Excerpts from recent South Dakota editorials

Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, Aug. 31

Texas deserves all the help it can get

Hurricane Harvey is the storm of the century, devastating the lives and destroying the property of hundreds of thousands of Texans who suddenly face uncertain futures.

And it is not over - not even close. It will be months if not years before many residents of south Texas will be able to resume normal lives.

In the meantime, many lives hang in the balance. Thousands still await rescue, trapped by floodwaters that are swallowing two-story homes and turning highways into canals and residential and business areas into large, dangerous and filthy lakes.

So far, the burden of saving so many lives has fallen primarily upon local public safety agencies, their courageous employees and the thousands of volunteers who have risked their lives to rescue people they don’t even know. They are the heroes of Houston.

The federal response, however, has not matched the magnitude of Hurricane Harvey, which dumped more rain on Houston - 50 inches - than any other place has received from a single storm in the history of the continental United States. Surrounding areas have been deluged as well.

While it was good and appropriate that President Trump flew to Texas on Tuesday and voiced his support for federal aid to the dazed victims of Harvey, he could have done more. While we have and will continue to send our military to help victims seemingly anywhere on the planet, it has yet to be enlisted to assist with rescue efforts while families wait on the roofs of homes and pray for a rescue. It is difficult to understand why the federal government is not using more of its considerable resources to help Americans in such desperate and obvious need.

But fortunately others, including South Dakotans, are stepping up to help those who have lost virtually everything to Hurricane Harvey and the flooding that continues to render the residents of Houston, a city of 2 million, and thousands of others nearly helpless.

On Friday, Red Cross volunteers Dave and Joyce Jefferies of Box Elder were among the first South Dakotans sent to Texas for what will certainly be an intense, demanding and likely rewarding experience. On Saturday, Ken Michaelson of Rapid City joined the first wave of 22 volunteers from this Red Cross region, which includes North Dakota and western Minnesota.

But volunteers will be needed for many months to assist the victims of Harvey. In order to address that and give local residents the opportunity to help, the Red Cross will hold a volunteer training session from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at its office at 1221 N. Maple St. Lunch will be provided.

Richard Smith, executive director of the local office, said volunteers will be trained to help provide shelter and food to storm victims. Volunteers can expect to spend two to three weeks helping hurricane victims before returning home. All their travel and other expenses will be covered and insurance is provided by the Red Cross.

Smith said Wednesday that the Red Cross could be helping hurricane victims for as long as two years, yet another indicator of the epic nature of the storm that continues to batter southeast Texas in what was once considered unimaginable ways.

For those who can’t volunteer, the Red Cross is accepting donations for Harvey relief efforts. To donate, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-733-2767 or text 90999 and type in Harvey for a $10 donation.

At this time, companies, celebrities and the wealthy either are making donations or leading fundraising efforts of their own, which are welcome as the need for funds is critical. But that should not discourage others from doing what they can - even if they can only afford a small donation of just $5.

Americans and America have a history of rising to the occasion, whether it is fighting for freedom or responding with generosity to natural disasters or other calamities.

Now comes another challenge and like all those heroes helping the Texas flood victims, the rest of the nation needs to do whatever it can to help those who have literally lost everything in a nightmare no one should have to endure alone.

___

Capital Journal, Pierre, Aug. 25

Don’t get behind the wheel if you’re intoxicated

There are few more glaring examples of why driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a bad idea than that which occurred Wednesday night on Euclid Avenue.

Nobody got hurt, which can appropriately be termed a miracle given that a minivan slammed headlong into the front porch of a small, though fully booked, inn. According to the Pierre Police Department, 52-year-old Henry Chapman was driving his minivan on Euclid Avenue while under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, when he apparently sped up, crossed two lanes and a grassy yard before crashing his minivan into the Hitching Horse Inn.

It must be noted that Chapman is innocent of any crime until he is proven guilty.

Still, Chapman’s story, or at least the police narrative of what Chapman did on Wednesday night, is instructive for those among us who may consider driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. While it is true that no one was hurt when the van barreled into the Hitching Horse Inn, someone very easily could have been. The Centers for Disease and Prevention reported that 10,265 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2015.

And that’s the important thing to remember when it comes to drinking and driving. It’s not just about you. It’s about everyone else. A few feet in the wrong direction and Chapman could very easily have hurt or killed someone.

What’s really sad about any incident involving intoxicated driving, is that they are all, every single one of them, 100 percent avoidable. It’s as easy as choosing not to drive when you’ve had a few drinks or have taken drugs.

___

Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, Yankton, Aug. 28

Bad news for South Dakota pheasant numbers

A recent survey of South Dakota’s pheasant numbers didn’t offer good news for the state’s bird population.

The Game, Fish and Parks’ (GFP) annual brood survey report showed that bird densities across the state have dropped 45 percent from last year. The average bird count per mile this year is 1.68 pheasants; in 2016, the survey counted 3.05 pheasants per mile (PPM).

This is an important development for South Dakota, which prides itself as the pheasant capital of the world. With that title and reputation come hunters - either in-state or from out of state - and their money, which creates a large boost of tourism revenue for the state.

Still, the news is not surprising. The GFP cited a tough combination of the hard winter last year and the drought conditions that have enveloped much of the state this summer. These conditions have reduced the food supply and exposed nesting grounds.

“You are always looking for the positives,” Casey Weismantel, executive director of the Aberdeen Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. “(But) it’s hard to see the positive in these numbers.”

Another factor that may also be contributing to the toll - either on its own or in tandem with the weather elements - is the dramatic loss of grassland, more of which has been converted to cropland in recent years. A study reported that about 1.84 million acres of grassland pheasant habitat had been lost primarily to cropland conversion between 2006-2012. While that may not by itself be a primary contributor to the current pheasant decline, it could be aiding and abetting the fall-off when combined with weather factors.

Indeed, weather extremes have taken a toll in past years, but the birds have always managed to rebound. However, some of the reasons for that was the availability of habitat that provided nourishment and cover, allowing the numbers to recharge. With the shrinkage of that habitat, a rebound may be more difficult to achieve.

The short-term good news for hunters is that the number of roosters counted in the survey remained mostly unchanged, so that might spur hopes of a good hunting season this fall.

However, a decline of hens and chicks spells trouble down the line, unless conditions change.

Since humans can’t really change the weather, the only thing they can do is change habitat management that gives the birds a better chance to thrive. That’s where grasslands, shelter belts and CRP programs come in.

For now, outdoorsmen can hope that weather conditions improve this winter and next spring. And perhaps they can encourage more efforts to provide habitat to help boost the pheasant population back to more encouraging numbers.