Homecoming is in full swing at Neligh-Oakdale and students are showing their spirit with dress-up days. Check out our photo gallery.
The dress up days are 'Merica Monday; Tuesday- "Hick Day"; "Way Back" Wednesday; Thursday - "Disney/Pixar Day" and Friday - "Maroon and White Day." Remaining homecoming activities are as follows: Tuesday: Volleyball with Randolph, 5:30 p.m. Thursday: Volleyball with Niobrara-Verdigre, 5:30 p.m. Friday: Parade, 1 p.m.; Cross Country at O'Neill, 3:30 p.m.; Football with Wakefield, 7 p.m., royalty coronation and dance follows - See more at: http://www.myantelopecountynews.com/neligh/neligh-oakdale-getting-ready-for-homecoming-activities#sthash.7bwPiZcl.dpuf Work has begun on repainting the Mill Bridge crossing the Elkhorn River in Neligh. Before the painting can be done, workers must first sandblast the bridge.
City officials said this will be a two-week project. Work began on Tuesday morning. The bridge was just reopened in November after an extension was added to connect the bridge to the south side of the bank. Repairs were completed thanks to an anonymous donor. The remaining funds from the donation are being used for this project.
The N-O girls finished third as a team and the boys were fifth. More than 100 runners from nine schools competed in the Neligh-Oakdale Cross Country Meet at the Antelope Country Club. Schools participating were: Neligh-Oakdale, Elkhorn Valley, North Central, Boyd County, Creighton, Niobrara/Verdigre, Osmond, Lutheran High Northeast and Hartington. Neligh-Oakdale will complete Homecoming Week by traveling to O'Neill on Friday.
Boys Junior High Results:
1. Brayden Kathol, Hart, 8:35 2. Johnson Chishiba, Osm, 8:39 3. Bode Noecker, Hart, 9:06 4. Dagen Joachimson, Hart, 9:14 5. Cole Noecker, Hart, 9:38 6. Griffin Claussen, N-O, 9:52 7. Brayden Almgren, BC, 10:01 8. Julius Tauber, Cre, 10:16 9. Tommy Klemesrud, NC, 10:17 10. Joshua Kersch, BC, 10:29 11. Anthony Morrill, Cre, 10:31 12. Alexander Helman, Hart, 10:42 13. Calvin Christiansen, Hart, 10:44 14. Jace Hofferer, Cre, 10:50 15. Gunner Vargas, NV, 11:36 16. Kenry Justo, NV, 12:27 17. Connor VonRentzell, Osm, 13:08 Is Shopko Hometown possibly opening a store in Neligh? According to officials, a large retailer remains "very interested in Neligh's market."
Although Shopko Hometown was not mentioned by name, a large retailer was cited Monday night during the Re-Development Authority board meeting as still looking at expanding into Neligh. “They are still very interested in this market and are currently exploring several viable land options in Neligh,” said Economic Development Director Greg Ptacek. Ptacek said in June that he had been working with “a large retailer” for several months who was very interested in expanding to Antelope County. Ptacek said he could not name the retailer due to a confidentiality agreement. However, Hilltop Drugs Etc. owners Jami Schmidt and Koryn Koinzan told the Re-Development Authority a few days later that a Shopko Hometown representative inquired about their “exit strategy and selling our business” due to plans to open a location in Neligh in 2016. Ryan Koinzan, who at the time was vice chairman of the board, also confirmed Shopko as the retailer in question when he stated that he has “no desire to offer Shopko TIF financing. That’s a deal breaker; it’s not worth having that conversation.” Ptacek said Monday that a real estate representative with a large retailer has now inquired about TIF. No other discussion took place on TIF or Project Sole. Koinzan was not present at the meeting and has verbally resigned from the board. Members said they would begin a search for his replacement via local media. According to its website, Shopko Hometown locations are a smaller concept store developed to meet the needs of smaller communities. There are 179 Shokpo Hometown locations, including one in O'Neill. Shopko Stores Operating Co., LLC is a $3 billion retailer that operates over 323 stores in 21 states throughout the Midwest, Mountain, North Central and Pacific Northwest regions. According to the State Department of Economic Development, over $17.6 million leaves Antelope County annually in categories that Shopko Hometown has market in. “If you can stop even a third of that leakage, that’s going to trickle down to other retail businesses and help stop other leaks,” Ptacek said in a June interview. “The job potential is great, but that’s not the only factor. Keeping that money in Antelope County - in Neligh - is huge.” Shopko Hometown offers many items that are not currently available in Neligh, such as small appliances, electronics and name-brand athletic shoes, just to name a few items. Not every Shopko Hometown offers the same services, though. Some have pharmacies and optical services while others do not. The services and items appear to depend on the needs of the community. A reward is now being offered for information on a burglary of a Neligh residence last month.
Police chief Mike Wright said a $1,000 reward is being offered for information resulting or leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals involved in the burglary at the Dane and Jennifer Blackburn-Nielsen home. The burglary was reported on Aug. 30 after the family returned home Sunday after spending the weekend away to find their home broken into. "They took a lot of random things. They took pistols but left the shotguns and the ammo," she said. "They took a 54-inch Vizio TV off the wall but left another TV about that size that was sitting on a stand." Blackburn-Nielsen said among the many items taken were were five pistols. They were a Ruger semi-auto 9mm, Taurus semi-auto 9mm, Remington 6 shooter .22 with NRA logo, Ruger semi-auto .22 and semi-auto .22 with Pheasants forever logo on pistol grip. Other items were an Xbox 360 console, play station 3 and 70 Xbox and PS3 games and 54" Vizio television. If you have any information on the burglary, Wright said to contact the Neligh Police Department at 402-887-4335 or the Antelope County Sheriff's Department at 402-887-4148. This was the second time this family has been victim of theft this summer. Their pontoon boat was stolen while at Lazy Rivers Acres. Blackburn-Nielsen's father was also burglarized this summer when his Gator was stolen from his building about a half-mile from Blackburn-Nielsen's home. ![]() The Neligh-Oakdale Warriors were on the grid iron Friday night for some tough action at Burwell. The team suffered a 53-30 loss against the Longhorns, despite some great plays. Head Coach Ron Beacom said his team is a little banged up right now. "We need to continue to work on building our depth for staying healthy and depth to increase our competition level at practice so that we can continue to improve." Pepper Marchant and Tyson Belitz both scored two touchdowns for the Warriors. The coach said the boys have more work to do in practice, but he has faith in his team. Beacom said, "we have built a solid enough foundation in the first two games for us to have a very good season and a football team to be proud of at the end of the year." This will leave the Warriors with a 1-1 record for the season and they will face Wakefield next Friday at home. The mobile food pantry will soon be making a stop in Neligh.
Sponsored by various churches in Antelope County, the mobile food pantry will be dispersing food on Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Club in Neligh. The goal is to provide free food to those whose needs are great and resources are limited without being restricted by income guidelines. Due to liability reasons, public recipients will not be allowed in the building until 4 p.m. The traditional Homecoming skits and bonfire were held at Neligh-Oakdale on Sunday night.
Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors each put on a class skit for the crowd. Winning the 2015 Spirit Cup was the Junior class with their depiction of a beauty pagent. Homecoming activities will continue throughout the week with a spirit breakfast on Monday, dress up days all week long, cross country meets, volleyball games, Friday’s football game, coronation and dance.
The top nine winners were announced in the adult baking contest at the Bread 'N Jam Festival on Saturday afternoon.
Judges picked their top 3 choices in the categories of Yeast Bread, Yeast Dinner Rolls, and Sweet Bread and Rolls. Cash prizes were awarded. Yeast Bread: 1. Margi Frihauf of Lynch - Strand Egg Braid 2. Jenny Higgins of Neligh - American Sandwich Bread 3. Beth Ramold of Neligh - Coconut Almond Bread Yeast Dinner Rolls: 1. Shelley Sands of Neligh - Pretzel Rolls 2. Brynn Hughes of Neligh - Italian Dinner Rolls 3. Margi Frihauf of Lynch - Butternut Squash Rolls Sweet Bread and Rolls: 1. Jan Nixon of Norfolk - Rosemary Cardamon Twisters 2. Holly Ann Wright of Ewing - Cinnamon Rolls 3. Cecelia Peterson of Neligh - Kolaches Top youth baking awards were presented Saturday afternoon at the annual Bread 'N Jam event in Neligh.
Nevie Kurpgeweit was awarded Grand Champion Baker while Sydney Sands was named the Anita Miller Award Winner. In the best chocolate chip cookie division, winners were as follows: 6-8 Age: 1. Wyatt Olson, 2. Emily Olson, 3. Corinna Caauwe. 9-11 Age: 1. Nevie Kurpgeweit, 2. Macy Hansen, 3. Genevieve Hilderband. Antelope Memorial Hospital Wellness hosted its annual 5K Run/Walk this morning to help kick off Bread 'n Jam Festival. The route started on the cowboy trail, loops around through town, past the hospital, past the high school, down to the fairgrounds and city pool, then finishes on the cowboy trail. Kids: 1. Talon Krebs, 26.55; 2. Ashton Higgins, 26.56. Womens: 1. Pam Rudloff 23.17; Alissa Krebs 27:04. Mens: 1. Bob Moser, 22:44. 2. Kurt Skillstad 24:51 The Lady Warriors dropped a pair of close matches Tuesday night against Fullerton and Burwell.
Neligh-Oakdale fought back in the second set and nearly forced a third, falling 31-29 in the second. Neligh-Oakdale also put up quite a fight against Burwell, coming back to win the second set, but falling just short in the third. Coach Hannah Hoefer said she is extremely proud of her team. "I love coaching this team. They have so much fight, so much passion," she said. The coach said there are several young players on the court who had very little varsity experience but are playing well, which is encouraging for the rest of the season. 'They're getting this feeling of the adrenaline and they're learning how to deal with it," Hoefer said. "It's going to be very useful at the end of the season when it really matters." The Lady Warriors will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Randolph. The rain didn't dampen the performances of the Neligh-Oakdale cross country runners as the team brought home 10 medals from Butte on Thursday. Medalists for the high school girls team were Kasi Grosserode-2nd; Jayda Chance-8th; and Courtni Heckert, 20th. Three members of the boys team also picked up medals: Austin Miller-9th; Devan Breuer-13th; and Cole Belitz-14th. All of the junior high runners finished in the top five to earn medals: Griffin Claussen-2nd and Garret Belitz-3rd for the boys; and Emma Bixler-2nd and Hailey Bixler-5th. Both of Neligh-Oakdale's varsity teams earned fourth place at the meet.
The City of Neligh received an unusual call Thursday morning about a deer tangled in a volleyball net.
The small buck's antlers were wrapped around the netting at Fred Penn Park. The netting is used as a boundary for the court to keep the balls inside the area. It was not the net used to volley the ball over during play. City of Neligh employee Brian Hain said it took several employees to hold the deer down and cut it out of the netting. He said the animal's antlers were broken, and it clearly had been fighting the netting for long enough to cause severe injury to itself. "We worked to free the deer as quickly as possible this morning. Unfortunately, the injuries it sustained while being caught were too severe, and the deer had to be put down." The Neligh Housing Authority - Pioneer Homes is hosting a 50th Anniversary Open House this weekend.
The open house celebration will be held on Sunday, September 13, from 2-4 p.m. in the Community Room at 500 P Street in Neligh. For more information, please contact Sheri at 402-887-4912. Neligh-Oakdale will celebrate homecoming with a week filled with activities.
Homecoming candidates are Garett Allemang, Hunter Bergman, Blake Heithoff, Kelsey Green, Mirissa Hurtig and Shelby Keetle. Members of the court are second-graders Corbin Hoefer and Camry Kittelson, freshmen Cole Belitz and Jordan Knievel, sophomores Andrew Sanderson and Jaclynn Hixson and juniors Chris Bentley and Lindsay Sands. The dress up days will be 'Merica Monday; Tuesday- "Hick Day"; "Way Back" Wednesday; Thursday - "Disney/Pixar Day" and Friday - "Maroon and White Day." Homecoming activities are as follows: Sunday, Sept. 13: Matball Tournament 2 p.m., followed by skits and bonfire Monday: Booster Club Breakfast at 7 a.m., Neligh-Oakdale Cross Country Invite, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday: Volleyball with Randolph, 5:30 p.m. Thursday: Volleyball with Niobrara-Verdigre, 5:30 p.m. Friday: Parade, 1 p.m.; Cross Country at O'Neill, 3:30 p.m.; Football with Wakefield, 7 p.m., royalty coronation and dance follows The Neligh City Council officially decreased its levy 13 cents at Tuesday’s meeting and lowered its property tax request for the third straight year.
Council members approved the 2015-16 budget after a public hearing. Although about two dozen people were in attendance, no one asked questions or voiced concerns about the City's budget. Operational expenses for the City of Neligh increased about $30,000 from last year, although the amount of taxes paid by residents and businesses in city limits will still go down. The $30,000 stems from the estimated budget expenses for 2015-16 compared to where the 2014-15 year-end estimate would be for Sept. 30. A breakdown of property tax shows the general budget will receive $282,646.69 while $190,304.00 is requested for bonds. Public documents show the City’s bond request has decreased almost 34 percent since 2012-13 while the general fund request has increased about 13 percent. That’s why the City of Neligh’s overall property tax request has decreased about 12 percent in the last three years. City Clerk Dana Klabenes explained that although the overall budget shows an increase in spending for 2015-16, a majority of those funds are a shift of money through grants, projects and other funds and are not operation expenses. Klabenes said the city’s budget must include funds it intends to expend or spend, even if they are grants. “While our expenses are growing this year, it’s not through expenses we are spending,” she said, adding, “If we’re going to use the money for a project, we have to show that we’re going to ask for authority to spend the money.” Klabenes cited nearly $1.6 million that the City may receive in the upcoming fiscal year. Although many of the funds are not guaranteed, legally the budget must include the money in order to spend it. She said this includes $568,000 in restricted lines of credit, bonds and investments for electric; LB 840 and Downtown Revitalization grants of $699,000; as well as park foundation and lottery funds that total $312,000. “When you take those figures out of the picture for what we’re actually looking for operational expenses . . . (it’s) closer to $4,864,000,” Klabenes said. “It’s only an increase of $30,000 and much lower than the $6.4 million that we have to report.” It was a toss up. Elkhorn Valley or Neligh-Oakdale.
Both volleyball teams came into Tuesday night's match with 2-0 records, but it was the visiting Lady Falcons who soared home with their undefeated record in tact. Elkhorn Valley earned a 4-set win over the Lady Warriors. EV rolled to a 25-17 win in the first set, but had to put up a fight to close the second set 25-23. In the third, Neligh-Oakdale jumped out to a 10-5 lead. The Lady Falcons battled back, but couldn't overcome the early deficit. The Lady Warriors claimed a 25-22 victory in the third. Elkhorn Valley regained their momentum in the fourth set, and went on to win 25-6 to claim the match. "I thought we made some good adjustments on their strong outside attackers and had better ball control as the night went on," EV Coach Emily Vaughn said. "We struggled a little with our intensity in the third match after winning the first two, so I was happy to see us pick it back up in the fourth set." Vaughn said she was "really proud" of her team's serving efforts. "We served 93 percent as a team, which was a huge improvement over last week's season opening matches," she said. N-O Coach Hannah Hoefer said she was pleased with the way the Lady Warriors started the match. "I'm very happy with how the girls started in set 1, 2 and 3, playing aggressively and with passion," she said. "They were fighting for every play and taking chances. Defensively, we are scrappier than we have been in a long time." Hoefer said Neligh-Oakdale "couldn't get anything going" in the fourth set. "There were a lot of ball control errors, followed with a few mental mistakes, but ones we will use to practice and get better at," she said. Danae Smith and Kinsley Klabenes led the Lady Warriors with 9 kills each, followed by Nikki Grosserode with 5. Chase Vleck tallied 4 kills and 7 solo blocks. Natilee Payne had 25 set assists and Kelsey Green recorded 23 digs on the night. The Lady Falcons also picked up a win over Neligh-Oakdale in junior varsity action, 25-16, 25-7 and 25-14. On Thursday night, Neligh-Oakdale will host Fullerton (2-1) and Burwell (1-3) in a home triangular, and Elkhorn Valley will host Niobrara/Verdigre (2-2). ![]() With Neligh’s Annual Bread 'N Jam Festival coming up this weekend, area bakers are donning their aprons and flouring up their rolling pins in anticipation of the festival’s baking contest. Neligh’s Historic Mill is the perfect setting for contestants to put their favorite bread recipes to the test of the discriminating judges. Neligh resident and frequent bread contest participant, Beth Ramold looks forward to the contest each year, and has even won a few times, claiming top honors in the sweet dough category for an apricot tea ring, sweet almond braid, French almond croissant rolls, and honey dinner rolls. No small feat, but Ramold quickly admits that even though the competition is stiff, even novice dough slingers take the top prize from time to time. “I love looking at all the entries. People are really creative with the displays, but I find the bread itself to be most interesting. You’ll see all kinds of varieties, family recipes handed down for generations and new recipes, too, with all kinds of ingredients.” With modern conveniences and vast choices of ready-made bread available at our fingertips, the skill and time required to create homemade baked goods almost make one wonder if bread making is becoming a lost art. There is a reason that “Mom pulling out a fresh, home-baked loaf of bread from the oven”—and the heavenly smell that accompanies it—is a treasured memory for so many of us. Ramold herself has such memories. “I have always liked to bake. My mom, aunts, and both grandmothers were excellent cooks. I’m no expert, it’s just enjoyable, and it can be challenging too. My mother’s sweet dough recipe is a family favorite.” While many people enjoy adding healthful ingredients to their yeasty creations, Ramold keeps it simple and goes for pure taste, saying, “[My] type of baking is a treat—not something I’d serve every day.” The baking contest kicks off at the Mill on Saturday at 9 a.m., but those interested in registering have only until Thursday to do so. Bakers may enter a recipe in three different categories: Yeast bread, sweet bread, and yeast dinner rolls. Kids are also invited to enter their best chocolate chip cookies on Saturday. Though Ramold is unsure if she’ll be able to participate in the contest this year, she still looks forward to seeing what people pull from their ovens on Saturday. “The mill has such character for this type of contest—it’s just the perfect setting for a baking contest. I also appreciate the judges and their comments. The judges are experts in culinary arts, so you can really learn how to improve your baking." Ramold adds, “I hope people will enter for the fun of it. This year the entries will be judged equally on taste and appearance, and 25% on display. In the past, I think some are reluctant to enter because they feel like their display isn’t good enough—it’s more about the bread than the display.” The top bakers in each category are awarded cash prizes. The first place prize winner will take home $300, second place is $200 and third place is $100. Be sure to visit the Neligh Mill on Saturday to see for yourself what talented area bakers have cooked up this year! *The deadline for the adult registration has been extended until Friday, Sept. 11.
Despite an investigation into how recall petition signatures were collected, the City of Neligh will move forward with a special election in the attempt to remove all four city council members.
Councilman Ted Hughes asked for clarification that the Nebraska State Patrol and Antelope County Sheriff’s Department could investigate even if the council passed a resolution to have a special election. Both City Attorney James McNally and Mayor Joe Hartz confirmed that an investigation could proceed even with a special election. After much discussion, council member Stephanie Wanek said “while disturbing to have people come to us with reports” of illegal behavior, she encouraged fellow council members to “be the role models of taking the high road” and move forward with an election. Council member Leonard Miller agreed and said he didn’t want to proceed with a lawsuit against those who circulated the petitions. “Like Steph said, it’s disturbing that things happened and things were not presented in a forthright matter,” Miller said. A resolution was unanimously passed to have a special election on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the regular polling places. McNally said there was “legal basis to contest the signatures” but that would take about six months and could create more turmoil for the community. Hartz asked City Clerk Dana Klabenes about the costs of the election, which is estimated at $5,000 each. He asked, “Actual cost could be $10,000?” Klabenes said if the recall is successful and an election is necessary to replace council members, then another $5,000 could be spent, making the total cost to the taxpayers about $10,000. Hughes raised concerns about absentee ballots and possible “coercion” of registered voters. Klabenes said this special election would be handled like others and absentee ballots will be allowed. In regard to an investigation in the collection of signatures for the recall, McNally said there could be legal ramifications if circulators did not present the petitions accurately and “could be guilty of perjury” since they had to sign the affidavit when turning in the documents to the county clerk. The Antelope County Supervisors took a look at the revamped county budget Tuesday morning and scheduled another public hearing. The proposed budget would request nearly $77,000 less in property taxes than last year.
Clerk Lisa Payne told supervisors she had a few issues balancing the county budget but assured the board that it was finished and ready to be published. Payne said, "The expenses for the county are just a little less than what they were all together last year." Last year's levy was 0.147123 and is proposed to be lowered to 0.144175. The property tax request for 2014-15 was $3,833,197.53 while the proposed 2015-16 request is $3,756,291.78. Payne explained that she left plenty of money in the budget for the purchase of a motor grader and other items. She also added $10,000 in the budget for elections as there will be at least two special elections for Elgin and Neligh, as well as the primary election in May 2016. Also, $50,000 was added to the budget for the road boss salary that hadn't been included in the original budget, she said. Payne left the Extension budget at what it was proposed, even though representatives said they would work with less. She also added extra funds for several bridge projects that will be coming up. "Rather than cut ourselves short, I felt it was necessary to protect the county," Payne said. A public hearing was set for at Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 9 a.m. to discuss the budget before it is finalized and adopted. If changes are made at the hearing, Payne said that will be in violation and she cannot submit the budget. However, Payne told the board it has happened before. ![]() Neligh Fire Department will hold its annual dance on Saturday, September 12, at the Neligh Fire Hall. Music by "Side Step" will be played from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The event is BYOB. If you are not able to attend the dance and would like to make a donation, please send to PO Box 251, Neligh, NE 68756. The proceeds from last year's dance helped purchase equipment for the new grass rig along with "Hot Sheild" respiratory masks that are worn for grass fires. |
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