Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Holt County supervisors are considering the engagement of a human resources firm to help navigate employment issues. A telephone conference was held with Chad Thies from Zelle Human Resource Solutions in Lincoln during the March 16 meeting at the courthouse in O'Neill. After hearing what the firm offered in services, chairman Bill Tielke asked Thies to submit a proposal. Supervisor Steve Boshart estimated an annual cost of $36,000 to $40,000. "It will be high," Tielke said. "But the thing is, if...
CODY SMITH Policy Associate, Center for Rural Affairs After a lengthy fight during the 2019 Iowa legislative session, a unique coalition of agriculture and environmental groups joined forces with MidAmerican Energy, the state’s largest investor-owned utility, to negotiate a consensus agreement to expand solar energy in Iowa. A year later, the product of these conversations was signed into law—creating a gold standard for solar energy across the nation. This agreement—Senate File 583—protects investments in solar energy from farmers, small b...
Antelope County commissioners met March 3 in their meeting room at the courthouse in Neligh, with consideration of six driveway permits for the new Summerland school included on the meeting agenda. Steve Thiele of Clearwater was present, representing both the school district and the builder, Hausmann Construction. The county leaders gave unanimous approval for two of the applications, as temporary construction driveways and passed a motion to require a traffic study as part of the requirement for consideration of permanent permits. A 30-foot...
In the town halls I’ve held across the 41st district, as well as visits at the Capitol in Lincoln, many of you have brought up housing. Rural workforce housing is among the top issues holding Nebraska back from our true economic potential. Certainly, the high burden of property taxes across Nebraska is having a negative impact on the availability of rural housing: not only are property taxes high in our small towns, but the ripple effects of high property taxes on the economy are felt hard in r...
It’s that point in the legislative session when only bills with priority status make the agenda. The deadline for selecting priority bills was Feb. 21. Every senator is authorized to select one bill as his/her personal priority bill. Committees are allowed to select two bills and the speaker of the Legislature can designate up to 25 bills as speaker priority bills. Since committees are limited in the number of bills that they can select, they tend to incorporate a number of other bills into t...
The Antelope County commissioners were faced with issues arising from two recent road decisions when they met last Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the courthouse in Neligh. Working through the agenda, commissioners examined and approved payroll and vendor claims, all with an eye on the clock, completing their work before noon. A quorum for the afternoon was at risk, due to two commissioners indicating afternoon obligations elsewhere and commissioner Regina Krebs' absence. Casey Dittrich, who has served as Antelope County road boss for the last four...
The Revenue Committee’s property tax/education funding reform bill, LB 974, was brought out of committee on a 6-2 vote last week. LB 974 will inject additional state dollars into education funding. By the third year of implementation, it will provide more than $200 million per year in additional funding to our schools to provide property tax relief for hard working Nebraskans. It will accomplish this by requiring the state to provide over $2,000 per student in foundation aid by that third y...
Darrel Timm of Neligh and Julie Krause of Brunswick were appointed to the Antelope County Extension Board by the county commissioners, when the county leaders met last week at the Neligh courthouse. Local extension educator Brittany Spieker proposed the appointments of Timm and Krause to replace Gayle Wortman and Derek Zuhlke, who had each completed two terms on the board. The new board members were affirmed on 4-0 votes of the commissioners. Commissioner Eli Jacob was absent. Spieker also presented the annual extension office report. She...
Author Eugene O'Neill, when writing his Dalmatian's last will and testament, wrote, "Dogs ... do not ruin their sleep worrying about how to keep the objects they have, and to obtain the objects they have not. There is nothing of value they have to bequeath except their love and their faith." For 12 years, our chocolate lab, Copper, freely gave her love and showed faithfulness, especially to the master of our house. Copper crossed the rainbow bridge over the weekend, entering doggy heaven, where...
The TeamMates program always appreciates the adult mentors for giving time to be there for students in our communities. January is National Mentoring Month and a time we especially want to recognize and express our gratitude to them. Mentors understand their role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic and tuned in to the needs of the mentee. Studies show that mentees benefit from meeting with an extra encouraging adult, but what do mentors get out of the experience? Several Clearwater-Orchard mentors share their thoughts. Kate Watson When I...
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, Governor Ricketts presented his State of the State Address to the Nebraska Legislature. The beginning of his speech focused on the events of last year. Although there was much devastation, he emphasized how Nebraskans responded with determination and generosity. A recent federal report pegged the losses stemming from last year’s weather at more than $3.4 billion. This figure does not include all the damages to the private sector, creating hardship for many homeowners, busi...
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, Governor Ricketts presented his State of the State Address to the Nebraska Legislature. The beginning of his speech focused on the events of last year. Although there was much devastation, he emphasized how Nebraskans responded with determination and generosity. A recent federal report pegged the losses stemming from last year’s weather at more than $3.4 billion. This figure does not include all the damages to the private sector, creating hardship for many homeowners, busi...
A program designed to give high school seniors practical work experience or college class credit wrapped its first semester when Clearwater Public Schools closed for the Christmas break, Dec. 20. Program managers Kendra Shrader and Amy Selting say the senior transition program has been a positive experience. "It's been a learning process (for all involved), but I think we're getting there and making progress," Shrader said. Nine of the 10 senior class members participate in the program, which in... Full story
Competition in the Clearwater Fire Hall kitchen was hot Monday as eight area youths mixed and measured ingredients, plating a healthy breakfast pizza. The competition was part of Clearwater Public Library's after-school program, which was instituted in fall 2018. Library Director Kathy Feusse said when the fourth- through sixth-grade group first met in September, students requested a Chopped Junior type of event. "At the same time, Brittany Spieker with Nebraska Extension - Antelope County,...
Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard school boards covered a long list of agenda items, Nov. 20, during a three and one-half hour meeting, in Ewing. Discussion focused on the new Summerland school district, which will take effect June 6, 2020. While a chunk of the meeting was spent discussing staffing and administration timeline, other topics included the new district's reorganization petition, selection of Summerland school board members, policies, curriculum and sales of assets. Steve Williams,... Full story
The Oct. 10 edition of the Summerland Advocate Messenger included a section of frequently asked questions regarding the proposed Summerland school building project. Questions and responses were supplied by Bobcats Unite, a group of volunteers from Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard communities who have been researching the issue, finding answers to questions and presenting information to the public. This article contains the second half of questions and responses. Summary Statements (based on...
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...
Antelope County commissioners, after hearing comments from several constituents and county officials at a pair of public hearings Sept. 17, adopted the budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The $19,155,429 budget includes asking for $6,114,213 from taxpayers next year through a county levy of .246195. In order to balance all components of the budget, the levy computed by County Clerk Lisa Payne is about one-fourth cent more than the 2.5-cent increase proposed by commissioners in early...
The Orchard Public School Advisory Board of Education faced a short agenda when they met last Wednesday at the high school. Board members heard from Principal Cathy Cooper that enrollment numbers used for football classification, as of last Wednesday, sat at 47, the maximum allowed for eight-man participation, in order to qualify for state playoffs. An increase in the number of boys enrolled in grades nine, 10 and 11 in any of the three schools, would push the future Bobcats to 11-man. Enrollment on Oct. 1 will determine classification....
Local entities that depend on tax receipts for operation will soon make levy decisions as they consider their annual budgets. Real estate valuations certified recently by Nebraska county assessors, including Kelly Mueller in Antelope County and Tim Wallinger in Holt County, factor into those decisions. Antelope County’s total valuation for 2019 is certified at $2,483.485,076, up just over $24 million or 0.98% from 2018. Mueller attributed nearly $34 million of the total value to growth (new construction), about $10 million more than the overall...
Two residents of the Royal community faced the Antelope County commissioners at their Aug. 13 meeting, asking the county leaders to intercede in the case of a dog running at large. Marlowe Jensen and Justin Jensen came to the meeting armed with copies of state statutes dealing with dangerous dogs, claiming the documents required the county sheriff to bring charges against the dog’s owner. “I was harassed by a dog,” Marlowe Jensen said, adding “It chased a deputy into Justin’s house.” “It’s the only dog in town that’s running loose,” his son s...
