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The Clearwater Rough Stock Challenge will add a few new features for its fourth-annual event, Saturday, Aug. 17. Competition is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., in the Gene Snodgrass Arena, located along West Highway 275. A calcutta will be held at 7 p.m., prior to the first event. Elgin Livestock auctioneer, Ted Baum, will handle auction duties. Justin Rumford, 10-time PRCA Pro Rodeo Clown of the Year will entertain the crowd between riders. "He'll be a hit with the crowd," said chamber president...
What a show! Overflow crowds watched nearly 300 cowboys and cowgirls provide thrills and spills over the weekend at Clearwater's Big Rodeo. In the process, competitors took home approximately $34,000 in prize money. "What an amazing three nights of rodeo," said Curt Thiele, Clearwater Chamber of Commerce president. "We were blessed with very good weather and competition was high, with a big number of competitors." Sutton Schrunk, of Valentine, scored 77 in bull riding to take home the top prize...
Growing up in a small town in Georgia, Noah Hicks lives his music life as his most authentic self. From small gigs to working with top artists in the industry, he never forgets the farm he grew up on. Hicks was raised on a small chicken farming operation in Carrollton, Georgia. He was always playing guitar and music became a big influence in his life. In an interview in late May, he told SAM, "The dream really started when I had a friend named Reed Morris who pushed me to start singing. We were...
The American Red Cross reports that blood donors are critically needed following a sharp decrease in donations since late spring. Area residents will have an opportunity to donate in Clearwater, Thursday, July 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the American Legion. "All blood types are needed, especially donors giving type O blood and those giving platelets," Red Cross officials said. Individuals who donate are asked to bring a donor card or photo identification. To schedule an appointment, call...
Nebraska native Luke Mills has been involved in the music industry for a quarter of a century. Since 1999, Mills has performed across the United States, with multiple songs becoming hits. He has toured with some of the biggest names in the industry but always stays true to his unique performing style. Mills was born and raised in Holdrege, a city with fewer than 10,000 people. While most artists hail from larger areas, such as Nashville or New York, Mills spent his life in the small Nebraska...
Country music artist Tim Zach never imagined he would one day be sharing the stage with the greatest musicians in the industry. A Wisconsin native, Zach went to college to study policing science with the aspiration to become a police officer. However, he soon realized law enforcement was not for him so he made the move to retail sales. He worked in retail for another decade and didn't get his break until he was in his 30s, when he was named the "Best New Country Act in Nebraska." Years later, Za...
The beginning of high school is time for young people to discover who they are and learn how to lead. Having the chance to join clubs, organizations and take part in special programs allows youth to figure out who they are. "Unfortunately, as a 2023 graduate, class members never got to fully experience what high school is really like. For me, the lack of experience meant I was lost amongst the crowd and really didn't feel confident in who I was," said Faith King. In 2020, freshman year was cut...
Faith King and Alex Thiele donate blood, Tuesday, during a blood drive at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Orchard. The drive was held in honor of Thiele's brother, Jesse, who was injured in an accident eight years ago and needed 10 units of blood. This is King's first time to donate....
Summerland High Graduate and Wayne State College student Faith King has received the Tom and Pat Cook Endowed Criminal Justice Scholarship for Wayne State. It recognizes excellence in the criminal justice field and other academic courses. It also considers GPA, ACT, and commitment to the field....
In a tough battle against perennial track and field powerhouses, the Bobcat boys' teamfinished eighth at district competition, held May 9, in Atkinson. After the final starting gun sounded, three Summerland athletes advancde to the 2024 Class C NSAA State Track and Field Championships at Omaha Burke Stadium on May 17 and 18. Two high jumpers will face each other at state. Juniors Ryan Rifer and Ruger Switzer both cleared 6' one inch. Rifer earned a silver medal and Switzer, bronze. Rifer ran...
Summerland Advocate-Messenger personnel brought home 23 awards from the 2023 Better Newspaper Contest for the Nebraska Press Association. Awards were presented Saturday evening, at the awards banquet held at the Cornhusker Marriot Hotel in Lincoln. SAM finished second in Class A, which includes weekly newspapers with a circulation up to 699 subscriptions. The Stanton Register won the division. In advertising categories, publisher LuAnn Schindler won seven awards. An ad featuring financial services at Brunswick State Bank, promoting FFA Week,...
Carlee Livingston will represent the Summerland speech team at the 2024 NSAA Class C2 State Speech Championships, Thursday, March 21, at Kearney High School. Livingston advances after a third-place finish in persuasive speaking at Monday's Class C2-3 district meet in Hartington. Six other speech students qualified for finals. Alanna Doll finished fifth in informative speaking. Brandon Pruden placed fifth in oral interpretation of humorous prose. In oral interpretation of drama, Addisyn...
Wayne State College included 1,312 students on the dean's list for exemplary academic achievement during the fall 2023 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 students named to the list include Sharon Bartak, Emma Funk, Elly Herley, Faith King, Summer Schroeder*, Clearwater; Ashley Koenig, Elizabeth Nordby,...
Since we're writers, we, at SAM love lists. Trust us, we keep and use them every single day. But, how does one determine which articles should be at the top of the yearly list? In the past, we've based it by reader count from our website. This year, we're still relying on reader count, featuring the top-read article by month. We wrote nearly 2,000 articles in 2023 and, while some of our favorites don't appear on the list, we're sure these are a newsworthy representation of the Summerland region....
Wayne State freshman and Summerland High School graduate, Faith King, is experiencing many firsts at college. Her most impressive is being the first student to be a criminal justice major while a part of the Career Scholars Cooperative Education Program, Rural Law Opportunities Program and Honors Program. The Career Scholars Cooperative Education Program allows students to have three years of building skills for leadership and the workforce, with a fourth year in the chosen career field. Student...
Next week's edition of the "Advocate-Messenger" will include a special section with results of Summerland-area residents from the Antelope and Holt county fairs, as well as Nebraska State Fair results. Advertising options for the section are still available. To learn more, contact LuAnn Schindler at [email protected] or call the news office at 402-485-2101....
Not many students can say that their parents are attending college at the same time they are, and even fewer can say all three are attending the same college. My unique journey started when my father, mother, and I all decided to attend Wayne State College this fall. Three Wildcats is much better than only one. Our Wayne State journey started when my father, Brian, decided to go back to college in August 2019 after his company went through a merger. Job insecurity was a risk and he wanted to...
Holt County Ag Society has announced its 2023 4-H and fair schedule. Events will begin Saturday, Aug. 5 with 4-H shooting sports action and end Saturday, Aug. 12, at the fairgrounds in Chambers. 4-H shooting sports participants will register Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m., with competition in trap, .22, small bore pistol and muzzle loading scheduled to start at 9. On Sunday, shooting sports participants will compete for bragging rights and ribbons in BB gun, air rifle, air pistol and archery, at...
Dine-in guests visit while attending the Orchard Historical Society's chicken dinner. The Friday luncheon drew a large crowd and also offered carryout and drive-thru options. Fried chicken, homemade dinner rolls, potato salad and Texas sheet cake were served during the Orchard Community Day event....
"Mom, Zach ruined one of my Barbies again! Mom, Emma ripped my Barbie's hair out." These sayings were common occurrences of mine, as a middle child, meaning my Barbie's went through the trenches. Missing hair, colored faces, torn clothes; all of these items were normal to see on my beloved dolls. For all who have had to face destroyed toys, we can happily celebrate Barbie-In-A-Blender Day. This holiday, celebrated July 27, was started by Freeculture.org to show support for photographer and...
SUBMITTED ARTICLE The 2022- 2023 SkillsUSA season has officially come to an end. Summerland’s chapter president, Faith King, stated that the national qualifiers finished the year strong, upon their return from the National Skills and Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, at the end of June. Although it was previously announced that recent Summerland graduate, Faith King, would qualify for a spot among the top 10 in the nation, her exact placings were not known until this past week. In the prelim rounds, King earned fifth place among all c...
Competitors from across Nebraska and South Dakota converged on Clearwater, July 22, for the third annual Rough Stock Challenge, sponsored by the local chamber of commerce. Chase YellowHawk, of St. Francis, South Dakota, took the top spot in bareback riding. He scored 76 points. Whitten Hoover, of Ainsworth, and Spencer Denaeyer, of Seneca, scored 74 points, tying for the second spot. In the saddle bronc division, Jackson Ford, of Sturgis, South Dakota, took home the first-place prize after...
The best rough stock riders return to Clearwater, Saturday, July 22, as the local chamber of commerce hosts the third-annual Clearwater Rough Stock Challenge. Competition is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., in the Gene Snodgrass Arena, located along West Highway 275. A calcutta will be held at 7 p.m., prior to the first event. Elgin Livestock auctioneer, Ted Baum, will handle auction duties. Stock for the challenge will be provided by Justin Boots, with Rocking Plus Rodeo Company. Local businesses...