Hartington —  NPPD is taking steps to ensure the safe, reliable delivery of electric energy to consumers in the Hartington area.

A four-mile project comes with an estimated price tag of $2.1 million.

Nebraska Public Power District project manager Steven Merrill and Todd Klein, who is the land management supervisor, met with Cedar County Commissioners on Feb 23.

Cedar-Knox Public Power District General Manager Dan Leise said the project is good for the Hartington area.

This week’s storms, arctic cold and high winds have turned a pristine winter wonderland into a real disaster area.

Snow and high winds caused drifting snow and poor visibility, canceling three days of school and several school and community activities last week.

The high winds packed the snow down, giving it a hard crust and making it difficult to move the large drifts. Several state and county snow plows got stuck while trying to clear the roads.

HARTINGTON  — Christmas Day plans went awry for several Cedar County residents.

Megan and Holly Kneifl spent close to two hours on Christmas Day sitting in a vehicle on Hwy. 81 waiting for help to arrive.

Megan and Holly were with their father, Kelly Kneifl when their vehicle hit the back of a white cargo van that was setting on Hwy 81 about 4 miles north of the 81/84 Hwy jct.

“We were coming back from Yankton. There was a truck, an SUV and a huge van that had all crashed – we ran into the back of the van,” said Megan. “We had a full tank of gas so we knew we could stay warm – but we were worried about the exhaust getting plugged with snow.”

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HARTINGTON — The Christmas of 2009 was definitely one for the books.

Even though the National Weather Service predicted the storm three days in advance of it hitting Cedar County,  people still tried to travel during the holidays which resulted in numerous accidents and stranded people.

Hartington ambulance, Hartington Fire, the Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska State Dept of Roads and the Cedar County Emergency Management team worked together to help cover accidents and rescue stranded motorists due to accidents on Highway 81, according to Emergency Management Director Kevin Garvin.

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HARTINGTON — America’s first black president took office and the country collectively held its breath as the economy teetered on the edge of economic collapse in 2009.

Despite all the national challenges, Hartington area residents pulled together to get through  2009,  although it was definitely a year to remember.

Locally, the biggest story of the year mirrored the national news with the economy taking top billing.

Layoffs hit the area in late 2008 and continued here through 2009, hitting local residents when Hydraulics Components laid off 27 workers in February, making the economy the top local story of 2009.

Several Yankton, Norfolk and Sioux City industries also had layoffs, which impacted local residents and businesses.

The construction of a new addition to the 117 year-old Cedar County Courthouse was the year’s second-biggest Cedar County News story of 2009.

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HARTINGTON — Precautions should be taken before heading out in a snow storm – although the best option may be to stay put.

A quick check on weather forecasts before traveling during the winter months is a  good idea according to Cedar County Emergency Management Director Kevin Garvin.

“If weather reports indicate travel is not advised that roads are impassable with large snow drifts – it would be an excellent idea not to travel unless it was an absolute emergency,” Garvin said.

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OSMOND — The Osmond and Randolph boards of education met Monday, Dec. 7.

An executive session was called during the meeting to discuss sharing a school superintendent.

After coming out of the executive session, both boards voted Monday to continue sharing the position, which is currently held be Steve Rinehart of Randolph.

HARTINGTON  — The Cedar County Extension Office is in the process of hiring a full-time Extension Educator.

The Deans of Extension have completed the first round of interviews at Lincoln and have narrowed the selection down to two candidates, according to Ruth Vonderhoe Extension Educator for Cedar and Knox counties.

The next interview will be done on Dec. 15 by the three members on the Cedar County Extension Board. Those members are Kathy Heimes, Hartington; Lori Hansen, Laurel and Ken Thoene, Fordyce.

HARTINGTON —  Cedar County Commissioners boosted the pay scale for themselves and other elected county officials during the Nov. 24 Commission meeting.

The base pay for elected county officials will go from $45,200 up to $48,700, which is almost an eight percent increase.

The salary for each of the three commissioners will jump from $26,892 to $28,643.

Benefits for county employees also include health and life insurance.

The new salary amounts go into effect in Jan. of 2011.

Newspaper will be on the way

ST. HELENA — Gene Wuebben has traveled down a lot of country roads and met a lot of kids over the years.

For the last 40 years Wuebben has been driving a school bus for students who rode the bus to East Catholic in Bow Valley, as well as those who shared the ride to other area schools.

The route for East Catholic includes St. James, Bow Valley, St. Helena and Wynot along with a sister school – West Catholic in Fordyce.

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