The Cambridge City Council met in regular session on Monday, December 7, 2020. All members were present for the meeting. The first order of business was to adjourn the old city council and reconvene as the new city council. Elected members, Vernita Saylor, Kevin Banzhaf and Mike Harris took the oath of office and the Council appointed Vernita Saylor as its President.

Tri Valley Medical Foundation purchased four new electric stretchers for the surgical department in the amount of $75,864. The new electric stretchers will allow for a higher standard of patient safety and comfort while also providing easier use for staff. They are electrical which assists in maneuvering and raising and lowering easily. The patient is able to control the head and knee sections for individualized comfort pre- and post-surgery. The mattresses also provide increased infection prevention by not using velcro on the bed. The new stretchers also feature oxygen tank holders. Tri Valley Health System appreciates the Foundation’s donation of these four stretchers that will improve employee and patient satisfaction. Pictured are: Brenda McIntyre, Surgery Director; Jessica Fisher, CEO; Kathy Vacura, RN; Jamie Vontz, Foundation Director; and Clay Jordan, CNO.

Funeral Services for Janet C. Debban was held on Friday, December 4, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Holdrege, Nebraska with Pastor Kenton Birtell officiating. Private Family Interment followed at the Elwood Cemetery, Elwood, Nebraska. The funeral service for Janet was live streamed via the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church Facebook page at HYPERLINK “https://www.facebook. com/Mt-Calvary-LutheranChurch-109006532511492” https://www.facebook. com/Mt-Calvary-LutheranChurch-109006532511492

Georgene Marie Carskadon, 72, of Edison Nebraska, passed away on Thursday, December 3, 2020 due to complications of latestage dementia, at the Good Samaritan Nursing Home, in Arapahoe, Nebraska. She was born Georgene Marie Knecht i▪ n Lincoln, Nebraska on April 15th, 1948 to Eldon and Marie Knecht. Georgene Marie Knecht became Georgene Marie Carskadon, on October 11, 1968 marrying Lee Carskadon in Lincoln, Nebraska. They were married at the Vine Congregational Church i▪ n Lincoln. The two of them met at the University of Nebraska, where Georgene earned her Bachelor of Science i▪ n Agriculture, with emphasis on Animal Science.

Doris LaVerne Crosley, age 94, of Arapahoe, Nebraska passed away on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at the Phelps Memorial Hospital, Holdrege, Nebraska. She was born on December 18, 1925 on the family farm located in Decatur County, Kansas near Lyle, Kansas, second daughter to Lester and Lillian (Simonsen) Coulter.

Jeffrey David Schutz, age 51, of Grand Island, Nebraska passed away on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at CHI St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island, Nebraska surrounded by family, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born on May 8, 1969 at Lexington, Nebraska to Merlyn Dean and Janice Kay (Bailey) Schutz. Jeff was baptized as an infant at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elwood. He grew up in the Elwood community and attended Elwood High School. He could often be seen “running away from home” on his tricycle, with his everfaithful fur protector, Skip. Skip would not let anyone close enough to Jeff to bring him home. Jeff loved to play football & wrestle, follow his Huskers, and anything that would go fastreally fast. In 1986, Jeff enlisted in the United States Army. He made a career of driving a truck. He drove for several different companies before finding “his people” at Sunrise Express, of Grand Island. He started out driving truck and returned “home” as a dispatcher for Sunrise. Jeff was blessed with 3 daughters; Kristina Jo, Madison Amia, and Samantha Jean. In late 2013, Jeff met his sweetie, Michelle and moved to Minnesota, working for New Vision Coop, first as a truck driver and then as an account specialist. On June 7, 2014, he married the love of his life, Michelle Jongma-Magnussen, and became the proud stepdad to Kenny, Kody, and Karter Magnussen. Jeff and Michelle loved to travel, riding the Harley, and recently in the Corvette-really fast of course-attending Husker football games and hosting friends and family by their pool with a rum drink in hand. They returned home to Nebraska during the summer of 2019. Jeff loved a good joke or prank and had a “unique” sense of humor. He was an enthusiast of anything horsepower or gunpowder. He was a proud member of the Patriot Guard Riders. Jeff was preceded in death by daddy’s lil angel Madison Amia, his father Merlyn, grandparents Ernest and Louise Schutz and Hollis and Adelia Claussen, and brother-in-law Joseph Miranda.

Edith Irene Roberts, age 96, passed away on Monday, November 3o, 2020, at Berthoud Living Center in Berthoud, Colorado. Where she had been a resident since Edith and her twin sister, Esther Eilene, were born April 7, 1924.

Vivian Kaye Malone, 70, of Apache Junction, Arizona, formerly of Lexington, NE passed from this life into Heaven’s gates On November 25, 2020, at the Apache Junction Health Care Center. Vivian, the eldest child of Floyd (Butch) and Geraldine (Geri) Malone was born in McCook, NE on January 18, 1950. She grew up on the farm northwest of Orleans and graduated from Orleans High School with the class of 1968. Following high school, she moved to Holdrege and worked at Becton Dickinson. She later attended St. John’s College in Winfield, KS. Following her graduation with her Associate Degree, she accepted a position at Concordia University Texas in Austin. She then was at Concordia College in Seward, NE and later moved to Bronxville, NY to work at Concordia College there where she also finished her Bachelor Degree.

Success in life and all its phases can be measured in many ways. Some reminisce of their glory days in high school. Maybe they were captain of the football team or homecoming queen or won the state chess championship. Others excelled in college, graduated summa cum laude, were invited to all the parties, or landed the dream job. Some worked their way up the corporate ladder or took on a big loan and built a successful business over years of hard work or taught multiple generations of students. Hopefully, most have worked and saved enough through the years to finally retire.

Nebraskans are known for common sense, tenacity, and grit. When faced with a major challenge, we don’t panic or abandon core principles and long-standing traditions. we pull together to do what’s best for our communities. Whether it’s a pandemic or historic flooding, Nebraskans have shown the world that we can overcome incredible challenges.