County warned of compound near Edgemont

By Hot Springs Star | Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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HOT SPRINGS – A secretive religious group linked to national cases of polygamy and the marriage of underage girls may be expanding to the Edgemont area, and there may be little Fall River County officials can do.

Bill Clark last week petitioned the county to stop the Fundamental Latter Day Saints Church from buying land and building a compound similar to one the group has maintained near Pringle in the Southern Hills.

“I guess I am wondering, from a legal standpoint, what can the county do to stop this?” Clark asked the Fall River County Commission. “This is a group, led by a convicted felon, which is in violation of federal law.”

Clark said he was referring to Warren Jeffs, who has been convicted of rape by accomplice, and that FLDS church members are believed to practice polygamy.

The commissioners, however, cautioned that Fall River officials have never found the FLDS group in violation of any laws and that little can be done to prevent plans to build. However, they did note that the property is in the process of being sold.

Sheriff Jeff Tarrell told the commission that he has been to the compound several times. He said he had issued a citation for a violation of the county burn ban and that he had instructed the occupants to stop any construction preparation until the sale of the property was finalized.

“The purchase agreement has been signed, although the sale of the property is being contested in the courts,” Commissioner Mike Ortner said. “Also, it has never been shown that Jeffs was even in South Dakota.”

The property in question was part of the estate of Buddy Heck and was left to Doris Seabeck and to Carolyn Fines. Seabeck is Heck’s sister and is the personal representative of his estate. Seabeck signed the purchase agreement, which is being contested by Fines in the courts.

On Friday, 7th Circuit Judge Merton Tice put a legal stop to the sale until that issue is resolved. Heck's will requires that both Seabeck and Fines would have to agree to the sale.

The commissioners said that as Carolyn Fines is state’s attorney Lance Russell’s mother, there may be some conflict of interest on the county’s part.

However, one of the reasons that the FLDS has chosen Fall River County may be because there is no planning or zoning in the county, giving the commissioners little leverage. That proved of little consolation to Clark.

“These people are just too close,” Clark said. “There should be something that can be done to at least make sure that they can’t spread.”