Firefighting Command Center, Rushmore National Music Camp and Utopian Visions

Dakota Midday - 07/31/2012

Larry Helmerick, Team Leader trainee and Fire Information Officer, and Incident Commander John Pierson talks about the Black Hills fires. Helmerick is a Prevention Expert out of Colorado. He's currently in South Dakota helping to stop fires in the Black Hills. Because of the high number of fires that the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District has seen since the beginning of July, coupled with the extended weather forecast, fire managers from the Black Hills National Forest, the National Park Service, and the South Dakota Division of Wildland Fire Suppression entered into agreement to order a Type 2 Incident Management Team to serve as a Command and Mobilization Center. The New Mexico Type 2 Incident Management Team, led by Incident Commander John Pierson arrived in Custer on Friday to meet with federal, state and local fire personnel.

Alan LaFave, Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Northern State University in Aberdeen, talks about the Rushmore National Music Camp. LaFave is also the camp director for the Rushmore National Music Camp. The camp, for junior high students, is happening this week at NSU in Aberdeen. Approximately 100 students are attending the Aberdeen camp which will culminate with a Friday performance. The Rushmore National Music Camp was founded 35 years ago by Paul and Lois Hedge of Lead.

Alison Erazmus, Director of the John A. Day Gallery at the University of South Dakota, and Matthew Presutti, co-curator of "Utopian Visions: Illustrations of the Mid-20th Century," talked about the display. The exhibit opened yesterday and runs through September 21st. Presutti is a graduate student who went to NYC to the Society of Illustrators to conduct research to learn more about the illustrations in the permanent collection. He also spent the entire year (2011-2012) cataloging the illustrations.

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