The Neligh Juniors picked up a big win Saturday morning, advancing in district baseball action.
Second-seeded Neligh defeated Ainsworth 17-1 in five innings in a game that originally was to be played Friday but moved to Saturday due to weather. They will take on Ord at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in Ainsworth. Losing a loved one is a frightening experience that everyone will eventually face, but hospice workers are there to ease that journey.
There are a lot of misconceptions about hospice from the cost to the extent of its services, according to local providers. AseraCare, which provides hospice care, works to ensure that the needs and wishes of both patients and their family are met. Brooke Borer, Executive Director of the O’Neill office, said, “When we come into this world, we have prenatal care. When we leave this world, we should have end of life care.” Borer said that oftentimes hospice providers are doing more than keeping a patient comfortable. They also fulfill people’s last wishes. She told stories of a 93-year-old woman who was given an opportunity to ride a horse and a man who hosted a state-wide chess tournament in his home. “He would say he was having the time of his life on hospice,” Borer said, “He lived until the very end, and he always said that if it wasn’t for hospice, he would have never been able to do that." AseraCare provides staff and equipment for these individuals to finish their final days in peace and sometimes doing that one thing they always dreamed of. Christy Knutson of Neligh is a Registered Nurse (RN) and case manager with hospice for the past seven years. She said there myths about hospice, including viewing it as depressing or dark employment. “I don’t think of it as death, as morbidity,” Knutson said. "I think of it as beauty. We’re giving them love." Knutson said research shows that a person on hospice will live nearly a month longer than a person not on hospice with the same diagnoses. She said she believes this is because they provide that “extra touch.” The women said it's easy to become close to patients and their family. Knutson said she even receives Christmas cards from some. Both admitted they mourn the loss of patients but feel they are part of something beautiful by helping the family and taking away their fear. Borer said hospice is paid for by Medicare or Medicaid as well as private insurance, so families pay no out-of-pocket expenses. They will provide services in nursing homes, hospitals or even a private residence. They have a staff to accommodate any needs or wishes of a patient, from RNs to bereavement councilors, social workers and spiritual advisors. AseraCare currently provides hospice services to individuals 16 years of age and older. However, they cannot provide hospice care for children, as they currently do not have a pediatrician on their staff. There are eight AseraCare locations in Nebraska. The O’Neill office provides service to Holt, Antelope, Boone, Knox, Wheeler, Garfield, Boyd, Rock and Brown counties. Both women said that they not only love their jobs, but they feel blessed to be able to do their work. “I don’t feel like it’s a job,” Borer said with a smile. "It's a part of my life." Knutson added, “It’s almost like you pay it forward every single day." ![]() The winners of the 11th annual Antelope County Healthcare Foundation Golf Tournament have been announced. The winning team of the Championship flight was Orchard Seed with an overall score of 53. They were followed by Overland Rehab with a score of 56. The First Flight was won by Nebraska Medical Center, shooting a team score of 60. Second Flight had a tie for first, Doug Welsh and The Bank of Elgin, each shooting a score of 68. This event was held in memory of Bruce Hild, former president of the foundation, who passed away this January. The family recently presented a $10,000 donation to the organization in his honor. Proceeds from the golf tournament will be used toward purchasing new cardiac equipment for the AMH clinics in Orchard, Tilden, Elgin and Clearwater. Kasi Grosserode often balances her love of art and music. This week, the Neligh-Oakdale junior put the two together to paint a mural in the band room.
"It's unbelievable," said band teacher Nate Metschke. "She's an incredible talent, and I'm very proud of the mural and of her. She's created a lasting legacy in my classroom, and I'm grateful for her." Kasi, who is the daughter of Loren and Shelly Grosserode, spent 11 hours Thursday and Friday painting the mural, which was all completed freehand. It features a Warrior with a piano and drum headdress, along with an inspirational quote. Kasi, who also painted a mural on Main Street several years ago, said Metschke started talking to her about a mural toward the end of the school year. During all-star marching band band camp in June, they spent a lot of time in the Norfolk Junior High, which has positive inspirational quotes throughout the hallway, Metschke said. That's where they found the quote by Ruth Ross - "There are only three colors, 10 digits and seven notes: it's what you do with them that's important." As for the design itself, Metschke left that up to his artist. "He wanted it band related but also to have school pride," Kasi said. "This is what I came up with." Metschke said Kasi's talented in both area - art and music. She won best of show at the ESU 8 art show this year and was selected to Class C All-State band. "She's a great kid, really something," Metschke said. "I stood there and watched her freehand this project with a pencil. It's unbelievable to watch someone with this much talent. We are the Warrior, and we're really proud of that." Kasi finished the project Friday mid-afternoon. "I'd really like to thank Mr. Metschke for giving me this opportunity and to Mrs. Pfanstiel for letting me use her paints," Kasi said. "It's quite an honor to do this." Neligh's downtown was on display Thursday afternoon in hopes of receiving grants of nearly $400,000 for downtown revitalization projects.
Representatives of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development toured downtown Neligh and stopped at 719 Fitness, Wanek Pharmacy, Antelope County Museum, 319 Graphics, Pitzer Digital and Mill Pointe before holding a stakeholder discussion at the City Council chambers. "You obviously have a community that is trying to grow," said Steve Charleston, Director of Housing and Community Development. "I walked through and can see the progress of the community. To have enthusiasm and willingness of business owners to come and sit here is very positive. That speaks well of the community." Neligh is one of 11 communities vying for the grant. Brian Gaskill, Deputy Director of Housing and Community Development, said five of the communities will receive grants of $30,000 to develop plans for their respective communities' downtown projects. He said the top four plans will be awarded grants of $350,000. "We hope by the end of the month we'll have reviewed all of the applications and can move forward from there. Sometime in August we'll make our announcement of the communities selected for the planning phase," Gaskill said. As for the one plan that doesn't move forward with a revitalization grant, Gaskill said there may be other funding available, depending on the what projects the community hopes to accomplish. "You want your plan to be a working document and something you can use to move forward," he said. Neligh is one of just eight communities that have received the NDED Leadership Community designation. Others are Cambridge, Central City, Madison, Minden, Pender, Superior and Tecumseh. Neligh-Oakdale is sporting a fresh new look, at least the Warriors are online.
The school has spent the last year preparing for the transition to the SOCS program, which is one of the most popular educational content management systems available. The new site is located at www.nelighoakdaleschools.com offers a more user-friendly navigation system, as well as smoother mobile version. "We have been working hard for the past few months to redesign the web site, and we will be making additions over the course of the next several weeks and months. The site will continue to evolve and keep you up to date on important school activities and information," according to a message on the site. Like all mobile-friendly sites, the website will detect the type of device being used and will direct users to either the mobile version or the full desktop version. People can utilize the calendar system for notifications. Parents can sign up for weekly or monthly reminders for the events and activities they are interested in. ![]() Antelope County residents may soon be able to view their tax information online. County Treasurer Deb Branstiter told supervisors at their meeting on Tuesday that she is working on updating office technology to include access to a site called Nebraska Taxes Online. This site allows anyone to look at the public record of paid or delinquent taxes of any property in the county. It also calculates interest and could save residents a trip to the treasurer's office. This would be the first step to letting customers pay their taxes online with a credit card. However, if a credit card is used, a convenience fee of 2.9% would be charged to the customer. This system would cost the county $127 per month and would change annually, depending on the land parcels in the county. The county board gave Branstiter the green light to figure this into her budget, to be finalized at a later time. Supervisors also discussed surplus items in their county barns that they plan to liquidate. The sale will be through Big Iron, an online auction company. Some of the items to be sold include a 2005 Ford pickup with a bad motor, an Allis Chalmers tractor and mower, a 1989 John Deere Maintainer and a five-yard Gravel Truck. They will further discuss the items and gather the titles at their next meeting in preparation for the sale. Another item on Tuesday's agenda was using the gazebo in front of the courthouse for a sitting area for employee breaks and lunches. Supervisors discussed putting down outdoor carpeting and bringing in a picnic table and chairs from the old jail. Supervisors also had their quarterly visit to the jail after the meeting on Tuesday. Greg Koinzen, Leroy Kerkman and Charlie Henery were the three volunteers touring the jail.
Kids participating in the Summer Reading Program at the Neligh Public Library recently designed their own superhero comic strips. Here are their creations:
The start of school may be more than a month away, but Neligh-Oakdale has already set its registration schedule and payment deadline for those wanting a bus stop directly in front of their home or business.
Registration Kindergarten thru sixth-grade registration will be Wednesday, Aug. 5, in both West and East Ward buildings from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. New student registration for those in grades 7-12 will be August 12 and 13 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. There will be a mandatory student-parent orientation on the 1:1 computer initiative in the gym for students in grades 9-12. Also, those in grades 9-10 will meet Tuesday, Aug. 11 ,at 7 p.m. Those in grades 11-12 will meet Thursday, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m. The preschool through sixth-grade back to school barbecue, hosted by the Neligh-Oakdale Education Foundation, will be in school gym on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The first day of school for K-12 students will be Wednesday, Aug. 19, with a 1:30 p.m. dismissal. The first day of preschool will be Thursday, Aug. 20. Fall Picture day will be Monday, Aug. 24. Bus Stops Those wanting a bus stop directly in front of their home or business have until Aug. 1 to pay the transportation fee or a late fee will be assessed. There will be 11 bus stops in Neligh and Oakdale this fall. Times for pickup in the morning will be set at a later date. Those requesting additional bus stops must pay a $175 transportation fee to the school district or be assessed a $100 late fee after Aug. 1. The regular bus stops for 2015-16 will be as follows: Neligh 2nd St. and D St. Meadowlark Lane and Cottonwood Lane 5th St. and N St. 9th St. and U St. West Ward High School Oakdale Wilson St. and 5th St. 1/2 mile south on Taylor St. 6th and Taylor St. 1/4 mile west on Mill St. Hohman St. and 3rd St. Two former Antelope County employees filed a complaint last month in U.S. District Court against the county, alleging wrongdoing by both the assessor and clerk, both of whom were elected in November 2014.
Represented by Woods & Aiken, LLP of Lincoln, Antelope County issued a response to the complaint on Monday, denying allegations against Assessor Kelly Mueller and Clerk Lisa Payne. The response asked for the complaint to be dismissed with prejudice. According to the the complaint filed in U.S. District Court on June 5, Jennie Martinez and Alberta Willers, both of Neligh and both former employees of the assessor’s office, allege that “approximately 30 minutes after Ms. Mueller was sworn into office as county assessor on January 9, 2015, she terminated the plaintiff’s employment.” Court documents show Martinez was employed in the office from January 2, 2013, to January 9, 2015. Willers was employed from April 2014 to January 9, 2015. Documents filed by the plaintiffs state both Martinez and Willers were told by Ms. Mueller that they would have to reapply for their jobs. Both did so and allege “Ms. Mueller hired less qualified individuals who had supported her 2014 campaign to replace the plaintiffs.” The complaint also alleges “Ms. Mueller retaliated against the plaintiffs by terminating their employment within minutes of being sworn into office and/or failing to hire them for the positions they had sought with Antelope County.” Court documents state Martinez applied for a position with the Antelope County Clerk’s office as well, but “due to her their protected speech and conduct noted herein, Ms. Martinez’s application for employment was rejected by Lisa Payne, Antelope County Clerk.” Antelope County admitted to knowing Ms. Martinez did have a yard sign supporting former assessor Heather McWhorter; however, denied being aware Ms. Willers openly supported McWhorter. The response by the county also denied any wrongdoing by Ms. Payne and said the “plaintiffs suffered no tangible employment action connected with any alleged retaliation.” “Any and all actions defendants took with respect to the plaintiffs’ employment were for legitimate, non-discriminatory, and non-retaliatory reasons and were taken in good-faith exercise of the reasonable business judgement of defendant,” according to court documents. ![]() The poultry shows may have been cancelled, but the Extension Office has some alternatives. Due to the spread of the highly contagious avian influenza, all poultry shows in Nebraska were cancelled. Extension Assistant, Tessa Hain, expressed in a letter to the 4-H poultry families that she realized how hard the kids have been working on their poultry projects. "With all your hard work, we would like to see you still exhibit some poultry exhibits at the county fair," she stated. The following are the new classes that 4-Hers can participate in: Poultry Record Book: This will be an evaluation of what the child has learned from their poultry project. Poultry record books will soon be available at the Extension office. Poultry Showmanship: This will be done with a fake chicken. Poultry Educational Display: This challenges kids to educate the public about any poultry topic in the form of a poster, notebook video or other report. There are a wide variety of topics one could choose from including the avian influenza, biosecurity measures, nutrition or even a certain poultry breed. Egg: 4-H kids with a laying flock and bring a dozen eggs to be judged. They will be evaluated on uniformity of size, shape, weight, exterior quality, shell texture and cleanliness of the egg. The first three classes will all be divided into the three age groups (Senior, Intermediate and Junior) and will have a Champion and Reserve Champion award; however, the egg class will not. Record books and educational displays will be due Thursday, July 30 during the animal check-in time and the eggs need to be brought on Friday morning before the poultry showmanship starts, which will be after the rabbit show. (Due to the afternoon heat, it was decided to begin the rabbit show in the morning prior to the chicken showmanship.) They also ask that all poultry exhibitors bring an 8X10 photo of their birds that would have been showcased at the fair. These pictures will be placed on the cages, so the public can still see all the different chicken breeds. Another opportunity for poultry exhibitors is the Poultry Calendar Photo Contest sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. They award numerous youth with prizes and select photos for their yearly calendar. The winning photos will be displayed at the State Fair and will be published in their 2016 calendar. An example calendar will be located in the Extension office. Construction has begun at Neligh-Oakdale to install a walk-out door from the art room, which would allow student occupancy in the classroom this fall.
Don Zegers Contracting was hired by the district in March to install the door. Due to orders from the Nebraska State Fire Marshal's office, students were not allowed in the basement classrooms for a majority of the last school year. Basement occupancy has been an item of contention between board members for many months. Approval of the walk-out door came during the March board meeting after three other motions involving basement construction failed to pass. The first three motions included installing egress windows in various rooms of the basement. Finally, Krista Schindler made a motion to hire Zegers to install only the walk-out door only in the art room. That motion carried 4-2. Dissenting votes were cast by Brad Higgins, who voted against all four motions, and Kenny Reinke. Installing the walkout door provides a second means of egress for the classroom to meet requirements by the state fire marshal's office for occupancy in that room. The Neligh Rescue squad members are holding a fundraiser in order to update equipment for emergency personnel.
Members are selling raffle tickets for three guns to be drawn during the demo derby at the Antelope County Fair on Saturday, Aug. 1. The guns being raffled are a Weatherby Upland 12 gauge shotgun, Henry Silver Bay lever action rifle .17 HMR caliber and a Savage Axis XP rifle with a Bushnell scope. "We hope this is a great fundraiser for us that leads to new equipment for the rescue unit and for our local personnel," said Jared Jacob, co-captain of the Neligh Rescue squad. "This is our first raffle in six years, so it's time to try to put some funds together for updates. The community has always been very supportive of our efforts, and we really appreciate their assistance." Raffle tickets are $10 each and are available from any rescue member listed below or at the Antelope County News or Neligh News and Leader, both located in downtown Neligh. Neligh Rescue members are co-captains Jared Jacob and Brian Whitesel. Squad members are Kenny Capler, Diane Carpenter, Gayle Carlson, Doug Dennis, Sam Funk, Karen Hart, Phil Hart, Bryan Hohnholt, Dave Jacobsen, Lyle Juracek, Terra Bentley-Kimes, Mike Mortensen, Michaela Potter, Duane Risinger, Steve Simonsen, Dave Schmidt, Brian Schlote, Dennis Schwager, Corrie Starkey, Julie Tschirren, Mike Wright and Joan Wright. Supervisors discussed the confusion between voting districts and road districts in the county during Tuesday morning's meeting at the Antelope County Courthouse.
Voting districts are equal by population of people while road districts are divided up equally in miles. Therefore, the area of roads a supervisor is responsible to oversee may or may not be in the district of people who voted him to the board. This issue was discussed at length as supervisors work to make responsibility equal through the eventual hiring of a road supervisor, who would oversee all the county road workers, once the county moves from having supervisors to commissioners. In the mean time, supervisors can assure the roads are being maintained to the best of their ability. “I don’t care if they voted for me or not, I’m going to give them the best roads I can," said supervisor Charlie Henery. They plan to draft an advertisement for the road superintendent position and discuss it at their next supervisor meeting June 14. This person would keep track of the hours of county employees, inventory in the county barns and fuel expenses. The salary of this individual would depend on their experience and qualifications. Greg Koinzen, who was appointed to fill the remainder of Harlan Brandt's term, also brought up the issue of liability on roads that are within the road agreement between the county and Invenergy. In the contract, it is stated that Invenergy is solely responsible for the damage they cause to the roads with their heavy equipment, not the day to day maintenance. Due to a few complaints about the roads under the agreement, supervisors will begin checking roads, they said. Editor’s Note: At the June 25 town hall meeting, questions were raised on the cost of Neligh’s generation plant, along with fees paid to McNally Law Office during that time. The Antelope County News investigated both and looked into the financial reports of energy use for the City of Neligh.
* * * At the west edge of Riverside Park in Neligh sits a $3.2 million bio-diesel generation plant used to create what is generally known as green energy. In all reality, its biggest product for the City of Neligh is another type of green - money. While Neligh’s generation plant does in fact create energy, it is considered a backup for the community. At each City Council meeting, generation supervisor Josh Capler confirms the generation station was tested and is ready to be used in case of an emergency. But, on about 29 days of each month, this green energy tool spends its time unused and silently saving thousands of dollars each month. Since construction was completed in early 2012, the generation plant has saved residents nearly $1 million, simply because the City of Neligh has the ability to produce its own energy. More specifically, having the generation station in place saves the City of Neligh on average $22,794.42 each month, according to financial documents. How Does It Save Money? Producing electricity from bio-diesel is expensive and not economical on a daily basis, which is why the City of Neligh doesn’t use the plant often. But because the City has the means to produce its own electricity, it can now purchase economy energy on its own, rather than paying the demand charge issued by Nebraska Public Power District. The month prior to the generation plant being used (March 2012), the City of Neligh paid NPPD a demand charge of $42,407.95. In April 2012, that charge was eliminated as Neligh began purchasing energy on its own. Of course, in building a $3.2 million structure, there are bond payments each month. After all payments and costs were subtracted - including the $17,500 bond payment - in April 2012, the City of Neligh came out ahead $22,369.45 in that month alone. The City of Neligh receives a month by month financial report on the savings of having the plant. The report is based on the charges that the City would have to pay if they had a wholesale contract with NPPD. During the first 12 months of operation, Neligh had a net savings of $123,652.48. The next 12 months was $305,748.12. The third 12 months was $388,507.07. Neligh is currently two months into the fourth 12 months and has saved $48,280.63 to date. The City of Neligh did not hire any additional employees due to the creation of the generation plant. Josh Capler is trained to operate the facility and has trained the other electric employees to operate the plant in his absence. The Original Proposal In reviewing the original proposal of the plant, this was a six-year project for Neligh, including three years of concept work. The idea stemmed from a hog farmer in Colfax County, who wanted to utilize methane gas produced by his hogs to produce energy. He could produce more than he needed and wanted to sell the excess energy to NPPD. As a public power state, the farmer needed approval of the Nebraska Power Review, which asked for an opinion of the Nebraska Attorney General as to whether they had power to approve the application. The Attorney General’s opinion stated that if a small, renewable energy project was approved by the Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC), then the state board would accept that certification and not undertake to regulate such projects. That opinion actually opened the door for the City of Neligh to seek approval through FERC because the Nebraska Power Review Board would in turn have to approve the project. James McNally, who serves as city attorney for Neligh, worked with his son Joe for approval through FERC for green energy production, which was granted in the later part of July of 2010. On Aug. 4, 2010, they received approval of the Nebraska Power Review Board. After Neligh’s mayor and city council approved the project. An engineer was needed to prepare the plans and specifications of the project. McNally’s firm negotiated a contract with Olssen and Associates for approximately $200,000, which was just two-thirds of their normal fees. Fees Paid To McNally Records indicate McNally Law Office was paid $80,000 in fees for their work on the generation station or about 2.5 percent of the project cost. The project took over six years from start to finish, and McNally Law Office was not paid until the project was complete, according to records. The $80,000 was paid over a two-year period. McNally estimated that through negotiations with the engineer alone, his office saved the City of Neligh over $100,000. That includes the engineer’s fee and his fees. The City of Neligh could have hired an outside counsel instead, but that would have been a price which would have been greatly in excess of what the city paid. “Also, any outside attorney would have had to redo the research that Joe and I had done over the previous three years,” he said. When asked how he felt about the accusations issued at the town hall meeting, McNally admitted it was difficult but said people are concerned about their taxes, and that’s understandable. However, criticizing officials for saving residents money doesn’t make sense. “Yes, it was difficult, but it goes with my job. What I hate the most is that the opponents of annexation are trying to use these fees as evidence of the mayor and council’s lack of accountability,” he said. “In my view, the mayor and council, and the previous mayor and council, have shown extraordinary foresight and intestinal fortitude in making this biodiesel decision.” Why Not More Generation Plants? If Neligh’s generation plant is so revolutionary, why aren’t more communities in Nebraska doing the same thing? McNally said more would if they could. Most area towns have long-term contracts with the local REA’s or NPPD and can’t consider alternative sources of power while those contracts are outstanding. McNally said the City of Neligh recognized the window of opportunity due to the hog farm case and instead of signing a 15-year contract with NPPD, signed a five-year contract and gave notice that it would not be renewing after that expired. The City used that five-year window to install their generation. It should be noted, however, that it was recently announced that South Sioux City, Wayne, Wakefield and the Northeast Nebraska Public Power District plan to contract with other generators for future power when their current contract expires. Cost of Electrical Rates At the mayor’s June town hall meeting, complaints were waged about Neligh’s electrical rates. There are four utilities that cover the Neligh area - City of Neligh, North Central Public Power District (NCPPD), Elkhorn Rural Public Power District (ERPPD) and NPPD. The average residential monthly service charge for the utilities is $16.62. All of the utilities charge within $1.50 per month of each other, except for NPPD. Monthly single phase residential rates for each are as follows: ERPPD $15, NCPPD $16, City of Neligh $16.50 and NPPD $19. As for an overall comparison, all of the utilities charge differently by usage, making an apples to apples comparison difficult between the four companies. Through the energy savings from having the generation plant, Neligh’s Electrical Department puts an excess of $130,000 into the general fund each year to assist in budgeting. According to City Clerk Dana Klabenes, this funding goes toward many items, including the full-time police force, city parks, library and other entities that do not generate income. Without the funding from the electrical department, the tax levy in Neligh could potentially be higher than it is currently. The City of Neligh tax levy is currently .893 and has a bond of .407 for streets and other projects. These bonds are not from construction of the generation plant, Klabenes said. That bond is directly from electrical rates. In comparing tax levies with area communities, Tilden’s levy is .819 and includes .397 toward bonds. That’s a levy of 42 cents without its bonds. When excluding its bond, Neligh’s tax levy is roughly 48 cents. Elgin’s levy currently is .47, Creighton’s is .47, Clearwater’s is .49 and Plainview’s is .61. Although Bomgaars has not officially been annexed, documents are now being drafted for tax increment financing to expand the water main to the area west of Neligh.
The Neligh Economic Development Board voted Monday night to start the paperwork necessary, per the request from Bomgaars for their expansion, who submitted a letter to Economic Development Director Greg Ptacek stating the project would not proceed without assistance. On June 24, Torrey Wingert, vice president/CFO of Bomgaars, sent Ptacek a letter stating, “Without this TIF, our development project would not be economically feasible and would not occur. We understand that there are no assurances as to the amount of the TIF or if the TIF will be approved.” The decision to start the paperwork was approved 3-1 on a motion by Dennis Anderson and seconded by Al Stelling. Anderson, Stelling and Terry Jensen voted in favor. Casting the lone dissenting vote was Ryan Koinzan. Ashley Krohn was absent. Koinzan asked who would use the water line, specifically asking if Larry Baker would be required to use city water. Ptacek said property owners in those areas could attach to the line; however, they would be "grandfathered in with their current wells" and would not be required use the water line immediately. He said property owners could remain on their own well system until major repair is needed on their wells. At that time, they would need to utilize the City of Neligh's water line. Melissa Smith, who is an owner in the Mill Pointe project, questioned the hesitancy in moving forward with drafting the funding. She asked if the Bomgaars project meets state statute, which Ptacek said it does. "So this project meets all the criteria set forth by state statute for use of TIF?" Smith repeated. "So my concern is what is the question of whether this is appropriate to use. Why is this project different from our project? We're both doing well over a half million dollar investments in Neligh. Why was our project OK and this project is questionable?" Jensen said having to annex property was the difference in the two projects. Koinzan said to him the difference was annexation and having to build infrastructure to accommodate Bomgaars. Smith reminded the economic development board members that the Bomgaars project would be an economic benefit to the community. "Our main concern is the economic development of the overall community. We have a building we'll need to fill and will be starting construction soon and hopefully will help grow Neligh and get some businesses to Neligh," she said. "Hopefully, we have the environment that welcomes any business to expand or start a new business. I'm a little concerned about the hesitation on passing this project." Located just west of the Neligh current city limits, Bomgaars is planning to start a 8,400 square foot addition this month and have the new space in use after the holidays. In order to qualify as a TIF project, the business must be located inside the City of Neligh. Bomgaars is expected to officially be annexed next week during the third reading of the ordinance at the Tuesday, July 14, City Council meeting. Should annexation not occur, action taken during Monday's meeting would cease, Ptacek said. The Neligh location is the smallest of Bomgaars' 69 stores in Iowa, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The expansion will take the now 12,000 square foot store to just over 20,000 square feet. At the March City Council meeting Dave Meyer, senior vice president/chief operating office of Bomgaars’ corporate office in Sioux City, said the issue facing Bomgaars was being required to sprinkle the building. He said there’s not enough water pressure to run a fire sprinkler system. Ryan Bolinger, project manager for W.A. Klinger, LLC, told the Council that water is the most important aspect for the expansion and "without having the water, the state won't let us build." He said Bomgaars is currently using a septic system and could continue that way. W.A. Klinger, L.L.C. is now accepting bids for the expansion. Bids are due by 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21. Bolinger will be at the Neligh location from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, to provide information and answer questions for any subcontractors interested in bidding the work. Bids to be submitted by email to Bolinger at [email protected] or fax to 712-277-5300. Neligh's Pee Wee and Pony baseball teams ended their regular season play last week. Here are some photos of the action:
If you’ve seen the haze or smelled smoke today, you’re using your senses to recognize the wildfires burning in Canada.
Northerly winds behind yesterday's cold front have brought the smoke southward into Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. ![]() The 2015 Quad County Pee Wee and Pony baseball tournaments begin in Neligh on Monday, July 6 and will continue through Sunday, July 12. For the Pee Wees, Neligh, Albion and Battle Creek each have two teams entered in the tournament. Other teams include Tilden, Orchard, Creighton, Plainview and Pierce. All of the Pee Wee games will be played on Neligh's north field. In Pony tournament action, O'Neill has two teams in the tournament. Other teams are Neligh, Clearwater, Wynot, Crofton, Pierce, Creighton, Battle Creek, Plainview and Albion. All Pony games will be played on the south field in Neligh. The full brackets for both tournaments are listed below: ![]() There was a good turnout at Neligh Public Library's open house for Nebraska Life magazine author, Alan J. Bartels, on Monday morning. People had the opportunity to chat with the author over coffee and rolls and discuss the Neligh edition of the magazine. "It turned out to be a great event," Bartels said, "A lot of people turned out and that doesn't surprise me, because when I showed up to do the story and photography on Neligh, people came out of the woodwork to help me." Local residents who visited were offered a special subscription deal of seven issues for the price of six, which is $24 for a one-year subscription, plus the Neligh issue for free. This edition of the Nebraska Life magazine has been selling successfully at the Neligh Public Library. "We can't keep our copies on the shelf!" said Library Director, Jennifer Norton, ". . .we actually only have two copies left. They're selling like hot cakes." Norton was pleasantly surprised by how many people came to meet the author. "Seeing Neligh in a local magazine, they really enjoy that," she said. Bartels was very pleased with his time spent in Neligh. "People in Neligh seem to be pretty supportive and they enjoy when their town gets recognized," he said. "Neligh is definitely deserving of a nice story in Nebraska Life. We hope people enjoy it." ![]() The 11th annual Antelope County Healthcare Foundation Golf Tournament will be held in memory of Bruce Hild on Friday, July 10. Hild served as president of the healthcare foundation until his death in January. The family recently presented a $10,000 donation to the organization in his honor. Proceeds from the golf tournament will be used toward purchasing new cardiac equipment for the AMH clinics in Orchard, Tilden, Elgin and Clearwater. The tournament, which generally draws about 100 participants from across the area and serves as the major fundraiser for the foundation, will start at 9:45 a.m. The 4-person scramble costs $375 to enter and includes a continental breakfast, lunch, supper, flight prizes, golf carts (if needed), green fees and flag prizes. Mail checks (payable to Antelope County Healthcare Foundation) to: James Meuret, P.O. Box 229, Neligh, NE 68756. To register or to become a sponsor, contact Natalie Bitney at 402-887-6224 or Jack Green at 402-887-6213. ![]() Skip and Alice Cruse had never stopped in Neligh before Saturday, much less even heard of Old Mill Days. After what they experienced, they couldn't stop raving about the community. “Enjoy what you have here. Never let it go,” Skip said. “I’ve lived all over the country - Omaha, Houston, Conroe, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Tokyo, Miami, Dubai, Hong Kong. No place has the community that you have when you come into Neligh.” The couple, who is celebrating their first wedding anniversary, moved to Omaha late last summer from Miami. Skip is a security architect for First Data, a credit card processing company, and Alice creates new styles of embroidery, needlework and crochet items. Omaha is the smallest city either has ever lived, which is why they were utilizing the Nebraska Tourism’s passport program and planning to spend the holiday in O’Neill. The historic Golden Hotel is one of the stops of the program. The couple was in Norfolk on Friday at Kuper Farms and first heard about Neligh’s annual celebration. While Alice said it sounded great, they planned to celebrate in O’Neill and continued their route. Once they arrived in Holt County, they were told again that Neligh was the place to be on Independence Day. “We asked what was happening in O’Neill, and everyone said to go to Neligh. They said to come back for St. Patrick’s Day,” Skip said with a laugh. “I asked four random people in O’Neill what to do on the Fourth, and they all said they were going to Neligh. So we came to Neligh.” They arrived around 11 a.m. and stopped at Cubby’s gas station. They bought a couple bottles of water and asked where the parade was. Much to their surprise, it was a block away. Even a bigger surprise was to be given the OK to leave their car in Cubby’s south parking lot. Of course, there was no fee to park either. Skip and Alice then walked to the corner of Third and Main and watched the 80-minute parade beside Heritage Bank. He took photos and she simply took it all in. “I found myself honestly emotional during the parade today because I’m from the suburbs of the country’s third largest city. We don’t do this stuff,” Alice said. “The whole town came to support the community and everybody was here. Half of the town participated in the parade, and the other half of the town was standing there watching and cheering them on. It was so nice. I don’t have any other word than that - it was nice.” Both had been part of high school homecoming parades, but not a Fourth of July parade and not anything like this. In Miami, Skip said his homecoming parade was in the school while Alice said her parade in Houston simply consisted of various high school groups. “This is the whole town, nobody was left out. It was just nice. That’s nice with a capital N,” Alice reiterated. After the parade, they walked another block, this time to the American Legion for hot dogs. Another surprise for them - it was a free-will offering. They gladly dropped a $20 in the jar and joined the locals for lunch before walking a couple of blocks to the afternoon activities. “I was a little nervous this morning that it would be us intruding on everybody who knew everybody,” Alice said. “I thought it would be like ‘We’ve never seen you around here, why are you here?’ But instead it was ‘Welcome, have fun, nice to see you.’ ” Everything was new to the couple, especially the kiddie tractor pull and turtle races. They loved every second. New this year to the celebration was a beer garden next to the courthouse, right beside the homemade ice cream social and food stand from the Lutheran youth group. It was a great place for them to socialize and learn about the town. “This was the biggest Fourth of July I’ve seen,” Skip said. “I’ve had 27 Fourth of July’s in numerous other places, but this is the biggest I’ve done. Everywhere else you struggle to find parking, you have a 20-minute fireworks display where everyone does their oohs and ahs, then you go home. That’s it. This is a whole day event.” They met dozens of people, including Clay and Debra (Lyons) Haley of Carroll, Iowa. Debra is a 1996 Neligh-Oakdale graduate and, like many others, returned home for the celebration. In between the afternoon activities and fireworks, the new friends ventured to the Antelope Country Club for a round of golf. Skip and Alice enjoyed the day so much, they plan to come back at the end of the month to experience the Antelope County Fair. They can’t wait to see Montgomery Gentry on July 31 and to take in the Demo Derby on Aug. 1. “We’re coming back for the fair,” Skip said smiling ear to ear. “It’s only a two hour drive. In Miami, going to visit my parents was the same thing, and we were there every week. Two hours is nothing.” And will they tell others to check out Neligh? “Oh, definitely,” Alice said. Hundreds of ducks floated down the Elkhorn River on Saturday night in the annual Ducky Derby with the fastest ducks earning some lucky people a few bucks.
Winners can pick their checks at the Antelope County News at 110 E 4th Street in Neligh, beginning Monday afternoon. Scroll down the page to view more photos from the Ducky Derby. 2015 Winners $300: Gwen Jacobsen $250: Ben Hales $200: Dwaine Green $150: Scott Kester $125: Rick Schindler $100: Derek Schilling $75: Burtle $75: JoAnne Penne $50: Stacey Mitchell $50: Joyce Cameron $50: Dean Bly $50: Jayce Gadeken $50: Parker McKillip $25: Walter Counts $25: Olivia Mortensen $25: Dwaine Trease $25: Michelle Coover $25: Rodger Haselhorst $25: Bracken Knust $25: Monica Hansen $25: Steph Keetle $20: Connie Knuth $20: Tim Good $20: Molly Hughes $20: Will Hatterman $20: Duane Childress $15: Peggy Green $15: Don Kester $15: Anita Donason |
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