Several Antelope County natives were among those recognized at the pinning ceremony held for Northeast Community College nursing students.
Christina Scott of Neligh, Amberly Erickson of Brunswick Cassidy Steskal of Clearwater, Laura Ruge of Elgin, Kimberly Dickerson of Orchard and Ranee Keehn of Tilden received their nursing pins during a special ceremony recently at Northeast Community College in Norfolk. During the ceremony, the graduating nursing students received their pins from family members or a close friend who has helped them along their journey. “Today, we celebrate the educational success and journey that 42 Practical Nurses and 28 Associate Degree Nurses have completed,” said Dr. Michele Gill, dean of health and wellness. “There have been many quizzes, tests, lab experiences, clinicals and study sessions in your pursuit of this academic achievement thus far, and we are so very proud of you all.” Gill said the observance is the culmination of the students’ initial journey to professional nursing education. “The annual ceremony is a bridge from nursing’s past to nursing’s future and is a time-honored nursing school tradition. It signifies the official initiation into the brotherhood and sisterhood of nurses.” The history of the pinning ceremony goes back to the Crusades of the 12th century. The modern ceremony dates back to the mid-19th century when Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of St. George for her tireless service to the injured during the Crimean War. To share the honor, she in turn presented a medal of excellence to her brightest graduates. In addition to the pinning ceremony, one associate degree nursing (ADN) and one practical nursing student were presented the Essence of Nursing Award for their consistent academic effort, caring actions, positive motivation toward classroom learning and clinical experience, and professional behaviors. Jamie Petz, West Point, ADN student, and Rebecka Mackling, Emerson, practical nursing student, were honored with the award. Chris Wood, Lincoln, president of the Student Nurses Association, gave the student address at the ceremony. Upon completion of the first two semesters of nursing studies at Northeast, students are eligible to take the National Council of Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) to become licensed practical nurses. Students who hold a 3.0 grade point average in their nursing courses are eligible to complete the last two semesters of the Northeast program and take the National Council of Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) to practice as licensed registered nurses. Students who graduate with an associate degree in nursing are eligible to continue their studies for a bachelor of science degree in nursing. The general education courses for a bachelor of science in nursing can be taken at Northeast Community College. Students who were pinned with the Associate Degree Nursing pin include: Nebraska: Bassett - Hollie Morton, Kelsey Venenga; Battle Creek - Kourtney Jones; Bellwood - Paige Birkel; Carroll - Natalie Sieler; Clarkson - Leslie Urbanek; Columbus - Samantha Finecy; Creighton- Melinda Murphy; Emmet - Erin Judge; Hoskins - Tegan Karella; Lincoln - Chris Wood; Lynch - Madison Rossmeier; Madison - Jordan Freudenburg; Neligh - Christina Scott; Norfolk - Carrie Cooper, Heather Ebel, Ashley Sieler; Oakland - Alicia Isner; O’Neill - Barbie Donohoe; Pierce - Emily Willard; Plainview - Audrey Blum; Saint Edward - Whitney Wurdeman; Silver Creek - Brittany Marker; South Sioux City - Yvonne Basilio; Springview - Sophia Sawle; West Point - Jamie Petz. Out of State: IA, Mapleton - Lorissa Peterson; NY, Long Beach - Krystal Spanopoulas. Students who were pinned with the Practical Nursing pin include: Nebraska: Atkinson - Jason Seger; Bloomfield - Cory Sonnichsen; Bristow - Mary Ruda; Brunswick - Amberly Erickson; Clearwater - Cassidy Steskal; Creighton - Khristina Stevens; Dixon - Michaela Nitz, Laura Showen; Dunning - Michaela Goedeke; Elgin - Laura Ruge; Emerson - Rebecka Mackling; Hartington - Andrew O’Brien; Hershey - Kourtney Hart; Humphrey - Kami Hackerott; Norfolk - MaKenzie Gordan, Melisa Green, Evie Kelly, Brittni Merchant, Heather Salmon, Makel Sazama, Zoe Serres, Allison Soward, LeAnn Sweigard, Grace Wapelhorst, Aly Wilke; North Platte - Jaime Titus; O’Neill - Rita Sterns; Orchard - Kimberly Dickerson; Papillion - Tegan Nissen; Pierce - Brooklyn Houdek; Stanton - Shana Fry, Sara Vollbrecht; Superior - Bailey Williams; Sutherland - Hannah Hansen; Tilden - Ranee Keehn; Waterbury - Mariah Kramer; Wausa - Cindi Bruckner; Wayne - Lexi Allen; West Point - Jade Duhsman; Winside - Dominique Kelberlau; Wisner - Charlotte Wolff. International: Gabon, Libreville - Yvonne Mezegue. The majority of the practical nursing students have chosen to continue in the associate degree nursing program at Northeast. Each nursing school, at every level of education, has its own unique pin which is worn on the nursing uniform. The nursing school pin that graduates of the Northeast Community College’s associate degree nursing and licensed practical nursing program receive is symbolic of nursing’s heritage and tradition. Tuesday’s primary election, featuring only two contested county races, drew a lackluster turnout at the polls in Antelope County.
Only 1,058 of the county’s 4,472 registered voters cast their ballots for a voter turnout of 24 percent. The two races receiving the most attention in Antelope County were the ones for county commissioner. Republicans Dean Smith and Greg Koinzan competed for District #1 commissioner with Smith unofficially advancing to the general election by a margin of 121 to 46 for 72.02 percent of the vote. In November, Smith will face incumbent Jerald Schwager, who is a democrat. District #3 featured two republicans with Allan Bentley unofficially unseating incumbent Eddie Schindler by 22 votes. Bentley tallied 107 votes to Schindler’s 85, unofficially becoming the next District #3 commissioner with 55.44 percent of the vote. Antelope County Clerk Lisa Payne said the canvassing board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Two republicans are facing off Tuesday in the race for District 1 County Commissioner in Antelope County. Learn about both candidates from the questionnaire below. The winner will face democrat Jerald Schwager in November's general election. Greg Koinzan![]() Name: Greg Koinzan Party: Republican Non incumbent Reasons: I believe in giving back to my community through public service. Qualifications: I’m college educated and a business owner. I served 16 months as Antelope County Supervisor previously until the position was eliminated when Antelope County went to commissioner style government. Other public offices held: Antelope County Supervisor Top 3 issues facing this office: Roads, budget, and regulations. Top 3 priorities if elected: Roads, budget, and regulations. How you will make yourself available to the public: I’m available by phone or in person anytime, day or night, holiday or weekend. I believe being available anytime is part of the job. You can reach me at 308-360-0235. Please call if you have any questions or concerns. Dean Smith![]() Name: Dean Smith Party: Republican Nonincumbent Reasons seeking office: I have attended many commissioner meetings and my business experience of 43 years would help contribute to make responsible fi nancial decisions for Antelope County. Qualifications/Experience: I am a self-employed farmer, operating since 1975. I have learned valuable skills on budgeting not only money, but also time that is needed to survive the ups and downs of the agriculture economy. Other public offices held: I was on the Neligh-Oakdale Board of Education for 8 years. Top 3 issues facing this offi ce: I believe the top 3 issues facing the commissioner offi ce are: budgeting, property tax, and the quality of roads. Top 3 priorities if elected: My top priorities if elected would be to help better understand all the needs of Antelope county, work on saving money by re-evaluating our budget, and research diff erent issues that could possibly help our county. I believe Antelope County is a great place to live and a great place for families, and that is why I have lived here my entire life and raised my family here. I want to make life better for all the residents in Antelope County. How you will make yourself available to the public: I will always be available by phone if anyone has issues or ideas. My phone number is listed in the phonebook. Two republicans are facing off Tuesday in the race for District 3 County Commissioner in Antelope County. Learn about both candidates from the questionnaire below. The winner will advance to the general election, where there is no other candidate at this time. Unless there is a write-in candidate, the winner of the primary will become the county commissioner. Allan BentleyName: Allan Bentley Party affiliation: Republican Non-Incumbent Reasons seeking office: I feel it is a priority that I become involved with making Antelope County a great place to live and more economically inviting. At times I have had discussions with others about how things could change or be more efficiently run in Antelope County and my wife said stop talking about it and do something...so I am going to try, by running for office. Qualifications/experience: 1. Experience working with large corporate budgets 2. Coordinated the necessary information and paperwork to make Antelope County livestock friendly. 3. Experience with testifying at state legislature. 4. Nebraska LEAD (Leadership, Education, Action, Development) Class 11. Top 3 issues and priorities: 1. Property tax relief 2. Managing budgets 3. Communicating with constituents How you will make yourself available to the public: Phone-402-360-3174; Email: [email protected]; office at Tab Financial Services that the public is welcome to stop by and visit. Eddie SchindlerName: Eddie J. Schindler
Party affiliation: Republican Incumbent Reasons seeking office: To continue fighting for what is best for the people of our county. To make sure everyone has a voice on county issues, no matter where you live or who you are. Qualifications/experience: School of hard knocks. I have walked the life of many occupations. I understand the struggles we all face to make ends meet. Other public offices held: Neligh city council Top 3 issues facing this office: 1. Property tax 2. Spending 3. Keeping top notch service for every person in this county Top 3 priorities if elected: 1. Working with NACO to lobby for us with our state legislators mainly on property tax. 2. Drugs 3. Making sure every cent of our tax dollars is not used for unnecessary or wasteful spending. How you will make yourself available to the public: I have a home phone 887-4800 with an answering machine, and a cell phone 929-0093. I have never refused to call back a missed call. More than 1,000 pieces of artwork from students in 7th to 12th grade were displayed at the annual Niobrara Valley Conference Art Show. The show was hosted by Stuart Public School and held at the Stuart Community Auditorium on Thursday, April 26, and Friday, April 27. It was open to the public and had a large turnout of visitors from the NVC area.
Valentine art teacher Joan Swim and Stuart retired art teacher Jim Taylor were the senior high division judges. Pastor Cody Kohler of Atkinson and Kimberly Tubbs of Stuart were the junior high division judges. During the show on Friday, NVC art students celebrated the world of art by viewing the movie, “The Greatest Showman,” at Murphy Theatre in Stuart. While enjoying the movie, students were able to see and appreciate the creative use of cinematography, set design, costume design, film editing, motion graphics and special effects. Out of over 1,000 entries, 59 works of art gained purple rosette ribbons for Judge’s Merit Awards. The following Antelope County senior high division students received Judge’s Merit Awards for outstanding work: Clearwater Taylor Ann Bolling painting “Deer in the Woods” Taylor Ann Bolling painting “In Memory” Maryssa Long mixed media “Ballerina” Taylor Sanne mixed media “Butterfly in a Field” Elgin Breanna Carr painting “Complete Thru Christ” Kira Widger black/white “Memento Mori” Garet Behnk mixed media “Squad Goals” Elkhorn Valley Jace Thompson painting “Wanderlust” Jace Thompson sculpture “Flags of Ancestry” Brie Magdefrau pencil “Dancing Queen” Brie Magdefrau jewelry “Golden Honey” Neligh-Oakdale Jaclynn Hixson mixed media “Bella Rosa” Hailey Bixler miscellaneous Untitled Madi Grosserode miscellaneous “Journal” Madi Grosserode design “Tools” Madi Grosserode sculpture “Old Slides” Griffin Claussen drawing “Tessellations” Emma Bixler misc. “Art is Life” Jaclynn Hixson misc. “Book of Art” Wynter Fulsaas misc. “Secret Suitcase” Wynter Fulsaas mixed media “Mind Blown” Wynter Fulsaas misc. “Song Bird” Wynter Fulsaas black/white “The Dragon” Pope John Ashtyn Meis painting “Never Forgotten” PJ art students design/graphic “A Kinder World” Madison Dilly sculpture “Paper Bowl” Madison Dilly sculpture “Owl” Faith Kinney collage “Blue Dog” The following Antelope County junior high division students received Judge’s Merit Awards for outstanding work: Elgin Camryn Pelster mixed media “Wind Tower Rain” Chris Robinett printmaking “Purple Circle” Elkhorn Valley Kody Qualset painting “Fire Rhino” Madison Parker drawing “Eye of the Tiger” Neligh-Oakdale Ashton Higgins clay “Rhino” Ashton Higgins printmaking “Winged Victory” Sadie Heckert collage “Self Portrait” Pope John Lexi Bode mixed media “Egg” Leprechaun Youth Sports will be offering its 10th year of youth contact football through the Norfolk Family YMCA for youth grades 3-6.
Practices are held twice a week in O’Neill starting in mid-August when school begins. Games will be played in Norfolk at the YMCA on Sunday afternoons in September and part of October. There were enough kids last year that some grades had two teams. If numbers increase, they would like to have two teams in all grades. Sign-ups and evaluations are being held Monday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 16 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the O’Neill High School commons. Parents and children are welcome to come anytime between those times. If you are unable to make it to sign up, please contact Michelle Liewer at 402-340-5076. Children must attend a sign up date or make other arrangements before May 20. The price is $100.00 per player. Please bring two checks as a $150.00 deposit will be required. The deposit covers equipment and will not be cashed as long as all the equipment is returned. All kids get to keep their jersey at the end of the season. The jersey has a number on the front and the child’s name on the back. Please bring the following items to registration: your child dressed appropriately to run agility drills, two checks, and proof of personal insurance policy and policy number. LYS has opportunities for carpooling for practices and for games. LYS also has coaching opportunities. For more information on coaching, email Michelle Liewer at [email protected]. It took more than red firetrucks to battle fires in Antelope County last week. Some red tractors also played big roles.
As did the green tractors — not to mention payloaders, water trucks and lots of volunteers to help put out fire after fire this week as high winds and high temperature mixed with low relative humidly to create dangerous fire conditions. Fires popped up across the area — several at the exact same time — leading to calls for mutual aid from other departments to contain the blazes, putting teamwork into the smokey spotlight. Orchard battled a fire on the edge of town on Sunday afternoon at the same time Oakdale fought a blaze just a mile from its city limits. Both fires needed mutual aid and both benefited from farmers responding with tractors, discs, payloaders and lots of water. “This really shows what training and teamwork can do,” said Orchard Fire Chief Duane Risinger. “There were several farmers from the area who showed up with tractors and discs. We had help from a lot of people.” Orchard and Royal immediately responded to the fire, and Ewing quickly was called for mutual aid, bringing the count to 40 firefighters from the three departments to battle the 40-acre fire that ignited from a controlled burn about two weeks earlier, Risinger said. The fire was on land owned by Betty Menning. At the same time on the opposite end of Antelope County, Oakdale firefighters were busy working on a 100-acre cornfield field fire on land owned by Pat Mengedoht. Like the fire at Orchard, it’s believed the wind kicked up the remnants of a controlled burn from weeks ago. Assistant Fire Chief Matt Wilkinson said Tilden was called almost immediately for mutual aid and Neligh wasn’t far behind to assist. At the same time Tilden arrived on scene, so did the farmers with tractors and discs. Wilkinson said Ag Agronomy brought out trucks with water, as did Kerkman Trucking. Wilkinson quickly rattled off the names of nearly a half dozen farmers who brought equipment to assist. “That was huge,” Wilkinson said. “The goal was to put out the fire and having the tractors and discs there accelerated that goal. Who knows if it would have jumped further into the next field. We were starting to get it under control, but having them really helped out a lot.” With winds gusting at 45 mph, Sunday was a difficult day, but so was Thursday when two more fires occurred at the same time. Just outside Antelope County in nearby Page, a fire destroyed the second story of a home owned by Larry and Marjie Peed. Although the fire was contained quickly within the second story, the children’s upstairs bedrooms were a total loss. Fire departments from Page, Ewing and O’Neill were on scene for several hours. Monetary donations to the family are being accepted at Pinnacle Bank in O’Neill to aid the Peed family. At the same time as the Peed house ire, Neligh and Brunswick were battling another cornstalk fire northeast of Neligh. But even those weren’t the only recent fires. Leroy Behnk of Clearwater also had a fire and benefited from the quick response from that department as well. With the Orchard fire on Sunday, Risinger said he and two of his firefighters were in Neligh at an EMT class when the call came in. His assistants — Patrick and Ryan Bergman — had everything under control when he arrived, which is a testament to the training the local volunteers receive. Wilkinson concurred and said training and equipment are key to each department. Because they all train with the same standards, the departments can easily intertwine with mutual aid to quickly work together to extinguish the fire. “Repetition becomes habit, so you have to be able to instinctively move and know what to do,” he said. “Lack of training is the leading cause of mistakes in any emergency situation. The second cause is the equipment. You can have the best training in the world, and if you don’t have the proper equipment, you’re in trouble.” Both firefighters commended the departments providing mutual aid for their quick response and assistance, as well as the farmers and other volunteers who helped with everything from traffic control to dispersing water to the firefighters. “The smoke was thick and blowing across the highway, so you couldn’t see anything in Orchard,” Risinger said. “We had a lot of help on traffic, and we had people in Royal and Orchard on standby ready to help if we needed even more. There were a lot of people wiling to help out wherever needed.” Twenty-two Antelope County students were recognized by the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) as recipients of the 2018 Spring Academic All-State Awards.
Each year, the NSAA and the Nebraska Chiropractic Physicians Association recognize students during Fall, Winter and Spring Seasons who are nominated by their schools for their individual academic excellence, leadership and significant contributions in their NSAA activity. The following leadership and scholarship guidelines apply: 1. A nominated student must be a varsity player or organizational leader who has played a significant role on the team or in the organizational activity during the seasons for which nominations are accepted. 2. A nominated student must have a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average, in all curricular subjects, of 93% or 3.7 on a 4.0-point scale or the equivalent. 3. NSAA high schools or their cooperative sponsorship may nominate a maximum of two students per NSAA activity program. Clearwater Music: Allison Kerkman and Jacob Long Boys Track & Field: Jacob Long Girls Track & Field: Brooklynn Chipps Elgin Boys Golf: Hunter Reestman Music: Allyson Wemhoff Girls Track & Field: Lydia Behnk Elkhorn Valley Music: Brayden Effle and Rachal Hahne Boys Track & Field: Kalen Dittrich and Brayden Effle Girls Track & Field: Kimberly Frey and Delilah Sierra Neligh-Oakdale Boys Golf: Austin Rice Music: Cade Wilkinson and Meredith Wiseman Boys Track & Field: Jayden Arehart and Cole Belitz Girls Track & Field: Bailey Frey and Rachel Higgins Pope John Music: Logan Henn and Sydney Kerkman Girls Track & Field: Paige Meis Orchard Girls Track & Field: JoCee Johnston Mark your calendars for all of the graduations across the county!
Clearwater - May 4, 7 p.m. Orchard - May 5, 4 p.m. Neligh-Oakdale - May 12, 2 p.m. Elkhorn Valley - May 12, 4 p.m. Elgin Public - May 12, 5 p.m. Pope John - May 13, 1:30 p.m. AMH Family Practice is now offering sports and college physicals for the next school year.
“The current school year is quickly coming to an end and already it’s time to think about getting our students into the clinic for their sports or college physicals for the next school year,” said Tami Kester, AMH Clinic Manager. “It’s important for parents to understand the options available for having their children’s physicals completed. Most insurance companies will pay for annual wellness checks. However ‒ due to our busy life styles, most children are not scheduled for yearly checkups with their practitioner and are only seen for acute illnesses and sports physicals. Here at AMH Family Practice, we acknowledge those busy lifestyles and focus on doing a complete wellness visit for students during their sports physical visit. It includes updating immunizations, educating youth on healthy choices to follow and keeping the ImPACT Concussion Testing current as recommended to comply with LB 260 and regulations of NSAA.” “Students who play sports are required to have a baseline ImPACT Test done every two years,” added Kester. “AMH Family Practice routinely offers the ImPACT Testing as part of its sports physical visit. ImPACT or Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing is a computerized test that measures verbal and visual memory, processing speed and reaction time. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to administer. If a student later has a sports-related head injury, the ImPACT Testing is repeated and compared to the baseline test results. AMH has providers trained to read the ImPACT results and use the data to diagnose a possible brain injury / concussion and help determine when the athlete may safely return to playing sports.” “A concussion is a brain injury and can occur without loss of consciousness ‒ in fact most of them do,” said Dr. Troy Dawson of AMH Family Practice. “Proper management when concussions first occur helps prevent further injury, permanent brain damage or even death.” “It’s imperative that the baseline ImPACT test and any post-injury testing are performed by the same facility,” added Dr. Dawson. “It helps ensure the accuracy of the comparison and interpretation of the pre- and post-injury test results. Without the comparison between the baseline and post-injury tests, the ImPACT testing loses its effectiveness to assist in determining the severity of the brain injury and when to release the youth back to play safely.” Insurances will be filed for wellness physicals or you may pay $25 cash for a sports physical. To schedule your child’s wellness physical with verification of current ImPACT Testing, call AMH Family Practice at 877.887.5440. |
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