Four candidates are running for a spot on the Unified District No. 1 - Clearwater School Board District 6. The candidates are Tom Thiele, Steven Thiele, Regina L. Krebs and Ted Hupp. The Antelope County News received questionnaires from two of the candidates. Learn more about them below. Tom ThieleName: Tom Thiele Incumbent Years in office, if incumbent: I have served on the Clearwater School Board for 23 years. Reasons seeking office: I am seeking to continue to serve Clearwater well. I have both business and board experience that are necessary in making good decisions for visions of the future. Qualifications/experience: I have served the public in many of the school board positions and stayed very active in community events. Top 3 issues facing this office: To provide the best education for your children’s curricular and extra-curricular activities, opportunities for your children and spending your tax dollars wisely. Top 3 priorities if elected: The future of this school is a priority of mine. I will do my best to listen and make the decisions to give your children the best education and opportunities possible while maintaining our budget. How will you make yourself available to the public: I live in the community and am available by cell phone 402-640-5726 or email [email protected] or personal conversation. Steven ThieleName: Steven Thiele
Incumbent or noncumbent: Nonincumbent Years in office, if incumbent: n/a Reasons seeking office:
Qualifications/experience:
Other public offices held: n/a Top 3 issues facing this office:
Top 3 priorities if elected:
How you will make yourself available to the public:
An application for Antelope County’s fifth wind farm breezed through first-round approval last week as the planning commission passed a conditional use permit.
Nearly 50 people squeezed into the basement meeting room of the courthouse last Tuesday for a hearing on the 171-turbine Thunderhead Wind Farm, which will include up to 134 turbines in Antelope County, that is proposed northwest of Elgin, south of Clearwater and west into Wheeler County. Following comments of both support and opposition for the wind farm, the conditional use permit was passed 6-2. The application now moves to the county commissioners. Clerk Lisa Payne said she expected the permit to be on the Dec. 4 commissioners’ agenda. Josh Framel, senior manager of renewable development for Invenergy, detailed plans for the wind farm, which will connect at the Holt County substation. He and other Invenergy team members answered questions, including why the application included a condition that turbines shall not move more than 900 feet in any direction from the specific proposed location. Zoning Administrator Liz Doerr told the planning commission that the Upstream Wind Farm north of Neligh included a condition of 600 feet. Framel said the additional 300 feet may not be needed with most turbines, but it would allow flexibility to shift locations up to 900 feet to sites outside of pivots to optimize wind and adjust for subsurface conditions. The turbines on the Thunderhead Wind Farm would range from 2.3 to 3.8 MWs with the total height not exceeding 500 feet. Framel said final turbine locations would meet all county setbacks and related requirements. Thunderhead would be the fifth wind farm in the county. Tax records for 2017 show Prairie Breeze I, II and III generated nearly $900,000 in nameplate capacity tax and $200,000 in personal property tax. Upstream Wind Farm, which must be operational by Dec. 31, is estimated to contribute another $1,300,000 in combined nameplate and property tax. Framel said Thunderhead will create 300-400 construction jobs for more than a year with up to a dozen full-time jobs created. Several individuals, including Neligh Economic Development Director Gabe Steinmeyer and Norfolk Mayor Josh Moenning, spoke in favor of the financial impact. Local landowners were quick to ask Steinmeyer if he owned land in Antelope County. Steinmeyer said he did not. Opponents voiced concerns about what steps will be taken after the turbines are decommissioned and no longer in use. Doerr said the permit includes a condition that states the decommission plan will be approved by county commissioners. She said those details must be worked out prior to final approval of the wind farm. Although the planning commission did approve the conditional use permit, Doerr reminded those in the audience that the permit will be in limbo for several months as commissioners work through questions and concerns. W Two people were sentenced on felony charges for separate cases in Antelope County District Court on Wednesday morning.
Judge James Kube added more time to Taylor Schwager’s prison sentence he was already serving on Holt County charges. Schwager, 31, who appeared with his attorney Marty Klein, was sentenced to six months for one count of insufficient funds check, $1,000-$5,000, a class IV felony. The judge ordered that the sentence be served consecutively to the 4-8 years he is serving in the Nebraska Department of Corrections for felony aiding and abetting, theft by unlawful taking charges. Schwager was also ordered to pay $2,796.40 in restitution to Tinsley Grain, pay $170 in court costs and to 12 months of post supervision after his release from prison. Later that morning, Sadie Eberhardt was sentenced on one count of possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine, a class IV felony. She appeared with her attorney Pat Carney. Eberhardt, 34, was sentenced to 18 months of probation, ordered to pay $137 in court costs, a $30 probation enrollment fee, and 90 days in jail at the conclusion of her probation sentence with 46 days credit for time served. The jail sentence may be waived if her probation is deemed successful. A $25 programming fee and $5 chemical testing fee will be paid concurrently with Madison County. The preliminary results from the Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District (NENEDD) survey were revealed at a townhall meeting at the Neligh City Council Chambers last Wednesday.
The early results indicated the top needs in the area, based on 166 survey participants. This is a small sampling, considering there are an estimated 198,000 people in the 16-county region, according to Thomas Higginbotham, Jr., NENEDD executive director. However, the survey will remain open through Wednesday, Oct. 31, Tina Engelbart, deputy director, said. Go to this link for the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CEDS2018 Survey results thus far showed that the largest percentage of participants in the region were from Antelope County—15.66 percent. Antelope was followed by Dodge at 13.86 percent, Colfax and Madison 10.24 percent, Pierce and Platte 8.43 percent, Cuming 7.23 percent, Knox 4.82 percent, Cedar 4.22 percent, Stanton, Thurston and Wayne 3.61 percent, Burt 2.41 percent, Nance 1.81 percent, Dixon 1.20 percent, and Boone .6 percent. Over the next three to five years, the top five economic/community development priorities were listed as: 1. Attracting and retaining youth and young families; 2. Attracting new companies and/or workers; 3. Improving access and availability of affordable housing; 4. Improving public infrastructure (water, sewer, roads, etc.); and 5. Developing retail/service businesses. About 30 percent of the participants were from the general public, 26.51 percent municipal government, 14.46 percent economic development and 11.45 percent business owner/operator. Most of those surveyed had lived in their communities for more than a decade. The majority, 55.15 percent, had lived in their communities more than 10 years and 23.03 percent had lived their entire lives in their community. Ages of the survey participants ranged from 79 to 19 and under. The biggest group, 30.12 percent, were between the ages of 50 to 59. The 60-69 age group made up 23.49 percent, 30-39 was 18.67 percent and the 40-49 group was 16.27 percent. The over 70 group and 29 and under groups were the smallest percentages. Go to this link for all of the preliminary survey results: https://www.nenedd.org/Assets/pdflinks/CEDS/CEDS%20Survey%20Results%2010-23-18%20Cropped.pdf Higginbotham said the NENEDD is in the beginning stages of creating the region’s 5-year Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), so once the survey portion is complete, they’ll develop broad-based goals for the region and then action plans. “Our goal is to have this done by April of next year,” he said. Sometime in April or May we will have a public comment period. Once we’re done with that, by June 30, that will be our plan for the region. We really want the plan to reflect the true needs and we can’t do that without the businesses and the citizens filling out the survey and telling us what their thoughts are.” Would you like to win two airline tickets and a three-night hotel stay? Or win lunch or dinner with Tom and Nancy Osborne for up to four guests?
Signing up to become a mentor in your local TeamMates chapter could win you one of these great prizes and make a huge difference in the life of a child. There are now four TeamMates programs in Antelope County: Neligh-Oakdale, Elkhorn Valley, Elgin Public and Clearwater/Orchard. A statewide “Back to School Challenge” offers TeamMates mentors a chance to win one of three prizes if they successfully complete the new mentor application process before November 30. First prize is two airline tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. (up to $500 per ticket), along with a three-night hotel stay in a location of the winner’s choosing (up to $350 per night). Second prize is two airline tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. (up to $500 per ticket). Third prize is lunch or dinner with Tom and Nancy Osborne, with up to four guests. Current members who nominate a new mentor through the TeamMates.org “nominate” tool may also receive one entry for each nomination who completes the application process by the deadline. These prize incentives are just one way local TeamMates chapters are working to recruit mentors for their programs. “I use the 3-foot rule, I get within 3-feet, I ask if they would be interested (in becoming a mentor),” said Rich Burgess, N-O TeamMates president. “We’ve also approached the Neligh Young Men’s Club, Neligh firemen and church groups.” Dave Rittscher, coordinator for Elkhorn Valley TeamMates, said their program is always looking for ways to recruit mentors. “We had two fundraisers in late summer in Tilden and Meadow Grove to promote Teammates to the communities of Elkhorn Valley,” he said. “We also had an information table at parent-teachers conferences to let parents learn more about the program.” Sonia Rittscher said Elgin hosted a tailgate at the first football game of the season to make their TeamMates program “visible.” “We’ve also had yard signs made for our current mentors to display in their yards,” she said. Rittscher said they’ve also contacted local ministers for help in identifying and encourage potential mentors. For Clearwater and Orchard, Diane Martin said recruiting new mentors “is an all-year-long challenge.” “The most effective recruitment technique is to speak directly to a potential mentor about the program,” Martin said. “We find it helpful to be upfront about the commitment and to be attentive to potential mentors' reservations.” All of the Antelope County chapters request that mentors meet at school about once a week with their mentee during the school year. The amount of time per meeting is typically 30 minutes to one hour. “We meet at the high school once a week for 30 to 40 minutes,” Burgess said of the Neligh-Oakdale TeamMates. “We also have some spring events, we’ve gone to the spring football game to watch the Huskers.” Dave Rittscher said, with Elkhorn Valley’s new school building, the school board designated one of the new rooms as the TeamMates room. “The school board has been very supportive of the program,” he said. “We ask mentors to meet weekly for one hour at school due to the fact that Teammates is an in-school mentoring program. Any other activities out of school must be a group event with parent permission.” Elgin mentors usually meet 30 to 45 minutes per week, Sonia Rittscher said. “Mentors meet on school grounds and have the use of several classrooms, the gym, or playground,” she said. “Several of our matches meet in the high school library to play board games or work on school iPads, but a good amount of matches take advantage of our 4-building campus, shooting hoops or playing catch outside, in the small gym, or in the main gym. We also have matches that walk around the track now.” The Clearwater-Orchard TeamMates program has mentors and mentees that meet once a week for approximately 40-45 minutes per week during the school year, according to Diane Martin. “They do not have to meet every week, but we shoot for a goal of meeting at least 24 times during the school year,” she said. “Clearwater-Orchard TeamMates also holds large group events like bowling outings, Kick-Offs and Year-end celebrations. Matches are not required to attend, but it is highly encouraged. Mentors are also encouraged to attend Mentor Huddles which are times where mentors receive more training or get together to support each other.” Martin said Orchard and Clearwater schools both provide a room just for the TeamMates program. “We feel blessed to have this space available to us,” she said. “Matches can also meet in the library or other areas of the school as long as they are not disrupting students and/or teachers.” All of the local TeamMates programs have children waiting to be matched with a mentor. “We currently have 25 matches,” Burgess said of Neligh-Oakdale’s chapter. “We have 16 mentees waiting for mentors. Our long-range goal is 50 matches.” Elkhorn Valley currently has more than 20 students waiting for a mentor, according to Dave Rittscher. “As of now we have 21 active matches with four or five in the process of being matched,” he said. In Elgin, there are now 12 active mentors, with a goal of 30, Sonia Rittcher said. “We have 12 students meeting with mentors currently,” she said. “We have nine students, so far, waiting for a match.” Martin said Clearwater-Orchard’s program typically starts off each school year with around 55 matches combined. “Since we continue to match students to mentors throughout the school year, by the end of the year we have approximately 70 matches,” she said. “Currently, we have seven students waiting for a mentor. We are specifically in need of male mentors.” Coordinators across Antelope County agree — every student can benefit from an adult mentor in their life. “Every person benefits from having an extra caring, accepting, encouraging person in his/her life,” Martin said. “Students who have a mentor see improvements in their levels of hope, engagement in school, and their well-being. These factors are linked to higher graduation rates and students being more likely to enroll in some sort of post-secondary education. TeamMates research also shows that mentoring positively impacts student's grades, discipline referrals and school absences. If we want to understand the impact of mentoring on a personal level, we just need to think about a person in our own life who believed in us and encouraged us. If we don't have a person like that, then our challenge is to be the person you needed when you were younger.” Sonia Rittscher said when she talks with students “one of the biggest selling points” is that they get to spend time with a mentor doing whatever they want to do. “Kids don’t get asked that a lot,” she said. “Their days are filled with school, chores, homework, sports, etc. For 30-45 minutes a week, mentees get to be with an adult who has absolutely no agenda other than wanting to be with them and getting to know them. Parents, teachers, coaches—we all have agendas with our kids, students, and players. But a mentor? A mentor’s role is to help find and appreciate the strengths the mentee has. That is it.” Serving as a mentor for 12 years, including 9 years with his present mentee, Dave Rittscher said the benefits of the TeamMates program goes both ways. “It's been a neat experience for me,” he said. “It's a very rewarding experience for the mentee as well as for the mentor, speaking from my own experience.” Those interested in becoming a mentor may visit the TeamMates website, www.teammates.org, or contact the school nearest you. Neligh-Oakdale: Contact Rich Burgess 402-649-9720, Denise Gunderson at 402-887-5290 or Becky Kerkman at 402-929-0719 Elkhorn Valley: Contact Dave Rittscher or call the EV school at 402-368-5301. Elgin Public: Contact Sonia Rittscher or Krista Eisenhauer at 402-843-2455. Clearwater-Orchard: Contact either school Clearwater (402-485-2505), Orchard (402) 893-3215), Diane Martin-coordinator, or any board member-Jarrod Long, Sarah Kesting, Lynae Stelling, Rachael Cheatum or Dale Martin. As part of Drug Take-back Day, all unused prescription pills and patches will be collected at the Antelope County Sheriff's Office in Neligh this weekend.
Items may be taken to the sheriff's office at 1102 L St. in Neligh on Saturday, Oct. 27 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends – often when someone else’s medication is stolen from the home medicine cabinet. On Saturday, Oct. 27, Drug Take-back Day, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the U.S. Department of Justice and other partners urge consumers to take all unused prescription pills and patches (liquids, needles and sharps cannot be accepted) to a collection spot. While official Drug Take-back Days are held twice yearly, every day can be a drug take-back day, noted Sheri Dawson, director of the Division of Behavioral Health at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). “In April, Americans turned in 474.5 tons (912,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,600 of its state and local law enforcement partners,” said Dawson. “Nebraska is rallying to help the October Take-back Day reach its goal of collecting more than a million pounds this weekend. We know Take-back Day will continue to proactively address prescription abuse and misuse and reduce the avenues available for obtaining these drugs.” Overall, in its 14 previous Take-back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 9 million pounds—more than 4,500 tons—of pills. “This initiative helps address a public safety and public health issue,” said Susan Strohn, deputy director of the Division of Public Health at DHHS. “Medicines that languish in home cabinets can be susceptible to theft, unintentional misuse and abuse. It is important to dispose of them properly.” In addition, some chain drugstores maintain year-round take-back kiosks, such as Walgreens at 2320 23rdSt., in Columbus. Visit the Nebraska Meds Coalition’s website, https://www.nebraskameds.org, for pharmacies featuring year-round take-backs. Take-back programs are the best way to dispose of old drugs. Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold, and unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. If a local program is not available, take the meds out of their bottles; mix them with something unappealing, like used kitty litter, or seal them in a bag or disposable container and throw that away. For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or Take Back Day, visit www.DEATakeBack.com. For more information about substance use disorder treatment, please visit http://dhhs.ne.gov/behavioral_health/ More than 300 third- and fourth-graders braved the cold weather to experience life on the farm on Thursday.
Tessa Hain, Antelope County 4-H youth development coordinator, said this marked the first year Life on the Farm was held in Neligh. Last year, the event was held in Pierce. Pierce and Antelope counties plan to rotate locations every year, she said. "We started Life on the Farm because there really is a big need to teach agriculture, ag literacy on where food comes from," Hain said. "Today, these kids are far removed from the farm. Yeah, they're from a rural background, but they don't understand exactly where their food is coming from." Hain explained that even the students who live on a farm don't see all the aspects that agriculture entails. "It's just to really inform them about agriculture in general, the natural resources we use, where their food comes from, farm to table. It’s really important that these kids understand the importance of ag literacy,” Hain said. The event consisted of eight different sessions, including swine, beef, dairy, poultry, natural resources, irrigation, ag technology and crops. Students experienced milking a dairy cow on the milking simulator and got up close and personal with dairy calves, piglets, a beef cow and chickens. Different types of irrigation systems were also demonstrated, as well as technology aspects of agriculture. Hain said the event has seen amazing support, from those leading the sessions to the FFA members helping during the event. Both Elgin and Elkhorn Valley FFA Chapters were leading students from session to session, and the Neligh-Oakdale FFA Chapter helped set up the event, make name tags and stuff student bags. Twelve schools from five counties were represented by the 324 third- and fourth-graders. Click here for the gallery of photos from the event. More meetings are planned as consolidation remains a focal point for several Antelope County schools.
As Clearwater and Ewing move closer to their anticipated vote on consolidation in early 2019, the public voiced desire for inclusion of Orchard to complete the trifecta. Another variable added to the mix is Elgin, which met with Clearwater representatives last week, according to officials. On Sunday night, about 180 people from Ewing, Orchard and Clearwater attended a community-led meeting at the Ewing gymnasium. The message heard over and over was that of continuing conversations between those three schools. Survey results released Monday and shared at the Unified meeting also indicated such with 119 people marking that they favored a three-school consolidation and just 22 against. Not everyone in attendance completed the survey. The two-school consolidation question offered several options involving the three schools and even one option of Orchard consolidating with Verdigre. Not included in the survey was an optionfor consolidation between Clearwater and Elgin. Elgin/Clearwater Talks Marty Kerkman told the Unified board on Monday that a subcommittee of Clearwater and Elgin board members and administrators met last Wednesday — exactly one week after Clearwater approved a feasibility study on a consolidation with Ewing. “The proposal on the table is the high school in Elgin, all activities in Elgin for high school; middle school in Clearwater, keep activities in Clearwater for the middle school. Each site would keep a K-6 at their own facility,” Kerkman said. “The tax levy we’re looking at is a 35 or 36cent tax levy, so it’s a pretty good proposal to start with.” Kerkman said he was unsure where things would go with Elgin because information had just been given to the communities and “there’s not a lot of feedback yet.” Unified board member Terri Hergert of Orchard asked how the levy estimate was determined. “It’s a consolidation with Elgin,” Kerkman said. “Right now, theirs (levy) is 32 (cents). This is coming from their superintendent. How he came up with 35 (cents), I don’t know.” Elgin Superintendent Dan Polk said district representatives did meet to explore how a Clearwater/Elgin possibility might look. He said general what ifs and thoughts were presented, not necessarily a consolidation proposal. “Elgin would only be interested in something to help solidify numbers and provide even more opportunities than we already do to students,” Polk said. “A new bond debt for a new facility or raising our levy substantially would not be of interest to Elgin.” Hergert questioned the timing and need for Orchard to spend $3,000-$6,000 on a feasibility study that included Clearwater, if Clearwater was now looking at Elgin. Kerkman said Clearwater is exploring every opportunity. “We don’t know what we’re going to do. We’re out there talking to our neighbors, so we’re just trying to move forward. We have a deadline ahead of us we have to hit,” he said. Ewing/Clearwater/Orchard Meeting On Oct. 3, Ewing board member Pete Funk said his Plan A for consolidation involved the three schools. Both Ewing and Clearwater board members said Sunday’s community meeting would weigh heavily on their decision to consolidate. Board members said they wanted the public to vote on consolidation rather than the boards making the final decision on a merger. While the timelines associated with a potential merger and building locations differed between speakers, the majority of speakers favored the three schools working together in some way. Some suggested jumping into building a new school, others leaned toward starting with a sports co-op. Dustin Wright of Ewing organized the meeting and said the purpose was to not only share thoughts and concerns but to also ask questions for board members to address in the future. “I think our school is something that can draw people back to our communities,” he said. Several board members from each of the three schools were present at the meeting, listening to the speakers. There were also board members from both Verdigre and Neligh-Oakdale in the audience as well. Sunday’s community-led meeting was streamed live by the Antelope County News and can be viewed in its entirety on either Facebook or on the homepage of www. MyAntelopeCountyNews.com. Survey Results After the meeting, those attending were encouraged to complete a survey regarding a three- or two-school merger. While not every question was answered, about 75 percent of those attending did complete the survey. Results showed overwhelming support of consolidation — three- or two-school consolidation — by Clearwater and Ewing stakeholders. Orchard had a mixed reaction with 25 of the 38 supporting a three-school merger but only 19 of 34 in favor of a two-school merger. Clearwater was nearly unanimous in support of a merger with only Ewing, 29-2. Ewing also favored a merger with Clearwater over Orchard 25-9. As for Orchard, the results were again mixed with 14 favoring Ewing, followed by Veridgre 9 and Clearwater 2. Next Meeting/Deadline Full boards from Orchard, Clearwater and Ewing will meet in Ewing on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. According to the agenda, the boards will discuss the community meeting and survey results, as well as future school reorganization, other options and timelines. The only action item on the agenda is a feasibility study between the school districts. While Clearwater and Ewing approved their study on Oct. 3 in anticipation of receiving results by Nov. 30, Orchard has only voiced support of joining the study and has not had a full board meeting necessary for approving the expense. During Monday’s Unified District meeting, Superintendent Dale Martin said if Orchard approves a feasibility study, its results likely would not be available until February. Martin reminded the Unifi ed board that they set the March 2019 deadline for a decision on reunification and said that deadline could be adjusted. The Antelope County News will live stream the Oct. 24 joint board meeting between the three schools. No public comment will be allowed at this meeting. 12 different schools, representing five counties, came to the Antelope County Fairgrounds today to experience life on the farm. The students learned about beef, swine, dairy, poultry, natural resources, irrigation and technology in agriculture. Scroll down for all the photos!
The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce has moved up the start time to the 77th annual Harvest Of Harmony parade on Saturday.
Due to the large volume of bands, the parade will now start at 8 a.m. and the field competition will begin at 10 a.m. This is 30 minutes earlier than the originally scheduled times for each. The field competition will be held at Grand Island Senior High’s Memorial Stadium will begin at 10 a.m. Admission to the field competition is $5 for adults and $3 for children. This year’s parade has 220 total entries, including 105 high school marching bands, 87 float entries, and 28 pageant contestants. The field competition will feature 32 bands. The parade will be televised live on NTV . In addition, the parade will be streamed online at www.nebraska.tv and on the NTV News Facebook page. |
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