Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1 - 20 of 20
When Brett Kaczor walked into the Ewing football program as a freshman, longtime Ewing coach Ed Johnson didn't need much time to recognize what he had. "We (Coach Brock Eichelberger and I) made a decision to bring him right up right away," Johnson recalled. "We thought he was ready, and we used him right away and didn't waste any time at all. He proved us right, I guess." Nearly two decades later, that decision looks even more obvious. On June 20, Kaczor was inducted into the Nebraska Eight-Man...
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...
Ava Cleveland believes in setting goals. When she began her high school wrestling career two years ago, she was determined to reach 100 match wins. Cleveland shattered that goal on Jan. 16, in a semifinal match at the Ord Invitational against O'Neill's Molly Corkle. "I knew I was close, but I didn't know how close, so it was a surprise," Cleveland said. Cleveland's mom and coach, Shayna Strope, said Ava didn't want to know when she would hit the milestone. "She was definitely surprised when she...
Doubles come naturally to Ryan Rifer, even his initials repeat. The Summerland senior made the symmetry official Dec. 30 at the Summerland Holiday Tournament, pouring in 36 points while hauling down 14 rebounds to set a school record in the single-game scoring category and tying the rebound record, a performance that doubled up the stat sheet and rewrote the program’s history in a single night. The multi-sport standout said he knew he was closing in on the scoring mark after a “hot first half,...
PROCEEDINGS SUMMERLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION July 14, 2025 Summerland Public School Board of Education met in regular session, Monday, July 14, 2025, at the board meeting room. President Nate Schwager called the board meeting, which was advertised in the July 9, 2025, newspapers, to order at 7:02 p.m. Schwager noted the Open Meetings Act posted in the board room. Roll call was taken. Members present: Ryan Ahlers, Chelsi McLain, Schwager, Austin Twibell, Jeremy Wagner. Absent: Scott Thiele. Motion by Wagner, seconded by Twibell, to...
Members of the Summerland junior high quiz bowl team stand, fingers poised on buzzers, waiting to answer the question. "This character utters his final words, "look at me," after failing to escape from an "enchanted cage" within the Shrieking Shack. He becomes alienated from his childhood friend Lily Evans when he calls her a "Mudblood." "Number six, Summerland," the reader announces. Within seconds, the student standing in the sixth spot replies, "Severus Snape." Correct answer. That's five...
Summerland boys' basketball is having its best season yet, sitting at 16-1 and ranked No. 2 in Class 2 by the NebPreps coaches poll. A standout moment came during the third quarter of the Jan. 28 game against Elkhorn Valley, when senior Michael Koenig hit a jump shot for his 1,000th career point, becoming the first Bobcat to reach the milestone. He finished with 18 points. After the game, Koenig was quick to praise his teammates, coaches, and community for the achievement. "It takes a community...
Molly Aschoff spends a lot of her time listening. As the new superintendent of Summerland Public School, Aschoff believes listening is one way to hear what needs the system faces. It's a way to gauge essentials and plan for the future. "I'm hearing a lot," she said. "I think I'm still in that 100 days of listening, getting a grasp of what's going on in the building." Aschoff, who assumed the superintendent's position on July 1, said she's outlining goals for SPS, ranging from reinstating the...
An informational meeting to form the Summerland Public School Foundation will be held at the conclusion of the girls' junior varsity game, in the auxiliary gym, Friday, Jan. 19, at approximatly 5:30 p.m. Laura Ferguson, Ed Nordby and Kyle Finke will lead the discussion. There is also a TeamMates soup supper in the cafeteria....
Adyson Mlnarik has attended basketball games since before she entered kindergarten. On Dec. 8, the Summerland senior joined an elite group as she drove the lane for a layup against Niobrara/Verdigre. The bucket netted Mlnarik 1,000 points for her career. "It's been a big week," she said, Friday. Mlnarik's had a hot hand since the season began, averaging 29.2 points per game, connecting on 47% of field goals attempted. From the charity stripe, Mlnarik is accurate 84% of the time. From...
A 2023 Summerland graduate ended her high school SkillsUSA career with a finish in the top 10 at the 2023 SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, June 19 - 23. Faith King competed in Job Skills Demonstration A, where a contestant explains an entry-level technical skill used in an occupational area. She demonstrated how to perform the Heimlich maneuver on an infant. "Although nationals did not turn out the way that I would have hoped, I had the time of my life, celebrating my last...
How many sheets of 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper will it take to construct an apparatus to reach and move a ping pong ball from point A to point B? Cassie Livingston, Jaelyn Shaver and Sierra Thomson know it the answer: Five sheets, two paper clips and a whole lot of tape. The trio won the team engineering challenge at the SkillsUSA Middle School Conference, March 1, in Grand Island. Each participant decided to participate in the engineering event for different reasons. Livingston said she wanted...
A senior and a freshman will represent the Summerland boys' wrestling team at the 2023 Nebraska School Activities Association State Wrestling Championship, in Omaha, this week. Alex Thiele, wrestling at 120 pounds, and Ethan Kester, a 126-pound participant, will begin competition Thursday at the CHI Event Center. Both made their way to the medal stand at the Class D1 district, held Friday and Saturday, in Pender. Coach Dan Roeber said districts are an emotional meet for coaches. "We coach the...
A large population of women have grown up with opportunities to compete in sports. Others, however, haven't had the same luck. Moms, aunts, cousins and grandmas faced struggles of not being given rights because of their gender. Up until 1972, women were discriminated against; but this changed for good when Sen. Birch Bayh pushed for and President Nixon signed Title IX into law, preventing discrimination based on sex, giving women the right to participate in sports at the high school and collegia...
NFPW Communicator of Achievement director Karen Stensrud and NPW COA director Ruth Brown contributed to this article. LuAnn Schindler of Clearwater received the 2022 Communicator of Achievement Award from the National Federation of Press Women. This prestigious award has been given for 65 years. Schindler received the honor during a celebration at the organization's annual conference, held June 23 to 25, in Fargo, North Dakota. Now in its 85th year, NFPW is a nationwide organization of... Full story
Summerland Public School Board of Education met in regular session, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, at the school. President Ed Nordby opened the meeting, which was advertised in the Jan. 12, 2022, newspapers, to order at 7:02 p.m. Visitors were welcomed. Nordby noted the Open Meetings Act posted in the boardroom. All board members were present: Candice Hoke, Marty Kerkman, Nordby, Nate Schwager, Steve Thiele, Jeremy Wagner. Motion by Hoke, seconded by Kerkman, to approve the agenda as presented. Voting aye: Hoke, Kerkman, Nordby, Schwager, Thiele,...
January is mentoring month and the Summerland TeamMates chapter has teamed up with local dining establishments for "Dining Out for a Cause." Businesses will donate 10% of the ticket total to the Summerland chapter. Participating businesses and dates include The Den in Orchard, Wednesday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m.; Royal Bar & Grill, in Royal, Sunday, Jan. 9; L Bar B, in Clearwater, Thursday, Jan. 13, during and after the home game; Dusty's in Orchard, Tuesday, Jan. 18, supper special; TeamMates soup...
A local mentoring program is searching for adult volunteers. TeamMates, the Tom and Nancy Osborne mentoring program entering its 23rd year of operation, matches adult mentors with students. During the 2021 school year, the Summerland TeamMates program will add students from the Ewing community. Program co-coordinator Mike Tabbert said, “This will increase our current mentee count from around 40 to 60. That means we need a minimum of 20 new mentors.” Mentoring is easy, according to Tabbert. “Al...
Two new coordinators will assume leadership positions with the Summerland School TeamMates chapter. Mike Tabbert and Anita Tabbert will serve as coordinators, effective April 1. They will replace Diane Martin, who has served as the organization's coordinator for seven years. Mike Tabbert is an Orchard Public School graduate. He and husband, Brian, reside in rural Ewing, after moving back to the area following a 12-year stint in Houston. Mike Tabbert serves as a bus driver for the school...
Competition in the Clearwater Fire Hall kitchen was hot Monday as eight area youths mixed and measured ingredients, plating a healthy breakfast pizza. The competition was part of Clearwater Public Library's after-school program, which was instituted in fall 2018. Library Director Kathy Feusse said when the fourth- through sixth-grade group first met in September, students requested a Chopped Junior type of event. "At the same time, Brittany Spieker with Nebraska Extension - Antelope County,...
