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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
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Tribal leaders urged to apply Violence Against Women Act
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Judge: The loss of a son, a friend, a leader parents deserve better S Nehemiah Larimer dies from crash injuries
Tom Griffith Journal staff
teve n s H i g h Sc h o o l students, faculty and administrators as well as family and friends on Tuesday were mourning the loss of senior Nehemiah Larimer, described as an except i o n a l yo u n g Larimer man, a natural leader and selfless servant with unlimited potential. Larimer, 18, died at Rapid City Regional Hospital Monday night of injuries suffered while riding a scooter that was struck by a turning car at about 6 p.m. Friday in Rapid City. According to police reports, Larimer was riding his scooter when the collision occurred at Sheridan Lake Road and Canyon Lake Drive. A second scooter rider following in Larimer’s wake managed to stop in time and was not injured, police said. Hundreds of Stevens students, their teachers and principal visited the hospital to pay their respects over the weekend as word of Larimer’s severe injuries spread through the community, said family spokesperson Nick Reid. He was taken by ambulance to Regional Hospital shortly after the accident. By Saturday morning, his brain was unresponsive and arrangements were made to harvest organs per the young man’s request. Larimer died Monday night shortly after surgeons had removed vital organs and tissue for transplant » Nehemiah, A6
Federal judge says state botched Native American custody cases Andrea J. Cook Journal staff
Josh Morgan photos, Journal staff
Zach Larson, 18, writes a message for Nehemiah Larimer on Tuesday at a memorial inside Rapid City Stevens High School. Larimer died after suffering serious injuries in a vehicle accident while riding his motorized scooter Friday evening at the intersection of Canyon Lake Road and Sheridan Lake Road. “He always had a positive attitude and a smile on his face,” said Larson, who had known Larimer since kindergarten.
“We lost a young man with a lot of life, a lot of impact and a lasting legacy. Because of his impact on the people who knew him, we have just seen the beginning of what Nehemiah’s life has meant. His impact will carry on.” Nick Reid , family spokesperson
A bass rests over a memorial in honor of Rapid City Stevens High School senior and musician Nehemiah Larimer Tuesday near the Stevens High School band room. Larimer died after suffering major injuries in a motor vehicle accident Friday evening. His final surgery was performed Monday to fulfill his wish of being an organ donor.
A federal court order will dramatically change how South Dakota officials handle Native American child-custody cases in every courtroom in the state, according to Rapid City attorney Dana Hanna. In a decision filed late Monday, Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey Viken wrote: “Indian parents deserve better.” “It’s amazing that (state officials have) been able to get away with this for as long as they did,” Hanna said. “The judge’s decision is amazing.” In his opinion, Viken said Judge Jeff Davis, presiding judge in the 7th Judicial Circuit, never advised any Native American parents they had a right to contest the state’s petition for temporary custody; never advised Native American parents that they had a right to call witnesses; never required the state to present sworn testimony from a live witness; and never advised the parents of their right to testify at the first hearing after a child had been removed from a Native American home. Such hearings are referred to as 48-hour hearings. Kevin Washburn, assistant secretary for the Indian Affairs for the Department of Interior, » Custody, A6
Winds still fueling growth of fire Protection of homes a top priority for firefighters John Lee McLaughlin Journal staff
Heavy winds are only expected to increase in the coming days, making things worse for fire crews battling the growing Sheep Draw wildfire in Harding County. Peak gusts could reach 50 mph through midday today, fueling the blaze that has been burning since Saturday night. With nearly 22 square miles of forest and grassland now charred, the wildfire near West Short Pine Hills, about 30 miles southwest of Buffalo, has grown in size by the day. An estimated 10,200 acres of forest and prairie grasslands were
burned as of Monday, but that climbed to nearly 14,000 acres Tuesday afternoon. Fire spokesman Jonathan Moor of the Bureau of Land Management’s Central Montana Division said no injuries or home losses have been reported. The fire is 70 percent contained, according to Great Plains Fire Information services. Fire crews were still working Tuesday to protect two homes near the north end of the wildfire, he said. Two helicopters from the South Dakota National Guard remained on scene, with 111 personnel combating the wildfire as part of a multi-agency effort that includes federal and state resources, Moor said. “Things are still pretty windy, so that does add to the conditions
ON THE WEB
Wildfires Review the five biggest wildfires in Black Hills history at rapidcityjournal. com/wonder
80 MPH NOW LEGAL LIMIT South Dakota Department of Transportation workers Jim Wiswell and Bill Stickney place a new 80 mph speed limit sign Tuesday morning along Interstate 90 in the westbound lane at mile marker 31 near Sturgis. State transportation workers were scrambling to replace all 250 existing 75 mph signs.
that are good for fire, and it definitely makes the effort to contain the fire more difficult,” Moor said. “Winds are the main factor.” National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Johnson said 15 to 20 mph wind speeds were sustained Tuesday afternoon in the Buffalo area, with peak gusts of about 30 mph throughout the day. Johnson said wind speeds were expected to increase as temperatures climbed to a high of 83 degrees Tuesday in the Buffalo area, about two hours northwest of Rapid City. A cold front was expected to push through the region at about 3 a.m. today, producing wind gusts of up 50 mph through at
Deb Holland, Meade County Times-Tribune staff
» Fire, A5
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INSIDE Estimated number of civilians that have been killed in the past five days in a Saudiled bombing campaign in five Yemeni cities.
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