News

Friday, Feb. 1, marked a special day for Quality Healthcare staff, as well as family members of Virgil Ulmer, as a ribbon cutting ceremony took place to unveil the new specialy services clinic provided by Quality Healthcare.

Ulmer served as a huge part of the success that is Qualith Healthcare in Sutton; the ribbon cutting also served as a dedication day to the late Ulmer, revealing a plaque created especially for him.

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BY RITA BRHEL

It’s been a month since Sandy Creek welcomed students back after Christmas break with the gift of a new high school.

They’ve taken to the $11 million building as if they had never been anywhere else.

On any given day, teachers lecture about such topics as psychology, business, and Spanish in nooks lined with cushy chairs.

In the health lab, students learn how to take the pulse on a patient simulator mannequin so real-like that its eyes blink, chest rises as if breathing, and pupils dilate when pulsed with a pin light.

Over in the industrial shop, Spencer Schoof guides his class on welding techniques in making hammers. And in the kitchen, students are making salads as part of their healthy living lesson.

“I’ve been having a whole lot of fun in this new building,” Jason Searle, Sandy Creek’s secondary principal, said during a special open house for NCAPS business partners on Jan. 30.

Members of the Clay Center Fire and Rescue Departments were recognized for their efforts during the sixth annual Firemen’s Ball Saturday, Feb. 9, hosted at the Clay County Fairgrouds.

Of those, Haley Roemmich was honored by the department as the EMT of the Year; Dakota Hoyt earned the Clay Center Fire Department Firefighter of the Year, while Jesse VonSpreckelsen earned the department’s Rookie of the Year honors.

Scott and Robyn VonSpreckelsen received the honor of the Community Supporter of the Year during their annual honors night.

Years of Services awards were also given out, going to firemen Mark Bailey, 37 years, and Joe Cooney and Tom Roemmich Sr., 35 years of service for each leader and mentor of the department.

Service awards going to EMT’s included Mark Bailey, 37 years; Sherrill Echternkamp, 44 years; Loren Uden, 35 years; and Bob Swanson, 33 years.

With the release of the 2018 charitable gaming report last week by the Nebraska Dept. of Revenue, gaming in Clay County and in Sutton showed a stark decline in bets made, specifically with keno, but in Harvard, keno wagering rose significantly, as compared to 2017.

Since a record year of $1,482,900 in keno wagering took place in 2016, Sutton’s Keno wagering, in 2017, fell just over $900,000 and dropped another $329,261 in 2018.

In contrast, Harvard’s wagering with keno alone has been on the rise the past two years. In 2016, keno wagering in Harvard brought in $178,999. In 2017, that figure nearly doubled in Harvard, bringing in $333,349 in keno wagers. In 2018, wagers made in Harvard rose to $455,243, nearly reaching a record for Harvard, as in 2012 Harvard Keno reached $539,647 in sales, while in 2013, that figure dropped to $490,438.

Keno first came to Harvard in 2011, while Sutton began keno in 2014.

Monday, Jan. 21, Sandy Creek’s FFA recognized a number of its members for the Greenhand Award. In the foreground, Caitlyn Rempe gets her hand painted by Calie Schliep, while in the background, Jason Brockman records Chase DeVries painting a member’s hand. Other students earning the greenhand award include: Micah Biltoft, John Brodrick, Brynn Claycamp, Rami Hinrichs, Lexie League, Josh Shaw, Hayden Shuck, Jake Shuck, and Kynnzie Skalka.

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Thousands of participants gathered for the 46th annual March of Life in Washington D.C. Jan. 18, one of which was Sutton Public School senior Nathan Drudik.

Drudik first heard about the march when Jeff Schinstock, director of Youth Ministry in the Lincoln Diocese, visited CCD at the Sutton Catholic Church the first week of December 2018, explaining great opportunities youth could do for their church.

Following Schinstock’s visit, Drudik thought more about the trip, eventually deciding to go.

“I thought, maybe I should go to this; it’ll be cool,” he said.

A little more than a month later, Jan. 16, Drudik and several other students were loading a bus at St. Cecilia in Hastings to start their 26-hour journey to D.C.

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