Business students present Slim Buttes Road data

CSC business students presented their findings about Slim Buttes Road during the Dawes County Commission meeting Wednesday, March 4.

The group updated and added to a 1990 study that was produced when commissioners were considering paving the gravel road connecting Chadron to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The report contains a wealth of economic and maintenance data.

Commissioner Don Blausey, who requested the study, said CSC's eagerness to complete the project was a gift to taxpayers. He estimated that it would cost between $20,000 and $30,000 for a professional firm to do the work.

The commissioners expressed gratitude to the students, who produced the 120-page document in less than six weeks.

"The students went above and beyond my expectations," Blausey said. "When I first met with the class, I wasn't sure if they could do it and certainly didn't know if they could do it in such a short time frame."

CSC Associate Professor Tim Donahue said the project provided valuable "real world" experience for students in his eight-week business marketing and strategy course. Professor Rick Koza's strategic management class will continue the study during the remainder of the semester.

The four group leaders who presented the information to the commissioners are Victoria Frey of Lincoln, Amy Fellhoelter of Broadwater, Brett Simons of Chadron and Doug Liewer of Butte. Other members of the class are Shane Dennehy of Lakewood, Colo., Bailey Lord of Hornick, Iowa, Amie McCracken of Fort Morgan, Colo., John Ritzen of Chadron, Kenneth Schumacher of Plainview, Isaac Stockton of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Tyler Watson of Riverton, Wyo.

Blausey said the students brought objectivity to the 1990 study, which he said was slanted in support of paving the road.

"These students looked at it from a realistic standpoint and didn't sugarcoat it," he said.

Donahue, who has experience working with American Indian reservations and small business development centers, said the study will be valuable not only for the commissioners' decision-making, but also if the county decides to seek federal funding for improvements to the road.

Donahue encouraged people who want a digital copy of the report to send him a message at tdonahue@csc.edu.