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SHS holds annual commencement ceremony
By Marty Pohlman
For the 126th consecutive year Superior High School conferred
diplomas upon the senior graduating class. The event was well
attended by family, friends and well-wishers who filled the Superior
High School gymnasium Saturday. The ceremony opened with the high
school band, under the direction of Martin VanWesten, playing
the processional, the traditional Pomp and Circumstance March,
No.1, composed by Sir Edward Elgar, and a staple at graduations
since the early 20th century. The members of the graduating class
entered the gymnasium from each side and walked together in pairs
to the front of the room. The band then played the "Star
Spangled Banner." Gavin Caldwell gave the invocation for
the assemblage. Robert Cook, principal of Superior High School
presented the top 15 per cent of the class. Those so honored were
Holly Bower, Mikayla Ellwanger, Lauren Rempe, Taylor Robb and
Sarah Teachworth.
Lauren Rempe addressed the gathered crowd and urged her classmates
to realize that nothing is impossible, to look to believe and
to live life, not merely exist.
Each senior held a white long-stemmed rose and, as the senior
musical selection "I'll Always Remember You" sung by
Miley Cyrus paled in the background, walked to the seated audience
and presented the rose to a parent or loved one. Tears were flowing
in abundance and certain parents were speechless for probably
the first time in some of these young adult's lives.
The senior video was presented with photos, recent and vintage,
humorous and embarrassing, enlightening and inspiring, moving
across the screen with songs such as Randy Newman's "You've
Got a Friend in Me" accompanying the video presentation.
Charles Isom, the superintendent of the Superior school system,
presented the class to the board of education and pronounced that
the class had met all the requirements prescribed by the State
of Nebraska for graduation and recommended the board grant the
diplomas.
Steve Renz, president of the Superior Board of Education, presented
each senior with their diploma. As the names were called by Isom,
cheers came up from the audience, whether from relief or disbelief
was difficult to ascertain, the students received their diplomas
and officially became alumni of Superior High School.
The newly minted graduates filed out of the auditorium to the
music of "Water Tower Town" sung by Scotty McCreery.
The pent up emotion of the occasion was relived with copious amounts
of silly string by many of the graduates and a few taking the
slow way out on a tricycle. The graduates then dispersed to the
many parties being staged around Superior and the surrounding
areas. The Class of 2013 will now make their way into the world
and the Class of 2014 has yet another week of school before their
final summer break as high school students. To the Class of 2013,
thank you and bon voyage. May the winds of life blow free and
easy and the storm's few and far between.
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Joint venture
will construct elevator
What has been the topic of rumor and speculation throughout the
winter and into spring became official Thursday. Superior is to
have a new grain elevator. What wasn't publicly known until Thursday
is that CHS and Aurora Cooperative will join together to build
the state-of-the-art shuttle loader on the BNSF line near the
southeast edge of Superior.
For some months, the local elevator operator has explored various
ways it might expand its Superior presence. The remaining portion
of the original Superior Industrial Development site south of
Highway 14 near the west edge of Superior was purchased. Lots
were purchased and cleared near the cooperative's existing elevator
office at the south end of the Superior business district. And
other sites were explored. But all of those sites encountered
obstacles and did not allow for an expansion of the scope now
planned.
The City of Superior has been preparing for this event throughout
the winter. Members of the city council met in special session
Thursday and Friday mornings to advance the plan.
The new facility to be known as Superior East, L.L.C., is expected
to utilize tax increment financing. To do that, the area must
be annexed into the city. The financing plan will require the
payment of property taxes but that portion of the tax attributed
to improvements made to the site will for a period of years be
used to fund construction of the project.
Action taken by the council will extend the same financing option
to much of the southeastern portion of the community including
the Kottmeyer Business Park, the East Side Industrial Subdivision
and the former North Ward school site. A similar but different
financing vehicle known as Industrial Development Act (IDA) bonds
was used when the Agrex elevator was built in the 1980s.
CHS Inc. is a cooperatively owned energy, grains and foods company
with headquarters in St. Paul, Minn, The Aurora Cooperative is
a grain marketer and agricultural supplier that operates shuttle-loading
elevators in Sedan, Grand Island and Aurora along with local elevators
and farm supply distribution centers in a number of locations
including, Superior, Hardy, Byron and Republic. The two cooperatives
will form a limited liability company (LLC) to build and operate
the high-speed shuttle loading facility near Superior.
The new entity, Superior East, L.L.C., expects to begin construction
in the near future and be completed in about 12 months. With a
storage capacity of 1,250,000 bushels, the new grain facility
will include a 120-car capacity circle track on the BNSF line
for moving corn, soybeans and hard red winter wheat to markets
west and south, including Mexico. Additionally, the location will
provide a grain ground piling system, as well as 10,000-ton liquid
fertilizer storage. The approximately 200 acre site has ample
room to expand both grain and fertilizer capacity.
Superior East, L.L.C., was formed under the recently introduced
CHS Partner Equity Program. This first-of-its-kind program allows
CHS owners to unlock a portion of their equity in CHS to provide
capital for an expansion project. Cooperatives participating in
the program use a portion of their CHS equity as a contribution
to a venture with CHS. Eligible projects include shuttle loaders,
fertilizer hub plants and energy assets.
"By using a portion of our CHS equity along with additional
CHS capital to build a next-generation ag multiplex, we will be
able to provide the Aurora Cooperative farmer owners in southern
Nebraska and northern Kansas additional access to world grain
and fertilizer markets via the BNSF rail system," said George
Hohwieler, Aurora Cooperative president and CEO. "This significant
expansion fully aligns with our vision to be a financially strong,
innovative, and locally-owned agri-business," said Hohwieler.
Aurora currently operates the Superior elevators formerly known
as Scoular-Bishop, Farmers Union and Koch into addition to open
storage sites. Grain has been loaded at Superior onto the BNSF
for shipment but the speed has been slower and the number of cars
shipped at a time considerably less than what is expected at the
new elevator.
The cooperative's Sedan and Grand Island shuttle loaders are served
by the Union Pacific. The Aurora facility is served by the BNSF.
That location has attracted other developments.
This will be the second shuttle-train loader at Superior. The
Agrex elevator constructed about 30 years ago to load 75-car unit
trains was one of the first elevators in Nebraska to load entire
trains with grain. Since initial construction, it has been expanded
several times to keep pace with changes in the grain industry.
The new elevator will be the third Nuckolls County elevator capable
of loading 100 plus car trains and the first to have a circle
track. In addition to the Agrex elevator at Superior, Aurora operates
a shuttle-loader in the unincorporated northern Nuckolls County
village of Sedan.
"We are excited about the opportunity to come together with
such a strong partner with the CHS Partnered Equity Program,"
said Lynden Johnson, business solutions executive vice president
of CHS. "The goal of the program is to help our owners grow
by providing strong cooperatives like Aurora the opportunity to
unlock a portion of their equity in CHS for projects that directly
serve their farmer owners. We look forward to exploring other
projects that would benefit our owners in Nebraska and other states
in CHS trade area," said Johnson.
Superior East, LLC is a 50-50 joint venture with a governing board
comprised of representatives from both CHS and the Aurora Cooperative.
The multiplex will be operated by Aurora Cooperative.
Formed in 1908, Aurora Cooperative is a multi-purpose agricultural
cooperative providing service and expertise in grain, agronomy,
animal nutrition and energy. Headquartered in Aurora, Neb., the
cooperative serves customers and patrons across Nebraska and Kansas.
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County Board
approves funding for senior services
The Nuckolls County Board at Monday's regular meeting approved
a funding request in the amount of $9,029 from Midland Area Agency
Area on Aging (MAAA). Sandi Stevens, executive director of MAAA,
and Jolanda Bouray, coordinator of Nuckolls County Senior Services,
met with the commissioners.
MAAA is comprised of eight member counties Adams, Clay,
Hall, Hamilton, Howard, Merrick, Nuckolls and Webster. Each county
pays a membership fee of $1 per person for every person in the
county age 65 or older. In Nuckolls County, that's $1,478. The
remaining $7,551 in funding from Nuckolls County is used directly
for senior services within the county. The funding request for
services in Nuckolls County is the same as last year. Because
the membership fee is population-based, it fluctuates slightly
from year to year.
Bouray told the board the fees she collects from patrons for transportation
services are going to increase soon. Many of the increases are
state-mandated. There will be meetings scheduled in the near future
to help get the information to the seniors who utilize her agency's
transportation services, Bouray said.
Tim Stutzman, emergency manager and noxious weed superintendent,
reported about half of the landowners along the Little Blue have
submitted permission letters for the upcoming streambed remediation
project to be overseen by the Twin Valley Weed Management Area
(TVWMA), headquartered in Red Cloud. Stutzman said the TVWMA will
do another mailing, then go to the remaining landowners directly
to obtain the needed permission.
The TVWMA has been awarded grant funds from the Nebraska Environmental
Trust for 100 percent funding to control invasive plant growth
and for river restoration within the channel of the Little Blue
River. The project will encompass approximately 115 miles of the
river, from the Franklin-Webster county line to the Thayer-Jefferson
county line. According to Merle Illian, project coordinator for
the TVWMA, the work will be similar to the Republican River restoration
project, which has been ongoing for the past four years.
Like the Republican River project, consent from each landowner
along the river must be obtained. Landowners will be asked to
sign an agreement letter to allow contractors to perform the necessary
work. Landowners have the right to refuse, however noxious weeds
on their land will eventually be dealt with by their respective
county noxious weed superintendents at the landowners' expense.
In other business:
· Gary Warren, county highway superintendent, asked for
the board's approval to advertise again for a new road and bridge
department employee, this time in more than one newspaper and
on a local radio station. Warren said he was not able to fill
the position from the last batch of applicants. The board approved.
· The board approved of participating in a recycling event
for computers and other electronic equipment in conjunction with
the Trailblazer RC&D. The collection will take place from
noon to 4 p.m. on June 28 on former railroad land now owned by
the City of Superior.
· Carrie Miller reported on the March and April meetings
of the county safety committee. The committee believes there needs
to be emergency lights installed on the second floor of the courthouse.
The commissioners are exploring the options.
· Versatile Roofing will be returning for more work on
the courthouse. Apparently, there are still small leaks during
heavy rains caused by the failing gutter system. Versatile will
design and install new gutters for the historic building.
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Hanel Vet Clinic
buys Superior Animal Hospital
Hanel Vet Clinic, PA, of Courtland, has purchased the
Superior Animal Hospital. Hanel has hired two new veterinarians
Clem Neeley, a recent graduate of Kansas
State University's veterinary school; and Eric Harmes, a recent
graduate of Oklahoma State University's veterinary school
to take over the veterinary practice at the clinic on June 1.
An open house is planned for Saturday, June 15, from 11 a.m. to
1 p.m.,at the Animal Hospital for Superior residents to meet the
new veterinarians and thank "Doc" Thompson for his 33
years of service to the community. The open house will include
lunch and door prizes.
Apparently, the staff at the clinic will remain the same with
the addition of the two new veterinarians; the only change is
that Dr. Thompson and his wife, Evelyn, who has been the office
manager, are both retiring.
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