2019: Farm Bureau helps connect Utah boy with flood victims
June 5, 2019
COLERIDGE — Every cloud has a silver lining, even rain clouds that dump inches of water on top of already frozen snow causing massive flooding. Thanks to the generosity of several people from across the country, Cedar County received a bridge last week to help in the efforts to replace one of the 32 bridges damaged or washed out in the March 13 flood that closed sev eral miles of Cedar County roads.
A six-year-old boy from Utah, a farmer and a small businessman from Virginia all heard about Nebraska’s flooding and wanted to help. It all started with 6-year-old Kai Baldwin of Vernal, Utah.
He saw a news story about the flooding in Nebraska and could not hold back the tears. “How will they get home and save their animals without a bridge?” he asked his mom. “We have to send them our money.” Touched by her son’s desire to help, Kai’s mom, Kristin Forbis, researched a reputable source where a donation could be sent, and the pair invited friends and family to empty their pockets and add their change to Kai’s piggy bank donation of $3.21.
The donations were then sent to the Nebraska Farm Bureau Disaster Relief Fund, knowing that 100 percent of it would be used to help farmers, ranchers and rural communities.
He ended up raising more than $285 in support of the Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Disaster Relief Fund — a fund that has so far taken in more than $2.5 million in direct support for the state’s ranchers, farmers and small communities. June 5, 2019
HARTINGTON — The Northeast Nebraska News Company has added two new staff members.
Raelynn Schmit joins the company as a graphic designer. Isaiah May will fill many roles with the six area newspapers. May’s main role will be as a digital advertising executive. His extensive background in the journalism field will also come in handy, as he will also be able to write an occasional feature story and cover other news stories from time to time. Schmit joined the team in early May, coming from a similar position with the Plainview News. She and her husband, David, are newly weds, having married in July 2018. The couple lives in Osmond where he is a teacher. They have one dog, Zeke.
June 5, 2019
HARTINGTON — The Cedar County Transit system will see some rate adjustments starting July 1.
Manager Nikki Pinkelman met with County Commissioners in a public hearing format at their May 28 meeting to discuss the current transit fees and the possible need to adjust the rates going forward to better reflect the actual distance and time that is traveled to each destination.
The Cedar County Transit is a transportation service provided by Cedar County for its residents consisting of seven vans stationed in Hartington and available for the general public, including persons with disabilities who reside in Cedar County. The van service provides transportation to any county resident Monday-Friday, from 6 a.m.-6 p.m., to various destinations such as doctor appointments, travel to airports and cities to see family or for whatever reason, within a 200-mile radius of Hartington.
Handicap accessible vans with a wheelchair ramp are also available. The transit vans and service are subsidized federally and by the State of Nebraska and only a nominal fee is charged for the service. The fee charged is for a round-trip ride such as for a doctor’s appointment that would also include the driver’s waiting time.
If, however, a person scheduled a ride to Omaha to be dropped off at the airport and wanted a ride back home a week later, the fee and rate would double due to the additional trip.