Prairie Pioneer Days celebrates 4th of July.

OXFORD - The Village of Oxford Board of Trustees discussed the $300,000 grant they were recently awarded with Bobbi Pettit of 5 Rule Development during their regular meeting on July 9, 2024. The Revitalize Rural Nebraska grant is to be used to tear down the old nursing home on the north side of town. The grant requires a 10% match. Pettit said they have the money, but the property is privately owned. They are working on the steps to be able to tear the building down. Pettit says once they hear back from the state of Nebraska that they can start obligating the funds they will need to get the asbestos inspector scheduled. She also said they should be able to go after some funds for the things that will not go into the landfill from NDEE.

Several area students qualified for the 2024 National FCCLA Conference in Seattle. From Medicine Valley, four STAR groups and three state officers went: Jordiya Phillips, Ashtyn Contrerez, Gigi Doyle, Alainan Eberle, and Harpern Watkins.

BEAVER CITY - The 2024 Furnas County Fair marks the 140th year of the home-owned carnival in Furnas County. The fair is from July 15 through July 20 at the Beaver City Fairgrounds.

Last summer, my team and I launched our internship program in Nebraska and Washington. Over the past year, we’ve welcomed 23 young professionals into our offices. The experience gives future leaders from across our state an opportunity to serve their fellow Nebraskans. They gain valuable professional skills. They also receive hands-on experience working in public policy, communications, and constituent services. I’m grateful to each intern we’ve had so far for their contributions to our team.

Sometimes, the Good Lord is trying to reach you and you’re just not getting the message. Behind my offi ce in Cambridge is a rocked parking lot and each spring, the City sprays ground sterilant across this parking lot to keep weeds and grass and other growing annoyances away.

There are so many questions. Is it safe? Does pot smoking lead to the use of hard drugs? What is the risk of pot smoking during pregnancy? Does marijuana have medical value in treating disease? Does smoking pot relieve the side effects of cancer treatment?

With summer temperatures heating up and gardens producing an abundance of great produce, you may be wondering how to keep the produce that you are not able to eat right away or share with others. Nebraska Extension can help says Kayla Hinrichs, Food, Nutrition and Health Extension Educator! Food.unl.edu/food-preservation is a great resource for all of your food preservation needs. You can learn about canning vegetables, fruits, tomatoes and tomato products, as well as pickles, jams and jellies, and meat, poultry and seafood. The website also has information on refrigerator and freezer storage, and drying food.

Patriotism is on the decline. You’ve all seen the news coverage of athletes kneeling during our national anthem, activists burning American flags, and street mobs defacing statues of our founders.

Agriculture educators Chandler Hambidge of Arapahoe- Holbrook Public Schools and Rhiley Fiene of Cambridge Public Schools recently attended a Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education professional development institute at Lakeview Highschool in Columbus, Nebraska to teach the Principles of Agricultural Science – Animal CASE curriculum.