Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Three teachers submitted resignation intentions at the March 16 board of education meeting. The board accepted resignations from Kristen Napier, junior high special education; Abby Bauer, sixth grade; and Jody Fox, high school special education. Contracts were approved for three positions. Cecily Thiele will receive a student teacher contract, valid from Aug. 7 through December. Board member Scott Thiele abstained from voting. The five remaining board members approved the contract. Michael...
Complete Pest Control will handle mosquito spraying for the 2026 season. Page village trustees unanimously approved a $2,603 contract with the company during the board's March 9 meeting. Mowing services were also on the agenda. Board members accepted a proposal from Kathy VanEvery. She will receive $5 per hour when using village-owned equipment and $10 per hour she uses her personal equipment. In other business, trustees approved issuing a Special Designated License for a March 27 fish fry...
The 2026 ESU 8 K-12 Art Show will be held at the Antelope County Youth Enrichment Building in Neligh. Please park in Riverside Park. Accessible parking is available through the fairgrounds entrance. K-12 student artwork will be displayed from Antelope, Boyd, Holt, Madison, Pierce, Stanton, and Wheeler counties, all served by ESU 8. The show will be open to the public for viewing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day starting Friday, April 10, through Sunday, April 12. The show will represent...
Go Big Red. What an opening to the collegiate basketball tourney. Like I wrote on the paper's Facebook page following Saturday's game, I've waited 60-some years for the Huskers to win a tournament game. Now we have two. Incredible. Watching Reink Mast hug longtime announcer Kent Pavelka following Thursdays win, priceless. Watching Sandfort hit three-point shot after three-point shot, Pryceless. Watching the Husker faithful show up en masse, priceless. Watching Tyler Tanner's last-second shot dro...
In a single jump, Bobcat senior Ryan Rifer set a personal best, school record and facility meet record, on Friday at the Wayne State High School Track Invite. Rifer cleared 6' 5", besting the second- through fourth-place finishers by seven inches. He also competed in the 400m, running 59.27. He ended in 13th place. Ethan Kester finished second in pole vault. He cleared 11' 6 inches. The 4x800 team, comprised of Ethan Barner, Lane Sanne, Rogan Robertson, and Cash kester placed sixth. They ran...
The text popped up on my phone on a Saturday morning. The message warned about unresolved traffic violations in my name and threatened a barrage of legal penalties and fines if I didn't reply within a specified time frame. Luckily, I didn't click on the link provided in the text. Unfortunately, it is likely that more than 1,000 individuals will click and make a payment. Scams like these generally originate from outside Nebraska, utilizing spoofed numbers, making it difficult to track down those...
One never knows what will happen on deadline day, a.k.a. Tuesday. My phone rang 8:06 a.m. Caller ID said United States Postal Service. Since I work directly with them to mail the paper, and since I get weekly updates about mailing status, and since I have voiced opinions about the mailing process, I figured I better answer. It was Marcie, from the USPS call center, wondering if I would like to learn how USPS could help me grow my small business. Oh Marcie, you’re speaking my language. As the n...
Students at Summerland Public School spent last week doing a little detective work while celebrating reading. During Read Across America Week, several mystery guests appeared on screen as "The Masked Reader," disguising their voices and identities while reading a book to elementary students. Each segment was recorded and shown in classrooms throughout the week and also shared on the school's social media page so families could view from home and discuss who's behind the mask. But the real fun...
Adyson Mlnarik of Clearwater and a graduate of Summerland Public School is having a record year as a member of the Hastings College Women's basketball team. The Broncos, currently 22-8 on the season, head to Wichita, this Friday, for the NAIA Women's National Championship Tournament. Hastings College will play Friends in the first round, set to tip off at 2 p.m., at the Garvey Center. The teams met on Nov. 5 in the same venue. Friends walked away with a 104-102 win in double overtime. Mlnarik's...
To borrow a line from one of my favorite podcasters, Kylie Kelce - I’m not gonna lie. I cried like a schoolgirl breaking up with her adolescent crush Sunday afternoon when the Husker senior basketball players and their families were recognized at the season finale in Lincoln. Watching this group battle through the worst of times and flip this season on its head to become the best in Husker history has been amazing. It seems like yesterday they upset the BYU Cougars men’s basketball team in an...
Nine Summerland powerlifters competed in the Verdigre Powerlifting Meet on Feb. 28. The junior high team, consisting of Jeremy Meyer, Tucker Meyer Michael Sonnenfelt, Jaden Robinett, Sophia Hernandez, and Auryana Hernandez finished third. High school competitors included Jorden Cox, Asher Whiting, and Clair Krysl. Robinett and Sophia Hernandez were gold medalists for the Bobcats. Robinett won the 132-pound class, and Hernandez topped the 165 field. Five lifters finished second in their weight...
A longtime Orchard staple flipped its sign back on Jan. 12, and it's serving up more than just seconds. The Lunch Box, now owned by Monte Shabram and family of Orchard, is dishing out homecooked meals, early-morning breakfasts and a daily buffet built to satisfy even the heartiest appetites. Before reclaiming its Lunch Box name, the cafe operated as Sugarz. Then-owner Matt Wood was ready to step away from the restaurant business and planned to close if a buyer didn't step forward. "We got wind...
Questions recently circulating on Facebook about Orchard's water quality prompted discussion at the Feb. 9 Orchard Village Board meeting, according to Village Chairman Stephanie Cleveland. "During our board meeting last night, it was brought to our attention that there have been some questions circulating on Facebook regarding the water in Orchard," Cleveland said in a statement released on social media. "After discussing the matter, the village board would like to clarify some issues."...
Informal discussion on whether Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard could share a police officer took place Feb. 16, when representatives from each village's board of trustees met at Ewing City Hall. John Shaver currently fills the police chief position in Ewing. He said the biggest benefit of a co-op is that will be customized for the communities. "If there's an issue at this time of the day, patrolling will be easy," he said. According to Shaver, police departments can focus more in certain areas. "T...
After reviewing three bids submitted for a 7,200 square-foot pre-engineered metal shop, Holt County Supervisors, on Friday, approved a $1,798,965 bid submitted by Green Gable Contracting for a new District 6 shop, which will be located at 46748 882nd Road in Stuart. The bid also included a $25 per cubic yard cost for removal of soil and materials. The Ft. Calhoun-based business was recommended by officials from JEO Consulting, who are overseeing the project. A start date has not been set, but...
For nearly a month, I’ve had a nagging cough, drippy nose, and an overall feeling of malaise. During that time, I debated whether to drive myself to the emergency room in the middle of the night due to a high fever (Scott wouldn’t wake up, I tried), experienced muscle pain in the ribs from excessive coughing, and shuddered every time my ears popped. For relief, I tried a shot or two of blackberry brandy, antibiotics, over-the-counter meds and homemade concoctions. While some worked better tha...
If the shelves in the Summerland school library seem a little emptier this year, there's a good reason. Circulation numbers are already soaring past last year's total ... and it's only February. According to media specialist Tricia Whiting, students checked out 9,261 items during the entire last school year. As of Feb. 12, they've already surpassed that mark with 9,714 circulations. "We are way up!" That surge reflects something Whiting sees every day: a building full of readers who are eager...
Art students from Summerland Public School will have artwork on display, March 1 - 13 at the Advocate-Messenger, 522 Main Street in Clearwater. The public is invited to stop and visit the artwork between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. "Summerland has a lot of talented artists, and we want to showcase their work during Youth Art Month," said SAM publisher LuAnn Schindler. Youth Art Month began in 1961 as a way to "emphasize the value of participating in art for all ch...
Not gonna lie, my heart skipped a beat when I checked numbers for the Top 5 articles read online in last week’s edition. Why? Two legal notices made the list. Public notices are required to keep citizens informed about actions of government entities. A public notice holds the government accountable, relying on an independent third party to print proof of publication. By doing so, each public notice has verifiable proof - via paper trail - of its permanent existence in print. Simply posting a n...
Being on the mat is a mental game, a balance of quick decisions and occasional regrets. Ava Cleveland, a junior, said the most difficult match she competed in at the 2026 State Girls Wrestling Championships was the one she lost - a 6-3 overtime loss to Abby Negley of Cozad. "It didn't physically feel different from other matches. I needed to mentally recover from that and keep wrestling," the junior said. Cleveland rebounded with a win over Ashlyn Dailey of Cedar Catholic and survived the...
Ryder Hemenway scored 25 points, Monday, to lead Summerland to a 63-37 win over the Huskies in the opening round of subdistrict play in Crofton. It was all Bobcats, all four quarters, as Brett Kaczor's squad hit their stride to take a 48-19 lead into the locker room at the half. Preston Watson pulled down eight rebounds. Rogan Robertson finished with three assists. The Bobcats were set to play Crofton, Tuesday, Feb. 24. SAM went to press before game time. Statistics v West Holt Mason Schwager:...
Bobcat wrestlers Jason Shaver and Austin Mendoza entered the state championships with a clear vision: take the meet one match at a time. Shaver made his first state appearance last week, competing in the 215 division. The senior opened with a loss by fall, in 3:15, to Kaddo Schrunk of Pender. The loss sent Shaver to the consolation round, where he faced Jose Ramirez-Aguilar of Gibbon. Ramirez-Aguilar struck first, taking down Shaver at the 43-second mark, but Shaver scored an escape with 19...
Two Bobcat wrestlers will represent Summerland at the 2026 NSAA Boys State Wrestling Championships, beginning Thursday, in Omaha. Jason Shaver and Austin Mendoza finished third in their respective weight divisions during Saturday's Class C-3 District Wrestling Meet at Centura. Mendoza, competing at 138, opened with a :56 pin over Cooper Cambron, Superior and claimed a 10-3 decision over Brayden Nuttelman, Cross County/Osceola. In the semifinal, Ashton Kuchar of Battle Creek downed Mendoza,...
On a 4-2 vote, Summerland's board of education approved a full-time Multi-Tiers System of Supports coordinator for the junior-senior high during its Feb. 11 meeting. Board members Chelsi McLain and Scott Thiele voted against the recommendation. MTSS is a comprehensive framework that offers targeted academic, behavioral, and social-emotional interventions for students. The process creates small-group and individualized support that focuses on prevention. In some instances, intervention through th...
Someone recently asked me to describe district wrestling since they have never attended. It’s a glimpse of pure joy, and a view of intense heartbreak. Tears flow - win or lose - after you’ve invested energy and headspace to an activity that pushes you to physical and mental limits. Nothing wrong with tears. It’s the culmination of sweat equity, countless practice sessions, prayers for a healthy season. Over the last two weekends, I watched several athletes who let the liquid flow follo...
