News

Sallie Barbee

Sallie Barbee is the epitome of a hard working, caring person.

The Sutton native grew up helping on the family farm north of Sutton, served as an elementary teacher, volunteered her time with various organizations, allthe-while raising her family.

Barbee was recently nominated and chosen for the 2019 Clay County News Person of the Year, for all the reasons listed above and more.

In her younger years, Barbee began her volunteer hours as her mother’s little helper, gathering eggs, getting cobs from the cob house, and taking a bucket of coal from the basement.

She attended District 66 school for six years before it closed due to the lack of children attending. Eventually, the final four children attending District 66 transfered to Sutton School; Barbee attended SPS from seventh to 11th grade.

Landowners and others with an interest in an industrial solar farm proposed for the Spring Ranch area are reminded to attend an upcoming informational session on the topic.

The Clay County Board of Supervisors will be hosting a workshop at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the courthouse in Clay Center, featuring various speakers on the pros and cons of drawing up solar-specific ordinances that would make way for the solar farm.

“We’re not going to be rushing into anything,” board chairman Ivan Fintel, of Sutton, said in response to a landowner request for a decision on the issue at the board’s regular meeting on Dec.

31.

Virginia-based APEX Clean Energy has proposed a 305-megawatt solar farm to be placed on about 3,000 acres in the southwest corner of Clay County, under the Pauline-Moore transmission line.

When the historic flooding hit Nebraska, leaving behind hundreds of miles of devastation, first responders and volunteers stepped up to help out. Clay County EMS Departments wanted to help out also, with each department donating money toward the cause. On March 21, members from each department headed to Lynch, a town of 296 people, where flood waters not only caused extensive physical damage, but also damage to the water system running through Lynch, leaving citizens without clean water and a working sewer system for month.

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Keeping an open mind proves to be the will and drive that District 38 senator Dave Murman, of rural Glenvil, maintains as he heads into his second session of the 106th Nebraska Legislature when it convenes on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at the Nebraska Capital in Lincoln.

“After my first session representing the 38th district, I feel like I have a good feel for other state senators and those senators that I’m aligned with.”

In sitting down with Murman at his rural Glenvil home late last week, it is notable to say that Murman is a thoughtful senator that will maintain what he ran for office on in 2018.

“I’ll keep an open mind but will have conviction in my belief of limited government and limited spending,” Murman noted.

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The Clay County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a workshop to learn about short- and long-term effects of allowing an industrial solar farm in the Spring Ranch area.

The public is encouraged to sit in on the informational session at 1 p.m., Jan. 21, at the courthouse in Clay Center.

“We’re not against anything,” county board member L. Wayne Johnson, of Clay Center, said, “just want to make sure we know the facts.”

The workshop will give the board the opportunity to gain unbiased perspectives on both sides of the issue and allow in-depth discussion on the pros and cons of the project.

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The system set up at the Clay County Giving Tree appears smooth and steady.

Gifts are already in boxes for volunteers to wrap, a line of men are ready to scan each tag, and more volunteers are waiting patiently to organize those gifts into a line of their respective towns.

Everything is organized, but it doesn’t come without hard work and months of planning ahead.

Before the annual wrapping party begins, forms are sent out to churches, schools, and certain businesses around Clay County, where names, ages, and present options are written down and returned.

From there, each person and their information, including their present(s) of choice, are typed into a program by Ed Barnes.

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The 35th annual Giving Tree, an event which continually brings in volunteers of all ages, hosted its wrapping party Wednesday, Dec. 18, where more than 300 gifts were boxed, wrapped, and delivered throughout Clay County. LEFT: Karisa Troester, left, and Katie Johnson share a laugh while wrapping some boxes. 

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Five of the county’s 11 communities have projects or events that will receive a portion of 2019’s county-wide lodging tax.

The Clay County Board of Supervisors heard recommendations from the County Visitors and Promotion Committee during the board’s regular meeting on Dec. 17, at the courthouse in Clay Center.

Committee member Pam Maynard of Sutton reported that the overall balance of the county lodging tax fund is approximately $2,200 less than it was one year ago, likely due to less lodging tax being collected by local hotels.

State law requires hotels and RV parks to collect a 1 percent lodging tax on their customers, according to the Nebraska Department of Revenue, which goes toward Nebraska tourism. In addition, counties may impose an additional lodging tax—not to exceed 4 percent—to benefit local tourism.

Dr. Dale Grotelueschen has received a fitting retirement gift—in the form of a top honor from the Nebraska Cattlemen.

Grotelueschen retired in July from the directorship of the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center (GPVEC) located on the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center campus situated between Clay Center and Glenvil. He had held that position since 2003 and had helped spearhead projects to benefit the beef cattle industry, particularly cow-calf producers.

“We work in close association with the livestock industry,” Grotelueschen said of GPVEC’s focus.

The Nebraska Cattlemen bestowed Grotelueschen with the 2019 Industry Service Award during its annual convention on Dec. 5, in Kearney. This honor recognizes an individual who has helped to shape the beef industry.

Giving birth is a huge moment in a woman’s life, so choosing where and how to give birth is essential to the process.

In 2019, there are several options for women when it comes to giving birth, and at Memorial Health Care in Aurora, those options are evident in their newest upgrades.

The birth suites renovations, which debuted Nov. 19, now include a full bathtub complete with a warming seat, jets, and even bluetooth speakers. This newest feature has already been used since its debut, and was noted by the mother that it “really helped with relaxation and pain,” Jessica Griffin, MCH OB supervisor, said.

MCH offers a number of birthing options for expecting mothers, all centered around the idea of being in a safe medical environment.

The birthing suite also offers nitrous oxide gas, which can be used instead of an epidural.