Seats open on school board, city council

LAUREL — One spot will be up for grabs on the Laurel City Council as one man files for reelection and another one declines.

Mark Koch did not file to retain his seat while Jeff Erwin wants another term.

“I’ve done my time. It’s time for somebody else to take a turn,” Koch said, adding that other commitments have taken priority for him.

Koch was appointed to the City Council following a vacancy and also was elected to serve a full term.

He said Laurel has a lot to be proud of with the new fire hall and community center being built, and changes to downtown. It was a special honor to be recognized by the Nebraska Diplomats as the Nebraska Community of the Year for 2021.

“It takes good people to do all that and I’m just one of the pieces of the puzzle,” Koch said.

In the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School Board race, all five incumbents have filed in an election that will reduce the number of board members by one. Jay Hall, Scott L. Taylor, Angela Johnson, Grant Settje and Daniel Kuhlman have filed for re-election.

The LCC School Board will be reduced from eight members to seven with the general election results with only four spots elected for the new term.

Taylor said although serving on the School Board is a big commitment it’s worth the time.

“These kids are our future,” he said. “If we don’t get the kids the education they need, we don’t get them to come back and we don’t show them what the community has to offer and our town just keeps getting smaller.”

While the incumbent deadline passed Tuesday, anyone new filing for office has until March 1 to do so.

Cedar County Assessor Jeff Curry of Laurel has decided not to run and a long-time employee has filed to take his place.

Curry was appointed in May 2021 after long-time assessor Don Hoesing retired. At the time, Curry had recently started a business with his wife that specializes in valuations but he put that on the back burner to finish Hoesing’s term. Now he’s looking forward to returning to that work.

“If anything surprised me, it’s that the office runs very smooth and very quiet,” Curry said. “It’s not the most popular office in the courthouse but the folks in Cedar County are so nice. It’s been a great experience and I can’t believe how nice taxpayers have been to us in working with us.”

Curry said he fully endorses Becky Dresden who has filed to become the next assessor.

Dresden has been working at the assessor’s office for 30 years and has served as deputy county assessor since 2012. Even though she’s been involved in all aspects of the assessor’s office, she’s sure she has more to learn.

“It’s fun and it’s challenging,” Dresden said. “You see a lot of people and it’s something different every day.”

So far, there are only two contested county races - both for county commissioner seats.

Kelly Hammer of Coleridge filed for the District 3 spot last week currently held by Dave McGregor. McGregor filed for re-election last month. District 3 covers the middle eastern part of the county and all of Hartington.

Hammer also filed to retain his Coleridge Village Board seat which will be decided in the general election.

Commissioner Chris Tramp of Crofton also faces opposition. He will face off against Dick Donner of Hartington for his District 1 seat. The district covers the northern part of the county.