News

Shortly after midnight Monday, April 19, the Clay County 911 Center received a 911 call reporting an active structure fire in the 300 block of Clay Ave. in Clay Center.

The caller had been walking in the area, observed the fire, and was in contact with the occupants helping them evacuate.

The 74-year-old male and female owners of the home and their 18-year-old grandson were inside the home at the time of the fire. They and their two dogs, evacuated without injury. The person who was walking and came to their home notified them of the fire and helped them evacuate. They had not been aware their home was on fire, and this citizen certainly saved their lives.

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The City of Clay Center now officially owns the football and baseball fields, tennis court, and concession stand on the east edge of town.

South Central Unified School District #5’s Board of Education approved the sale of this real estate, located one block northwest of the former Clay Center Public School building, during a special meeting on April 14 at Sandy Creek’s main campus near Fairfield.

The city is purchasing this property from the school district at the price of $2,000.

Board member Chad Dane, of Clay Center, shared that this decision resolves a long-standing confusion of ownership. Both the school district and the City of Clay Center had assumed that the city owned the property. The city has long been mowing, maintaining, and paying liability insurance on this real estate, investing approximately $175,000 into the property.

This fall, Clay Center’s Noah Shackelford will head off to the University of Nebraska-Kearney to major in molecular biology with his sights set on med school.

But for now, the Sandy Creek senior sits in front of a large screen dissecting video and adding audio segments to the latest of a client’s commercial commissioned video through a new student-run business called 74 Creative.

“I think the business is a really great opportunity for students,” Shackelford, the creative director for 74 Creative’s video production team, said. “Whatever you can do to get people experience, it’s experience however you cut it.”

74 Creative is the latest addition to the Nebraska Center for Advanced Professional Studies (NCAPS), located on SC’s campus near Fairfield. NCAPS also provides career training, student mentorships with professionals, and dual-credit college classes to juniors and seniors from various high schools in the area.

Several items were discussed at Monday night’s Harvard School Board meeting, with the board voting on six items.

Under the superintendent report, Michael Derr presented quotes for a portion of the roof to be repaired and removing old steam pipe in the plumbing.

The portion of the roof being replaced is an area where there is consistent leaking anytime moisture is involved and comes in at a cost of $92,500 from Duff Roofing. The plumbing project has a price tag of $23,500 from Extreme Plumbing. These two projects would be paid for through ESSERS II funds.

Derr asked the board if they chose to approve both projects, to approve them under the caveat that the proposed projects were approved by the Department of Education in writing.

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City leaders put their final stamp of approval on three community improvement projects during the Sutton City Council’s April meeting Monday night in the council chambers.

Resolution 2021-1 was passed that will issue a tax-exempt sewer utility bond, estimated to be $500,000 to aid with expenditures related to the Euclid Street storm sewer improvement project in northwest Sutton.

An official start date related to the project was not announced Monday, but it is expected to get underway in the near future.

Additionally, council members approved a bid from Van Kirk Bros. Contracting of Sutton to replace the Saunders Ave. pedestrian bridge over School Creek at a cost of $285,725, of which, $253,595 of that cost is to remove the current bridge and replace it with a two-piece bridge that is an all-steel structure, with the exception of the decking, which will be all wood.

Caitlyn Coffman picks up an egg during the annual Della Keasling Memorial Community Easter Egg hunt at the Harvard Rest Haven April 3. LOETTA SWANSON | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

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Seven stop signs were damaged by an unknown person(s) in the Sutton area between April 2 and 4, according to Clay County Emergency Management.

Five of the stop signs were on county roads, with two of them along Highway 6.

“There’s so many scenarios where this is bad,” CCEM Tim Lewis posted Monday, later stating how the loss of these stop signs, many of which were in visibility-reduced areas, could result in vehicle collisions.

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Final numbers from the Nebraska Department of Revenue shows that for the calendar year, 2020, net taxable sales for Clay County fell just short of reaching $25 million, with just under $1.4 million going to Nebraska sales tax. Meanwhile, motor vehicle taxable sales in the county hit just over $20.3 million last year.

Overall, the City of Sutton taxable sales reached just over $13.5 million last year, with $744,697.35 going toward the Nebraska sales tax.

Edgar had $3.4 million in taxable sales, with $187,776 going to sales tax, while Clay Center and Fairfield both surpassed $2.2 million in taxable sales, while both were over $122 thousand in sales tax receipts.

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Organizers with the Sutton Area Chamber of Commerce have announced that tickets for the Friday, July 2 concert with Ian Munsick are now on sale to purchase.

To buy a ticket, you must go to: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/6376501/suttons-150th-celebration-presents... .

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Cease-Fire Ministries was created in January 2018 by Harvard’s Steven and Rachel Dillman.

The non-profit volunteer veteran outreach program began as a way for Steven to share his devotion to God, to see others prosper, and to help bring down and cease the number of veteran suicides.

As of Saturday, April 10, the program will have its own day.

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