SALVAGE FIRE - The O'Neill Fire Department responded to cars on fire in the Husker Used Trucks and Parts salvage yard on Sunday at about 1:30 p.m. The fire department extinguished the blaze and was on scene for about an hour.

Fire Reported At Husker Salvage Yard

Curves Hold Chamber Ribbon Cutting

RIBBON CUTTING -The O'Neill Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting at Curves in O'Neill last Friday. The business was recently purchased by Jannan Sobotka.

Garden Fresh Vegetables To Move Forward With Indoor Farmer's Market

Garden Fresh Vegetables is pleased to announce their plans to move forward with an indoor Farmer’s Market to provide daily access to locally grown/produced food in the Lincoln/Omaha area. The award of grant funding, in partnership with a grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, administered by the Nebraska Rural Development Commission will help make this possible. Since nothing tastes better than fresh, this project will strengthen liaison between rural Nebraska and our metropolitan neighbors, by providing and offering fresh products and promoting sustainable agriculture, benefitting all. It’s not that you can’t cook like Grandma, you can’t find the freshest ingredients that Grandma used. Now, you will be able to, year-round. Garden Fresh Vegetables is a 10 acre greenhouse located on Highway 281 just north of O’Neill. This location provides the facility with benefits of the northern and southern growing regions, without the lack of light in the north and without the extreme insect and heat problems of the south. Garden Fresh Vegetables uses hydroponics to produce tomatoes and cucumbers. All produce is ripened naturally, not by artificial or chemical means. Garden Fresh prides itself in producing consistent, high-quality fresh produce. They are an equal opportunity employer, employing more than 65 employees during peak production.

Leprechaun Wrestling To Hold Triangular

The O'Neill Leprechaun wrestling club will be holding a triangular this coming Tuesday, Feb. 9 with clubs from Valentine and Norfolk. The triangular will be held at the O'Neill Elementary school with a start time of 6:00 p.m.

Community Successes And Scholarship Program Announced At HCD Dinner

TIM O'BRIEN, business development manager for the Department of Economic Development, gave the keynote address at HCED dinner held at the Atkinson Community Center.
A crowd of 80 people were on hand for the second annual Holt County Economic Development Expanding Business – Building Community Event on Friday, Jan. 29 at the Atkinson Community Center. Displays from each of the communities were on hand for attendees to view. Jon Schmaderer served as the emcee for the event. Highlights from HCED’s activities the past year were shared. Holt County Economic Development met one-on-one with 62 businesses throughout the year. Thirty-four businesses contacted HCED for technical assistance on a variety of issues. Schamderer announced the new entrepreneur/business coaching program that HCED will launch over the next 60 days. The program will work more intensely with existing Holt County businesses directly to help them grow their business and transition their business to the next generation. The schedule for Class VI (six) of the HomeTown Leadership Institute was revealed. Applications are currently being accepted for the program. With the class beginning March 26. A scholarship program, established by Mary Linhart, was announced. With nearly one million dollars of original investment placed into an endowment, income from this endowment will be used on an annual basis to provide local students from the Holt, Boyd and western Knox County areas with unique scholarship opportunities. Beginning in the Spring of 2010, the scholarship committee will awarded their first round of scholarships to qualified applicants. Scholarship recipients will be selected on a host of criteria, with their character being the overarching guidepost. As Mary Linhart lived a principled, well-disciplined life, it is the committee’s goal to provide scholarships that are consistent with her philosophies. More importantly, it was also clear that Mary’s goal was to provide opportunities for our local areas. Emphasis will also be given on those students who desire to return to north central Nebraska to pursue their career. Tim O’Brien, business development manager for the Department of Economic Development, gave the keynote address. He praised Holt County for their aggressive business retention and expansion program and also complimented Holt County for their cooperative efforts and the community pride that is evident. O’Brien also spoke emerging opportunities and trends that Holt County can take advantage of, including people recruitment and new kinds of jobs that would be a good fit in Holt County. Holt County Economic Development was established in 2007 through an interlocal with each community being represented on the board of directors. The mission of HCED is to enhance and promote economic vitality and a strong sense of community for existing and future businesses in Holt County.

Dr. Jay Allison Serves At Earthquake Epicenter

Dr. Jay Allison
Dr. Jay Allison of O’Neill is treating earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He flew out of Miami and into the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, Jan. 20. After an 11-hour bus ride he arrived in downtown Port-au-Prince and began serving with Heart to Heart International, a sister organization to Docs Who Care which provides weekend ER coverage for Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital in O’Neill. Dr. Allison’s team joined a dozen other groups seeing long lines of patients in the national soccer stadium. “The stadium is south of the Haitian Palace about 10 blocks,” he said. “Between the two locations, an entire nursing school collapsed burying who knows how many students. The smell is close to unbearable.” That first morning was the most difficult. “The first patient I saw was a one-year-old little girl with a fractured arm and leg,” he remembered. “Because her injuries had not been treated in time, she will never have fully functioning limbs again. Ladies bring in babies they have found in the rubble and are caring for. They often do not know who the parents are or if they are alive. It’s heartbreaking.” The International Medical Corps has a MASH unit set up in a hospital near the stadium. “It’s unbelievable,” he said. “There are six operating rooms and hundreds of beds with patients - children and adults with one and sometimes two amputations. The wounds are grisly and infected at this point.” Initially the medical team was seeing life-threatening injuries, but as the week went on the international medical effort caught up with injuries in Port-au-Prince and patient visits shifted to changing dressings on wounds and treating water borne illnesses like diarrhea. At this point, Dr. Allison went with part of the Heart to Heart team to the quake’s epicenter in the city of Leogane where 90 percent of the buildings collapsed. “We joined 50 other relief groups in Leogane,” said Dr. Allison who has worked side by side with volunteers from Argentina, Cuba and Israel. “Everyone is working together so well, it’s just amazing.”In Leogane, the Heart to Heart team saw patients in the remains of a Nazarene church. Their clinic paused Sunday morning for the church service. “Faith is playing a big role in helping people through this incredibly difficult time many people are looking to Jesus,” Dr. Allison said. “Two hundred people came for the service. Their singing was beautiful in the midst of all this suffering. “The pastor asked me to stand up and share. It was hard to know what to say. A translator helped me tell them, ‘Christ’s light shines brightest in the darkest times.’” The team spent two days in Leogane and returned to Port-au-Prince Sunday night. The next step in treating the wounded is reaching people in rural areas. “It’s too late to sew up their wounds,” Dr. Allison explained. “They are already fighting infections so we are cleaning and bandaging wounds to allow them to drain and slowly heal.” As a safety measure, the Heart to Heart team returns to a mission compound on the edge of Port-au-Prince before dark but Dr. Allison said he’s never felt threatened. “There are UN troops everywhere with guns, and military helicopters are often overhead,” he explained. “While security is needed because sometimes we are in areas where people are desperate for medical care, the biggest safety issue is traveling through the erratic traffic in the city.” The team travels in the back of a small pickup. Many of the translators and drivers for the relief volunteers are former engineering and medical students who, months away from graduating, now have no colleges to return to and no degrees to show for their years of study. While fuel for transportation was scarce when Dr. Allison arrived in Haiti – his team brought 20 gallons of diesel into the country with them – fuel is now available and clean water is becoming available. “We see the massive food and water programs in action,” he said. “The US Army brought in pumps that move 6,000 gallons of water a day which helps, but even today there were people protesting near the stadium saying, ‘Give us food! Give us water!’” Dr. Allison has “enjoyed” his first MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) donated by Sergeant Ken Stenka at the O’Neill National Guard Armory. “It really wasn’t too bad,” he chuckled. At the time Dr. Allison entered Haiti, volunteers had to pack-in their food, water, a tent to sleep in, medical supplies and personal items. “I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to my trip through prayer and giving toward the medicines and supplies I brought,” Dr. Allison said. “Special thanks to my co-workers for covering for me while I am away. Please pray for healing here, physical and mental. Most people are grieving a personal loss and dealing with post traumatic stress syndrome.” Dr. Allison says progress is slow but the difference can be seen even within the week he’s been in Haiti. “These people are very resilient,” he said. “Life goes on here. It will take years to recover but they are bravely taking the first steps.” Dr. Allison caught a military flight back to the U.S. and landed in Miami about 11 p.m. on Tuesday evening. He will be back in Nebraska on Wednesday.

O’Neill Family Eyecare, P.C. Welcomes New Doctor

Dr. Phil Gildersleeve is pleased to announce that Dr. Jonna O’Connor will be joining him at the O’Neill Family Eyecare, P.C. clinic in February. Dr. O’Connor is a 1997 graduate of Atkinson, West Holt High School and a 2001 graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Dr. O’Connor graduated from Indiana University School of Optometry, receiving her O.D. degree in 2006. She completed externships with the Pensacola, FL Veterans Administration Hospital, Bennett and Bloom Retinal Specialists and Refractive Surgeons in Louisville, KY and the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Dr. O’Connor then completed a one year residency in Ocular Disease and Low Vision at the Kansas City Veterans Administration Hospital in Kansas City, MO. In 2007 she joined the Nebraska and Western Iowa Veterans Administration Hospital – Lincoln division as the first staff optometrist in the VA system in Nebraska. In November of 2009 she obtained her Fellowship of the American Academy of Optometry and is a member of the Nebraska Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association and the American Academy of Optometry. With Dr. O’Connor’s extensive training in eye disease and vision disorders, she will join Dr. Gildersleeve in providing the highest level of professional eye care available in the diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions. Another asset to our community is Dr. O’Connor’s experience with people suffering from vision loss. Low vision patients are those who have lost significant vision due to eye diseases like macular degeneration. Many of these people require special optical devices and training to achieve their best possible vision. Dr. O’Connor is looking forward to bringing her skills back home to a rural practice well equipped with the high-tech diagnostic equipment she has come to rely on for the best possible care of her patients. Jonna is the daughter of Jerry and Regina O’Connor of Kearney, formerly of Atkinson. She and Daniel Kohle, son of Jim and Linda Kohle of Stuart, are planning a Feb. 6 wedding. The couple will reside in Stuart.

James Orr To Serve As County Court Presiding Judge For The Eighth Judicial District

Judge James J. Orr has been named County Court Presiding Judge of the 8th Judicial District (Blaine, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Custer, Garfield, Greeley, Holt, Howard, Keya Paha, Loup, Rock, Sherman, Valley and Wheeler counties) beginning January 2010. The Nebraska Supreme Court approved the nomination of Judge Orr, whose name was submitted by his fellow county court judges for the leadership position. Judge Orr has served on the county court bench in the 8th Judicial District since taking the bench one year ago, Jan. 1, 2009. He currently serves as Lead Judge for the Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative, District 8, Team 1, Nebraska Supreme Court. As presiding judge, Orr has primary responsibility for overseeing the delivery of county court services within the 8th Judicial District. Judge Orr will serve as the liaison to other agencies of local and state government for the courts of the district and to the Nebraska State Bar Association and the media. Presiding judges also bear the responsibility for the hiring, evaluation, and discipline of county court staff and provide county courts in the area with direction in matters of local district policy.

AseraCare Hospice In Need Of Volunteers

AseraCare Hospice is currently seeking volunteers to provide companionship to patients who face life-shortening illnesses, as well as to provide support to their families. Volunteers are needed to provide direct care through visits that may include talking, reading, handholding and listening. Volunteers are also needed to provide indirect care by helping with office work, making craft projects, and providing some extras to brighten someone’s day. Groups may also volunteer to provide special one-time projects to benefit hospice patients and their families. A free volunteer training has been scheduled for Monday, Feb. 8 at 2:30 p.m. at the O’Neill Public Library. Please call the AseraCare Hospice office at 1-866-503-4609 if you have any questions or would like to sign up for the training. You may also email the volunteer coordinator at cecilia.banholzer@aseracare.com. Please register by Thursday, Feb. 4. Future trainings can be scheduled if interested but cannot attend the Feb. 8 training. If you are a surviving family member, we encourage you to wait a minimum of one year following the patient's death to serve as a direct care volunteer.

Wear Green To Win Green Winner

wear green to win green - Marian Hayes was the winner this past Monday of the O'Neill Chamber of Commerce contest. Marian signed up at Tia Zia and was having coffee at Westside Restaurant on Monday at 4 p.m. when her name was drawn. Patti Swanson of

Cowboys’ Miles Austin Has A Nebraska Connection – Mom Was A Star, Too

famous grandson - LaVonna Appleby poses with her grandson, Miles Austin who is a starting wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.
By Marjie Ducey, World-Herald staff writer People in her hometown of O’Neill, might remember Ann Appleby Austin as quite the shortstop back in the late 1970s. Excellent in the field, her quick hands enabled her to make lots of plays. “I turned a bunch of double plays,” she remembers. Also an all-state basketball player at O’Neill High, she became pretty well-known around Holt County. Her son, Miles, inherited those same good hands. But he puts them to use in another sport. “He can catch anything,” Ann said. Miles Austin, a starting wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, has proven that to the whole country this season while helping his team to the NFL playoffs. Miles, who was unable to comment for this story while preparing for today’s game with the Minnesota Vikings, was undrafted out of Monmouth College in 2006. He’s risen from a third-stringer at the start of this season to the cover of last week’s Sports Illustrated. In his first start against Kansas City, he caught 10 passes for 250 yards, a Cowboy record, and scored the winning touchdown in overtime. He’s piled up an NFC-leading 1,320 receiving yards. “This year, everybody knows the story,’’ his mom said. “It’s just been an amazing ride.’’ It’s one being celebrated in several towns in Nebraska. Miles’ grandmother, LaVonna Appleby, still lives in O’Neill. The announcer on the local radio station teased this week that everyone better rush out to get a copy of the magazine before she grabbed them all. Uncle Greg is the principal and a successful basketball coach at Ewing, Neb. Uncles Kelly and Chuck live in Omaha, as does aunt Linda Verzal and her husband, Mike. Another aunt, Ellen Ludemann, lives in Pierre, SD, and she and her husband, Mike, represented the family at the playoff game in Minneapolis. Ann and husband Miles Jr. won’t be there today. They’ll either be watching from their apartment in Garfield, NJ, or with their daughter Jennifer and her boyfriend, yelling at the top of their lungs just like they’ve always done. Ann teaches physical education for autistic children and said she can’t get the time off to go to every game. They’ve been to four this season, and she said her friends at her job like to tease her because they know that’s where she’s headed when she calls in sick. “I went last week when they beat the Eagles,’’ she said. The Austins, who met when they both played basketball at Tarkio College in Missouri, like to go to Cowboys home games where they get to sit in the fifth row at the new stadium. Ann said on road games they’re usually stuck up in the nosebleed section. “We go to Dallas now, they are yelling his name,’’ she said. “One day, Tony Romo walked out and then Roy Williams. (The crowd was) all yelling, ‘Miles.’ What a difference from one year.’’ When uncles Greg and Kelly went to a game this year, Miles invited them up to the family room afterward, where he introduced them to owner Jerry Jones. “Jerry Jones said get these two young men whatever they want,’’ Ann said. “Jerry Jones said if Miles keeps doing us so good, we’ll have to name the stadium after him. “Greg and Kelly were on cloud nine.’’ As for Miles, he seems to be taking everything in stride. Even the “Will you marry me?” signs popping up in the stands haven’t phased him. “He’s just so nonchalant. It’s always about team,’’ Ann said. “He doesn’t brag on himself. That’s just not his style.’’ Ann said she sees the same look of intensity in her son’s eyes that she used to have back when she was playing sports. Her father, the late Fred Appleby, was a well-known Legion junior coach. The baseball complex in O’Neill now bears his name. Ann said she loved growing up in Nebraska, but she and her husband sought the diversity of the East Coast to raise their family. The kids have been to Nebraska only a few times, but Miles has promised his mom that they’ll visit this summer. Both Miles and Jennifer grew up as multi-sport athletes. Jennifer was an All-American at Rutgers in the javelin. Miles started turning heads at Monmouth. He was invited to the NFL Combine and although he wasn’t drafted, then-Cowboys coach Bill Parcells called and said Dallas wanted to take a look. “Call your folks and tell them you are a Cowboy,’’ Ann said Parcells told her son after he made the roster that first season. “That was the first miracle.’’ Ann said she’s proud of how Miles has taken advantage of his opportunities. He’s even been picked to play in the Pro Bowl, although his family hopes he’ll be playing in the Super Bowl the next week instead. If that happens, Ann and her husband definitely will be there, even if she does have to call in sick. “I’m so proud,’’ she said. “I didn’t expect this. I mean, I knew he was good, but you never think how far you are going to make it. This year, of all years, has just been amazing.’’

Kiewit Foundation Awards $20,000 To O’Neill Community Foundation

The O’Neill Community Foundation has been chosen by the Peter Kiewit Foundation to receive a $20,000 emergency relief grant fund to help meet essential human needs, especially during these harsh winter months. The O’Neill Community Foundation was selected as one of a limited number of local community foundations and community action agencies eligible to apply for the grant. The Foundation was selected upon location, organization reputation and administrative capacity to provide good stewardship of Mr. Kiewit’s charitable dollars. This is the second year that the Peter Kiewit Foundation has offered this grant opportunity across the state and the second year the O’Neill Community foundation has been chosen to receive the funds. Central Nebraska Community Services (CNCS), Bright Horizons, and the O’Neill Ministerial Association will be the sub-recipients of the funds. These three organizations have a reputation and a long history of assisting individuals and families in need during difficult times. Funds will be used to meet emergency food and energy assistance needs to residents in Holt County, The O’Neill Community Foundation was formed in 1998. Its purpose is to provide financial support to causes and organizations that meet the emerging needs in the O’Neill and Holt County area. The O’Neill Community Foundation has reinvested over $17,000 back into the area since 2005. The O’Neill Community Foundation is an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation, providing financial management, training and education to 199 affiliated funds located across the state.

KC Free Throw Contest Winners

the winners in their respective age categories are back row (l-r): Adam Moon, Tyson Hostert, Riley Wakefield, Alyssa Wiese, Jessi Simons and Bailey Schwager. Front row (l-r): Tyler Regan, Skylar Reynolds, Allison Becker and Makayla Pardun.
The O’Neill Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship was held on Sunday, Jan. 17 at St. Mary’s High School. The winners will move on to the District Free Throw Championship to be held on Sunday, Feb. 7 in Atkinson. The Knights of Columbus is an international Catholic family fraternal service organization with nearly 1.7 million members in over 13,000 local councils. Last year, Knights donated 68 million volunteer hours and $144 million to charitable and benevolent causes, sponsoring projects to benefit their church, councils, communities, family and youth.