Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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REGULAR PROCEEDINGS VILLAGE OF CLEARWATER BOARD OF TRUSTEES May 13, 2024 The Board of Trustees of the Village of Clearwater met for a regular meeting Monday, May 13, at 7 p.m., in the fire hall meeting room. Meeting opened at 7 p.m. Notice of meeting was given in advance by publication in Summerland Advocate-Messenger, was posted at US Post Office in Clearwater, Clearwater Market and Cornerstone Bank-Clearwater and was given to board members prior to meeting. Public was informed of location of Open Meeting Act poster. Present: Kelly Kerkman, Co...
It has been just over one year since I was sworn in as the public service commissioner for the 31 counties of District 4. I wanted to share another quarterly update on the work over the past three months. Many reading this likely may not have heard much of the happenings and work of the PSC. The Nebraska PSC is an elected, five-member statewide board that oversees several industries which affect our everyday lives, including broadband internet and telecommunications, the 911 network and...
Have you started Christmas shopping or are you one of those people who have completed the task and have everything wrapped? I belong to the first group. While I blame my tardiness on my over-scheduled time, part of me also knows I don't need to hurry because I can get everything I need locally. The push for shopping local hit home last week, when a 20-something year old shopped the Sidebar for holiday gifts. She told me she's "keeping it local." Her holiday gift giving will feature only items...
The dining room table, it's not my style. But it was my parents' style, and we ate every holiday meal there at the house they built after we all grew up and left home. A bigger house. A house with the dining room my mom always wanted. What my dad wanted was to die in that house. Now a dark-haired stranger was carting that table away from the retirement home my mom and dad had landed and where Dad would spend his last months. His journey was a fill-in-the-blank primer on aging, as predictable as...
As families are preparing the return to school and fall sports practices are beginning, the hard work and great memories of county fairs starting to wrap up and farmers beginning to see their crops take shape in the field after another tumultuous year of weather, things have also been very active and busy at your Nebraska Public Service Commission as well this summer. Last November, I was elected by you to serve as the new Public Service Commissioner for the 31 counties of PSC District 4. I am...
It’s amazing (and maybe a bit sad) how a simple conversation, or in this case, a Twitter post, can send you down a rabbit hole. That’s how I spent an hour, Sunday, after reading a friend’s post and the responses. His tweet - this week’s poll question below - is this: What is the best song that has Nebraska in either the title or lyrics? Many songs were familiar, but there were a few I needed to investigate. I compiled a brief list and listened to a few unfamiliar tunes. Scrolling through...
Brad Anderson still remembers the night his wife forgot hail. He was sitting on the front porch of their Lincoln home as a storm rolled in. "...I hear LuAnne running down the stairs hollering 'there's something hitting the house!'" She poked her head out the front door. "I said 'it's hailing,' and she looked at me like 'What?'" Brad grabbed a stone and showed it to his wife. It's frozen rain, he explained. "She said, 'That's amazing. I've never seen that before. What's it called again?'" That's...
The Legislature gave second-round approval to the budget bills this past week. This effort will allow the budget to be read on Final Reading next week, meeting the requirement to have it pass by the 80th legislative day. The budget would provide money for capital construction projects such as the Perkins County Canal Project and a new prison facility. Additional funds are appropriated to cover salary increases recently negotiated with the state employee’s union and for staff at correctional f...
Having an estate plan in place is so important. Doing so can save time, money and stress for your loved ones, not to mention prevent unnecessary family disagreements. If you are reading this, take it as your sign to finally get that plan in place. I assure you, it’s easier than most people think. When it comes to determining how you will distribute your assets, it’s wise to talk with a professional advisor about the impact those assets may have on the people you love. The truth is, not all ass...
The state of the state on its 156th birthday. It's still a very red, heavily conservative and largely Republican mecca situated in one of those mostly square states out west that a lot of people couldn't find on an unmarked map. And we like it that way. Well, a lot of us seem to. Might that change? Could Nebraska be the place where high school and college graduates want to stay? Could it become a magnet for young people and innovation? Progress in that direction is slow but it could happen....
His predecessor spent eight years pushing property tax relief. Now, Governor Jim Pillen wants to clearly tie said property tax relief to school finance. It's up to the Legislature to figure out how to make that work. Lawmakers are used to people complaining about property taxes. Now, throw in some school districts that say a proposed distribution of state aid isn't fair and equitable. What do you have? A real mess or a problem begging for a solution? Pillen is behind three priority measures...
The farmer was growing impatient. He and dozens of other central Nebraska farmers had gathered for mandatory training in Columbus a few weeks before last Christmas. In response to high nitrate levels, the Lower Loup Natural Resources District had designated a "Phase 3 area." That led to new requirements – like this training to help farmers manage their nitrogen fertilizer use. The farmer didn't like this. He told NRD leaders he had been drinking water containing nitrate at 40 parts per m...
Interesting question our office has received on more than one occasion: Why does SAM sometimes run articles from other areas of Nebraska? The answer is relatively simple. We are Nebraska. I like to think our readers want to learn more about this place we call home. When we share articles from Flatwater Free Press or Nebraska Examiner or Nebraska News Service, our goal is to offer coverage that is not only interesting, but may have an impact on our lives. For example, on Page 3 in this week’s edi...
It's been more than two years since I received my last paycheck from a newspaper company. In that time, I've had the opportunity to advocate for local newspapers that remain relevant to their communities. That advocacy keeps running into tiresome arguments that are as yellow as old faded newsprint. No matter what facts you use to extinguish them, they find a way to flare up later. During National Newspaper Week, consider the following collection of statements that numb the mind, along with a suggestion: When you encounter them, just turn the...
Wow, we at SAM are embarking on our fourth year of publishing a weekly newspaper. Seems like only yesterday when a group of us huddled around our dining room table to put together the inaugural edition of the Advocate-Messenger. The next day, Scott and I stood outside The Office, took a deep breath, waited for the first edition’s arrival and opened the door to a major opportunity. We knew it would be a life-changing experience. Trust me, we haven’t been disappointed. That was an exciting - and...
The Antelope County Library Association presented its annual reports and review to the Antelope County commissioners at the June 14 commissioner meeting at the Antelope County Courthouse. Cindy Simeon, current association president spoke first. She represents the Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library. She noted that the library’s numbers are increasing in stats, programming and visitations and returning back to normal since the pandemic. She explained how county funding helps meet the n...
The future of Greater Nebraska hasn’t looked any brighter for decades. And we can prove it. At Nebraska Community Foundation, we do lots of things. We help communities identify their local assets, teach them about the value of building endowments, train committed volunteers on a variety of community development topics and much, much more. For more than 25 years, we’ve also been working diligently to build what we call “an optimistic, confident brand for Greater Nebraska.” If you are reading this...
How many of you read locally on a regular basis? If you’re reading this in print, you’re either a subscriber or you pick up a copy at a vendor location. Thank you for supporting a locally-owned business and the other locally-owned advertisers who promote their goods and services in print. We also offer an E-edition, so subscribers can access an online version of the paper via our website. Based on website traffic, our digital edition is popular among readers. The quality journalism you’ve come...
PROCEEDINGS SUMMERLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION Oct. 13, 2021 Summerland Public School Board of Education held a regular meeting, Wednesday, Oct. 13, at the school. President Nordby called the meeting, advertised in the Oct. 6 paper, to order at 6:30 p.m. Nordby noted the Open Meetings At poster in the boardroom. Members present: Candice Hoke, Marty Kerkman, Ed Nordby, Nate Schwager, Steve Thiele, Jeremy Wagner. Absent: none. Motion by Kerkman, seconded by Schwager, to approve the agenda as presented. Voting aye: Hoke, Kerkman, Nordby,...
Michael Myers had been on the job only one month when he learned the story of co-worker, Leo Cooney, and knew he had to make a difference. A package arrived on a job site, a rarity in the electrical business. Inside, a baseball cap with a Friends of Leo logo. Inquisitive, Myers asked about the significance of the cap. Co-workers shared Cooney's story and it hit home. "It hit me kind of hard because my dad had MS, a different disease but fairly similar, it affects the nervous system," Myers...
The search for the truth should be a top priority for a journalist. It’s a journalist’s responsibility to present factual information in a clear and precise manner. Even when the reporter is nine years old. I’m intrigued with Apple TV’s series, “Home Before Dark.” It’s a fictionalized take of real-life reporter, Hilde Lysiak, who, at nine years old, broke a local murder case in her self-published newspaper. The show - part-mystery, part-drama, with a dose of comedy - shows Lysiak’s determination...
The Legislature debated several of my bills last week. On Tuesday afternoon, we debated my amendment to my LB 561, a bill to further define and implement the voter-approved initiative on casino gaming at racetracks. As 70% of the tax revenue derived from these casinos is dedicated to property tax relief, it is important to get this done right. Gambling is a divisive issue in our Legislature and the debate reflected that. After the question was divided on the issue of electronic keno, we spent a...
Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” I was reminded of the quote during Sunday’s town hall meeting in Orchard. The quote isn’t specific to our local communities. No, it’s a question worth asking no matter where you call home. But, the premise of King’s words - the notion that volunteering and making an impact in another person’s life - is what sticks out. Sunday’s meeting reinforced the meaning. It’s one of the great...
Greetings, SAM readers. For the past two weeks, I have shared a breakdown of the differences between news articles and editorial items, after SAM began a partnership with Trusting News, a project of the Reynolds Journalism Institute and American Press Institute. We worked to devise strategies that promote responsible and ethical journalism. One goal I established, through the project, is to provide a breakdown of what makes a news article, an editorial and a column. This week, I will address...
By now, all registered voters in Nebraska should have had the opportunity to fill out an application for an early (absentee) ballot. That application should be mailed to your county’s Election Commissioner, which for most folks reading this will be your county clerk. Once you have your ballot, please be sure that it is received by your county offices by May 12. I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage all of you reading to exercise your Constitutional right to vote. I won’t use this space...
