Winter is featured speaker at Highway 14 Association meeting

Kris Winter of the Nebraska Department of Roads, District #3, was guest speaker at the Highway 14 Association, Inc. meeting held Dec. 3, 2009 at the Petersburg American Legion Club.

Winter brought the new project books for 2010. The road program runs from July 1 through June 30 of each year, so they are now in the 2010 phase. Each book is organized by districts and District #3, the northern half of Nebraska, is her district. There are many plans in the book listed under the five-year programs.

She emphasized that due to the economic conditions and regulations mandated, each project is getting more expensive than before. She had to cut one-third of her projects due to the budget cuts of $100 million out of the five-year program.

Upcoming projects listed are Albion to Petersburg, resurfacing, and Petersburg to Elgin, resurfacing. Due to the over-sized traffic expected on Highway 14 from Albion to Elgin, the plan is to change the width of the road from 24 feet to 28 feet. Also in the plans is a bridge project five miles south of Niobrara. The bridge is in good condition, so it will probably be pushed back. There will be some resurfacing south of Albion, and the bridge south of Fullerton will be redone.

A meeting is scheduled in Genoa on Dec. 22 for the Albion to St. Edward patching, Genoa north project, south of St. Edward patching and resurfacing. The road department will be cooperating with the railroad crossing replacement west of St. Edward. The roads affected will be closed, and a detour will direct traffic to Highway 14.

A highway meeting was also scheduled in Norfolk on Dec. 4. Darrel Thorin, county highway superintendent, planned to attend.

Several concerns in the area were discussed at the meeting. One of the major concerns is highway safety at the junction of Highway 14/39 and 260th Street near Cargill and the Valero ethanol plant southeast of Albion. Cargill is working on a staging area for trucks to help with the congestion in the area, but it will depend on land availability.

Safety at the Highway 14 and 59 intersection between O’Neill and Creighton was brought up by Kris Kreycik of Niobrara. She said driving from the west toward the intersection is dangerous. She asked, "Could there be a larger stop sign ahead in that location?"

Winter replied: "Signs directly on the highway are responsibility of the road department, but signs on the roads adjacent to the highway are the responsibility of each county."

Resurfacing of Highway 32 east of Petersburg is listed in the five-year program.

When asked about the upcoming influx of traffic due to the wind farm near Petersburg, Winter said some bridges may need to have plates on them to allow the wider trailer to go over the sides of the bridges.
If the roads get beyond maintenance, then it is up to the road department to drop speed limits in those locations.

She emphasized the danger of texting and cell phone usage while driving. It will be up to the Nebraska Legislature if changes are made in the laws considering both texting and calling from cell phones. Many states have outlawed using both items while driving.

Julie Dickerson of Albion asked if there are any additional charges for trucks, since the highways with the large truck traffic seem to break up faster than others. Winter replied: "Each truck carrying larger loads has to get a permit, but the cost is minimal."

A concern about crosswalks in Albion was brought up. There is one crosswalk from St. Michael’s Catholic Church across Highway 14 to the west. After a traffic count, another one could be added. The Department of Roads paints the crosswalk the first time, but it is up to the cities/villages to keep the paint current.
Those present agreed that it is nice to have the Columbus viaduct open.

Nebraska Department of Roads is still a part of the Highway Beautification Program, but most of the enforcement of the act has been turned over to the zoning departments of each county. The roads department is using native plants and grasses to match the turf in each area. They have found if they use what is native to the area, then it will keep growing.

Winter closed with an update on Highway 275. Some guard rails and shoulders were being worked on this week. After some painting of stripes, the four lane will be open; but it won’t be totally finished until the end of the year.

A Highway 14 photo contest will be held in 2010. Rules and regulations will be published at a later date. The photos entered must be within 10 miles of Highway 14 and be documented by the photographer. It was suggested that when members take around new 2010 membership forms, businesses will be asked to give a percent off coupon for food or services. It was also suggested to buy Chamber/Community Club bucks from each community along the corridor to use as prizes.

Boone County Commissioner Hank Thieman gave a welcome to the small group in attendance. He praised all of the members in attendance about their volunteerism. Without volunteering, organizations such as this one wouldn’t get anything done. He said, "Volunteerism is the key to everything--church, civic and community."
Thieman gave a brief update on the Petersburg community. With the current economic conditions, all area businesses are appreciative of those who shop in their local businesses. Punkin’ Chunkin’TM was cancelled due to wet fields and standing water, but planning will continue for next year. A new electronic marquee sign will be erected on Highway 14. Setbacks and zoning orders will be done shortly by the sign company. The sign will be 18 feet tall by 10 feet wide, and the bank employees have agreed to keep the sign messages up-to-date. Wind turbines should start arriving in early April, and site work is done for the substations for the wind farm and for the Keystone XL pipeline project. It is a $30 million project, and the pumping station will be in Ericson. The pipeline is going all the way to Oklahoma and east to Illinois. It will carry crude oil from Canada to refineries.

Highway 14 Association Inc. has set a goal of Jan. 1, 2010 to have the website updated. Boone County Development Agency will talk to Ed Knott at Applied Connective Technology about the changes. There were 4,065 hits for November. Total for the year stands at 83,208 with 196 unique visitors.

There were 30 geocache finds in the Highway 14 corridor for the month of November.

The oldest Linden tree in Nebraska will have to come down at the Boone Central School grounds due to safety issues.

Al Mittan of the RC&D in Madison asked if their organization should continue mailing out meeting notices, minutes and agendas for the meetings. He said they would like to continue helping with tourism. Those attending were happy with Denise Trine and her promptness in sending out all the notices.

Upcoming celebrations in the corridor included Santa Day on Saturday, Dec. 5, in Niobrara, Albion, St. Edward, Cedar Rapids, and Genoa; Petersburg Santa Day is Saturday, Dec. 19; Creighton SantaLand is open during the month of December.

Next meeting will be the Annual Meeting on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010, at PrarieCreek Vineyard, north of Central City. Meeting will be held at 3 p.m., followed by the social hour and catered dinner. RSVP to Kendra Jefferson at the Central City Chamber office by calling 308-946-3897 or e-mail her at cchamber@cablene.com by Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 12 noon. RSVP’s are very important due to the meal being catered.

Highway 14 Association Meets in Albion Nov. 5

A good representation of members from Niobrara to Aurora attended the Highway 14 Association Inc. meeting at the 14/91 Junction Restaurant in Albion on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009.

Kendra Jefferson of Central City recently updated the 2010 membership form. It was decided representatives in the different towns could make personal contacts for additional members. Current members will get an invoice and membership card in the mail. It was suggested that information about the annual meeting in January should be added.

Website hits total for the year are 78,438, with 6,697 in October. Unique visitors--those who log on to the website are counted once in the unique visitor column, but they could log on multiple times and be included in the total count--were 285. Visitors to the website were mostly from the United States, but there were four other countries seeing what the www.highway14.org website had to offer. They were Romania, Ireland, Russia and Canada.

Calendar updates are to be sent to the Boone County Development Agency @shannonlandauer@boone-county.org. Updates include community or county events in the corridor. Due to the small amount of space allowed, the association doesn’t list church and/or school events.

Discussion was held on website updates. Ted Thieman of Petersburg asked if a printable list of campgrounds, restaurants, areas of interest and service businesses could be on the website.

Christian Evans of Aurora said we need to have one-day tours. Some tourists would rather go out on their own and find something that interests them individually rather than going on a bus tour. He suggested having some unique things for people to do, and then show them what else is available.
Sandy Patton of Neligh suggested "Milepost Tours."

Each county needs to be represented on the Highway 14 website by listing places of interest, hotels and motels, service stations, restaurants, museums, etc. Each town along the corridor will be contacted and a list will be compiled by the Boone County Development Agency.

Chris Kreycik of Niobrara shared ideas from a speaker at the Nebraska Tour and Travel Conference. It was highly recommended that our organization get on FaceBook. One drawback of being on FaceBook is that it is an interactive site, and those who attend the Highway 14 meetings felt overwhelmed by having to take care of the site regularly. She also told about several RV groups that toured the state of Nebraska over the past several months. It was decided that we should contact the camper/RV sales companies in the area to let them know about the Highway 14 corridor. Don Meadows of Neligh will contact Kurt Blair, former owner of Blair Motors Inc. in Elgin, for a possible contact list.

Due to the bridge being closed south of Columbus, travelers and snowbirds are using the road through Genoa instead of Highway 81. Several favorable comments were made that they like using the less-traveled roads, like Highway 14, because they are less congested and more scenic.

A regional representative from geocache.com contacted Julie Dickerson of Albion and asked her to do Highway 14 ownership maintenance on all 14 geocaches in the corridor. The geocaches at Niobrara and Genoa will be replaced soon. The Marquette geocache has been reinstated with www.geocache.com.
Guidelines, dates and prizes for the Highway 14 photo contest will be finalized at the next meeting.

Boone County Development Agency Director Shannon Landauer provided information about the Nebraska Department of Roads meeting recently held in Norfolk. There are several Highway 14 resurfacing projects in the five-year plan. NDOR tried a new technique on the resurfacing, which resulted in a chemical reaction causing breakup on the highways. A priority in the Boone County area is with the congestion near Cargill and the Albion ethanol plant. Cargill is currently working on a staging area for trucks.

Landauer said Albion City Administrator Andy Devine made a presentation on traffic counts and safety at the intersection. Several photos of the congestion were passed around for members to see. It was recommended that the NDOR put in a three-lane highway with a turning lane. State Sen. Kate Sullivan has been notified of the situation, and she will do what she can to help.

Landauer also said the majority of work in the area will be maintenance only. She did add that 43,000 hours were spent on snow removal and $70,000 was spent on paint striping in District 3. She asked if a letter should be drafted to send to Lincoln to have needs and wants considered in the action planning.

Gretchen Treadway of Fullerton said she had called NDOR’s Wes Walgren, and he said the painting on the new resurfacing south of Fullerton should be done soon. Lois Schrunk of Bartlett said the lines are needed especially after dark, and north of Albion needs to have painting done.

Meadows asked if our group could consider associating with the Junk Jaunt or Bargain Byway, or coordinate the different communities in a circle garage sale/antiques tour. A date of April 23-25 was suggested. Each member attending will ask individuals in their communities about participating.

The Highway 14 Association’s annual banquet will be held at the Prairie Creek Vineyard, north of Central City, on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010. The meeting will be held at 3 p.m., followed by a social hour and catered dinner.

Upcoming corridor events include: Nov. 11--Central City’s 55th annual Veterans Parade; Nov. 14--Neligh Raft of Crafts; Nov. 19--Albion’s Customer Appreciation; Nov. 27--Central City’s Parade of Lights; Dec. 4--Fullerton’s Old Fashioned Christmas; Dec. 5--Genoa’s Old Fashioned Christmas; Dec. 5--Niobrara’s Santa Day/Craft Fair; Dec. 21--Petersburg’s Christmas Show and Supper.

Next meeting will be held at the Petersburg American Legion on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 10 a.m.

Central City officials welcome Highway 14 Association, Oct. 1

Dan Monaghan, member of the Central City Chamber Board of Directors and co-chair of the 2010 State Cornhusking Contest, was noon speaker at the Highway 14 Association Inc. meeting held last Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Merrick County Venture Center/Chamber office in Central City.

Monaghan said the chamber had applied to be the host for the annual State Hand Cornhusking Contest, which will be a three-year commitment. The board of directors decided to make the day, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010 into a Fall Festival which would include antique tractors, classic cars, Cushmans, motorcycles, tractors and a quilt show. This is a non-Nebraska game weekend which should help attendance. The husking contest will be held at the Merrick County Fairgrounds. He is asking for help from FFA Chapters in the surrounding counties to help be gleaners, timers or help with emptying the wagons. To help, contact Dan at 308-940-0414.

A committee from the Wright Morris Boyhood Home is planning an event that day. The performing arts center, if finished by next fall, will also participate. There will be room for commercial exhibits and displays. The chamber would like to welcome other groups in the surrounding area to participate. They are planning on having entertainment throughout the day and evening. A pancake breakfast is being organized in the morning, and food vendors will be available during the noon hour. More planning will be done in the next few months.
Merrick Foundation Executive Director Chuck Griffth was on hand to welcome the small number of Highway 14 Association members.

Other items discussed were:

• New membership forms will be updated and sent out by e-mail. Members will be making contacts in each of the communities along the corridor.

• The association’s website received over 5,000 web hits in September. The association will need to get the web pages updated before January, 2010. It was decided to put a 200-picture video of Highway 14 corridor pictures, used at the Nebraska State Fair booth, on the www.highway14.org website. It will also be put on the www.albionnewsonline.com. Albion News and the Highway 14 Association will share the cost to upload the video.

• To aid in distributing information and enabling contacts in the organization, Vanessa Mason of the Boone County Development Agency will check on cell phones or Trac phones.

• The association determined that its booth at the Nebraska State Fair was a success. Many brochures were handed out, and the corridor was promoted by several volunteers. Between 700-900 contacts were made from people asking questions, taking brochures of interest and viewing the photo collages. A CD/DVD made by Kim Young was also played at the booth. The Ashfall Fossil Beds banner created a lot of interest, and many attending the fair stopped by to see if the "place where they used to live" was among the photos.

• Photo collages used at the fair were made by Sandra Swantek of Genoa, Gretchen Treadway of Fullerton, Kendra Jefferson of Central City, Sandy Patton of Neligh and Julie Dickerson of Albion.

• Highway 14 Association will have an amateur photo contest next year. The committee will meet and make recommendations at the next meeting.

• A caravan of 17 luxury motorcoaches stayed overnight in Niobrara in September.

• A pamphlet on creating successful brochures was handed out.

• There were 30 geocache finds in the corridor in July, 24 in August and 21 in September. A special invitation will be given to all sites to become members or renew memberships in the association. Signs will be given to each location stating a Highway 14 Geocache is within 30 feet of their building.

• Jefferson will check to see if Prairie Creek Vineyards will be available for the annual meeting to be held in January, 2010.

• In a follow-up on a report on the Royal Zoo made to the association on July 2, Jerry Peterson’s comments were found to be unsubstantiated with regard to the future of the zoo.

Next meeting of the Highway 14 Association will be held at the 14/91 Restaurant in Albion on Nov. 5, 2009 at 10 a.m.

Upcoming events include: Petersburg’s Punkin Chunkin’, Oct. 25; Central City’s SoupFest, Nov. 20; and Fullerton’s Old-Fashioned Christmas, Dec. 4. Any community in the corridor that would like their activities listed on the website calendar can contact Shannon Landauer, shannonlandauer@boone-county.org.

Highway 14 Association Meets in Fullerton

Highway 14 Association, Inc. meeting was held at the First National Bank meeting room in Fullerton on July 2, 2009 with 12 members and guests attending. Gretchen Treadway gave the welcome.

Kate Evers, First National Bank and Trust Heritage Club tour organizer, complimented the Highway 14 Association on their bus tour brochure and DVD. She recommended a couple of changes. She said the cost of motorcoach is a factor in organizing bus tours. Most tours need to fill the bus to break even. She said tour groups have specific wants and needs such as: they love to start early; have their entire day planned out; want it to be a leisurely day without rushing from site to site; come home rested, not tired and crabby; love scenery, food, culture, history and entertainment; and, the groups need a narrator at each place. However, the new generation of "baby boomers" tour groups don’t want their day planned. They like the tours to be unstructured, such as going to six golf courses and picking them up at the end of the day.

Neva Umstead, Fullerton Senior Center director, said they haven’t organized tours with buses because they would have to guarantee numbers. They usually do tours in a small van so they don’t have the motorcoach cost.

Update from the Nebraska Deparment of Travel and Tourism
Paula Bohaty from the Nebraska Department of Travel and Tourism was present and gave the members up-to-date information on marketing the state, road signs, grant availability and upcoming planning meetings. She said tourism is down seven to eight percent, but they are still diligently working to make everyone aware of events and promotions. She said to let their office, 877-NEBTOUR, know immediately when new lodging becomes available or new events are scheduled. They will add them to the state’s webpage.

Bohaty said Michael Collins of the department oversees development and develops the five-year plan that may be reviewed on the website.

Paula stressed the importance of attending planning meetings. Three have been scheduled as follows: Hastings on July 21, Columbus on Aug. 14, and York on Sept. 24. Events should be submitted to Heather by Nov. 11 for the calendar.

Looking for resources? She said to go to the web site,VisitNE.gov, click on travel industry, and then the resource guide.

State tourism grant information becomes available Oct. 20, 2009 and grants are available for $2,500 up to $10,000. The grants require a 25 percent match, one-half of which can be sweat equity – for anything that promotes tourism. Money for grants comes from receipts of county lodging tax. Judges look for applications that are regional, reaching out at least 100 miles from applicant and are due in mid-January. It is possible to look through old grant applications to see what others have done, or our association can make an appointment with the department in State Office Building.

She recommended that organizations never change core events that are successful, but add to them. Tanking is the most popular group activity this year. Also, winery tours are popular at the 23 wineries in Nebraska. "Weird" events attract attention and attendance.

Counties that have approved the county lodging tax must charge a minimum of two percent, and are allowed to charge up to four percent. The additional two percent stays in the county where the tax is collected and can be used for tourism related expenses (beautification, banners, etc.), but not marketing. Of the original two percent, one percent stays in the county, and one percent pays for tourism grants. Information in regard to all counties is available on VisitNE.gov. For example, if Nance County collected $3,200 in the last six months of 2008 at two percent, the tax at four percent would have raised an additional $3,200 to spend on tourism related events. Bohaty reminded members that if a room is rented for more than 30 days, no lodging tax is charged as it becomes a rental agreement. She distributed printed information about the tax and encouraged all counties to increase to four percent.

Royal Zoo
Jerry Peterson stated that the present Royal Zoo Board would like to resign and turn the responsibilities over to a new board to be revived. He spoke about his desire to reopen the Royal Zoo, and change the name to the Northeast Nebraska Zoo Museum. It could be a destination for Boy and Girl Scouts, quilting meetings, craft shows, etc.. All animals displayed would be life-size stuffed animals. He requested that when the new Highway 14 brochure is reprinted, the zoo with changes would like to be included.

Julie Dickerson of Albion reported that 30 geocaches were found in June along the Highway 14 "Geocache Highway of Nebraska." Two e-mailed after the meeting. She added that the geocoin was found in Nelson, and it had moved to another geocache location. There are still two geocaches at the Fullerton site.

Pam Frank of Superior said there were 369 visits to the www.highway14.org website in June, 282 unique visitors, making total hits at 7,859. Total for the year is 53,333.

A committee has been set up to formulate the booth for the Nebraska State Fair, which will run from Friday, Aug. 28 through Monday, Sept. 7. Joining Kendra Jefferson on the committee will be Gretchen Treadway, Juie Dickerson and Sandy Patton. An e-mail seeking volunteers to help staff the booth will be sent by Denise Trine. Vendors will receive a discounted pass of $3.50 and free parking, but all requests need to be in soon.
Jim Dickerson, co-publisher of the Albion News, wrote a column on July 1 about tourism and the Highway 14 Association, Inc. Members stated the support is appreciated.

Upcoming Events
Upcoming events in the corridor include: Neligh Old Mills Days--July 4 weekend, the Tourism Center has been landscaped and includes a new fountain; Superior 27th annual Firecracker Run--July 4 weekend; Fullerton "Red, White and Blue" July 4 celebration; Fullerton Twin River Cruisers, Fullerton City Park on July 5; Boone County Q125 Fair, Albion--July 11-15; Tilden Prairie Days--July 23-25; Petersburg Bash in the Burg, Saturday, Aug. 15, judging of beer/wine, casino and barbecue competition, bounce house, food, games, starting at 12 noon; Genoa Indian School Reunion and Flag Tribal Display --July 25; Nance County Fair, Fullerton--July 26-29; Concert at Broken Arrow Wilderness, Fullerton --Aug. 2; Nance County National Night Out – Aug. 11, and Nebraska Antique Tractor Show – Rae Valley – Aug. 22-23.

Highway 14 Association Meets in Niobrara

Highway 14 Association Inc. met at the Two Rivers Saloon, Steakhouse and Hotel in Niobrara on Thursday, June 4. Robert Olson gave a welcome on behalf of the Village of Niobrara.

"Bridging of the Shores," Niobrara’s annual celebration, was held on the weekend of June 6 and 7. The event started after the completion of the Chief Standing Bear Bridge east of town. Events included a parade, open air dance, and barbecue, along with some other fun things for visitors and area residents to enjoy.

Highway 14 Association will have a free booth at the Nebraska State Fair. Members will need to plan, design, and decide on materials for the booth, Members will also be asked to sign up on a sheet at the next meeting to help tend the booth from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7.

A long discussion was held on brochures and promotional materials for Highway 14. Information was given on publishing a full color gloss magazine like the South Platte United Chambers of Commerce.

There are now 74 members in the corridor.

Owners of the Two Rivers Saloon, Steakhouse and Hotel (l. to r.) Kate Shanks, Troy, Fred and Judy McIntosh, gave Highway 14 Association members a tour of their business. The paintings on the back walls of the meeting room depict scenes from the area surrounding Niobrara. They were painted by a local artist and have several 'hidden" animals.

Highway 14 Association Learns About Stone Carvings

Allan Sole, owner of Al’s Hardware of Nelson, was on hand at the Highway 14 Association Inc. meeting held at The Old Book Coffee Shop in Nelson on May 7, 2009. He shared with the group facts and information about the "Stone Faces" on the north side of the building.

Included among the faces are an auctioneer, farmer/assessor, Dutchman, preacher/Indian fighter, undertaker, Theodore Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time the faces were carved, and Admiral Dewey, captain during the Spanish-American War, and others with interesting stories.

William Stansbury followed his children and grandchildren to the Nelson area when his children homesteaded land in 1872. Stansbury bought the mill on the Little Blue River and started grinding feed. He prospered and in 1899, at the young age of 80, put up the building on Nelson’s Main Street and commissioned the stone faces. The artist, James T. Donahoo, was a stone mason from Edgar and owned Edgar Marble Co. He also carved stones for the cemetery. A. Knacker was contractor of the building and also part owner in the Edgar Brick Co. Bricks for the building were brought to Nelson by horse and wagon.

Recently, Sole tuckpointed the bricks and painted the outside wall. Decorative trim was added around the stone faces, and he had a local artist add the names of the people represented in the carvings. He has done a lot of research on the faces and said "all are locals except for two."

Among the row of 14 sandstone face carvings, along with Roosevelt (Rough Rider and later President) and Dewey, are:
• William Welch, an auctioneer who moved to Nebraska from Ohio.
• Dutchman R. M. Akin, born in Indiana and a Civil War veteran. The log cabin where he homesteaded and raised four children at Ox Bow Creek was later moved to the Nelson City Park.
• Parson Bob Landon, an Indian scout who is buried east of Angus, NE.
• The only woman: "Mother" Mary Gosnell Stansbury (wife of William, born in 1806).
• Kissing Jack Adamson, who lived at Nora, NE and was a "taxi" operator. He owned the livery stable barn and liked to meet the "girls" at the train. He was known for his kissing them before they went on their way. His carving is the only one with puckered lips, and the "locals" like to put a cigarette in his mouth when they can.
• Family undertaker, possibly A. G. Robinson.
• Samuel Stansbury, son of William and Mary, who died in the Civil War at the battle at Fort Smith, Arkansas.
• One-Eye Riley.
• Indian Joe, who lived in a dugout in the east part of Nelson on the bank of the Elk Creek.
• Samual Robert "Sammy," son-in-law of Stansbury and a Civil War veteran.

Oak Trail Days, a historical reenactment in the area, will be held in the Nelson area the second weekend of August. Years ago, as the story was told, soldiers escorted wagons which held whiskey, china and window glass across the Nebraska prairie. The soldiers decided to drink some of the whiskey and were inebriated. Indians raided the wagons.The remains of the china and glass can still be found in the nearby field today.

Information shared with members included: 1) 15,946 web hits on www.highway14.org for April and 245 unique visitors, total for the year 38,750; 2) 10 geoachers checked in, and a geo coin was put in the geocache in Aurora. It is the first time for a geo coin to be in Nebraska, and the person responsible hopes the coin will travel around the state; 3) travel flyers featuring central Nebraska, Omaha World-Herald travel tab and South Central tourism magazine were shared. Highway 14 Association may consider publishing their own tourism publication along the corridor; 4) Birding brochures are printed and will need to be distributed; 5) Highway 14 was granted a free booth at the state fair; 6) Superior Tour and Travel will be the contact for upcoming bus tours.

Lavena Sellers, owner of the coffee shop, gave a brief history of their business. The corner building, located on Nelson’s main street was a former bank building. In 1980, the bank built a new building and moved to a new location. Since then, the building has housed a fireworks vendor, secondhand store and a grain dealer.

Sellers told how their "family" business started on a shoestring with the help of selling books, which they brought in a semi truck from Ohio. The book financed the renovation of the building’s public bathroom. Along with faith and prayer, they have created a viable business venture. They sell espresso, non-coffee, and frozen drinks. Along with their lunch specials, which might also include a Belgian waffle, they have homemade cinnamon rolls, pies, jumbo cookies and muffins.

They started having free coffee on Thursday for veterans. After seeing the success, several in the community have started sponsoring the coffees. In the past, they have hosted musical performances with food made by their shop. Several musical events are planned this summer.

What are their plans for the future? They would like to make a working artist studio upstairs, along with an art gallery. Mrs. Sellers has been in contact with many local artists, including a wood worker, watercolor artist and a welding/rod iron crafter. Her goal would be to bring artists together to work and encourage each other.

Highway 14 Association Learns About Wind Power

What is the wing span of a wind turbine when the tip of the blade travels at 100 mph, and the blade itself makes 16 revolutions per minute?

Dan Alberts of Third Planet Windpower, LLC, which has an office in Petersburg, asked members and guests to answer that question at a Highway 14 Association Inc. meeting held at the Steel Steed restaurant in Elgin last Thursday, April 2.

Alberts recently returned from Loraine, TX, where he saw Third Planet’s new wind farm develop. He said that there are many similarities between Texas and Nebraska, and in both situations the wind farms are placed in communities that need a boost to their economies.

He is a lawyer and civil engineer, who said he is excited to represent wind farm development.
Third Planet Windpower put one of their company’s offices in Petersburg three years ago and has made strident efforts to place a wind farm in the area.

Elgin City Clerk Vicki Miller asked if there are resource persons for other areas interested in pursuing a wind farm. Alberts recommended Ross Knott at Petersburg State Bank. Petersburg has done everything right, he said, and is bound to be successful.

"NPPD will have all bids in by April 15, 2009, and they will announce whether it will be good to go by October," said Alberts. Since some 20 Boone County representatives contacted NPPD personally at a board meeting, Alberts said he feels it likely that NPPD will accept its next wind farm proposal from the Petersburg area and that the project will be started next October. That wind farm will encompass 12,000 acres, he said.
Nebraska is sixth nationwide for the best wind and has the highest wind energy of any state in the nation, Alberts continued. But, Nebraska is 30th in production of wind energy. The reason is that Nebraska is much more organized and careful. The state won’t be the first ones participating in wind energy, but will be the best at it.

Wind regime is right along Highway 14 in Nebraska, and it is one of the best in the nation.
"At a recent meeting in Lincoln, Gov. Dave Heineman and Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy both said that Nebraska is going to become the wind capital of the world," said Alberts. "This is the best thing that will happen in the state."

Traditionally, it will cost $400 million to build a wind farm, and it will produce $2 million in tax revenue the first year. When counties see millions of tax dollars come in, then they will all say they want a wind farm, he said. That is a huge amount of money available for schools, counties and cities in the area.

What income comes back to the communities when they invest in the wind farms? C-BED law says that 33 percent of gross revenues earned must come back to Nebraska investors. The Legislature has guaranteed that the law is to protect everyone. Sales tax in C-BED projects is abated, and each landowner has the right to invest.

Each turbine requires 250 yards of concrete with 30 trucks to deliver it. This foundation is backfilled with dirt after the concrete is in place. The turbines used in the Petersburg East project will be "the 4020 tractor of turbines," said Alberts. "They have a nine-year history and are 1 1/2 megawatts. They have the best history of reliability of turbines." He added that there will be 300 people coming in for at least eight months to put up the 53 turbines in this project.

Each farmer who leases their land can still farm up to the wind turbine. Or, they can still use the land for a pasture.

Where is the best place for the turbines? "In the corners, where the crops aren’t that good anyway," said Alberts. "It makes perfect sense for anyone. Leasing of the land pays the farmers directly $6,000 for 20 years. Knowledge is that the turbines will run for 20 years. Operation and maintenance and decommissioning dollars are also in the plan."

Lois Schrunk of Bartlett asked if Nebraska electrical rates will be lower with the wind farms.

Albert answered, "It won’t lower the cost. It will probably raise your electrical costs in Nebraska because of the cost to build the wind farms. NPPD will be exporting the electricity generated to other areas. For example, Nebraska electric rates are six cents/kilowatt, but New York electric prices are 20 cents/kilowatt. So, it makes sense for NPPD to put the electricity on the national grid and sell it for higher prices rather than using the electricity generated in Nebraska. The market for electricity is moving back and forth every minute."
There is also the prospect that a carbon tax will be placed on carbon emissions. Renewable energy sources are going to be needed. Companies are going to have to change. A wind farm will generate 1/20th of the necessary electrical usage.

Alberts also suggested that schools in the area sign up for a wind project. He felt that a turbine on a virtual website could show it spinning and generating electricity, and could be a great asset to the science-related classes. A wind turbine, like in Cedar Rapids or at Elkhorn Valley in Tilden, could generate electricity for the school which would save on school’s electrical costs, or the school could contract to put the electricity generated on the nationwide grid.

Don Mackel of Elgin correctly answered the "wing span" of the wind turbine at 160 feet.
Elgin City Clerk Vicki Miller welcomed the 18 members and guests to the meeting.

The association will be ordering 10,000 birding brochures to be added to the group tour brochures and to use in brochure racks. Also, it was decided to order 500 "Highway 14 Welcomes You" stickers for employees/employers to use in the corridor when bus tours or events are held.

There are currently 71 Highway 14 Association members, and those attending were asked to remind former members to renew. The membership form is on the website at: www.highway14.org. Web hits doubled from February to over 11,000.

Don Meadows of Neligh said he checked the website and found that it needed updating as soon as possible. Events and web links should be done on a monthly basis. Boone County Development Agency in Albion offered to help update the webpage.

A total of 11 geocachers found the Highway 14 geocaches in March. There are now two geocaches at the Fullerton site.

Know Nebraska application is due May 1. County attractions in the corridor could be featured in a booth at the Nebraska State Fair from Aug. 29-Sept. 6. Also included would be the podcasts made by Sandy Patton of Neligh and geocaching information. Groups awarded a booth will be notified the week of May 4.

A winery bus tour was discussed. Kendra Jefferson of Central City suggested a two-day bus tour, which could involve several wineries in Nebraska and other events in the Central City area. She will come back with more information at the next meeting. It was suggested that the tour could also coincide with the Elgin Craft Fair the first Saturday in October.

A birding bus tour was tabled until next January.

The Nebraska Furrier Association will be having a two-day event in Albion in September. Jason Reynoldsen of Albion asked if the Highway 14 Association would want to plan a craft fair in conjunction with the meeting. A list of POP IN vendors will be sent to him.

A meeting is planned on networking small businesses with larger businesses, to make small items rather than outsourcing. The Center for Rural Affairs will be hosting the meeting at several locations. One will be at the Neligh Library on April 8.

Ted Thieman of Petersburg brought up the idea of having a photo contest along Highway 14. Thieman, Jim and Julie Dickerson of the Albion News/Petersburg Press, Sandy Patton of the Antelope County Resource in Neligh, Mitzi Fox of Albion and Denise Trine from PrairieLand RC&D in Madison will get together and formulate rules. It was suggested to check into the 4-H rules for county fairs.

NETA brochure swap will be May 13. Jefferson may be able to attend, since the swap will be held in Hastings.

Upcoming events in the Highway 14 corridor include: April 4--Right-to-Life Treasure Trek in Merrick County; 16-mile Bader Challenge from Highway 66 to Marquette to Bader Park to Highway 14. The Challenge will be held from April 18 to Sept. 18; April 18-19--Bargain Byway (includes corridor communities of Brunswick, Niobrara, Creighton and Verdigre); June 22-24--Elgin Vetch Days; April 4-Easter Egg Hunt in Albion; July 25--Genoa Indian School Reunion with 24 flags on display representing tribes that sent students to the school.

It was also noted that the Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest at Neligh’s Bread ‘N Jam Festival last year had 25 participants, and the record distance was 229 inches. Also, a mist fountain will be installed this summer at the Antelope County Resource Center/Tourism Center in Neligh this summer.

"My Heart is in Nebraska," says Highway 14 Speaker

"There is no place like Nebraska," said Alexandra McClanahan Shively of Orchard, guest speaker at the Highway 14 Association Inc. meeting held in Neligh on Thursday, March 5, 2009.

Alexandra is originally from Neligh, where her dad, Dr. Frank McClanahan, was a long-time physician. After graduating from high school in Neligh, and getting a journalism degree at UNL in 1975, she worked at Nebraska newspapers in Ogallala, Crete, Lincoln and Omaha.

Her stints in the newspaper business fueled her interest in agriculture, farming and irrigation. She was especially interested in how rural and urban people could find ways to negotiate the use of water. "Water is our most important resource," she said.

In 1982, she accepted a job in Anchorage, Alaska, and covered many federal issues including the Alaskan natives’ fight over their need to have priority over fish and game during times of shortages. The Alaskan natives depend on wildlife for their existence, as compared to the hobbyist who comes to Alaska to fish and hunt. She earned a Masters degree in Alaskan Native Studies in 2005.

One of her vested interests in Alaska concerned the Alaskan Claim Settlement Act of 1971, which retained 44 million acres of land out of 375 million acres, to set up a corporation for an experiment in capitalism. The government has nothing to do with that particular corporation.

In 2002, Alexandra, her husband and their adopted native Alaskan daughter, purchased a farm in Antelope County on the Internet. The farm had some problems with wind erosion, but she planted rye, which brought the land back. She decided to go into organic farming three years ago. Beginning organic farming takes a lot of paperwork and is relatively expensive, but she felt very strongly that this was the best thing to do. She would like to show what can be done on a small scale. Her goal is to branch out and plant 25 acres of soybeans. To help the environment, she also has planted native grasses around the border of her property.

To assure her success in organic farming, she has gone to many workshops, talked to many people who are involved in this type of farming, and has visited and received advice from the university.

Why did she come back? It is home. "This is where my heart is," she said. Every summer, she came back to visit Neligh. Her adopted daughter wanted to go to school in Orchard and will be a 2009 graduate.

She voiced her concern about rural America. She asked the questions: "Can we preserve rural life? Can we retain populations and keep them from moving to the big cities?" Most of the rural people are struggling.

Alexandra still does contract work via the Internet and telephone, so she makes her income from her work but is glad to spend her money in Nebraska.

Ted Thieman of Petersburg asked: "What is the biggest challenge for rural people?"

"The biggest challenge for rural people is economic development. The quality of life in Nebraska doesn’t exist anywhere else. The ethic of hard work is present," she replied.

Various points brought up at the Highway 14 business meeting included:
- The organization now has 68 members. Former members will be contacted to renew their memberships.
- The website has had 13,155 visits this year.
- Pam Frank will be collecting events for the website calendar at each meeting.
- Lots of Highway 14 information was given out at the Omaha Sports Boat and Travel Show.
- The Highway 14 birding brochure will be reprinted as soon as possible.
- Group bus tour brochures will be updated with a new label. Denise Trine of Madison volunteered to put on the corrected stickers.
- Know Nebraska booth application will be sent in by March 15, 2009.
New items discussed included purchasing "Highway 14 Welcomes You" stickers for convenience store workers, motel operators and others working with tourists or when bus tours come into the area. It was suggested that "A Taste of Highway 14" tour could be formulated, and people attending various community celebrations vote for the best one. Voting could be done using the Highway 14 e-mail account.
Thieman also suggested sending PDF files or copies of event posters to city clerks/chamber offices and asking them to distribute a few to popular coffee shops and restaurants to help promote events in the corridor. Trine will work on this project.

Upcoming events include: Central City Chamber Annual Banquet with Ron Brown as speaker on March 9; Superior Economic Summit at the Elks Club on April 28; and, Chief Standing Bear Breakfast in Lincoln on May 15.

Next meeting will be held in Elgin on April 2 at the Steel Steed restaurant.

New Officers for 2009, Fullerton Vets Memorial Discussed at Highway 14 Meeting

Al Steen of Fullerton was the guest speaker at the Highway 14 Association, Inc. meeting held at the First National Bank & Trust Community Room in Fullerton on Thursday, Feb. 5.

Steen gave a presentation on the new Veterans Memorial Wall and Military Museum on the north edge of Fullerton near Highway 14. He gave a history of the formation of the committee, land acquisition, arboretum grant money for landscaping, fund-raising, volunteer time and an up-to-date report on the future of the museum.

A small group represented the entire corridor at the meeting. After much discussion, it was decided to invite those interested in tourism and corridor promotion to come to the next meeting. Communities not represented at the meeting included: Niobrara, Verdigre, Elgin, Aurora, Clay Center, Nelson and Superior. County Commissioners/Supervisors have also been encouraged to attend when the meetings are held in their county.

Election of officers for 2009 was held. New officers will be President Sandra Swantek of Genoa, Secretary Gretchen Treadway of Fullerton and Treasurer Sandy Patton of Neligh.

Don Meadows of Neligh asked if the Highway 14 Association should put out a newsletter to better inform members. It was decided that news articles sent to many newspapers in the state and to the website, www.highway14.org, plus e-mails to each member should be enough.

It was suggested that those attending could bring all event dates in their area to the next meeting so that a bus tour involving several communities could be set up. Retailers in the bus tour area could be given "Highway 14 Welcomes You" stickers to wear for the Highway 14 Experience weekend.

Treadway will be getting the association scrapbooks from Pam Maynard of Edgar. Members are reminded to bring articles to the meeting.

The members voted to send brochures to two NETA Shows: Wichita Women’s Fair in February and the Minneapolis Northwest Sports Show. Central Nebraska Tourism group will take them to the Omaha Boat Show, and the Northeast Travel Council will take brochures to the Council Bluffs Travel Show.

A "Know Nebraska" letter, about reserving a booth at the Nebraska State Fair for 10 days in Lincoln Aug. 28 through Sept. 7, was reviewed. An application for a booth and ideas will be sent in before May 1. Kendra Jefferson of Central City asked if the counties could share the staffing duties by taking one day each. "It would lighten the load for everyone," she added. Only 10 free spots for booths are available.

It was suggested by Treadway that each county could make up a placard of information to promote their area. Other items to use in the booth could be podcasts of towns/cities in the corridor, geocaching information, the association’s brochure racks/banner, and museum podcasts.

After a preview of the hospitality training presented by Christian Evans of the Aurora Chamber and Development Corporation at the December meeting, it was decided that each member attending should contact their local Chamber/Community Club about holding a hospitality training in their area.
Membership goal for 2009 in the organization 150. There have been 72 membership applications turned in.
A Bud Daniels Honorary Endowment Fund has been established.

David Copple, a Norfolk attorney, has been named the new highway commissioner for District #3.
Next meeting will be held at the Antelope County Resource Center located in the Tourism Center building by the park entrance at 105 East 2nd Street, Neligh on March 5. It will begin at 10 a.m. and end at approximately 2 p.m. Email RSVP’s to Sandy Patton at sandypatton@frontiernet.net or call her at 402-887-4447.

Upcoming events in the corridor include: Nebraska Christian Schools’ Preview Day on Feb. 10; Central City Chamber Banquet with Speaker Ron Brown on March 9; Q125 Boone County Fair in July; Vietnam War Memorial Moving Wall will be at the Tilden Prairie Days the last weekend in July, and American Heritage Feather and Dance is being planned in Norfolk on May 29, 2010.

Directors, Officers Change at Highway 14 Association Annual Meeting

Three members of the Board of Directors, Shirley Petsche and Walt Klein, both of Petersburg, and Betty Mapes of Fullerton, are stepping down from their positions. This means that three very active members needed to be replaced at the meeting held last Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Cottonwood Estates Assisted Living in Central City.

After much discussion, Gretchen Treadway of Fullerton said she would be secretary if Sandra Swantek would be a director. Sandra accepted the new challenge, and Shannon Landauer and Julie Dickerson, both of Albion, also accepted positions on the board of directors. Don Meadows of Neligh and Kendra Jefferson of Central City will remain on the board.

The board of directors will make recommendations for the offices of President and Vice President. Sandy Patton of Neligh will continue as Treasurer of the organization.

Hank Thieman, Boone County Commissioner, announced that John Kingsbury, Nebraska Highway Commissioner for District #3, is resigning and "the Governor if looking for names if you know of anyone that is interested in the position. Highway Commissioners do have the Governor’s ear."

Meadows recently sent a letter to Kris Winter thanking the Nebraska Department of Roads for the excellent job on Highway 14 north of Elgin. A letter in response from Winter to Meadows said: "Thank you for your kind words about the newly improved Highway 14. The crew appreciates hearing complimentary comments."

Landauer, of the Boone County Development Agency, said that Andy Devine, Albion City Clerk/ Administrator got word that a new traffic count will be done shortly south of Albion near the ethanol plant. Thieman said they will try to get a three to four-lane highway in that location to try and eliminate the unsafe intersection. He also added that the Highway Commissioners had met with County Commissioners from several counties recently.

Highway 14 membership letters were sent out in December. As of the meeting date, there were 15 members. Kendra Jefferson, membership chair, said: "The memberships are coming in pretty steady. Smokin’ Dan’s BBQ is a new member from Central City."

Sandy Patton of Neligh will be adding more podcasts of each community and museum in the future. She is hoping to have assistance from high school students on the project.

Highway 14 Geocache event, held from Sept. 14 to Nov. 14. was successful. People using their Global Positioning Systems found 150 geocaches in the corridor. Highway 14 Association will be sending certificates to: Roger Lustgraaf from Council Bluffs, IA; Jim Weinberg and Chuck Williams from Bellevue; and Stephan Grey from Valentine.

The association’s brochure is on the "to do" list for 2009. Brochures will be needed for the upcoming brochure swap in April or May, and Jefferson will need some brochures for the Central Nebraska Tourism group, which will take the brochures to three large shows.

The group recommended that the scrapbook be brought to each annual meeting, so members could see all the activity in the past year.

A list of POP IN vendors will be sent to Cedar Rapids. They are celebrating their 125th year on June 13, 2009.

Grand Island will be hosting the Nebraska State Fair in 2010.

Highway 14 Association had a display at the Corp of Discovery Welcome Center. Everyone felt that it was very worthwhile to participate and will continue to do so in the future.

Christian Evans from the Aurora Area Chamber of Commerce sent out his version of a Hospitality Training that could be used in every community along the corridor. Each community could make changes to fit with their area. Chambers of Commerce will be asked to get involved to make sure our communities treat tourists the best possible way.

One and five-year goals for the organization were discussed. The mission of the Highway 14 Association is "to promote our diverse culture, history and landscape, along with promoting improvements to the highway, thereby enhancing the prosperity of the communities in the Highway 14 corridor."

Members suggested changes in the goals and felt that the bus tours will be a great addition to promoting the corridor. Bus tour information suggestions will be on the next meeting agenda. The association members hope to schedule two bus tours for 2009.

Next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 in Fullerton.

Governor proclaims Highway 14 as "Geocache Highway of Nebraska"

On Oct. 29, 2008, Governor Dave Heineman proclaimed that Highway 14 is the "Geocache Highway of Nebraska."

The association promotes all of the Highway 14 corridor as a "200-Mile Mainstreet," from Superior on the south and Niobrara on the north, and supports business and industry, infrastructure, entrepreneurs, bird watching, bus tours, geocaching and tourism. It was formed in the 1930s and currently has over 130 members.

Geocaching was started in the corridor in October of 2007, with all 14 geocaches listed on the worldwide website at www.geocache.com. Since that time, there have been over 150 geocachers from Nebraska and other states finding the treasure hunts by use of their Global Positioning Systems.

From Sept. 14 through Nov. 14, Highway 14 Association has issued a challenge for all geocachers to "Discover Highway 14 Geocaches," and invited participants to e-mail photos of themselves holding the geocache in front of the business, to info@highway14.org, along with their name, address and phone number. More than 110 geocachers found the containers in September and October.

Commemorative cards were available to each participating geocacher in the container. These cards noted the 10th anniversary of the opening of Chief Standing Bear Bridge northeast of Niobrara on Highway 14 (connecting Nebraska to South Dakota), and the 100th anniversary of the death of Chief Standing Bear.

Coordinates for the geocaches can be found on the association website at www.highway14.org. The challenge will conclude on Nov. 14, 2008. There is no charge to participate, and a Highway 14 Association gift certificate, to be used at member businesses, will be given to the person who finds the greatest number of Highway 14 geocaches. In case of a tie, a drawing will be held.

Hospitality training preview given at Highway 14 meeting

Smile. Look people in the eye. Say hello. Say thank you.

A happy customer tells two people, an unhappy one tells 10!

Christian Evans, director of the Aurora Area Chamber & Development Corporation, shared his basic hospitality training preview for 11 members attending the Highway 14 Association Inc. meeting held at the Aurora’s Bremer Center on Thursday, Nov. 6.

Evans started with the basic question, "Who is the most important person when it comes to the success of attracting people to the area and having them return?" That person includes the waitress at the local diner, the owner/manager at the local motel, the convenience store attendant, store owners/employees and all who work is any type of business, library or government office.

Why is it important? The person who interacts with the "tourist" is on the front line. This is the one chance to make a good first impression. You represent the county where you live and Nebraska. You only have a short time of interaction, and a good experience means they (the tourist) will return again. A bad one means they may never come back and will tell others about it.

Tourism in Nebraska is the third largest revenue earner. Out of state travelers spent $3.6 billion in 2007 in Nebraska. Each dollar spent by tourists produces $1.70 in business, resulting in a $2.70 impact. An average nonresident traveling party spends 2.2 nights and $439 in Nebraska.

He added: "Treat people with the attention and respect you would want."

All of us who work with the public need to know where the tourists could visit, eat, shop and sleep during their time in our area. Take time to familiarize yourself with tourist attractions within a day’s drive, eating establishments, unique and authentic shopping experiences, and motels/hotels/bed and breakfasts.

He also emphasized that people can only remember one or two directions at a time. Use a map and write down travel routes. Give directions using existing points of reference. Always invite customers to return again.
Be sure you are aware of local events going on in the area every week. Sometimes, tourists are looking for something unusual like Petersburg’s Punkin’ Chunkin’TM, church dinners, county fairs and special Christmas events.

At the very least, know where they can get information. Know the hours and telephone numbers of the local chamber office, city hall and other government offices, newspaper, library and local economic development organizations, and who the designated person ia to talk to.

Remember, YOU are ambassadors of the county and state of Nebraska.

Evans would like to start having classes for owners/managers/employees in the area. He suggested that the Highway 14 Association could develop a hospitality PowerPoint presentation for each of the corridor towns. It would be beneficial for all to help with visitors and/or residents.

Infrastructure

Vice President Shirley Petsche made connections with several companies regarding adding the Chief Standing Bear Bridge to their maps. Hog Membership Services will add the bridge in 2009. A letter came from Rand McNally, and they said it was on their maps. She felt it was worthwhile making the contacts.

Hank Thieman, Boone County Commission chairman, made contact with other commissioners/supervisors in the corridor to see if they could attend Highway 14 meetings when they are held in the area.

Don Meadows of Neligh complimented the Nebraska Department of Roads on the excellent job they did from Elgin to Highway 20. The contracted company did a great job, put on at least three layers of topcoat and added shoulders to the road. He will send them a thank you by e-mail.

Shannon Landauer, Boone County Economic Development director; Shirley Petsche, Bob Racek, City Administrator/Clerk Andy Devine and Hank Thieman attended the District 3 Nebraska Department of Roads meeting. Petsche spoke on behalf of the organization on tourism; Devine emphasized safety concerns in and around Albion and at the intersection to the ethanol plant, and Racek also spoke about the dangerous intersection. There presentation were well received at the meeting, and a thank you was received from Kris Winter, engineer for District 3.

It was also shared that Highway 14 from Petersburg to Elgin is in the five-year plan.
Christian Evans said representatives were also at the St. Paul meeting.

Long-range plans beyond the five-year goals are not going to be there for discussion and we have to remembers that there is not much money to work with.

Website/Membership/Geocaching

October website had 280 unique visitors with a total hits of 5,674. Total hits for the year stand at 101,944. Membership letters, annual meeting letters and proxies will be sent out soon.

Last week, Gov. Dave Heineman proclaimed Highway 14 as the "Geocache Highway of Nebraska." Several e-mails were shared with the group from geocachers who have participated in the "Discover Highway 14 Geocaches" challenge, which will end Nov. 14.

The familiarization tour held in October was an interesting day and very informative. Highway 14 Association would like to plan two tours for 2009.

The association display at Corps of Discovery Welcome Center during October was held for two weeks and during the new Meridian bridge dedication. Several visitors said they really liked the display, which included the banner, plaques and awards, bus tour info, etc. Several contacts were made with tourists.

It was decided to retain contacts from POP IN and to encourage home-based businesses to grow their businesses. Highway 14 Association needs to have resources available on the website, finish the data base and send a survey to vendors. One new organization, Nebraska Home Based Business of David City (neon.ned.ed.org), was brought to the group’s attention.

Corridor Events/New Businesses/Promotions

Superior Candy Cane Lane is the Friday after Thanksgiving with a lighted Christmas Parade, each Friday evening will have hayrack rides; Albion Customer Appreciation is Nov. 20, with Christmas drawings following each Saturday until Christmas; Albion Vets Club is building a new building with memorial bricks being sold in the area, not just Boone County; Aurora’s new daycare fund-raising has started, Northridge, a new subdivision has opened and it will include between 35 to 350 new homes, three other subdivisions also started, and "It’s A Wonderful Life" celebration is the day after Thanksgiving; St. Edward Community Extravaganza is coming up; a new photography studio in Albion will soon open; Cedar Rapids Locker may be opening; Jarecki’s Greenhouse in Albion is now selling fresh flowers, etc.; a new drug store is opening in Neligh; Fullerton Chamber/Senior Citizens are sponsoring a Thanksgiving dinner for those who have nowhere else to go, "Come Home to an Old Fashioned Christmas" will be held in December in Fullerton and free lots are available from the economic development group to help develop new homes. Two new businesses, a sports bar and a new photography studio have opened. Fullerton has also completed their new comprehensive plan, and a museum building will be going up to accentuate the new Veterans Memorial.

Next meeting will be the Annual Meeting to be held in Central City on Jan. 8, 2009 at 4 p.m.

VeraSun Ethanol Plant Manager Speaks at September Highway 14 Meeting

Andy Roberts, manager at VeraSun Albion ethanol plant, was guest speaker at a meeting of Highway 14 Association Inc. at the Albion Pizza Hut on Thursday, Sept. 4.

Roberts gave an overview of the plant, which employs 55 people. Eight of those employees were originally from the area and returned, while 13 are new residents..

"I am originally from St. Edward and my wife is from Dodge," Roberts said. "After living in Minnesota and Central City for several years, we are happy to be back in the area, close to family."

Roberts said the Albion plant will be having a brief shutdown from Oct. 7-10, but distiller’s grains customers will be able to get those products from other area plants during that time.

In reviewing statistics, Roberts said the plant’s property tax bill this year for personal property valuation is $197,000 this year. The plant also makes an in-lieu of tax payment of $27,000 to the City of Albion for its electrical distribution. TIF financing was used to build the plant, which opened in the fall of 2007. The plant was designed to produce 110 million gallons of ethanol per year.

Plans for Upcoming Events/Activities Discussed at Aug. 7th Meeting

Plans for new activities and events were made during the Nebraska Highway 14 Association meeting on Aug. 7 at Green Gables, northwest of Royal. A total of 17 members attended, and Vice President Shirley Petsche of Petersburg presided at the meeting.

A "Discover Highway 14 Geocaches" event will run from Sept. 14 through Nov. 14. Prizes for this contest will be gift certificates, to be used at member businesses. Geocachers will be asked to take a digital picture holding the geocache in front of the business where the cache is hidden, and send to the Highway 14 web page. More about the geocache event will be announced later.

It was suggested that a familiarization group bus tour be held for members and guests to acquaint everyone with these tours and allow the step-on guides to practice. A possible time would be the September or October meeting date. The meeting could be held on the bus between stops. To have enough time to plan the tour, Oct. 2, 2008 was chosen as a possible date.

Highway 14 Welcomes You signs unveiled at meeting

New "Highway 14 Association Welcomes You" signs were unveiled at the association’s June 5, 2008 meeting held at the Community Room in Central City. Sixteen members attended. All said they felt the new signs would be great to use at activities in the corridor.

New red, white and blue signs were used at the Rod and Custom gathering at the fairgrounds in Albion, and also placed on the highway during the Cattlemen’s Ball, held north of Loretto. The signs will be used at many upcoming events. Members are asked to pick up signs promptly when the event is over so they can be used again.

Neligh-Oakdale business teacher is guest
speaker at Highway 14 Association meeting

Lisa Newton-Hansen, business teacher and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) sponsor at Neligh-Oakdale Public School, was the noon speaker at the Highway 14 Association, Inc. meeting held May 1, 2008 at the Fountain Cafe in Neligh with 18 members attending.

Lisa talked about students being involved with the Neligh Chamber of Commerce, assisting with POP IN, making welcome packets for new residents of Neligh, and helping with I-80 Tour Guides packets. They try to convince people to come to Neligh and go through the historic Neligh Mills. They also encourage tourists to do business in Neligh.

Students who helped with some or all of the projects listed can put that information on their resumes, which are more impressive as a result of their community service and learning skills from the business sector. Sometimes, this experience can make the difference for them in being accepted for a particular position.

Highway 14 Association was advised to involve youth in its projects, which helps the sponsoring group and provides experience for the volunteers.

Clay Center Senior Center Shares
Success at Highway 14 Meeting

Bob Bennett, representative of the Clay Center Senior Center, was guest speaker for the Highway 14 Association meeting held April 3, 2008 with 14 members attending.

He shared some of the history of the senior center and how it was started.

In 1997, letters were written and sent to Clay Center residents who were 55 years old or older, inviting them to a meeting. About 100 persons attended the meeting, and it was decided to pursue the plan for a senior center. The First Bank and Trust of Clay Center leased the south part of their building to the group for $1 per year for 20 years. The center used volunteers to do the renovations. It was decided to borrow $25,000 to get the building ready. After 3,000 volunteer hours plus $5,000 in cash and item donations, along with the bank loan, the center was finished. After four years and many fund-raisers, the building renovations loan has been paid off.

Clay Center Senior Center does not have any government subsidies, but they do work with many groups that furnish programs for the senior age group. They pay their own utilities and insurance.

Also, the senior center is very active in the community. Their recent collaborative efforts have included a restroom at the park, concrete for the runway at the school track, and a speaker’s stand at the school football field. Seniors sing at the nursing home and participate in the July 4th parade, where they have won numerous awards. They also take part in Relay for Life, Red Cross, Wing Ding (local celebration), Christmas Giving Tree, Old Trusty Days and Historical Society events. As a group, they also donate funds for Post Prom, Clay Center High School scholarships, Clay Center Booster Club and Paw Print school newspaper.

The high school students came and taught the seniors how to operate computers, and the seniors reciprocate by participating in the school reading program. Seniors are admitted to many of the school’s activities free of charge.

Clay Center Senior Center patrons also made blankets for soldiers in Iraq, sponsor the Prairieland/Clay County food program, and attend athletic, academic, speech, arts and music events at the high school.
Participants at the senior center also hold several fundraisers, including serving food at sales, serving the Bull Sale at Hastings, garage sales, bake sales, calendars and cookbook sales. They also hold pancake feeds, soup suppers, potato bars, salad suppers and luncheons for the community. Their center also is used for community or family events on a freewill basis.

Last Sunday, the Clay Center Senior Center held an open house for the community, which included entertainment and refreshments.

In closing, Bennett added: "The key to a longer life is to keep busy."

Highway 14 Association focuses on leadership, presents awards at annual meeting

Highway 14 Association members focused on leadership during their annual meeting last Tuesday evening, Jan. 8, in Fullerton, with about 50 people attending.

Guest speaker Barry Carlson of Central City talked about leadership, its qualities and the need for it in modern life.

In Carlson’s view, the best word to summarize leadership is "inflluence.""

You may not have a title or supervise a lot of people, but if you have influence over someone, then you are a leader," Carlson said.

He urged members of the Highway 14 Association, and the cosponsoring Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, to lead by example.