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October 28th, 2009
Three to receive National Degrees
Jamie Stark, Lucus Gubbels, and Aaron Keck received the American FFA degree at the 82nd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis on Saturday, October 24. It is the highest degree awarded by the National FFA
Organization and recognizes their demonstrated leadership abilities and outstanding achievements in agricultural business, production, processing and service programs. Less than one in 154 FFA members advance through their local chapter and state FFA degree programs to earn this national degree. Jamie Stark, the son of Dan and Lisa Stark, is currently attending Northeast Community College. Lucus Gubbels, the son of Mark and JoAnn Gubbels, is currently attending Northeast Community College. Aaron Keck, the son of Steve and Angie Keck, is currently attending the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
They are members of the Plainview FFA Chapter and their agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor is Chad Kment. Jamie Stark, Lucus Gubbels, and Aaron Keck all received a gold American FFA Degree key and a certificate in a blue leatherette frame to commemorate the achievement. The recognition program is sponsored by Case IH, Farm Credit, Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont Company and Syngenta, as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. The national FFA convention is the nation’s largest annual youth gathering, welcoming students, parents and educators from all across the United States.
The National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, is a national youth organization of 507,763 student members – all preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture – as part of 7,439 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The National FFA Organization changed to its present name in 1988, in recognition of the growth and diversity of agriculture and agricultural education. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Visit www.ffa.org for more information
Football team draws season to close
The Plainview Pirate football team drew its season to a close with a loss to the Atkinson West Holt Huskies last Friday, 13-0.
“This was a tough loss for our team and for the seniors,” said Coach Chad Schumacher. “The team played hard, but did not come up on the winning side. The coaches are proud of the kids for sticking together and working together to become better players throughout the season.”
October 21st, 2009
Council discusses Keno grant program
Only three members of the Plainview Council were present at the October City Council meeting to hear a Keno update, continue readings about the Recreation Board and to discuss the E911 system.
Kim Korth, owner of D&K Lanes, which hosts Plainview’s sole Keno game, addressed the Council on the status of the Keno program at her business and reported that sales were good and the funding for the City’s Keno grants would continue to come in, and even increase in the next few months.
With that in mind, Korth made a few suggestions as to the administration of the Keno funds, namely by creating a percentage system for a few of the organizations that apply for Keno grants regularly. Her idea would grant a nominal percentage to those organizations to alleviate their applications from the rest of the applicants.
Korth said not only would her idea alleviate the “regulars” from applying each month for new projects, which she said she wholeheartedly agreed with (and in some cases wished the Council would grant more funding), but that it would also allow the funds to begin to draw interest in the organization’s bank account whereas it cannot in the City’s account.
City Administrator Michael Holton informed the Council of some research he had been doing into the Keno account and found that since the program’s inception in 2006 there had been 42 applications received and 36 of those had been funded in part or in all – approximately $60,000.The Council agreed to review the Keno program and Korth made one last appeal for the Council to continue and begin supporting the Klown Festival with funds from the Keno program.
Recreation Board on to third reading
The Council members then voted 2-1 to pass the second reading of an ordinance that would dissolve the Plainview Recreation Board.
The topic was introduced two months ago while the budget was being reviewed with the idea that the Plainview baseball and softball programs could be more easily administered by the newly-formed Ball Backers Association than the City.
Holton told the Council that a donation could be made each year, saving the City money, and the Ball Backers would then run the entire program from coaches to uniforms to game scheduling, and the City would maintain the fields as part of the Park Board duties rather than a completely separate Board.
The issue will appear for the third and final time on the November Council agenda as the members at the October meeting lacked the three-quarter vote to waive a reading (with only three members being present).
E911 to continue as topic
Holton then addressed the Council, updating them on the current E911 Advisory Board decision to purchase equipment and install it in the Pierce County Sheriff’s office.
It was reported the Police Chief Bruce Yosten and Firefighter Kyle Tarr would be representing Plainview’s dispatching interests with Councilman Brian Schlote serving as an alternate.
Yosten reported that June 1 was the deadline date to be “up and running” with the E911 system, including the fact that it will take approximately three to six months after ordering to get the equipment and get it installed.
Fill-in Mayor Larry Jensen asked for other discussion on the topic and, hearing none, asked for the topic to remain on the agenda to include discussion about how to handle Plainview’s local dispatching service and employees.
Holton said he would begin creating figures and choices for the Council to consider.
In other business the Council:
* Approved Resolution 441, Mitigation Plan;
* Agreed to begin title searches on two properties left over from house demolition in the hope of finding a clear title and selling the properties;
* Agreed to reimburse the Plainview Manor $896 and $30 a month for the first year for a private security alarm subscription to replace the City’s older equipment which has become unrepairable.
* Heard that Holton had sold the City’s two old Pond Dr. machines for $7,000, they were originally purchased, one by the City and one by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, for $25,000 each.
* Heard that the old fire hall has begun to be stripped down for remodeling.
Pirates finish X-C season
The Plainview Cross Country team competed in their final event of the season at the 2009 District Invitational at the Rolling Hills Golf Course near Bloomfield on Oct. 15.
All three members of the team competed, but no team scores were kept.
For the boys’ side, Taylor Sauser placed in 52nd to lead the Pirates with a time of 21:33. Ben Gubbels also competed and finished in 71st with a time of 23:56 in the 5,000-meter race.
Emily Gubbels competed for the girls’ side with a 47th-place finish and a time of 24:01 in the 4,000-meter race.
The team was coached by Cory Friedrich.
October 14th, 2009
Reunion committee addresses Board
Plainview’s District 5 School Board met for low-action meeting on Monday evening, with only policy changes and an All-Class Reunion update taking up the agenda space.
In regular action, the Board affirmed their votes for changes to the policy manual in the following locations: 502.04: Early Childhood Education, effectively creating the preschool and setting policies for the program; 302.04: Superintendent Duties, bringing in-line the tradition of the Superintendent having control over the classified staff’s hiring and firing and the policy for such and 604.02 Adopting Instruction Standards, making the school come alongside the State Board of Education’s academic standards for curriculum.
Beyond those decisions, part of the All-Class Reunion committee including Ann Weber, Dorothy Holmes and Brook Curtiss made a presentation to the Board requesting use of the Pirate Auditorium, fans and the sound system for the annual event each year. Curtiss presented the committee’s desire to grow the Alumni event to include all classes, not just the 45-year and 50-year classes to have made up the bulk of the attendance the last number of years.
The Board expressed support for the Reunion committee and plans will be made with Principal Randy Klooz as to the logistics of next year’s event in June.
In the comments section from the Superintendent, both Principal’s and the President, the Board heard:* The Advantage program had begun in the Elementary, offering students that are missing or failing homework extra time after school;* Notification that the School would receive $26,534 this year in REAP (Rural Education Achievement Program) funding;* Heard of the October 22 deadline for companies wishing to bid the track repair;* Heard that a fence had been contract to encompass the Preschool playground equipment at a cost of $4,038 from Wacker Home Improvement.
Sorensen golfs 107 at State tournament
Nicole Sorensen, Plainview’s single qualifier for state golf, finished her season on Tuesday with a 107 at Grand Island’s Riverside Golf Club course hosting the state tournament.
Sorensen was able to walk the course on Monday afternoon to at least see the course for the first time. She had a 9:30 a.m. tee time as her district score put her in the middle of the scores of the girls playing.
Starting off Tuesday in mid-30 degree temperature, she played “very well,” said Coach Larry Knaak, “because rain started soon after that and continued throughout the day.”
Sorensen had a 53 on the front and 54 on the back nine. “She played better than her score indicated from tee to green, but she had trouble on several holes when her putts would rim out,” said Knaak.
Her score of 107 placed her tied for 52nd out of the 94 girls entered. Danielle Lemek of Doniphan-Trumbull was the medalist with 75 while Brooke Bolin of Boone Central received the silver medal with 76.
October 7th, 2009
Committee begins plans for Q125 book
Another Plainview history book is being published and will be for sale May 2011; just in time for the June 2011 Q125 celebration in Plainview. That means family histories are needed now.
If a family history and picture were in the 1986 edition, send an update with a new picture. If families missed the opportunity or are new to Plainview, the committee would like them to be included as well.
Family histories should be no longer than 300 words. Pictures can be sent with the families’ story to the address below or digitally to the Plainview News at plvwnews@plvwtelco.net.
The committee will be offering families an opportunity to have their pictures taken professionally at a later date. Watch the Plainview News for further details.
These history updates are also extended to Plainview businesses, churches, and organizations. Churches should include a brief history, emphasizing events since 1986 and include a complete list of ministers.
Interested parties that may not subscribe to the Plainview News should also be notified.
Any questions about this can be answered by Diann Frahm at 582-4888 or Dorothy Holmes at 582-3383.Family histories are required by January 15 and can be mailed to P.O. Box 363, Plainview, NE 68769.The next Q125 History Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Sorensen qualifies for State Golf Tournament
The Plainview girls’ golf team participated in the District C-3 tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at the Wayne Country Club.
Nicole Sorensen shot a 52 and 53 to tie for seventh-place as well as earn her a trip to the State Tournament in Grand Island’s Riverside Country Club on Oct. 12-13.
| March of the Monarch | ||||
News Staff Writer From mid-August to October, it’s Monarch madness for Eugene Young. And the Plainview man captures the moment — literally. Young volunteers as part of the University of Kansas’ Monarch Watch, tagging hundreds of butterflies as the fair-weather insects flit through the Midwest on their way to central Mexico to roost for the winter. He’s already tagged 930 butterflies this year with a sticker with a toll-free telephone number and a butterfly identification number. Young charts his find with the date they were tagged, whether the butterfly was male or female, wild or reared.
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September 30th, 2009
Dr. Bell leaving for Florida position
Plainview Area Health System announced Monday that Dr. Richard Bell will be leaving the Plainview Area Health System medical staff, effective on November 16, 2009.Dr. Bell, who has been a full-time practitioner since January of 2005, will be moving to Daytona Beach, Fla. where he will be the medical director for Met Care of Florida, a division of Humana Corp.Prior to practicing full-time in Plainview, Dr. Bell had provided interim medical services at the hospital and clinic since September of 2003.“We are very sorry to see him leave, and wish him well in his new endeavors,” said Rick Gamel, the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer. “Dr. Bell will be missed in the community.”Gamel added that the recruitment process for a second physician will begin immediately to join the staff of Dr. Brad Lockee, Martha McCabe PA-C and Jeana Simons PA-C.
Lady Pirates pull in Homecoming win
The Plainview Lady Pirates wrenched their first win of the season away from the visiting Lady Warriors of Neligh on Tuesday evening as a kickoff event for the Pirate homecoming festivities.The Lady Pirates won the first three of the five sets to take the win, 25-23, 27-25 and 25-20. The win places the team’s season record at 1-10.
September 23rd, 2009
Word received from Public Service Commission on E911
By: Brook D. Curtiss
Editor of the News
plvwnews@plvwtelco.net
Word and an inferred decision was received from the Public Service Commission on Monday by County Clerk Shannon Wragge – it appears that the PSC is willing to fund only one Enhanced 911 station.
Information received from the County pointed out rather clearly that the PSC is required to, and will be, only funding one “public safety answering point” in each County.
The new system, passed by the State government between 2001 and 2006 is easily likened to when radio transmission became popular and the Federal Communications Commission needed to begin regulating channels and such.
The Public Service Commission, under Statute 86-466 is “not required to provide compensation for costs to more than one public safety answering point in any county.”
Along with that determination, funds became available through an application to the PSC for funding from the Enhanced Wireless 911 fund, which the County applied for and received confirmation of in the past few months.
That being done, the County, perhaps incidentally, became responsible for the production and carrying of the E911 system and dispatching – which prompted the creation of the E911 Advisory Board, to manage the County’s system.
In the information from the PSC, the representative and attorney mention LB 1222 which stipulates that the PSC will provide funding for only one “public safety answering point” per County and “furthermore, no funding will be provided for backups PSAPs.”
That information received, it appeared on Tuesday evening, in a phone call with Commissioner Tom Meyer that if Plainview were to continue its current dispatching station, an application would have to be sent to the Public Service Commission (similar to a broadcasting license) and the City of Plainview would receive no funding for the station. The information also was interpreted to conclude the discussion about where the two panels being funded should be placed, both will be placed in Pierce (by vote of the Commissioners on Sept. 14 and through confirmation of that action in the received information.)
The Pierce County E911 Advisory Board, with members from each represented emergency area, will have its next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in the multi-purpose room in the Pierce County Courthouse.
A copy of the information received from the Public Service Commission is viewable at The Plainview News.
Girls golfers compete in busy week of play
The Plainview girls’ golf team traveled to Hartington for a triangular on Monday, Sept. 21 as the Crofton course was closed for repair.
Nicole Sorensen shot the low score for the Lady Pirates with a 52.
Sarah MacGregor narrowly missed duplicating her dad’s feat of a hole-in-one when her ball hooked the hole on her last hole, ending up as a birdie instead. MacGregor had an out-of-bounds to keep her from scoring lower than a 55.
Crofton wins Plainview Invite
Nicole Sorensen of Plainview earned the bronze medal to lead the Lady Pirate team and helped the team place fifth overall with a 434.
”Sarah MacGregor and Briana Hamm both shot 111 for the day. The score put them one stroke from playing for a medal and a place in the top 15.
Sam Hart shot 116 as she improved six strokes on the back nine by avoiding the out-of-bounds on two holes. Rachel Sorensen completed the varsity team scoring with a 135. Her score did not count, but she is “gaining experience,” said Knaak.
Asia Berg and Carissa Pollock played in a reserve role, and since there is not enough girls out, the team did not record a score.
vs. Hartington
The Plainview girls’ golf team hosted Hartington on September 15 and Hartington won 218-219.
Nicole Sorensen played steady golf and was the medalist with a score of 49 and only an occasional double-bogie thrown in with her bogies.
Sarah MacGregor had three triple bogies and a score of 53. Briana Hamm continued her steady improvement with a not too far behind score of 55.
Rachel Sorensen completed the team scoring with a 62.
September 16th, 2009
Local dispatch now up to Council
The fate of a local dispatching service in Plainview rests in the hands of the Plainview City Council as of a Pierce County Commissioners decision on Monday morning.
The Commissioners decided to adhere to the main grant request from the State and Federal government and place both panels paid for by the grant funding in the Pierce County Sheriff’s office, instead of breaking one out to allow Plainview to continue its own dispatching service through the Enhanced 911 system.
Previously, the E911 Advisory Committee had discussed applying for one station spread over two sites, naming Plainview as a “backup” facility. However, upon realizing that Plainview’s system would actually be an independent dispatch location, not just a backup, the Commissioners decided that both panels applied for in the grant should be housed in the E911 “headquarters” at the Pierce County Sheriff’s office to fully comply with the language in the grant and funding guidelines. The decision passed on unanimous vote with all three Commissioners voting in favor of the motion.
Options still may remain, however, for Plainview’s dispatch station, and the Commissioners filtered through much discussion about the “needs, wants and have-to’s” for Plainview to operate and maintain an E911 system – but the final call as to the local station will come from the Plainview City Council, because the purchase of a separate computer and panel and the wireless system will be entirely at Plainview’s expense.
That estimated $35,000 ($17,000 for the wireless system to connect to Pierce and $17,000 for the panel and local dispatch equipment) could be within the realm of a Council-approved expense, as the City currently has more than $45,000 in the 911 Surcharge account. The City Council was also set to review the $97,000-plus budget item for the 911 Dispatching station in Plainview, and, if the local station was to be operated under current plans, it would have to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week – assuming the City Offices are moved to the old fire hall as requested. (The move would eliminate the weekday coverage by the City Office workers and create a need for more positions solely in the dispatching station.)
The surcharge funds can only be spent toward 911 costs, primarily thought of as equipment, but the question was asked at the Commissioners meeting if the new project could count as a legitimate expense for the previously-raised funds.
Regardless of the decision, it was the opinion of the Pierce County Attorney that the ultimate accountability for any decision, liability and operation lay with the County Commissioners. Since the E911 service would be totally routed through the County, even if Plainview had its own station, the County would hold liability for any and all transactions through the system.
The Commissioners remained focused on Monday, discussing only the 911 dispatching calls. They also mentioned that Plainview could retain its local dispatching calls for non-emergency calls to Police and Fire and Rescue in and around Plainview.
Currently, the City of Pierce contracts those local services with the County for $700 per month and routes their dispatching through the Pierce County Sheriff’s office. Plainview would probably be able to obtain a similar agreement if the Plainview City Council decides not to fund the 911 equipment necessary for Plainview’s own local station.
All three Commissioners said they desired a way to continue the dispatching station in Plainview, but according to the grant rules they needed to make a decision that fell in line with the guidelines in order to protect the County’s interests.
The item was also on the agenda for discussion at the Plainview City Council meeting on Tuesday of this week and more information should be included in that story as well.
Lady golfers defeat Wakefield
The Plainview girls’ golf team evened their record to 1-1 by defeating Wakefield 219-245 on September 10 at Wakefield, their lowest nine-hole score this year.
Nicole Sorensen and Sarah MacGregor continued to lead the team as they shot 47 and 49 respectively to earn the low rounds of the day. “This is especially good as the course is rated par 38 for nine-hole,” said Coach Larry Knaak. “Although Sorensen only had two pars, she recorded nothing above a double bogie. MacGregor also had two pars but had two doubles and a triple spoil her round.”
Briana Hamm and Sam Hart completed the team scoring with 58 and 65. Both girls started off on the hardest holes, both par three, with high scores before they recovered to play good golf the rest of the way. Also Hamm had five penalty strokes keep her score from being lower while Hart had 10 penalty strokes on the day.
Freshman Rachel Sorensen completed the varsity team and shot 67 with a poor start on her first three holes. Asia Berg and Carissa Pollock played in a reserve role. Berg shot 70 while Pollock shot 73.
“With both Nicole Sorensen and Sarah MacGregor continually scoring low and the rest of the girls improving, the team is going to place well at the invites,” said Coach Knaak.
The Plainview girls’ golf team traveled to Pierce for an invitational there on Saturday, Sept. 12, and though several of he girls had their career-low round, the team ended up in ninth-place overall
September 9th, 2009
E911 Board plans for two stations, funding
The Pierce County Enhanced 911 system got a little closer to definition and completion last week when the 911 Advisory Board met for their first official meeting last Wednesday evening at the Pierce County Courthouse.
Stacey Gross, Geocomm, served as the mediator for the meeting which was held to appoint board members, define the terms of the group, cover the revamped cost structure and extension to the Plainview location and any other topics, and there were a number, that came before the group.
With the final implementation date of March 1, 2010, a number of questions were answered including what to do in the interim period, where the funds were coming from and how the stations would be set up and work
.It was agreed by the members present that they would go back to their sponsoring organizations and get letters of referral to serve on the E911 Advisory Committee, that the Committee would produce recommendations to the County Commissioners, who would then authorize the use of funds and that a formal structure of Chairman and Secretary should be established as well as an E911 County Coordinator.
Tentatively at last Wednesday’s meeting, Tom Meyer, County Commissioner, was chosen as the group’s Chairman and Rick Eberhardt, Pierce County Sheriff, as the E911 Coordinator.
Costs explained
First, the group went through a review of the surcharges, which should all now be $1 per land line subscriber and be funneling into an account at the Pierce County level, instead of at the local levels.
Osmond, Pierce and Plainview’s exchanges were all paying something: Osmond was already at $1, Pierce was paying $700 a month for dispatching service and Plainview was paying $.50.As of its passage at the last Plainview City Council meeting, Plainview’s residents will now be surcharged $1 to head toward the E911 fund at the County, Pierce is still paying $700 a month for dispatching and also now a $1 surcharge, and Osmond’s payment remains the same.
According to an updated cash flow budget, Gross pointed out that the E911 system was effectively budgeted its first year with a $1,365.20 recurring profit each month.
As of Gross’s figures at the meeting there will be approximately $2,597 raised each month from the subscribers in the County, and $1,231.80 of that will be used to fund the E911 system (not counting labor) which involves: $279.00 to Qwest 911 transport in fees, $495.56 from Pierce Telephone, $302.24 from Plainview Telephone and $155.00 from the Osmond Exchange.
Other expenses include Geocomm’s work at $76,600 and the equipment – which should be covered by the County’s grant from the State Wireless Fund.
One issue did arise with the “implementation cost” phase of the program and primarily the fact that for the equipment, installation of the two sites (Pierce and Plainview) and extra technology needed for that link and increased costs elsewhere – the budget is, at present, $44,000-plus “in the red.”For Plainview’s share, Gross, Kyle Tarr of the Rural Fire Board and Bruce Yosten, Plainview Police, all agreed that Plainview City Administrator Michael Holton had said that Plainview would take up the $17,694.00 for the wireless communication system to install the extra site in Plainview and link it to Pierce’s main station.
The $17,000 extra comes in the form of two satellite-type dishes that would beam a wireless signal from the Pierce dispatch station to the Plainview water tower and then run through wires to the local dispatch station.
Discussion was also had that Holton had said the water tower could be used as the receiver station and that an underground line could be dug to the nearby hospital in case of a power outage (by using the hospital’s generators).
The City of Plainview has a fund built up from previous years’ collections of the surcharge with no expenditures, and, as of last month’s meetings, there were split feelings of where that money should be allocated – directly to the E911 system in Pierce or back into the coffers of the City of Plainview.
The Plainview City Council agreed that it would be unfair to turn over the entire amount (between $40-$50,000) to Pierce County when it was Plainview’s residents that created the windfall, and had that language stricken from the inter-local agreement signed last month.
Pierce County’s Commissioners would have to find revenue in this year’s County budget to pay the additional $26,952.30.Other financial issues that arose included what to do with the additional surcharge fund, how soon the County could look into providing same-level pagers for all three areas, as well as technological issues of recording voice and logging calls, transferring from Osmond to Pierce and how Plainview would handle its dispatching.
Next meeting planned
The E911 Advisory Committee will meet again on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in the County Courthouse’s multi-purpose room.
Football team wins opener
The Plainview Pirate varsity football team took its first win of the season from Wakefield’s Trojans on Thursday, Sept. 3 at the opener of Plainview High School Football.
“The coaching staff was happy to pull out a win in the first game,” said Head Coach Chad Schumacher. “This was a good game for us to open up with. With the new offense we put in this year, we will make some mistakes at the beginning of the season. The mistakes we made in the game are easily fixed.”
September 2nd, 2009
E911 Board plans for two stations, funding
The Pierce County Enhanced 911 system got a little closer to definition and completion last week when the 911 Advisory Board met for their first official meeting last Wednesday evening at the Pierce County Courthouse.
Stacey Gross, Geocomm, served as the mediator for the meeting which was held to appoint board members, define the terms of the group, cover the revamped cost structure and extension to the Plainview location and any other topics, and there were a number, that came before the group.
With the final implementation date of March 1, 2010, a number of questions were answered including what to do in the interim period, where the funds were coming from and how the stations would be set up and work
.It was agreed by the members present that they would go back to their sponsoring organizations and get letters of referral to serve on the E911 Advisory Committee, that the Committee would produce recommendations to the County Commissioners, who would then authorize the use of funds and that a formal structure of Chairman and Secretary should be established as well as an E911 County Coordinator.
Tentatively at last Wednesday’s meeting, Tom Meyer, County Commissioner, was chosen as the group’s Chairman and Rick Eberhardt, Pierce County Sheriff, as the E911 Coordinator.
Costs explained
First, the group went through a review of the surcharges, which should all now be $1 per land line subscriber and be funneling into an account at the Pierce County level, instead of at the local levels.
Osmond, Pierce and Plainview’s exchanges were all paying something: Osmond was already at $1, Pierce was paying $700 a month for dispatching service and Plainview was paying $.50.As of its passage at the last Plainview City Council meeting, Plainview’s residents will now be surcharged $1 to head toward the E911 fund at the County, Pierce is still paying $700 a month for dispatching and also now a $1 surcharge, and Osmond’s payment remains the same.
According to an updated cash flow budget, Gross pointed out that the E911 system was effectively budgeted its first year with a $1,365.20 recurring profit each month.
As of Gross’s figures at the meeting there will be approximately $2,597 raised each month from the subscribers in the County, and $1,231.80 of that will be used to fund the E911 system (not counting labor) which involves: $279.00 to Qwest 911 transport in fees, $495.56 from Pierce Telephone, $302.24 from Plainview Telephone and $155.00 from the Osmond Exchange.
Other expenses include Geocomm’s work at $76,600 and the equipment – which should be covered by the County’s grant from the State Wireless Fund.
One issue did arise with the “implementation cost” phase of the program and primarily the fact that for the equipment, installation of the two sites (Pierce and Plainview) and extra technology needed for that link and increased costs elsewhere – the budget is, at present, $44,000-plus “in the red.”For Plainview’s share, Gross, Kyle Tarr of the Rural Fire Board and Bruce Yosten, Plainview Police, all agreed that Plainview City Administrator Michael Holton had said that Plainview would take up the $17,694.00 for the wireless communication system to install the extra site in Plainview and link it to Pierce’s main station.
The $17,000 extra comes in the form of two satellite-type dishes that would beam a wireless signal from the Pierce dispatch station to the Plainview water tower and then run through wires to the local dispatch station.
Discussion was also had that Holton had said the water tower could be used as the receiver station and that an underground line could be dug to the nearby hospital in case of a power outage (by using the hospital’s generators).
The City of Plainview has a fund built up from previous years’ collections of the surcharge with no expenditures, and, as of last month’s meetings, there were split feelings of where that money should be allocated – directly to the E911 system in Pierce or back into the coffers of the City of Plainview.
The Plainview City Council agreed that it would be unfair to turn over the entire amount (between $40-$50,000) to Pierce County when it was Plainview’s residents that created the windfall, and had that language stricken from the inter-local agreement signed last month.
Pierce County’s Commissioners would have to find revenue in this year’s County budget to pay the additional $26,952.30.Other financial issues that arose included what to do with the additional surcharge fund, how soon the County could look into providing same-level pagers for all three areas, as well as technological issues of recording voice and logging calls, transferring from Osmond to Pierce and how Plainview would handle its dispatching.
Next meeting planned
The E911 Advisory Committee will meet again on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in the County Courthouse’s multi-purpose room.
Fall Sports season begins in Plainview
Plainview kicks off the fall season Thursday with Cross Country at Wisner-Pilger, Volleyball at O'Neill and Wakefield coming to town for football. On Friday the girls golf team will compete at home against Norfolk Catholic.
With the start of fall sports season in Plainview comes the need for schedules.
The Plainview News staff is busy finishing up the final touches on the pocket sports schedules and should have some available at the Thursday night football game.
August 27th, 2009
AMPI'S doors closed
After 38 years of service, the Plainview Associated Milk Producers transfer station has been slated to permanently close at the end of this month, according to information received this week.
Sheryl Doering-Meshke, vice-president of Public Affairs for AMPI in New Ulm, Minn., said that the decision to close the transfer station was one of efficiency in today’s milk market.
“The transfer station no longer has the purpose it had a number of years ago,” said Doering-Meshke, commenting that the milk that was previously hauled to Plainview and then transferred to either Sanborn, Iowa’s cheese or Freeman S.D.’s dry milk facility would now simply be hauled there directly instead of with a layover in Plainview.
Meshke also said that though the three main positions at the facility would be lost, all of the haulers are still able to continue routes and driving. The offices at the facility, along with the distribution and sales of AMPI products, will be closed.
Meshke also said that though the milk would still be picked up locally, the schedules of pickups and routes should only undergo some “minor tweaking” as with any change of route.
“Farmers are looking for every efficiency possible,” said Meshke of the decision to close the transfer station, “in what some have called depression-era returns.”
Meshke said that efficiently, geographically and in the “best interests of the member-owners of AMPI, the local plant was recommended to close. Plainview’s transfer facility was considered “very close to” the direct facilities in Sanborn and Freeman.
Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) is a dairy marketing cooperative with 3,500 member farms, 5.8 billion pounds of milk and $1.7 billion in annual sales. Members operate dairy farms located throughout the Midwest states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. They own 14 manufacturing plants and market a full line of consumer-packaged dairy products, including the Cass-Clay® brand.
An 83-year run
Though the local AMPI facility was started in 1971, the original business, the Plainview Farmers Cooperative Creamery Company was started on September 28, 1926.First directors of the Plainview company were C.R. Christiansen, Chas. Reyher, C.E. Christiansen, Weaver Larson, Fred Saathoff, Chas. Moates, Roy Jensen, John Cox and Wm. Schwanebeck.
Through the years, the plant increased its activities from a creamery doing only a few thousand dollars in buttermaking, to an organization doing millions in making cheese, butter, roller-dried skim milk, roller dried whole milk, buttermilk and whey, feed sales, equipment sales and installation, egg and cream marketing, sales of condensed whey, whole milk, skim and buttermilk.
At the time, the facility in Plainview was the most diversified processor in the State of Nebraska.
Different departments were phased out through the years, and the manufacturing of all products was discontinued by 1980. The plant was then a receiving station until December of 1981 when it was more feasible to haul the manufactured milk to the receiving station in Laurel, which was part of the Nebraska Division of AMPI.
Plainview was then the location for the main offices and laboratory for the Nebraska Division, which had 29 part-time and full-time employees.
(Taken from the Plainview Centennial Book.)
Scrimmages to open sports season
August 27 is the kickoff date for the fall sports programs at Plainview Public Schools with an athletic night of scrimmages.
The Plainview High School football, volleyball and cross country teams will be holding scrimmage events during the evening:
* Cross Country: 4 p.m., parents meeting, north of the track
* Cross Country: 4:15 p.m., north of the track
* Volleyball: 4:45 p.m., parents meeting, Pirate Gym
* Volleyball: 5 p.m., Pirate Gym* Football: 6:30 p.m., football field
* Football: following scrimmage, parents meeting, field
The Pirate Boosters will also be holding their annual fund-drive and cookout event at the football field beginning at 5 p.m.
August 20th, 2009
School Board sets preschool policy
The Plainview Board of Education met in special session on Monday evening to determine some guiding policies for the new early education (preschool) classes at the Elementary School.
Among the items discussed by the board were transportation for preschoolers, opt-in tuition, bus guidelines for those that do ride the bus, free or reduced cost breakfast eligibility and class size.
The Board heard a list of recommendations from Superintendent Richard Alt and made only a few changes to the list before adopting the new policy.
Specific items of discussion and approval included:
* Providing transportation to students to school for the morning session and home following the afternoon session – parents are responsible for picking up their children after the a.m. class and dropping off their children for the p.m. class (or dropping off and picking up their children both times);
* If the child does ride the bus, when being dropped off at home, a parent (or known stand-in) must be there to receive the child before the child will be allowed off the bus. If no one is present, the child will return to the school on the bus and parents will be called. Transportation will not be provided for out-of-district students.;
* An out-of-district tuition fee for applicable students that wish to attend the preschool of $80 per month, payable at the beginning of the month, prior to classes that month;
* Students are also required to have documentation of their up-to-date immunization record.
* Increased enrollment to 30 students total, with 15 maximum in each session (up from 12);
* A list of priorities for admittance including:1. Children living in the District who are four years of age on or before October 15 of the school year in session;
2. Children who are four years old, that reside in another district, but have siblings that opt-in through the option enrollment program;
3. Children living in the district who are five years old, and did not attend preschool in a previous year;
4. Children who are five years old, that the administration and teaching staff think would benefit from a second year of preschool;
5. Children who are four years old, but live in another district;6. Other exceptions at the discretion of the administration.
The preschool will follow the schedule of the normal school year, with early outs and late starts applying for each time category as applicable, as well as vacation times, teacher in-service dates and other school closures.
The first Plainview Elementary preschool class will begin session today, Wednesday, August 19 with both sessions running the entire day Thursday and Friday (regardless of the early-out for the older children.)
Any questions about the Early Education program, or these guidelines, can be forwarded to Elementary Principal Randy Kort or Superintendent Richard Alt.
School opens for new year . . .
Students, teachers and administrators filed into their first day of the 2009-2010 school year on Wednesday. There will be an “early out” for Elementary and High School (minus the preschool class) at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
August 13th, 2009
Council approves surcharge increase for E911
An increase to a $1 Enhanced 911 Surcharge, two Keno grant applications and plans to dispose of run down housing and start the budget process were the main decisions at the Tuesday evening meeting of the Plainview City Council.
The group reviewed the E911 contract signed a few months ago to join with the county-wide E911 system and create a level charge for county-wide equality to support the new, digital system.
The contract dictated that Plainview join in an equal charge, up to $1 per subscriber per month, to join Pierce and Osmond’s $1 surcharge to create a fund for the new E911 equipment.
Council member Judy Wilson and Joe Grof put forward the motion to increase Plainview’s surcharge from 50 cents to $1 and it passed on 3-1 vote, Council member Brian Schlote casting the dissenting vote.
Following that decision, the group reviewed two Keno grant applications that had been submitted by the Plainview Development Company and the Plainview Youth Soccer program.
The Development Company’s grant was a request for complimentary funding for a mural depicting Plainview, painted by an artist that works with the Nebraska Arts Council.
The estimated project cost was $10,000 with a $5,500 match in funds from local groups as well as the $4,500 requested funds from the Keno grant program.
The Council discussed locations that the mural could be located at and heard from Development Company President Bruce Curtiss that he had contacted the owners of Plainview Auto Supply and Larry Pendergast (who owns the east lot, attached to the Auto Supply building) and both parties tentatively seemed agreeable to fixing the east wall and painting the mural there.
The mural would be a generated artwork of the hired artist, but would be “brainstormed” through interviews of local residents, a study of community history and a number of planning meetings.
Following an acceptable mural depiction, the artist would recruit local volunteer painters from the art classes and/or public to do the actual painting of the mural.
“This is just the type of project the Keno grant program was created for,” said City Administrator Michael Holton, in his recommendation to approve the grant.
The Council did end up approving the grant as presented, contingent on matching funds being raised.
The second grant approved was through a request by Plainview’s youth soccer sponsors.
The grant requested just more than $1,500 to help renovate Plainview’s soccer fields to allow for more games to be played locally, instead of Pierce.
The additions and repairs included flags, new nets, whistles for referees and coaches, team medals, soccer goal frames and a number of sizes of soccer balls.
The Council approved the $1,536.95 grant.
Finally, in a carry-over from last month’s meeting, the Council reviewed the dilapidated housing in Plainview, namely a house on Highway 20 and a trailer house on north Plum Street. Both houses were reported as inspected for asbestos and both will proceed with work, in the case of the trailer house, removal and in the house on Highway 20 (near the empty Plainview Florist lot on the west end of town) would have its asbestos removed soon so demolition could also proceed.
Holton also said that a sidewalk on the property of 202 E. Locust Ave. would need to be repaired, and after repeated attempts, the owners could not be reached. The Council agreed, 3-1 (Wilson voting no) to repair the sidewalk and assess the cost to the landowner.
Holton said that the list of houses to begin work on is still being processed and should appear for Council review in the next month or so.
Recreation Board need discussed
City Administrator Michael Holton revisited his plan to possibly do away with the Plainview Recreation Board, in favor of helping to assist the newly-formed “Ball Backers Association” with the yearly sponsoring of the ball programs.
Holton said in his report that “in this time of conservative fiscal management” it had become apparent that Plainview has a number of small boards that don’t “make sense anymore.”
Holton said that when the board was created in 2002-2003, it was made to assist the ball programs with some “growing pains” that the program has now made it through. He said that the board was originally created with the thought to turn the programs over to a “ball backers” type of organization, and perhaps that time has come.
Holton plans to meet with the Recreation Board to determine their thoughts and report back next month.
Police calls break second record
According to information on the Police Chief’s report for calls received during the month of July, Plainview has broken another record – 123 calls last month
At the July meeting, Police Chief Bruce Yosten said that June’s total of 100 calls was a record for breaking the “100 mark,” making this month’s total a new record again.
The calls were attributed to 14 warnings, 11 traffic calls, 12 civil matter calls, nine “dog at large” calls and a number of miscellaneous calls.
Since the beginning of 2009 the Police Department has received an increasing number of calls, from a low of 49 in February to 123 in July.
Plainview families host four exchange students
Four foreign exchange students will be attending Plainview Public Schools for the 2009-2010 year, from Norway, Italy, Germany and Taiwan.
Visiting from Taiwan is Chun-Jung Hu, 18, wanted to continue studying and practicing her English after a one month stay in Canada, and so joined the exchange student program.
From Norway is Mina Caroline Engebretsen, 17, who wanted to experience a different culture. So far, Engebretsen reported having met a lot of nice people and that she had noticed only some small differences between Norway and America.
The other two students are Bianca Maria Salvatore who is visiting from Italy and Felizia Kininger who is visiting from Germany.
The students will all be invited into the senior class of 2010 at Plainview High School, and all four said they were interested in volleyball.
All four students will be the guests of honor at an open house at the Four Corners Country Store in downtown Plainview (across the street from PCSI Teleservices) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The public is invited to attend and visit with the students.
Salvatore and Kininger are staying with Bob and Carolyn Smith and Engebretsen and Hu are staying with Dan and Lisa Stark.
The Smiths and Starks are participating in the exchange program sponsored by the Education First Foundation, online at www.ef.com.
August 6th, 2009
Sidump’r pressing through recession
An empty lot isn’t as bad as may appear.
That’s the story from Bob McKinley, Chief Executive Officer of Sidump’r Trailer Co. of Plainview, as he relayed it to more than 20 Chamber and community members at a special meeting last Tuesday evening.
McKinley told the gathered group of businessmen and women and citizens that the current recession has hurt the local business, but that they are still selling and manufacturing trailers and looking forward to a bright future for the product.
McKinley briefly reviewed the company’s history since the takeover, as well as what work had been done to improve the product, shore up current customers and expand its nationwide distribution, prior to the current recession.
“In the fourth quarter of 2008, the construction industry took a nosedive,” said McKinley, referencing losses in the construction industry as a whole of between 60 and 80 percent of business. This reduction also affected the company’s dealers who no longer are carrying the stock that used to wait in the Sidump’r yard until the customer settled on options. Today, the dealers only place their order once the customer has decided on color and options and then generally want immediate shipment with a much shorter, if any, wait in the Sidump’r yard.
He said that with the slowdown the company did not re-hire when a staff member left and the company pared its former almost 50-member staff to a core group of around 25.“We’ve got terrific talent, with good attitudes and work ethics,” said McKinley about his staff at the plant. “Our basic strategy through the recession is to keep the boat steady and make it to the other side. We’ve got a good product and a large potential market.”
Currently the side-dump trailer market is only about 10 percent of total dump trailer market. Major competition comes from the traditional end-dump trailers, but McKinley says, the end-dump trailer manufacturers are beginning to take note of the side-dump industry.
Through greater safety and higher dump speeds, the side-dump industry should still prove to have a lot of room to grow, once the recession fades away, said McKinley.
In the meantime, the company entered a receivership arrangement, as a way to keep the company operating.
Since entering the receivership, McKinley said that Sidump’r has not needed additional funding, and has been operating solely from its own cash flow.
Although the company has seen a slowdown in sales and production and has entered into the receivership, McKinley said the company’s dealers are still selling trailers and the company is still producing trailers while also working to expand its 14-state distribution area in the U.S. and Canada.
Klooz wins Teen World tourney
The 2009 US Teen World Championship was held July 30th – August 3rd, 2009 in Pinehurst No. 8, North Carolina. The World Cup was held August 4th on Pinehurst No. 2.
Mitchell Klooz of Plainview, son of Randy and Lori Klooz, played in the 14 year-old age division on Pinehurst No. 8 golf course.
There were more than 100 hundred golfers from around the world competing in the 14 year-old age division. Klooz shot a first round 73 (+1) and was tied for 5th place, three shots out of the lead. Battling through multiple rain delays he shot a 70 (-2) for the low score of the second round and took the lead of the tournament by one stroke. The third round was very competitive.
July 30th, 2009
Town hall potluck planned, Aug. 13
An August 13 town hall meeting and potluck has been scheduled for the end, and beginning, of the Wyoming Economic Development group’s survey and review of Plainview.
At the beginning of April, a team of five local, statewide and out-of-state resource members took to the streets of Plainview to interview its residents, discover strengths and weaknesses and report back to the community some options for the future.
As one result of those efforts, which included two days of interviews with a cross-section of Plainview’s residents, is a more than 50 page document of what was heard during the interview sessions, what was learned from those sessions and where Plainview’s leadership can begin directing town growth.
As partially an end-cap to the visit from the resource team, a potluck has been scheduled to kick off a town hall meeting on Thursday night, August 13 at the Plainview Community Center in downtown Plainview.
The evening is expected to last about two hours, and, following the potluck meal, resource team lead, Mary Randolph of the Wyoming Rural Development Council, will present the information in the report and work through major themes and give an idea of the work yet to be done for the future.
Anyone wishing to attend the town hall meeting can do so, and is asked to bring something to share as part of the potluck meal.
Copies of the survey in its final form are available at The Plainview News for viewing, or a copy can be obtained by e-mailing the News at plvwnews@plvwtelco.net. The signup sheets that were filled out during the time of the surveys will be processed and a copy of the final compilation will be sent to each person who left an e-mail address. In the near future the final product will also be viewable by link to the News website at www.plvwtelco.net/plvwnews and also by link on the Plainview Telephone Company’s website at www.plvwtelco.net.
Juniors take State baseball
Three Plainview youth were named State Champions in the American Legion’s Juniors tournament on Tuesday evening.
Teran Boyer, Andrew Holton and Zach Masat of Brunswick, competed in the 2009 State Championship finals against Davenport-Edgar and won a two-game spread 9-1 and 3-0.
The boys, part of Creighton’s Juniors team, started the tournament on July 24 with a win over Twin Plains, 9-6; lost to Davenport-Edgar 4-3 on July 25 and then battled back on July 26-27, winning over Dwight 8-5 and the number two seed, Pender, 9-8.
The team had to play Davenport-Edgar twice because of their second-round loss early in the tournament.
The Creighton/Plainview team was the number one seed in the tournament and Davenport-Edgar was the fifth seed.
July 23rd, 2009
Watson Motor Co. report: continue business as usual
By: Brook D. Curtiss
Editor of the News
While larger newspapers in the State are reporting the impending doom of Watson Motor Company of Plainview as a result of a possible franchise challenge by General Motors – local reports are that the dealership has no intention to close, regardless of the franchise.
Local General Manager Chris Smith said that Al Rajaee, owner of Watson Motor Co. and Cornhusker Auto in Norfolk, had appealed a decision by General Motors to remove the local franchise, and that the decision is still pending in litigation. The deadline for the actual removal of the franchise is not set until late in 2010, leaving more than a year for consideration of the local company.
“We have no immediate or future plans to close Watson’s, regardless of the appeal decision [on the franchise],” said Smith. “The dealership and service center will remain open.”
At the same time, a bill was released from a Congressional committee this week in favor of restoring the franchise rights to all dealerships who have already had them taken away and those still being considered.
Called the Auto Dealers Economic Rights Restoration Act, Congressional legislators are attempting to reverse the decision to remove franchises, but that decision is also not near completed, needing passage from the House and Senates.
General Motors and Chrysler had made plans to close more than 3,300 dealer franchises this year, estimating a savings of $2.1 billion, by choosing dealers who had low volume sales, or that were located in cities that have more than one franchise.While Watson Motor Company doesn’t fall into those categories, it appeared early on that a “random” choice mechanism was also in place to eliminate dealers who may make the cut, but were needed to be added to the “quota” of removed franchises.
The actual law being proposed is H.R. 2743 and can be viewed at http://www.govtrack.us/congress /bill.xpd?bill=h111-2743 for complete language about the Act. It was proposed and sponsored on June 8, 2009 by New York Representative Daniel Maffei (D) and currently has 258 co-sponsors listed.
The summary listed at Govtrack.us is as follows (the full text is also available on the website):“
Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009 - Prohibits an automobile manufacturer (manufacturer) in which the federal government has an ownership interest, or which receives loans from the federal government, from depriving an automobile dealer (dealer) of its economic rights. Requires the manufacturer to honor those rights as they existed for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corporation dealers prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy cases of each corporation, including dealer rights to recourse under state law. Requires the appropriate manufacturer to restore the franchise agreement between the dealers and Chrysler LLC or General Motors that was in effect prior to the commencement of their respective bankruptcy cases, and to take assignment of such agreements. States that nothing in this Act is intended to make null and void the transfer of substantially all the assets of such corporations.”
So, while the franchise decision is being appealed and the Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Act is being debated in committee, a local movement has been started to send letters to Plainview’s representatives in the State and Federal governments to make sure that their vote is for the Act.
Those in favor of such a letter should contact Michael Holton, City Administrator, or The Plainview News to receive a copy of a form letter that should be signed and individually sent by those interested.
End season with win, 22-12
The Junior Pee Wee team traveled to Verdigre on June 29, 2009 for the last game of the season and ended with a win of 22-12.
Earning singles for the Pirates were Nic Jensen, Alex Haase with two, Austin Christiansen, Schyler Sauser, and Tyler Ausdemore. Doubles were also obtained by Austin Christiansen and Jason Gutz.
“The players were able to play different positions in this game and did an excellent job,” said Coach Kraig Christiansen.
The Junior Pee Wees enjoyed an end of the year pool party on July 8.
July 16th, 2009
School Board discusses policy, fourth-grade class combination
A report about a committee meeting on the hiring policies at Plainview Public Schools was at the forefront of discussion at the Board’s meeting on Monday evening.
Board members John Anderson, Jeremy Hampton and Krista Hanks, with Superintendent Richard Alt, reported on a meeting they had held that was used to discuss the hiring policy for positions at the school.
That report, when compared to recent decisions about specifically the technology coordinator position, led to discussion about the importance of following procedures that are put in place.
All three of the Board members said they felt that there had been mistakes made in the past concerning most recently the technology position’s hiring procedure, but that they all felt the need to follow policy had been explained fully and would be strictly adhered to in the future.
“We do want to go forward from here,” said Hanks. “Mistakes were made all around, and we need to have better communication between the six of us [board members] and the administration and the public.”
“I think, had we followed some of the procedures, we could’ve avoided some of the concerns,” said Anderson. “But I don’t think there’s any one place to be pointing a finger at. We need to move forward and follow procedures.”
Specifically, the Board was questioned concerning language in the School Board’s newly-drafted policy manual that says the Superintendent is responsible to recommend all employees to the Board for their approval before hiring.
In the transition between Superintendents there was apparently confusion regarding the necessary steps to be taken to approve employees for hire – specifically regarding the different procedures for hiring classified (non-teaching) or certified staff.
In the past, the Superintendent was normally charged with an “at will” hiring and firing of classified positions (including cooks, janitors, secretaries) and the like. When past Superintendent David Hamm spoke on the issue last month, he said that he actually allowed a little more freedom by the department heads and principals to help in making those decisions.
Superintendent Alt said he had no problem with the Board members taking a more active role in the interview process and, though in his experience the Superintendent controlled the classified staff hiring, if the new policy said that the Superintendent should recommend all staff to the Board, that’s what he would do.
When questioned directly about the hiring and approval of the technology position though, Alt said that there was already a person hired, though it had not come to the Board for approval. Exact terms of that agreement, official information about the candidate and qualifications and salary were not available at press time. Alt assured the Board that a quality, qualified individual had been hired with a college degree in the field, five years experience and that he would be able to keep the position busy during the year.
Board agrees to try combining fourth-grade
In another report, the Board reviewed the fourth-grade situation for the 2009-2010 school year and decided to continue forward with plans to combine the classes.
Parents in attendance voiced some similar concerns, reiterated to bring Superintendent Alt up to date on the issue, including the need for more supervision of the class, perhaps better served with two smaller classes than one large one.
The expected census for the fourth-grade for the coming year is still sitting at approximately 23 students, a figure that should be able to be handled by one teacher and a para-educator, according to Alt.
Parents differed in their estimation, pointing out around 10 children that need special attention, for a mixture of discipline, attention and learning issues.
The parents asked that Alt look at the Terra Nova and DIBBLES scores (that measure aptitude in core education areas) himself, instead of going off the overview provided by past Superintendent Hamm.
Board members assured parents that, since it was brought up as an issue, if the class is combined into one larger group that they would personally review the progress of the class, and new elementary principal Randy Kort offered the same assurance.
The panel also discussed financial obligations with the parents present, mentioning that the dropping enrollment has a lot to do with not being able to hire as many teachers as everyone would find ideal.
With the offer of monitoring the class and being willing to revisit or change the structure if problems arise, the Board continued with the original plan to combine the classes for the 2009-2010 year.
In other business the Board:
* Heard and agreed to begin a project with the Rural Fire Board to replace the boards on the visitor bleachers at the football field;
* Heard that the administration was not going to revisit having early-outs on Fridays;
* Discussed roof repair needs;
* Heard the President’s, both Principals’ and the Superintendent’s report.
Club tours Wilde sites
The Little House Club traveled to De Smet S.D. to visit the many sites that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about in five of her Little House books.
The club members spent the night in the Bunk House on the Homestead site.
The group members that went on the trip were Karissa Eichberger, Darian Grof, Caitlyn Hart, Emily Klooz, Natalie Lingenfelter, Jordan Mosel, Stephanie Sorensen and Becca Wills. Sponsors of the group were Wanda Retzlaff and Eileen Bramer.
July 9th, 2009
Services Board approached by consolidator
The Information Technology contract and a purchase offer for Plainview Area Health System were two topics of main discussion at the Plainview Health Services Board meeting last Wednesday.
Hospital Administrator Richard Gamel reported to the Board that a “gentleman” from a company, HMC/CAH, had stopped by unexpectedly and asked if the Health Services Board would be interested in selling the facility.HMC/CAH is listed on their website (www.hmccah.com) as a “consolidator of critical access hospitals.” They list a number of facilities already in the organization including some in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and North Carolina.Gamel told the Board that the representative had said the company had just completed a project in North Carolina and had acquired eight more facilities in the U.S. and were looking to acquire approximately 40 hospitals total.
The Board generally had a negative response toward the idea, disliking the idea of selling out to a large company and giving over local control of the facility.
HMC/CAH currently purchases critical access hospitals and renovations, adds or subtracts to the services and replaces equipment in the hope of attracting additional providers and attracting a higher patient volume.
“We could’ve done that with the Manor in the past,” said Board President Dr. Michael Bernecker, “but we agreed to keep it locally controlled. I think we might look into something like this if we’re in dire straits.”
Board member Dennis Vossberg requested that the Plainview City Council be informed of the offer, but the Board responded with a general “no” in response to the request at this time.
Technology contract discussed
Gamel also updated the Board on a number of bids received for technical services to the hospital in response to a request for more information on prices at last month’s meeting.
Gamel reported that he had received from companies in Norfolk, Sioux City and Yankton to compare to the current contract, held by local company, My Quality PC (Tim Udell).
Not comparing the companies directly, the Board discussed the current IT contract and the questioned the need for the amount of help, in general, provided by any company. Currently, the hospital budgets about $45,000 per year for technical support.
The group made no decisions, but will investigate the contracts and the actual needs at the facility.
Renovations, new medical equipment and repairs agreed on
Roof drainage, a new electrical outlet, updating electrical panels were also discussed at both facilities as renovations and repairs were being made.
Gamel reported that he was hoping to have the area by the ambulance entrance remodeled to help drain water away from the entrance where it has a tendency to freeze and make a large patch of ice.
He also said that he had received a bid from Stoffel Electric of Plainview to provide an electrical outlet and hookups for the visiting Nuclear Medicine transport that services the hospital. Stoffel’s bid was reviewed and the Board agreed to solicit one more bid and then take the lowest for the project.
In a bit of new business for the hospital, Gamel revisited the CPSI software contract with the Board and expressed a desire to keep moving forward with the clinic’s side of the software, including the medical records and lab system. The update to electronic medical records is required by law by 2014.He also said that he had found and purchased four security cameras and a monitor to assist with staff knowing when someone enters one of the rear entrances of the facility and covered a grant that the facility had received for a new EKG machine and cardiac monitor. The grant funds will not become available until October and the current machines are on their “last legs.”
The Board discussed leasing and purchasing options and agreed to have a special meeting to review the IT contracts as well as the grant and prices for the two machines.
Johnson told the Board that she had another surveyor come to the facility and give a report that showed a few items that needed attention, forming six deficiencies for the facility.
Johnson reported that the deficiencies showed:1. A need for an automatic door closer on the soiled linen room;2. An automatic closure device on the laundry chute;3. A smoke detector sensitivity test;4. A quarterly wet/dry flow test from the Nebraska Fire and Safety council;5. A generator or need to provide emergency electrical backup for at least 1.5 hours;6. A repair/replacement of the current fire panel for Whispering Pines.
All of the deficiencies needed to be addressed (and most were reported as nearly completed) by August 7 to avoid jeopardizing the facility’s ability to do business.
The Board agreed to purchase a bid for $3,325 to remove the Assisted Living panel and re-route it into the Manor’s panel.
All and all, Johnson reported the deficiencies to cost around $8,000 in repairs and renovations.
In other business the Board:
* Agreed to change the July meeting date to the fifth Wednesday instead of the fourth;
* Approved medical staff appointments of W. Brad Lockee, M.D.; Tod Voss, M.D. and Ajay Chander, M.D.
* Discussed the Manor’s current bond percentage and, if the rates go low enough, the Board will have a special meeting to refinance them quickly;
* Discussed a marketing plan for Dr. Lockee’s start date of August 3;
* Went into executive session for personnel issues at the request of Cheryl McCabe at the Plainview Manor and to discuss “provider issues” for the hospital.
Three locals qualify for World tourney
Three local youth qualified for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships to be held at the Pinehurst, N.C. resort with youth from over 20 different countries. Tucker Knaak, son of Tim and Patty Knaak; Sam Meuret, son of Jim and Laurie Meuret and Mitchell Klooz, son of Randy and Lori Klooz each won their age division at Stone Creek Golf Course in Omaha on June 30. Knaak shot a 40 for nine holes and won the nine-year-old division to qualify for the World Championship to be held August 6-8. Meuret won the 13-year-old division by shooting a 74 and Klooz won the 14-year-old division after shooting a 73. Both qualified to participate in the Teen World Championship to be held July 30-August 2
July 2nd, 2009
County signs interlocals for 911
The Pierce County Board of Commissioners agreed to enter into Interlocal Agreements with the communities of Plainview, Osmond, Pierce and Hadar for E911 Services when they met in regular session Monday, June 22.
Stacey Gross, GeoComm, who is doing the GIS Mapping needed for E911, told the board a hearing will be held before the Public Service Commission on July 8 at Lincoln to try to obtain State Grant Funds for the equipment needed to install E911 Services in Pierce County. Gross explained that the Interlocal Agreements must be signed or the State probably would not agree to fund the equipment needed for the project.
Costs for the equipment are estimated at approximately $269,000.
Commissioner Tom Meyer, who was selected by the Board to attended County City Council Meetings to explain the E911 Process and work with Gross, said the State has tentatively agreed to fund $195,000 which would leave Pierce County approximately $75,000 to pay for out of county funds.
After the system has been installed, the costs will be paid for out of an assessment on each land line telephone in Pierce County.
The City of Osmond has been assessing a $1 fee on each of its telephone exchange land line telephones for several years to pay for 911 equipment in that city and Plainview has been assessing 50 cents for the same purpose in their city.
Until this month when Pierce County Board of Commissioners voted to assess a $1 fee to all land line telephones in on the Pierce Telephone Exchange, the 911 dispatch services were paid for by a $700 per month fee the city of Pierce paid to the county for local dispatch services in Pierce. Because of that arrangement, the City of Pierce had no money in a 911 account.
At the current time Osmond has approximately $8,500 in an account for the 911 services and Plainview has approximately $40,000. If the Interlocal Agreements are signed, all of that money would, if each council approves, be transferred into a county E911 account along with all future collections from assessments on county land line telephones to fund the new system.
The issue that has arisen is that Plainview does not feel it is fair that they are providing a larger amount to help fund the equipment, especially when they would like to be the center where E911 equipment would be hosted and thus be the dispatch center.
Meyer explained that the 10 person advisory committee set up to study all of the aspects and problems with installing an E911 System has agreed that the dispatch center should be located in the Courthouse in the Sheriff’s Office in Pierce.
Plainview’s City Council agreed to sign the agreement but wanted the line stating that they would turn their approximate $40,000 over to the county deleted from the agreement.
After consultation with Pierce County Attorney, Verlyn Luebbe, the board agreed to delete the line directing that the funds be transferred so the Interlocal Agreements could be signed and presented to the Public Service Commission on July 8.
If the Public Service Commission approves the funds, Pierce County will get two computer counsels. Meyer explained that one could be placed at Plainview if a wireless link could be obtained at a cost that will work with available income. Meyer said the most important task now was to move forward with the Interlocal Agreements and work on financing later.
Luebbe explained to the board that the State Statute dictates very clearly what telephone assessments can be used for and where they should go. He said telephone companies have to report annually to the Public Service Commission. Luebbe also explained, because of the new State Mandate concerning E911, if Pierce County does not do something, the State will transfer E911 services to another county and that county will get all the money from Pierce County Telephone exchange collections including the $40,000 from Plainview and the $8,000 from Osmond.
Sheriff Rick Eberhard t told the board they could get all the “fancy” equipment they want but if you don’t have capable, trained people answering the calls, you have nothing. Eberhardt said his dispatch people will have to attend training now and also in the future to remain updated. The board passed a motion to direct the chairman of the board to sign an E911 Interlocal Agreement with the cities of Plainview, Osmond, Pierce and Hadar for E911 services.
County Assessor, Peggy Wragge met with the board to explain the payment scheduled she had received from Marcus Tooze to install GIS (Global Information System) services in her office to assist with her duties as assessor.
Wragge gave the board copies of four different examples which divided payments into four year examples, with no interest for a cost of $56,500 for GIS only or $59,500 for GIS plus internet or $74,500 with GIS internet and Aerial Photos.
All four examples divided the payments into four year scenarios with no interest. The board will make a decision at the next meeting but will narrow the decision to the $56,500 examples only.
Pierce County Court Magistrate, Deb Theisen, met with the board and asked them to write letters protesting the charge Pierce County must pay to District #2 Probation Offices because they moved their officers to another building. Theisen said Pierce County paid $4,000 in 2008-2009 as their share of the rent but because of the move to a new building, they will be assessed $17,000. Theisen said the Probation Budget is divided among seven counties but Pierce County as well as other counties have no input on decisions.
The Board passed a motion to direct the County Clerk to write letters to State Senator Mike Flood, State Senator Cap Dierks and the Madison County Board of Commissioners objecting to the increase.
In other business the board:-met with Mike Boden, NACO, in regard to the long term disability the county is now giving their full-time employees.
-passed a motion to have the Board Chairman sign the 2009 pavement maintenance project change order to pay application for $33,216.70 to Sta Bilt.
-passed a motion to allow the Board Chairman to sign the MSHE Data Base Agreement with GeoComm. -passed a motion to tentatively approve the budget for the Extension Office.
-In Board of Equalization approved tax list corrections #2374 and #2375 as presented by County Assessor, Peggy Wragge.
-reviewed a three-year plan as presented by County Assessor, Peggy Wragge.
-approved the Lorenz-Elwood Lot Split on part of NE ¼ 10-28-4.
Open won by Omaha golfer
The Plainview Country Club’s Men’s Open was won this year by Tad Leistico of Omaha with a one under par total of 143 for the 36 hole event held June 27 and 28.Three strokes back were Steve Petersen, Tom Johnson and Ryan Asmussen with Matt Meuret and Tim Knaak rounding out the six pay off positions in the Championship Flight.
June 25th, 2009
Surveys say: "no deficiencies"
Lately, Plainview Manor and Whispering Pines staffs are feeling like they can accomplish anything.
This past month has been a very busy month for the residents and staff with five multi-governmental agencies visiting to do surveys of the facility and services at the Plainview Manor and Whispering Pines Assisted Living.
The best part is — they all didn’t have much to say.
May 5 to May 7, Plainview Manor hosted surveyors for its annual state survey with the State of Nebraska Licensure and Credentialing Division.
During this time the State Fire Marshall also completed his Life Safety survey process.
The end results came with one minor deficiency to be corrected from the Department of Health and Human Services and Deficiency Free from the State Fire Marshall.
(The State average is 6-8 deficiencies from the health and human service department)
Upon completion of the Nursing Home survey the state survey team entered into the Whispering Pines Assisted Living and started another whole survey process. The State survey team completed its survey on May 11 with Whispering Pines also receiving high ratings with a Deficiency Free Survey.
On Monday, June 8 at 5:05 p.m. Plainview Manor was once again visited by a survey team but this one from the Federal level from the Kansas City area.
Team leader Rena Shafer, RN, and survey members Jeri Jackson, RN, and Steven Johnson, RN, were at the facility to follow up on the state level and also perform its own survey process.
During this time the facility was interviewed, observed and monitored for its overall performance.
This included: one on one monitoring of certified nursing assistants, charge nurses, restorative, dietary staff, laundry personal, social services, medical records, office manager, activities, housekeeping, maintenance and administrative personnel.
During this time more than 40 documents were requested by the federal surveyors to review, along with access to all resident medical records.
The surveyors had the opportunity to host their own private resident counsel meeting, monitor medication passes, witness several meals to including reviewing menu choices, temperatures, infection control practices, and a entire environmental walk-through the facility inside and out.
On June 11 at 11:20 a.m. the staff, ombudsman, and residents were invited to the federal exit survey in which the surveyors expressed comments and concerns that they viewed necessary.
First of all the surveyors commented on the accommodation of the staff and their ability to provide policies, procedures and documentation necessary to complete their survey process in such a timely manner.
The federal survey team was expected to complete the survey process on June 12, but was able to complete one day earlier which is, as they said, a rare occurrence.
“We always find or write a deficiency within the dietary department and are unable to do so at this facility,” said Jeri Jackson, RN and member of the survey staff, “We walked in on an unannounced random survey on a Monday night and were unable to write a deficiency, that should show a lot for your dietary department.”
Surveyors also commented on another routine deficiency is written in the peri-care department, but they were again unable to find any problems or deficiencies.
Several comments were made on the well being of the building and would have never guessed that it is 41 years old.
“We walk into brand new facilities that don’t look at clean or kept up as this one,” was a comment left behind by the reviewers.
“They felt that the staff truly know our resident and provide them with quality of life,” said Manor Administrator Juleen Johnson. “They also complimented our practice of the Administrator and Director of Nursing on the floor making on the spot corrections and knowing the residents by name, saying ‘you don’t always see that in other facilities.’”
Within the surveyors’ discussion there were some areas that they felt that the facility could work on, mostly small improvements. Some of theses were to include:
* Making the Resident Rights Names and Telephone Numbers in a larger font size and at eye level for easier resident viewing.
* To complete individual assessments on nebulizer treatments, range of motion and the need to obtain orders to crush medication (if necessary)
* To date all reference employment checks, to increase lighting levels in resident rooms
* To continue to treat all residents with respect and dignity along with infection control polices and procedures.
But that wasn’t the end, and on June 17 at 12:10 p.m., Administrator Juleen Johnson was informed that there was another visitor.
Gary Cable, MBA/HS Management, a Life Safety Code Surveyor, was sent to the facility from Washington, D.C. to conduct another life safety survey and follow up from the State Fire Marshall Survey.
During this survey staff provided documents of the last 12 months of fire drills, annual fire alarm service/test, bi-annual smoke detector tests, sprinkler testing, kitchen hood service inspections, city generator load tests, the facility’s policy and procedures on impaired fire alarm/sprinkler system and another complete walk-through of the facility.
The inspector noted three possible areas of improvements and stated, “I normally see around 18 per facility.”
On June 22, the Plainview Manor received its notification from the Federal Survey- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finding of substantial compliance respective to the applicable regulation under federal law — another Deficiency Free Survey.
At the time of this printing, results from the Federal Life Safety Survey had not been received.
Eight and unders play Wausa, Randolph
On June 19th the eight-and-under girls’ softball team traveled to Wausa and won one and lost one. In game one of the day, the Pirates lost a close one with the final score tallying 9-8.Game two of the day was won by Plainview with the final score being 13-7.
The team’s next home game is Thursday, June 25 against Osmond at 3:30.
June 18th, 2009
Council signs E911 agreement, with changes
The Plainview City Council covered a lot of ground at Tuesday evening’s meeting, approving KENO grants, discussing and approving an amended E911 agreement and updating the disposal rates at the City’s dump sites.
Tom Meyer, Pierce County Commissioner, was in attendance at the meeting to discuss the Enhanced 911 interlocal agreement that was presented to the Council.
Meyer said the agreement was put before the Council now because in a few weeks a presentation would be made to the Public Service Commission in regard to grant funds that have been promised to Pierce County for the E911 upgrade expense.
Costs associated with the E911 upgrade for the county-wide system were estimated at around $269,000, with the Public Service Commission tentatively agreeing to a $195,000 grant to assist with the conversion, leaving Pierce County with approximately $74,000 to pay out of its own pocket.
However, the upgrade is not only a question of money, but one of location, dependability and specifics, as discussed in the majority of the meeting’s two and one-half hour session.
Plainview’s dispatching department, under the current plan, would be in jeopardy of closing if the interlocal agreement were passed, but, as Meyer explained, the 10-person advisory committee made to study feasibility of two locations, has agreed that it should be located in the Pierce County Sheriff’s office for now.
As of Tuesday night, Meyer said that Osmond and Pierce had tentatively agreed to accept the interlocal agreement, pending attorney approval, but Plainview’s Council drilled down a little further, specifically questioning language that would turn over Plainview’s accumulated 911 money to the County.
Currently, Plainview has approximately $40,000 in an existing 911 account, which has been raised with Plainview’s surcharge of approximately $500 per month. The fund, as it sits now, can only be used for 911-type purposes, but in the interlocal agreement, the funds accumulated would be turned over to the new fund for the County-wide system.
On the surface, that didn’t appear to be too large of an issue until Meyer updated the Council on the funds to be “contributed” by Osmond and Pierce. Osmond has approximately $8,500 in their similar account, and Pierce currently directly hires the County for dispatching service, so has no fund built up. (Other than the funds accumulated since last month when the County Commissioners enacted a $1 per line charge in Pierce’s telephone exchange.)
Concerns were brought by Mayor Gale Retzlaff about the turning over of locally raised funds to the County, with little representation on the new advisory board, which led to a discussion about who actually controls the advisory committee once its created and who are those committee members accountable to.Meyer said that the Advisory Committee would bring their decisions about the County-wide E911 system to the County Commissioners for approval, as do a number of semi-independent County Boards (the Tourism Committee that collects the lodging and recreation sales tax revenue, for example.)
A question was raised by Katie Connor, who works in the City Clerk’s office, asking why the entire system couldn’t be moved to Plainview in the first place, and, after discussion, especially since Plainview was putting in the most funding at the start.
City Administrator Michael Holton weighed in with his opinion on the interlocal agreement, which was essentially, not favorable. Holton said that he felt Plainview had the most to lose when compared to the other communities and exchanges involved and would not recommend signing the agreement.
Meyer said that the only people that would lose out if Plainview didn’t sign the agreement was the “public of Pierce County.”
Meyer referenced a demand by the State to convert to the new system by 2010 or the state would appoint another entity that already has E911 to manage the County’s dispatching.
The issue became a bit deeper when Mayor Retzlaff reminded the Council and audience members that once the Plainview Telephone Company is finished with its fiber-optic to the premises project, that the current City equipment would not be compatible anyway and the dispatch would still be in jeopardy.
In the end, the group all agreed, Council and Commissioners alike, that feasibly there was not a good way to get Plainview an E911 station at the startup of the program with considerable extra cost or equipment that may not work properly when needed (a satellite system).
That said, the Council moved back to discussion about the funds to be turned over to the E911 Advisory Board that are currently on the books in Plainview’s accounts.
“I have no problem with an interlocal agreement,” said Holton, “but I think it would be detrimental to sign anything that would give away the $40,000, and also, I think the Plainview Rural Fire Board…should be represented.” (The current copy of the interlocal agreement has the Rural Fire boards sign, but they do not have direct representation on the Advisory committee.)
In the end, the Council agreed to sign the interlocal agreement with one addendum, that the line about turning over funds be stricken.
With Joe Grof absent, the Council still only had two affirmative votes from Judy Wilson and Larry Jensen and Brian Schlote casting the sole dissenting vote.
KENO grants approved
City Administrator Michael Holton presented four grants for the KENO fund program and all were approved in one form or another.
The first was a grant from the Plainview Klown Festival essentially requesting a grant of $1,000 to fill a shortage in funds for the festival held the first week of June. The Council agreed to grant $500. The second was a repeat-request from the Plainview American Legion, requesting an additional $1,000, which, when coupled with the $5,000 approved two cycles ago, would be contributing $6,000 to the Legion’s handicapped accessible project.
The Council agreed to grant the full $1,000.Holton presented the third grant request, for $3,000 for a mower for the Park Department. Holton said he had requested two bids for the mower, and received only one back, from Hoffart Repair for a Toro zero-radius mower with a 42” deck and a 19 horsepower Koehler engine for $2,599.The Council agreed to apply KENO funds to the project.
The final fund request was submitted by the Plainview Historical Society to help cover expenses with the planned Antique Farm and Tractor Show on June 27-28. The request was for $1,000.The Council agreed to fund the entire $1,000.Note was made of the changes to the KENO Grant fund program, removing the previously-used more strict requirements on types of projects to be funded. Now, the State requirements for the projects being under the “community betterment” use are the only ones being considered.
Those projects include:
Community betterment purposes, defined. (1) Community betterment purposes shall mean (a) benefiting persons by enhancing their opportunity for educational advancement, by relieving or protecting them from disease, suffering, or distress, by contributing to their physical well-being, by assisting them in establishing themselves in life as worthy and useful citizens, by providing them with opportunities to contribute to the betterment of the community, or by increasing their comprehension of and devotion to the principles upon which this nation was founded, (b) initiating, performing, or fostering worthy public works or enabling or furthering the erection or maintenance of public structures, (c) lessening the burdens borne by government or voluntarily supporting, augmenting, or supplementing services which government would normally render to the people, or (d) providing tax relief for the community.Rate change passes
The Council also considered ordinances to amend the rates charged at the City’s Construction and Demolition dump and Transfer Station location.
At the C&D site, rates for construction debris were raised to $25 per ton; appliances and “white goods” were updated to $10 and $30 for additional items with Freon; Concrete at $5 per ton and scale fees to be added on.
Trees and brush collected inside the City limits will remain free to dump at the appropriate site only.
At the transfer station, the Council agreed to allow dumping of trash (other than roofing material) at a cost of $51 per ton ($.0255 per pound if less than a ton) and bagged material at $2 per bag. Roofing material can still be dumped, at a new cost of $59 per ton ($.0295 per pound if below one ton).
In other business the Council:
* Tabled discussion with Great Plains Cable personnel as no one was present;
* Heard re-appointments of Dale Powers and Dennis Vossberg to the Health Services Board and Donn Tassmeyer to the Planning Commission for another term;
* Discussed the John Sims property on the northeast corner of the intersection of Second and Woodland that was burned last year. City Attorney Bruce Curtiss spoke with Sims and Sims agreed to allow the City to attempt to sell the property, to be bid later;
* Signed a deed of reconveyance for a house on south King Street’s west side just south of the Community Building
* Discussed the Plainview Manor’s bond issue and possible purchase of Evergreen Village apartments, the Council recommended not purchasing at this time;
* Met with Richard Gamel, the new hospital administrator;
* Discussed noise issues and loose dogs with Police Chief Bruce Yosten.
* As always any and all documents are available for review at the Plainview News.
Wragge named to East Team
Nathan Wragge, son of Mark and Denise Wragge and 2009 graduate of Plainview High School, was named to the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association 20th Annual All-Star East Team. The competition against the ‘West’ Team is scheduled to take place on June 20 in Beatrice at 1 p.m.
June 11th, 2009
Board discusses hiring policies
Discussion on the policy for selecting district employees took up most of the time at the Monday evening Board of Education meeting
As requested by Board member John Anderson, discussion occurred on the hierarchy of staff at the school and policy and procedure currently in place when staff are being considered for employment.
Specifically, Anderson requested information about who was in charge of staff and how the organizational hierarchy works at the school and the discussion, through the course of the better part of 45 minutes, touched on accountability, the technology coordinator, the superintendent’s spending authority, reviewing all employment contracts and school board policy.
Plainview Public Schools currently has three areas of staff including certified (contracted staff), classified (per hour staff) and administration. According to the school’s policy manual, all three are technically considered under the control of the Board of Education, but, in practice, said Supt. David Hamm, the superintendent and principal deal with the hiring of certified staff, the superintendent takes care of the classified staff and the Board of Education directly hires the superintendent and principals.
Anderson commented that he felt to best answer the questions of his constituents that the school board should exercise more control over who is being hired at the school, perhaps through a process of reviewing recommendations by the Superintendent instead of allowing the administration to make the decisions alone.
Anderson related his idea to the way the superintendent was recently hired – with community, staff, administration and Board involvement to make a decision.
Hamm explained his current practice of procedure that he has used since he was hired as the superintendent, including that he uses teachers, principals and other staff to assist with the interview process and make a recommendation to him regarding their preference, but Hamm also mentioned that with the most recent two hires, the technology coordinator and the math teacher, he was not involved.
Hamm was not involved, but the new superintendent, Richard Alt, along with secondary principal Randy Klooz, were, as reported by Board President Alden Zuhlke, given the authority to hire the two positions by the Board.
Conversation gradually shifted to the technology coordinator position being offered, and Anderson expressed additional issues with the lack of communication the Board received in that position as well. “I felt like I was out of the whole loop on this,” said Anderson, citing April’s board minutes that discussed having a possible recommendation from Alt for the position.
Board member Krista Hanks also expressed concern about the communication to the Board, by relaying that she was informed of the recent offer made to Steven Porter of Norfolk for the math position at a wedding in Lincoln, not from the local administration.
Anderson went on to say that his biggest concerns were communication to the board, transparency and confidentiality, saying that he hated being updated on the goings-on at the local school by his college student when she returned home.
“I think that, ultimately, the buck should stop with the school board,” said Anderson, “clear down to the janitors, I’m not just a rubber stamp person, I’m not afraid to have my vote on record.”
Board member Kent Friedrich offered his opinion on the other side, saying that the Board had agreed to hire a technology coordinator and that he didn’t want to start micromanaging the process. “Do we sit in on all the interviews?” said Friedrich.
Anderson said that wouldn’t be necessary, but that the superintendent could do the interviews and bring his or her top two or three recommendations to the Board for review before a decision was made.
Chairman Alden Zuhlke said he only had one problem with that process, confidentiality. Zuhlke said that there may be candidates that already have jobs that wouldn’t want their application to be known and that in the time it could take to allow the Board to review the recommended applications, that the candidate could be lost.
Anderson continued the discussion on finances saying “I don’t think it’s too much to ask, when we’re going into dire straits, to see how our money is being spent – we’ve done more discussion on security cameras than we have on teaching our kids, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that we have the superintendent give us some figures.”
Anderson then turned the question to accountability, and said that he had talked with other school boards that operate with a type of system like his suggestion and that he “wanted to be able to defend the decisions we make here.”
In the end, Anderson made a motion to have the policies and procedures committee, chaired by himself, review the policy in question and investigate and review the hiring process.
The Board passed the motion unanimously (Stelling absent.)
Two wins for Plainview softball
On June 4 the Plainview 12 and under softball team played a home game against Neligh with a 13-5 win.
Nicole White had four runs and one hit, Merrick Alexander had four runs, Keylee Forker had three runs, Matti Watson had one run and one hit and Karissa Eichberger had one run.
Forker served as pitcher and struck out 12. Watson served as catcher.
The team played another home game on June 2 against Creighton with an 8-4 win. Nicole White had two runs, Merrick Alexander had three runs, Keylee Forker had one run and one hit, Matti Watson had one run and one hit, Emily Klooz had one hit and Becca Wills also had one hit. Forker served as pitcher and struck out eight. Watson served as catcher.
June 4th, 2009
Board hears facility cooperation request
The Plainview Health Services Board held a lengthy discussion on the cooperation of the two entities that it manages last Wednesday at the group’s monthly meeting.
Juleen Johnson, Manor and Assisted Living Administrator, discussed with the Board her current census situation and expected losses in the near future for the two facilities and made a strong request to have Board assistance in promoting cooperation between the Manor and Plainview Area Health System.
Johnson said that with her current figures of 22 of 39 possible residents, the Manor could be in some very serious financial trouble in the next year, and that meant hopefully elevating the cooperation between facilities to a higher level.
“We’re not getting a lot of support,” said Johnson, referring to the appearance of a competitive nature between the hospital and Manor and the Health Services Board’s response to the Manor’s needs in the past.
Specifically, Johnson mentioned the City Sales tax that goes to the hospital every month and the last few years’ focus of energy primarily on the hospital’s administrator and physician search.
“There’s only so much cutting I can do,” said Johnson. She explained to the Board that when she had hit 30 of 39 residents last year, the facility had cut hours and shifts to get by, and now that they’re at 22 of 39 she is having to do the same, only in a more severe way, which, Johnson said, makes it hard to retain or re-hire staff when they do need the help.
Johnson said that even simple things, like referring patients to the local Manor or Assisted Living facilities first would be beneficial, even though it is the patient’s decision completely which facility to go to. She said when that the Manor has need of medical assistance, lab work and other various work that she always prompts patients directly to the Plainview hospital which results in almost $75,000 to $100,000 of business for the other facility, but that she sees little in return.
Johnson made the case that the Manor is the primary “intermediate care” facility in Plainview and that, since the facility can also offer skilled care, that some of the hospital’s patients could be coming to, and in some cases returning to, the Manor.
The Board discussed marketing strategies for the Manor to attempt to increase staff, but Johnson said that direct referrals or even access to patients that could come to the Manor or Assisted Living would be greatly beneficial.“
What we need to do now is find a way to get the census up,” said Board member Dennis Vossberg, “but not at the expense of costing the hospital.”
Johnson said that she had tried direct marketing and even offering bonuses to employees if they were able to find interested parties to move into the facility. Johnson said her Social Worker Diann Goetz was getting good at discussing the transition with families and that she could be used more to help the facility.
City Administrator Michael Holton also weighed in on the topic, suggesting that perhaps the new hospital administrator, Johnson and himself could meet at least monthly to discuss the entire Health Services facility and begin working together to benefit the entire system.
Roger Petrik of the Rural Health Development management group commented that while the Manor was experiencing a period of low census, the hospital, at current, wasn’t faring much better, but that changes could be made to “place the Manor at the top” of lists for continued care.
General agreement was reached that communication would be stepped up with the entrance of the hospital’s new administrator and physician and that the staff at the hospital could be educated as to the Manor’s needs to help more in the future.
Independent living offered to Board
Dan Ashburn, current owner of the Evergreen Village Apartment complex near the Manor, was present at the meeting to answer questions from the Board about his offer mentioned last month to sell the facility to the Board.
Ashburn said that he felt the apartment facility would be a good fit for the Manor because of the close proximity to the Manor and Assisted Living building and the extra level of living and care the Manor could then provide.
Manor Administrator Juleen Johnson said that she and Board member Cheryl Bailey had “run numbers” to see if the cash flow of the apartments was sustainable for the Manor, but nothing definite had been decided.
Johnson said that she had discussed loans and bonds with both local banks and said that either would be willing to assist the facility with financing.
Ashburn said that currently five of the apartments were full (out of eight) and that the units usually stay full regularly. Johnson said she thought a capacity of about 80 percent would have to be maintained regularly for the project to work.
Other than the cash flow specifics and the possibility of needing a new roof, the Board seemed responsive to the idea, but no decisions were made at the meeting other than to review the project for more discussion at the next meeting.
Electrical and Concrete work to be started
Becky Lambrecht, former administrator at the hospital, updated the Board on the electrical issue that has been on the agenda for the past few months, but did not report any specific movement on the project.
Lambrecht said the City Attorney was still reviewing the blueprints and contacting the State Electrical Engineer in regard to a part of the new construction that was put in as the wrong type of electrical.
During the construction, the contractor and sub-contractors had been told to place a three-phase electrical system at a part of the construction, but followed the blueprints and placed a two-phase instead, causing problems with the State.
For the past few months, the Board has attempted to determine who would be responsible for the costs associated with the fixed system, approximately $15,000 - $20,000.Lambrecht also expressed a need to begin some concrete repair on the sidewalks on the east side of the facility leading to the entry doors and a place where a drainage trench was needed.
She said a few bids had been received from a few local contractors, placing the work at approximately $8,000 to $10,000.City Administrator Michael Holton said that it may be possible for the City employees to repair the sidewalks and concrete at a lesser cost, if it could be worked into the other duties of the City employees.
The Board agreed to go with Aschoff Construction’s bid, pending an answer about the work possibly being done by the City.
Manor receives high marks from State
The Plainview Manor received its State survey during Nursing Home week in the beginning of May and was notified of only one deficiency this year.
Administrator Juleen Johnson reported that while the one deficiency seemed bad, it was a minor policy issue that had already been resolved. Johnson also said that the State average for deficiencies was six, and that the Plainview Manor had received at most three since she had been at the facility.
The Whispering Pines Assisted Living building was also inspected the week following the Manor and it was named “deficiency free” after its first survey in more than six years.
In other business the Board:* Discussed bidding the an IT contract;* Heard of the PAHS Foundation’s health fair this week;* Heard that Tiffany Guenther had submitted her resignation;* Discussed the expiring terms of Bob Arlt and Dale Powers, the two members will either be reassigned to the facility or replacements will be named at the June City Council meeting.
Two bring home medals from State
Lucas Sirek took a silver medal in the triple jump with a distance of 45’ 10”.
Sirek also broke his school record with the 45’10” jump, replacing his previous record of 45’4.5”.
Derek White was able to win a sixth-place medal in the long jump with a distance of 20’ 5.75”.
May 28th, 2009
Festival plans include parades, music, contests and events
A full weekend of activities awaits attendees of the 2009 Klown Festival to be held through June 5-7.Pre-festival events begin on Friday, June 5 with a Country music performance by the “Brunswick Jammers” at the Band Shell Park from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday’s events will begin with the annual Graveyard Gallop at 9 a.m. at the Band Shell Park and Mutton Bustin’ at 10 a.m. rounds out the morning’s activities. The Kiddie Parade will be held at 12:30 p.m. this year, beginning at the Midwest Bank corner and proceeding two blocks east. The Grand Parade will follow immediately after, with floats beginning through the route at 1 p.m., starting at the Legion Club and ending at 1st St. Float drivers are again asked to tour past the Plainview Manor as well, where residents will be seated outside.
The mainstay of activities will take place in the afternoon at the Band Shell Park including booths from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the Hospital Foundation’s ice cream social from 2:30 to 9 p.m.
A horseshoe tournament will be held at the Chilvers Park pits at 3 p.m.
Contests and events will also again be held at the Band Shell, beginning with old-fashioned races at 2:30 p.m., free pony rides from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and contests for all ages beginning at 4 p.m.
Both the Historical and Klown Doll museums will be open during hours on Saturday. The Historical museum will be open from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the Klown Doll museum will be open from 10 a.m. to noon and then from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The popular “Fun Flatables” area also returning this year and will be available from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For that evening’s eating enjoyment, the annual barbecue will begin serving at 5 p.m. and continue until 7 p.m.
On Saturday evening, the Festival Committee will also be drawing the winner of the 32” flat screen television the group is raffling off this year. Tickets can be purchased from any committee member until the time of the drawing.
During the barbecue, musical guests, the Plainview Klown Band and the popular group Sweet Water will have performances from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. when the Chamber of Commerce will present their annual “Outstanding Awards.”
At 7:30 p.m. a new addition to the Festival, a talent show with $100 cash top prize will take to the stage. Anyone wishing to enter the contest should contact Ranae Wacker or Krista Hanks.
The Plainview Rural Fire Department is also again hosting the Plainview Bull Riding Classic, which will begin at 3 p.m. behind the Legion Club and wrap up their annual activities with the 106th annual Firemen’s Ball at the Club from 8 p.m. to midnight. Musical guest, Sidestep, will be performing at the dance.
For the youth, the Younger Generation Dance will again be held at the Band Shell park from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Sunday’s events will include a pancake breakfast fund-raiser for the Ball Backers Association from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Plainview Elementary.
The third annual “Show and Shine Car show” near the Social Center this year, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Social Center will be holding a fund-raiser lunch at the Center from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The American Legion will hold a flag burning ceremony that evening at 9 p.m. and the fireworks show is scheduled for 9:45 p.m.
Watch for a full, detailed schedule in next week’s edition of The Plainview News.
NSAA announces All-State awards
The Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) has announced its 2009 Spring Academic All-State awards list, including six Plainview scholar-athletes.
Students who met the criteria for nomination by their school in the spring season included:
* Boys Golf: Adam Krueger, Nicholas Miller
* Boys Track and Field: Tyler Wattier, Justin Kluver
* Girls Track and Field: Camille Friedrich, Michelle Sauser
Students must be nominated, hold a varsity or leader position in the event and have at least a 3.7 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.
May 21st, 2009
Husker Ad adds corn oil as value-added product
Husker Ag LLC recently announced the addition of another value-added production to the plant’s processes by separating and selling corn oil.
Seth Harder, general manager at the plant, explained on Monday that the plant has added two separators to the production line at Husker Ag, allowing the extraction of corn oil, a value-added product in the ethanol industry.
Corn oil has a number of uses, said Harder, including the most popular, resale of the high fat product to poultry and swine feeders, and also a secondary market to biodiesel manufacturers. The product is also being heavily evaluated as a renewable industrial boiler fuel. After more than three years of research, off-site demonstrations and reviewing the market for corn oil, Husker Ag decided to purchase a separator unit almost two years ago, before the economy started to take its recession downturn – but now, with the separator installed in the new plant and running efficiently, the decision is resulting in an extra sales product to help the plant’s bottom line.
Installed in November of 2008, the first machine, purchased new for “turn-key production” for $1.2 million, is now producing a little better than the industry average of one-half pound per bushel of corn, and Harder commended his staff for that increased efficiency.
“We have at least two employees who have worked with the machines in other industries,” said Harder, “their expertise has really helped with the installation and production of the corn oil product.”
The machines are relatively small, compared to other production units at the plant, and work essentially like a milk separator at a dairy or a fat separator at a processing plant — they draw the desired product out through centrifugal force.
That expertise has also been put to use in another fashion – by allowing Husker Ag to purchase a second machine for the “east plant” at a reduced cost, since the plant’s employees are able to install and get the machine running at almost one quarter of the cost of the turn-key unit.
Essentially, Husker Ag was, at the credit of the employees, said Harder, able to purchase a refurbished unit and install it using previously unused left-over machinery at a cost of approximately $400,000.“We’re pretty excited to have the staff to allow us to get it running at almost 25 percent of the market value,” said Harder.
Currently, the corn oil market is rather low, approximately 20 cents per pound. When Husker Ag originally began looking at the production the price was at almost 50 cents per pound. But, Harder said, it would take approximately eight cents to break even, so even at the market’s lowest point, 12 cents, the plant would still easily be able to pay back the cost of the machinery.
The Husker Ag plant, generating corn oil product in both the east and west buildings, can generate approximately 13.5 million pounds of corn oil each year.
The value-added production doesn’t only apply to the separation phase of the corn oil though, and that’s what makes the project such a good fit, said Harder.
“We were able to save a substantial amount of money by converting part of our process (tanks, piping and pumps) to handle the storage and load out of the corn oil,” said Harder.
Five Plainview Pirates qualify for state competition
Four Plainview track members have qualified for state track to be held on Friday and Saturday they include Lucas Sirek, Jill Christiansen, Derek White and Tyler Wattier. Also going to state in golf is freshman Riley Meuret who placed 5th at districts which were held at the Plainview Country club. State golf will be Thursday, May 28 and Friday, May 29.
May 14th, 2009
Council approves doctor and CEO for hospital
The Plainview City Council gave final approval to the contracts of a new doctor and administrator for the Plainview Area Health System at its regular meeting on Tuesday evening.
Four members of the Health Services Board were present to request approval of their recommendation made late last week to hire Dr. William Lockee and administrator Richard Gamel.
The Council reviewed the contracts as presented, and unanimously approved the contracts for the new employees at the facility.Both new hires had most recently worked at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk and were interviewed by the Board and staff members at the hospital on Thursday of last week.
Gamel will begin his duties as chief executive officer for the hospital on June 8 and Dr. Lockee will join the medical staff on August 3.
Raise for police force discussed
Council member Brian Schlote added the consideration of a $1 per hour (equivalent) raise to the Plainview Police Chief and Officer salaries, which ended up in a tie vote from the Council that was broken by Mayor Gale Retzlaff.Schlote said that the topic of increasing the police forces wages had come up previously, before he was on the Council, and that since the determination was to not hire a third officer, he felt the $1 raise to wages needed to be revisited, since they were originally both discussed.
City Administrator Michael Holton reported that the Police Chief’s wages are currently set at $34,200, and that, according to figures supplied last year by Police Chief Bruce Yosten, the average Chief salary for towns of approximately 1,500 was closer to $40,000 per year.
Mayor Gale Retzlaff commented that he didn’t remember the situation with the third officer or the raise in salary as an “either, or” discussion, and, that he felt wage increase discussions were best held during budget times, which, he agreed, should be done earlier in the year as to avoid rushed decisions near budget completion time.
Yosten said that he knew it was not feasible or reasonable to ask the Council to approve a third officer at this time, citing figures that showed a necessary, considerable increase in the police budget if the Council was to allow a third officer, so he felt the $1 per hour equivalent raise would help bring the regular officers’ wages on par with other towns.
Following discussion, Council member Schlote moved to approve a $1 per hour equivalent raise to the Police Chief and Officer salaries, and Council member Joe Grof seconded the motion.However, the Council split with a tie vote, Larry Jensen and Judy Wilson voting against and Grof and Schlote voting for, which left the decision to a tie-breaking vote for Retzlaff.Retzlaff voted against.City offices move still in worksCity Administrator Michael Holton presented plans that had been drawn up to consider a move of the current City Offices to the old fire hall east of the current office building.Holton said that the plan was currently to renovate the office portion of the old fire hall to contain the City Offices and to allow the Plainview Police Department to move to the bottom floor of the current City Hall.Holton said the projected cost for renovating the old fire hall is thought to come in just under $30,000, minus any labor the City workers could handle on their own.Council members reviewed the plans, but no action was taken.
In other business the Council:
* Discussed the City Auditor contract and a request to bid out the contract at the next available opportunity, no action was taken;
* Discussed the possibility of receiving funds back from the newly reorganized Elkhorn Valley Economic Development Council, no action was taken;
* Discussed the status of the Plainview Dispatch in regard to the Enhanced 911 system projected to be installed before June of 2010;
* Discussed the Clean Air Act, which takes effect on June 1, 2009, prohibiting smoking in enclosed workplaces, including bars, keno parlors, and restaurants and indoor public places;
* Approved the concrete crushing contract for Aschoff Construction, adding a “quarterly payment” portion;* Discussed new rates for the transfer station and C&D disposal sites;* Discussed the City’s credit card machine and current rates.
Class of 09 graduates 42. . .
Commencement ceremonies at Plainview Public Schools were held over the weekend with 42 seniors crossing the stage. The kindergarten graduation ceremonies were held on Tuesday night with 14 children receiving their diplomas.
May 7th, 2009
Audit and financials major topics at meeting
The Plainview Area Health Services Board met for regular business on Wednesday, April 29 at the hospital board room to discuss topics including the annual audit, work being done at the Manor and a possible purchase of some independent living apartments.
The majority of the time taken by the Board was done reviewing the annual audit with Randy Hoffman of Seim Johnson Sestak and Quist, the hospital’s auditing firm.
Hoffman reviewed the financial standing with the Board and then presented his concerns and attached letter of recommendations about the audit process and information received during the audit.
In the end, the Board decided to have an executive session discussion about the concerns and letter of recommendations to protect individuals being discussed from injury to their reputations.
Manor Administrator Juleen Johnson updated the Board on work being done as part of the KENO grant fund award that she had received for the facility at last month’s City Council meeting.
Johnson presented some “swatches” of flooring for the resident rooms that are being remodeled and told the Board her concerns with each along with the ordering of toilets, fixtures and such which is also part of the renovation program
Johnson also mentioned to the Board that she was approached by someone who was wondering if the facility would be interested in purchasing some independent living apartments.
Few specifics were given about the property at the meeting, but the Board agreed if the property could be purchased and cash flow “made sense” that it was certainly worth considering to add to the available services of the Plainview Manor and Assisted Living facility.
Both administrators updated the Board on the upcoming Nursing Home and Hospital week and events being planned for both weeks including: the annual meatloaf cook off fund-raiser for the Manor and a lunch for hospital staff.
Toward the end of the meeting, the Board moved into an executive session for the following:1) Discussing the audit with Randy Hoffman of Seim-Johnson for the purpose of evaluating management performance; 2) Hearing from the recruiting committee with regard to certain candidates who might be injured if they were identified at this time; 3) Receiving input from management concerning monitoring and usage of internet, plus input regarding the internet technology contract.
There were no decisions following the hour-long discussion in executive session on any of the topics. The next meeting of the Plainview Health Services Board will be on Wednesday, May 27 in the day room at the Plainview Manor.
42 eligible for graduation
Forty-two seniors at Plainview Public Schools are candidates for graduation to be held at the Pirate Auditorium on Saturday, May 9 at 4 p.m.The program features Lindsay Krueger as pianist, opening prayer by Tiffany Steinkraus, a welcome from Superintendent David Hamm, a song by the senior ensemble, the salutatorian address by Camille Friedrich and the valedictorian address by Preston Doerr, presentation of diplomas by School Board president Alden Zuhlke and closing prayer by Brianna Udell.
April 30th, 2009
Plainview dispatch office may not fit County plans
More than 10 interested individuals from Pierce County attended the Enhanced 911 hearing held by the Pierce County Commissioners on Monday morning.
The purpose of the hearing was to approve a county-wide surcharge for a new Enhanced 911 system, essentially adding $1 to Pierce Telephone Company’s exchange phones and 50 cents to Plainview Telephone Company’s exchange phones, and continuing to collect the $1 surcharge from Osmond residents’ phones to compile a county-wide fund to pay for the new system.
In the end, however, the Board accepted an amended resolution to only create a $1 surcharge on Pierce Telephone Company’s exchange land-line customers, mostly because of the wide range of questions and problems brought up during the hearing that may face the new E911 system’s implementation.
Representatives from Hadar were present to request an explanation of why their exchange was not included in the Pierce County project, though they fall within the County border.
Stacy Gross of Geocomm, Inc. (the company doing the installation of the E911 system) fielded the question saying that though Hadar is inside Pierce County, its dispatching duties fall to the Norfolk Police Department, and to route those calls directly to Pierce County, instead of the Norfolk P.D., would add approximately $1,600 per month to the project, making it unaffordable to re-route calls from Norfolk directly to Pierce.
Gross questioned the County if there was an inter-local agreement for the surcharge that is being collected from Hadar’s approximately 500 phone customers to turn that money over to Norfolk, and if that agreement would end any time soon.
County Clerk Shannon Wragge said that she had found an agreement for the Tilden area, but not for Hadar, but would check into the issue again. No decision was made about Hadar, but Gross said he thought it may be helpful to ask Norfolk about turning over the surcharge funds and letting Pierce County handle the dispatching.
The discussion then turned toward the suggestion to place a “backup” system in Plainview’s City office building, to keep the dispatching of the Plainview Volunteer Fire Department, the Plainview Emergency squad and the Plainview Police Department locally instead of at the County level, or if it made more sense to make Pierce County the main county dispatching unit, with Norfolk being a backup (which it already is).Cal Fluckey of the Plainview Telephone Company raised a number of questions about the actual costs associated with the E911 system and, through discussion, it was discovered that Gross’s estimation of a dedicated communications line from Pierce to Plainview fell short by about half of his proposed expenses – pushing to project into the red by approximately $1,000 per month.
Gross had originally estimated that the project would bring in almost $2,800 per month from the $1 surcharge that would be imposed on all the land line phones in the County. He also estimated that the bulk of the operating costs for switching lines and equipment would be approximately $2,300. At the meeting, however, Gross was told that the cost would actually be $1,000 on each end of the communications line, for a total of $2,000, not the $1,000 he had estimated.
Commissioner Tom Meyer then questioned the ability for the County to pay to continue to have Plainview’s dispatching department continue.
Plainview City Administrator Michael Holton and Police Chief Bruce Yosten were also both present to discuss the second station at Plainview.
Holton said that he had thought that Pierce County didn’t appear to desire to have the county-wide dispatching, and that Plainview is a logical choice because it already features 24 hour a day staffing.
Pierce County Sheriff Rick Eberhardt also opined that while his office should be able to handle the expected number of calls that it was important to decide whether only E911 calls would be dispatched or if all calls, emergency or not, could need to be dispatched at the County level.
Discussion occurred on the differences between the Pierce County system and the Plainview system both currently in place and while Plainview and Pierce both have 24 hour staffed units, Pierce County has access to more informational databases that could be of use to law enforcement if any other types of calls come in.
Eberhardt said that the reasonable way to look at the situation was to have each entity that requires dispatching compile numbers of actual emergency and regular calls taken to see if Pierce County could handle the entire county-wide system, or if it would be necessary to keep it broken out as far as possible. Both Osmond and Hadar’s representatives offered that they felt they received about 50 calls per year of emergency and regular assistance calls, and Yosten said he would have to review his figures for a total number.
Holton and Yosten both expressed concern for Plainview’s dispatching department possibly being in jeopardy because of the cost of maintaining both dispatching sites, and Yosten commented that he felt “there are those in Plainview who want to see dispatch shut down,” and that was the reason for the discussion leaning toward a county-wide dispatch system.
If the County was to go to a County-wide dispatch system and there was a “community pot” for all of the $1 surcharges, it was originally suggested that an Advisory Board be made up to handle paying the bills and keeping the equipment in good repair.
That Board scheduled to meet on Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. at the multipurpose room in the courthouse in Pierce to discuss options in having two locations or moving all the dispatching to one location.
Teams compete at Pierce
The Plainview High School varsity boys and girls track teams competed at the Pierce Blue Jay Track Invite on Thursday, bringing home a fourth and fifth-place team title. One highlight of the meet was the achievement of Lucas Sirek in the triple jump, breaking the school record of 43’ 7” (Ben Smith, 1999) by jumping 43’ 10”.
April 23rd, 2009
E911 hearing scheduled
The Pierce County Commissioners will be holding a public hearing on the topic of Enhanced 911 services to be installed in Pierce County at the group’s regular public meeting on Monday, April 27 at 10:30 a.m.
The hearing is to consider adding a “uniform surcharge” to a county-wide and advisory board controlled system of Enhanced 911 emergency services.
According to presentations and discussions with Stacy Gross of Geocomm, the company that is currently on State contract to install hardware, set up software and provide services as needed to the County.
As an added benefit, Gross said that Plainview’s site could be used as a backup, which is the preferred set up for all E911 systems – to have an off-site, backup system that can operate if the main system goes down. Not only that, but Gross said Plainview requested to continue dispatching the local calls to the local Emergency Medical Services, the Rural Fire Department and the Plainview Police Department, instead of routing through the County’s services or another City.
The equipment for the change to E911 was called “very expensive” by Gross, including the idea that the equipment is state-of-the-art and specialized, but also expensive to install and maintain.
Geocomm’s price tag for the installation will be more than $20,000, and Gross said that there will also be charges for connecting through a “trunking system” through Norfolk and Qwest Communications as well as lines to connect Pierce County.
Gross said that his company, Geocomm, has applied for funding through the Nebraska Public Service Commission on behalf of Pierce County and hopes to have the equipment paid for.However, the continued costs will result in some changes for not only Plainview customers, but for Pierce and Osmond as well.Currently, as viewable on any phone company statement, Plainview Telephone Company is collecting (not charging) a 50 cent 911 surcharge per phone line that is used to maintain Plainview’s current equipment.
Pierce, however, does not currently and has not recently collected a 911 surcharge for their service through Pierce County and Osmond has collected a surcharge at around $1 per phone line. Essentially adding $1 to all Pierce Telephone Company customers and 50 cents to all Plainview Telephone customers. But it isn’t just land-line customers that will bear these costs, wireless (cellular) customers also pay the E911 fees. Under the new E911 system, Gross suggests that the Pierce County Board of Commissioners make a county-wide system that charges $1 per phone line for a total of just under $2,800. He also estimated costs of operation at around $2,300, providing about $500 of other income.
Gross also suggested that the Board set up an advisory board for the E911 funds with one or two people from each area that is being collected from, to make sure that the funds are equitably spent.
Gross said, at a prior Commissioners meeting, that Pierce County was one of the two last counties in the State to switch to an E911 system.
Auxiliary holds essay contest
The Plainview American Legion Auxiliary Unit 148 recently sponsored an Americanism essay contest with students form Plainview Elementary and Zion School participating.
There were 61 entries from the students of both schools. The first-place winning entries were sent to the District contest and cash prizes were given to the winners by the local Auxiliary.
First-place winners were Kailee Rafert, Zion; Cooper Knaak, Public and Cara Friedrich, Zion. Second-place winners included Catie Williams, Zion; Emily Klooz, Public and Celine Eggerling of Zion. Third-place winners were Christian Zuhlke, Zion; Josh Zern of Public and a tie between Abby Krueger and Erica Albin, both of Zion.
April 16th, 2009
Board offers principal contracts, talks security
Plainview Public Schools will add a new instrumental music teacher and a new elementary principal to the staff for the 2009-2010 year as a result of the Board of Education meeting on Monday night.
Board members voted unanimously to offer contracts to instrumental music teacher Beth Cheyney and Elementary Principal/Activities Director Randy Kort.
Cheyney is expected to join the staff at the high school as a full-time instrumental music teacher, replacing retiring Wanda Retzlaff and Kort will hold a combined position of Elementary Principal, taking current Superintendent David Hamm’s duties, and the duties of the Athletic and Activities director from Chad Schumacher and Randall Klooz who currently serve in those positions.
Principal Randall Klooz said that though Retzlaff’s contract was a three-quarter time contract, Cheyney had been offered a full-time contract to plan for the future when the two music departments (vocal and instrumental) could be combined, but that the idea was not expected to be implemented until current vocal teacher Jan Krause retires.
The final position of technology coordinator for the school was not filled on Monday night, though interviews were held last week for the position with three candidates, two of which were Plainview alumni. The Board took no other action on the technology position.
Security camera bids received
The Board also considered three bids for a security camera system to be installed in the high school, though no action was taken on Monday.
The group decided to investigate the differences between the providing companies as well as the pros and cons of having a security system by calling some of the security companies’ reference schools.
Principal Klooz said that at his previous principal position in Franklin cameras had been installed and that he felt it was a good purchase. He referenced times when the cameras could be used to verify student accounts of incidents or to even protect the school from lawsuits by providing a digital, visual record of the recorded areas.
The Board considered a number of options, but the largest cost appeared to revolve around the type and number of cameras needed. Three companies, one from Papillion, one from Sioux Falls and one from Hartington sent bids in to be reviewed.
The Board agreed to have a few members contact some other area schools that have comparable systems or have hired the same companies to check references and to discuss the issue at the May meeting.As of the Monday evening meeting, bids received placed the cost between $15,000 to $25,000 for the entire system.
Annual Safety Plan approved
A lengthy report was submitted to the Board on the annual safety checklist and plan for the Plainview Public Schools.
The review had a five-step process that involved a checklist left with the administration to work on, a review of the crisis management plan and other emergency documents, a walk-through, a written final report and an exit review with the head custodian and the superintendent
The review, conducted by Randy Garwood of Wayne, reported a “generally safe and pleasant place to work and learn. Barring unforeseen conditions such as weather or intruders, the most likely source of accidents to students are the traditional ones: 1. athletic contests; 2. physical education; 3. student-to-student interaction and 4. Playground activities.”
Garwood went on to say that the “administration and staff appear well equipped to handle most of these conditions.”
He did mention as a concern that the accessibility and knowledge to operate the “plant” rests mainly with just one person. Garwood suggested beginning work on an operation manual that could be accessed to have someone else operate the plant if necessary.
In conclusion, Garwood reported that “The conditions in this current report are mostly minor in nature and can be corrected with little or no expense.”
Some of those items noted by the Board and the administration at Monday’s meeting included simple things like unobstructed doorways or walkways to larger items like electrical panel improvements or cracks in the buildings.
A copy of the safety plan is available at the school or at the Plainview News office for review.
In other business the Board:
* Approved the 2009-2010 school calendar with a start date of August 19, 2009 and an end date of May 20, 2010;
* Heard the Principal’s report including some changed dates of events;
* Approved offering three contracts: Principal, Randall Klooz, $78,000 plus 5 percent annuity; Principal, Randy Kort, $62,500 and Instrumental Music, Beth Cheyney, as per the Master Teacher contract and experience.
Junior Fire Patrol graduates 26 ...
The Plainview Junior Fire Patrol class at the Rural Fire Department graduated 26 students this year including, Melissa Pellatz, Tessa Steinkraus, Skylar Hoscheit, Shayla Christiansen, Holly Elwood, Kelcee Albin, Ashlyn Hoffart, Jordyn Betts, Katherine Heaoon, Trevor Beltz and Brandon Hintz, Assistant Chief Caitlyn Hart and Chief Cheyenne Bolling, Levi Albin, Jade Smith, Nicolas Jensen, Tyler Friedrich, Lane Christiansen, Schuyler Sauser, Jacob Schlote, Jason Gutz, Turner Dahl, Becca Wills, Karissa Eichberger, Emily Klooz and Caiti Ziegenbien.
April 9th, 2009
County prepares for Enhanced 911 switch, Plainview may have station
The Pierce County Board of Commissioners met Monday, March 30 in a reconvened meeting recessed from the week before to discuss completing plans to install an Enhanced 911 system in Pierce County.
In attendance were Stacy Gross, Geocomm; Rick Eberhardt, Pierce County Sheriff; Tom Kruse, Osmond Fire Department; Alan Ekberg, Osmond City Council; Bruce Yosten, Plainview Police; Mike Holton, Plainview City Administrator; Terry Nathan, Pierce Fire Department; Klint Arnold, Pierce Telephone; Dale Clipston, Hadar Fire Department and Gary Schuett, Hadar Fire Chief.
Gross told the group that Pierce County and Morrill County are the last two counties in the State to go to an Enhanced system and that Morrill County, however, is in the process of getting E911 and “being last is not all bad.”
Gross explained that because the State wants everyone to be E911 capable, they are paying as high as 100 percent for equipment, and that the latest technology available.
He said the State of Nebraska already collects a surcharge on cell phones and has a $15 million “pot” to help fund E911 equipment. Gross said the Wireless Advisory Board was going to meet on April 6 and that he would like to present a plan for Pierce County for $138,000 in equipment with 100 percent funding from the State.
Gross said those funds would put one operator and one 19-inch monitor in the Pierce Courthouse and an operator and one 19-inch monitor in Plainview.
Gross indicated that when a 911 call comes in it would be routed to Pierce and would show the number of the caller, the address and a map showing where the call originated from. He said if the call is for the Plainview exchange, the computer would route the call to them Gross explained that in earlier conversations, Plainview indicated they would still like to get and respond to their own calls and, by putting a monitor and operator in Plainview, it would provide for a back-up to the Pierce system.
Gross told the Board that the best way to pay for E911 is to place a surcharge on all land-line phones.
Both Plainview and Osmond reported that they have collected a surcharge for a number of years, and that all the board needed to do was pass a resolution to put a surcharge on Pierce’s telephones to make it a county-wide collection.
Gross suggested that all the money collected from all of the county telephone exchanges be put into one account and bills for dispatching and related E911 items be paid out of that account.
He also said the Board could set up an Advisory Board made up with personnel from all towns included to make decisions on how the money is spent.
Gross reported that there are 2,780 telephones in the county, and that would provide $2,780 per month income. He stated that the basic cost for E911, after installation, would then be $2,349 per month so some money would be left over.
Gross said if all parties agree, he would present the plan to the Public Service Commission at the next meeting on April 6.The Board passed a motion authorizing the Board Chairman to sign a funding request for the Enhanced 911 system with Geocomm for services to set up Enhanced 911.Geocomm will charge $20,095 to make Pierce County Enhanced EYE if the final agreements are made.
The Board also held a special hearing with the Northeast Nebraska Economic Development Council, Leo Ahlman in attendance, to give permission to write a $149,500 Community Development Block Grant to fund construction of handicapped accessible work needed in the courthouse, including a ramp to the new elevator.
Ahlman indicated that there are always two things to remember when writing a grant: 1. its like rolling dice as to whether the amount received covers all costs and 2. by only asking for the exact amount you may not get what you ask for.
Ahlman said it may help the County’s chances because the request is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act construction.
The Board closed the hearing and passed a resolution to authorize the Board Chairman to sign the application for the grant.
In other business the Board:* Met with County Highway Superintendent Brian McDonald to plan for summer road projects and passed a motion to authorize the County Clerk to advertise for bids to be opened on the 27th of April at 10:30 a.m. for overlay, crack sealing, armor coating and remanipulation;
* Passed a motion to advertise for a used, 2000 or newer, 10-ton dump truck with bids to be opened on May 11 at 10 a.m.
* Adjourned until April 13 at 9 a.m.
Pirate golfers take second in quad event
The Plainview Public Schools varsity golf team traveled to Neligh for a quadrangular with Neligh-Oakdale, Elkhorn Valley and Creighton on Thursday, April 2.With only Neligh and Plainview fielding enough players for a full team, Neligh defeated Plainview 187-200.Nathan Wragge was the medallist for the evening with a score of 40.
March 26th, 2009
Wyoming group to perform town assessment, give strategic plan
Plainview will be the pilot site in Nebraska for a Wyoming-based assessment of strengths and weaknesses on Monday and Tuesday, April 6-7 as part of a locally-funded project with the Center for Rural Affairs.
During the assessment, a team of four to five economic developers, business owners and volunteers from the Wyoming Rural Development Council will tour Plainview, hold special sessions with specific groups and then present a town hall style meeting on the evening of April 7 to discuss results, suggestions and give Plainview a strategic plan.
The Wyoming Rural Development Council has assisted rural communities across Wyoming and has had such success that other states are beginning to request their services, including most recently, Nebraska.
Stephanie Fritz and Kathie Starkweather, both from the Center for Rural Affairs, responded to a question from Grant Dummer and Brook Curtiss of the Plainview Chamber of Commerce at a recent grant meeting with a suggestion about the Wyoming program and will be helping to lead the program in Plainview.
A main focus is the community involvement in the process, which is why the Wyoming group meets with different branches of the community and the people that serve in it including the religious groups, the school, business owners, students, community members, club members that will make up the two days worth of the 50-minute sessions.
“The group is seeking as many honest, open opinions about Plainview as possible – this isn’t your typical assessment group and the program and plan presented at the end is aggressive and forward,” said Brook Curtiss, program contact. As the agenda is currently written, every aspect of Plainview’s citizenship should be able to attend one of the numerous sessions and take ownership in the project.
More information will follow next week.
Technology students to host open house event of projects
Students in Tammy Schindler’s Applications of Technology class at Plainview Public Schools will be showcasing their skills and answering guests’ technology-related questions on Thursday, April 2.
Throughout the year, the students have been working on various projects which involve digital cameras, movie-making, advanced photo-editing, music-editing, and much more.
Now, they’re “going public” with their work and their skills. On April 2nd, the class will be hosting their first ever “Open House” to display their work and to offer expert advice to anyone interested. Guests are invited to begin browsing at 7:00 p.m. in the high school media center.
Gale Retzlaff’s Technology class will also have some of their work set up in the computer lab across the hall. Some of the students are also planning to show a brief video at 7:30 p.m., to showcase their skills.
March 19th, 2009
South Dakota native accepts CEO position
A South Dakota native with background in Business and Health Law was tapped for the Plainview Area Health System Chief Executive Officer position by the Plainview Health Services Board on Thursday of last week.
Paul Lewis of Flandreau, S.D. visited with the Board at a public interview meeting on Thursday and accepted the position as the facility’s CEO.
Lewis graduated with honors in May of 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Administration from the University of South Dakota’s School of Business, obtained a Masters of Business Administration from the same facility in May of 2004 and also received his Juris Doctorate title in Business and Health Law from the University of South Dakota’s School of Law.
He served as the hospital administrator for Avera Flandreau Medical Center in Flandreau, S.D., an 18-bed critical access facility, from January of 2007 to July of 2008 and saw the facility through a number of large-scale changes including the implementation of an electronic medical records system.
From November of 2004 to January of 2007, Lewis was the Director of Clinic Operations for Avera St. Luke’s in Aberdeen, which Lewis said was the largest town he has lived in, and he still considers himself and his wife and 18-month-old daughter “small town people.”
Throughout the interview, Lewis referenced his work at Flandreau as the administrator there, explaining achievements like the electronic medical records system, and also staffing achievements like maintaining a 95 percent employee satisfaction rating as well as improvements to the facility such as introducing a permanent CT Scan facility and Nerve Conduction Testing.
As the Director of Clinic Operations, Lewis said he had increased clinic revenue, decreased clinic-wide days in accounts receivable by 25 days and created a cross-clinic and system-wide team for creating policy, implementing strategic plans and troubleshooting network issues.
Lewis also answered questions from the more than 20 staff and personnel that attended the meeting, explaining his team-building strategies and his philosophy on leadership as well as some tough questions about balancing facility needs and financing while continuing to grow the system. On the personal side of Lewis’ interview, he explained that he and his wife were South Dakota natives and that they enjoyed small town life. He noted Plainview’s new swimming pool and Community Theatre specifically and said that he and his wife were looking for a place to “put down their roots.”
Following the interview and staff questions, the Board agreed unanimously to offer Lewis an $85,000 CEO contract and welcomed him to Plainview and the facility.
Lewis verbally accepted at the meeting, and, pending the City Council’s final contract approval, will take the helm at the Plainview Area Health System in April.
The next meeting of the Plainview Health Services Board will be Wednesday, March 25 at the Plainview Manor at 4 p.m.
Girls Stater chosen
The Plainview American Legion Auxiliary Unit 148 chose Kinzie Utecht as its 2009 Girls State representative this week.
Utecht is the daughter of Timothy and Karen Utecht and is a junior at Plainview Public Schools.
She has three brothers, Thomas, Adam and Nicholas and a sister, Kate.
Utecht has been on the honor roll every year of high school, is a member of the Plainview FCCLA Chapter and is on the year book staff.
She currently works at Mary’s Steakhouse in Plainview.
Though her passion lies with music and her guitar, Utecht said she plans a career in the medical field, possibly as a pathologist or a gynecologist.
Utecht is scheduled to attend the 2009 event at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln at the end of May.
March 5th, 2009
Board reviews finances, staffing needs
Financial questions and hiring of new staff were main topics at the March meeting of the Plainview Health Services Board.
The meeting began with discussion about the “consent agenda” that the Board approves each month containing specifically the Hospital’s balance sheet, a form that has been called into question the last number of months while the facility’s new computer program was being installed and put into use.
Board member Dennis Vossberg questioned a few specific items including one figure that was exactly the same as last month’s report as well as information provided that showed a dramatic decrease in cash and an increase in bills to be paid.
The Board discussed the current financial situation with Roger Petrik of Rural Health Development and Administrator Becky Lambrecht including concern that the hospital’s accounts receivable (bills sent to be paid) was currently hitting figures of almost $1.5 million.
Petrik reported that part of that problem stemmed from the fact that the Clinic is currently sitting at 111 days for its accounts receivable (a bill sent out takes, on average, 111 days to be paid) and that if it were at the State average of 60 days it would immediately net the clinic about $95,000.The same situation applied to the hospital side, which is sitting at 107 days before bills are paid and on average it should be around 72 days. The group discussed ways to get the accounts receivables back down into the average amount of time to be paid, including questions from the medical staff about what they could do to speed up the process.
Currently, the process has a number of steps in a number of different offices starting from the time the client comes into the hospital or clinic, the service is provided, the items are coded, billed, sent to the insurance, reviewed, sent to the customer and finally paid.
Petrik said that he felt the situation could be best handled by a Chief Financial Officer if a new Chief Executive Officer (administrator) could be hired soon. It would give the CFO time to find where the problems are originating and attempt to fix the problem.
Hospital Administrator Becky Lambrecht reported that the staff of the hospital had already begun some self-assessments to see where the problems were occurring, most recently she attributed to a back-up occurring with not having staff to fill-in while others were on vacation.
The Board did agree, as did Petrik and Lambrecht, that the new computer software was also causing some of the slow-down in receivables, and that the days-to-collect figure had already come down from what it originally was when the program was first installed.
The Board also met with staff from the Home Health Department who provided figures showing that the Home Health staff was currently “overbooked” and that more staff would be necessary to take on new jobs that were being called in and requested.
Currently, the staff in the Home Health Department is working approximately 45-60 hours of time that is above and beyond what the staff can or wants to work either through overtime or covering hours.
The Board recommended the Home Health begin searching for new staff to help fill in the nearly two or three staff members that they could hire to cover current staffing requirements.
In other business the Board:
* Heard a “mostly positive” feedback from the Quality Assurance team’s recent survey;
* Discussed moving the April meeting to the fifth-Wednesday;
* Approved appointments to the medical staff as requested;
* Heard a report on recruiting.
* Discussed the new stimulus package with Manor Administrator Juleen Johnson and how those funds may filter down to assist with a generator purchase for that facility;
* Discussed the Medicare nursing home survey changes.
Special meeting planned
The Plainview Health Services Board will be meeting on Thursday with some prospective candidates for the CEO position currently available at Plainview Area Health System.
The Board will hold informal meetings with some interested candidates to show them Plainview and explain the details of the facility, and then hold formal interviews with those who continue to express interest in the near future.
The Board reported approximately five candidates that had sent resumes, and perhaps three of those that may be interested in interviewing at a later date.
Story of Queen Esther focus of Zion School musical
Youth at Zion Lutheran School will be performing “Malice in the Palace,” on Wednesday and Friday, March 4 and 6 as their yearly musical.
“Malice in the Palace” is a musical based on the Old Testament story of Queen Esther and her appeal to King Ahasuerus to preserve the people of Israel after the King’s adviser Haman petitions to wipe out the alleged “traitors” to the kingdom.
Times of the performances are Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 7 p.m.
February 26th, 2009
Four chosen for interview process
Following review by the Plainview School Board, four applicants were chosen to offer interviews for the position of Superintendent of schools for Plainview’s District 5 on Monday evening.
The Board decided on the four candidates from the field of 16 that had sent in applications before the deadline of February 13 at noon following an almost two hour executive session discussion.
Those candidates chosen to offer interviews to include (in no particular order):
* Thomas Becker of Pilger. Becker has been a mathematics teacher for Ogallala Public Schools, a secondary principal at Emerson-Hubbard Community Schools and, most recently, was the superintendent of schools at Emerson-Hubbard.
* Bruce Burton of Manly, Iowa. Burton has been assistant superintendent at Beatrice Public Schools, superintendent at North Central CSD and Central Springs and North Central CSD.
* Richard Alt of Scribner. Alt has been a 7-12 principal/mathematics teacher and then superintendent/K-12 principal at Hildreth Public schools and a superintendent at Scribner/Snyder Public schools.
* Paul Calvert of Columbus. Calvert has been a superintendent at Akron-Westfield in Iowa, Creek Valley Public Schools in Chappell and most recently at Columbus Lakeview Public Schools.
Interviews with the four candidates are set for March 3, 5, 6 and 7 at 6:30 p.m. in public School Board meetings that citizens are invited to attend. Candidates will actually begin the interview day at 12:30 p.m. that day with tours of Plainview Public Schools, then an interview with community members and classified staff members at 2:15 p.m., an interview with selected certified staff at 3:45 p.m., dinner with school board member at 5:15 p.m. and the public meeting Board interview at 6:30 p.m.
Wrestling team brings home medals from State tourney
The Plainview Pirate wrestling team ended its season with an eighth-place finish at the State tournament at the Qwest Center in Omaha last weekend.
Though the team took an eighth-place finish, the total team scores showed Plainview with 66 team points, and the first-place Class C winner, Central City, had 108. The difference between sixth and eighth was two team points.
Individually, the Pirates ended up with three third-place finishes in Teran Boyer, Nathan Wragge and Brandon Wills; one fifth-place finish in Caden Alexander and two Pirates that didn’t place, Jake Jessen and Dalton Bevill.
