Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 54
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...
Ron Westlake's interest in history has led him to start a new chapter in his story. The Norfolk man became the new part-time curator of the Antelope County Museum in Neligh on Aug. 1, replacing Pat Kenaston. "I have helped out at the museum in the past and was impressed with the organization," Westlake said. He said he has enjoyed meeting new people and searching the museum's collections since he took over as the curator. The organization features numerous displays and research archives...
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 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...
Antelope County is looking into improving courthouse security to better protect its employees. County treasurer Deb Branstiter spoke to the board of commissioners Tuesday, Oct. 13, about purchasing and installing new security windows and related items for various offices inside the courthouse in Neligh. "I recently traveled to Cedar County and Knox County," Branstiter said. "In June, I called six different contractors and got varying responses." Representatives from Glass Edge Inc. of Norfolk...
Misty Nilson is of the opinion that women should take their breast cancer screenings seriously, especially if they have a family history of the disease. The 54-year-old Ewing woman has been free of breast cancer for four years as of this October, which also happens to be Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Because breast cancer runs in her family, Nilson began to undergo yearly screenings for the disease during her late 30s. The American Cancer Society and other similar organizations recommend women...
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...
Antelope County may need to weed out candidates depending on how many applications it receives from people wanting to replace a longtime employee. The board of commissioners received a letter of resignation from county weed superintendent Bruce Ofe during its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Neligh. The Oakdale man plans to retire from the full-time position Dec. 31 after more than 40 years of working for the county. "I'd be willing to stay that long so that if you get somebody hired, I could help...
Invenergy has requested the permanent closure of a stretch of road near its Thunderhead wind project in southwest Antelope County. County highway superintendent Brian McDonald spoke to the board of commissioners Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Neligh about the renewable energy company's request to close 841 Road between 510 and 511 avenues. "There are two wind tower driveways at the very west end of this," McDonald said. "I think they're probably on the Wheeler side of the county line. "There's also an...
Bruce Ofe is planning to retire from the position of Antelope County weed superintendent. The Oakdale man turned in his letter of resignation to the board of commissioners during their meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Neligh. Ofe informed the commissioners he will be retiring effective Dec. 31 of this year. "I have enjoyed my time here these last 40-plus years as part of Antelope County," according to his letter. While he is looking forward to his retirement, Ofe noted he will miss being a part of...
The orange, green and white orbs lining the driveway to Lambert Melons are a sign of the fall season. With the arrival of autumn, that means the time has come again for the rural Ewing farm's fall festival, called Lambert's Annual Pumpkin Patch and Hayrides. This year's event will be held from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11, at the Lambert family farm, which is located about 20 miles southwest of Ewing at 49343 852 Road. The three main activities the fall festival will...
Larry and Tamra Ziems are crazy about growing pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. The rural Ewing couple own CraZ Pumpkins, which has seasonal stands in Ewing and Clearwater, with pumpkins and gourds for sale. "Larry's been growing a few pumpkins for several years," Tamra said. "Then when I moved up here after we were married in 2012, we had a couple really good years and we had a few extras. And I said, 'It was sad we couldn't share these with more people.'" That led Larry and Tamra to put up a...
An automotive repair business in downtown Clearwater is revving up for an expansion. Main Street Repair is in the early phases of constructing an addition on its north side that will double the size of its location. “What we’ve got going on right now, it works, but it’s not very efficient,” said Andrew Blecher, who owns and operates the business. The 27-year-old was referring to Main Street Repair’s current 25-by-100-foot building, which is mostly a shop area. “Sometimes, I get something o...
Keith Curley went hunting in northeast Nebraska recently, but not for animals; he was looking for a certain type of tree. The Ganado, Arizona, man found what he was looking for Friday afternoon, Sept. 25, about three miles east of Clearwater along U.S. Highway 275. Curley – a member of the Navajo Nation located in the American Southwest – and two members of the Lakota tribe of the Great Sioux Nation in South Dakota stopped along the highway to cut branches off of willow trees. Gary Siems of rur...
Antelope and Holt counties have been dealing with mostly dry weather for the past two months. The two northeast Nebraska counties recently saw already dry conditions worsen, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. "Abnormal dryness extended northward for both," said Nebraska State Climatologist Martha Shulski, who is based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "These areas missed out on rainfall that hit other parts of Nebraska the past few weeks." The dryness in Antelope County started in...
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...
A rural Orchard couple have submitted a complaint to Antelope County about an “Engine Braking Prohibited” sign located near their property. The board of commissioners discussed a letter Tuesday, Sept. 1, in Neligh from the Galyen Boettcher Baier PC law firm on behalf of Terry and Patricia Hemenway. According to the letter, dated Aug. 21 and filed Aug. 25 with the county clerk’s office, “It has come to our attention that the Antelope County Road Superintendent is threatening the removal of an ...
Don and Rachel Linquist invite people to be curious about their cattle company. The couple own and operate DH Longhorn, a Page-based business that provides pasture-raised Texas Longhorn beef from their ranch to people’s tables. “The ranch-to-table process is just that – right from our ranch/pasture to our customers’ tables,” Rachel said. The beef is dry aged for three weeks at Wausa Lockers and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Our beef goes into the locker right from our pa...
People who want to enjoy an agricultural field day that will feature a variety of topics will soon will have the chance. A demonstration field day will be held 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Bazile Groundwater Management Area’s soil health site near Creighton. To find the soil health site, people will need to travel two miles south of Creighton on Nebraska Highway 13, turn east onto 870 Road and travel three-fourths of a mile. The outdoor event, during which social distancing will be...
Cancer cannot keep Barb Roland out of the classroom. The K-6 Title I teacher and literacy coordinator for Summerland Public School in Ewing has been battling various oral cancers for the past 11 years. However, that has not stopped the Oakdale woman from teaching and working with students, which is her passion. "I enjoy helping children grow and learn," Roland said. "My doctor told me to do what I love, and this is it. I am taking precautions with COVID, as we all are doing." Her battle with...
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...
