News

On Oct. 2, about 360 Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members gathered at Central Community College in Hastings for the FCCLA District 4 Leadership Conference.

Bruning-Davenport Middle School, Bruning-Davenport High School, Cross County, Doniphan-Trumbull, Exeter-Milligan, Fillmore Central, and Sutton gathered for the event.

The Sutton chapter sent 105 members to the conference. All members in attendance grew their leadership skills with the conference theme “Take the Plunge with FCCLA.”

Chapters were welcomed to the conference by the district 4 officers, followed by the Presentation of the Colors by Bruning-Davenport Middle School Chapter and the National Anthem by Sammie Osentowski from the Cross County Chapter.

A Mixer provided members an opportunity to meet students from other chapters which was led by Nick Andrews from the Fillmore Central Chapter.

WASHINGTON, D.C.–U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) announced that her staff will hold local office hours in Clay and Hamilton counties on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

These office hours serve as a convenient opportunity for constituents to meet personally with Senator Fischer’s staff to receive help with casework and other issues at the federal level.

Josh Jelden, Senator Fischer’s central Nebraska constituent services and outreach representative, will hold local office hours on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the following locations:

• Clay County, Clay County Courthouse, 111 West Fairfield Street, Clay Center, 10–11 a.m.

• Hamilton County, Bremer Center, 1604 L Street, Aurora, 1:30–2:30 p.m.

CLAY CENTER—The Clay County Museum will host two open houses in October, showcasing quilts. The first open house is set for Sunday, Oct. 13, and the second on Sunday, Oct. 20. Both open houses will go from 1:30-4:30 p.m.

SUTTON—From 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., On Oct. 26th the Sutton Volunteer Fire Department will host its annual hunters breakfast at the fire hall. The event is freewill donation and will include a bake sale.

A two-vehicle accident resulted in one fatality Monday afternoon at about 4:10 p.m., on Highway 74 near Fairfield.

A westbound SUV rear-ended a straight truck, also heading west, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. The straight truck had slowed down and was preparing to turn into a south field.

The driver of the SUV, 31-year-old Haley Bohlen of rural Fairfield, died as a result of the collision. A passenger in the vehicle, a rear-facing infant, was transported to Mary Lanning Hospital. As of Tuesday, the infant is doing well and is expected to recover.

The straight truck driver was also transported to Mary Lanning for minor injuries.

Assisting with the accident was Fairfield Fire and Rescue, Clay Center Fire and Rescue, Nebraska State Patrol, Clay County Highway Department, and the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

Changes in how people vote during an election will be implemented for the 2020 and all future elections.

A ballot will automatically be mailed to voters from the Clay County Clerk’s Office. Voters will no longer go to a polling place to vote.

This change comes from a number of reasons, including increased costs, more stringent ADA requirements, difficulty finding poll works; and an increased concern in polling place security.

If those registered to vote have moved, changed their name, etc., contact the clerk’s office at 402-762-3463 or clerk@clay.nacone.org so that your information can be updated.

National Newspaper Week is this week, but instead of my focusing in on that directly, I’m choosing to focus on what makes my job easier, because of what we get to cover, and more specifically, the past several weeks of fall sports.

I’ve come to realize how different this year feels to me than in years past. I’ve certainly been blessed over the past 10 and a half years, covering some state championship and state runner-up finishes. I’ve had the luxury of covering some amazing athletes, who are also great people.

This year just feels different. We have the unbeaten and 6-Man top ranked Harvard football team that is just bulldozing their way through the 2019 season, most recently crushing a previously unbeaten Heartland Lutheran team.

Despite a tough loss for Sutton’s football team this last Friday, the Mustangs still rank second in the power point standings after their loss to Kearney Catholic.

Harvard and Sandy Creek marched in Saturday’s Harvest of Harmony parade, in Grand Island. Harvard, pictured above, earned third place in Class D, following Heartland Community School (first), and McCool Junction Public School (second). Osmond High School earned fourth place behind HPS. Pictured here, both schools head south on Eddy Street near the underpass in the early morning hours of the parade.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced 805 cases of lung injury reported in people with a history of e-cigarette product use or vaping. The cases come from 46 states and one U.S. territory. Seventeen deaths were confirmed in more than 10 states.

The CDC also gave summary information about 373 of these cases for which age and sex information was available: About two in every five cases (38%) are in people 21 years or younger. Nearly three fourths (72%) of cases are male.

This week information regarding the first reported Nebraska death associated with e-cigarettes or vaping was released. South Heartland District Health Department Executive Director Michele Bever said she’s concerned there’s cases here in the South Heartland counties, too.

ARE KIDS USING

VAPING PRODUCTS

HERE?

Sutton Public School’s CTE program has flourished and is continually expanding and improving, heading into its eighth year.

Thursday, Oct. 3, Secondary Principal Brandy Thompson and Business teacher Zach Parrish gave an overview of the CTE program during Coffee and Conversations at the Sutton Legion.

Something new that will be implemented during the spring semester is that juniors will be able to start introduction to internship, whereas the class was previously only for seniors.

This school year Parrish said there are 18 seniors in Intro. to Internship, with 16 juniors signed up for the class. For internship, there are an estimated 11 to 13 seniors signed up to intern at one of about 90 businesses—in Sutton and the surrounding areas such as York, Aurora, and Hastings, to name a few.

Sounds of chattering and instrumental clicks can be heard well before reaching the door to the classroom.

Once inside the room, toddlers are seen walking from place to place, from mom to mom, and snapping castanets (also known as clackers) between their hands.

This scene is just the beginning of a new class offered for youth, and is run by Suttonite Michelle Schmer, who is also a kindergarten teacher at Sutton Public Schools.

Kindermusik is an early childhood music curriculum that combines Schmer’s love of music and her passion for helping children grow.

Schmer’s Kindermusik class is the only one of it’s kind in the immediate area, as the next closest is Kearney. This reason is part of why she wanted to start the class in the first place.

“I started teaching because of my love for music and working with young children,” she said. “I also felt this type of program would benefit our community and surrounding communities.”