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• Almost every idea Reconnu proposes builds camaraderie among members, Jerpseth says.
• "He gives his heart and soul to that club," he says of Reconnu. "This chapter and all of his activities gave him a renewed purpose in life. He was putting in probably 60 to 65 hours a week for the first year, year and a half, and you could just see the rewards he was getting."
• Those are rewards Reconnu hopes other Vietnam veterans will reap. There is talk of helping establish a VVA chapter in Aberdeen, joining 1054 and those in Sioux Falls, Deadwood and Rapid City.
• "There's a lot of Vietnam vets who just still don't want to be involved in any outside groups," Reconnu says. "I would encourage them to give the VVA a try. Give it a chance."
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South Dakota ranchers reeling from cattle losses
DIRK LAMMERS, Associated Press
• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Western South Dakota ranchers are reeling from the loss of tens of thousands of cattle in last weekend's blizzard, and many will dispose of carcasses in pits set to open Monday.
• Rancher Heath Ferguson said the storm killed 96 percent of his herd of 100 black Angus and Limousin cattle, a hit worth about $250,000. He said total losses topped more than 1,000 head, as six other herds were roaming the family's 16,000 acres east of Sturgis.
• Up to 4 feet of snow fell in the Black Hills area last weekend. Reports of 20 or more inches of snow were common, and 21½ inches in Rapid City were a record for both a 24-hour period in October and the entire month. At least two deaths were attributed to the storm, and it took a particularly heavy toll on livestock.
• Ferguson said the vast majority of ranchers don't have insurance covering storm-related damage.
• "It's cost-prohibitive for a producer," he said Sunday in an interview with The Associated Press. "Unless you're a really big operator, you can't afford to pay for the insurance."
• Cattle ranchers dealing with weather-related losses would typically turn to the federal Livestock Indemnity Program, but that farm bill provision has expired and its future is in flux due to congressional gridlock and the continuing federal shutdown.
• "We're an independent, pretty self-sufficient bunch, but we need help," Ferguson said.
• South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and U.S. Sen. John Thune did an aerial (Continued on page 21)
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