker at the brown bag at Java city yesterday. He spoke briefly about his background as one of Senator George McGovern's grandchildren, his career as a lawyer, his vision as to what Public Utility Commissioner should be. Mr. McGovern actually knew where Holabird is, so we know he's got something on the ball!

Hurricane Sandy Blows

by Jerry Hinkle

Holabird Advocate Publisher

I was actually hoping to put off editorials for a while, but the weather out east kinda changed my plans. Like a lot of others, I was shocked at the level of devastation and destruction caused by what some called Frankenstorm. The videos and photos really show what earthly nature is capable of when unleashed. But I also noticed something else.

At last report, only 55 people have died because of this storm. This is thanks in part to the technology that has been made available to us through the grace of God to stack the progress of a hurricane and give those effected ample warning. Among those who were saved include some of my relatives from Woodbury, CT! They evacuated in time, staying safe and dry until Sandy was through with their area.

The technology that we have today is so awesome. Even just 50-100 years ago, the best way to see how a storm was progressing was to look out a window. Now we have satellites in space, live Doppler radar and other things that I don't even know about. And it was all placed there by our Father in Heaven! I just wonder if we as humans truly comprehend how miraculous the whole thing is.