News of 2019: Hefners to mark 70th anniversary
COLERIDGE — This year’s Year in Review section begins with many accomplishments and achievements from Coleridge area residents.
Feb. 6, 2019
LAUREL — Many jobs require professional development days. The same is true for the teachers at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School.
Throughout the school year, the teachers have participated in days to complete these requirements through teacher in-service days.
The number of days is determined by the Nebraska Department of Education. A typical day in the 2018-19 LCC school year for in-services begins with a team building activity. All the teachers in the district come together, get to know each other, do some team teaching, all while continuing to build stronger relationships both professionally and personally building a stronger LCC.
As the day progresses, teachers have the opportunity to gain understanding in the instructional model that was put together during last year’s academic year. Sometimes a speaker comes in to talk to the teachers. Other in-service days teachers were given time to view the MAPs testing scores, then time to collaborate on teaching strategies that could be implemented to continue aiding students’ growth.
These days have the focus of equipping the staff with the skills to continue to grow as educators, thus helping our students gain valuable knowledge. “If we create a loving and caring environment, we will have students who will want to learn,” said Paige Parsons, LCC Elementary Principal. The climate of a work place is essential not only for the LCC teachers but the students too, giving students an environment conducive for learning while enjoying it.
Feb. 6, 2019
LAUREL — Luiza Malagutti Gerebillo Macedo is continuing a family tradition. She is the latest member of her family to do a year abroad. Luiza arrived in Omaha Dec. 28. The temperature in Omaha that day was 22 degrees. It is currently summer in Brazil, on the day Luiza left it was 81 degrees.
The Cade and Becky Sohler family were anxiously awaiting for Luiza. Becky has a unique connection with Luiza. Luiza’s mother, Luciana, and Becky have been long-time friends.
“It has been so rewarding, for 29 years Luciana and I have kept in touch. I can return the favor and have Luiza stay with us, and maybe her brother someday,” said Becky. Becky attended school in Lynch. While there, Luiza’s mother and two uncles, Aluizio and Junior Malagutti, studied a year abroad at the Lynch High School. Becky’s brother, Raul Grimm, and Luiza’s uncle, Junior Malagutti, became great friends and continued to maintain a friendship. Luiza’s mother, Luciana, was a few grades older than Becky when Luciana had her opportunity to study abroad.
Feb. 6, 2019
HARTINGTON — The Osmond Tigers earned redemption Monday on the way to the Lewis & Clark Conference Basketball Championship. Coming into the game at 18-1, Osmond’s sole blemish to the season record came on Jan. 22 to Laurel-Concord-Coleridge in an 80-54 loss. The Tigers set out to avenge that loss when they faced off in the conference championship game. The Tigers did more than that, though. They dominated in the late-going as they earned an 81-64 win to claim the title.
This marks the first time since the 1981-82 season that Osmond has won the conference tournament title. This is the first time LCC has appeared in the title game since rejoining the Lewis and Clark Conference a few years ago.
Feb. 6, 2019
HOMER — The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Speech team continued their season last Saturday at the Homer Knight Invite. A total of 16 Bear speakers performed in eight events. It was an excellent day of performances for the Bears as they brought home a total number of 14 medals and one team trophy. Most notably, LCC finished first, second, and third in Extemporaneous Speaking. Bear medalists included an Extemporaneous Champion Brianna Campbell and Extemporaneous Runner-up Brian Potts. Kalin Olson and Ethan Cross both finished in 10th place in the overall Individual Speaker Sweepstakes. Laurel-Concord- Coleridge brought back a Team Sweepstakes Runner- Up trophy after finishing behind Champions Homer by 0.7 points.
Feb. 6, 2019
NORFOLK — Twelve Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School students took part in livestock judging.
The students traveled to the Chuck M. Pohlman AG Complex in Norfolk where they would then judge several different types of farm animals. The students judged beef cows, sheep, and pigs. Students were required to evaluate the different animals and place them putting in first place the animal they thought was the best in that certain group of animals.
The senior team, which consisted of Evan Urwiler, Landen Boysen, Elizabeth Lipp, Kylie Kempf, Dylan Reimers, Zach McCoy, and Parker Young placed sixth out of 14 teams. The junior team, which consisted of Katelyn Pehrson, Jersey Jansen, Jaclyn Kempf, Trevin Boysen, and Grant Erwin placed sixth out of 15 teams.
Feb. 6, 2019
WAKEFIELD — The LCC wrestlers made their final preparations before districts, finishing with four medalists at Saturday’s Wakefield Invitational. Ethan Williams earned a runner-up finish at 220 pounds, going 3-1 in round-robin action to lead the Bears’ medal haul. Branden Meyer was 1-3 in round-robin action to finish fourth at 132 pounds. Levi Jackson lost in the consolation finals to place fourth at 152 pounds, and Fischer Carson went 0-3 in round-robin competition at 195 pounds to place fourth. The Bears will compete in the D-2 district tournament on Friday and Saturday in Amherst.
Feb. 13, 2019
LAUREL — The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School Board received a letter of resignation and approved salary increases for its administrators at Monday’s Board meeting.The Board accepted a letter of resignation from K-12 vocal music teacher Jared Garthoff. Garthoff will finish the 2018-2019 academic year. The Board thanked him for his services, and wished him good luck on future endeavors.
The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge administration will be receiving a pay increase for the 2019-2020 academic school year as the board unanimously approved an increase in salary.
Feb. 13, 2019
COLERIDGE — Elroy and Carol Hefner are quickly coming close to celebrating 70 years of making memories as husband and wife.
Both Elroy and Carol are Coleridge natives, proudly graduating from the Coleridge High School.
Elroy graduated in 1941, while Carol was a few years behind in 1946. In addition to being Coleridge natives, they have been life-long members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in town.
As they grew up, the two knew of each other. It was not until the war the two were brought together by chance. Elroy would go on to join the Navy in 1944. He did his training in Idaho before being shipped to the South Pacific.
Elroy was part of the “Amphibious Services.” These were the soldiers on an amphibious warfare ship.The ship has a flatter bottom and would pull up near the land, wait for the low tide, unload any supplies needed for the ground troops, and go back out once the tide came back in. While Elroy was serving in the Navy, Carol graduated from high school continuing on to Wayne State College and received a degree in elementary education.
She attended WSC from 1947- 1948. After graduation, she went on to teach at the Laurel Elementary School for a year.
Feb. 13, 2019
OMAHA — LCC’s Deagan Puppe took part in the 11th annual Boch Festival Jan. 25-27 at the Strauss Performing Arts Center on the UNO Campus. After sending in auditions, Puppe and Levi Jackson were chosen as members of the Boch Honor Choir. Levi was not able to attend. Puppe and LCC Music Instructor, Patti Beyeler attended the festival. Deagan was a tenor in the honor choir.
Feb. 13, 2019
AMHERST — The LCC wrestling team will have a representative on the mat at this week’s Nebraska State Wrestling Championships in Omaha. Senior Ethan Williams punched his ticket to state by reaching the finals in the D-2 district meet at Amherst on Saturday. He lost in the 220-pound championship to Jaxon Taubenheim of Amherst, 6-2, to come home with a runner-up medal. Williams was the only one of six Bears who survived through a very tough 20-team district tournament, although three of the other wrestlers came within two matches of finishing in the top four of their weight brackets.
After losing his first match, Nolan Ohlrich picked up a pair of pins before losing on a major decision to Jarrett Parsons of High Plains at 145 pounds. Levi Jackson also overcame a first-round loss to win two matches in a row before falling in a major decision to Hunter Arehart of Ansley-Litchfield at 152 pounds. Fischer Carson had two byes in his bracket at 195 pounds and lost both of his matches, including a season-ending pin in the third round of consolations. Branden Meyer and Lenny Schumer both went 0-2 for the weekend.
Feb. 13, 2019
WISNER — After losing in the Lewis & Clark Conference finals a few days earlier, the LCC boys got back on the winning track with an easy 80-58 win at Wisner-Pilger on Thursday. The Gators came out hot in the early going and led by six after one quarter, but the Bears turned on the jets and turned a six-point deficit into a five-point halftime advantage. The second half was all LCC, as they lit up the Gators for a 29-10 third quarter run that put the game away, improving their record to 20-3 on the season. Five Bears registered in double figures on the night, led by Izac Reifenrath’s 23 points. Ty Erwin added 18 points, Noah Schutte put in 17, Evan Haisch had 12 and Cael Hartung scored 10. Schutte finished with a team-high 14 rebounds.
Feb. 13, 2019
WISNER — The LCC Lady Bears closed the 2018-19 regular season with a road win, beating Wisner-Pilger 61-49.
The Lady Bears had two players in double figures, led by senior Lorna Maxon’s game-high 20 points. Makayla Forsberg followed with 12 points.
Feb. 13, 2019
STANTON — The Stanton Middle School Honor Band and Honor Choir was held on Saturday, Feb. 2, at Stanton High School. The Laurel Concord Coleridge Middle School had 12 band members nominated by their band director Patti Beyeler.
The following LCC students were nominated: flutes — Izabella Kock, Samantha Pehrson, Andrea Schilousky, Cheyenne Walker; clarinets- — Delaney Johnson, Sarah Karnes, Stephanie Naeve, London VanCleave; trumpet — Olivia Hanson; trombone — Jackson Hall; baritone — Delaney Hall; batter percussion -- Tyler Olson.
COLERIDGE — A rural Coleridge woman died in a Thursday afternoon fire in her home near here.
Lori Burton, 62, was killed when the house she lived in caught fire. The blaze apparently started in the kitchen area. Deputy State Fire Marshall Alyssa Sanders said Burton died from smoke inhalation.
The fire was reported at 1:57 p.m. Thursday by someone driving past.
The 911 caller told dispatchers the house was totally engulfed in flames. Emergency personnel at the scene said it appeared the fire started in the kitchen.
March 13, 2019
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Laurel-Concord-Coleridge fourth graders were participants in a once in a lifetime experience and were inducted into the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra for one hour on March 4 at the Sioux City Orpheum. More than 2,000 students from Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa along with their music teachers with recorders in hand entered the Orpheum and performed with the Symphony for one hour in a program sponsored by Carnegie Hall. This year’s program was entitled “Orchestra Rocks.” This is the first year the LCC Elementary School has participated in the Link Up program offered through the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. “This was a new program we offered last year for the first time to many schools in the Siouxland area,” said Travis Morgan, CEO of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. Morgan said this year the orchestra performed for two days and had over 40 schools in attendance with more than 5,000 students participating.
March 13, 2019
LAUREL — Brian Potts has been named a National Merit Finalist. The selection of some 7,500 Merit Scholarship winners from the group of 15,000 Finalist is now in progress. In March, National Merit Scholarship Program will begin notification of National Merit Scholarship winners. The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955.
High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/ NMSQT®)— which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.6 million entrants each year—and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.
Since 1974 there have been six students named a NMSC from the Laurel area. Rick Smith, Laurel- Concord graduate class of 2000 was the last known NMSC Finalist.
March 13, 2019
LAUREL-LCC students named to the L&C First team All-Conference basketball team were: Izac Reifenrath, Lorna Maxon and Noah Schutte. Honorable Mention selections were Ty Erwin and Kinsey Hall.
March 13, 2019
WALTHILL — The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Speech Team competed last week at the Lewis and Clark Conference meet at Walthill. Here are results from the event. Katie Schutte Humorous fourth Honors Finals. Brianna Campbell Extemp sixth Champs Finals. Brian Potts Extemp fifth Champs Finals.
Cody Martin Poetry fourth Champs Finals. Kaylee Swanson Serious Prose Conference Runner up.
LCC finished fifth out of 16 in the team standings. Results from Wisner-Pilger on Tuesday March 5.
Fourth Place Humorous- Katie Schutte First Place Extemporaneous- Brian Potts Third Place Persuasive- Deagan Puppe Second Place Poetry-Cody Martin Fourth Place Entertainment- Ethan Cross Fourth Place Duet- Megan Forsberg and Katie Schutte.
March 20, 2019
LAUREL — Several area residents stood wide-eyed Wednesday night and watched as pieces of their lives floated past. The Laurel area was hit with a historic flood Wednesday when the Logan Creek came out of its banks and inundated anything in its path. “We watched the water rise. We were sitting ducks for awhile,” said Shana Erwin, who lives with her husband Todd and their family on the northern outskirts of Laurel. Their house is located between the Logan Creek and a smaller creek. As the rain kept falling, the family could see the water level on the Logan rise. “We could barely see the top of the fence posts in the horse pasture,” said Erwin. Local firemen and other volunteers did whatever they could to protect property and possessions, filling and distributing sandbags, putting up barricades and moving things out of the path of the overflowing creek. Once filled, these sandbags were placed to block water around buildings. The bags to be filled were provided by the Emergency Manager’s office before the flooding even occurred — the first phase of being prepared, said Emergency Management Director Kevin Garvin. Laurel Police Chief Ron Lundahl said he was impressed how everyone rolled up their sleeves to help out in a time of emergency.
March 20, 2019
HARTINGTON - Flood waters swept through the Cedar County Fairgrounds last week, causing damage to many of the buildings and even completely moving one of the 4-H barns. Water swept in from the west, across 564th Avenue, carrying corn stalks, mud and debris with it. Some of the corn stalks wound up in the fence, weighing it down and ultimately toppling it over. More cornstalks can be found in all of the animal pens, and some of the buildings as well. Jim Specht on the Cedar County Fair Board assessed the damage on Thursday, and said each day it looked better in terms of water draining so that work can begin to repair the damage. On Friday, deep spots of mud made it impossible to drive into the Fairgrounds.
The worst damage came to the 4-H Hog Barn that was lifted off the concrete and moved approximately 100 yards to the east. When looking at it from the road, only slight damage can be seen of the show arena that was barely clipped by the Hog Barn building as it floated away. The Hog Barn took out a utility pole before coming to rest in the middle of a field. The rest of the animal barns handled the water pretty well, but there is still mud, slime and cornstalks that will need to be shoveled out of those areas. Specht says he has checked each building out and while there is a fair amount of damage, he admits things could have been worse.
March 20, 2019
HARTINGTON — The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Speech team survived the rain last Wednesday at the C2-3 District at Hartington Cedar Catholic. The Bears competed against some of the toughest and best competition in the entire state, including defending state champion Hartington-Newcastle. LCC was led by Cody Martin in Poetry and Brian Potts in Extemporaneous. Cody finished in the heartbreak spot in fourth place, just missing out on State. Brian finished as district champion in Extemporaneous. Brian will represent LCC at the C2 State Meet.
March 20, 2019
LINCOLN — Flooding continues to cause problems in Nebraska. The Nebraska Department of Transportation is reporting that at least four bridges on the State highway system have washed out or have been damaged and is advising motorists to not travel in northcentral and northeast Nebraska until flood waters recede. Flooding continues to run over multiple roadways. The known bridges are:
· Highway 12 at Niobrara
· Highway 22 just south of Genoa
· Highway 281 just south of Spencer
· Highway 11 just south of Butte
Many bridges will remain closed until bridge inspection can occur.
March 20, 2019
HARTINGTON — Midwestern states were hit with a storm dubbed as a “bombogenesis” storm last Wednesday and Thursday, creating flash floods across the state in one of the worst storms in Nebraska in the past half century. Across the state, bridges have washed away, roads have been closed, and several dams and levees were breached, including the Spencer Dam, which then emptied into the Niobrara River and then the Missouri River. Cedar County Emergency Management Coordinator Kevin Garvin said he has remained very busy since the storm hit. On Wednesday, part of Randolph had to be evacuated due to potential flooding reaching homes. “In Randolph, there is a drainage ditch that runs through town,” said Garvin. “What had happened is we got so much water so quickly that the bank was full and threatened to go over the top. Randolph fire department initiated sandbagging activities, but it was rising faster than they could get sand bags deployed.” Residents were evacuated but were allowed to return to their homes eight or nine hours later. While Randolph was the only town in Cedar County to have some evacuations, there were widespread problems across the county.
March 27, 2019
LAUREL — Laurel city leaders have been considering options for the city auditorium for nearly five years, now. A November, 2014 strategic planning session noted that community surveys showed interest for a community center in Laurel. Currently, City Hall, the Senior Center and the City Auditorium here are all housed in the same building in downtown Laurel. A Civic and Community Center Financing Fund Committee was organized in 2017 to examine the current facility. Through private donations the group was able to raise $10,000, which allowed them to receive a matching Neb. Dept. of Economic Development Civic and Community Center Financing Fund grant.
