KBRB Radio- Ainsworth, Nebraska

The Brown County Sheriff's Department investigated a two-vehicle accident that occurred on Jan. 24 in Ainsworth.
According to the sheriff's department report, at 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 24 on Third Street near the Osborne Street intersection, a 1996 Nissan sedan, driven by Kaylee Larson, 18, of Ainsworth, was traveling west on Third Street and struck a parked 1995 Chevy G20, owned by Kimberly Bejot of Ainsworth. No injuries were reported. Damage to the Nissan was estimated at $1,500. A damage estimate on the Chevy was not available.

Ainsworth seventh-grade student Emma Good outlasted classmate Miranda Raymond for the first-place trophy in the Ainsworth Middle School oral spelling bee, held Friday in the Learning Center.

Sydney Lukasiewicz and Vanessa Taylor tied for third in the fifth- through eighth-grade bee.

Raven Stewart was the winner of the fourth grade bee, with Natalie Saner Second and Sloan Raymond finishing third.

Leanna Holloway bested six other third-grade spellers for the top spot. Aubree Arens took second and Cheyenne Bunch received the third-place ribbon.

In the second grade bee, the winner was Ben Flynn. Caleb Allen finished a close second as the two went back and forth, spelling word after word correctly before nearly exhausting the second grade word list. Brody Denny finished third in the second grade competition.

Getting their first spelling bee experience, six first-grade students competed Friday, with Moriah Cheatum earning the first place trophy. Caleb Kinkaid finished second and Dakota Stutzman was third.

The students advanced to Friday’s spelling bee by finishing amongst the top of their class in a written spelling test on Wednesday.

Brenda and Roger Magary of Ainsworth are the January winners of one dozen anniversary roses from the Rusty Petal and KBRB Radio.
Each month, all the anniversaries announced on KBRB are entered into a drawing at the end of the month for one dozen anniversary roses, and for January the winners of the anniversary rose form the Rusty Petal and KBRB Radio are Brenda and Roger Magary of Ainsworth.

The Brown County Foundation Fund has announced that $7,000 is being made available for the 2012 Community Project Grants. Applicants may apply for grant funds up to a maximum of $5,000.

The amount available for project grants is significantly higher than in previous years due to the contributions being made to the Endowment Fund. As the Endowment Fund continues to grow, the amount of the grants will continue to grow.

Applicants for 2012 funds may obtain a copy of the guidelines and an application by downloading the form from www.ainsworthlinks.com, writing the Foundation at P.O. Box 323, Ainsworth, NE 69210 or calling Susan Spann. The completed applications are due April 1.

As in previous years, the grants are to assist civic groups and organizations with their volunteer projects. The projects considered for grant funds must contribute to the betterment of life in Brown County.

The Brown County Foundation will award several scholarships to graduating seniors as well as upper class college students and non-traditional students.

A $500 scholarship, established through the Jan O’Hare Memorial Fund, is awarded to an Ainsworth High School graduate currently enrolled in a teacher preparation program, with preference given to the student in his/her final year of preparation. Jan O’Hare served the Ainsworth Community Schools as the gifted education coordinator in McAndrew Elementary School during the 1980s and vocal music instructor in the Ainsworth Middle/High School until her retirement in 2008.

A $500 scholarship will be awarded to an Ainsworth High School graduate or a recipient of a GED Certificate in Brown County. The applicant must be enrolled full-time pursuing an undergraduate degree and must have successfully completed his/her first year of college at a vocational school, community college, college or university.

A $500 scholarship will be awarded to an applicant who lives full-time in Brown County and is enrolled, or intending to enroll, in a vocational school, community college, or college program. Students enrolled in distance learning, computer on-line, and locally offered post-secondary courses are eligible to apply. Students enrolled in high school are not eligible.

Applications for the scholarships may be obtained from Ainsworth High School Counselor Sherry Campbell, Brown County Foundation Scholarship Committee Chairperson Scott Steinhauser (scottbobstein@hotmail.com), or on the Web at www.ainsworthlinks.com/found.html . Applications are to be returned to Scott Steinhauser, 724 N. Maple, Ainsworth, NE 69210 by April 1.

Donor-advised scholarships will also be awarded to 2012 graduates of Ainsworth High School through the Brown County Foundation. Scholarships for 2012 include the following: Adkisson Family, Ainsworth Alumni, Skinner Memorial, Tansy Pitcher Forbes, Roy Aten and Elizabeth Aten , and First National Bank. For more details, seniors should contact Ainsworth High School Counselor Sherry Campbell. Applications are to be returned to the counselor’s office by April 1.

The first election filing deadline is approaching, with incumbent candidates in primary elections required to file for office by Feb. 15. Non-incumbent candidates in primary elections have until March 1 to file for local, county or state office.

The primary election schedule is light locally, with the major races coming at the U.S. Senate and 43^rd District Legislature levels.

Four candidates have filed thus far to replace Deb Fischer as the state senator for District 43. Fischer is being forced out of the seat due to term limits after serving in the Legislature for eight years.

Submitting the paperwork to run for the 43^rd District seat are Jack Anderson of Lakeside, Albert Davis of Hyannis, Ernie Fellows of Mills and Cash Ostrander of Gordon. With four candidates already in the field, the issue will appear on the May 15 Primary Election ballot, with the top two advancing to the Nov. 6 General Election.

Fischer has announced her bid to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, who chose not to seek a third term in the Senate. Fischer, a Republican has not yet formally filed for U.S. Senate, but six other candidates have. Those candidates include Republicans Don Stenberg of Gretna, the current state treasurer; Jon Bruning of Lincoln, the state’s attorney general; and Spencer Zimmerman of Omaha.

Democratic candidates for Senate include Larry Marvin of Fremont, Steven Lustgarten of Omaha and Sherman Yates of Lincoln. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey has hinted at a possible run for the Democratic nomination, but has not yet filed.

In Brown County, the county commissioner seat held by Republican Buddy Small is up for election. Small has re-filed for the seat. No other candidates have filed thus far.

Three seats are up on the Ainsworth Community Schools Board of Education. Those seats belong to Mark Johnson, Angie Davis and Lisa Chohon. Two candidates – Bradley Wilkins and Aaron Jackman – have filed for the seats. If six or fewer candidates file, the school board race will only appear on the General Election ballot.

Two seats are expiring for Ainsworth City Council, those held by Doug Weiss and Kent Taylor. No one has filed yet for City Council. If four or fewer candidates file for the council seats, the race will only appear on the General Election ballot.

Two seats are expiring on the Long Pine City Council, those held by Audrey Vandeventer and Joyce Micheel. Vandeventer has filed to retain her seat on the council.

Two seats are open on the Johnstown Village Board, belonging to Dan West and Jeremiah Dailey. No one has filed yet for those seats.

Greg Wilke has filed to retain his District 5 seat on the Middle Niobrara Natural Resources District Board of Directors.

Other district seats coming open include Roger Brede’s post on the KBR Rural Public Power Board of Directors, and Renee Adkisson’s seat on the Educational Service Unit District 17 Board of Directors.

Two six-year terms on the Ainsworth Airport Board of Directors, positions held by Jerry Allen and Doug Pankowski, are expiring. Neither candidate has filed as of yet.

Brown County will have only one polling location in 2012 – the Ainsworth Conference Center. There will not be a polling location in Long Pine this year, according to County Clerk Janet Huggins.

In Rock County, the county commissioner seat held by Dennis Jilg is expiring. James Schoenberg of Bassett has filed for the position from the Republican Party.

Three seats on the Rock County Public School Board of Education are expiring. Those seats are currently held by Tim Shaw, Wade Hollenbeck and Chad Peterson.

Two Bassett City Council seats and the Bassett mayor position are also expiring. The council seats currently belong to Mitriann Bussinger and Reno Gordon. Gary Williams is the current mayor. Those candidates have until Feb. 15 to re-file for the seats, while newcomers have until March 1.

One six-year term, that belonging currently to James Nelson, is open on the Rock County Airport Authority. Nelson has filed to retain the position. A four-year term on the Airport Authority is also expiring. That seat belonged to the late Bill Austin. No one has filed for that position to date.

The city of Bassett will have an issue on the Primary Election ballot, asking voters whether or not the city of Bassett should prohibit the fluoridation of the city’s water system.

In Keya Paha County, Republican Mike Tuerk has filed to retain his seat as the Keya Paha County West District Commissioner.

“We had a really good showing at Gordon,” Ainsworth coach Mary Rau said. “The speakers who broke finals did very well in that round. Five combined champions and runners-up out of nine events is a successful day in my book. Going to Gordon gives us a peek at our upcoming district competition, so it’s a good place to test the waters. It’s tough on the novices, though, because they competed with varsity level speakers for the first time. We’re halfway through the regular season now, so things are starting to shape up nicely.”
The next competitions for the speech team take the varsity to the Kearney High Invitational on Friday and the junior varsity and novices the West Holt Invitational on Saturday.

Kevin G. Fobroy, age 29, of Ainsworth, charged with criminal mischief between $200 and $500, fined $50 and ordered to pay $197 in restitution.

Garry W. Denny, 67, of Ainsworth, hunting/fishing/trapping without a permit, $200 and $1,000 in liquidation damages.

Monty J. Painter, 32, of Springview, violation of load contents requirements, $100.

Rochelle Marie Johnson, 49, of Drumright, Okla., speeding 6-10 mph over the limit, $25.

Jonathan S. Werner, 31, of Lincoln, second offense driving under the influence, $400 and sentenced to seven days in jail and driver’s license revoked for six months; also charged with first offense refusal to submit to a test, $400 and seven days in jail.

Stanley Leroy Smith, 73, of Torrington, Wyo., speeding 6-10 mph over the limit, $25.

William A. Eginton, 54, of Storm Lake, Iowa, speeding 6-10 mph over the limit, $25.

The Brown County Historical Society announced a new exhibit entitled “Farm to Market” in the south lobby of the First National Bank.

The exhibit showcases the Community Produce Cream Station that was operated in Ainsworth back in the 1940s. It was located on Third Street at the site of the present day barber shop.

The exhibit is divided into two window displays. One features a variety of equipment that was used by Community Produce to determine the butterfat of the cream that the farmers brought in to sell. The price that they were paid depended on the percentage of butterfat in their cream…the higher the fat, the higher the price. There is also equipment on display that was used to “candle” eggs to be that they were good. There is also an oak swivel desk chair and a huge log book that was used to keep track of the daily transactions.

Community Produce was managed by Dale Steele from 1946-48. His brother, Darrel, loaned the Historical Society most of the artifacts for the display.

The second window shows a milk house and a farm kitchen. Highlights of that display are a cream separator, a “ milker”, a T-shaped milk stool, some wooden egg cases, butter molds and two types of butter churns – one with a dasher in a crock and the other with paddles in a jar.

The exhibit, prepared by Darrel and Ruth Ann Steele and Carol Larson, will remain in place for a few months and is open during regular business hours of the Lentz Agency and the Flynn Law Office. The public is invited to stop by and have a look at the nostalgic display that is sure to spark some memories of the good old days.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Department investigated a one-vehicle accident that occurred on Tuesday, Jan. 24, north of Long Pine.

According to the sheriff’s department report, at 4:31 p.m. Tuesday on a private drive 1.5 miles north and a half mile east of Long Pine, a 2008 Chevy pickup, driven by Jacob Olberding, 28, of Stuart, was down a hill pulling an empty trailer when the vehicle began to slide due to icy conditions. Olberding applied the emergency brake, and the truck slid sideways and struck a tree.

* Sheriff's department asks for public assistance in solving theft from school

The Brown County Sheriff's Department is seeking information from the public regarding a theft of cash and several iPods from the Ainsworth Community Schools locker room.
Sometime during the week of Jan. 9, someone stole an undisclosed amount of cash and several iPods from the school locker room. Details of the iPods are available at the sheriff's department.
Anyone with information on who may be responsible for the theft is asked to call the Brown County Sheriff's Department at 402-387-1440 or Crime Stoppers at 402-382-3121. All callers remain anonymous, and information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this, or any other, crime could result in a cash reward of up to $1,000.

The Brown County Hospital Board of Trustees closed on a loan for the CT scanner and hospital addition project during the board’s meeting Jan. 16.

The resolution approved by the board authorized the signing of all closing documents associated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture loan for the project and appoints Hospital Administrator Shannon Sorensen to sign documents on behalf of the Board of Trustees.

Chief Financial Officer Matt Sells said the loan will be serviced strictly from the hospital’s operations budget, and the cost of the loan would be less monthly than the hospital’s current lease on a CT scanner.

Sells said Prochaska & Associates was on site Jan. 4 to review the design documents for the building addition to house the CT scanner. The process is currently on schedule for ground breaking in late March or early April. The USDA loan documentation should be finalized by Feb. 1. Sorensen and Sells credited Brown County Attorney David Streich for helping to finalize the documentation.

In other business during the Jan. 16 meeting, the Board of Trustees accepted the resignation of Dr. Annette Miller. Miller, whose last day with the Brown County Hospital is March 25, has accepted a position with a hospital at Kearney. The board thanked Miller for her years of service to the area.

Director of Nursing Tammy Brown reported Medicare confirmed the hospital’s recent attestation for meeting meaningful use criteria with its electronic health records system, putting the facility in line to receive $350,000 in incentive payments within the next few months, pending review from Medicare.

Sells told the board the 2011 Fiscal Year cost report has been filed with Medicare and Medicaid, and the hospital should receive a payment of $168,000 in qualifying payments for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid patients.

A recent resolution by the Brown County Commissioners was discussed. The resolution pre-approved all hospital capital purchases of equipment or improvements less than $50,000. All hospital purchases of equipment or improvements in excess of $50,000 will need to be taken to the commissioners for approval. Previously, the commissioners had pre-approved all capital improvement purchases less than $10,000.

Sells advised the board that LB 995 was proposed recently in the Nebraska Legislature, which, if approved, would modify current statutes governing the operation of county hospitals.

Contracts for urine specimen collection and breath alcohol testing will be submitted to local employers, including the county, in the next week for approval. This service would be available for employers at their request for pre-employment screening and post-incident testing.

Lisa Fischer reviewed the Retirement Plan Annual Report with the board. In compliance with state statutes, the report must be filed with the state on an annual basis.

The Strategic Quality Support System agreement was reviewed and approved. The Strategic Quality Support System is a computer software system that enhances the hospital’s quality improvement studies, policies and procedures review, and allows interdepartmental communication and tracking of assigned tasks. Sells said part of the recently received SHIP Grant would fully fund the purchase of the software.

The hospital has been engaging in the values collaborative trainings by Joe Tye, CEO of Values Coach Inc. in transforming to a culture of accountable ownership. At the conclusion of the 12 Core Action Values Trainings, Tye is available for on-site trainings and consultation. The board approved having Tye present a one-day session at the hospital.

Registered Nurse Crystal Dailey presented the board with information regarding the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. HCAHPS is a standardized survey of hospital patients’ unique perspectives on hospital care for the purpose of providing the public with comparable information on hospital quality. Brown County Hospital plans to begin contracting with a third party to conduct HCAHPS surveys of patients this year and will also begin reporting results as part of the program.

The board voted to retain Mike Kreycik as president of the Board of Trustees, Leanne Maxwell as secretary, and Mike Schrad as treasurer.

3^rd: Damen Cleal, Arianna Fletcher, Nathaniel Goodloe, Laura Peters, Maikayla Weiss—OID

“This was a tough tournament for us as usual,” Coach Mary Rau said. “The finals were full of speakers from North Platte, Gothenburg and Minden. I was pleased by the team’s effort. We didn’t have many entries break finals, but the majority of the team were in the top 20 in their event. We just need to keep working and polishing our presentations.”

The next competition for the speech team will be in Gordon on Saturday, January 28, with rounds slated to begin at 8:30 a.m.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department investigated a vehicle-deer accident that occurred on Friday, Jan. 20.
According to the sheriff's department report, at 1:35 a.m. on Friday morning on Highway 183 approximately six miles north of the Highway 20 intersection, a 2010 Ford F-350, driven by James Brown, 32, of Pflugerville, Texas, was traveling south when the vehicle struck a deer in the highway.
No persons were injured during the accident. Damage to the Ford was estimated at $1,000.

On Wednesday, the Department of State recommended to President Obama that the presidential permit for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline be denied and, that at this time, the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline be determined not to serve the national interest.

The President concurred with the department’s recommendation, which it indicated was predicated on the fact that the state department does not have sufficient time to obtain the information necessary to assess whether the project, in its current state, is in the national interest.

Since 2008, the department has been conducting a review of TransCanada’s permit application for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline project. As a result of the review process, particularly given the concentration of concerns regarding the proposed route through the Sand Hills area of Nebraska, on Nov. 10, 2011, the department announced it could not make a national interest determination regarding the permit application without additional information.

Specifically, the department called for an assessment of alternative pipeline routes that avoided the uniquely sensitive terrain of the Sand Hills in Nebraska. The department estimated, based on prior projects of similar length and scope, that it could complete the necessary review to make a decision by the first quarter of 2013. In consultations with the State of Nebraska and TransCanada, they agreed with the estimated timeline.

On Dec. 23, 2011, the Congress passed the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011. The Act provided 60 days for the president to determine whether the Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest – which the state department said is an insufficient time period for such a determination.

The department’s denial of the permit application does not preclude any subsequent permit application or applications for similar projects.

The Brown County Hospital received a green light from the Brown County Commissioners Tuesday on a more than $1 million project to purchase a CT scanner and build an addition onto the hospital to house the new scanner.

Hospital Chief Financial Officer Matt Sells said the monthly payments on the rural economic development loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture would actually be lower than what the hospital is currently paying each month to lease a CT scanner.

“The project will be funded completely by the hospital’s operations,” Sells said. “We have an operating margin of 3.7 percent. Our inpatient visits are up 12 percent this year, and our outpatient visits are up 11 percent.”

In an unhappy note, Sells said the Hospital Board of Trustees on Monday received a letter of resignation from Dr. Annette Miller. Sells said Miller accepted a position with a Kearney hospital, and her last day with the Ainsworth facility would be March 25.

“We will be actively recruiting one or two doctors,” Sells said.” I think we can find a replacement, but we will have to have a competitive income package. We will work with Dr. Campbell and figure out whether it will be the clinic or the hospital who employs the next physician.”

In another hospital item, the board approved an agreement with the Brown County Hospital to have CDL drug and alcohol testing performed by the hospital staff. The county will be charged $75 for each breath test, and $50 for urine testing.

In other news during Tuesday’s meeting, following a public hearing, the commissioners approved the one- and six-year roads plan for the county.

Highway Superintendent Lloyd Smith said the county’s plan did not change much from the previous year.

“A majority of the projects are maintenance projects,” Smith said. “It can sometimes be hard to follow the plan when you have flooding issues and other things that come up with Mother Nature.”

Smith said there has been a change at the federal level regarding federal aid projects. Beginning in 2014, Smith said there will no longer be federal aid construction projects.

“Instead of federal aid projects, federal money will be disbursed annually as surface transportation funds,” Smith said. “You will actually have some dollars to work with instead of having to apply for a federal aid project.”

Smith estimated the county could receive in the neighborhood of $50,000 in federal roads funding annually, and $50,000 in federal funding for bridges. He said the money is to be used for capital improvements, not day-to-day maintenance.

With the change, Smith said the state of Nebraska is asking counties to withdraw the current federal aid project applications on file. The board discussed the withdrawal, but balked Tuesday at withdrawing the project, citing a need to gather more information.

Weed Superintendent Doug Mulligan presented the board with his annual weed report. Mulligan said he issued four 10-day notices to landowners to spray their noxious weeds in 2011. Three of the four complied with the request, while one property was sprayed by a contractor, with the cost billed to the landowner.

Landowners are required to monitor their property and spray any noxious weed infestations that are found.

Mulligan said he performed 286 weed inspections during 2011, and only 167 acres on one parcel had to be force sprayed.

His report showed 22,100 of the 776,864 acres in Brown County were infested at some level with leafy spurge, by far the most prevalent noxious weed found in the county.

Mulligan classified 5,200 acres as severely infested, and another 5,475 acres as moderately infested by leafy spurge.

Mulligan’s report indicated 1,848 acres in the county with Canada thistle, 185 acres of purple loosestrife, and 30 acres of knapweeds. There was little or no presence of the other noxious weed species, including musk thistle, plumeless thistle, saltcedar, phragmites and knotweeds.

The commissioners approved a 3.5 percent cost of living pay increase for the weed superintendent, zoning administrator, veterans service officer, custodian and roads department employees.

Commissioner Reagan Wiebelhaus said those employees did not get much in the way of a raise the previous year. The increase becomes effective in February.

Jerry Ehlers, representing the Nebraska Community Improvement Program volunteer committees, asked the county to incorporate its future improvement projects in the NCIP strategic plan. The board agreed to come up with potential projects and discuss them with Ehlers during the board’s Feb. 7 meeting.

Zoning Administrator Dean Jochem expressed his concerns to the board regarding a pending agreement between the Niobrara Council and the National Parks Service on the management of the Niobrara Scenic River.

Jochem said he believed the Parks Service planned to assert more control over the river’s management and circumvent the council and its member counties.

“This agreement would use a 2007 boundary for the scenic river, which includes much more ground than the current 1996 boundary,” Jochem said. “The Parks Service also plans to cut its financial assistance to the Niobrara Council from $131,000 to $50,400.”

The board reviewed and approved a list of four applicants to the Brown County Ambulance Association. Struggling with numbers, the association made a recent push to recruit new members. Shining light on the lack of numbers, the association received four applications for membership, including Heidi O’Day of Johnstown, Audrey Vandeventer of Long Pine, and Michelle Sease and Joshua Titus of Ainsworth. The board approved the four applicants.

The board approved a three-year contract with CPA Michael Pommer to conduct the county’s audit of accounts. The three-year contract is for a total of $22,000.

The board re-appointed Glen Baker to represent the county on the Northeast Nebraska Area Agency on Aging Advisory Board.

The commissioners acknowledged a letter received by Laura Cordes taking issue with solid waste fees being refunded by the county. Cordes said she continued to pay garbage fees for her residence in Ainsworth even after she moved away and the house was vacant.

She asked the county to refund those fees, since she did not create any waste while her house was unoccupied. The county took no action since the house was located in the city of Ainsworth.

Since several Lions Club members do not have a Lions Club shirt, the following options were reviewed: Todd Mundhenke contacted a vender offering a shirt, with Lions Club emblem, for $25-30; Jerry Ehlers had information from Custom Sports of Battle Creek (Glenn Morgan) offering a shirt for $16, plus an estimated cost of $5.00 for the Lions Club emblem (a catalog was available for other shirt options); Phil Fuchs indicated that he would contact Keller’s Custom Embroidery for additional shirt options. The Lions Club provides a shirt for new members, with replacement shirts to be purchased by the member. A survey will be taken to determine how many Lions Club Members would want a replacement shirt for the one they currently have. A decision is be made at the February Lions Club meeting.

Lions Club District 38-I has initiated the 2011-12 Individual Assistance Fund raffle ticket sales. The Individual Assistance Fund is intended to provide financial assistance to an area resident with a medical problem associated with sight, hearing, or diabetes who is unable to afford the cost of medical care. District 38-I will match the Ainsworth Lions Club contribution up to $350. Additional assistance up to $750 is also available from Nebraska Lions Foundation. The board authorized the purchase of the club’s allotment of 200 tickets for $200, with the club conducting a membership drawing, should the club win one of the raffle prizes.

The District 38-I Mid-Winter Conference will be held in Broken Bow on Jan. 27-28. Ehlers indicated he plans to attend the District Governor’s Cabinet Meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. on Jan. 27. Members are invited to ride along.

With the resignation of Gary Kinzie as 1^st Vice-President, a discussion was held regarding options to fill the position. Cobb was approved to be moved up to the position of 1^st Vice-President, thereby vacating the position of 2^nd Vice-President for the balance of the year.

The club approved a contribution of $25 in Chamber Bucks to the Post Prom Committee.

The board also approved the renewal of four subscriptions to the Norfolk Daily News for the Brown County Hospital.

The board approved medical funding up to the maximum allowed by the club for an individual medical hardship request.

The Ainsworth speech team finished third Saturday in the Valentine Ice Breaker, the opening event of the 2012 speech season. Individually, Ainsworth had two winners - Katie Brown in informative speaking and Conner Kozisek in extemporaneous speaking.

“We had a decent first outing,” Ainsworth coach Mary Rau said. “We are hit hard this year when there are out of town basketball games that begin in the middle of the afternoon. Many of this year’s novices are also basketball players and had to miss the first contest. Nathaniel Goodloe, Katie Brown, and Conner Kozisek had a great day, bringing home gold from their first competition. The rest of varsity made a strong showing also, and another week of practice will do wonders for us.
“We will need to be on our toes next week, as we travel to Broken Bow for some very stiff competition. It is a much bigger tournament with strong, experienced teams. But by going against good competition, we make ourselves better.”
The Broken Bow Invitational will begin at the middle/high school at 8 a.m.

Timothy D. Imus, age 45, of Wolbach, charged with being overweight on an axle or group of axles, fined $25.

Keith L. Johnson, 19, of Ainsworth, abandoning or cruelly neglecting an animal, $100.

Justin R. Nelson, 33, of Ainsworth, careless driving, $100; possession of an open alcohol container in a vehicle, $50.

Nolan R. Koehn, 23, of Omaha, possession of an open alcohol container in a vehicle, $50.

Tammy S. Kelly, 50, of Ainsworth, first offense reckless driving, fined $400 and sentenced to six months probation.

Dakota W. Gibson, 17, of Ainsworth, two counts of operating a vehicle without a license, fined $50 for each count; also charged with a curfew violation, $25.

Richard D. Weller, 57, of Long Pine, two counts of being overweight on an axle or group of axles, fined $750 on each count; also charged with a violation of load content requirements, fined $100.

Carma J. Koch, 40, of Bassett, issuing a no-account check, fined $50 and ordered to pay $119 in restitution.

Kelly E. Schmaltz, 50, of Scottsbluff, charged with counts of exceeding width limits and marking and brake violations, fined a total of $170.

Jess P. Paprocki, 38, of Rochester, N.Y., speeding 6-10 mph, $25; no operator’s license, $75; possession of drug paraphernalia, $100; possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, $250; first offense reckless driving, $500; refusal to submit to a preliminary test, $100.

The Ainsworth City Council, by a 3-1 vote Wednesday, finalized the street and sewer improvement project undertaken in the city in 2011, and property owners along the streets that were paved will be assessed for a portion of the paving costs.

Olsson Associates Engineer Jess Hurlbert provided the City Council with the final project costs, and an estimate of the assessment property owners will face.

“The total cost of the project was just over $1.4 million,” Olsson said. “Of that total, the city will be responsible for $1.025 million and property owners will be assessed $376,839.”

While the assessments won’t be finalized until February’s council meeting, Hurlbert said the assessments will fall between $39 and $52.50 per foot, depending on the street.

Hurlbert’s projections show the cost of paving East Second Street at $77.96 per foot, with the property owner responsible for half that cost, or $38.98. For a property owner with 60 feet of street frontage, the assessment would be $2,338.

The paving on Oak Street cost $84.17 per foot. The property owner’s share for a 60-foot lot on that street would cost $2,525.

Paving work on Zero and Harrington streets cost $92.71 per foot. Property owners will pay $46.36 per foot, $2,781 for a home with 60 feet of street frontage.

Osborne Street on the west side of the city cost $95.14 per foot to complete the paving work, with property owners responsible for $2,854 if they have 60 feet of street frontage.

The most expensive street to pave was Woodward Street, at a cost of $105.15 per foot. Property owners with a standard lot of 60 feet will be responsible for $3,154.

The assessments will not be finalized until February’s council meeting. At that time, property owners will be given information on providing their 2010 tax return to the city to see if they qualify as low to moderate income and become eligible for having grant dollars the city received pay for their assessment.

The sewer work, which was not assessed to residents, totaled $452,769, and the city was also responsible for 100 percent of the cost of paving all intersections, which amounted to $196,261. The remaining $753,679 in paving costs is to be split between the city and property owners along the paved streets, which amounts to the $376,839 that property owners will pay.

Property owners, if they do not qualify for grant funds, will have the option of paying the assessment in one lump sum or spreading the assessment out up to 15 years on their property taxes, with interest charged.

Hurlbert said Olsson Associates will perform a walk-through of the entire project at the 11-month mark after the project’s completion.

“There are a couple areas that are not draining properly on East Second Street,” Hurlbert said. “We tried to grind the concrete, but it still isn’t draining. The contractor is probably going to have to address that area.”

More information will be released during the council’s February meeting, when the assessments are finalized by ordinance. The council approved finalizing the project itself by a 3-1 vote, with Councilman Jake Adkisson voting against.

“I think there are some others along those streets who now wish they had the paving done,” Taylor said.

The council briefly discussed undertaking another paving project in a year or two after residents have now seen the quality of the new streets and have a better idea on what the assessment costs would be.

In another streets item during Wednesday’s meeting, the council discussed projects to place on the city’s one-year streets plan.

Streets Foreman Monte Goshorn suggested widening the intersection at Highway 20 and the Meadville Road be placed on the one-year program.

Councilman Doug Weiss that intersection should be a priority project for the city this year.

Councilman Chuck Osborn said, “When Highway 20 is redone by the state in Ainsworth, that intersection will just get torn up and replaced anyway. I think we should wait for the state.”

Weiss agreed it would not be wise to widen the intersection only to have the state come in and tear up the improvement within a two or three-year period.

“We can keep it in the one-year plan and roll it over until the state comes in,” Weiss said.

The council also debated pouring millings onto South Street from Oak Street west to Ulrich Street. The street currently has a gravel surface.

“That street has been on the six-year plan for 10 years,” Goshorn told the council. “We created millings to place on that street.”

Osborn suggested the city try putting millings down on South Street between Oak Street and Highway 7. South Street already has curb and gutter in that stretch.

“We can put South Street from Oak Street to Highway 7 on the one year plan and see how it goes, and put South Street from Highway 7 to Ulrich on the six-year plan,” Osborn said.

The council agreed to pay $120,825 to McNeilus Trucking for the 2012 garbage truck the city purchased and is operating.

Mayor Russ Moody said McNeilus and Freightliner agreed to provide an additional one year of warranty coverage on the truck free of charge after the truck was delivered with improper bolts that caused the rear differential to lock up. The truck was driven from Minnesota to Ainsworth with the differential locked in before the problem was discovered.

The company also agreed to deduct $77 from the total bill, the cost the city paid to Frontier Diesel to replace the bolts and correct the problem.

The council voted to demolish a restroom at East City Park located northeast of the swimming pool.

The restroom is in need of substantial repairs. Moody said that restroom was in no better shape than the one near the football field that was torn down. Osborn said that restroom has been vandalized several times, and with the new restroom near the football field to go along with restrooms at the softball field and at the pool, this one was no longer necessary.

The council appointed Taylor to serve on the LB 840 and Community Development Block Grant Re-Use Program loan default committee.

The consent agenda approved Wednesday included a payment of $30,000 to Hallock Construction for the library addition project, and a payment of $750 to Baker and Associates for architect fees on the library project.

Prior to adjourning, Moody reported the city had a 30-day option to purchase a used generator to operate the seven sanitation lift systems in the city should the city’s power go out for an extended period. The generator's price tag is $5,000.

“The generator is in good shape,” Moody said. “It could also run the lights and some outlets in the conference center in an emergency.”
Adkisson agreed to check into the generator and compare it to other options before the city moves forward with the purchase.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department investigated a one-vehicle accident that occurred on Friday, Jan. 6.
According to the sheriff's department report, at 4:50 p.m. Friday in the alley between the 300 block of Main and Walnut streets, a 2005 Chevy Silverado, driven by Daniel Frick, 38, of Fort Polk, La., was backing from a parking spot and struck a power pole.
No injuries were reported. Damage to the Chevy was estimated at $1,900. The power pole, owned by the Nebraska Public Power District, did not sustain any damage.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department investigated a two-vehicle accident that occurred on Friday, Jan. 6.
According to the sheriff's department report, at 11:10 a.m. on Friday, a 1993 Buick Park Avenue, driven by Danielle Harmon, 22, of Bassett, was backing from a parking space in the 100 block of North Walnut Street and struck a parked 2005 Ford SUV, owned by Bradley Fiala of Ainsworth.
No injuries were reported. Damage to the Buick, owned by Michael Johnson of Minatare, was estimated at $500. The Ford sustained approximately $1,000 damage.

The Ainsworth Community Schools Board of Education reorganized for 2012 Monday, with Mark Johnson elected to again serve as the board’s president.
Dan Dailey was appointed vice president, and Lisa Chohon was named the board’s secretary/treasurer.
Laurie Witte, Dedra Stoner and Superintendent Darrell Peterson were appointed as the recording secretaries for the board’s meetings, which will continue to be held on the second Monday of the month, at 7 p.m. from November through April and at 8 p.m. from May through October. The meetings will be held in the district office.
West Plains Bank, the First National Bank and Union Bank & Trust were approved as depositories for school funds, and the Ainsworth Star-Journal and KBRB Radio were selected as the district’s official publications.
Also as part of the annual reorganization, board members were named to various committees and boards. Chohon, Angie Davis and Jim Arens will serve on the curriculum committee. Dailey, Chohon and Johnson were placed on the transportation, building and grounds committee. Chohon, Davis and Dailey will serve on the activities/athletics committee. Davis, Johnson and Dailey will help prepare the district budget on the finance committee. Scott Erthum, Johnson and Dailey will negotiate with the Ainsworth Education Association by serving on the personnel/negotiation committee. Chohon, Erthum and Arens were named to the policy committee.
Chohon will represent the school on the North Central Development Center Board of Directors, and teacher Roger Lechtenberg will be the school’s representative to the Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce. Lechtenberg is currently the president of the chamber board. Chohon will serve as the district’s representative to the Government Relations Network.
In other items following the board’s reorganization, Elementary Principal Sarah Williams reported Jeannette Rawlings has been hired as the teacher at Little Paws Preschool. Rawlings had been serving as the substitute, so Williams said she is familiar with the program and the students.
Williams said Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills testing was completed in December.
She said the DIBELS tests given in the fall showed 67 percent of kindergarten through sixth-grade students scoring at or above the benchmark levels. The winter test saw 71 percent of those students scoring at or above the benchmark.
Williams said the fall test revealed 18 percent of elementary students scoring well below average. That figure improved to 14 percent in the winter test. The elementary principal said 10 students achieved the progress needed to move out of the lowest scoring category between the fall and winter tests.
Peterson reported the bus the district agreed to lease has arrived, and will be used to transport students from the Johnstown area. Peterson said the bus is equipped with seat belts, and the students will be required to wear a seat belt when riding the bus.
Peterson also reported a television crew with the Nebraska Loves Public Schools program will be in Ainsworth Jan. 18 filming students in the BEAT and Destination Imagination programs.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, Francis Bejot told the board the home south of the school’s west parking lot was for sale. He urged the board to purchase the home so the west parking lot project could be completed.
Involved when the original west lot was constructed, Bejot said the group at that time did not have access to the property to the south.
“I don’t know for sure what they are asking for it, but I would like to see the school buy it, clean it off, and finish that parking lot,” Bejot said.
Peterson said the district was definitely interested in the property, and would look into the price tag.
In action items, the board approved the second reading of a policy regarding the district’s admissions and attendance policy. The state moved the cutoff date for students entering kindergarten. Students must now be five years old by July 31 to enter kindergarten without a waiver, instead of the previous cutoff date of Oct. 15.
The board also approved an option enrollment request by Mary Beel to allow her daughter Hannah to attend kindergarten in Ainsworth for the 2012-13 school year. Peterson said the Beel family, who reside just over the border in Cherry County, has another student already in the Ainsworth system.
The board’s next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 13.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department investigated a vehicle-deer accident that occurred on Saturday, Jan. 7.
According to the sheriff's department report, at 11:56 p.m. Saturday on Highway 7 approximately one-half mile south of Ainsworth, a 2007 Cadillac sedan, driven by Victor McBride, 73, of Ainsworth, was traveling north when the vehicle struck a deer in the roadway.
No persons were injured during the accident. Damage to the Cadillac was estimated at $1,000.

First Vice-President Gary Kinzie requested that his Lions Club membership be transferred from active to at-large status due to family issues that could require his presence in Boyd County for the foreseeable future. The directors approved the request.

Due to Kinzie’s at-large status, a discussion was held regarding the vacant first vice-president position. It was decided that Second Vice-President Lion Cobb should be given his preference as to moving up to first vice-president for the balance of the year and then serve as president next year, or retain his current second vice-president position. If Cobb would prefer to continue in his present position, President Larry Rice indicated he would be willing to serve another year as president. Either way, a new second vice-president would be needed for next year. The directors presented a few names of members to consider for this position next year.

The club received 200 tickets for the Lions District 38-I Individual Assistance Program. In the past, the club has purchased 110 tickets, and then conducted its own drawing, if the club has a winner. It was decided that this issue should be placed on the Jan. 16 membership meeting to decide if the club should purchase the 110 tickets as in the past or the full allotment of 200, or if the club membership wants to begin a campaign to sell the tickets.

Rice submitted his report regarding the preparation for the Lions Club Christmas Party. The Entertainment Committee, Sarah Williams and Pat Jones, also presented a report. Rice donated all costs associated with the meal, as well as the theater tickets for the youth in attendance. Williams and Jones also donated all costs associated with providing entertainment for the evening.

The directors reviewed area residents for possible membership in the Lions Club. Each director indicated the names of prospective members they would contact.

The Lions Club District 38-I Mid-Winter Conference is scheduled for Jan. 27-28 at Broken Bow. Jerry Ehlers indicated he plans to attend the sessions on Saturday, Jan. 28, and invited anyone who would like to go along.

Ehlers indicated that three Lions Club members had not yet paid their 2011-12 dues. It was decided that the sponsoring Lions Club member should contact their respective delinquent Lion to determine their status with the club.

It was reported that Todd Mundhenke is checking on the availability of Lions Club shirts, as well as window stickers for business display. Ehlers indicated he has contacted a sporting goods outlet for a quote on shirts.

Rice reported he has consulted with Ainsworth City Administrator Kristi Thornburg regarding assistance with the planting of trees at the parks and cemeteries this spring.

John Mead has been recommended for membership in the Ainsworth Lions Club by the Lions Club Membership Committee. Rice is the sponsor. The board approved Mead’s membership.

The Brown County Foundation Fund Advisory Committee welcomed 15 new lifetime members and five new annual members during its annual membership drive.
The new members join the existing members in supporting countywide betterment projects now and in the future. Memberships are $250 per person for a lifetime membership and $25 for a yearly membership. Membership fees can be sent to the Brown County Foundation, P.O. Box 323, Ainsworth, NE 69210.
During its January meeting, the Advisory Committee expressed sincere appreciation to the many individuals and businesses who made donations during the December Old Geezers Shoot Out. The Ainsworth High School Alumni Scholarship Fund and the Brown County Foundation Endowment Fund will equally share the $19,603 that was contributed for the event. Because of the Old Geezer fund-raiser and several end-of-year contributions, the Endowment Campaign was successful in reaching its second year goal of $100,000. Plans are currently being made for the 2012 campaign.
The Advisory Committee announced Hayley Williams has accepted a position on the Grant Committee. Application information for the 2012 Brown County Foundation grants and scholarships will be released in the next few weeks. This year, the foundation will be awarding approximately $7,000 in grants due to the generous response to the Endowment Fund Campaign.
The next meeting of the Fund Advisory Committee is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 1 in the NCDC meeting room.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Department investigated a vehicle-deer accident that occurred on Thursday, Jan. 5.
According to the sheriff’s department report, at 6:40 p.m. Thursday on Highway 20 approximately 16 miles west of Ainsworth, a 2008 GMC Sierra, driven by Zachary Ebeling, 25, of Lincoln, was traveling east when the vehicle struck a deer in the roadway.
No persons were injured during the accident. Damage to the GMC was estimated at $2,000.

The Ainsworth FFA program qualified several members for the state leadership contest by placing them in the top two Wednesday during the District Leadership Skills Event at O’Neill.
The Ainsworth FFA program finished second in the district in the Sweep Stakes Awards for its overall performance.
The Junior Parliamentary Procedure team of Miakayla Weiss, Evyn Sharkey, Ellie Carr, Jake Wilkins, Shea Sinsel, Lydia Allen, Arianna Fletcher and Cera Arens were crowned the district champions and advance to the state contest.
The Ainsworth Ag Demonstration Team of Kellie Sholes, Lynde Frew, Whitley McBride, Beau Buechle and Blaine Finney finished second in the district to qualify for state competition.
In the individual skills events, Conner Kozisek finished second in the Job Interview category and advances to state.

Jayden Philben, an eighth-grade student at Ainsworth Middle School, won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee Wednesday. Cole Sundquist, a seventh-grader and last year's bee winner, was the runner-up, and eighth-grade student Kyle Erthum finished third.

Brown County Hospital will have more leeway to make equipment purchases and building improvements following lengthy discussion Tuesday with the Brown County Commissioners.
In the past, the commissioners were required to ratify any equipment purchase or building improvement made by the hospital exceeding $10,000.
County Attorney David Streich said the county board, in 2003, said it didn’t want to micro-manage the hospital, which has its own board of trustees, and implemented the $10,000 figure before the purchase was brought before the commissioners.
By statute, county commissioners must ratify decisions made by hospital boards. Streich said the process could be made simpler by approving the hospital’s annual budget, which includes projected capital expenditures, or increase the $10,000 figure.
“We need our minutes to be consistent by ratifying these purchases and improvements,” Streich said. “The hospital does a great job coming in and telling us about major purchases, but we can make the process easier.”
Hospital Administrator Shannon Sorensen said both items on Tuesday’s agenda for the board to ratify – the purchase of a CT scanner and the purchase of 17 hospital beds – were included in the hospital’s 2011-12 fiscal year budget that was submitted to the commissioners.
Commissioner Buddy Small said he felt the hospital was in good hands, with competent administration and trustees.
“Les Waits attends the hospital board’s meetings and reports to the commissioners,” Small said.
Streich said the county simply needed a procedure in place that complies with state statute.
Small moved to increase the dollar figure to $50,000 before an equipment purchase or building improvement needed to be brought individually to the board if the item was not included in the hospital board’s budget.
That motion failed by a 2-1 vote, with Waits and Commissioner Reagan Wiebelhaus voting against.
“I would rather any equipment or building improvement purchase that costs more than $50,000 come before the board to be ratified, regardless of whether or not it is included in the budget,” Wiebelhaus said. “I would just like to see those purchases scrutinized before they get put in the budget and viewed by the commissioners at the same time we are reviewing numerous budgets.”
The board, by a 2-1 margin with Small against, voted to increase the current threshold from $10,000 to $50,000 before an equipment purchase or building improvement needs specific ratification from the board. That motion removed items in the hospital budget being excluded from the ratification.
Small said he voted against the motion because he did not want to see hospital operations slowed down by the need to report to the commissioners on each purchase.
“If you ever need immediate ratification, call us and we can schedule a special meeting,” Small told Sorensen and Hospital Chief Financial Officer Matt Sells. “Don’t feel like you have to wait until the next board meeting if you need something approved.”
The board then ratified the hospital’s purchase of the CT scanner and 17 hospital beds, as well as the recent purchase of an automatic medication dispenser and the addition to the hospital to house the new CT scanner.
By a 3-0 vote, the board then approved a motion to automatically ratify any equipment purchase or building improvement made by the hospital that does not exceed the $50,000 threshold.
In another hospital related item, the board approved the hospital’s home health contract renewal. Sorensen said no changes were being made to the current contract for home health.
Sorensen reported the hospital completed its attestation period after implementing its electronic health records system, and was now in line to receive a $350,000 incentive payment.
“The total cost to implement the electronic health records program was $389,000, so the incentive payment will cover most of the hospital’s costs,” Sorensen said.
In other business during Tuesday’s meeting, the board handled its annual reorganization procedures. Small was re-elected as the board chairman, with Wiebelhaus named the acting co-chairman.
County depositories include the First National Bank, West Plains Bank, Union Bank & Trust and NPAIT of Lincoln. The Ainsworth Star-Journal and KBRB Radio were named the county’s official outlets for the publication and announcement of county legal notices.
The holiday schedule for county employees will remain the same for the upcoming year. Small asked if the board wanted to switch a couple holiday days to coincide with the city of Ainsworth. If so, county employees would receive Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve off instead of Arbor Day and Columbus Day.
After speaking with several employees, the holiday schedule was left unchanged from previous years.
Board members were named to various outside committee and boards. Small will represent the county on the Niobrara Council, the KBR Solid Waste and Lexington Area Solid Waste committees, the Region IV Behavior Health Board and the Emergency Management Region 24 Board.
Wiebelhaus will represent the county on the North Central Development Center Board of Directors, the Revitalization Committee, the North Central District Health Department Board, and the Countywide Law Enforcement Committee.
Waits will serve on the Area Agency on Aging, the Office of ODD North Star Region IV Board, the Central Nebraska Community Services Board and as the county’s representative at Brown County Hospital Board of Trustees meetings.
In other items during Tuesday’s meeting, the board accepted a determination by the Nebraska Department of Roads that 2010 emergency repairs made to county roads in the wake of flooding will be reimbursed in the amount of $29,611. While slightly less than the $31,000 figure submitted by the county, the board approved the reimbursement from the state.
Following state legislation, the board increased the amount of value a surplus county item must exceed before it has to be advertised from $500 to $2,500.
Streich said the legislation excludes mobile vehicles, which must still be advertised before sold.
Small said it was generally a waste of county time and money to advertise surplus items, as most do not retain much value.
The board accepted the 2010-11 audit report submitted by CPA Michael Pommer, and asked Streich to contact Pommer for a quote to perform the county’s 2011-12 fiscal year audit. Pommer’s audit showed no major deficiencies in the county’s financial practices, other than the standard lack of segregation of duties that is levied against all smaller governmental entities with limited staff.
Discussing further a request by Jim McDermott of Scottsbluff to have a $5 monthly solid waste charge for his cabin at Clear Lake removed by the county, neither Waits nor Wiebelhaus provided a second to Small’s motion to remove the charges. Therefore, no action was taken and the county will continue to assess the $5 charge.
“A year is long enough,” Waits said. “I believe these people should be supporting county services when they have cabins in the county.”
Streich said the test is always how believable it is that people pack their trash in their vehicles and take it with them when they leave the county, or whether that trash ends up in a dumpster somewhere in the county and therefore the county’s responsibility to transport to Lexington Area Solid Waste.
Small said he felt the law was clear regarding vacation properties, and the board had previously removed similar fees.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Jan. 17.

Ainsworth Middle School School finalists have been selected for the annual National Geography Bee. The Bee will be held at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4, in the Learning Center. The public is invited to attend.
Finalists who will have their geography knowledge tested are Miranda Raymond, Emma Good, Ben Allen, Caspar Rehkoph, Jake Nelson, Jacce Beck, Cole Sundquist, Jack Arens, Kyle Erthum and Jayden Philben.
The winner advances to the regional bee.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department investigated a two-vehicle accident that occurred on Thursday, Dec. 29.
According to the sheriff's department report, at 3:13 p.m. Thursday at the Pamida parking lot, a 1991 Ford Explorer, driven by Sandra Burkholder, 63, of Bassett, was pulling into a parking stall and struck a parked 2008 Ford SUV, owned by Douglas Weiss of Ainsworth.
No injuries were reported. Damage to the Weiss Ford was estimated at $1,000. The Burkholder Ford did not sustain any damage.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Department is seeking the public’s assistance in solving a pair of recent crimes.
Sometime during the late evening hours on Sunday, Dec. 25, someone vandalized several mailboxes northeast of Ainsworth in rural Brown County. The mailboxes damaged were located approximately seven miles north of Ainsworth and one to two miles east.
The sheriff’s department is also seeking information related to a residential burglary that occurred sometime between Dec. 11 and Dec. 13.
According to the sheriff’s department, someone broke into an apartment in the 400 block of North Main Street by breaking a window on the back side of the residence. Once inside, several items were stolen, and the home sustained substantial damage.
Anyone with information on either of these crimes is asked to contact the Brown County Sheriff’s Department at 402-387-1440 or call Crime Stoppers at 402-382-3121. All callers remain anonymous, and information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible could result in a cash reward of up to $1,000.

The Brown County Hospital Board of Trustees approved the purchase of 17 new patient beds during the board’s recent meeting.
Hospital Administrator Shannon Sorensen and Director of Nursing Tammy Brown reviewed the history of the hospital’s current bed situation with the board. The quote allows for a payment plan at zero percent interest over 36 months if all 17 beds are purchased at once. The board discussed the features of the beds and the capability of updating the beds in the future, then unanimously approved the purchase.
In other business during the Dec. 19 meeting of the trustees, Sorensen provided the board with an update on the hospital’s progress with the CT scanner and building addition. Sorensen said the purchase order for the CT equipment has been completed, and Prochaska and Associates are approximately half finished with the design development phase. Administration is currently working on completing other paperwork requirements with Three River Telco and the USDA as part of the loan for the addition project.
Sorensen and Chief Financial Officer Matt Sells presented the board with information regarding the hospital’s joint arrangement with West Holt Medical Services of Atkinson for leasing scope equipment and discussed future financing options associated with the lease.
The board approved allowing the administrators to proceed with entering into a capital lease agreement on the scope equipment.
Information regarding the newly designed Employee Wellness Program was presented by Physical Therapy Manager Bryan Doke. He outlined the enrollment criteria, the developed point system, a proposed award system and the plan to seek department involvement with health coaches and team leaders. Doke shared a list of activities that employees could participate in to earn points and discussed how those points would be tracked and redeemed. The program is being implemented to provide incentives for employees to improve their overall health and thus reduce health insurance claims. The board unanimously approved proceeding with the wellness program.
Sorensen also reviewed the current provisions of the hospital’s employee medical discount policy with the board. She proposed to increase the per service date discount and remain at the current per calendar year limit per employee. The board approved the amended medical discount policy for hospital staff.
Sorensen presented information regarding the Ameritas Dental Vision Renewal policy that will take effect Jan. 1, 2012. She briefed the board on the negotiated 5.5 percent increase to the plan and recommended that the hospital renew its coverage. The board approved the dental/vision plan renewal for employees.
Sorensen and Lisa Fischer presented information regarding encoder software and the system interface they are interested in purchasing for the hospital. The software enables the hospital’s coders to have more resources and be more accurate and efficient in coding and billing processes. The quotes were presented for review, and the board approved purchasing the encoder software and performing the interface required to make the software compatible with the hospital’s financial software.
Fischer presented the board with the restated Hartford Plan Document for approval. The plan is a 457(b) deferral plan that has been in place at the hospital since 1986 and was recently restated to be compliant with all required legislative changes to date, as well as other plan design options selected by the facility. The board approved the restated Hartford Plan Document as presented.
Sorensen reported the Rural Regional One Medical Response System is providing funding for the hospital to use a blackboard connect service which allows administration to contact employees in emergency situations. The service is fully funded by Rural Regional One Medical Response System through a grant.
A draft Mission, Vision, and Values Statement was presented for the board’s review and consideration. The draft was developed as a result of the recently initiated Strategic Planning Process with Scott Goodspeed. The board tabled the item.
Brown and Sorensen provided the board with an update on the hospital meeting Stage 1 Meaningful Use. The hospital is nearing the end of its attestation period. Based on system progress reports, Brown and Sorensen said they anticipate meeting all of the requirements by Dec. 31. Once the hospital has successfully completed the attestation period, it can receive an incentive payment from CMS within 6 to 8 weeks. Sorensen and Brown reported the Stage 2 Meaningful Use deadline has been moved back one year.
Todd Mundhenke with the Mundhenke Insurance Agency reviewed the current coverage limits on the hospital’s property, professional liability, general liability, auto liability, health care umbrella and healthcare excess liability, and directors and officers insurance policies with the board.
Recommendations were reviewed, along with the premium schedules for the coverage in place. Further research will be performed concerning the recommendations and a final decision on insurance coverage will be made at a future meeting.
The board held an executive session to perform the administrator’s annual evaluation, as well as to discuss a pending legal issue. No action was taken following the executive session.

The Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce drew its final Holiday Bucks winners, with $500 awarded during the fifth and final week of the contest.
Anyone who shopped during the holiday season in an Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce member business and spent $10 had a chance to win the value of the purchase in holiday bucks, which can be spent in any chamber business.
The final winners, the amount, and the chamber business where the original purchase was made, are:

Ruth Baker, Ainsworth . . . $17.12, Needles-N-Pins
Bridget Kinkaid, Ainsworth . . . $41.80, H & R
Russell Crawford, Ainsworth . . . $25.42, Bomgaars
Sharon Kinke, Springview . . . $ 24.55, The Book Peddler
Becky Younkin, Ainsworth . . . $23.47, The Book Peddler
Suzette Utter, Brewster . . . $10.01, Ainsworth Flowers and Gifts
Darrin Kremer, Ainsworth . . . $12.84, Needles-N-Pins
Mary Bejot, Ainsworth . . . $41.68, Bomgaars
Darlene Cleal, Ainsworth . . . $29.00, H & R
Deb Sanne, Ainsworth . . . $24.01, Pamida
Larry Schelm, Ainsworth . . . $11.08, H & R
Kara Welch, Ainsworth . . . $29.73, Red & White
Food Pantry, Ainsworth . . . $218.47, Alco

Winners can pick up their holiday bucks from the Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce office. The holiday bucks promotion awarded $2,000 to those who shopped Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce member businesses during the holiday season.

Deborah Rachel Fairchild appeared in Brown County District Court Thursday for sentencing following a conviction of criminal attempt/distribution of a controlled substance, a Class IV felony.
Fairchild was sentenced to three years of probation. Conditions of the probation include possessing no controlled substance except by prescription, notifying a physician of past medication abuse, and not possessing any medications other than those filled in the past 60 days.
Fairchild also was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service, pay $148.50 in court costs and pay all probation fees.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Department investigated a one-vehicle accident that occurred on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
According to the sheriff’s department report, sometime during the night of Dec. 21, a 1999 Oldsmobile sedan, driven by Mitchell Spanel, 20, of Ainsworth, was traveling west on County Road 879 near the 428^th Avenue intersection when the vehicle left the roadway and rolled once in the south ditch.
No injuries were reported. Damage to the Oldsmobile, owned by Jeff Carr of Ainsworth, was estimated at $3,000.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Department investigated a one-vehicle accident that occurred on Sunday, Dec. 18.
According to the sheriff’s department report, at 8:50 p.m. Sunday on Highway 7 approximately one-half mile south of Ainsworth, a 2000 Kenworth semi, driven by Kelly Schmaltz, 50, of Scottsbluff, was pulling a trailer stacked with hay. The hay stacked on the trailer shifted, causing the driver to pull over to the side of the road. The load shifted further and caused the semi and the trailer to roll onto its side in the east ditch.
No injuries were reported. Damage to the Kenworth was estimated at $1,000.

Drivers will notice a difference this spring when using the main routes in the county, as the Brown County Commissioners approved the purchase of 87 signs Tuesday to mark road names as part of the new E-911 mapping project.
The signs, purchased from B’s Enterprises at a cost of $8,000, will mark intersections of county roads with Highways 20, 183 and 7, and with Moon Lake, Norden, Meadville and South Pine avenues.
Board members discussed the intersections with Tim Braithwait of B’s Enterprises and Roads Foremen Dewey Jefferis and Kenny Turpin.
Jefferis asked if the county planned to place signs at private drives, since the purpose of the signs is to help emergency personnel.
Commissioner Buddy Small said, in researching what other counties do, only one paid to have signs placed at intersections with private roads or driveways.
Jefferis said Geocom, the company that assigned names to the roads in the county as part of the 911 mapping project, did not assign names to private roads or drives.
Commissioner Reagan Wiebelhaus said the county should begin by putting signs only on the county road intersections with the main routes, then revisit the sign issue again in the spring.
Small said, regardless of whether a road is public or private, it needs a name assigned.
“Anything we don’t get done now can be done in the next round,” Small said.
The $8,000 purchase from B’s Enterprises, which is taken out of the E-911 fund, includes 87 signs, posts and all the hardware needed to attach the signs to the posts.
In other roads items Tuesday, the board directed Turpin to begin documenting the maintenance and repair work performed on each piece of major county road equipment.
“It is poor business when we look at replacing a piece of equipment and we don’t know how much repair work has been done to it in the past,” Small said.
Commissioner Les Waits said he would also like all regular maintenance to be documented and included in the file on each piece of equipment.
The board also discussed the possible purchase of a 48-inch grading bucket for the county’s excavator.
Jefferis said the grading bucket, which does not have teeth like the county’s current scoop, would help with ditch work.
“We can still use our 33-inch bucket if we are digging out trees where we need those teeth to cut through roots,” Jefferis said. “The 48-inch grading bucket will make things look nicer when we are working on the ditches, and we can be more efficient.”
Jefferis said the cost of the 48-inch bucket is $3,410. No action was taken.
The board agreed to declare a 16-foot auto gate as surplus property. Jefferis said he was approached by resident Ken Smith about the possibility of purchasing an auto gate from the county.
“We don’t use anything smaller than 20 feet now for auto gates,” Jefferis said. “We don’t have any use for the old ones we have.”
Jefferis said there was at least one auto gate that was in fair to good shape. Smith said he would be willing to pay up to $500 for an auto gate if the county has one that is suitable.
The board also agreed to declare two light bar units from the sheriff’s department as surplus property. The light bars were then given to the Ainsworth Volunteer Fire Department.
In a final roads item, the board agreed to reimburse county roads employees on the difference between the cost of renewing a driver’s license and renewing a CDL license.
The county requires roads department employees to carry a CDL license, which costs $56.50 to renew as opposed to a $26.50 cost to renew a regular driver’s license. Roads employees will be reimbursed the $30 difference when renewing their CDL license every five years.
Long Pine voters will see a change in their polling place in 2012, as Clerk Janet Huggins told the board she planned to have all Brown County voters cast their ballots in the Ainsworth Conference Center.
Huggins said the Long Pine Community Center was used as the polling place for recent recall and special elections in Long Pine, and the county used Long Pine as a polling site for that precinct’s voters during the 2010 general election.
Jim McDermott of Scottsbluff, who owns a cabin at Clear Lake along with Jerry Leach of Sutton, asked the county to remove the $5 monthly charge for trash at that location.
McDermott said the cabin is used about a half dozen times a year and, since there is no trash pickup at Clear Lake, he takes any trash with him back to Scottsbluff.
Small said the item was supposed to have been placed on Tuesday’s agenda, but it was omitted. Therefore, the board put the item on its Jan. 3 agenda for the board to take action. Small told McDermott he would not be required to make the trip back for that meeting, as the board had the information it needed to make a decision.
The board approved a resolution to transfer $30,290 from its miscellaneous general fund to the capital project fund.
The commissioners entered into executive session with representatives from the Brown County Hospital to discuss a tort claim filing involving the county. No action was taken following the executive session.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Jan. 3.

The Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce Holiday Bucks promotion continues, and Week 4 winners of $375 in chamber bucks have been drawn.
Anyone shopping during the holiday season in an Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce member business and spending $10 or more can fill out a green entry form for a chance to win the value of the purchase in holiday bucks, which can be spent in any chamber business.
Week 4 winners, the amount, and the chamber business where the original purchase was made, are:

Janice Pennington, Ainsworth . . . $9.55 Bomgaars
Linda O'Hare, Ainsworth . . . $43.64 Alco
Lori Blake, Ainsworth . . . 91.39 Red & White
Neal Dover, Ainsworth . . . 90.61 Ampride
Aimy Esterly, Ainsworth . . . $13.63 Pamida
Frank Beel, Johnstown . . . $99.45 H & R Foods
Dan Bennett, Ainsworth . . . $16.05 Needles-N-Pins
Joy Tucker, Ainsworth . . . $10.68 The Book Peddler

Winners can pick up their holiday bucks from the Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce office. The holiday bucks promotion continues through Christmas, with a total of $2,000 being awarded to those who shop Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce member businesses.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department investigated a two-vehicle accident that occurred on Dec. 6.
According to the sheriff's department report, at 11:25 a.m. on Dec. 6 in the alley between the 300 blocks of Main and Walnut streets, a collision occurred between a 1993 Ford F-150 pickup, driven by Sharon Goff, 61, of Ainsworth, and a 1997 GMC, driven by Thomas Miller, 60, of Norfolk.
No injuries were reported. Damage to the Ford was estimated at $1,500. The GMC sustained $2,000 damage.

In addition to fines, each case carries $48 in court costs
Michael J. Slattery, age 55, of Carroll, Iowa, charged with speeding 6-10 mph over the limit, fined $25.
Stacee E. Uebele, 35, of San Antonio, Texas, speeding 11-15 mph, $75.
Celstine Vernetta Hodge, 64, of Rosebud, S.D., speeding 11-15 mph, $75.
Travis V. Pike, 23, of Ainsworth, procuring or selling alcohol to a minor, sentenced to 21 days in jail; also charged with first offense driving under the influence, $400 fine, driver’s license revoked for 60 days, seven days in jail; also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, fined $100.
Wyatt W. Croghan, 15, of Long Pine, speeding 36 mph or more over the limit, $300; misuse of school permit, $25 and permit suspended for 36 days; violation of curfew, $25.
Daniel J. McGowan, 55, of Kearney, speeding 6-10 mph, $25.
Thomas R. Schumacher, 19, of Ainsworth, violation of a stop or yield sign, $25.
Michelle A. Fletcher, 38, of Ainsworth, compulsory education – attendance required, $50.

Ainsworth property owners along the streets that were paved this year should learn by January or February what their assessments will be for the new concrete streets.
City Administrator Kristi Thornburg told the City Council Wednesday she will finish reviewing the final documents and have the assessments figured out within the next month or so.
“The assessments and a one year walk-through will be the final stages of the project,” Thornburg said.
The city received a $340,000 Community Development Block Grant for the project. Those funds will initially be used to pay the assessment for those classified as low to moderate income.
“We will use 2010 income taxes to determine low to moderate income and figure out who is exempt from the assessments with the grant,” the city administrator said.
Property owners on Zero, Osborne, Woodward, Cedar and East Second streets will be asked in the future to bring in their 2010 income tax statements or their homestead exemptions if they believe they could meet the low to moderate income guidelines and be exempt from the assessment.
Once the assessments are finalized, property owners will have 45 days if they plan to pay the assessment in full.
If not paying in full, the assessment is placed on the property owner’s taxes for a 15-year period, with interest charged.
“They will be able to pay it off early if they want instead of having it spread over the entire 15 years,” Thornburg said.
Property owners will be notified when the assessments are calculated, and will then have the opportunity to bring in their income tax statements to the city office. That process, Thornburg said, will likely begin in either January or February.
No official action was taken by the City Council following the public hearing.
In other business during Wednesday’s meeting, a public hearing was held regarding the recent review of the LB 840 program by the Citizens Advisory Review Committee.
Jerry Ehlers, a member of the review committee, said the committee’s goal is to ensure that the LB 840 program is being utilized properly.
“The committee had a long discussion of the procedures that occur after a loan is approved from LB 840,” Ehlers said. “The committee wants to make sure the loans are getting finalized properly so nothing falls through the cracks.”
North Central Development Center Executive Director Kristin Olson said a checklist was being created to account for site visits, follow-ups, and other items that need to be accomplished following the closing of a loan.
Councilman Doug Weiss asked when that checklist would be completed. Ehlers said the checklist should be finished by the time the next LB 840 loan application is received.
Ehlers said a local businessman met with the committee with concerns that an LB 840 loan was creating competition for his business.
“We researched other communities with LB 840 to see if there were any restrictions on loans that created competition,” Ehlers said. “None of the communities had that kind of provision. The committee decided that type of provision would defeat the purpose of an economic development plan.”
Councilman Chuck Osborn said he didn’t know how the LB 840 program would be able to bring any business into the city that didn’t directly compete in some way with another business.
The council approved the recommendations made by the Citizens Advisory Review Committee.
The council discussed the recent delivery of the city’s new garbage truck.
Streets Foreman Monte Goshorn said the truck is running well now, but when the city received the truck the rear differential was locked in due to the manufacturer using the wrong size bolt.
“It was driven with the rear differential locked in all the way from Minnesota,” Goshorn said.
Mayor Russ Moody said not only should the city receive an extended warranty for the rear area of the truck where the problem occurred, but the city should be reimbursed for the repair bill from Frontier Diesel to correct the problem.
Thornburg said she had not yet received a response from the manufacturer of the truck regarding an extended warranty being provided following the manufacturer’s mistake.
The council agreed to withhold payment for the $120,000 truck until the issue is resolved.
Goshorn said the truck, which is much larger than the city’s previous garbage unit, is fitting into the tighter areas the city crew was worried about.
He said the garbage route can be picked up all in one trip with the new 20-yard box as opposed to the two trips it took with the 12-yard box.
“We have been picking up cardboard at 10 different locations,” Goshorn said. “We make two trips to the transfer station once a week because we have that extra cardboard trip. Otherwise, we are getting it done in one trip.”
KBR Solid Waste Committee Board member Bruce Papstein said the facility was taking in at least a bale of cardboard per week now that the city was picking up the cardboard from additional businesses.
“That is more than we anticipated,” Papstein said.
The cardboard can not only be recycled and sold, but it also keeps weight and space out of the garbage generated in the area that is otherwise hauled to Lexington.
Papstein said the addition project at the waste transfer station was nearly complete, and will allow the station to store plastics, aluminum and other recyclable material. The station can then check the markets and sell the recyclable material when the prices are favorable.
Papstein presented the council with an interlocal agreement for the KBR Solid Waste Transfer Station. The city, Brown County, the city of Long Pine and the village of Johnstown have the interlocal agreement to operate and share the costs of the waste transfer station.
Papstein said the agreement was altered slightly, with the cost allocation for each entity based on the most current Census figures.
“We will get an estimate of the population of each entity every five years and readjust the allocations,” Papstein said.
Using the 2010 Census figures, the allocation in the new interlocal agreement changed slightly, with the city of Ainsworth and village of Johnstown’s rates increasing slightly, Brown County’s allocation decreasing slightly, and Long Pine’s allocation remaining the same.
Ainsworth is responsible for 54.9 percent of the total cost of the transfer station. Brown County pays 33.3 percent of the cost, Long Pine 9.7 percent and Johnstown 2.1 percent.
The interlocal agreement approved by the council takes effect Jan. 1.
The council tabled a request to purchase a load of red dirt for the south softball field at East City Park. The council requested members of the E&L baseball and softball program to present a plan for the fields at East City Park to the council before the $5,000 annually allocated for field improvements is spent.
Technologent recently made its final loan payment to the city’s Community Development Block Grant re-use loan program, fulfilling its terms and obligations.
By fulfilling the terms of the loan agreement, the ownership of the Main Street building housing the business was conveyed to Technologent.
Making its annual appointments, the council tabbed Papstein as the city’s representative to the KBR Solid Waste Committee, with Osborn the alternate. Weiss was appointed as the city’s representative on the North Central Development Center Board of Directors, with Councilman Jake Adkisson named the alternate.
Dr. Melvin Campbell was named the city’s physician; Rod Palmer the city attorney; David Streich the prosecuting attorney; Papstein the chief of police; Goshorn the street foreman; Thornburg the city administrator, clerk and treasurer; and Shane Jones the water and sewer superintendent.
West Plains Bank, the First National Bank, Union Bank & Trust, and the Nebraska Public Agency Investment Trust were appointed as depositories for city funds. KBRB Radio and the Ainsworth Star-Journal were named the city’s official publications.
Weiss was appointed to the city’s parks and cemeteries board, Councilman Kent Taylor to the water and sewer board, and Osborn and Adkisson to the sanitation and sewer board.
The consent agenda approved Wednesday included a payment of $29,700 to Hallock Construction for the library addition project, a payment of $500 to Bake and Associates for architect fees on the library project, and the mayor’s reappointment of Shirley Crone and Ehlers to three-year terms on the city’s Board of Adjustment.
The council’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 11.

The Ainsworth Community Schools Board of Education approved the two-year lease of a 2011 Chevy bus on Monday, replacing a rural route bus that can no longer be used to transport students.
Superintendent Darrell Peterson said the lease option was the only way to get a bus to the school in a timely manner.
“There are not many good, used buses out there,” Peterson told the board. “There also are not many new buses in stock. It could take six months if we order a new bus. This option gets us a bus in a short amount of time.”
The two-year lease will cost the school $1,116 per month, for a total of $26,784 for the duration of the lease. At the end of the lease period, Peterson said the district cannot use the full lease amount paid toward the purchase of the bus.
Board member Jim Arens said, if the value of the bus does not decline at the end of the lease term, it could cost the district more to lease the bus, then purchase it, then it would to buy a brand new bus.
“If we can’t buy out the lease at the end of the two years, I am inclined to go with buying a bus,” Arens said. “I think that makes more sense.”
Board members Mark Johnson and Lisa Chohon said they were in favor of the lease option.
“One of the last buses we bought was a lemon,” Chohon said. “It caused us a lot of problems.”
Johnson said the district could only receive about $1,500 as trade-in value for the bus it can no longer use to transport students.
“For the time frame we have, leasing looks like the best option,” Johnson said.
By a 5-1 vote, with Arens against, the board opted to lease the 2011 Chevy Collins bus for two years.
The terms of the lease for the 28-passenger bus with 5,193 miles include the district not exceeding 15,000 miles per year. Any mileage used above 15,000 will cost the district 39 cents per mile.
Peterson said, in looking at the numbers, the district would likely not surpass 15,000 miles a year on the bus, which is used to transport students to and from school on one of the district’s rural routes.
In other business during Monday’s meeting, the board gave Peterson the go-ahead to apply for a grant to build a wind turbine at the school for use as both an educational tool and to generate a small amount of the power needed to run the district’s facilities.
“A $5,000 grant is available,” Peterson said. “We would be looking at a total cost of about $20,000.”
Peterson said the main purpose of having the turbine is to educate students. He said he anticipated the science and industrial technology programs could utilize the turbine.
Board member Scott Erthum asked about the cost to maintain the turbine once it is constructed.
“I know the NPPD wind turbines are expensive to maintain,” Erthum said.
Arens said West Holt Public Schools have constructed a similar turbine through this program.
“The turbine in Atkinson is a different style,” Arens said. “There is still some maintenance, but not as much.”
Johnson said, with a crew in Ainsworth that maintains the NPPD turbines, those workers may be willing to help out the district and maintain its turbine.
Peterson said the board can make a final decision on the project after it learns whether or not the school receives the $5,000 grant.
During his report, Peterson congratulated Elementary Principal Sarah Williams for being named the 2012 Nebraska Elementary Distinguished Principal of the Year.
Williams will represent Nebraska during the National Distinguished Principal Program in October 2012 at Washington, D.C.
Peterson said Mark Kovar was hired as the middle school boys basketball coach. Brian Delimont served as the coach in 2010-11, and is also the boys varsity co-head coach.
Peterson said having Kovar serve as the middle school coach will alleviate any scheduling problems the district faced when the middle school and varsity teams played on the same night.
Chuck Osborn and Joe Finley asked to be on Monday’s agenda to discuss the football program.
Osborn said he has been visiting with Peterson about the school’s search for a new varsity football coach.
“I think it is vital to get someone in place sooner rather than waiting until July,” Osborn said. “I know my son and others would like some direction in the weight room.”
Osborn said Wade Alberts, the middle school football coach, would be a perfect fit for the varsity position.
“Wade is from here, and he has a resume that is a mile long,” Osborn said. “In the past, our football program has been used as a stepping stone for coaches. Wade wants to be here. I think we should give him a chance.”
Both Osborn and Finley thanked current varsity coach Jeff Konkoleski for his work with the program, especially his efforts in raising the funds needed to purchase new, safer helmets for the players.
“I know my son loved playing for these coaches,” Finley said. “Jeff has gotten the best out of my son as a student. It is just time for something different. Wade is here, and the kids really look up to him.”
Peterson said the district will begin advertising soon for a varsity football coach.
“There is going to be a change,” Peterson said. “We are putting out ads next week. If we get a suitable candidate, we will hire sooner. If we have to wait and look for a teacher, the hire would be later. There is not a teaching position open currently.”
Johnson said the board will see who applies for the position and will go from there.
The board accepted the 2010-11 audit report, which showed no major problems.
“We had similar findings again this year,” Peterson said. “All small schools get hit with a lack of segregation of duties.”
Peterson said the district made strides with the cash management of its activity account.
“The management of that account was not listed as a deficiency this year,” the superintendent said.
In other action items, the board approved the second reading of a policy stiffening the requirements for being named to the district’s honor roll and roll of excellence.
The board approved the first reading of a policy relating to kindergarten admission. Adopted by the Nebraska Legislature, kindergarten students must be five years old by July 31 instead of Oct. 15 to be enrolled as a kindergarten students.
Peterson said there are waivers available if a student meets testing requirements. He said the Educational Service Unit has agreed to conduct that testing at no extra charge to the district.
“This policy takes into account the action taken by the Legislature,” the superintendent said. “You may see a little smaller kindergarten class next year because of it.”
Following an executive session, the board approved a contract for Peterson for the 2012-13 school year.

The National Weather Service monitored a line of powerful thunderstorms that developed Thursday evening across eastern Cherry, Brown, Keya Paha, Rock, Boyd and western Holt counties.
The storms developed into intense cells before slowly migrating to the southeast through the evening. The strongest and most severe storms developed over eastern Cherry, Brown, Keya Paha, Blaine and Rock counties.
Numerous tornadoes were reported from law enforcement and trained spotters in the Wood Lake and Johnstown areas. A number of funnel clouds were also spotted, and hail the size of tennis balls was reported in addition to wind gusts of 60 mph.
The first tornado was reported one mile west of Wood Lake at 7:49 p.m. by a trained spotter. A spotter located a tornado producing debris one mile south of Wood Lake at 8 p.m. At the same time, hail an inch in diameter was reported northeast of Johnstown. At 8:15 p.m., a funnel cloud was reported three miles southwest of Johnstown and was accompanied by hail 1-3/4 inches in diameter. At 8:22 p.m., a trained spotter reported a tornado briefly touching down five miles north of Johnstown. At the same time, hail an inch in diameter was reported six miles northwest of Bassett. At 8:35 p.m., hail up to 2-3/4 inches in diameter was reported 29 miles south of Valentine. At 8:54 p.m., a trained spotter reported a tornado on the ground 10 miles south of Johnstown. Fire department personnel reported a second tornado at 9:02 p.m. 10 miles south and one mile east of Johnstown. Even as the storm finally moved to the southeast and weakened, hail up to 1-1/4 inch in diameter was reported just east of Purdum at 10:02 p.m., and a funnel cloud was sighted at 10:22 p.m. five miles southeast of Purdum by a trained spotter.
A second line of thunderstorms rolled through the area early Friday morning, hitting the Ainsworth area at approximately 2:30 a.m. Rain ranged from 1.5 inches north of Ainsworth to more than 3 inches in areas south of Ainsworth, Johnstown and Wood Lake.

* Brown County Sheriff’s Office Weekly Summary

Jan. 22

Report of a possible suicide attempt by a juvenile in Ainsworth area.
Traffic complaint at the Johnstown Fairgrounds.

Jan. 23

Report of possible child neglect in Ainsworth.
Report of an attempted suicide in Ainsworth. The subject was transferred to Faith Regional in Norfolk.
Bro Co Ambulance Service transported an individual from a rural Ainsworth residence to the Brown County Hospital.

Jan. 24

Report of a two-vehicle accident without injury on North Wilson St. Ainsworth.
Traffic control for cattle crossing Hwy 20 East of Ainsworth.
Report of one-vehicle accident in the canyon North of Long Pine.
Report of possible child abuse in Ainsworth.

Jan. 25

Report of possible stolen guns parts being sold in the Ainsworth area.
Report of possible theft of trailer in Ainsworth.
Report of dog at large on 5^th & Walnut St. Ainsworth.
Report of harassing phone calls in Long Pine.
Report of possible child neglect in Ainsworth.
Released a subject from the Brown County Jail on bond.

Jan. 26

Report of sexual harassment on East 4^th St. Ainsworth.
Assisted HHS with investigation in Ainsworth.
The Bro Co Ambulance Service transported an individual from a residence to the Brown County Hospital.
Released a subject from the Brown County Jail as their sentence was complete.

Jan. 27

Report of possible juvenile assault in Ainsworth.

Jan. 28

Performed traffic stop where a subject was arrested for Driving under the Influence, Driving under Revocation, and possession of stolen property. Subject was booked into the Brown County Jail.
Performed traffic stop where a subject was arrested for Driving under the Influence, Minor in Possession, & Driving under suspension and booked into the Brown County Jail. This subject was later released on bond.
Report of suspicious activity on North Walnut St. Ainsworth.
Report of traffic complaint on North Ash St. Ainsworth.
Report of suspicious activity on 3^rd St. Ainsworth.
Report of stolen vehicle on North Elm St. Ainsworth.
Report of items lying in the roadways of 3^rd & Oak to Hwy 20. Owner was located and the items were returned.
Report of suspicious activity at a business on Main St. Ainsworth.
Report of a gunshot victim from Meadville taken to the Brown Co Hospital by private party.

Weekly Summary
Calls for Service: 24
Citations issued: 3
Crime Stopper calls: 0
Defect Cards issued: 5
Handguns Applied for: 5
911 Calls received: 4
Paper Service served: 10
Phone Calls: 142
Titles Inspected: 11
Verbal & Written Warnings issued: 2

December Summary
11 - Citations were issued.
32 - Warnings were issued. (These include written and verbal.)
34 - Fix-it tickets were issued.
104 - Incidents Reports were taken.
769 - Phone calls were received.
34 - 911 emergency calls received.
0 - Crime Stopper call received.
355 - Walk-ins were assisted.
18 - Titles were inspected.
12 - Paper Service was served.
12 – Handgun permits were issued.
3 - Arrests

2011Year End Totals

Accidents Investigated – 100
Animal Case Files - 10
Board of Health Investigations - 0
Brown County Arrests – 58
Burglaries Investigated - 6
Citations - 312
Court Commitments – 17
Crime Stopper Calls – 4
Criminal Case Investigations - 45
Dog Complaints – 173
Domestic Assault Cases – 15
Drug Cases Investigated - 22
Fix it Tickets - 211
Handgun Permits Issued – 97
Incident Reports – 1,479
Incoming Phone Calls – 9,996
Inmates Housed in Brown County – 102
Inmates Held for Other Agencies - 12
Inmates housed for NE State Patrol Arrests – 10
Juvenile Cases – 21
Mental Health Cases - 5
911 Calls - 374
Papers Served – 388
Sex Crimes Investigated – 5
Thefts Investigated – 26
Title Inspections Performed – 293
Total Traffic Stops – 1,084
Traffic Cases (including Driving Under Suspension, Driving Under the Influence) – 44
Vandalism Cases Investigated - 26
Window Service – 3,997
Written Warnings - 522