Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 105
“If you’re going to talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk.” A superintendent I worked for said this phrase during monthly faculty meetings too many times to count. I’ve been thinking a lot that quote - and how he leveraged the phrase to spur people to action. Since the November election, I’ve listened to grumbling about everything from political candidates’ qualifications to an overabundance of government overreach to a general dissatisfaction with public policy. Most conversatio...
Dear Santa, It is almost Christmas and I am feeling very excited! Some presents I would like to ask for this year are ukulele and a Mp3 player. To show you what I think of when we talk about Christmas, I drew you a picture of joy and Jesus' birthday. Merry Christmas! Love, Makenna Bergman Dear Santa, It is almost Christmas and I am feeling very jolly! Some presents I would like to ask for this year are OMG surprise, American Girl doll, Omari, a bouncy ball, and a fingerling. To show you what I...
Lisa Payne is relieved the 2020 general election is behind her. The Antelope County clerk and election commissioner jokingly described the stress of prepping for the election as about an 11 on a scale of one to 10. “I would say the stress is normal,” Payne said. “We are still finishing up.” She has seen many elections since she started working for the county clerk’s office in May 2005. Payne was elected as the county clerk in 2014 and took office the next year. She noted the 3,615 voters ou...
The Antelope County results are in for the 2020 general election. County clerk and election commissioner Lisa Payne noted 3,615 voters out of the 4,570 registered in the county cast ballots before and on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The people who turned out for the election voted for candidates who were running for positions at the local, county, regional, state and federal levels. "We counted 1,340 early voters, leaving 2,275 voting in person on Election Day," Payne said. "I did not hear of any problems...
The voters of Holt County have spoken by casting ballots in the 2020 general election. Important local races, combined with a battle for the White House, brought 78.6% of the county's registered voters to select their choices for leadership positions. County clerk and election commissioner, Cathy Pavel, said of the county's 7,144 registered voters, 5,615 voted. "Early voters totaled 2,163 and 3,462 individuals voted at the polls. Very busy all day with voting," Pavel said. Vote counts for local...
The village of Orchard's shop building went up in flames Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 3. Firefighters from Orchard and Royal responded to a call of a structure fire about 10 minutes before 4 p.m. The shop building is located directly behind the structure where the village office is located at 230 Windom St. Orchard Fire Chief Duane Risinger said the fire was "about two hose lengths away from the fire hall." An incident command vehicle from the Neligh Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the...
General election results, from Nov. 3, 2020, for Antelope County, include: President Tilden 1st: Trump/Pence: 87 Biden/Harris: 15 Jorgensen/Cohen: 0 Write-in: 1 Tilden Precinct: Trump/Pence: 101 Biden/Harris: 9 Jorgensen/Cohen: 1 Oakdale: Trump/Pence: 152 Biden/Harris: 18 Jorgensen/Cohen: 3 Neligh P: Trump/Pence: 154 Biden/Harris: 10 Jorgensen/Cohen: 2 Neligh 1: Trump/Pence: 234 Biden/Harris: 21 Jorgensen/Cohen: 2 Neligh 2: Trump/Pence: 163 Biden/Harris: 21 Jorgensen/Cohen: 6 Brunswick:...
Local races in the 2020 general election may pique voters' attention this year. Holt County voters have until Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m., to request ballots by mail or fax a request to vote early in this year's election. Individuals may request a ballot in person by Nov. 2, at 5 p.m., at the Holt County Clerk's office in O'Neill. Holt County Clerk Cathy Pavel said 1,900 early voting requests have been received, as of Tuesday morning. All early voting ballots must be received by the county...
Antelope County residents who want to request ballots for early voting in the 2020 general election soon will run out of time to do so. The deadline for requesting ballots by mail or fax a request to vote early in this year's general election – scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3 – is 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. County residents who want to request ballots in person to vote early, must do so by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at the county clerk's office inside the courthouse in Neligh. All ballots for early vot...
Discussion and debate has always been a part of rural America. From coffee shops to the local co-op, rural residents aren't afraid to show their loyalty for one candidate or another, share their thoughts on the issues of the day and voice their distrust of the government. Sometimes opinions can spur disagreement and raise tensions. But, in the end, most of us will agree to disagree, shake hands, and go about our day. Lately, this seems to have changed. The divisive politics of Washington have ma...
Facing a fierce public outcry, the U.S. Postal Service is “suspending” its sudden cost-cutting moves — tossing out high-speed sorting machines, uprooting collection boxes, reducing Post Office hours and eliminating carrier overtime — that have slowed mail delivery and threatened the on-time delivery of mail-in ballots for the presidential election. That’s all to the good, but it’s important to understand that the changes to USPS that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the current administration...
The purchase of a refrigerated semi-trailer and the county fund it was paid from were among matters of contention at the Antelope County commissioners' meeting last week. All five commissioners, several other county officials and others were present in the courthouse meeting room May 5 and the meeting was shared electronically via Zoom. Some of those present were asked to step into the hall at one point, when more than 10 were observed in the room. Jared Reimers addressed the commissioners...
A Holt County supervisor recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference. Bill Tielke, chairman of the county supervisor board, was notified in January that he had been appointed to the association's Environment, Energy and Land Use Policy Steering Committee. The committee is responsible for matters pertaining to air, water, energy and land use – including such things as water resources/management; stormwater; pesticides; a...
The process may be a little different for the May 12 Primary Election in Nebraska, but registered voters in the state will still have the opportunity for in-person voting. During a recent press conference, Governor Pete Ricketts announced the primary election will continue as scheduled. Ricketts emphasized that fulfilling the state's duty to carry out elections is vital to the health of the democratic republic. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen confirmed polling sites will be open for...
UPDATED: APRIL 1, 2020 @ 8:04 P.M. North Central District Health Department, in communication with state officials, have signed the NCDHD counties, including Antelope, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Holt, Keya Paha, Knox, Pierce and Rock, into the Directed Health Measures, effective April 1, at 10 p.m., through May 11, unless the order is extended. Please read the Directed Health Measures in full carefully, they can be found on the Department of Health and Human Services website at htt...
The Nebraska Primary Election is May 12, 2020. Holt County received a lot of interest in filing for offices, but due to auto-advance rules, all local school board races, county supervisor district six, city races, airport authorities, Natural Resource Districts, Nebraska Public Power District and Northeast Community College races will not appear on the Primary Election ballot. These races will appear on the General Election ballot. Holt County voters will be voting on the president, Senate and Congress representatives. Local issues that will...
One of the bills that I introduced this session was LB 770. It authorizes a free lifetime park permit for disabled veterans. This past week, LB 770 was advanced from the Natural Resources Committee on an 8-0 vote. I designated it as my priority bill and the Legislature gave it first-round approval on a 38-0 vote. Under LB 770, a veteran would be eligible for the free permit if they are a Nebraska resident, honorably discharged, and rated 50% or more service-connected disabled or 100% disabled, n...
Antelope County District 2 Commissioner Eli Jacob will have a challenger for the seat he currently fills. Donald Lallier, of Orchard, has filed for the position, according to Antelope County Deputy Clerk Denise Kurpgeweit. Incumbents have until Feb. 18 to register for re-election. Non-incumbents must file paperwork by March 2. The Nebraska general primary will be May 12....
It's official. Thursday morning, the state committee for the reorganization of school districts approved dissolution of Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard Public School districts and the formation of the Summerland school district, effective June 6, during a 29-minute public hearing at the Nebraska Department of Education in Lincoln. The reorganization plan passed 4-0. Committee member Gerry Osborn was absent. Nebraska Unified School District #1 Superintendent Dale Martin told the committee...
Phase one: complete. With last week's successful passage of the Summerland school bond, board of education members from Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard planned to meet Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Ewing, to start phase two of the consolidation and building processes. Ewing Principal Greg Appleby said, "We have a lengthy agenda to discuss a number of items, including policy." Dale Martin, superintendent of Nebraska Unified District #1, which includes Clearwater and Orchard, said a number of items need...
With a full board seated at the table, the Antelope County commissioners addressed dust issues on a county road for the second week in a row. Commissioners Carolyn Pedersen and Regina Krebs, who were appointed to fill vacancies the week prior, were sworn into office by Linda Mitchell, Antelope County court magistrate, prior to the nearly six-hour meeting at the courthouse in Neligh last Tuesday, Nov. 12. Tension appeared as issues arose regarding timing of agenda disbursement to commissioners,...
Phase one: complete. With Tuesday's successful passage of the Summerland school bond, board of education members from Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard plan to meet Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Ewing, to start phase two of the consolidation and building processes. Ewing Principal Greg Appleby said, "We have a lengthy agenda to discuss a number of items, including policy." Dale Martin, superintendent of Nebraska Unified District #1, which includes Clearwater and Orchard, said a number of items need to be...
With the passage of the Summerland school bond, Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard boards of education will meet in joint session, Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Ewing. Nebraska Unified Superintendent Dale Martin submitted the following agenda to the Advocate-Messenger for publication. A Special Joint Meeting of the Clearwater Original Board of Education, the Ewing Board of Education, and the Orchard Original Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at Ewing Public School. A Special Joint Meeting of the Clearwater...
Drama unfolded once again and the county attorney was called in for advice at a meeting of the Antelope County commissioners at the Neligh courthouse last Tuesday, Oct. 1. The final item on the agenda, taxpayer concerns/general comment/Regina Krebs, was moved up. Krebs assists various county officials and subdivisions with budget preparation and, in her capacity as a certified public accountant, has conducted audits of public entities, including Antelope County in years past. She introduced...
Why are the Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard school boards calling a special bond election November 12th? For several years, the three school boards have been working to find the best solution to address needs each district faces when it comes to operational efficiency, enrollment limitations, aging facilities and limited program offerings for students and families in their communities. Following a rigorous process of identifying the urgent needs, utilizing community engagement to determine an effe...
