Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Antelope County PRIMARY ELECTION NOTICE & OFFICES TO BE FILLED BY ELECTION AND FILING DEADLINES I, Lisa Payne, Antelope County Clerk/Election Commissioner, hereby give notice of the offices to be filled by election that will appear on the 2024 Primary Election Ballot to be held May 14, 2024, in Antelope County, Nebraska, as per State Statute 32-601. Notice is also given that the filing deadline for such offices are: Feb. 15, 2024, for incumbents and March 1, 2024, for non-incumbents. An incumbent is anyone serving in an elective office, even...
Leadership in Holt County will remain the same. Supervisors elected Bill Tielke, of Atkinson, to serve as chairman for 2024. The vote was taken Friday when the group met for an organizational meeting at the courthouse in O'Neill. Doug Frahm, of Amelia, will lead the board of equalization. In addition to designating committee assignments for the year, supervisors set salaries and/or hourly wages for county employees. Sheriff Ben Matchett said a three-year plan for deputies' wages, with a $2...
TAYLOR – Bailley Leibert walks into civics class and plops her sunflower-print backpack onto an empty table. The 15-year-old rummages for her notebook and colored pens. Around her are enough chairs to seat 10 students. But today, and every day, there are nine empty seats. It's just the ninth-grader and social studies teacher Ken Wright – an unintentional private lesson for the only freshman in this school. At Loup County High School, Bailley is the sole member of the class of 2027. The cla...
Summerland Public School could potentially have a new superintendent selected for the 2024-2025 school year as early as the first part of February. The search is currently being advertised online by the Nebraska Association of School Boards, the organization selected by Summerland’s board of education to aide search efforts. The decision was made Dec. 20, during a special meeting held at the school. Board president Steven Thiele said following the resignation of Supt. Kyle Finke, at the Dec. 13...
PROCEEDINGS VILLAGE OF CLEARWATER BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dec. 13, 2023 The Board of Trustees of the Village of Clearwater met for a regular meeting Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m., in the fire hall meeting room. Meeting opened at 7 p.m. Notice of meeting was given in advance by publication in “Summerland Advocate-Messenger,” was posted at US Post Office in Clearwater, Clearwater Market and Cornerstone Bank-Clearwater and was given to board members prior to meeting. Public was informed of location of Open Meeting Act poster. Present: Kelly Ker...
Nebraska is home to over 100,000 of our most honorable American heroes. These heroes left home and family to follow a call. They showed grit and dedication throughout taxing training. They fought hard for their homeland and made countless sacrifices. Many of them made the ultimate sacrifice - they sacrificed their own lives to protect others. These heroes are our veterans. Earlier this year, three of our own Nebraskan World War II veterans met in Omaha to remember their service so many years...
While neighboring state's officials wait to make decisions on permits for a proposed carbon-capture pipeline, Antelope County Planning and Zoning Commission members voted 6-1 to approve a conditional use permit for Summit Carbon Solutions. Bob Krutz cast the lone vote to deny the permit when the commission reconvened, Oct. 12. A public hearing for the CUP was originally held Sept. 14. During discussion after the hearing, commission members voted to continue the meeting to Oct. 5. At that...
I wonder if people who think nothing cool happens in Nebraska have paid attention to the Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska contest, sponsored by the state’s manufacturing alliance. ICYMI, here’s how it works. Manufacturers and related sectors were invited to nominate their favorite Nebraska-made product. The top 16 were placed in a bracket, with head-to-head voting taking place. What products made the top 16? Chocolate Meltaways from Bakers Candies; M Grills Big M Smokers made by Kinney Man...
The Legislature adjourned shortly after Memorial Day, but my duties as your representative continue at a fast pace. In the interim between the adjournment of the previous session and the convening of the next session, senators remain hard at work serving on special and select committees, studying subjects of local importance and addressing issues brought forward by constituents. During the session, I was appointed to serve on the LR178 Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Select Committee with six of...
It’s a case if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. “And you’ll never get it back,” Summerland Superintendent Kyle Finke said while discussing the board’s decision to raise the district’s tax asking authority by up to 7%. The agenda action item is the result of the recent enactment of LB243, known as the School District Property Tax Limitation Act. For the upcoming fiscal year, the act limits growth at 3%. The act creates a default rule which caps the magnitude of a school district’s prop...
A rural Antelope County road will stay intact following a public hearing and subsequent vote by commissioners on Aug. 1. Highway superintendent Brian McDonald said a road use study on 858 Road, between 521 and 522 Avenue was completed. "It's being actively used," McDonald said. Two individuals offered testimony in opposition of the closure. Testifying via speaker phone, Matt Klabenes, of Neligh, said, "We've got a service line down that for our stock well. It's the reason we took the trees out...
First aid kits in the Antelope County courthouse, in Neligh, will be freshly stocked each quarter, following an Aug. 1 vote by commissioners approving a new provider, Cintas, to fulfill the duties. Zee Medical formerly performed the service. County clerk Lisa Payne told commissioners, "It is nice to have someone check that. I know I can say 'I'm going to do that,' but it's usually one of the last things I do." Cintas will update any products close to or at its expiration date. To get the...
Ask 10 people who they would choose as the most loved television or movie couple and you’ll get 10 different answers. While Ross and Rachel spark excitement for “Friends” followers, the chemistry between Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson, in “The Bridges of Madison County,” is undeniable. Questions like this make me chuckle, especially when I receive a press release from a London-based public relations firm, letting me know that Lois and Clark top the most-loved list for a lot of Nebraskan...
NOTICE OF BOARD MEETING NOTICE OF VOTE TO INCREASE BASE GROWTH PERCENTAGE USED TO DETERMINE PROPERTY TAX REQUEST AUTHORITY The Summerland Public Schools Board of Education will meet on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, at 6:30 p.m., at Summerland Public School for a board meeting. Among other topics to be discussed, pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-3405, the board will vote on whether to increase the school district’s base growth percentage by up to seven percent (7%). A copy of the agenda, kept continuously current, is available for public inspection in...
Holt County Supervisors held a listening session, Monday afternoon, allowing members of the Holt/Boyd E-911 board to present their perceptions of operations in the dispatch center and the role of the board. In late July, supervisors Duane Neiman, Scott Keyes and Bill Tielke and Holt County Clerk Cathy Pavel met with Boyd County officials to hear public comment about day-to-day operations at the center. The meeting arose following a June 20 meeting, where fire department representatives,...
While it rained cats and dogs in Clearwater, Monday, village trustees let the cat out of the bag during their regular meeting: They are unsure of how to handle the feral cat population. And, instead of going to the dogs, village officials are hopeful a newly-established fine for unlicensed canines will urge residents to pay the $6 tag fee, due annually by May 1. Discussion about dog tags, and lack of residents who pay the yearly amount, has been on the trustees' agenda for nearly three months....
Recent tension between the Boyd-Holt E911 board members and fire departments, emergency medical services, and law enforcement from both Boyd and Holt counties came to a head, Tuesday, June 20, as representatives filled the Holt County Annex meeting room. The board has struggled to keep employees the last few years and has failed to keep some of its promises to other dispatching agencies. Troubles with employees and management have fractured the once smooth operations' center that dispatches for...
The 108th Legislature First Session was a hot mess. The fact that three senators could derail the work of 46 others in the nation's only one-house, allegedly nonpartisan Legislature, speaks volumes. What went wrong? Most everything that could. There were 17 new senators (two of them who served terms before being reelected in November). A new clerk of the legislature stepped up after two years as an assistant. A new governor and a new lieutenant governor who is the presiding officer of the...
The voter ID measure, a solution in search of a problem, has been thankfully watered down in legislative action that clearly indicates the wheels on the Republican juggernaut are wobbly, if not ready to come off. Turns out the chief opponent to the bill and an amendment that came from the Government Committee was Republican Sen. Julie Slama, who was the poster child for a ballot initiative that got the topic before lawmakers. The initiative was largely funded by recent-Governor Pete Ricketts'...
The 108th Legislature, First Session, has adjourned sine die. This past year, lawmakers passed some important bills and failed to agree on other critical issues. Excluding A bills, of the 820 bills and 274 resolutions introduced this year, only 33 bills and one resolution actually received a final vote. However, the bills passed included many expansive Christmas tree packages, meaning the Legislature actually passed 291 bills in total, including A bills. This figure is comparable to the last...
A legislative proposal to make various changes to Nebraska’s tax system received second-round approval this past week. LB 727 is a Revenue Committee omnibus package that contains provisions from nearly 30 bills. The bill includes several provisions that I support, including: • LB 577, which would prohibit home equity theft by requiring personal service to property owners that their taxes are delinquent, making sure they know they are at risk of losing their home or land via the purchase of a tax...
When Antelope County Commissioners convene June 6, members of the public wanting to watch proceedings will have to do so in person. After a 5-1 vote during the group’s May 9 meeting, broadcasting meetings via the Zoom platform will no longer be an option. Commissioner Regina Krebs voted against the motion. During discussion prior to the vote, chairman Charlie Henery said the group made a motion during the pandemic to use virtual conferencing. “If we don’t want to continue, we need a motio...
Ewing Village Board of Trustees approved applying for United States Department of Agriculture grant, totaling $50,000, to assist with the purchase of a payloader. The vote was taken during a 7 p.m. special meeting, Monday, at city hall. Chairman James Ramold said officials are looking at different options, with prices ranging from $101,000 to $130,000. Trustee Dustin Wright said prices vary, depending on the types and number of attachments included with the equipment purchase. "There's not a...
As the days in the George W. Norris Legislative Chamber dwindle down to a precious few, the Republican majority continues to trip over each other patting themselves on the back while the Democrats dig their trenches a little deeper and promise to give the home folks one to remember. There are still 32 Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Legislature and they are a mostly conservative lot. The Democrats are down to 16 with the recent defection of Omaha Sen. Meghan Hunt, who now identifies...
This week saw the Legislature continue to work late into the night to complete its business before adjourning in June. Although only a few bills have advanced thus far, a tremendous amount of work is going on behind the scenes by various legislative divisions such as the clerk’s office, transcribers, bill drafters, information technology, research, and committees to ensure bills are ready for the floor. With all the budget bills sitting on final reading, senators spent several days working to p...
