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Antelope Memorial Hospital is recognized as one of the Top 20 critical-access hospitals in America (out of 1,353). The award, presented by the National Rural Health Association, reflects AMH's dedication to exceptional patient care. The award's criteria are based on eight pillars of excellence: inpatient and outpatient share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge and finance. AMH also qualified in an additional category of excellence, best practices in patient satisfaction. AMH...
Orchard will be aglow this weekend as the 2023 version of Orchard Free Days celebrates "Let's Glow Crazy in Orchard." Events kick off Friday, July 28, when the Orchard Historical Society will host a chicken dinner, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Rex. A freewill donation of $12 is suggested. The menu includes broasted chicken, potato salad, dinner roll and Texas sheet cake. Drive thru, dine in or carryout orders will be available. Before or after lunch, stop by the District 57 school, situated ne...
With the official start of summer quickly approaching, The 402 Theater Group offers more opportunities for people of all ages to get involved by providing entertainment for the community. Jillian Henn, of Orchard, is one of the creators of The 402 Theatre Group. "The 402 Theater Group is a community inspired to bring the performing arts to rural communities," she said. The group started in 2022, when Orchard resident Don Lallier posted an ad around town to gather interest in starting a theater...
View alumni photos at summerlandadvocatemessenger.zenfolio.com...
Lauren Behnk, of Clearwater, always knew she wanted to travel and experience life outside of Nebraska, especially in a Spanish-speaking country. Several people introduced travel as a way to study on Behnk's radar. Leenda Thiele, Behnk's high school Spanish teacher, shared her journey of coming to the states from Puerta Rico. Thiele encouraged her to experience travel for a better opportunity to learn. Behnk's cousin, Valley, also traveled and spurred her interest in seeing the world. Finally,...
Wayne State College will hold commencement ceremonies for graduate and undergraduate students on Saturday, May 6 in the college's historic Willow Bowl ampitheater. The graduate student ceremony will be at 10 a.m. and the undergraduate ceremony will be at 1:30 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the ceremonies will be held in Rice Auditorium. The ceremonies will be livestreamed at www.wsc.edu/watch-live. A total of 603 degrees will be conferred by Wayne State president Marysz Rames. Those...
The "Summerland Advocate-Messenger" brought home 17 awards from the Nebraska Better Newspaper Contest. Recipients were announced Saturday, during the Nebraska Press Association awards banquet at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln. SAM competed in Class A, which features weekly newspapers with circulation up to 699. Entries were published in 2022. The paper took top honors in five categories, including agriculture advertisement, featuring Automated Dairy Specialists; signature page,...
Ask Braelyn Bergman what she wants to be when she grows up and she isn't shy about answering the question. "As I get older, I want to become a cattle breeder and breed analyst, which also includes artificial insemination technician," the seventh-grade student at Summerland Public Schools said. Bergman has been involved in 4-H for a number of years, showing cattle at the Antelope County Fair. This year, she joined the Summerland FFA Chapter, hoping to enhance her knowledge of agriculture. She joi...
Wayne State College included 1,275 students on the dean's list for exemplary academic achievement during the fall 2022 semester. Students listed on the dean's list are full-time undergraduate students who have achieved a grade-point average of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale for the semester. An asterisk (*) denotes a 4.0 GPA for the term. Area residens receiving honors include Elly Herley and Taylor Sanne *, Clearwater; Brooklynn Chipps, Elgin; Ashley Koenig, Ewing and Erin Schwager *,...
An Orchard woman, Jessica Shaver, crushed her original goals – to become an inspiration to others, to be a better mom, wife and overall person, and to feel confident. While she achieved these goals, she is still on an "amazing journey" to live a healthier lifestyle for both her and her family. Shaver explained that her family had a history of obesity, which has contributed to other health issues, such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. "When I finally decided to take charge of my l...
It's not very often that you hear someone say they enjoy running, but Jessica Barone, of Royal, loves running and the way it makes her feel. Barone has taken on a some new habits that have led her whole family to take on a healthier lifestyle. Barone's story began when she had some minor health problems in October 2021. She decided then that she had to do something to lose weight. "We are a busy family, and I wanted to have more energy and better health overall," Barone explained. She started by...
It's back. Yik Yak, a social media app shut down in 2017 following incidents of bullying on high school and college campuses, has reinvented itself and is blowing up once again. Created in November 2013, Yik Yak was the brainchild of two college students in South Carolina who intended the app to be beneficial for college students. After changes were made to limit anonymous postings, use significantly dropped off. Essentially, the app allows any user to create "Yaks," or anonymous threads. App...
What is the primary purpose of attending college? The most common responses include to gain more knowledge in the particular field one is pursuing, become involved, make connections, and, of course, to attend college for the experience. While all of these reasons are highly important, college is about growth and watching friends and family mature into the responsible adults they hope to become. Two students from Page - one a freshman, one a senior - talk about the college experience and how the...
Antelope County Commissioners listened to updates about the proposed Midwest Carbon Express pipeline, Sept. 13, during the board's regular monthly meeting. Derrick Montgomery was scheduled to present on behalf of Summit Carbon Solutions; however, due to illness, Ben Fuller, a relationship manager with the Iowa-based company, gave an overview of the project. He provided commissioners with handouts, including a map of the county and a few pages including tax information. Summit Carbon Solutions...
Voter integrity was yet again a topic of discussion when Antelope County Commissioners met, Sept. 6, in Neligh. Chairman Charlie Henry opened the floor to Sheryl Baker, who yielded her time to Mike Seier, who spoke about materials presented by Antelope County Patriots at the previous board meeting. Commissioner Regina Krebs questioned information that had the official tally with a "true" number, and she was interested where that number came from. According to Connie Baker, the information came...
With the three-day weekend in store, people across the world are grateful for Labor Day, but how many people truly know what Labor Day is, the sacrifices that were made and how the holiday came about? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day originated in the 19th century "when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America's strength, prosperity, and well-being." During the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution had people of...
Max Heiter, of Royal, took a project to the Antelope County Fair with low expectations. Later, he learned his open class exhibit received the first-place blue ribbon for the 65-and-over class. It all started when Heiter saw a fiber optic knife made by someone on the internet a little over a year ago. "I saw a fiber optic knife somebody made on the internet, so I get on the internet and looked for this fiber optic and I found it in Oklahoma," he said. "I thought 'I'm gonna try it; he did it,...
Farrah Gray, a famous American businessman, said, "Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs." Four years ago, Parker Napier, of Ewing, decided to take a chance at starting his own business, Parker's Lawn Mowing. Now, he continues to expand his business. Parker's Lawn Mowing began when Napier was just 11 years old. He purchased his first lawn mower from his parents, Chad and Karen Napier. He wanted to start this business because he was bored and needed something to do....
Should ballots cast in Antelope County elections be counted by hand instead of by machine? Members of the Antelope County Patriots filled the Antelope County commissioners' meeting room, Aug 9, to discuss those questions and other election procedures. Sheryl Baker approached the board and yielded her time to Professor David Clements, of New Mexico, and Connie Reinke with the Nebraska Voter Accuracy Project. Clements introduced himself as a former law professor at New Mexico State University, a...
Nebraska’s new slogan “Honestly, it’s not for everyone” may be true for some people, but the one thing that may be for everyone is Nebraska’s beef. The state’s quality beef is what inspired the Nebraska Beef Council to launch the Nebraska Beef Passport, which includes Sly’s Family Bar and Grill in Neligh. According to nebeef.org, “The Nebraska Beef Council is a non-profit organization served by a nine-member board of directors. The volunteers oversee Nebraska’s beef checkoff and checkoff-fund...
By the time this edition lands in your mailbox, I imagine our office will be a bit quieter. Our summer reporters either will have returned to high school or be headed to Wayne for college. Both will be seniors at their respective schools. It has been a joy working with Faith King and Erin Schwager this summer. Erin joined the paper the day before our first edition debuted in 2019. She had recently graduated high school and was leaving soon for her first year at Wayne. She’s written stories f...
With the start of the second year at Summerland Public School this week, there are a multitude of opportunities students can still be introduced to. Kelly Anson, of Ewing, hopes to share Summerland school spirit by forming the Dance Catz dance team. Anson said she is “excited to offer this opportunity to students who share the love of dance and look forward to promoting school spirit.” “I hope it brings out the best in each other, role models, new traditions, school spirit and camaraderie,” she...
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....
Corey Curtis is the master of the cattle rattle. He's cornered the market on the auction cry. And, he has the hardware to prove it. Curtis, of Royal, along with his wife, Tanya, and daughter, Christen, traveled to the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, in Aurora, July 31, for the 2022 Nebraska Auctioneers Association auctioneer championship contest. Curtis earned the reserve champion title. Curtis has been an auctioneer for around 22 to 23 years. "My dad was the one that kind of talked me into going...
Keegan Smith is preparing for his next adventure: boot camp for the Marine Corps. "I had heard people talking about the military at a young age, so when I had time, I looked up the different branches," Smith said. The 2022 Summerland School graduate said he always knew he wanted to join the military. "We would have been shocked if he would have taken a different path. Ever since he was young, you could either find him out back dressed in camo playing army, or he would be in the street playing...