Cindi Allen’s Ideas for Ogallala

By: Jensen

Cindi Allen had 14 different schools as a kid, and she moved more than 23 times. She never had a set hometown, but that didn’t stop her from being involved in her community. Even as a kid, she could see the needs of her schools. But there weren’t that many opportunities for her to get involved. There were no groups to join but Student Council, and there weren’t sports for girls. So, Cindi would set up groups that centered around the issue and together, they would try to help fix the problem. And when she moved on to another new school, she would bring in fresh ideas that she got from her old schools.

She moved to Ogallala in 1996, and since then, her perception of Ogallala has changed. It feels like her home. Not only has her view has changed; she’s noticed that more people are starting to see that they can participate in ways they didn’t think they could before. “I see a lot of people in Ogallala beginning to step up to the plate and fill the gaps,” Cindi said.

Cindi has some ideas on how to improve the community of Ogallala. She says that prettier entrances and more “green areas” in the downtown area would help improve Ogallala’s look. She feels Ogallala has one shot at someone, whether it’s a person who wants to move to a smaller community or someone interviewing for a job, and Ogallala need a good first impression.  

Cindi has also done her part to help the community. Cindi was on the Agricultural Advisory Committee for Congressman Tom Osborne and Congressman Adrian Smith. Other leadership roles she has taken involve the Nebraska L.E.A.D “Leadership, Education, Agriculture, Development” program and the Nebraska State Chamber Leadership program, Class 1. Locally, she served on the Ogallala School Board and was a candidate for the State Board of Education. Cindi has served as a KCAD Board Member and is currently a member of the Keith County Chamber Advisory Committee. She was proud to be a part of the Anna Batehelcer Excellence in Public Service as well. Even while living in Germany, she organized a bible study for little kids.

Cindi is a past president of Rotary and she helped form the group Interact for Youth, which is a student branch of the Rotary. Through her years as Interact’s sponsor, she has helped the group raise money for many amazing humanitarian projects that have benefited children and youth around the world. Some fundraising projects OHS students have participated in include: the Purple Pinky Project, which raised $485 to purchase 485 polio vaccinations over seas; the 5K Turkey Trot; Cocoa to Go at the Parade of Lights; and Battle of the Bands.

Through Interact fundraising, Cindi was able to take $1000 to a school in Uganda, Africa to help them finish building. Interact also was able to fund three Shelter Boxes for victims of Hurricane Katrina, people in Haiti, as well as Japan. These boxes were $1200 each and supplied a family of ten with a tent, water, and all the supplies they would need to survive on their own. Interact also was able to sponsor education for two children in Kenya for 3-4 years through their fundraising efforts. Interact has also helped supply hospital supplies to Romania and one Filipino child’s surgery to correct a cleft palette through Alliance for Smiles. Locally, Interact has sponsored a school supply drive for several years and made donations to the Women’s Resource Center.

Ogallala Needed Some Exercise

By: Sydni and Annastazia

Since 2004, Maggie O’Neil has been the personal trainer at the Goodall Rec Center.  She is also the person who started and inspired the plans for the expansion of the Rec Center. “When I first moved here, I came from an area that had a really nice rec center, and lived in smaller towns with nice rec centers. So, when I walked in here for the first time and saw what people were actually using to exercise, I just thought to myself that this town needs something bigger and better, because this just isn’t going to cut it.”

“About a year after I started here, the Manager and I, at the time it was Penny Feltz, we kind of started brainstorming ideas to build on and, at first, it was a smaller addition.” But we all know that it grew to much more than just a small addition. It had grown over twice what they originally planned on. After the first meeting they decided that “this town is big enough to have something bigger. We decided to make a bigger facility.” Which made it possible to have a walking track, a racquet ball area, and basketball area, things like that.

O’Neil says that she kind of inspired herself because she knew that something needed to change. Of course every project comes with challenges that they have to overcome. The Rec Center Expansion project encountered some difficulties, but they always persevered through them. “When you get involved in a small town, you always have people that aren’t for the project or don’t have a lot to say about the project,” says O’Neil. “When you form a group of people that are trying to raise funds there may be people in that group that may not get along, or there might be some issues arise that you may have to make some really tough decisions to keep the group going.” She said that the community supported them very much. Since the expansion has finished, the Rec Center has seen a steady increase in activity.

O'Neil is a certified athletic trainer, which is a little different from a personal trainer. “We resemble physical trainers in a way, but we deal with all sports' injuries and rehabilitation.” The most rewarding part of O’Neil’s job as a personal trainer is “just seeing people do things that they didn’t think they could do, push people past their limits, Training people to do a triathlon or a 5K, and seeing the little things that people can do.”

O'Neil defines a community as “everybody coming together and working on all different projects.” She thinks that teenagers should get involved in the community because she believes that the more you get involved the more it prepares you for the road ahead. O’Neil says, “Getting involved in the community really grows you as a person.”

Shelly McQuillan

By: Dawn

Most people know Shelly McQuillan as just another person in the community, but she is much more than that.

Shelly is a mother of 3 daughters and is happily married. She has lived in the community for quite some time now.  

Shelly is a mentor with the program of Teammates. she meets with me every Friday, and we talk or go out to breakfast. A mentor is a trustworthy adult that I am able to talk to and what is said is confidential. She has been mentoring for 3 years now. She is always very encouraging and helps me make better decisions. She also helps with my school work when it needs to be done and always keeps me on task.

She makes a positive change in my life and other students that she has mentored by letting them know that they aren't alone, and she can be a friend who they can trust and talk to. I believe that she is always doing something to help out. 

Shelly has inspired me to try my best in everything I do. She had taught me that the more involved in things I am the better off I will be.

Mary Lou Crofutt-O'Brien

By: Shane and Tyler

Today Shane and I are here to interview Mrs. O’Brien a para educator at Ogallala High School. She started as a volunteer in Keystone School. When they closed the school, the staff at Keystone School moved to the Ogallala Public School District.  The entire staff moved to Ogallala Public.  Mrs. O’Brien said the best part of working at school is having contact with young people.  "It’s inspiring to hear their thoughts and ideas, and it’s nice to be able to help them become active members of the community."

In the summer time she is a vendor at the farmer's market here in town.  She also drives the Keystone bus route. She has a big garden and the thing she enjoys most about the farmer's market is talking to people and telling them to shop local.

Mrs. O’Brien grew up in Keystone, Nebraska.  Keystone is considered a farming community where people help out each other. Mrs. O’Brien is an active member and volunteer in her church.  She attends monthly church meetings. She is also a member of the library club.  Living in small farming community, Mrs. O’Brien indicated that when your neighbors are in need, you just help them out with it crossing your mind.  It makes a person feel good inside to help out other people in need.

Being an active member is just the way of life. Mrs. O’Brien mentioned you just have to be a part of the community by volunteering.  Her biggest passion is helping out her neighbors.  She indicated that it just makes her feel like she has made a difference in someones life.

Bob Josjor

By: Dalton

Who is Bob Josjor? Well he is a resident of Ogallala and a small business owner of Lou Kraus Music. He is actively involved with the Ogallala Community Redevelopment Authority, which is helping with economic development and improving parts of the town that are sub-standard, and also serves on the Ogallala/Keith County Chamber of Commerce board. He isn’t always in the newspaper, and he doesn't strive for the spotlight for every good act he does or helps with. He is truly a Local Anonymous Extraordinary.

When Ogallala built the new hospital, that left an old abandoned one. Mr. Josjor said it was filled with "vandals and ne’er-do-wells," it was also an eye sore. Through the Ogallala Redevelopment Authority, they were able to tear the old building down and turn it into a housing community. Another thing that they were able to do is pave about four blocks of street in a low income area, and if they would have not been able to pay for it, the people that lived on that street would have had to pay for it.

When I asked Mr. Josjor about what he believed his most important job as an activist is, he responded with “Communicating, whether that is communicating with people that you are working with or communicating with the people you want to help. Communicating with people that are against what you are trying to do. You have to pool those people together somehow find a common vision that you can move forward on.”
   
He said that the one thing that he thinks that would draw a couple to this community is the security it offers. He says, “That isn’t to say bad things don't happen here, but it sure doesn't happen very often. The safety and security is just a second paycheck that we don’t think about, and that's quality of life.”

Mr. Josjor told me about some of the things that he would like to change in our community. He said his number one thing that he would like to change would be attitudes. He said “A lot of people have the attitude that we are going downhill and this town is going to dry up and blow away in a decade.” He told me of something called a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you look at a task and say I’m going to fail, then you will. But just because you say that you are going to succeed, doesn't mean you will, but you will have a better probability.

When asked if teenagers could make a huge impact in this community for the better here is what he responded with: “Absolutely! If teenagers spent half as much time doing small things rather than watching Youtube, playing Wii, and on facebook they could really change this community. There is a huge amount of energy and a huge amount of ideas that come from young people. Recently in this last year their has been a thing called the Arab Spring, and that is all these democracies that are springing up in Egypt. If you take a look at the footage that happened in Libya, Egypt, all around in the Middle East, and you watch those people who were implementing change, 90% of them were under the age of 25."

From the Mouths of Community Members

Two of my rather charismatic students, Brody and Jake, took a different angle with this assignment. Instead of capturing the story of one person, they set out on a quest to interview as many community members as time would allow to hear their thoughts about the community, how they've been impacted by Local Anonymous Extraordinaries, what kinds of change they'd like to see, etc. Armed with a video camera, the two gentlemen captured the following stories:

Humble Worker Receives Recognition

By: Micah M.

Mr. Ron Siffring is not one to stand up and receive praise or recognition for all the good he does. At first, when I asked him to do an interview with me for my English 9 Local Anonymous Extraordinaries project, he thought I should do it with someone who’s “more deserving.” After I reassured him that he fit the bill perfectly, he gave in and we scheduled an interview for Friday January 27, 2012 at his home in Ogallala.

Before the interview begins, he repeats that he thinks the recognition should be given to someone else, but I tell him that he will do just fine.

When asked, “What are you passionate about?” He is not unsure of himself. His faith, his family, his job, and his volunteer programs are the first things that he mentions. He is very accomplished as a volunteer, yet is extremely humble. A farmer of 22 years, Siffring is now working and living in town. More importantly, he is working to make a difference in the lives of other people. Throughout the community he is involved in many volunteer organizations. He is the co-chair of the local Brother’s Keeper program and is a charter member of the Big Mac Kiwanis Club. He recently gave up his Kiwanis treasury office, which he held for 16 years. He is also involved with the Gideons, a group that ensures the placement of Bibles in local hotels.

In the Brother’s Keeper program, he works to make sure that senior citizens have company, and he sometimes helps them with everyday tasks such as balancing their checkbook. “Something is so simple and yet it’s such a complicated thing for a senior citizen. I see a lot of senior citizens that are in the nursing homes and assisted living in Ogallala that have no family coming to visit with them. They just want some outside contact, and if you bring a little bit of cheer to somebody it’s just… it’s just in my nature to stop and say hi to somebody,” Siffring says of his work in the program.

But he is not just involved with seniors; he is also active in seeing to the well being of the local youth. “Kiwanis is a group of volunteers that are set aside, really to try to meet the needs of the community… A lot of the kids fall through the cracks, and so we try to find programs and ways to help them,” he commented when speaking of the Kiwanis.

His helping character was instilled in him early in life, as he accompanied his mother, a nurse, on visits to her patients who had little company. Another model volunteer was a man from his church. “He was always kind of a good mentor for me… We would talk about people and then we would try to go visit them and do something about it.”

So, what is his motivation for volunteering? Seeing how much it means to the people he is helping, be them old or young. He also noted that his faith plays a big part in motivating him to volunteer. “It’s so simple, and it means so much to them,” he stated.

When asked what advice he could offer to the next generation about volunteering he said, “First of all you have to have an idea that you can do something for someone and not always get paid for it… I think people have to have an inward drive to, and not be afraid of whatever circumstances that you’re going to walk into, just deal with it when you get there. You get there, and most of the time these people are just lonely.”

Ron Siffring falls into the Local Anonymous Extraordinaries category, whether he thinks he deserves it or not. His work in the community is phenomenal, even if it is little known. It is made even better by the smiles he brings, and that he does it with a happy heart.

Sheriff by Rank, Helper by Heart

By: Annastazia and Sydni

“My door is always open, and I will never hide from the public.” This was said by the Sheriff of Keith County, Jeff Stevens. Mr. Stevens has been the sheriff for 1 year, but he has been involved in our community for much longer than that.

Mr. Stevens was elected to be the Sheriff of Keith County. The position of Sheriff is the only elected law enforcement position in the state of Nebraska. All ninety-three counties have only one Sheriff that is elected. He went through an election process to acquire this position. Stevens said that the hardest part of the election process was winning over the trust of the community to perform the duties of a Sheriff. When asked why he wanted to be in law enforcement, Sheriff Stevens responded with, “It was to help people.” He also said that the ultimate goal for any public servant is to help people and to make the community a better place. Stevens said that he cannot put a time limit on his job, and that being a sheriff requires being on call 24/7.

Sheriff Stevens said that the entire sheriff's department is currently working on getting involved in education. Stevens said, “Education is a big part in prevention, so we are really trying to get involved and get education out there, because I would rather talk to the kids in a school setting rather than any other type of setting.”

Stevens is very involved with his church, and sits on the school board for St. Luke’s Catholic School. He also serves on various boards, and he is always willing to help someone out. He voluntarily coaches his oldest daughter’s softball team in the spring and summer and enjoys being involved with all of his kids’ activities.

Sheriff Stevens says that it is very important that kids and teenagers get involved in their communities and establish roots because the more kids are involved, the more they give back to the community.

Daisy Garcia

OHS Junior, Daisy Garcia

By: Aaron

“Always keep a smile on my face,” Banning Underage Drinking (B.U.D.) member and Spanish translator Daisy Garcia quotes her motto as she voluntarily helps Ogallala and its thriving community  to prevent underage students from drinking illegally and driving under the influence and to help new Spanish speaking Americans get through school and help pass their classes by translating the assignments and projects. She says, “I like translating and helping others.” She plans to continue helping them throughout the school year.

As Vice President of B.U.D., Daisy Garcia enjoys working with her B.U.D group, as she has been a part of it for three years since it began working for Ogallala’s community. They plan on taking a trip to Washington D.C. in February of 2012 to “reunite” with the other B.U.D. members from across the country to meet with them to discuss underage drinking and any other problems they are working on. She plans on working to become a better leader for our Community.

We all Recognize Daisy Garcia as a role model and a public figure in Ogallala’s community and a model for future generations to come to learn that the community is better when we all work together and pitch in to help out.

Sandy Iwan

By: Cooper

I am honored to be doing an article about Mrs. Sandy Iwan. Mrs. Iwan was not only inspired by her parents throughout her life, but was inspired by Caroline Strobb, an extension agent, and the girls in a group she was in 40 years ago called the Villagers Club.

She is a teacher, a member of a community service group, and is not only a member of the church but also an advisor for Key Club here in Ogallala. During her time as a Key Club advisor she has done numerous projects including the hat and mitten tree, the pancake feed, the soup supper during christmas time, and has her members do concessions at local games. The most continuous project she has done is the Valentine's Day bake sale. Mrs. Iwan is an incredible person because of all she has done for the community.

Helping Out a Community

By: Elijah

Karl Elmshaeuser of Ogallala, Nebraska is the Executive Director of the West Central Nebraska Development District (otherwise known as WCNDD), an organization that helps build communities. Karl’s job consists of taking care of 18 counties in the state of Nebraska. He does several things within the district. If the community could not afford a person to come in and help with economic help, then WCNDD would basically fill the shoes of that person. One of Karl’s employee’s states, “The community gets to decide where they want to drive their car; we assist them with trying to find the fuel.” To simplify that, WCNDD’s job is basically to assist the community in finding a way to accomplish its goals.  

WCNDD assists with state and federal programs toward the communities' and the counties' projects. They also assist in doing the paperwork in projects so that the project can run more smoothly. WCNDD usually does not get much recognition in these projects. Their name is mentioned in the news reports saying that they had a supporting role in the project, and that is the extent of it. WCNDD does not seek recognition, but when they receive it, they are very thankful because it means a lot to them. 

Karl picked up this job by being successful at his previous jobs. The job he has was available for those who wanted it. He had many people suggest that he take the job. So he applied. During the time he has been there, he has done many projects. One project consisted with tearing down an old and abandoned house, shown in the pictures below. With it gone, the area looks so much nicer and the surrounding places around it also improved and cleaned up their houses. Things like this are what make communities better, even though they may be big or small. But as Karl quotes, "I don’t believe that you should just be a passerby; if you want to affect change, you have to be involved.”

                                                        Before                               After

Pat Aerni

By: Jordan and KC

Pat Aerni is a Local Anonymous Extraordinary who works with kids in the 4H program. Pat works with kids from 8-15 years old, helping them with archery and showing beef. He gives up time away from his family to help these kids every week.

What really makes Pat a Local Anonymous Extraordinary is when we asked to interview him he answered, “Really, me? You must be scraping the bottom of the barrel!” This response tells us that he doesn't know how much he does for kids. He said the most rewarding part of helping with the 4H program is seeing kids succeed and having them come back and thank him years later. That's when he notices how much he is helping people of our community.

Pat started the 4H archery program five years ago after being on the fair board for fifteen years. He decided to get involved with the program because as a child he was engaged in 4H himself, and now that his kids are in 4H, he thought it was really needed. Numbers have risen steadily over the years. Originally starting with 12, it has grown four to five kids a year, and now numbers are up around 25. He would like to see numbers continue to rise as long as there are enough volunteers to manage the number of kids.

Pastor Tschetter Goes to Jail

By: Byron

Pastor Curtis Tschetter of the First Baptist Church in Ogallala goes to jail but not as a inmate.

He had a chance to help with a jail ministry in the local jail. Tschetter said that he began going into the jail four years ago when a the pastor of the Methodist church was gone and not able to do it once a month. Soon it became a once a week thing.

In a few words, the jail ministry is a Bible Study that anyone in the jail can go to and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Tschetter goes every week to the jail because he says that it is important for everyone to hear God's truth; Tschetter wants to give the inmates an opportunity to hear what Jesus says. The pastor loves seeing the people in the jail respond to God and want to individually meet with Tschetter. He wants them to know that they are significant even though they did something that got them in a place that they didn't want to be. Pastor Tschetter plans on continuing the prison ministry.

Mary Faesser

By: Brad

One of Ogallala’s extraordinary people is  Mrs. Mary Faesser.  She does a lot of charity work and works with youth in Ogallala.  She reported that she got started in helping the community through her kid’s activities.  Her favorite thing to do to help the community is working with the youth and teenagers in the school and out of school. What inspired her to begin helping in the community is she got invited to a church group and it just felt good to her.

In her future she thinks she’ll take on a project helping the youth of Ogallala. Her main encouragement is just to make things better for the youth. She says “If your child is in an activity, then the parents are in the activity, too.”

Her inspiration as a child was her parents, who supported her throughout her whole life. One of her biggest partners is Carol Kraus. When asked what is the most important part of your job, Mrs. Faesser said, “Helping the youth realize their full potential.”  One of her other projects is getting the 4H program back in action.  Her passions are school activities.  She got connected with the community through being involved with her children's activities.  

Big Influence in A Small Town

By: Mason

Doug Davis is such a big influence on a small town. Doug does many things in this community to help and support it.

Doug has lived in Ogallala since 1976 for 25 years off and on. He has been helping our small town for 10 years off and on. He volunteers in many ways. First off he is the secretary of the volunteer fire department, he is the Lieutenant in the volunteer fire department. He is on the Hospital board; he is on the planning and zoning commission; he is a member of the optimist club. He attends the school board meetings, helps with grounds keeping, and he is the vice president of the dive and rescue team.


The reason Doug got into helping the community is “seeking out information; finding out what is actually happening there, is a big difference between what you hear and what is actually happening”. Doug puts in about five hours a week or 20 hours a month roughly from meetings, training, and appointments. Volunteering affects him because he is very busy doing various events, fundraisers, and with whatever comes up. Doug is up to date on things that are happening, so he can inform people about the community and what it’s doing.

Doug is a great man. If you ever have a question, just ask Doug, and you will get a nice and clear answer. I would recommend talking with him and getting active with our community because our community can always use help.

Shane Fruit

By: Charles

I interviewed a teacher from Ogallala High School, Mr. Fruit, who is very active in the community. One of the things he is active in is his church, and he also helps with a organization called F.C.A. which stands for “Fellowship Of Christan Athletes.” This organization influences coaches and the athletes to knowing Jesus.

“When you're helping the community you're helping other people,” Mr. Fruit said when I asked him why he wanted to help in this community.

I asked Mr. Fruit what a good way to help the community is and he said “you should help in the community where your passions are at.”

Gregg Zink

By: Tanner

For the last quarter our English class has been studying people and how some help the community. We were sent out to do an interview on someone that helps the community in someway and doesn’t get directly paid for it. This could be like being on committees trying to get people to move to our community.

I interviewed Gregg Zink. He doesn’t do real major things. He does simple things like teach Sunday school at his church and help with the little kids' flag football. He also volunteers at the soap box derby events. He does a lot for his community. People may not realize how much this can touch kids. He said “I lived in a smaller community, and as kids we didn’t have all these opportunities.” Gregg says that a community is "a group of people or volunteers coming together for a cause.” He also said that the organization that he is involved with that has the most positive influence for kids is probably Voyagers or Sunday school. But soapbox and flag football teach them how to represent themselves and their community. Gregg said that “these programs help get kids headed into the right direction. and so that less kids will end up on the streets and in trouble.” He said “I would probably move here again because Ogallala gives the small town feel, but it is big enough to offer more things for kids to do.” Most of the time we hear about the negatives in this small community, but here are some positives. So it should make you thankful for what you have.

Gail Schreiter and Realy for Life

By: Katherine D.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to talk with Gail Schreiter; she recited how she helps with Relay for Life. Her most favorite part about helping the relay committee is knowing she is helping people through difficult times. The Relay for Life walk takes place the third weekend in July. The first time she was involved and ever heard of Relay for Life was when she was asked to walk for her team after she had just moved here. Next month will be the 10 year anniversary of her helping Relay. Relay’s main focus is to raise money; this money helps all types of cancer research. Most cancer researchers don’t get the money from the government.

She helps with KCALD (Keith County Area Leadership and Development) which promotes leadership in the community. She also helps with the Do it Local; she does part of promoting volunteerism and living and working in Keith County. She also teaches faith formation on Wednesday.

Relay is special to Gail because her dad was diagnosed with cancer, and they told them they couldn’t do anything to help him; helping relay has made her feel good. “One day at a time, this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone. Do not worry about the future for it has not yet come, but live in the present and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.” Her inspiration in the community is the Adams family; they do a lot in the community, and they gave her the encouragement to do this. Her most favorite quote from relay is “If one person can fight cancer, a nation can rise up and defeat it.” If you want more information on what Relay for Life does you can go to www.cancer.org and www.relayforlife.org.

McLain Wunschel

McLain Wunschel is a Senior at Ogallala High School with a passion to help people. She actively participates in fundraisers and is the current president of the Ogallala High School Interact Club. As president of the club she has worked on the Turkey Trot, school supply drive, Alzheimer walk, and many more projects. At the moment the club is working on raising money to redo the lecture hall. In addition to Interact, McLain is in Key Club, Tri-M, and many of the fine arts.

“If you volunteer it will positively inspire someone else to volunteer and there for creating more volunteers” said McLain. Once she graduates McLain is planning on going to Black Hills University in Spearfish, South Dakota and double major in history and English education. She hopes to become a high school history teacher.

Bob Welsh

By: Shelby

Bob Welsh: A father, husband, coach and recycler. Many people know of his job at the recycling center but it’s not as common to know about his participation in Keep Keith County Beautiful (KKCB).

Bob Welsh moved to Ogallala ten years ago. When he came, he was looking for a job, as any other new person in town would be. He found an open one, a management job, at U.S. Recycling. Being a part of the recycling world more opportunities were handed to him. “I was approach by Marian Kroker who is the director of Chamber of Commerce. They wanted to bring this (KKCB) back to our community.” Welsh said.

KKCB is an affiliate of Keep Nebraska Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful. They do beautification projects (gone in and have done landscaping; they’ve planted trees, flower pots, etc.), and recycling projects like running the recycling center, brought education into the elementary schools, give tours with the classes that come down there, and organize recycling competitions. There’s been local clean-ups, and they organize different events such as Household Hazardous Waste Recycling, and Electronic Waste Recycling.

When Welsh was asked what kind of effect he thought he had on the community he said “I believe it’s a positive impact.” The KKCB has done a lot of things that people take for granted and don’t notice, like the small things that brighten people’s day. He said this participation makes him feel good inside. He is very thankful to give back to a community that has done so much for him and his children. There are many ways that people of all ages can help out. Welsh mentions that young people can especially help out by representing their school. They can pick up the parking lot and the grounds around it.  “It would be a great way for them to get involved.”

This path is a fulfilling one, but it isn’t easy. Even Welsh has wanted to give in sometimes. “I have because I was just so busy with my job I didn’t think I could give a 100 percent to the programs.” Some of the reason he would give up was reasons like sports, church, and raising three daughters. Welsh said in the end it was worth it. They ended up getting many programs to really blossom like Household Hazardous Waste, Electronic Waste Recycling, Tire Amnesty, and educating children in schools on the importance of recycling.

The recycling contribution isn’t the only thing that Welsh have done. He helped out with high school track. As far as club volleyball, he wanted to be part of his kids' life and their friends and to make a positive impact.

Welsh honestly loves his job and what he does. It is a big part in his life and always will be. “It’s only by the grace of God that I went down this path,” Welsh says. But is it really his passion? Not quite. “No, my passion is water skiing, but I love my job and I love what I do.”

So make sure you follow what you think is right and what you know is right, like helping out your community. And who knows how you’ll get there? It’s an unknown path, but it’s a worthy path that everyone should take.

From Math Teacher to Color Guard Sponsor

By: Katherine T.

“I love color guard and band; it ranks right up with teaching” said Miss Lindauer. Miss Lindauer is a high school math teacher and sponsor for the OHS color guard. For four years she’s been a sponsor for the color guard and apart of the band. She started out the same time that Mr. Schlake, the OHS band director, started teaching at the high school.

When she first started out helping the color guard, she told the co-captains that if they wanted help with anything, she would help since she had experience with color guard. The year before, the captain of the color guard approached her and asked her for help and to be the sponsor and she agreed to.

She helps with the color guard by ordering and gathering all the supplies that the color guard would need for that season like, flags, rifles, uniforms, and writing routines. She had help writing routines from Niki, a color guard sponsor, and Abby, one of the co-captains. By writing routines and getting together with the color guard during the summer and school year, Miss Lindauer has put in close to 170-180 hours to the color guard.

She is very active in the community. She helps out with her church, and attends most of the band and show choir concerts, the volleyball, basketball, and of course the football games. She is a member of two scholarship committees. She’s also a member of the united Methodist District Superintendence Committee. She has done a lot of community service and use to help with Kiwanis. She enjoys helping others and being part of the community. “It’s part of my personality,” says Miss Lindauer. She likes to make people better than what she is.

Sharon Ott and CASA

By: Abigail

Sharon Ott of CASA, Court Appointed Special Avocates, is a program for neglected or abused children started in 1994 by Wanda Hyatt. In this program, ordinary citizens who are interested in helping these kids fill out applications and attend a thirty hour training session, and if it’s a good fit, they are court appointed by the judge. She started it getting ready to retire but saw an ad and saw they needed a director with a medical background.

“And I really think it’s important to give these children a chance,” says Ott.

She enjoys people and seeing the good in the community, but the stories about the children are what really bring her down. She is very passionate about what she does; she loves children. But never did she think she would end up doing what she’s doing, but she continues working 20-30 hours a week.

“I’m learning all the time,” Ott says.

Other then CASA she has been involved in helping are community by being involved in several community programs such as Do it Local and Non Profit Gift Of Hope.

Giving Back to Families in the Community: Your Local Women's Resource Center

By: Hayley and Skylar

“We’re kind of like a hidden gem in some ways.” Stara Chandler-Smith says when we sit down to interview her.  As the executive director of the Ogallala Women’s Resource Center, Ms. Chandler-Smith does everything from working with clients, giving speeches and purchasing things for the Women’s Resource Center to getting the mail and sweeping the floor.

The Women’s Resource Center works with families in the community by helping them explore their options, obtain clothing and formula, giving parenting classes and also offering counselling. Ms. Chandler-Smith has worked with kids as young as twelve. Strengthening families is one way that Ms. Chandler-Smith helps the community.

The biggest struggle that Ms. Chandler-Smith has had while working at the Women’s Resource center is trusting herself to do the job. However, her favorite part is meeting new people and hearing their stories. If she can help them avoid heartache or save a child’s life, Ms. Chandler-Smith feels accomplished.

Ms. Chandler-Smith hopes to set the center on a course to grow. She hopes to expand the services, client base, donor base, and to be better known in the community. When asked if she thought she deserved more recognition, Ms. Chandler-Smith stated, “I think the Center deserves more because it actually does some really incredible things. It has some really awesome things to give back to the community. I’d like it to have more recognition in that manner. Not praise, but just more knowledge and information out there about it.”

Carl Dietz: More Than a Superintendent

By: Sophia

Volunteering is a self-drive for superintendent Carl Dietz. Volunteering is very important to him. When asking him what being an activist means to him he stated “Standing up for what is right regardless of the consequences, and never compromising your personal integrity.”

Mr. Dietz has volunteered in our community in several different ways. One way is as our superintendent of our public schools he has proposed three school bonds since 2008 when he began his job. He has got shot down on all three proposals but won’t back down from trying to do the right thing which is obtaining better learning facilities and educational programs. Most superintendents would have left already after getting struck down three times in a row, but Carl Dietz has a self-driven motivation to stay here and keep helping out in our community. His answer to the questions; why haven’t you given up and why have you decided to stay he states “I haven’t given up because I know the positive impact new facilities can have on the attitude of everyone, as well as the educational and financial improvements. I’ve stayed because this is where I need to be for right now.”

Besides being a superintendent in our community, he also volunteered by participating in fund raising events to help pay for youth projects as a member of the Big Mac Kiwanis and the Ogallala Optimist Club. The clubs also perform community service projects.  Mr. Dietz has also participated in roadside cleanups, the Angel Store, helping out with the Rendezvous breakfast, and he helped start the Jaycees in Wood River, and many others.

So, why did Mr. Dietz become a superintendent? Mr. Dietz states “I became a superintendent to have a greater impact on more students.” Mr. Dietz has worked hard to earn his position of superintendent now.  He has taught at Benkelman and Wood River and also coached sports. He was a principal at Amherst and a superintendent at Eustis-Farnam. Before he moved here he lived in Kearney, Nebraska. For now he remains in our small community still volunteering and accomplishing great things.

Amy Sauer

By: Bobbi Jo

Ogallala is lucky to have many volunteers that live here - and one of them is Amy Sauer. She  is a former employee of  PAKS. PAKS provides opportunities for people with disabilities to become involved in their community. What Amy found out after going to work there was that it was way more than just a job.

She found out that it was a new experience every day and it was fun going to work. She also said “Getting up and going to work was one of my main interests.” All of us have some days when we don’t want to go to work, but Amy said that the individuals she helped made it easier for her to go to work every day. What inspires her to want to help out is the drive to give other people opportunities. The people who have encouraged her to keep working where she was working were her friends and family. Helping others brings her joy. Giving them the opportunity to be independent is what kept her going. Amy’s perspective changed when she was working at PAKS, she says, “Sometimes the little things in life can be the best things.” Although she doesn’t work at PAKS anymore, she wishes she could work there again; she misses her job. The best memory she had while working at PAKS was making a difference. Other work she has done in the community was to volunteer at SCIP. When she helps people, the satisfaction she gets is knowing that she can help change a life.

Rose Tuttle Helps With Teammates in the Community

By: Kelsey

Mrs. Rozy Tuttle, a Physical Education teacher at the Ogallala Middle School has been helping with the Teammates Mentoring Program for 4 years. Teammates is a school-based mentoring program whose goal is to provide support and encouragement to school aged youth.  The program is open to ANY student who would like to have another positive influence in their lives.

Mrs. Tuttle started helping students in the community as soon as she started teaching middle school back in 1994.  Red Ribbon Week, Kick Butts Day (anti-tobacco) and Pre-School P.E. are various community service projects that she has been a part of.  Under the influence of her fellow colleague, she also was involved in various service learning projects through the Americorps. Mrs.Tuttle, with the help of former school psychologist, Linda Lund, was instrumental in bringing the Teammate Mentoring program to the community.  The program currently has 28 matches in the high school and middle school.

Josie Hughes and Maylee Garcia are two members of Teammates. “My grades have improved a lot.” Maylee said. Maylee’s mentor is Candy Spady. They meet every Wednesday in the middle of the day for about 25 minutes. During the holidays they have made a gingerbread house and also a bowl for Maylee’s mother saying “I love you mom” and “Happy Mothers Day.” April Thraen is Josie Hughes's mentor. They meet every Friday at the end of the school day for 20 minutes. They usually play a board game or talk to one another about their week. Josie quoted “I can talk to her about stuff that I can’t talk to anyone else about, and I can trust her.”

Mrs. Tuttle has changed many students' lives during the past years. The community has been blessed to have the Teammates Mentoring Program. If you would like to become a member of teammates go to www.teammates.org and sign up to become a mentor for a student. “Making a difference in a person’s life is definitely a social action,” quoted Mrs. Tuttle.

Renne Meyer

By: Kendall 

Renne  Meyer, The First United Methodist Church Puppeteer Director since 1992, considers her ministry a calling from God. 

She has worked with youth for many years beginning with her involvement with various church activities as a young adult. The wife of a new minister asked Renne to help with a new activity for the youth of  the church.  Since she had sewing skills she was able to help create and design the puppets.  But she soon found that creating the puppets was just the beginning of a wonderful experience for her and the many youth that participated in this ministry. 

The Puppet Team performed at many church services and various competitions.  This
involved many practices and travel and Renne was there to give guidance and encouragement.  
The youth learned how to make the puppets come to life and teach a lesson that was entertaining and fun for those watching. 

She directs all youth activities of the church and does everything to make a difference and a lasting lesson to the children that attend the activities that she is a part of. Renne feels that this experience has affected everything that she has done.

Drew Krab: The Will and Perseverance of a Person Who Cares

By: Celie

Drew Krab’s family has been in the Keith County area for about 120 years. After college when deciding where to live, close by family and a small, safe community were attractive to him. Krab’s attachment to the Ogallala community has led him to work on projects such as fixing up Humphrey’s Pond, leading the effort to pass a School Bond, a Downtown Revitalization project to bring our downtown area back to life, and the Midplains Expansion project. When asked what motivates him to be so active in our community, he replies that he likes having a positive contribution and has a passion for community involvement.

Krab’s latest project is the Midplains Community College Expansion in Ogallala. He’s helping to organize the fundraising efforts to get a campus with classrooms in Ogallala. “My passion when I work on community projects is to really benefit the most amount of people possible, and that project (Midplains) has the potential to really change a lot of people’s lives.”

Krab was one of the people who stepped up to head the last school bond campaign. He believes that for whatever reason, the bond not being passed was the next step for the schools. Krab says that once you are emotionally tied up in something, you are going to get frustrated. “But after a couple of days of being unhappy, I realized it shouldn’t affect the way I feel about community service.”

Krab believes that community activism is more effective than a lot of other solutions the government can provide. “I believe communities exist so that when we have common problems we can come together to take care of those.” Krab says that four areas that are crucial to a community’s development are housing, health care, economic development, and education. “The solutions reside in the will and perseverance of people that care.” Organizations Krab has worked with to accomplish these projects include the Chamber of Commerce, School Board, school committees and staff, Keith County Area Development, and the downtown business community.

“I’d just like to think that decades after I’m gone that the things that were most important to me for the community are continuing to work for the community, being a benefit for the community, and maybe even inspires other generations to say ‘You know, let’s take this community college or our downtown to the next level.’ ” Krab continues to work on the Midplains project and Downtown Revitalization. “I think that Ogallala and the Keith County area have a lot of untapped potential.” When asked what other things he’d like to get involved with in the community, he says he’d like to try to bring new businesses into the area and become involved in business expansion projects.

Supporting Family Fun

By: Evan

Dave Barret has done a lot for the community one of those things is working with and helping with the Soap Box Derby.

Dave got involved with Soap Box Derby because “my daughter has always been competitive and I have always liked racing.”  Dave has two daughters they started racing when they were young. When they were competing in the races, they were on the street; the effort that it took to put a race on the street was a lot more work than people who were involved in Soap Box Derby. Today to put on a race it takes 40-44 volunteers a weekend to put on a race.  “So we wanted to build something that would draw people, and when we did it we wanted to do it right,” Dave says.  They also strived to be the top track in the U.S.A. and they are.

All of the funds to build the Soap Box Derby came from donations, foundations, and fundraisers. 
Dave’s jobs with the Soap Box Derby are to get kids involved with Soap Box Derby, keep races fair and competitive, and to keep the facility safe.  To get kids involved with Soap Box Derby they go to home shows; though they mostly focus on the word of mouth to spread the word of Soap Box Derby.  Dave wishes that they did a better job at spreading the word of Soap Box Derby.  To get involved, kids can buy their own cars, but most racers use cars that are owned by businesses around the local area. Since Soap Box Derby started in Ogallala in 1997, it has gone from two participants to 52 participants last year.  Most of the racers in Soap Box Derby are from Ogallala, Grant, Paxton, and the surrounding areas. 

To raise money for Soap Box Derby they hold raffles, have card parties at the Moose Lodge, hold car washes, and trash pick ups.  Most of the money that they raise goes to send kids to Akron for nationals.  This year they have started to raise money to light up the track.  They want to  start races later and let them run later into the evening.

Another thing that Dave does for the community is participating in the 4-H livestock sales.  Dave says that he got into buying 4-H livestock from his father; he also does this to support the kids' parents that do business with him at his tire store.  Though Dave hopes that the 4-Her’s use the money that they get for their livestock to help pay for college.  Dave usually buys more than three animals a year and in the past forty years he has bought around one hundred and forty animals.  Usually he keeps about half of the animals that they buy, and he gives some to his employees he also keeps a few for his family.  Dave says, “that he very much enjoys going to the sales and seeing all the effort that the kids put into their animals."  He wishes that there were more kids involved with 4-H livestock and believes that it offers a lot of educational values.”  Dave has done a lot for the community, and without him we may not have our own Soap Box Derby track, and thanks to Dave, he has also supported kids participating in 4-H to look forward to doing it again next year.

Fantastic OHS Teacher Gives to the Community

By: AJ

Ogallala has been lucky to have Mrs. Kate Diaz as a teacher for 32 years.  She worked with the students in Brule for five years before that.  When asked if she enjoyed her job, she replied “I love my job.  It’s not work.”   She went on to say “I want my students to be articulate and be able to speak well in public and to each other so they’ll be productive members of the community and hopefully stay in Ogallala.”

Mrs. Diaz volunteers her time and skills in church, the youth baseball program, and school foundations.  She likes to encourage people to donate to foundations to get money throughout the district for teachers to use for educational projects.

When asked what skills were important for her volunteer work, she mentioned organization, writing, and reading.  She also said math is always involved because of money.

She said she wished she could be a better role model, but I think she is a really good role model for all teenagers.  She is very patient, and treats all students with respect.

She says she gets bored and can’t just sit around.  She said she volunteers more in the summer because she is so busy at school.  She started volunteering when she lived at home with her Mom.  Her Mom would put her in the kitchen to help at church dinners, serving and doing dishes. 

Although volunteering takes a lot of her personal and family time, she says the small rewards are worth it.  For instance, some students she taught planted roses around town and when she sees those roses bloom she feels the reward. 

Backpack Program Provides Food for Ogallala Elementary Students

By: Maaika and Jenna

Pete Peterson is one of the many hardworking Local Anonymous Extraordinaries in our community working hard to make a difference. Pete Peterson is one of the many people volunteering to help with the Backpack Program that goes on in Ogallala.

The Backpack Program is a program that gets food to children over the weekend who don’t have enough food to eat during that period of time. While kids are out to recess, the secretaries of schools slip bags filled with food into kids’ backpacks for the weekend. The bags are filled with a variety of items that allow kids to get the needed nutrients over the weekends. This week's menu included two individual sized boxes of cereal, an individual fruit cup and applesauce, milk that does not need to be refrigerated, two small boxes of juice, and chili and lasagna which change every week.

Pete Peterson is part of the Missions Committee, which leads the Backpack Program in Ogallala. Other Missions Committee members are Kandy Adams, Jerri Cole, Pastor Laurie, Mike Keith, Bev Pollock, and Kathy Sizer. The committee is currently serving 13 elementary students and their siblings right here in Ogallala. Pete says the two most rewarding things about helping is that he knows he’s helping kids get food and how willing people are to help and donate towards the program. The program rarely has to ask for contributions because of how willing people are to donate. “That’s the easiest part, getting people to donate,” stated Pete Peterson. The program in Ogallala has $4,728.08 in the bank currently from donations and has to pay $1,280.00 for food costs per year. The Missions Committee has been participating in this program for about two years now.

One of the things that inspired Pete to help with the Backpack Program was knowing that some kids were not getting enough to eat on the weekends. Pete thinks that we should always be watching for people in need and to make sure that we help others. There is only a small number of people that know who these children are. Pete said that we don’t need to know who these kids are; the important part is that we are helping them. That is one of the great things about the Backpack Program. The kids cannot be made fun of because nobody really knows what kids are getting food. The Missions Committee thought that getting enough money for this program would be overwhelming. With help from community members and groups, this project has really taken off and is self-sufficient for the time being. Pete says future hopes for the project are to extend it to the middle school and possible high school students too. “There’s not enough food for a middle school or high school student now” says Pete Peterson.

Dennis Dahlkoetter

By: Jon 

Dennis Dahlkoetter started shooting bow when he was with his friends in Colorado.  He got started in hunter safety because he realized that people were doing things that they should not be doing, and he wanted to teach people the difference from right and wrong, and then it kind of just went over into 4-H archery.  What keeps him going in archery is to see the kids having fun, seeing the look on the little kids' faces when they get a good score, and seeing the competitions between the kids.

Now lets take a look at what he does in his spare time.  He helps Jerry Spangler who is legally blind. Jerry came to Dennis and asked if it was possible have him start shooting a bow. Jerry heard about a blind guy getting a grand slam.  So he went to Dennis and asked if he could figure out something for him so he could shoot bow.  So Dennis took Jerry all the way back to set one and then started from there.  Dennis said that he had seen a girl at Las Vegas that was blind and seen her sight was specially made so she could have a spotter to help her shoot, and that gave him the idea about the sight.  Once Dennis got Jerry shooting, they went antelope.  Dennis said they have a special meaning every time they go out and hunt.

Mary Pierce

By: Allison and Ashley

Mary Pierce has been a journalist for Keith County News for several years. She feels her job is her community project.  She loves telling people about what is going on in our community. She enjoys  helping, inspiring, and being inspired by our community. One example is the Ogallala Interact Club. These students are doing all kinds of things to replace the seats in the Ogallala High School lecture hall. This, according to Mary, “is quite amazing.”  These students inspire not only our community to make a difference, but everyone in our community to work together as one to make a difference.

Mary Pierce thinks the community is made up as one, a whole, working together. She states that she enjoys telling people about the positive things in our community because telling positive things inspires them to do more good things. Mary thinks that us as teenagers could make a huge difference with the technology that we know and have today. Mary also thinks that we all need to work together to grow, with several different groups, and work together for the common cause to improve. Mary says don’t let people say no, try new things, and the people are number one. According to Mary “failure is okay; that’s what we learn from.”

Heather Gill

By: Makenzi & Tresann

Heather Gill grew up in a small town in South Dakota, the oldest of six girls. She grew up surrounded by older people willing to teach her and her young, single mother how to help others in her community. She always felt a responsibility to take care of the younger kids in town because of the small school room for kindergarten through eighth grade classes.

She moved to Ogallala in 1997 when her youngest of three sons was only a year old. It was hard for her the first couple years to find a connection in the community. She began to feel connected more when her sons started making friends with their neighbors." I think I felt connected because I felt responsible," she says.

With many passions, from her kids at youth group to encouraging those who are struggling, she loves to help anyone and everyone around her. "I love helping people see their own strengths, so that they know they are valuable."

She currently works for the Educational Service Unit 16, or ESU 16, supervising the Services Coordination Program. She gets to go into homes and help kids form birth to three years with special needs. She also helps parents who struggle supporting young kids. When asked if she enjoys her job even when bad situations are brought to attention she replied, "I’ve never met a parent who woke up one day and decided to abuse or neglect their kid."

She also runs the Radiant Life Youth Group. She says she enjoys working with all the teenagers, even though they are ornery. "I am most proud of my youth group," she says "because I have kids who come to my youth group that in a regular school setting are not out in the regular school population, but in my youth group they come and they are completely integrated and interacting with everyone else. I’m proud that the kids in my youth group take people like that under their wing." Her whole goal in her youth group is to build leaders. She hopes the kids there will grow up and be leaders in their community as well.

The last thing she was asked was if she felt like she was an Anonymous Extraordinary. She immediately replied "No, not at all." But this is the mark of a true Anonymous Extraordinary, someone who helps people in as many ways possible but doesn’t take any credit and still thinks they can do more. Heather Gill is definitely one of these rare people.

Seeing the Community in His Eyes

By: Andrea

Mr. Chip Maupin has taken part in our community by actually seeing the problems in people and helping them find solutions to their problems. If you know what I am talking about, then I’m sure you are thinking about a counselor because that is what Mr. Maupin has done for 22 years. He has worked in the Ogallala area and in Sydney, Grant, and the Oshkosh area for 16 years. Mr. Maupin has the passion to help relationships and anything that deals with the minds of people.

I asked him “Who has inspired you to help out?” Mr. Maupin answered, “Milton Erickson influenced me, and he was a Psychologist.” He also said that an old friend and high school buddy inspired him because he was a very good Psychologist as well. When asked what inspired him, he said, “I would like to make a difference in human relationships.”

He said the positive things that make him feel good about working with other people are helping to make relationships better and making people feel better.

When asked, “What is your definition of Social Activism?” he answered without hesitation, “One who tries to improve the lives in their community.”

Travis Haggard

By: Jordan K. 

Travis Haggard, the economic developer for Ogallala and Keith County, took time out of his day to interview with me. Travis has been doing this job for a little over year now. His job is to coordinate with organizations and people to help local businesses grow and to help bring new businesses to Ogallala. He said “I like to see Ogallala grow in hopes that the entire area will make more money, create new jobs and establish a community for the youth.” Mr. Haggard does this job with the support and encouragement from his family, friends, and the business owners. Travis gets up every morning and does this job because he wants to make a difference in the community.

The state government helps Travis with resources while the community helps him when looking for answers. Mr. Haggard said “God helps me the most.”

He retained Tri State Generation and Transmission to save jobs while changing the attitude of Ogallala in a positive way. Travis plans on growing and expanding current businesses in Keith county and Ogallala while bringing new businesses in. When he talks and communicates with the business in the community, he involves the community.  Mr. Haggard likes to get input from the community, after all he works for the community. Working with the Keith County Chamber of Commerce, and clubs like the Optimists, Kiwanis, Rotary, KCAD, CRA and REDI Boards, he has a constant stream of information that gives him his direction.

His take on social action is just being involved in the community and being in the public’s eye. Mr. Haggard has done a lot in a year to help the community and plans to do a lot more.

Tracy Eveland and the Sandhills District Health Department

By: Kylee 

Tracy Eveland is a registered nurse in the Sandhills District Health Department. She is the Vaccine Coordinator giving all the vaccines for children and adults. She assists the director and helps in the medical clinic and the nurse practitioner. She also serves as the nurse for the Keith County Jail.  Mrs. Eveland is also the Emergency Response Coordinator for the five counties that SDHD serves. As the Emergency Response Coordinator, she is responsible in coordinating all the medicines and supplies needed to treat everybody in the counties who would be affected by the specific type of emergency.

Mrs. Eveland is originally from Grand Island, and after meeting her husband, they lived in Hastings where they raised their four boys. They moved to Ogallala because her husband wanted to move closer to his folks. She says she likes life in a small community because everyone knows her and her kids and “it’s more of a community project to raise my family.”

SDHD is one of twenty-one health departments across the state of Nebraska that monitor public health by tracking diseases, seeing who is sick, gathering statistics, interviewing, and then providing the vaccine. They also provide and distribute home radon kits and educate the public on health issues.

SDHD has been in our community for over thirty years. In its earlier stage, it was known as the Nebraska Visiting Nurses Association much like Home Health visits are today. And as it moved forward in developing public health, it became the Sandhills District Health Department. SDHD is a very important service in our community because it provides medical care, immunizations, preventions, and screenings. It serves the very young and old with or without insurance. They monitor health data and statistics, educate the community, and provide treatment. Also they provide CPR classes and the Sandhills Safe Kids program in educating child passenger safety. If it impacts your health as a person or community; usually there’s a health department initiative behind it to help educate, diagnose or treat, or to do research and statistics.

Deb Cleveland and the Youth Wrestling Program

By: Austin

The most important part of our community is the youth, and we are lucky to have many programs for our youth to participate in.  One of the largest athletic clubs that Ogallala currently has began in 1997.   Bart Voycheske, with the help of Deb Cleveland and Dom Larocca, thought of a great way to get the youth in and around the community involved in exercise while making it fun.  And that is how the youth wrestling program got its start.

Bart Voycheske wanted to break away from freestyle wrestling and start a folkstyle club, Deb had a son that wrestled at the time and decided to help him out. Dom Larocca was a volunteer coach.  Deb says, “When I first became involved in wrestling, I noticed it developed character, confidence, endurance, and prepares kids for life.”   Bart also wanted to see some consistency between the youth program and the high school team, so a folkstyle club was a great way to achieve that.    

Starting a new club is not as easy as it sounds.  Some of the problems that they encountered were:

• What rules they had to follow  
• A place to hold practices
• What association to join
• Getting volunteers to coach
• The conflicts that they met trying to break away from the existing club

The youth wrestling program has evolved since 1997.  It is now the only youth wrestling club in town.  Internet has been a major change in communication with parents making it easier to contact them regarding practices and competitions.  “We have to compete with the youth basketball program, which is stronger than it used to be.  We started with around 18 kids the first year and the program has grown to around 60 members” says Deb.  Along with the positive points, with the evolving club there are difficulties that they have to deal with, such as insurance expenses, space to hold practices and scheduling conflicts.  It is more expensive and there is way more paperwork than they had in the beginning.   Deb said, “Drawing kids to come compete in our local tournament (which is our only fundraiser) gets harder and harder every year because it is so far to travel from eastern to western Nebraska.  It is also hard to find a date for the tournament that does not conflict with other activities.”

The Ogallala youth wrestling club is just a goo program and involves the whole family.  It is a sport that a child as young as five can start and can continue through their high school years.  Wrestling is great exercise and helps to develop coordination, balance flexibility, mental toughness and cardio endurance.  But one of the most important aspects is the ability to meet other kids from all over the country.

When asked if she could make any changes to the program she said that she wishes more people would get involved.  It is hard to get enough volunteers to coach and because it is a one on one sport it takes more coaches.  “I love to see the big smiles on the faces of the little kids and even the big kids when they win the big trophy,” says Deb.

Deb Cleveland has been a big part of the youth programs in our community, along with the wrestling club she helped start the youth football program, she helps coach volleyball, and she has also helped with youth rodeo. 

Randy Fair

By: Will 

Some people might think of Randy Fair as just the County Attorney. But if you get to know him, you will see that he spends a great deal of his time trying to find out ways to better the community.  

Randy is apart of the Rotary club, and the Ogallala Recreation Expansion Committee. The Rotary club helps foster a better business community and does a number of community projects such as contributing to polio cures; they also help with area blood drives and the food pantry. They also assist the Interact club. 

Improvement to the community is important to Randy because an overall better community will enhance the lives of each individual regardless of their involvement in the community. The efforts of some will hopefully benefit everyone. When asked what motivated him to keep helping his community he stated, “I am motivated by my desire for my family and I to have the same opportunities as might be available in a large city but for everyone to enjoy the benefits of living in a small town.” I hope that you are inspired by this story and Randy to help make a difference in the community.
   
   

   

Candy Denouden

By: Ashlen and Aleshia

Candy works at the Keith County News as a reporter, helps at Wired, the New Hope youth group, and is involved in 4-H. She was born in South Dakota, is the youngest of four siblings, and grew up on a farm. She was raised in a strong Christian family, was very involved in her church in South Dakota, and loves working with kids. She moved to Ogallala in November of 2010 at the age of 23.

“I have been doing community service for as long as I can remember” says Candy. Her mom worked in a nursing home and Candy and her siblings have been playing the piano, taking in baby animals, and visiting with the residents for as long as she can remember.

Candy is very involved in Wired and is one of the high school girls small groups leaders. She says she always had really amazing youth leaders before that she is still looks up to and is close with. She says that being involved is a way to give back and to try to be that reliable person for someone.  She says “ I’m the youngest so I haven’t always worked with kids, but I love working with you guys, even if you don’t listen to me all of the time.”  She says that sometimes she feels like she makes an impact, but even on the days she isn’t so sure she still cares for all the kids.

Candy also helped create a 4-H group called the Arrows in Pause, it’s a general club that helps teach the members how to run a meeting and to do good things for others. They have recently adopted a highway and have held a fundraiser for the Red Cross to help with hurricane relief. The group raised $136 and sent $109 to the Red Cross and used the rest for various expenses in the club.

Candy says that if she could fix anything in our community she would fix all of the family problems. She says “A big thing I have learned from working with you kids is how many of you have to deal with so much crap so early in your lives.” She wants it to be possible for everyone to have a shot at their dreams and have all the necessities to live a happy life.

When asked about her passions Candy answered “I am a people person so being around family and close friends would be one thing, I also love to laugh.” She says that she doesn’t consider herself a Local Anonymous Extraordinaire. “I am still young enough that I’m still trying to figure out myself; there is a lot of people in our community that have been around longer, so they have had more impact, but maybe someday I will get there.” Candy says her definition of social activism is not just standing on a platform and talking, although that may work; she thinks it is more about getting out and actually helping.

What's a "Local Anonymous Extraordinary?"

A few weeks ago we began our study of Social Action in English 9. This is the third time I've been blessed enough to do this unit with students, and each time I've added a new component to tighten the unit making it more relevant to kids. This year I wanted to connect the unit more with the community. If kids are going to be working to try and make the community a better or place, I figured they need to know the good work already being done by locals. After doing some of my own reading and research, I stumbled across this amazing TED Talks lecture.



Speaker Natalie Warne shares about her journey of actvisim and touches on the concept of Anonymous Extraordinaries--"people who work selflessly and vigorously for what they believe in; people who are motivated by conviction and not recognition" (Warne). This automatically made me think of all the good people right here in Keith County who are working hard to make a difference. Using this video, I created an assignment for my students: think of a Local Anonymous Extraordinary you know, interview this person, and then write a short blog post featuring this person.

Last week students watched and discussed the video above in class. We celebrated Martin Luther King Jr day (yesterday) by hearing from various community members* who were gracious enough to visit our class to share about the importance of serving our community. Currently, students are collecting stories from Local Anonymous Extraordinaries and will be sharing them on this blog to enlighten others. My hope is that students will use this unit to become more connected with the community and to become inspired to make activism a regular part of their life. I'm excited about the collection of stories we will be featuring on this blog. Stories are due January 31st, so check back soon!

*Thanks to Karl Elmshaeuser, Bob Josjor, Jonnie Peterson, Shelby Jones-Schellpeper, Kathleen Bauer, Drew Krab, Gail Knott, Stara Chandler-Smith, Mary Lou Crofutt-O'Brien, Mary Dickinson, Carl Dietz, Brenda Ketcham, Stephanie Most, and April Thraen for speaking to students. Thanks also to Mary Pierce from the Keith County News for teaching students about the basics of interviewing and news reporting! 

What's this all about?

The third quarter of English 9 is devoted to our Social Action unit. Here's a simplified rundown of our unit:

Students will...

1. explore the concept of activism by studying popular music for either social issues or themes of positive change

2. examine our community to find activists working hard to make our community a better place

3. study activism in history by reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Letter From a Birmingham Jail and investigating the Civil Rights Movement

4. choose an issue that aligns with their passions, then take action in whatever way possible.

Here's a Prezi that breaks the unit down as well:

English 9 Social Action Unit Overview on Prezi