Firemen Honor Waterman And Menish
 FIREMAN AND EMT OF THE YEAR (l-r): Jerod Waterman was honored as fireman of the year and Scott Menish was honored as EMT of the year.Recognized for one year of service to the department was Jesus Munoz and Mike Bariboeau. Recognized for ten years of service was Cris Slack. Honored for serving three years as Fire Chief for the department was Terry Miles. | |
Theodore Roosevelt: Rough Rider President
A presentation by Darrel Draper hosted by the O’Neill Friends of the Library and sponsored by the Nebraska Humanities Council will be held at the Nebraska Room in the Blarney Stone Restaurant on June 30 at 7:00 p.m. This event is free of charge and open to the general public. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, is famous for his energetic personality, range of interests and achievements, leadership of the Progressive Movement, model of masculinity, and his “cowboy” image. Roosevelt’s achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician.
| |
Kevin Young Announced 2011 High School Distinguished Principal of the Year  The Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals is proud to recognize Mr. Kevin Young, Principal at West Holt Public Schools in Atkinson, the High School Distinguished Principal of the Year. Mr. Kevin Young was selected to represent Nebraska as the High School Principal of the Year. Kevin received his education from the Westmar College (Bachelor of Arts) and Doane College (Master of Arts in Educational Leadership). Mr. Young has served as a practicing school administrator for the past 10 years serving as principal at West Holt High School since 2003. Prior to that, Kevin was a classroom instructor, activities director and K-12 principal at Stuart, Nebraska and a teacher at both O'Neill High School and Bellevue East High School. Mr. Young is active in many professional organizations and community leadership positions such as the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, and the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals, where he has served as the Region III president, secretary and on the Executive Board. He is also a member of the West Holt Booster Club, the Faith Community Church where he is a Lay Leader, and has served as a Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsor for the past nine years. Mr. Young has several other honors, including the NSASSP Region III Principal of the Year, O'Neill High School and Bellevue East High School Teacher of the Year and has received the KOLN/KGIN Golden Apple Award. He has also been a presenter at several state and area events. Mr. Bill McAllister, Superintendent of the West Holt Public Schools, states: "Mr. Young has created an atmosphere of excellence for staff and students alike. His ability to see and identify good instruction is a key component when working with teachers on improving student learning and his straight-forward approach is a breath of fresh air. Our staff greatly respects his efforts to keep them informed, and greatly appreciate his encouragement." Ted Thiele, guidance counselor at West Holt, says: "Kevin Young shows compassion, flexibility, trust in his staff and students, and a penchant for building up people. Our staff knows he is the real deal when it comes to caring about students." Chuck Lambert, former superintendent at West Holt Public Schools states: "Kevin is an excellent principal. He is very self-motivated and professional and works very well with all of the staff and students. He is a "doer", is very personable and is a gentleman." Karen Richardson, parent of a West Holt student comments: "Mr. Young is an outstanding principal, superb educational leader and most importantly, a first-rate individual. Personalization is not just a word for Mr. Young; it is a way of doing business every day, all day for every student lucky enough to be a student at his school. He is an educator who makes a difference in the lives of the students he serves." Mr. Young will receive his award at the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals State Conference and with his selection, will be eligible for consideration for the 2012 Metlife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year. | |
| |
O'Neill Cemetery Adds Kiosk To Help In Location Of Graves In Cemetery The O'Neill Cemetery has gone high-tech with the addition of an electronic information kiosk which will help in the location of grave sites in the O'Neill Cemetery. The O'Neill Cemetery Board budgeted for the item and the kiosk became a reality right before the Memorial Day holiday this year. Presently the kiosk holds the records for the south cemeteries as these were the easiest to get loaded into the system. Cemetery Board President Terry Miles said that the cemeteries to the north will come later as the information is much harder to deciminate from the older bookkeeping going back to the turn of the 20th century. The system was bought from Windy Prairie Systems Inc. of Indianola. The interface is a touch screen and you may search by last name or first name. The system is very friendly and will prompt you with a voice to help you complete your search. The search will show you where you are in realtion to where the grave is and will show you a square or section in which the grave is located. The O'Neill Cemetery has gone high-tech with the addition of an electronic information kiosk which will help in the location of grave sites in the O'Neill Cemetery. The O'Neill Cemetery Board budgeted for the item and the kiosk became a reality right before the Memorial Day holiday this year. Presently the kiosk holds the records for the south cemeteries as these were the easiest to get loaded into the system. Cemetery Board President Terry Miles said that the cemeteries to the north will come later as the information is much harder to deciminate from the older bookkeeping going back to the turn of the 20th century. The system was bought from Windy Prairie Systems Inc. of Indianola. The interface is a touch screen and you may search by last name or first name. The system is very friendly and will prompt you with a voice to help you complete your search. The search will show you where you are in realtion to where the grave is and will show you a square or section in which the grave is located. | |
Council Discusses Land Purchases At Regular Monthly MeetingThe O'Neill City Council met in regular session on Monday evening. All members of the city council were present and absent was Mayor Bill Price. The first order of business was to approve the May minutes. Lori Olson representative of Dana F. Cole gave the city their audit report. Mrs. Olson reported that the state of affairs were good for the city with them retaining more cash on hand than at this time last year. She said this was mainly due to some un finished projects that the city had not completed. The council then advanced to the public hearing on the real estate purchase of the land next to the gray shed at the baseball fields to be used for parking. "The land is already in use," said Jeff Schemiciel of the parks department. "People just need to get use to the idea of parking there. The cost to the city is $4,000 per year purchase price for the land. The next item was the discussion of the acquisition of the land west of the library for parking. The property has come up for sale and with the funds from the Linhart estate the purchase would be made without tax money from the city. City attorney Boyd Strope stated that bringing it to the council was just a formality. Because the property would be owned by the city but not payed for by it, the issue had to be acknowledged by the council. Two of the councilmen were questioned whether the city would have to do snow removal and maintenance on the acquisition and asked how the parking would be layed out. Due to the city owning the land but not paying for it, the council had to vote on the item with everyone voting yes except councilwomen Vicki Cork and Susie Kramer. The next item was a special designated liquor license for Irish Spirits on June 23 which was unanimously voted through. Tim Johnson was next on the agenda to inform the city of a special price on diesel for just the month of September. Johnson informed them the price for September could be locked in for $3.95. The council, after brief discussion, decided to go ahead and lock that price in. One of the last items the council worked on before adjourning was trouble with parking on Jeanette Way during baseball games. The council decided to change the parking to no parking on the south side of Jeannete Way from First to Center. The council put it to a resolution, and there will have to be three readings before this can take place. Before convening for the evening, the council took a secret vote on the O'Neill Hall of Fame nominations then approved the bills before ending at 8:15. | |
Prarie Hills Ford Has New Service Manager  Craig Binder  Tyler Sanne The Prairie Hills Ford service department is changing hands! Craig Binder, service manager, has been employed with the ford dealership for the past 12 years, moving from service technician to service manager. He and his wife Shelly will be starting a new advenure by moving closer to their children and grandchildren in Prescott, AZ. Please stop by and wish Craig good luck and welcome our new service manager, Tyler Sanne. Tyler has experience in service management and would love to meet all of his new friends. Prairie Hills Ford, where customers become friends. | |
| |
Nebraska Highway Commision To Meet In O'NeillThe State Highway Commission and the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) have scheduled a meeting to be held in O’Neill. On Friday, June 24 at 10:00 a.m. at Holiday Inn Express located at 1020 E. Douglas Street. In a new format, the State Roads Department Program Meeting for District 8 will be held during this time. The Highway Construction Program and other State transportation issues will be addressed. This meeting is intended to provide a forum for public input. For additional information, contact your District 8 NDOR District Office in Ainsworth. | |
NPPD Pipeline Work Moving ForwardNebraska Public Power District is moving forward in the next step of a process to provide electric service to a proposed international oil pipeline owned and operated by Keystone, a United States subsidiary of Canadian-based TransCanada. To supply electrical service for the proposed pipeline, NPPD must construct a new, nine-mile, transmission line segment near the Clarks/Central City areas, a 37-mile line segment near the Ericson/Petersburg areas and a 28-mile line segment in the O’Neill/Stuart areas. Ultimately, the new transmission lines and associated substation facilities will connect to NPPD wholesale customer utilities that will, in turn, serve the pipeline directly. The scheduled in-service date for these lines is November 2012. In order to meet this in-service date, NPPD must continue with pre-construction activities for transmission lines needed to serve the pipeline such as procuring materials and supplies, acquiring easements from landowners, and clearing right-of-way. “Completing a transmission line project takes several years from start to finish, so we are continuing to move forward and appreciate the cooperation we are receiving from landowners in each of the areas,” said Jedd Fischer, NPPD project manager. NPPD has secured nearly all of the right-of-entry agreements needed from landowners along the proposed routes to complete initial field work such as environmental surveys, appraisal work and line engineering and design. The next step involves obtaining easements—perpetual agreements that allow NPPD to compensate landowners for the right to construct, operate and maintain the transmission lines. As part of NPPD’s pre-construction activities, wholesale customer utilities in the respective areas will need to relocate some of their existing lower voltage power lines. Respective wholesale utility representatives will work directly with landowners in coordinating these moves. The local utilities in the respective areas for the three line projects include: Southern Power District in the Clarks/Central City area; Loup Valleys Rural Public Power District in the Ericson/Petersburg area and Niobrara Valley EMC and NPPD in the O’Neill area. TransCanada is paying for the cost of all electric facilities required to serve its pipeline. This cost is estimated to be between $53 and $55 million. Right-of-way activities are being coordinated out of NPPD’s field office in Minden, located at 528 N. Minden Avenue. To contact the office, call (308) 832-1208. A secondary field office has also been set up for right-of-way activities at NPPD’s retail office in O’Neill. | |
Renewable Fuels Program To Be Held At NEEC In O'NeillStaff from the Northeast Community College renewable fuels program will host an informational meeting in O’Neill to gauge public interest in expanding Northeast’s renewable fuels program to the O’Neill education center. The meeting on Thursday, June 9, at 7 p.m. in the O’Neill Education Center at 409 E. Adams Street will also include discussion on a tuition assistance program through the Department of Labor’s educational syNErgy grant. Students interested in green careers, such as renewable fuels (ethanol), wind energy, and other green energy fields, may be eligible for grants up to $1,800 through the Nebraska Department of Labor’s syNErgy program. The Department of Labor will provide assistance towards tuition, fees, and books for current and incoming students and unemployed and underemployed persons interested in green careers meeting the grant criteria. Participants must complete their certificate, diploma, or degree by December 2012. “We are exploring the addition of evening classes for a certificate program in renewable fuels here in O’Neill,” said Merri Schneider, director of the Northeast education center in O’Neill. “An evening program would allow students who work during the day to attend our classes.” For more information about the meeting, call Schneider at (402)336-3590 | |
Fun Run For Summerfest  Dogs For Dogs - The O'Neill Pump and Pantry store and Bosselman, Incs hosted Dogs for Dogs during the month of May. A whopping $638.00 was raised for the fundraiser for the O'Neill Police Department K-9 Unit. Pictured are (l-r): Chief Larry Wanamaker, Pump & Pantry Asst. Manager Nancy Stowell, Manager Jackie Frerichs, Inv. Rachel Kohlman, Sgt. Matt Otte. Anyone wanting to donate to the K-9 Program please contact the police department at (402) 336-1313. The O’Neill Police Department and Holt County TeamMates are partnering to host the Paw Pounding Fun Run to be held Saturday, July 9. Registration will be from 7-8 a.m. with race time starting at 8:30 a.m. Pre-register by Friday, July 1st to guarantee your T-shirt. Entry fees are $20 for T-shirt, $12 for no T-shirt. Participate in a 10K, 5K or one mile race. Top runners will be awarded in different age categories. Walkers are welcome. This race you’re even encouraged to bring your dog to run with you. The race will start and end at Ford Park. This will be an out and back course. To register, download the registration form at www.oneillpolice.com or pick up your registration form at the O’Neill Police Department, Bright Horizons or the Holt County Economic Development office. | |
Senator Larson Speaks At O'Neill Chamber Of Commerce Luncheon Sen. Tyson Larson was the guest speaker at the O'Neill Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon. Senator Larson talked to the crowd about his first year as a freshman senator in the Nebraska Unicameral. "I was on three committees this session; the general affairs committee, which deals with alcohol, tobacco and gambling; the ag committee, which deals with land and soil topics and the judiciary committee, which deals with a lot of important issues. This year we had a lot of tough choices to make when it came to the budget. We cut a billion dollars out of the budget by a few different measures. We had to cut aid to the cities, in which O'Neill lost $30,000. We also cut money from the NRDs. Medicaid, which was not a popular decision, received a 4% cut, while we tried to keep school funding the same. One of the many good items we passed, LB629, directly puts liability for ecological damage to any company operating a pipeline involved in an accident. Another bill I was associated with, LB305, permitted use of the Commercial Feed Administration Cash Fund and requires the Director of Agriculture to report regarding the implementation of a state meat and poultry inspection program, which gave the state a meat inspector and will open up markets for a variety of other growers that would typically find it difficult to market products such as ostrich or other specialty products without said inspector. LB229 provides a $7 million per year transfer from the Environmental Trust Fund to the Water Resources Cash Fund for the next 10 years. The bill also broadens the use of the Water Resources Cash Fund to allow funds to be used for studies and grants to facilitate compliance with the Nebraska Groundwater Management and Protection Act. We have a compact with Colorado and Wyoming and which demands that in 2012 we have maintained the same river and reservoir levels that we did in 1990. If we cannot maintain these levels than we would have to re license our power plants such as Gentlemen Jim in Southerland and Kingsley Dam at lake McConaughy this legislation will keep money aside to help with any problems," stated Larson. Another big issue was LB84, Adopt the Build Nebraska Act, which provides for distribution of sales and use of tax revenue for road construction which takes a quarter of a cent of every tax dollar to road projects which will give us $70-$80 million over the next 20 years. Senator Larson fielded a few questions from the audience before the meeting adjourned. The Chamber monthly meeting is held the first Monday of the month. All Chamber members are encouraged to attend. For more information on where the next monthly luncheon is, please call the O'Neill Chamber of Commerce. | |
87 Survivors Honored And Recognized At Relay For Life
 The Relay For Life of Holt County celebrated a decade of HOPE on June 3. There were 87 proud survivors honored and recognized. They took the first lap during the opening ceremony led by the American Legion, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts at about 7:30 p.m. The West Holt Americana’s team had participated all 10 years that Holt County has had a relay so they also led the first lap. During the rest of the evening, there were games at different team campsites and a lot of walking going on. A “Fight Back” ceremony was held at dusk, and a poem was read about hope and combating cancer. When it got dark, the luminarias were lit to honor and remember those who have or have had cancer. Each name was read over the loud speaker and holds a special place in our hearts. There were 850+ luminarias lit up around the track. Participants would walk off and on throughout the night until the closing ceremony that took place at 7:00 a.m. Relay teams were thankful to stay all night without being rained out. At this time, Holt County has raised $45,000+ including inkind donations. What an accomplishment! What a way to remember, celebrate, and fight back! We would like to thank all those who helped put on this event! Our Platinum Sponsors who gave $500 & up are: Holt County Independent, KBRX, O’Neill Pharmacy and West Holt FCCLA. Our Gold Sponsors who gave between $250 and $499 are: Adamson Distributing, Alpha Galvanizing Inc., AseraCare Hospice, Atkinson Family Chiropractic, Avera Holt Co. Medical Clinic, Avera O’Neill Family Medicine, Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital, Cargill Inc., Elkhorn Valley Family Medicine, Golden LivingCenter, Great Western Bank, Greater Sandhills Family Healthcare, KGRD Radio, Knox Ranch, Mitchell Equipment, Nonpareil-RDO Potatoes, North Central Anesthesia Services, North Central District Health Department, O’Neill Farms/Dowd Grain, Pinnacle Bank, Ranchland Auto Supply/Carquest, Torpin’s Rodeo Market, Tri-County Bank, Wakefield Insurance Agency, West Holt Medical Services and X-tra Productions. Our Silver Sponsors who gave between $100 and $249 are: Anson Feed & Trucking, Braun’s Food Center, Reiser Insurance Inc., Triple R Tire and Sunrise Floral. We would also like to thank committee members who helped plan the event and helped a lot during the event: Lisa Bilstien, Rick Hammer, Deb Hammer, Ross Tomjack, Linda Appleby, Kim Metschke, and Sara Hoffman. We want to thank Joel Pruden with Xtra Productions for letting us use his sound system, helping us out with announcements, and playing great music for us before and during the Relay. Thank you to Nick Hostert and the O’Neill Public School for allowing us to use their track and facility. Thank you to the Holt County Doctors and Health Professionals who came out and supported the survivors and assisted with the opening ceremony. Thank you to Fr. Jeff Lorig for doing the invocation prayer. Thank you to Leighton Mlady and Peyton Randolph for singing the National Anthem so beautifully. Thank you so much to the Elkhorn Valley Family Medicine team who ran the concession stand and raised over $1000 in just that one evening. Thank you to Braun’s Food Center for sponsoring a tent for the silent auction and Mike Givens for hauling it. Thank you to Bob Thomas for making fun balloon animals for the kids throughout the evening. Thank you to those who donated silent auction items and those that won and bought them. We are sure to forget some folks, so please know that we appreciate everyone who helped out! Most of all, we want to thank the survivors, teams, and attendees for supporting this great cause; to fight back on cancer and help those going through cancer. TOGETHER, WE WILL FIND A CURE! At this time, we do not have anyone to chair this wonderful yearly event, if you or someone you know is interested, please call Kelli Tomjack at 402-336-1446 or email klgtomjack@gmail.com. I believe Holt County would be at a loss if this did not continue. Thank you for your consideration.
| |
K-9 Benefit Trap Shoot And Gun Raffle This WeekendThe O'Neill Police Department, along with many fine sponsors invite you to the K-9 Benefit Trap Shoot and Gun Raffle, Saturday, June 11, at the O'Neill Gun Club. Signup starts at 9:00 a.m. and shoot will begin at 10:00 a.m. Hamburgers, chips and a drink will be available at 11:30 a.m. and turkey shoots will be held throughout the day. The department is working hard to raise the funds to setup our K-9 program and welcome everyone to join us. The drawing for the New England 12 gauge pump shotgun will be at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available thru June 9, at KBRX Radio, O'Neill Chamber of Commerce, O'Neill FFA Chapter and O'Neill Police Department employees. Tickets are $5.00 each or three for $10.00. The addition of a K-9 Unit to the O’Neill Police Department greatly enhances the agency’s capability to track down, locate and capture wanted offenders in rural environments and detect illegal narcotics in our communities and schools. The employment of a K-9 greatly reduces the safety risk to the citizens and law enforcement officers of the City of O’Neill, while increasing the agencies effectiveness in apprehending criminals and preserving public safety. A safe thorough search of buildings and other hazardous areas are but a few duties effectively preformed. The K-9 Unit assists in these searches and provides an added layer of protection for the law enforcement officers during these dangerous situations. The O’Neill Police Department needs your support to fund the K-9 Unit. They are asking businesses, community organizations, and individuals to donate funds to purchase equipment, provide the necessary training, and to obtain a Police Service Dog. Equipment and supply donations are also welcome. Your donation will be used explicitly for the K-9 Program and are tax deductible. Contact them today for more information or visit their website. O’Neill Police Department, 401 E. Fremont O’Neill, Nebraska 68763. Phone: (402) 336-1313. Website http://www.oneillpolice.com | |
Storm Batters Area A dangerous storm that went through the O'Neill and Atkinson area had everyone on their toes Monday evening. The storm sent Holt and Boyd County residents to their basements as funnel clouds and gustnados, low-level rotating clouds resembling tornados, popped up throughout the northern part of Holt and southern Boyd County. Around 5:00 p.m. Atkinson spoters reported a funnel on the ground three miles south of Atkinson as well as softball size hail in Atkinson. Officials also reported funnel clouds north of Emmet around the same time. Swirling clouds and rotation led to the sounding of the civil defense sirens in O'Neill around 6:00 p.m. Damage was reported at the Scribner Grain Facility north of Emmet with power lines down, irrigation systems damaged and a grain bin and the rigging at the site damamged. The Sheriff's Department reported numerous funnels north and west of O'Neill tracking them east. A huge gustnado was reported by O'Neill spotters just east of O'Neill kicking up dirt from freshly plowed fields that appeared to be the start of a half-mile wide tornado only to vanish when it left the fields for grassy pastures. The all-clear siren was blown after 7:00 p.m. during heavy rains that resulted in a little over an inch total. | |
Avera St. Anthony's Celebrates With Grand Opening Of Hospital Addition    Last Wednesday evening several hundred people gathered for the opening of the new addition to the Avera St. Anthony's facility. Ron Cork President/CEO, Avera St. Anthony's Hospital welcomed the crowd followed by Dr. Pamela Rezac, Avera Regional President, Avera Sacred Heart Region. Dr. Rezac stated how impressed she was with the new facility and the drive and determination at which the project took shape. Archbishop George J. Lucas of the Omaha Diocese was on hand to give a blessing to the facility. After a brief prayer service the facility was opened for public inspection. The 16 million dollar construction at Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital provides an additional 35,452 square feet of space to include the new two story addition. The project includes renovation and remodeling of approximately 14,657 square feet in space vacated by departments moving to the new addition. Significant increases in volumes and the number of services offered over the last 10 years have rendered the current physical plant inadequate to meet the needs and expectations of patients. The building includes single patient rooms, a medical office building for local providers, new physical/occupational therapy and chemotherapy spaces, and increased capacity in the Surgery department. More comfortable and healing accommodations, shared services for patient convenience, and increased privacy and infection control measures have resulted from the project. Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital is a critical access facility that's primary service area includes eight counties and 20,000 people in northeast Nebraska. Seventeen medical providers, including a full time orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon and radiologist, practice in O’Neill and do outreach to other communities. The hospital employs approximately 250 people from the area. | |
| |
Golden Age Center Awarded $16,532.00 In Community Development Assistance Funds The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) has awarded $16,532 in Community Development Assistance Act (CDAA) tax credits to Golden Age Center in O’Neill, a nonprofit organization, to undertake a number of necessary renovations. Opened in 1982, the Center has continuously served O’Neill’s senior population for nearly 30 years, providing healthy, nutritional and affordable meals to senior and handicapped individuals, in addition to sponsoring health clinics and caregiver support services. Seniors also gather at the center for social activities. Currently the Center serves an average 60 meals at the Center and delivers 45 meals daily to seniors and handicapped individuals in O’Neill and neighboring communities. Daily wear and tear combined with minimal upgrades at this point has left the Center in need of several major upgrades to ensure the health and safety of daily visitors. Renovations will include replacing three heating and air conditioning units, updating and installing energy efficient lighting throughout the building, replacing carpeting and tiling, updating kitchen appliances (range, oven and refrigerators), upgrading restroom facilities, paving the south parking lot, adding a new entry to the building’s south side, repairing the front sidewalk, and upgrading all entries with handicapped accessible doors. The Community Development Assistance Act was created in 1985 by the Nebraska Legislature to encourage financial support by businesses to community betterment organizations in their efforts to implement community service and development projects in chronic economically distressed areas. Non-profit community betterment organizations may apply to the Department to become qualified to award tax credits to eligible contributors. On DED’s approval of a project, the community betterment organization can award a state tax credit to a business, corporation, insurance firm, or financial institution, or individual contributing to the project of up to 40 percent of the value of a contribution. | |
Relay For Life Held | |
Community Pays Respects During Memorial Day Program The O'Neill Memorial Day Program was held on Monday with a good patriotic crowd on hand to pay tribute to those who have served, are serving and those who have payed the ultimate price in serving our country. The speaker for this years program was Larry Wanamaker. Wanamaker is the O'Neill Police Chief and had served in the U.S. Army for seven years. "When I was approached by Arnold Hall and asked to speak at the Memorial Day Program I was very nervous and wondered what I would say that other people have not said before me. The answer to that is, I don't know. I come from a line of veterans in my family to include my grandfather, my father and my two brothers. We all served in the military and are proud of what it stood for. Duty, honor and loyalty are just words to so many but mean much more to those who served. These are ideals that service in the military teaches a person. Throughout history our great nation has stood for Liberty, honor and justice. Sometimes it looks as if these things do not exist, but they are just obscured, and it takes an extreme event for everyone to see that they are not. Our great nation was built on these principles, and it was carved out of nothing by men and women willing to put their lives on the line to achieve something bigger than any one person. Freedom is a word we all say but only a few understand and even fewer truly feel. When I put on the uniform of a soldier, I got an idea of what it was like to truly stand for something greater than myself. The men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifices and fought for the very freedom we enjoy are true heroes. If not for their and others efforts we would not have the choices we live with every day. The saying is "freedom isn't free" and no truer words have been spoken. We all gather together on Memorial Day to remember our family, friends and all those who have served in the armed forces for this great nation, remembering what they did to help shape the United States of America into the greatest country in the world," said Wanamaker. The ceremony concluded with a prayer, a 21 gun salute and a performance of the battle hymn, Taps. |
 |
|
| Pinnacle Bank | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pinnacle Bank | |
| |
|
|
