As we ring in a new year, we at the Leader wanted to take a moment to remind you of some of the stories that made our headlines in 2023. It was a big year in Callaway with lots of exciting things happening. Last week we reflected back on the first half of 2023, and we conclude our look back in this week’s edition.

A UGUST: For the second time in as many years, severe weather has left Callaway residents facing devastation and a massive cleanup. It was shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, when the storm came blowing in - literally. Widespread tree damage was observed in and near Callaway with an estimated 100 trees uprooted or snapped in half just in Callaway alone. Limbs, branches, and leaves littered every street and yard - some streets were completely impassable. The entire community was without power.

Demolition has begun on the old Callaway swimming pool, and a week from now it is expected to all be gone. That will make way for the town’s new pool, with construction set to begin immediately following demolition. The target completion date for the new pool is May 26, 2024.

The Callaway Chamber hosted a ribbon cutting on Aug. 9, for Precious Angel Daycare, operating in the same location as the former Homegrown Kids. Mary Shaw has owned and operated Precious Angel Daycare in Broken Bow since 2000.

For the second time in as many weeks, the Callaway Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting for a new daycare facility. An open house and ribbon cutting was held on Aug. 27, for 7 Valley Kids Daycare. Thanks to a working partnership with Callaway Public School, 7 Valley Kids is currently serving 14 children while staying within the 12-at-a-time guideline.

JULY: Each year American Legion Post 59 in Callaway conducts a special flag retirement ceremony in conjunction with the July 4th festivities at the ball field. Legion members said they are always pleased with the number of flags they receive for disposal. This year there were just over 60 flags collected by Legion members and in the public collection box at True Value.

Meal prices for the 2023-24 school year were set at the July 10 school board meeting. All meals at Callaway Public School are prepared in-house, which Superintendent Bryon Hanson said allows the district to keep prices more affordable. Breakfast at CPS will be $2.35; the fee for elementary lunch was set at $2.80, and lunch for secondary students will be $2.95.

Callaway’s Pioneer Picnic weekend was filled with fun activities all around town, one of which was a cornhole tournament on main street. Henry’s Bar hosted the tournament which benefits the 2023 4-H CWF (Citizen Washington Focus) trip. The champions at the end of the evening in the 16-team tournament were Jeff Witthuhn and Troy Hultgren. Brad and Blake Patterson earned the runner-up trophy Last month, the U.S. Army hosted a special ceremony at the National Museum of the US Army at Fort Belvoir, in Virginia to announce that Robert D. Booker’s name will now be tied to the Army’s latest armored turreted military vehicle. It was announced that the vehicle, originally known as MPF (Mobile Protected Firepower), will now be known as the M10 Booker. The Callaway native who died a hero in WWII also has the local Legion post and an armory in Omaha named in his honor.

Having the home course advantage helped the Bobcat cross country team bring home a bunch of medals at last week’s Mid-Nebraska Activities Conference (MNAC) cross country meet. Senior Logan Recoy brought home the gold for the boys.

Maggie Birkel and Jazlyn Bechtold are both seniors at CHS and members of the Callaway High School FCCLA chapter. Jazlyn and Maggie hosted a Breast Cancer Awareness 5K on Oct. 21, starting and ending at the Callaway Community Center. All proceeds will go toward medical expenses for Keri Patterson.

Callaway District Hospital & Medical Clinics (CDH) is proud to announce its recent recognition as one of the Top 20 hospitals in the nation for patient satisfaction by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). Awards were presented on Sept. 29 in Kansas City, Missouri as part of the NRHA’s annual convention.

The 2023 annual Custer Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) Member Appreciation Picnic was held on Oct. 1, at the One Box Convention Center in Broken Bow. Ken Pitkin was the winner of the 2023 CEDC Wheel Horse Award in recognition of his many years of service to the Callaway community.

On Friday the 13th, the Anselmo-Merna Coyotes traveled to the nearby South Loup Bobcats to play in the final game of the regular season. With both teams already locking in a spot in the playoffs, it was shaping up to be a great final game before the postseason. The Bobcats were able to easily hold off the Coyotes earning a 56-6 victory to remain unbeaten in the regular season.

Three Callaway men have joined forces to create a new business, as if all three weren’t already busy enough! Abe Hinman, TR Anderson and Tim Rosentrater each have full-time jobs, are involved in the community, and now are co-owners and operators of Lodi Seed Services, LLC.

SEPTEMBER:

The historic Episcopal Church will be open for services on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 11 a.m. Now only held once or twice a year, a service in this beautiful historic building is a rare treat.

Friday the Bobcats football team traveled to Trenton to take on last year’s D2 state champions the Hitchcock County Falcons. The Bobcats defense was able to shut down the Falcons on every play, stopping them from ever reaching the end zone, winning 46-0.

Callaway Public School recognized Patriot Day on Sept. 11, by presenting a Quilt of Valor to local veteran Timothy Wood, who served from May 1997 - May 2001. Wood was stationed at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia in VRC Detachment 3. He served two Mediterranean Tours based out of Bahrain in 1998 and 2000.

Superintendent Bryon Hanson submitted his letter of resignation to the school board at the Sept. 11 meeting, effective June 30, 2024. “The reason I submitted my resignation so early is because I care a lot about this community and this school and I wanted to give our board ample time to get prepared and hopefully be out front on their search for a new candidate,” Hanson explained.

Senior Life Solutions at Callaway District Hospital hosted a Suicide Prevention and Awareness Walk on Sept. 20, at the Callaway Public Schools track. Along with providing suicide prevention support, education and awareness materials, SLS also served free hot dogs, chips, and bottled water. “We had a very nice turnout of walkers and supporters of all ages; approximately 50-60 participants,” said Janel Brestel, SLS Office Patient Coordinator.

D ECEMBER:

The Callaway school board hired the Nebraska Association of School Boards to facilitate the search for a new superintendent, and on Nov. 28 a representative of NASB visited Callaway to host a series of meetings. Throughout the day and evening school staff and administration, and district patrons and staff, were invited to offer their input regarding the district, community, and superintendent position.

Carla Kimball of Callaway has been appointed to serve as the new Executive Director for the Central Nebraska Economic Development District, effective Dec. 1.

NOVEMBER:

The Custer County Foundation recently announced its spring grant recipients and one of those is the Village of Callaway. The goal of the Custer County Foundation is to improve the quality of life in the Custer County area by supporting the needs of the communities. The Village of Callaway was awarded a grant of $10,000 to help with the community’s new aquatic facility.

Callaway District Hospital & Medical Clinics is pleased to announce the appointment of Cassie Penn, MHA as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the organization. Cassie will replace Caleb Poore who served as the Chief Financial Officer at CDH since 2018.

On Nov. 10, the South Loup Bobcats traveled to Dunning to play in a heavily attended semifinal playoff game against the Sandhills-Thedford Knights. It was an epic rematch from the regular season game that ended in a 14-point victory for the Bobcats. The Knights were looking for revenge, and they got it, ending the Bobcats' season in a heartbreaking loss 18-33 to wrap up the 2023 season with a record of 11-1.

The Callaway Good Life Center hosted a special celebration as they invited family members to join their loved ones residing at CGLC for a Thanksgiving feast. The kitchen staff, with a little help from other staff members, spent hours preparing the dinner complete with turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn, dinner rolls…and of course, pie, for the more than 70 guests in attendance.