BY TORY DUNCAN & ASHLEY D. SWANSON

In December, when the body of 24-year-old Sydney Loofe was found, two suspects, Aubrey Trail, 51, and Bailey Boswell, 23, denied involvement with the disappearance of Loofe, according to a video the duo posted on social media.

The two were arrested in December, in connection with the transportation of stolen goods in Kansas. Trail and Boswell face multi-count indictments related to an alleged fraud scheme in which they are accused of bilking a Kansas couple out of $400,000. Although they were considered persons of interest, there was no arrest for the death of Loofe.

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BY ASHLEY D. SWANSON

For the fifth year, the Clay Center Fire and Rescue hosted its Firemen’s Ball, honoring those who are serving as either a firefighter, EMT or both.

This year, the EMT of the Year went to Bob Swanson, who has been on the department for 32 years. The Firefighter of the Year went to Jake Hankins, who has been on the department for 17 years. Rookie of the Year was Jake Vike, who has served for two years.

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A short special meeting by the Harvard City Council Tuesday night resulted in voting in a new council member and accepting a council member resignation.

Following the appointment of a new council president, Chad Williamson, the council unanimously voted in Keith Lungren as council member for Ward 3.

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Sandy Creek wins the 5-point victory over Sutton Thursday

BY JORDYN HULINSKY

The Fillies and Lady Cougars fought a tough battle at the showdown game in Sandy Creek Thursday, Jan. 25, with the Cougars taking the eventual 35-30 victory.

Sutton started with the 7-6 lead after the first eight minutes, before the Cougars lit up and scored 14 to the Fillies zero in the second quarter to take the halftime lead 20-7.

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Carlson brothers, Chandler Stone win individual titles at Warcat Invitational

BY TORY DUNCAN

Paced by milestone wins by Chandler Stone, along with brothers Lee and Cory Carlson, the Sutton wrestling team outdistanced second-place Southwest High School by 36.5 points to lay claim to the team title at the Warcat Invitational in Red Cloud Saturday.

Stone’s trek to the 152-pound title would produce four wins for the senior and ultimately move him into second place in school history with total career wins, as his 4-0 run led him to 141 career wins to place him between brothers Tyler and Derek Bailey on the all-time wins charts.

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By Brandy VanDeWalle

Attention 4-H and FFA Youth! Do you enjoy being outside? Learning new things about crops? Considering a career involving crops, insects, diseases, soils, water or more? Do you want to help figure out how to feed our world’s growing population in a sustainable way?

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers are in high demand and will continue to be in future years. To engage youth in crop science based education, the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge (IYCC) was created as a partnership between the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Extension. Since the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge program’s inception in 2012, 35 teams have participated in the program with 20 teams successfully harvesting and analyzing their plot data. A total of 105 youth have participated. This contest, open to 4-H members or FFA members, guides participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production.

By Ashley D. Swanson

Facts are some of my favorite things. I love facts about animals, nature, insects, humans, and everything in between.

Facts give me that small hope that I’ll actually be able to teach somebody something one day because I know a little about a lot of useless information.

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By Tory Duncan

It’s said that technology devices lend a hand in the world of education and I certainly can agree with that...IF devices are used for educational purposes.

Yep, for a second week in a row, I’m stuck on the “addiction” of our smartphones and other devices that we’re all guilty of toting along with us everywhere we go.

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July 1, 1935 - Jan. 19, 2018

BY ASHLEY D. SWANSON

For a little while Monday morning, it looked as if the county would miss the inches of snow and consistent wind, but by 9 a.m., winds had reached up to 30 mph, with wind gusts hitting 45 mph.

Whiteouts and blowing snow from local fields caused driving visibility to be at a minimum, with the maximum set at about a mile.

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