News

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.

Residents and visitors to Edgar have a freshly-painted water tower to look at. Viking Industrial Painting, who the Edgar City Council approved during its May meeting, finished painting the tower last week, after about three weeks of working on it. The USDA approved the painting to be included in the water project with Fairfield, allowing the city to use leftover funds to pay for the sandblasting and painting of the tower; the city paid for the logo. 

The idea of something tragic occurring, such as a school shooting, usually falls under the category of “it won’t happen here.”

Yet, history has shown that even in places no one would think, school shootings unfortunately still happen.

Although staff at Harvard Public School hold out hope that a school shooting will never happen, if that day should come they have the knowledge to get their students and themselves to safety.

ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate, and implements schools with the knowledge on how to be prepared for any man-made threat. This doesn’t start and stop with a possible shooter, but anyone who intends harm on those at a school.

Assistant Principal and HPS Crisis Team Liaison Blake Thompson led an ALICE training at the end of the school day Friday, Sept. 24, for staff members.

He discussed how ALICE helps a school be prepared, as well as shared statistics and scenarios of past school shootings.

The pedestrian bridge over School Creek in Sutton has officially reopened for use as of Monday, Sept. 20. MRL Crane Services of Grand Island, along with Van Kirk Bros. Contracting of Sutton set the new bridge in place on Thursday, Sept. 16, with final sidewalk and approaches to the bridge completed enabling the bridge to open up for foot traffic. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

The South Central Nebraska Unified School District #5’s Board of Education has set its 2021-22 budget.

The proposed budget summary, including tax request and notice of public hearings, was published in the Sept. 8 edition of Clay County News. The budget hearings were held prior to the regular Board meeting on Sept. 15 at the Lawrence-Nelson High School in Nelson.

Board member Laurie Kohmetscher, of Fairfield, conveyed her concern about the district using its Special Building Fund for a second consecutive year to offset operating expenses.

“I think we need to figure out some way to stop spending more money,” she said.

Board member Kelsie Kathman, of Lawrence, acknowledged that costs will continue to increase over time.

“I don’t disagree that we have to save money,” she said, “but everything goes up.”

Harvard and Sandy Creek’s Marching Bands performed at Melody Round-Up in Hastings Saturday, during Hastings College’s homecoming. At the far left, Harvard’s Cardinal mascot waves to the crowd while members of the band march east. Harvard earned the Outstanding Class D Band Award. At the left, members of Sandy Creek’s band play a piece during the annual parade. ASHLEY D. SWANSON | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

Harvard Public School hosted a Crisis and Safety team meeting for EMS personnel, partially as a thank you to the EMTs and firefighters for all they do for HPS, but also to update them on information they’ll need to know should they need to come to the school. Here, assistant principal and Crisis Team Liaison Blake Thompson addresses a group of EMS during the meeting Sept. 7.

When the Old Trusty Show first began, the Schlieps and six Farmall tractors were there.

Now, going into its 39th year, visitors can still find the Schlieps attending Old Trusty, this time with a lot more family and tractors in tow.

At the head of the Schliep family are Wes and Marilyn, who began their trek with Farmall shortly after getting married in 1959. Although they started out showing just six tractors at the first OT show, today they boast more than 50 in their collection. The couple has attended every Old Trusty Show except for one, which they missed due to attending a wedding, Wes said.

The tradition of using and collecting Farmall International Harvester stems from Wes’ father, who used Farmall tractors for farming.

“I like to work on them and just started collecting,” Wes recalled as to why they began collecting Farmall.

When it comes to working on the tractors, it’s a family project.