Columns

Currently I’m reading this book called “Our Boys,” by Joe Drape, which is based on the Smith Center, KS, high school football team and their perfect season that landed them the longest-running winning streak, for high school football, in Kansas.

The title of the book encompasses the author describes throughout the book, that the team—the boys—become a part of everyone’s family. It’s a close-knit community and that football team, win or lose, is their boys.

Along those lines, I have to brag about our students. Our students at our county schools and the many awesome things they achieve.

While I was gone Thursday and Friday for state speech, elementary students at Sutton and SPS Staff helped organize a donation gathering to assist those in our state who need help, following the storm that passed through.

This is an incredible feat for students as young as elementary to accomplish, and even them wanting to participate is amazing.

Stewing...simmering, however you want to term it, I’ve done plenty of that over the course of the past couple of weeks. No, I’m not talking about the Nebraska men’s basketball situation either.

This past week, I’ve been privileged to see some amazing “giving back.” ALL of our active fire departments in Clay County had worked hard, not because it was needed, but because it was giving from their hearts.

So many churches, so I’ve heard, and individuals have reached out to give. Sutton’s elementary students raised an amazing $2,000 and some change to help out with the very tough situation that has hit Nebraska hard, with the deep snowfall in the panhandle and most certainly the even deeper flooding that has changed the way of life for so many in Northeast Nebraska and the eastern part of the state.

#NebraskaStrong is alive and well...and that is an understatement in so many ways!

RAMBLES

The thing I love most about our state is that when disaster hits there’s no such thing as rivalries between schools, no disputes between neighbors, no differences in religions or beliefs...it’s everyone coming together to help one another out.

When the flooding started, I’ll be honest, I looked at those photos being posted and thought, “this couldn’t possibly be happening here, in our state.”

This isn’t something I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, where a disastrous event like this hits so close to home.

While I’m grateful Clay County didn’t get anywhere near as much flooding as a majority of the state, nor did we get a ton of snow piled on top of us, I still worried.

Most of my family lives in the northern part of the state, such as Fremont, West Point, Snyder, Scribner, and Omaha, where there is intense flooding occurring.

Hello Neighbor,

This past week has seen extreme weather all across our state, from blizzards in the west to flooding in the east. I am thankful for our first responders who are working tirelessly to keep everyone safe.

I am also happy to see and hear so many stories of neighbors going out of their way to help each other with no hesitation. That is what makes this state so great. Everyone affected by these storms are in my thoughts and prayers as we will find out in the next few days and weeks just how severe the damage has been.

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Do you ever get that nostalgia feeling when something comes on TV, or someone says a phrase you haven’t heard in decades, or you hear a snippet of a once-favorite song?

I love and hate those moments. I love them because if I can find the nostalgia item or song or movie, then I’m in heaven because I loved my childhood and everything that came with being a 90s kid.

I also hate those moments also because A) sometimes I just can’t find that song or movie or even a picture of this item in my head that I want to see to recall some memories, and B) it makes me miss the “old days.”

When people say they miss the easier times (aka, the old days), those easier times are different to each person. What was easy for me from 1992 to 2004 (so before I was a teenager) was easier for me because I was a child just living life to the fullest and going on adventures and such.

This week, as the Sutton Mustangs return to the Nebraska state boys basketball tournament for the first time since 2014, and after watching Saturday’s girls championships on television, the passion and emotions of this big stage can really get the best of all of us, me included.

It’s well known that in my industry we “can’t” wear our school gear while covering big events like this. We can’t (or shouldn’t) show favoritism, thus why you won’t see a Sutton shirt on me.

With that said, I ran into a social media post Sunday on Twitter which just wowed me, in a good way. It came from the father of Oakland-Craig standout girls player Dacey Nelson. Nelson, in three tournament games averaged nearly 30 points per game. Yep, this young lady has obviously put a lot of time in on the court.

It was her dad, however, that left me speechless. O-C took home the third-place trophy with a win over Fillmore Central.

By the time you read this it’s either still February or March has officially begun.

To finish out the month, I wanted to focus on Black History Month, which is all of February, by spotlighting some inspirational and unforgettable leaders that define why we celebrate Black History Month.

Black History Month was first celebrated in 1915, according to History.com, but presidents officially began naming February BHM in 1976. This month is to recognize the many acheivements by African Americans and their role in history.

The first president to actually name February as such was President Gerald Ford, who is quoted saying this notion is for the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Whew! Monday night’s Sutton basketball battle with Centura was a nail-bitter. The kind of game that really makes you thankful for a solid team that can adjust on the fly.

Sutton, who took on a very challenging Centura squad coached by veteran basketball coach Dave Oman, had to make several adjustments in dealing with the Centurions, a team that Sutton, in December, clobbered by 31 points.

Centura, with a few extra days to prep for the Mustangs, installed a tactic that nearly got the Sutton faithful...I said nearly!

After maintining leads at the ends of the first and second quarter, Centura, after trailing 18-17 to the Mustangs at the half, got the Sutton fan base to sit on the edge of their seats and watch with their eyes wide open.

Bby Ashley D. Swanson

Back in the late 1880s there was a journalist named Nellie Bly (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran), who accepted a challenge that would ultimately change her life, and the life of several others.

In 1887, Bly was wanting to explore the immigrant experience in the U.S., but the idea was shot down by her editor at the New York World.

Instead, Bly, who was 23 years old at the time, was given the challenge of delving in to a New York mental hospital—Blackwell’s Island Asylum. There were accusations against the asylum that patients were left to live in poor conditions and were subjected to regular harassment from staff.

Now, journalists have the habit of finding the truth in every situation, and often find themselves having to dive deeper into investigations, depending on the topic of the story.

By Tory Duncan

Year in and year out, I probably sound like a broken record with this, but even coming out of the mind of a non-wrestling kid in high school, there really is no state meet/tournament quite like the Nebraska state high school wrestling championships.

I’ll give state track a close second, but not the leading nod, because there is no other place that you can watch 10 matches at the same time, while still focusing on our kids from Clay County for the coverage.

Harvard’s Dalton Hansen, who was perhaps one of the first wrestlers to hit the mats Thursday morning, would come home as a state medalist, placing fifth in the Class D 106 pound class.

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