Wauneta Breeze

    By Emily Hoffman and Tina Kitt
    The Wauneta Breeze

     Another year is gone, sometimes flying by, sometimes plodding along, but always working its way through the 2004 calender one day at a time.
     Last year Wauneta's sons and daughters experienced the good and the not so good.
     The new year had a difficult beginning with two deaths of Wauneta area residents. Andrew Sandman was killed in a one vehicle crash on New Year's Eve. The following day, Bill DeHart died in Enders Lake in an attempt to save a friend while hunting.
     Following is a summary of other events reported in the pages of the Breeze in 2004.

    Awards and honors
     Several runners participated in the Torch Run for the Cornhusker State Games, carrying the torch in memory of Andrew Sandman, who had participated in the torch run since he was in grade school.
     The Rev. Keith Wellman received honors for being in ministry for 30 years. Wellman is the minister at St. Paul Lutheran Church.
     Wauneta Women of Today swept up awards at the state convention. Sunni Nordhausen was voted Nebraska outstanding Young Woman for 2004. Joyce Grimm won the National Imagination Award.
     Lloyd Sinner was tapped as Grand Marshal of the Chase County Fair. The county fair hosted Emerson Drive, Gretchen Wilson, Phil Vassar and Chris Cagle for their weekend entertainment. Ed Cupp replaced Donn Allen as Expo Manager.
     Honors were given to Sinner, a volunteer firefighter, for 43 years of service on the Frenchman Valley Mutual Aid Society.
     Chase County Sheriff Tim Sutherland, Chuck Eberhardt and Sandra Kelly were honored for their years of service working in law enforcement. Sutherland was honored for 30 years of service, Eberhardt for 15 and Kelly for 10.
     Four 2003 WP graduates received their national FFA degrees in Louisville, Ky., in October. The four were Leah Rundback, Abby Barger, Elisha Madden and Tabithia Christner.
     Jack Maddux earned a prestigious award when he was named Colorado State University's Livestock Leader of the Year.
     Wayne and Marie Smith were tapped to be the Grand Marshals of Wauneta's Harvest Fest. "Keep on Trucking" was the theme chosen for last year's summer event. The popular group Drivin' Dynamics played at Saturday's dance and puppeteer Regina Leininger came to entertain young and old.
     Jeff Kasselman was named top family doctor by Consumer Reports.
     The Wauneta Breeze got a new look in 2004, with a redesign unveiled in mid-January, its first major overhaul in 20 years. In addition to 22 awards won by the Breeze at the Nebraska Press Association's annual convention, the local paper was presented with the Omaha World-Herald's Service to Agriculture Award. The Breeze donated the accompanying $1,000 cash prize to the WCF's medical clinic fund-raising efforts.

    People and events in the news
     Wauneta lost two of its sons in a New Year's Eve and a New Year's Day accident. WP junior Andrew Sandman died in a single car accident on New Year's Eve day. The three other teens in the car in which Sandman was a passenger sustained minor injuries. Bill DeHart, a Wauneta electrician, died in a New Year's Day drowning.
     Jim Johnston had a 22-page excerpt of his book, "The Long Road of War" published in the anthology, "Semper Fi: Stories of the United States Marine Corps from Boot Camp to Battle."
     Lizzy Thompson returned to school Feb. 3. She had been in Denver since summer of 2003, first waiting for a new heart, then recovering from a heart transplant.
     J. R. Crabb celebrated 100 years of life with his family at a party at the nursing home. Crabb died later in 2003.
     NTV visited Hamlet and Wauneta at separate times last year, interviewing longtime residents and spending the day with locals of both communities.
     Bob McBride, former police chief in Wauneta before resigning from his job, was hired as Chase County deputy. Before taking the job McBride served a short stint as a Hitchcock County deputy.
     The new 11th Judicial District Judge Ed Steenburg was sworn in on Feb. 2.
     In June, James Roe took part in a 50-mile bike marathon in Colorado to raise money for diabetes research.
     Clifford and Velma Moody celebrated 70 years of marriage in April. Many of their family members met in Wauneta for an anniversary celebration.
     Two new Welcome to Wauneta signs appeared along Highway 6. Diane Ready won a contest to design the new sign, by the Wauneta Chamber.
     Tom Osborne visited Wauneta at the HomeTown Agency late spring.
     Tom Dill, extension agent for the Southwest Four, was injured in a one-vehicle car accident in early July, landing him in the hospital, and then in rehabilitation for several months.
     The Wauneta and Palisade United Methodist Churches welcomed their new minister, Judy Dye, in July.
     After over a year without a minister, Marshal Erickson, took over as pastor at Hamlet Union Church in October.
     The 1,000th ABC baby quilt was finished and sent this year. Over 75 community women have made quilts for babies that are in needy circumstances.

    Community improvements
     Efforts to raise funds for a new medical clinic in Wauneta got a substantial boost thanks to a major contribution from BWTelcom. Contributions toward the $500,000 goal continued to roll in throughout the year, with Wauneta native Jim Baldonado and his family kicking in $2,500. That was matched with a $2,500 donation from his insurance business, Home Agency Insurance, in Elwood. Several gifts to the effort were made in the memory of loved ones now deceased.
     The Wauneta Park saw major improvements in 2004, with a 2,000-foot-long paved walking path installed in April and a walking club formed during the summer.
     A new water heating system was installed at the pool in July, with ongoing fund-raisers helping to cover the expense. The pool season was extended to mid-September to allow for afterschool swimming, taking advantage of the warmer water temps.
     In September, a large new play structure was installed at the park just east of the pool. The project was spearheaded by the Wauneta Women of Today.

    Election year highlights
     In local elections, Lloyd Sinner and Lynn Brunkhorst won election to the Wauneta Village Board in a five-man race, defeating incumbent Tony Cribelli as well as Carl Williams and Kenny Lawless. Rod Rector, who served on the board the last four years, opted not to seek re-election.
     Joe Johnston of Wauneta was re-elected Chase County Commissioner in the primary election between two other Republican candidates, Bill Greeley of rural Imperial and Robert Hohl of Wauneta.
     Mick Strand of rural Wauneta and Kerry Bernhardt of rural Lamar won election to the Upper Republican NRD board after defeating incumbents Kenny Frasier of rural Max and Robert Ambrosek of rural Haigler.
     Jon Anderjaska, Stuart Bartels and Don Suda were re-elected to the Wauneta-Palisade school board in an uncontested race.
     In an uncontested race for three seats on the Palisade Village Board, voters elected Jason Hicks, Rodney Hunt, and Jared Blackman.
     George W. Bush narrowly won re-election as U.S. President over Democratic nominee John Kerry.
     Statewide, 66 percent of Nebraska's registered voters turned out for the election.

    Events involving WP
     WP found it would receive $749,103 in state aid, up $171,725 from last year's amount of $577,377.
     Members of the junior high quiz bowl were rejoicing when they captured second place in quiz bowl competition in February. Winning team members were Tyler Crowell, Blair Dixon, Will Anderjaska, James Strand, Jesse Skelton, Grant Dixon, T. J. Ellicott and Brennan Keiser.
     School bells rang and lunch trays clattered again this year at Wauneta-Palisade. The school district greeted 2003 with a new English teacher and track coach, Lynn Reber, who began his short career with WP Jan. 5.
     New bleachers for the Wauneta Attendance Center gym were purchased and installed over the summer months. The Wauneta building also received tuck-pointing repairs on the brick exterior.
     Six local students received FFA degrees. Those students receiving state degrees include Nic Top, Clif Wright, Grant Dixon, Jess Vapenik, Aaron Keiser and Chase Nichols.
     Wauneta-Palisade English teacher Rhonda Vetrovsky was hired as McCook's city attorney.
     The Wauneta Attendance Center had a new salad bar installed this year, to the joy of many junior and senior high school students. The old one broke down during the 2002-2003 school year.
     Eight teams qualified for state FFA competition from Wauneta-Palisade this year. The teams included livestock management, welding, food science, senior livestock, ag mechanics, farm management, natural resources and agri-sciences. Sheriden Wright was a proficiency finalist and Staci Alberts named to the state FFA choir.
     Four WP teachers resigned. Lynn Reber, hired at the start of second semester to teach English; Diane Ready, the WP art and speech teacher, Rhonda Vetrovsky, who taught high school English, and Rebecca Koellner, Title I teacher.
     Math teacher Cermit Brown ended a 37-year teaching career in May. For 31 of those years he taught at WP.
     Children from the third and fourth grades planted trees in Wauneta's park for Arbor Day.
     Wauneta-Palisade graduated 28 seniors in this year's graduation ceremony.
     The Envirothon Team went to state for a second year taking first in the oral speaking category. The team including Luke Wright, Joe Bartels, Peter Barger and Cody Egle.
     Art students of Diane Ready made a progress thermometer to track the amount of funds coming in for the new medical clinic. The sign sits in the lot where the clinic will be built when the money is raised.
     Clean-up of a fuel oil spill began in Wauneta in June. What was supposed to be a week or two clean-up turned into a project that spanned the entire summer, finishing up just before school began late summer.
     A new English teacher, Michael Cohen from California, was hired to teacher junior high and senior high English, and to coach one-act and speech. Sara Behrends, the other new hire at WP, will teach elementary music part-time.
     Low numbers at the kindergarten round-up in Palisade caused the administration to combine the kindergarten and first grade classes at the Palisade Attendance Center. Randee Barger is the teacher for the class.
     Enrollment numbers showed the district down 25 students compared with the 2003-2004 school year.
     WP set its school budget for the 2004-2005 school year at $3.2 million.
     The Wauneta-Palisade school board voted to up the pay of activity bus drivers.
     Charles Isom informed the school board they were looking at a $250,000 to $300,000 shortfall in state aid for the 2005-2006 school year. The board began looking at options for the school district, including building a school in Palisade.

    Businesses and community
    organizations in the news
     Trenton Agri-products began buying grain and interviewing for employees. They opened in the spring with Robert Beren, president of the company, Tom Osborne and Mike Johanns all present for the ribbon cutting.
     Bev Morgan took over as manager at the Chase County extension office.
     The Palisade Rural Fire Board received a grant for $10,000 from the Hansen Foundation allowing them to purchase new uniforms.
     Pheasants Forever raised $140,000 for local habitat last year.
     Chase County held a free gun lock distribution with 1,100 gunlocks distributed in the county.
     Four new Palisade businesses opened in the last year. The Bargain Center owned by Bob and Marilyn Top, opened shop next to the Palisade post office. Their business is an extension of the Wauneta business Top Notch Bargain Center. J.C. Computers, run by Jared Blackman, Brock Paints run by Brock Malcolm and R. J. Construction run by Joe Vrbas and Rodney Hunt, were the other businesses highlighted in the Breeze.
     The critical care helicopter based in McCook began operations in June, serving the Imperial, McCook and 11 other hospitals in southwest Nebraska.
     The Wauneta Breeze got a new Web site up and running in July, giving readers on-line access to articles in the paper.
     BWTelcom and KLK construction of Pella, Iowa, began laying duct up to homes in an effort to facilitate future fiberoptic upgrades. The work was completed by November.
     Remodeling work on HomeTown Agency's new locale in Wauneta wrapped up, with the old hardware store getting new life as high tech insurance office. A grand opening was held in July in conjunction with Harvest Fest. The Wauneta Senior Center finished up work on its building expansion project, with the extra space allowing room for an exercise area, bingo and card games.
     Rod Keiser opened the doors to his Wauneta business, Champa Group in late summer, filling in space at the remodeled HomeTown Agency building.
     Shanan Pollman of Wauneta resigned as director of Southwest Public Health Department. The SWPHD board named Myra Stoney as a new director. She started the job in December.
     Mary Vrbka resigned from her job as administrator at Heritage of Wauneta in September to take an administrator position in Plattsmouth as administrator of the Masonic Home. The new Heritage of Wauneta administrator, Larry Gibson from Elwood, took the helm in November.
     Coyote Arms, a sporting goods and gun shop located in Palisade, moved into its new building near Hamlet off Highway 6 in August.
     Dr. Paul Grow re-established his medical practice in Imperial, purchasing the Frenchman Valley Medical Clinic building from Drs. Dave and Kristin Johnston. He announced plans to resume coming to Wauneta in the future.
     After a year's absence hospice came back to Chase County this year, with Annette Kasselman working with hospice patients in Chase County.
     Chase County Transit began service in Wauneta in November. Due to grant money to purchase a new bus, the transit service placed in Wauneta for service to area residents several days a week.

    Village business
     Al Wilkins was voted in as Village Board Chair in February 2004, replacing fellow board member Tony Cribelli.
     Among the issues tackled this year by the board was a complete revamping of the Village's zoning regulations, with final approval given in April. A related blight study and redevelopment plan were approved in June.
     A generous gift of $30,000 from BWTelcom made the acquisition of a new backhoe possible for the Village Utilities Department.
     In October, water rates increased from $6 for up to 5,000 gallon to a $7 base rate plus 70 cents for each 1,000 gallons of water used. Even with the increase, Wauneta continues to have one of the lowest water rates in the region.
     Officer Mike Young hit the streets full-time as Wauneta's chief law enforcement officer in April after completing 14 weeks of refresher training at the police academy in Grand Island.
     During fall budget work, the board voted to eliminate the cemetery sexton position as a cost-cutting measure. That position was held by Loyd Christner who is no longer employed with the village.
     In the Village Board restructuring that took place following the election, Ann Grasser was elected board chair and Lloyd Sinner was elected vice chair.

    Agriculture in 2004
     The year started on shaky ground after the first-ever case of mad cow disease was announced over the holidays. The immediate impact of the announcement was significant, with cattle futures plummeting down the limit for three straight days. The news came at a time of near all-time-high record beef prices. Despite initial setbacks, cattle prices rebounded later in the year and remained strong.
     Drought continued to cloud the farming outlook in southwest Nebraska in 2004, compounded by rising fuel costs and a late frost.
     Ongoing drought, a mid-May freeze and fuel prices racing past the $2 mark all created challenges for the area's agricultural producers.
     The 2004 wheat harvest netted a low-quality, low-yielding crop, with late badly needed rains causing delays in getting the crop out of the field.
     After months, even years, of ongoing drought, the summer of 2004 brought gully-washing rainstorms, with flooding noted in the Hamlet and Palisade areas in mid-July and along the Frenchman west of Wauneta later in the month.
     Due to the ongoing drought, no water was released from Enders for downstream irrigators in 2004.
     Tempers flared as possible cutbacks for all irrigated land in the Upper and Middle Republican NRDs was discussed, with URNRD Director Bob Hipple losing his job as a result. Two board members - Kenny Frasier of Max and Robert Ambrosek of Benkelman - also lost their bids for re-election to the URNRD board.
     Dundy County native Jasper Fanning was later hired to fill the position formerly held by Hipple.
     Wet, cool conditions hampered corn harvest, with high moisture content in the grain delaying combines from picking it out of the fields. While yields were strong - with many fields easily shelling out more than 200 bushels per acre - some farmers continued to battle to get their crops out well past the end of the year.
     A study commissioned by local businesses released in July indicated scaled back irrigation may not have as dire a result on southwest Nebraska as many have anticipated. These conclusions were questioned by area producers, in particular, by members of the newly formed association, WaterClaim.
     Future grain prices were projected to get an underpinning with the opening of the Trenton Agri Products ethanol plant. The company began hiring new employees and purchasing grain in late January, with production underway by April.
     In an announcement that caught many by surprise, Gov. Mike Johanns was tapped by Pres. Bush to become the next U.S. secretary of agriculture.

    News events of interest
     Chase County identity thief Daniel Runyan eludes law officers after a string of thefts. He was eventually caught in Utah.
     There was a break-in at Bob's Repair with some items taken. A person or persons vandalized Crossroads, breaking their credit card operating machines. There was also a break-in at the school where the ceiling in the music room was damaged and the door to the office was hacked at in an attempt to gain entry.
     Hay bales caught on fire along Highway 6 near Imperial. Eric Barnard of Champion was hauling hay bales when they caught fire during transport. The Wauneta Volunteer Fire Department aided Chase County in containing the fire.
     Toxic blue-green algae were found in Enders Lake, closing the lake to swimmers and boaters for two weeks late in July. The algae were found in lakes all over Nebraska. Its high concentrations were thought to be partly caused by the drought conditions.
     A fire destroyed an elevator on the South Divide farm of Jon and Reita Haarberg in July.
     Heavy rains caused localized flooding, wiping out service for 24 hours for Great Plains customers in Hayes, Hitchcock, Chase and Perkins counties.
     Only eight cases of West Nile were reported across the state, with one case in Chase County. In the summer of 2003 there were 2,366 reported cases.
     In August, law enforcement recovered stolen goods from three counties at a Hamlet residence. Drugs were also found. Three men were charged in connection with the stolen goods. In December, Jeff Lytle pled guilty to drug charges in Hayes County and theft and burglary charges in Hitchcock County and Chase County. Matt Howard and Steven Humphrey both pled guilty to burglary and theft in Hitchcock County.
     The Wauneta baseball field was vandalized in September, causing over $1,000 of damage.
     Flu shots were in short supply across the nation in October and November, but more vaccines were available in December. The Center for Disease Control predicted the flu season to be harder than usual.
     In October, Clint Ingalls of North Platte and Ashley Pankonin of Grant stole two cars and money from Ogalalla to Wauneta. They were finally apprehended in Wauneta largely due to the Wauneta Volunteer Fire Department and local citizens helping law enforcement.
     In December, Wayne Lee Peterson was arrested on felony possession of firearms and for allegedly discharging a firearm within village limits.