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My calendar tells me spring will officially arrive Saturday. I couldn’t be more ready for spring than this year. While we were traveling home a year ago, after winter time in Texas, we heard of the restrictions put in place because of the COVID-19 virus. Tough times followed in all social living, in family times together, in communities and in learning to wear masks in public places. I’ve never sanitized my hands so much in all my life as I’ve done in the past year. Now, just like the arrival of spring and nature’s new beginnings, the COVID r...
With the massive storm forecast for the weekend, I kept close watch on the weather and had trouble focusing on other topics. It should be no surprise that Monday arrived before I was ready for it. Among the undone things on my to do list was the selection of an idea around which to build this week’s notebook entries. Now facing a deadline, I am going to fill this space with a collection of unrelated stories. The first one reminds me of my days working at my father’s gasoline station. We had customers who knew they had a problem but did...
With thousands of snow geese passing through this area during the annual fall and spring migration, it isn't unusual to see white birds this time of year. Occasionally we have had whooping cranes stop at Lovewell. Pelicans are regular visitors but few people see the occasional Trumpeter Swans. Orlyn Renz, a rural resident living northeast of Hardy, is among the few who have seen the occasional visitors in this area. Earlier this month, Renz snapped these pictures of what appeared to be a family...
Compared to last week, the COVID-19 news is not so good this week. While with each passing day more Americans have been vaccinated with one of the three approved vaccines the positivity rate in the local health district has reversed its downward progression and is up this week. It is not yet time to relax our guard and return to what we once considered normal life. Late Monday South Heartland District Health Department (SHDHD) officials reported 16 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the prior four days (March 12 – March 15), averaging 4 new c...
The term "million dollar rain" is often applied to summer rain events that come during a drought period but we think it is an appropriate term to describe the rain that started falling on this area Saturday and continued through Monday. Had the temperature been a few degrees cooler, delivery of this week's newspaper would likely have been delayed by blocked roads and the cost to clear away the snow would have been substantial. Heavy snow in Colorado and Wyoming closed both I-70 and I-80 and...
Lovewell Reservoir Elevation Tuesday 1,582.63 Elevation Friday 1582.00 Top of Conservation Pool 1,582.60 Conservation pool is 100+ percent full Inflow on Monday 342.5 c.f.s. Harlan County Reservoir Elevation Tuesday 1,944.95 Elevation Friday 1944.40 Conservation pool top 1,945.73 Conservation pool 96.4+ percent full Waconda Lake Elevation Tuesday 1,454.63 Elevation Friday 1,455.38 Top of Conservation Pool 1,455.60 Reservoir Inflow on Monday 946.8 Conservation pool 96.9 percent full...
Superior Temperature High Temperature this week 64 Low Temperature this week 29 Precipitation This week 2.79 Year to date 4.35 Average for March 1.47 Average to April 1 2.91 Nelson Precipitation 3.20...
The Nuckolls County Board of Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled meeting at the county courthouse in Nelson, Monday. All three commissioners were present. The county road department had two bid offerings on the agenda. They accepted a bid from Titan Machinery, Hastings, of $4,000 for a new Case skidsteer. The department trades in their skidsteer each year to maximize its value. This machine is a tracked model with rear facing camera and display. Other bids were received from Superior Implement for a JCB model and Landmark Implement,...
Thayer County voters approved a $5.275 million school bond issue in a special mail-in only election, Tuesday, March 9. The unofficial tally was 534 in favor with 518 opposed. The bond funds will be added to a special building fund of $3.3 million to be used for improvements to school district facilities. Informational brochures were distributed in Thayer County communities prior to the election. Improvements are being panned in several areas. One project would connect the elementary and high school buildings. New disaster shelters will be...
Beauford Hoyer has been a lifelong Nuckolls County resident for 88 years. He was born on a farm near Spring Creek south of Ruskin. He said when the doctor arrived, he was laying between his mother’s legs. He has always been an early riser. Hoyer attended Beach School which is now a part of the Nuckolls County Museum. He graduated from Superior High School with the Class of 1951. He went to work on a farm until he was inducted into the United States Army. While serving in the army, he attended heavy equipment school. He was transferred to the U...
Even though spring isn’t officially here until Saturday, it seems safe to say winter is over. (We’re not sure of the snow and cold, but the calendar does say winter is over on Saturday.) It was quite some winter. It arrived in its usual form, a cool November, a cold December and a “very cold and snowy” January and February. However, we’ve had several weeks now of very mild conditions that slowly melted the ice and snow and last weekend we experienced our first prolonged rain event of the year. The most common aspect of the whole of the last...
Living in a ‘rural’ area of the United States, I suspect many of us receive our National news from our TV. We are not forced to be instantly informed and ‘live’ in a society and work place where the national news is the primary source of discussion and entertainment. Our TVs have become one of our primary sources of information and entertainment. TV is not all bad, but it certainly is not all good either. I know of individuals who do not have a TV in their homes. Over the past many years I have received a few bits of advice: “Don’t watch FOX n...
Lawrence-Nelson public schools were recently featured in the NSAA membership spotlight. NSAA activities that students currently participate in are as follows: boys and girls cross country, volleyball, football, play production, wrestling, boys and girls basketball, speech, music, journalism, boys and girls track and field, and boys golf. Lawrence-Nelson currently holds 14 NSAA State Championships. Lawrence-Nelson public schools strive to offer activities to meet all students’ interest levels. The addition of activities such as HOSA, archery, a...
Now that we have made it past false spring and second winter, many of us are yearning to get out into the garden. Try not to get too overzealous. The experts say we should wait until daytime temperatures are more than 50º to avoid harming our pollinators and wildlife. Our garden “mess” left over from the previous year provides a safe haven for all kinds of pollinators and insects. It also provides a food source for birds that have migrated back for the warmer months. Early spring is the time to take stock of what you have, make a list of what...
Brian Blevins, athletic director, physical education, health instructor at Lawrence-Nelson Middle School and High School said, "As the football coach and athletic director, I get multiple opportunities every year to build and strengthen relationships outside of the normal classroom setting. I believe coaches play a huge role in the success of students. As stated in the book, 3D Coaching, a single coach will impact more lives in a year than the average person does in their lifetime. "Our...
Jessica Stokes ELA teacher Lawrence-Nelson Middle School and High School told about teaching during COVID quarantine. "In the spring of 2020, I spent a lot of time meeting individually with a few students to help them catch up on their school work and let them know they were not alone as some just needed someone to talk to. This was a very difficult time for students. I felt it was more important to let them know we all were struggling with the change. "My goal was to help all students become...
Kylee Haba, Art and 9-12 Journalism at Lawrence-Nelson Middle School and High School told about an uplifting experience which encourages her in teaching. "It was the summer of 2020 (we all know how that went!) and I was sitting at home doing homework for my master's classes when my husband brought in the mail. I found a neatly crafted hand-lettered envelope addressed to me. I was intrigued by who it might be from. I open it and realized it was from one of my current students. It was a thank you...
This year Hastings College gave all of their alumni in the education field the Outstanding Alumni Award for their hard work and dedication put forth during the current pandemic. Congratulations to our Hastings College alumni staff members at Lawrence-Nelson Middle an Senior High Schools! Staff members receiving the award included Mrs. Jamie Lay-math, Mr. Brian Blevins-health, athletic director, Mrs. Alayna Ham-Spanish, Mr. Decker Brown-history and Mrs. Kylee Haba-art and jour...
Research shows students involved in their school perform better academically, and Lawrence-Nelson is no different. Students hold signs with the number of extra curricular activities they are involved in. These students were also on the honor roll for the first semester of this school year. Students pictured are (back row, from left) Wyatt Brockman (11), Logan Menke (11), Jacob Kathman (9), Connor Janda (9), Clay Williams (9), Keaton Mazour (middle row) Emily Troudt (10), Tyson Kotinek (10),...
The monthly meeting of the Mankato Chamber of Commerce was held last Wednesday. There were seven members present. Jason Ortman, president, called the meeting to order. Haley Nelson gave an update on the 2021 membership drive. The chamber currently has 41 active members as opposed to the 48 members the chamber had last year. Haley is working on sorting the changes that need to be made to the website so Karen Rhea can update the website. The Mankato Community Wide Clean-Up will take place April 17. The chamber and the City of Mankato will...
Match Month 2021 in Jewell County is entering it’s final stage. As of the second week of March, donations are hovering right around $10,000. The goal is to raise $50,000. This year we have made Match Month interactive, by putting all of the past grant recipients on a Google Map of Jewell County and putting up signs notating each site that has received grant funding because of the donations through past Match Months. Go to the Jewell County Community Foundation Facebook page to find the link to the map, or walk or drive around communities to s...
Originally from Lincoln County Kansas, Nancy Marihugh, Jewell County's health administrator, has lived in Jewell County since 2005. She currently resides in Esbon. Marihugh graduated from Lincoln High School. She then went on to study criminal justice with a minor in sociology at Wichita State University. Marihugh attended Cloud County Community College where she received her degree in nursing. She has worked in the nursing field for 25 years. Marihugh met her husband of 14 years online. She...
Last Wednesday a fire started at the Jamestown Wildlife Preserve. Approximately 15 fire agencies from nearby areas responded to the fire. The fire agencies started fighting the fire at 9 a.m. and because of the 50 MPH wind gusts they were not able to control it. It appeared this fire would be a multi-day event unless the weather conditions changed. The fire agencies that responded were from Cloud, Mitchell, Republic, Ottawa, Jewell and Washington counties and the Kansas Forest Service. Farmers...
Plans are finally underway this year for the 2021 Rock Hills Post Prom event on Saturday, April 10. This year there are 19 students in the senior class and 20 students in the junior class plus their dates to plan for. The event is planned by volunteers only. The students have the opportunity to participate in activities, have food and non-alcoholic beverage options throughout the night. Usually various avenues for fundraising are pursued, but because of COVID-19 fundraising has been limited. Donations can be sent to Lori Slate, 401 S Columbus,...
OCCK Transportation has added transit data for the KanConnect regional fixed route service through Google Maps and Apple Maps. This will allow riders to plan trips and get directions using the transit service with a smart phone or computer. OCCK Transportation is one of only a handful of transit agencies in Kansas to join Google Maps and Apple Maps with transit data. It is hoped the participation will encourage ridership. By showing the “Public Transit” link in every search for driving directions, Google Maps and Apple Maps is helping to pro...
