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• HARRISBURG, S.D. (AP) -- A former chairwoman of the Harrisburg School Board and her husband will not go on trial next week over accusations that they allowed dozens of teenagers to drink alcohol last spring at a pre-graduation party on their property.
• Charges are being dismissed because a key witness in the case against Michelle and Brian Schirado is at a critical stage in his military training, and pulling him to testify would harm his military career, Lincoln County State's Attorney Tom Wollman said in a statement Thursday. The charges are being dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled later.
• "We are disappointed in the inability to resolve this matter short of a trial," Wollman said. He said prosecutors were "in a difficult position of having to balance the military career of a young soldier and the interests of justice."
• Lawyers Mike Butler, who represented Brian Schirado, and Clint Sargent, who represented Michelle Schirado, both told the Argus Leader newspaper that they were prepared to show at trial that their clients did nothing illegal. Neither lawyer would comment on Wollman's stated reason for the dismissal.
• "What I can say is that we did a very extensive investigation into this case, and we were completely confident that our clients would be exonerated," Sargent said.
• More than two dozen teens were cited last May for underage drinking at the Schirados' rural home. A grand jury last August indicted the Schirados on counts of contributing to a child in need of supervision and maintaining a place for the violation of beverage laws.
• There was no evidence from police reports or grand jury testimony to suggest that the Schirados provided alcohol, glasses, ice or coolers to any teens, Butler said. The Schirados intended to call witnesses to testify that the alcohol had been smuggled onto the farm and hidden in tents.
• "I guess the moral of the story is, 'Don't host a graduation party unless you're going to hire a security detail to search every car and every kid,'" Butler said.
• Wollman said the case wasn't about providing alcohol.
• "The allegation was that the Schirados maintained a place for a violation of beverage laws," he said. "You can't open your house up to a game of beer pong in your attached garage."
• Michelle Schirado is no longer head of the school board but she is still a board member, according to KSFY-TV.
• The case had become a topic of discussion beyond Harrisburg. State legislators

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