Kat Country Hub

Bancroft Senior Center News

Bancroft Senior Center News

* The senior center provides Information and Assistance to any individual who is looking for services for themselves or another person 60 years and older, the center manager and/or center participant can provide information to individuals on services available within the community. We link individuals to the services and opportunities that are available within or beyond the community itself. We will then establish adequate follow-up procedures to see that their needs were met. For more information call 402-648-3387.

*If you are 60 years and older and need information on programs designed to help keep you in your home longer or if you need legal help, contact Connie at 402-648-3387 or in the evening at 402-648-7648.

* We have the following medical equipment to loan out on an as need basis, wheel chair, bath seats, toilet seat riser and portable toilet chair, crutches or walker. Call 402-648-3387 during office hours.

Weekly Activities:

Wed. Dec. 18: Melody chimes practice at 9:00.  Join us for coffee at 10:00. Come to the center’s Christmas party at 1:30.

Thurs. Dec. 19: Pool at 9:30. Join us for Tai Chi at 9:30 and walking exercises at 10:00. Sign up for the pitch tournament at 1:30.

Fri. Dec. 20: Lori lee, the legal aid attorney hired by the area agency, will be at the center at 1:00 to talk to people privately if you have any legal questions to ask her and this service is free to anyone over the age of 60. The birthday party will start at 1; 30 with the attorney presenting a short topic first and then play cards.

Mon. Dec. 23: Stop in for a cup of coffee. Sign up for the pitch tournament at 1:30. The monthly board meeting starts at 3:30.

Tues. Dec 24: Pool at 9:30. The walking ex. class is at 10:00, there is room for more people to join the class. There will be a Christmas movie at 1:30.

Wed. Dec 25 and Thurs. Dec 26: The center is closed. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Bancroft Senior Center News

* The senior center provides Information and Assistance to any individual who is looking for services for themselves or another person 60 years and older, the center manager and/or center participant can provide information to individuals on services available within the community. We link individuals to the services and opportunities that are available within or beyond the community itself. We will then establish adequate follow-up procedures to see that their needs were met. For more information call 402-648-3387.

*If you are 60 years and older and need information on programs designed to help keep you in your home longer or if you need legal help, contact Connie at 402-648-3387 or in the evening at 402-648-7648.

* We have the following medical equipment to loan out on an as need basis, wheel chair, bath seats, toilet seat riser and portable toilet chair, crutches or walker. Call 402-648-3387 during office hours.

Weekly Activities:

Wed. Dec. 18: Melody chimes practice at 9:00.  Join us for coffee at 10:00. Come to the center’s Christmas party at 1:30.

Thurs. Dec. 19: Pool at 9:30. Join us for Tai Chi at 9:30 and walking exercises at 10:00. Sign up for the pitch tournament at 1:30.

Fri. Dec. 20: Lori lee, the legal aid attorney hired by the area agency, will be at the center at 1:00 to talk to people privately if you have any legal questions to ask her and this service is free to anyone over the age of 60. The birthday party will start at 1; 30 with the attorney presenting a short topic first and then play cards.

Mon. Dec. 23: Stop in for a cup of coffee. Sign up for the pitch tournament at 1:30. The monthly board meeting starts at 3:30.

Tues. Dec 24: Pool at 9:30. The walking ex. class is at 10:00, there is room for more people to join the class. There will be a Christmas movie at 1:30.

Wed. Dec 25 and Thurs. Dec 26: The center is closed. Have a very Merry Christmas!

A Minute With the Mayor

Can you believe 2013 is almost at an end?  Where does the time go?  By the time you reading this article, I will be on track to have just about forty percent of my Christmas shopping accomplished!  I do my best work while under pressure you know!  Anyway I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a very blessed Christmas and holiday season.

I’ll try to recap what’s been happening with the city the last couple of months since I haven’t had an article for a while.  At the November council meeting, we just had a few things to discuss.  We changed the renewal date on the city’s health insurance plan so we could keep our old plan with a minimum rate increase for one more year.  Otherwise with a January renewal date our old plan was no longer being offered due to the new rules of the federal health care laws.  So basically we bought another year before we really have to look hard at our options.  We purchased a different snow truck in October to replace our old one that was no longer feasible to keep around.  It’s a 2003 International 4400 so it is a nice upgrade and much more reliable.  We sold the old truck through a sealed bid process for $2600.  We hired some new help for the Recycling plant.  So we are back to being fully staffed down there.  We purchased approximately 4000 gallons of fuel for the light plant emergency generators from NPPD.  We needed to keep the tanks full of fuel in case we needed to fire the generators up and since we no longer have a contract with NPPD we needed to buy the fuel that was in the tanks in order to keep reserves at appropriate levels.  We had our annual draw down at the sewer plant and had no issues this year with state compliance regulations.  We also finalized the contract for keno to be held at the Branding Iron.

December’s meeting agenda focused on some housekeeping issues for the council moving into 2014.  Steiny was again elected as city council president and each council member was appointed to oversee some aspect of the city’s operation.  Charlie was appointed as commissioner for utilities distribution and maintenance.  Roger was appointed as commissioner for sanitation, recycling, landfill and parks.  Lana was appointed commissioner of parks, pools, recreation and auditorium and Steiny was appointed commissioner of city streets.  Mike informed the council that the library has been awarded a Gold Accreditation from the Nebraska Library Commission.  We had been designated as silver accredited.  This is a fantastic honor for our little libr

Lyons Mayor Andy Fuston

ary.  The library team continues to work hard to bring the very best in library services to our community.  A big thank you to the dedicated library board and the team for exceeding expectations every day!  Here’s some more good news.  The automatic meter reading system is now completely installed through the entire town.  We started this project five years ago or so and we are excited about the outcome.  No longer do we have to pay someone to walk around town to read utility meters.  It is all read electronically and remotely now.  It is easier and much less labor consuming.

You can see the progress going on down at the pool site.  Things have slowed significantly unfortunately because of the really cold temperatures but they continue to make progress where and when they can.  It is exciting to see the new pool house going up.  We have selected the colors schemes for the new slide and other accessories.  They are bright, fun and playful.  I can’t wait to see the finished product.  I hope you can’t either.  We are moving through the design phase of the auditorium remodel.  With every remodeling job there are always roadblocks.  This project is no exception.  It has been determined that there is no foundation underneath the large garage doors there for to enclose those openings with mortar, brick and glass would be a budget buster as new footings would need to be poured.  So plan B looks to be a new garage door design that is made up of glass panes that allow light to filter in but are not see through.  The glass panes can be tinted in various patterns to give the doors a contemporary look.  The interior roll-up will also remain a roll-up door to match the other doors because the opening would have had to be significantly reduced to accommodate regular doors.  We didn’t want to impede the flow of traffic between the two spaces so this became our best option.  It isn’t how I had originally envisioned the design to be but I’m excited about the new vision that has been laid out before us.  The architect and engineer are finishing up the final designs this month and the plan is to put the project out for bid in January.  We will make an architectural rendering available to see when the final design is submitted to the council for approval.  Unfortunately we still don’t have enough resources to complete the entire renovation even with the generous contributions we have received so far.  We are however applying for another grant in the sum of $250,000 to help our efforts.  I think we are supposed to find out about that in February.  Keep your fingers crossed.  However, if you are looking for a worthwhile project to contribute to financially, please keep the auditorium project in mind.  Every little bit helps.

I think that’s all I know for now.  Remember as the snow falls that you try to avoid parking on the street so the city crew can get the streets cleaned off as quickly as possible.  In the meantime, stay warm.  Talk to you soon and Merry Christmas!

Data, Data and More Data

Rac

Rachel Wise

hel Wise, District 3, Nebraska State Board of Education (November, 2013)

Data, Data and More Data!

With a click of a button — OK, more like several clicks once in a website — you can learn a great deal about all our public schools in Nebraska. This month, I want to guide you to a wealth of information about schools and student performance that you can explore if you so desire. By the time you read this article, additional information, including high school graduation rates, school dropout rates and school district ACT scores will be posted on the Nebraska Department of Education website. I am sure that many of you, like me, may find this information very valuable. It is also an accurate and reliable source of information about our schools in Nebraska!

To start this journey, go to the NDE website, www.education.ne.gov. I do include this web address at the end of every article, because it truly is a great resource for any student, parent or community member who wants to learn more about what is happening in education in Nebraska. Once you are on the homepage of the website, there is a link in the middle of the page that is titled NEW: State of the Schools Report, which is where we are headed to learn more about Nebraska schools. Once on this page you will be provided with a great deal of information about the overall performance of Nebraska schools. There is a great deal of good news on this page.

As you review the information on the Nebraska State of the Schools Report, improvement and growth are two very important terms that tell a different story about our schools. Improvement is looking at how one grade improved from one year to the next, by comparing the same grade. For example, the 4^th grade class of 2011 was compared to the 4^th grade class of 2012. Growth, which is my favorite measure, looks at how individual students performed from one year to the next. This measure looks at how a student in 4^th grade student performed in 5^th grade. Approximately 83 percent of the schools demonstrated improvement and growth in reading. Math, is a different story, with approximately 68 percent of the schools showing improvement and 57 percent demonstrating growth.

As you delve into the Nebraska report card, do not stop at state information. Click on the district or school tabs to learn more about the school district in your community, neighborhood, or the school that your grandchildren, nieces or nephews attend. A nice feature on the report card is the ability to click on a county and look at the data for all schools in the county. I serve District 3, which is comprised of 15 counties. This feature gives me an opportunity to look at information about all of the school districts I represent in District 3.

One more data note, then I will call it a day — or an article — if you prefer. Nebraska is involved in a longitudinal data project in partnership with Education Service Units (ESUs) and school districts. The purpose of this project is to help schools use their data to improve and personalize learning experiences. The goal is to help teachers get pertinent achievement data at their fingertips so they can better meet the needs of every student in their classrooms. The longitudinal data project involves pilot school districts and ESUs working together on the use of achievement data to improve student outcomes. Thanks to the leadership in the following area school districts and ESUs that volunteered to be a part of the pilot: Bancroft Rosalie Community Schools, Ponca Public Schools, South Sioux City Schools, ESU 1, ESU 2, ESU 7 and ESU 8.

If you would like to contact me, feel free to do so at rachel.wise@nebraska.gov.

Santa Pictures

Wanted: Pictures of children visiting Santa! Will post on my paper!