News

The name Laurel Stoehr will ring a bell to many Sutton Fillies basketball fans. Stoehr helped lead the Sutton girls basketball program to their only state girls championship in 1991, the year in which Stoehr, the daughter of Mick and Linda, who reside in Sutton, graduated from SPS.

Stoehr, who now is know as Laurel O’Malley, a second grade teacher at Chambers Public Schools, will lead the Chambers/Wheeler Central Renegade girls basketball team into the 2020 Class D-1 state tournament as the second seed overall in the class, as her Renegades carry a 25-1 record into the tournament, which begins Thursday in Lincoln.

The Renegades will take on seventh seed Dundy County-Stratton at 2 p.m. at Lincoln Southwest High School. The lone loss on the year for O’Malley, whose husband, Chuck, serves as the teams assistant coach, is a 41-36 loss to North Central, a class C-2 team in the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament, back on Feb. 8.

“I remember sitting in the locker room, talking to the guys who were going to be on the team the next year and I told them ‘I can’t promise you that you’ll win anything, I can just promise you the opportunity and that it’s going to take a lot of hard work, it’s going to take dedication, it’s going to take everything you’ve given to this program so far to be successful in six-man,” Harvard Football Head Coach Scott Trimble said during the championship ring ceremony Sunday.

Between 2004-15, Harvard football had a record of 18-78, appearing in the playoffs once, in 2004.

“That time frame was a tough time for Harvard football,” Trimble said.

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Originating in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, the coronavirus is constantly evolving.

The virus (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease and has “been detected in 60 locations internationally, including cases in the United States,” according to an update from the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) on Feb. 29.

With this rapidly changing disease health officials are keeping a heavy eye on the activity occurring, including the South Heartland District Health Department and local county emergency managers.

Michele Bever, executive director for SHDHD, said “it’s an ever-changing scenario... we look at previous outbreaks and learn from those to be prepared and keep the public safe.”

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Mary Lanning Healthcare and the Hastings Fire Department teamed up to recognize a group of area volunteer emergency medical providers.

Members of the Clay County Basic Life Support (BLS) crew were honored at Mary Lanning Monday. Heather Peterson, RN, MLH Trauma Coordinator, said Jake Veik, Jeff Switzer, Jim Piper, Vally Robinson-McDonald and Haley Roemmich were honored for their hard work and quick actions.

Peterson, who provides training for emergency medical providers in the community, said the state of Nebraska opened up some advanced education— for performing advanced airways, using IVs and administering the drug NARCAN®—in 2019. NAR-CAN® (naloxone) is used to treat a narcotic overdose in emergencies.

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Several auction items were available for viewing during the silent and live auction of the Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department’s annual fundraiser Saturday, Feb. 29. Helping with the live auction was Lauren Cook-West, right, former Husker Volleyball standout and Coach John Cook’s daughter.

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The Fairfield Fire and Rescue Departments will once again be hosting their annual pancake and pork sandwich feed this Saturday, Feb. 29.

Pancakes will be served from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the pork sandwich feed beginning at 4 p.m., running through 7 p.m.

On hand for the annual event will be several Husker football players, as well as former Nebraska volleyball standout setter Lauren Cook-West.

Football players that will attend include Vaha Vainuku, Jeramiah Stovall, Reid Karel and Fyn Anderson.

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During the Harvard Fire and Rescue’s annual banquet Feb. 22, Clint Schwenk was named as EMT of the Year, while Joe Hester was named Firefighter and Ambulance Driver of the Year. *See more photos on pg. 3A.* RITA BRHEL | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

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Auctioneer Colt Pope, far left, auctions off a painting, held by Emily Overturf, during the 30th annual Rainwater Basin Pheasants Forever Banquet Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Sutton Community Center. Several items were bid on during the live auction, including guns, vintage-looking tin wall hangings, paintings, and a 2020 Chevy Silverado, among other items. ASHLEY D. SWANSON | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

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Clay County will eventually need a new jail, but the likelihood that it would be built in Clay Center is slim.

The Clay County Board of Supervisors revisited this discussion during its regular meeting on Feb. 18, at the courthouse in Clay Center.

The board had last delved into the issue during a regular meeting on Feb. 26, 2019, during which Clay County Sheriff Jeff Franklin reported the Clay County Jail—housed in a now 98-year-old building—had long been short of state standards including being handicapped-accessible, having a nurse on site, and being located near an emergency medical department.

“We’re grandfathered in,” Clay County Clerk Deb Karnatz said at the Feb. 18 meeting. “If we build a new jail, we’d have a problem.”

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In the Feb. 19 article, “Harvard Foodmart closes its door,” it was mis-stated that the elevator/co-op requires a co-op card to purchase gas. The elevator takes all forms of payment and a co-op card is not required for gas. Co-op is open from 7:15 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. A card reader is expected to be installed at the pump at the end of March (currently estimated to be March 26). The Clay County News apologizes for this mis-information.