News

Sandy Creek’s track and field will continue to meet standards in order to host conference track meets.

The South Central Nebraska Unified School District #5’s Board of Education approved spending $16,995 on a new FAT system during its regular meeting on Oct. 13 at the SC campus, located near Fairfield.

A FAT, or fully automatic time, system ensures accurate race timing and photo finish analysis.

Brian Blevins, athletic director at Lawrence-Nelson, reported that SC’s current FAT system is outdated. The option of contracting the service can add up to $2,000 per track meet, and SC hosted eight track meets during the 2020-21 season.

The board voted unanimously to purchase the $16,995 FinishLynx Timing System as its new FAT system.

In other news, the board approved spending up to $35,000 to put a new engine in one of its school buses and allowing the district superintendent, Julie Otero, to approve local substitute teacher candidates.

The sense of accomplishment and pride was worn boldly and strongly from the three women— Lindsay Anderson, Julie Haag and Tracy Galusha—all members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, who spearheaded the new Fruits of Mary childcare center that will operate out of the Sutton Catholic Church.

Galusha, along with new center director Ashley Roth, literally, just minutes prior to telling their story to the Clay County News, had spent several hours with state inspectors, that offered their stamp of approval to allow the center to begin operation this past Monday morning.

Galusha, with a prideful smile shared, “the journey is just starting.”

When the journey began, according to Anderson, she had no idea where to start.

“The thought of this all began in early 2020, then the COVID-19 pandemic struck and traction to move this forward greatly slowed.

With a completely different atmosphere, what many know as the building of the former Clay Bowl bowling alley has a fresh look.

Walking through the front door, children and their parents are greeted with colorfully-painted walls, fresh flooring and warm light.

“I wanted a bright and happy look for the kids, my staff and myself,” owner Michele Gibson said.

Gibson is licensed for 45 kids, however, more kids means more staff as they are required to have a certain amount of children per staff member.

When the center moves from N. James Ave to the new building, 17 more children will be added to the roster for a total of 29 children enrolled.

When the crew first started work on the center, the building was completely gutted. Plans for construction began in June, with walls being built and a layout determined.

Sutton residents spoke loud and clear when the City of Sutton launched it’s most recent strategic/comprehensiv plan study, which began with early discussion in 2015. The findings within the Vision Implementation Plan, which was completed in 2016, stated that daycare services needed were the highest priority level for the community moving forward.

In a community survey conducted in 2017, the need for daycare service expansion and before and after school activities and care had a combined 56 survey respondents note that child care and activity services were of the highest priorities for the community moving forward.

Daycare services, which received 37 responses as the highest of needs, took a major positive step forward, with two centers in Sutton either expanding, or opening up.

Harvard People’s Project was awarded a $400 grant from the Food Bank for the Heartland, out of Omaha. Grants are awarded quarterly and can go up to $2,000. Food Pantries can apply as many times as they like in one year, until they receive an award. Then, all Food Pantries are eligible to reapply that next year. The Harvard Food Pantry will use their grant to purchase utility carts to assist with drive-thru pick up and delivery of food boxes. Pictured here includes volunteers, truck driver, and the Community and Partner Support Representative. Left to right: Conrad and Benton Reutzel, Greg and Elaine Almond, Shelly Chloupek, Kenny and Cindy Reutzel, Spencer Cohorst, and the truck driver. In front is Mari Hamburger. COURTESY PHOTO | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

The Sutton Pharmacy fell victim to theft.

Video shows one person moving through the pharmacy shortly after 2 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 30.

At 8:30 a.m., Thursday morning, Sutton PD was called to the scene, noting the thief gained access by smashing the front right door in, after cutting the power cord to the store. Police chief Tracey Landenberger said the thief stole several strong pain medications.

The same night, two hours later, the York Pharmacy was also reported robbed. Due to involving pharmaceutical drugs and with the potential of the same thief, the case was turned over to Nebraska State Patrol, allowing them to cross jurisdictions and search for a suspect.

The 25-year postal career of Sutton Postmaster Vicki Ozenbaugh has officially drawn to a close, as Ozenbaugh, who in addition to her role as the Sutton Postmaster, was also the manager of several other post offices in Clay County.

She completed her career with a presentation of a certificate for her 25-years of service to the postal service made by Todd Case, the manager of Post Office Operation from Lincoln.

As mentioned in her Sept. 22 “In The Postal Know” column that Ozenbaugh periodically submitted to the Clay County News, “my Postal career began on Aug. 6, 1987, as the Postmaster Relief (PMR) in Ohiowa.”

Ozenbaugh went on to serve as the postmaster in Exeter in 2005. She addi tionally served as the officer-in-charge in Henderson for a short time during her service in Ohiowa, and during her service in Exeter, she served as the officer-in-charge two different times in Sutton, before becoming the 17th Postmaster in Sutton on Oct. 6, 2012.

October is breast cancer awareness month and the term breast cancer means something different to each person.

For some it’s a terrible disease they are fighting right now. For others, it hasn’t touched their life personally. For most, people have witnessed its effects on the lives of someone they love or are close to.

Whatever perspective people come from, they all share the same goal, to save lives from breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a cancer that everyone knows about and yet knowing alone is sometimes not enough to encourage action.

Of women ages 50-74 in the South Heartland District of Adams, Clay, Nuckolls and Webster Counties in Nebraska, 73 percent report being up to date with screening mammograms.

This can be improved by encouraging all the women in our lives who are ages 50-74 to get screened.

Fall harvest is underway across Clay County.

Weather conditions have enabled steady fieldwork. As a result, the soybeans are going fast and some farmers have started on their cornfields.

“It’s been really dry in this county in the last few months,” Michael Sindelar, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension educator, said during the regular meeting of the Clay County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 21 at the courthouse in Clay Center.

Sindelar specializes in crop production and covers primarily Clay, Fillmore, Nuckolls, and Thayer Counties. His office is located at the Clay County Courthouse. An upside to this lack of

An upside to this lack of precipitation is a lowered incidence of crop diseases, Sindelar said. A downside is that less moisture may have impacted yields, as suggested by the earlier-than-typical harvest of dryland corn.

Linus A. Cloet entered a change of plea in Clay County District Court Sept. 22.

A plea agreement was reached between the state, represented by Special Deputy Clay County Attorney Sandra Allen, and Cloet’s attorney Richard Alexander. The agreement was presented as Exhibit 28 during the court hearing.

After withdrawing his previous plea of not guilty, Cloet entered a no-contest plea to Count I, Pandering, and Count II, Solicitation of Prostitution.

As stated in the plea agreement, all other charges previously identified in Cloet’s case were dismissed with prejudice.

Clay County District Court Judge Stephen R. Illingworth found Cloet guilty of Count I, Pandering, a Class II Felony with a minimum of one year and a maximum of 50 years; and guilty of Count II, Solicitation of Prostitution, a Class I Misdemeanor with a maximum of one year in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.