News

Greetings from the Capitol, where the Legislature is deep into debating the state budget and key policies as we near the session's end. It’s been a busy week, and I want to share some of the highlights.

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Callaway was built in 1890 and has stood empty since the mid-1980s. The Seven Valleys Historical Society is starting to put some money into repairing the 115-year-old landmark, starting with a much-needed new roof. Historical Society members Lorraine Smith and Doris Street said the new roof will cost $7,300 plus. In the process, Smith said the original bell tower was found to be rotted beyond repair and was removed. It may be replaced with a simple cross.

It went right down to the wire, but when the fifth Nebraska high school track and field championship was over Saturday, Class D had a new champion - Callaway! The Bearettes scored 39 points to shade defending champion Elwood for the title. The meet was run in near-perfect weather at North Platte High School.

Welcome to May. About this time each spring we see the peak migration of birds heading north to their nesting grounds. Last year the peak day was April 29, this year to date it was May 3. So far, as I type, the total number of birds that have passed over Dawson and Custer Counties this spring is just short of 23 million! As astounding as that sounds, it is four million fewer than this time last year and only 42% of the birds expected to cross on their way north. On the night of the 3rd, almost seven million birds flew over our county!

For the past few weeks we have been spotlighting each of the 15 Callaway seniors in the Courier, with our special Senior Salutes edition published on May 8. We would like to thank Callaway Public Schools for allowing us permission to use these beautiful tributes that they created for these seniors.

The end of another school year is upon us. A school year is a lot like the Nebraska weather. We definitely survive our tornados and hail storms, but there are so many days (like today) that are just perfect. As I look back on my first year as superintendent of Callaway Public Schools I can’t help but feel a little prideful and very fortunate. My year was focused on two guiding ideas. First, you can make a perfect system with imperfect parts. Secondly, excellence is not an accident.

Callaway Volunteer Fire and Rescue (CVFR) has been awarded The Nebraska EMSC Pediatric Readiness Recognition by the Nebraska Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program. This is a voluntary process offered to all EMS agencies currently licensed within the State of Nebraska. At this time CVFR is one of only nine other agencies in the State of Nebraska who have been awarded this recognition.

Credit for the Quiz Bowl article which was published in the April 22 issue of the Callaway Courier was incorrectly given to Brandy Mason. The article was actually written by Karla Rockwell. We apologize for this error and any confusion it may have created.

What started as a running joke last summer between Pastor Mike Garner, and gospel music star Lauren Talley eventually turned into one of the, if not the greatest musical event Callaway has ever seen. What joke you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked! Pastor Mike and Lauren had been good friends for many years, and this often leads to some good-natured ribbing, although, upon her first appearance in Callaway, she was afforded the opportunity to pay him back, BUT, more on that in a bit.

The Custer County 4-H Public Speaking Contest was held on Monday, April 21 at the 4-H Building in Broken Bow. Six entries were made by Custer County 4-H youth in four divisions. Award donors for the contest included Cindy Pearson in Memory of Bill Pearson, Arnold Rotary, and Eugene Holeman Memorial.