We completed the second session of the 107th legislature this past Wednesday, the 60th day which is the final day we could meet. The last day provided an opportunity to finish the business of the legislature, with some procedural things that we need to finalize. For example, in order to close the books on this session and start the next biennium session with a clean slate, all the bills from the first and second session of this 107th legislature were indefinitely postponed (killed).

Skin is the largest organ in the human body, but it’s easy to take it for granted. Unless we notice pain or itching or funny spots, most people don’t give it much thought. However, the skin is critically important. It helps regulate our body temperature and fluid and electrolyte balance. It provides us critical information about our environment, and it protects us from invasion by the sea of germs we encounter every day. Some of the sickest patients doctors ever treat are those who have had significant skin loss, whether due to illness like toxic epidermal necrolysis, or injury like burns. This important organ can give

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The Red Willow County GOP will meet on April 26, 2022, at Marlene’s Kitchen (Bedore Barn, 3 miles north of McCook). Coffee (fellowship) begins at 6:30 pm. The business meeting begins at 7:00 pm. This is the beginning of year two for the local organization. Last month at the County Convention, officers for the new year and delegates to the State Convention were elected. The State Convention will be held in Kearney, NE, July 8 and 9th, 2022. All Republicans in the state of Nebraska are invited to attend the State Convention. At the April meeting, Brenden Funk will be presenting information concerning government overreach threatening private land ownership. Red Willow County Candidates for sheriff have been invited and plan to speak. This is a good time for concerned area residents to get involved with local government. All area Republicans (you don’t have to be a county resident) are invited to attend the local meetings. For information, call or text 308-350-3155.

It is easy to get excited about planting vegetable seeds and transplants in the vegetable garden, even when it is too early to plant. This frustration is one of the most common comments that I receive from gardeners that call into the Extension Offices in Nebraska. Slowly but surely, the weather is warming up. Along with warming air temperatures, our soil temperature is warming up too. This is key to the timing of planting vegetable crops for success.

Hopes were high for a rain on Easter Sunday, thinking that the old adage, if it rains on Easter Sunday it will rain for the next seven Sundays, might hold true. Well, it didn’t rain but we can still keep the prayer bones polished for rain any day of the week. A full week of slow rain would be perfect.

Oxford's annual Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the Oxford Chamber of Commerce and organized by the Haag family once again drew a nice crowd to the Geo. Mitchell park on Saturday, April 16. The Easter Bunny made a stop and was brought in by the Fire Department. Egg hunters from age 0 up to 6th grade scoured the park and ball field and had all the eggs and candy picked up in minutes.

A resolution to increase lifeguard wages for the Oxford swimming pool was approve at a meeting of the Board of Trustees on Monday, April 18. The board also approved raising the price of a season family pass from $85 to $100. Both of these items had been discussed at the previous meeting. The board also approved a bank account for pool concession money.

Extension Educator, Elena Stout, teamed up with the kindergarten classes at Southern Valley to facilitate the 4-H Embryology project. This is an exciting opportunity for young children to discover how an embryo develops inside an egg to become a chick. The kindergarteners spent 21 days caring for their eggs in an incubator before they hatched. Students even had the opportunity to look inside the eggs to see the developing embryos when Elena visited their classroom with a special flashlight to candle their eggs. This agriculture literacy project is incredibly important for young children to help them understand that agriculture products, like eggs, don’t just come from the grocery store.

Southern Valley Junior Shooters boasts a team of 38 junior and senior level members for their 2022 team. They held their hamburger feed and silent auction fundraiser on Wednesday, April 13 at the Oxford Fire Hall where they served 140 people. The silent auction portion brought in over $700. They also had raffles for a processed hog and a shotgun. Winning the hog was Don Vacha and winning the shotgun was Chance Best. Their efforts raised enough funds to pay for all of their expenses to attend the 52 Cornhusker School Trap Shoot in Doniphan, Nebraska on April 28, 29, and 30.