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Biglin's Mortuary

St. Patrick's Day Festivities March. 17 Thru 21st.

Weather permitting the annual painting of the Shamrock will be on St. Patrick's Day, next Wednesday evening, March 17, with the main intersection of 4th and Douglas in O'Neill to be blocked off and O'Neill Young Men's Club will begin the annual ritual. This year's parade and festivities will be held March 17 - 21st. The parade will be held Saturday, March 20 as well as the Irish Dancers dancing on the world's largest shamrock.

Chambers Lady Coyotes Take Third At State Tourney

Chambers Lady Coyotes took home the third place trophy at state tourney. Pictured are front row (l-r): Alexandrya Burrell, Elise Hubel, Brooke Barelmann, Kelsey Owen and Erin DeVries. Back Row (l-r): Coach Melissa Eischeid, Coach Laurel O’Malley,

The O'Neill Business Boosters met Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at the Blarney Stone.

The final drawing for the "Wear Green - To Win Green" promotion will be held next Tuesday, March 17. The drawing will feature 2 - $500 drawings. Names will be drawn until two people who are in a participating business and wearing green are present. Considerable discussion was held as a follow-up to this promotion. It is the intention of this group to stir up some interest with another type of promotion - maybe to be held more frequently. The group would like to expound upon the promotion created by the chamber board of "O'Neill - The Center Of It All." This is a great concept and one we hope to create a promotion that will stimulate considerable interest to the businesses and residents of O'Neill and Holt County.

Next week is an exciting week in the Irish Capital with the painting of the Shamrock on Wednesday night; Jerry Barlow in concert Thursday night; the Dodgeball tournament and Dr. Magic Friday night; and, the finale on Saturday with the grande parade, Shamrock Fun Run and Husker Hoops. The St. Patrick's celebration has been a part of the O'Neill community for over 40 years. This is a celebration about the people in Holt County - everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day - and we want to keep it fresh and fun for everyone so new ideas are always appreciated.

Discussion was held on what 2010 has shaped up to be for the O'Neill business community. Most agreed that business was up some from last year. Several business are entertaining the idea of expanding a line or service. This is a win-win situation for everyone.

The next few months will be busy in O'Neill with the traditional holidays of Easter, Mother's Day, graduation and Father's Day; but also the pipe line projecting is gearing up to start in the very near future and we will also have road construction projects south, west and east of O'Neill.

The next meeting of the Business Boosters will be held on Tuesday, March 23. We encourage anyone who has an interest in the future of O'Neill to attend these meetings, your opinion is valuable.

Area Native Gives $20 Million Gift To UNL

University of Nebraska alumnus and cattleman Paul F. Engler of Amarillo, Texas, announced today a $20 million gift to support programs in agri-business at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The gift from the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation to the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities will establish a permanently endowed fund to support the Paul F. Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The gift will provide new student scholarships and an endowed chair in agribusiness entrepreneurship. Among other ways the endowment will support ag entrepreneurship at the university include program support for student courses, a lectureship series, entrepreneurship training camps, internship placement assistance, student travel and more. It will also help create a venture capital fund to support student start up businesses. Engler, 80, said he feels strongly about finding and mentoring kids who have the entrepreneur’s “fire in the belly.” “I think about myself and my age, and I still have fire in my belly,” Engler said. “We need to identify these boys and girls who have that fire in the belly when they are young and then when they come to the university, expose them to a curriculum that teaches risk -- how to evaluate it and how to manage it -- because if you do not take risk as an entrepreneur, you are not going to make it.” James B. Milliken, president of the University of Nebraska, said a recent study by Gallup indicates about 70 percent of young Nebraskans want to start their own business, which he said is also key to our state’s future economic growth. “Paul Engler’s gift taps into Nebraska’s greatest resource -- our young people -- and leverages the university’s greatest strength: an education that prepares them to be successful,” Milliken said. “Nebraska can be strong only if all regions prosper, which is why we should all celebrate this gift.” UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said Engler’s generosity will provide tremendous new opportunities for countless students across the state as they experience the opportunities to build businesses for rural Nebraska. Paul Engler was born in Stuart and took an interest in agriculture at age 13 when he helped manage the family’s small cattle herd and made his own cattle purchase. He studied animal sciences at the University of Nebraska and graduated in 1951. He worked at various agriculture companies before starting a cattle operation in Texas in 1960. He started a Texas-based operation for Iowa Beef Packers in Amarillo, Texas, and formed his own company, Cactus Feeders, in 1975, which is now the world’s largest privately owned cattle feeding operation with locations across northern Texas and southwest Kansas. Engler married Virginia ‘Jinx’ Engler in 1981 in Amarillo. Also a Nebraskan, Virginia grew up in Valentine and attended Valentine High School and the University of Nebraska. She died on Dec. 16, 1996, at age 64.

Grant Enables HCED To Expand Staff And Services

Paige Pecena

Holt County Economic Development has had a lot to celebrate since its launch in 2007. New and expanded businesses have created or retained more than 100 full-time jobs. Now there is more good news. HCED has received a three-year commitment totaling $87,500 from the Rudolph R. Elis Donor-Advised Fund, an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation, to expand economic development services throughout the county. Funding will enable HCED to hire additional staff and provide training and programming for Holt County businesses. Paige Pecena has been hired as the business development specialist. Pecena is a 2002 graduate of Plainview High School and a 2006 graduate of Wayne State College. Paige and her husband Kyle reside in O’Neill. "The addition of Paige to our staff will enable us to provide timely, critical assistance to help our existing businesses grow, help with new job creation, and help transition existing businesses to new owners,” said Nicole Sedlacek, director of Holt County Economic Development. This grant will be matched two-to-one. The grant is being leveraged by existing community and county contributions and additional funding coming from local business and private sponsorships. HCED and the Rudolph R. Elis Donor-Advised Fund are affiliated funds of the Nebraska Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation that serves communities across the state. Rudolph Elis of Verdigre established his donor-advised fund in 2006. He stipulated that, upon his death, earnings from the endowment would be used to support entrepreneurship and people attraction in O’Neill, Norfolk and their surrounding areas.

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