Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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The Antelope County commissioners met on Tuesday, Aug. 9 for a regular meeting in the county courthouse. Commissioners Charlie Henery and Carolyn Pedersen were not in attendance of the meeting. Several items on the agenda were discussed but at 9:40 a.m. Bobbi Risor, Region 11 emergency manager, approached the commissioners about the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant through FEMA. The grant was applied for in 2020, and Antelope County itself participated fully in the grant....
Antelope County Commissioners tackled multiple agenda items when they met in regular session, Aug. 2, in Neligh. One promotional and one improvement grant request were approved. A promotional grant request for $242.50 was received from the Orchard Community Club. Funds were used for Orchard Free Celebration Days. Commissioner Eli Jacob moved to accept the request; commissioner Dean Smith made the second. All voted in favor. The second grant request was an improvement grant for $1,750 from Oakdal...
Antelope County will continue to provide an opportunity for in-person voting at countywide precincts and offer mail-in ballots as an option, following a vote of Antelope County Commissioners, Tuesday morning. The motion, made by Dean Smith, and seconded by Carolyn Pederson, followed nearly 45 minutes of discussion with Antelope County residents regarding election integrity. Antelope County Patriots member Sheryl Baker told commissioners while she and other group members have "total confidence"...
Antelope County Commissioners learned Tuesday that the furnace in the Episcopal Church, located on the Antelope County Museum complex, will need a new furnace. According to Commissioner Carolyn Pedersen, the furnace stopped working toward the end of February. The museum curator contacted Antelope County Historical Society president Boyd Pedersen about how to proceed, “since it’s a county building and it’s going to be around $5,000.” The air conditioning unit still works, so Pedersen said th...
Antelope County commissioners voted unanimously, Tuesday, to amend the salary for the county sheriff. Commissioner Dean Smith was absent from the meeting. Commissioner Carolyn Pedersen told fellow officials she had presented incorrect figures for the position during the board's Dec. 21 meeting and offered corrected salaries at the Jan. 4 meeting. Pedersen said she compared current sheriff salaries in neighboring counties, with base salaries ranging from $63,000 to $74,423, based on data provied...
The condition of a stretch of 516 Avenue, from Highway 275 north two miles, consumed nearly 60 minutes during Tuesday's Antelope County Commissioners' meeting, in Neligh. Commissioner Eli Jacob, who represents Clearwater, expressed concerns about excessive dust on the road since the oil surface was milled and replaced with Sinclair gravel. "I was told when we ground it up that it would be a year and we'd get an overlay. It's been a year this spring and we don't have an overlay yet," Jacob said....
Concerns about road conditions leading to the new Summerland School site resurfaced Tuesday, during the Antelope County Commissioners meeting, in Neligh. District patron and Antelope County resident Brian Brodersen, of rural Ewing, asked commissioners if a speed reduction or road repairs are planned before the first bell rings next school year. Brodersen, who resides along Summerland Road, said, “For one, it’s not wide. There’s no lines. The holes get to be tremendous. And the speed ......
Stephanie Meuret, of Brunswick, will fill a vacated position on the Antelope County Visitors Committee. County commissioners approved the appointment, Tuesday, during a regular meeting, at the Antelope County Courthouse in Neligh. Meuret will fill a four-year term. Commissioner Carolyn Pedersen said the seat became open following the resignation of Holly Meuret of Brunswick. "That's why Stephanie was appointed," Pedersen said. Commissioners also approved two improvement grants and one...
A one-mile stretch of 841 Road, between 510 and 511 avenues, located in the southwest part of the county, has been officially closed. A resolution for the road closure was finalized during the Antelope County Commissioners' March 9 meeting, during follow-up discussion after a March 2 public hearing. The stretch of road sits east of the Antelope County - Wheeler County line, within Invenergy's Thunderhead wind project and allows access to driveways for two wind towers and a powerline, in...
Antelope County businesses participating in the northeast The Best of the Backroad Tour of northeast Nebraska, sponsored by News Channel Nebraska and area economic development groups, will receive an economic incentive, in the form of $100. Visitor fund committee member Rick Schuchardt, along with NCN representative Laurie Larsen, addressed the Antelope County Commissioners March 2. Schuchardt said a discussion with Neligh Chamber of Commerce officials led to discussion about the tour and...
Antelope County has a new weed superintendent. The path to hiring for the position met a thorny obstacle along the way. Antelope County Commissioners' Chairman Charlie Henery said, during a Jan. 5 meeting, "The young man we proposed to hire declined." Brian Benson, of Neligh, was initially offered the position during the Dec. 8 commissioners meeting. He declined to accept the job. Bryan Cornett, of Oakdale, was the only other applicant for the full-time weed superintendent's position, which open...
An ice cream machine purchased for inmates at the Antelope County Law Enforcement Center has left one county commissioner feeling a little frosty. The board of commissioners approved a resolution regarding the commissary fee schedule for the county jail during their meeting Tuesday, Dec. 8, in Neligh, but the vote was not unanimous. The commissary fee schedule was on the meeting agenda due to the results of the county's annual audit report that were released last month by the Nebraska Auditor...
Antelope County has not decided yet whether to install new security windows inside its courthouse in Neligh. The board of commissioners heard a presentation Tuesday, Nov. 10, from Aaron Kinnan of Kinnan Construction near Oakdale about a potential project. Kinnan noted in a follow-up interview that the commissioners are split on whether to have more expensive bullet-resistant – more commonly known as bulletproof – glass or cheaper shatterproof safety glass installed for certain county off...
An Antelope County commissioner had several questions about an annual agenda item during the board’s meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8, in Neligh. Commissioner Dean Smith was curious about the 2020 inventories of county personal property, which had been presented to the board the previous week. However, due to the absence of the inventory of the county sheriff’s office at the time, the commissioners delayed acting on the agenda item. “How thoroughly have they been reviewed?” Smith asked about the inv...
Fred Thiele wants to make sure part of a gravel road located near Clearwater is not forgotten by Antelope County. The rural Clearwater resident was the only member of the public to speak up on the county’s one-year and six-year road improvement plan during the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday, Sept. 1, in Neligh. Before Thiele gave his input, county highway superintendent Brian McDonald spoke to the commissioners about the road improvement plan and its corresponding map of projects. “This is pa...
The selection of a jury for an upcoming trial in an Antelope County civil case will have to be moved from its usual location due to the COVID-19 pandemic. District court clerk Angela Mortensen and county attorney Joe Abler met with the board of commissioners Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the courthouse in Neligh regarding a change in venue for the jury selection. Mortensen requested the board’s permission to rent a facility for the jury selection, which will be scheduled to take one day on Oct. 5. ...
Antelope County has raised its annual financial contribution to the county library association for the first time in three years. The board of commissioners approved an increase for each of the county’s six public libraries during its meeting Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the courthouse in Neligh.Board chair Charlie Henery, vice board chair Regina Krebs and commissioner Carolyn Pedersen voted in favor of the raise, while commissioner Dean Smith voted against it. Commissioner Eli Jacob was absent from the...
Antelope County still is looking for a new emergency manager. Part-time county road foreman Casey Dittrich had applied for the position, but he withdrew his application during the board of commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the courthouse in Neligh. County clerk Lisa Payne noted other than Dittrich’s application, which had been discussed at one of the board’s previous meetings in July, she had no new ones to present to the commissioners for consideration. “We advertised and did not...
The Antelope County Board of Commissioners has approved a road-use agreement for the duration of potential construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. However, the board’s decision was neither quick nor unanimous, as the commissioners discussed the agreement for about an hour and 40 minutes during their nearly five-hour meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the courthouse in Neligh. Board chair Charlie Henery and commissioners Eli Jacob and Carolyn Pedersen approved the agreement as presented, while v...
Fred Thiele wants to make sure part of a gravel road located near Clearwater is not forgotten by Antelope County. The rural Clearwater resident was the only member of the public to speak up on the county’s one-year and six-year road improvement plan during the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday, Sept. 1, in Neligh. Before Thiele gave his input, county highway superintendent Brian McDonald spoke to the commissioners about the road improvement plan and its corresponding map of projects. “This is pa...
As the 2020-2021 fiscal year neared its second month, Antelope County leaders started their annual budget work with a special workshop meeting last week at the courthouse in Neligh. The budget must be submitted to the state by Sept. 20, with a public hearing required prior to its adoption. Although values won't be certified until later in the month, Assessor Kelly Meuller-Oltjenbruns has unofficially reported about a 3% decrease in valuation countywide. Commissioners reviewed department's...
The Antelope County commissioners voted, last week, to issue $3 million in bonds to repair county roads. All five commissioners voted aye to a motion made by commissioner Carolyn Pedersen, seconded by commissioner Eli Jacob, late in an eight-hour meeting at the courthouse in Neligh on July 14. Proceeds from bonds will allow county employees to complete projects totaling more than $2.5 million yet this calendar year, road superintendent Aaron Boggs told the Advocate-Messenger. "Big-money" overlay...
Antelope County commissioners worked a little closer to resolving a plethora of road issues last week, although no decision was reached for bonding more work. The bulk of the July 7 meeting at the courthouse in Neligh was dedicated to county roads, in one form or another. After clearing the agenda of other business and more than an hour of discussion with road superintendent Aaron Boggs, an unofficial agreement was reached, giving Boggs direction to move forward with work on four heavily...
Twenty-nine-forty – an accounting code that identifies an Antelope County Law Enforcement Center fund – has become a familiar term during Antelope County commissioner dialog, as well as a point of contention between county officials. The “special revenue” account was formed after the Law Enforcement Center went into operation in 2015. In the ensuing years, the balance in the account has grown to more than $400,000 from fees charged for housing prisoners from other counties and law enforcement services provided to several Antelope County...
Angela Mortensen of Neligh has been appointed clerk of the district court in Antelope County, effective July 1. Mortensen, who has served as deputy clerk for more than 25 years, will serve the balance of the term of office, until January 2023, currently held by Judy Cole, who will retire June 30. Mortensen was appointed by a panel of four Antelope County commissioners Tuesday morning after applicants were interviewed. Questions were directed to three applicants, Mortensen, Tabitha Kerkman and...
