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July 6, 2015 Leave a comment
These Genesis Oil Painting workshop participants show off their skills with their painted apple. Included in the photo are: Cody Bachtell, Connor Davis, Michael Bracht, Alex Davis, Justice Rempe and Mary Loftis. Photo Credit/Becky Davis.
July 6, 2015 Leave a comment
By Mary Loftis, Extension Assistant
Clover Kid Camp
The Clover Kid Camp was held on the Burt County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, June 23 with 15 young 4-H members (ages 5-7) attending.
The activities for the day involved workshops which could end up as county fair exhibits for these budding 4-H members. They decorated a t-shirt with ice cube dye, painted a storage box, make a bird feeder out of a milk jug and made homemade play dough. Of course there were lots of opportunities for fun including games, relays and just helping fill water balloons at the hydrant…can you say “WET?”
Thanks to the help of Junior Leaders, Cody Bachtell, Ellie Glup, Cassidy Goering and Faith Roscoe the young 4-H members had a blast. JoAnn Bachtell graciously offered to help with activities in the 4-H Building while I focused on the ones in and near the 4-H Kitchen.
In three hours of camp we had four projects done for each Clover Kid, games played, snack eaten and memories made. Hopefully these Clover Kids come back next year if age eligible or if they are 8-11 they could go to the 4-H Adventure Camp we share with Cuming County or better yet, go to the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center for an overnight camping experience.
My best feedback for the day was a young camper asking if they came back tomorrow. I said, “No, sorry, it’s just a one day camp” and she said “But you’re fun and I want to come back!” That was the best “evaluation” I could ever get!
Painting Workshop X 2
Two painting workshops were offered in Burt County on Thursday, June 25 at the Oakland Vet’s Building. The afternoon session was an acrylic painting workshop and the evening session used Genesis Artists Oil Paints.
We’ve done acrylic painting workshops for 11 years and I still love the different techniques we learn with each different painting. I’ve got a nice variety of paintings to show for my efforts (between taking pictures of everyone else) over the years.
This year the group almost decided to paint an underwater scene until we saw a beautiful picture of a lighthouse our painter had done with another group. We voted on which picture to paint and the lighthouse won.
Making the striped, but blended bright background colors of the painting was amazing, then using a pattern, we traced the lighthouse shape on the canvas. We still had to use a steady hand to make the outline of it and to fill and shade the shape, but everyone took home an excellent picture of the seashore with the lighthouse.
The Genesis Artists Oil painting workshop that evening not only brought a new painting medium to our 4-H members, it brought a new set of skills and painting terms. We learned how this different medium works (it is an oil, but becomes set when heated to 275 degrees) and you use less than a fingernail’s amount of each color to paint our small project. The blending and smoothing of this paint was amazing. We used filbert brushes, a mop brush, outlining brush and used glazing to provide additional depth and shine.
This was a very interesting medium and focused on creating a true depth of field in the picture showing the variation in the curved light/dark surfaces of an apple. I am sure the judges at the fair will be amazed when they interview the 4-H members about their painting and they tell them they painted, blended, and baked it three times, glazed it, and finally varnished it to finish the project. (We didn’t have time for that, but our painter promised to send us some.)
The 4-H slogan is “Learning by doing” and that’s exacting what the 4-H members and even a few parents did through the camp activities and the painting workshops held last week. Now on to more exciting events…
Quick Reminders:
Fremont 4-H Fair, July 8-11 at Christensen Field in Fremont.
Pie Day I: Thursday, July 16, Tekamah Methodist Church 8:00 a.m.-2:00?
Clothing Project & Modeling Pre-entry Deadline: Monday, July 20
Bicycle Rodeo: July 23, Oakland Lutheran Church 6:30 p.m.
Pie Day II: July 25, Vet’s Building, Oakland 8:00 a.m.-2:00?
Tractor Driving Contest: July 28, Lee Valley Farms, Tekamah
Clothing, Fashion Show, Presentation & Life Challenge Contest: July 31, Tekamah Aud.
Clover Kid Camp participants and their projects are proudly displayed before heading home.
Back row: Junior Leaders: Faith Roscoe, Ellie Glup, Cassidy Goering and Cody Bachtell
Middle Row: Carolyn Magnusson, Gavin Johnson, Parke Loftis, Lyndsey Johnson, Brinley Eriksen, Karley Eriksen Madeline Pearson, Sydney Olsen and Tate Penke.
Front Row: Hope Roscoe, Mady Davis, Karson Olsen, Linden Anderson, Caroline Davis, and Brooklyn Richards. Photo Credit/Mary Loftis.
The water relay was a hit with the 4-H Clover Kid Campers as they took turns pouring a cup of water over their heads for their team member to catch behind them. Photo Credit/Mary Loftis.
July 6, 2015 Leave a comment
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LINCOLN – Honoring a fallen Omaha police officer, the public chose the name “Orozco” for the peregrine falcon chick raised in a nest box at the Nebraska Capitol. The name was revealed in a ceremony outside the Capitol on June 26. Officer Kerrie Orozco, 29, was killed in the line of duty on May 30. A contest was held this month to name the falcon. The public submitted online name suggestions. A list of finalists was selected by a committee and the public voted to determine a winner. A total of 507 initial submissions and 1,560 votes were cast during the contest. The four people who suggested the winning name were recognized at the ceremony, as well. State Sen. Kate Bolz, Amanda Horner and Rebecca McCoy, all of Lincoln, as well as Matt Manhart of the Omaha Police Department, each received a framed certificate and a one-year subscription to NEBRASKAland Magazine. The chick, which hatched on May 10 from the nest box on the 18th floor of the Capitol, has fledged and has been exploring the area surrounding the Capitol ever since. The falcon pair which raised the chick has nested at the Capitol since 2005. Tens of thousands of people from around the world have watched the chick hatch, grow and fledge on the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s popular FalconCam at OutdoorNebraska.org. The Capitol’s peregrine falcons have successfully produced 22 offspring over the past 11 years. Five of them have nested elsewhere as adults: two in Omaha, two in Topeka, Kan., and one in Woodlands, Texas. -30- |
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July 6, 2015 Leave a comment
By Governor Pete Ricketts
Agriculture is Nebraska’s number one industry, and that is why growing agriculture is so critical to growing our state. Ethanol is one of the key growth industries in Nebraska agriculture that has added billions in revenue and thousands of jobs to our economy over the past decade. Thanks to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), passed in 2005, Nebraska’s ethanol production has tripled from 566 million gallons to about 2 billion gallons in just 10 years.
Before the advent of the RFS, ethanol slowly took root in Nebraska in spite of critics who made their case against it. In 1985, Chief Ethanol Fuels built Nebraska’s first ethanol plant in Hastings. Over the next 20 years, ten more plants were built.
In our state, ethanol has become one side of what some call the “Golden Triangle” along with corn and cattle. Nebraska earned its reputation as “the Beef State” in part because of our abundant corn supply, which serves as the primary feed for cattle and results in high-quality beef. As more ethanol plants were built, cattle feeders began to use distillers grain, a high-quality feed that is a co-product of the ethanol production process. Distillers grain has become the preferred feedstock of many cattle feeders because of its feed value and performance advantages, helping put Nebraska at the top of all cattle feeding states in 2013 and 2014.
Since the passage of the RFS, Nebraska has built over a dozen additional ethanol plants and expanded production at several others. Today, Nebraska’s 24 ethanol plants add jobs, property tax base, and economic growth to communities from Bridgeport to Blair. The Nebraska ethanol industry has invested over $5 billion in capital investments in our state and supports 4,400 jobs including 1,300 direct jobs. All this has added up to Nebraska ranking as the second-largest ethanol producer nationally.
Early critics of ethanol warned that producing fuel from corn or similar feedstocks would compete with putting food on the table – a belief that proven untrue. While this criticism and others have been discredited as the ethanol industry has grown and consumers have become familiar with the fuel, the ethanol industry is under a new assault by President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has a proposal on the table that would slash billions of gallons from the RFS, effectively reducing demand for corn ethanol. This proposal represents a step away from policies previously set at the federal level to utilize cleaner-burning fuels and diversify our country’s energy portfolio as our nation seeks new and innovative ways to achieve energy independence.
The proposal also effectively pulls the rug from underneath ethanol producers and the industry who rely on the RFS. On my administration’s recent trade mission to Europe, an ethanol company based in Denmark with a major presence in Nebraska indicated to me that the EPA’s proposal to reduce the RFS was a barrier to expanding in the United States.
My administration has taken action. On June 25, the EPA held a hearing on the proposed reductions to the RFS in Kansas City, Kansas. Nebraska Energy Office Director David Bracht testified at the hearing about the value of ethanol to Nebraska and the negative impact that the EPA’s proposal would have on our state. Nebraskans who care about the future of agriculture and ethanol in our state are welcome to submit their own comments to the EPA. More information on how you can submit a comment of your own can be found by visitingwww.tinyurl.com/epaethanol.
The proposed changes to the RFS are just another example of baseless policies issued by the EPA and Washington bureaucrats that will hurt our state. As Governor, I will continue to push back on Washington and fight for Nebraska. Together, we can overcome this challenge for the future of ethanol and agriculture, and continue to grow our state for the next generation.
Governor Pete Ricketts
July 4, 2015 Leave a comment
Have a safe and wonderful day everyone. God Bless those that have fought and are fighting, protecting our country and freedoms. Thank you is never enough.
July 3, 2015 Leave a comment
Today, Governor Pete Ricketts issued the following statement in observance of Independence Day:
“Across Nebraska on Independence Day, Nebraskans perform annual traditions as they gather to watch fireworks, grill on the back porch, march in parades, participate in community-wide festivals, and share the holiday with family and friends. While these rituals may seem commonplace, they are at the heart of who we are as Nebraskans and Americans as we celebrate the 239th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“As we celebrate with our families at home or in Seward, Central City, Ralston, Norfolk, Sumner, or one of the many communities across our state with 4th of July festivities, let us honor the people who made the Good Life possible and remember these words: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”
On Independence Day, Governor Ricketts will participate in 4th of July parades in Ralston, Seward, and Central City. Additional details about his schedule can be found at www.Governor.Nebraska.gov.
Governor Pete Ricketts
July 3, 2015 Leave a comment
Photos from the 4th of July Festival in Lyons last year. All photos credit of Denise Gilliland/Editor and Chief, Kat Country Hub.
July 3, 2015 Leave a comment
Oakland’s Annual July 3rd Party in the Park begins at 5:00 p.m. today!
There will be food, bounce houses and many other activities for kids of all ages.
There will also be a beer garden sponsored by Groovy’s.
Fireworks will conclude the event.
There is something for everyone! Come and have a great time, celebrating this great country we live in! Below are pictures from last year’s event. All photos credit of Kat Country Hub.
July 2, 2015 Leave a comment
Seven State Recreation Areas Will Allow Fireworks on July 4LINCOLN – Visitors to seven state recreation areas will be allowed to touch off fireworks on Independence Day, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Those visitors should always use caution when lighting fireworks. Branched Oak State Recreation Area (SRA) near Malcolm, Fort Kearny SRA near Kearney, Memphis SRA near Memphis, Fremont SRA near Fremont, Two Rivers SRA near Venice, Pawnee SRA near Emerald and Wagon Train SRA near Hickman will permit fireworks from 8 a.m. until midnight on July 4 only. Signs at recreation areas will point the way to designated fireworks sites and their boundaries will be clearly marked. Use of fireworks elsewhere in state areas or at other times is prohibited. Only fireworks approved for sale in Nebraska by the state fire marshal are permitted, and visitors must pick up expended fireworks and deposit them in appropriate containers. Minor children must be supervised when discharging fireworks. Use, possession and the discharging of fireworks is at the sole risk of the users. A park entry permit is required for all vehicles entering SRAs. -30- Paddlefish Snagging Permit Application Period Is July 1-14LINCOLN – Applications may be made for Nebraska paddlefish snagging permits July 1-14. Snagging of paddlefish and nongame fish is permitted Oct. 1-31 in the Missouri River from the Gavins Point Dam west of Yankton, S.D., downstream to the mouth of the Big Sioux River at mile marker 734, west of Sioux City, Iowa. All inland waters in Nebraska are closed to paddlefish harvest. There are 1,520 permits authorized for residents and 80 for nonresidents. The application fees of $21 for residents and $41 for nonresidents includes an issuing fee. Visit OutdoorNebraska.org to apply or use the form in the 2015 Fishing Guide. Applicants must be 12 years of age by this Oct. 1 to be eligible for a permit. The application period begins at 1 p.m. Central time on July 1. Mailed applications must be received in Nebraska Game and Parks Commission headquarters in Lincoln by 5 p.m. on July 14. Online applications end at midnight. Permits remaining following the first drawing will be sold over the counter on a first-come basis beginning at 1 p.m. Central time on Sept. 1. -30- Merritt Reservoir SRA Boat Launch Facility Improvements BeginLINCOLN – Work has begun on improvements to the Main Landing boat launch facility at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area (SRA). Visitors will find construction equipment entering the Main Landing boat launch and Willow Cove Campground areas over the next several months. A new concrete ramp, boat dock and breakwaters will be built this summer and fall as water levels recede. In preparation for that construction, the delivery of rock rip-rap has started. The new boat ramp will be built just to the south of the existing one. Once completed, it will provide boater and angler access at that location for a longer duration during the summer irrigation months. The original boat ramp was built in the 1960s and often went out of service by the first part of July. A new breakwater is planned near the Willow Cove Campground area to the southwest of the new ramp. The breakwater will provide protection from southwest winds and slow sand from being deposited around the ramp. This breakwater also will provide some bank angler fishing access. The project is being accomplished by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation. Funding has been provided by Game and Parks’ Aquatic Habitat and Angler Access programs, capital development maintenance funds, and U.S. Coast Guard boating safety funds. For more information on the project, call Zac Brashears at 402-376-8080 or Steve Satra at 402-471-5446. Merritt Reservoir SRA is located 26 miles southwest of Valentine in Cherry County. A park entry permit is required of each vehicle entering the park. -30- Two Trail Roads to Be Temporarily Closed at Swanson Reservoir SRALINCOLN – Two trail roads at Swanson Reservoir State Recreation Area (SRA) will be temporarily closed June 22 so that BNSF Railway can replace crossings on them. Trail Roads 5 and 7 on the north side of the lake will be closed so that work can begin at 7 a.m. on June 22. The crossings will be closed all day. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is posting signs and notifying campers of the closure. Swanson Reservoir SRA is located just west of Trenton in Hitchcock County. -30- Flooding Affects Southeast Nebraska ParksLINCOLN – Several state recreation areas in Southeast Nebraska have been affected by heavy rainfall and not all areas may be accessible, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. At Stagecoach State Recreation Area (SRA), Dam Road remains closed, there is standing water on approaches to docks. At Wagon Train SRA, all areas are open, though there is standing water on approaches to docks. At Bluestem SRA, North Road remains closed. At Olive Creek SRA, Area 2 is now open, but there is still standing water in some places. All other parks and recreation areas are open, though lake water levels are high. Game and Parks staff will continue to monitor conditions at parks statewide. -30- |
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July 2, 2015 Leave a comment
By John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs
Kat Country Hub 
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