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LARGE Enough to ServeSMALL Enough to Care!

By HEATHER JOHNSON

[email protected]

The key to progress isthe people behind it. In thepast year, The North PlatteTelegraph has set out tofind 35 individuals under35 who are bucking thetrend of leaving rural ar-eas after they graduatefrom high school.

Not only have those fea-tured moved to North Plat-te, they’ve also proventhey’re a force to be reck-oned with when it comesto shaping business, edu-cation and volunteerismwithin the community.

They are a good indica-tor of potential progressin the town. Here are the21 featured so far — inthem lies the future.

Brandon RabyAt 33 years old, Brandon

Raby is at war with yester-day — yesterday’s stereo-type that skateboarding isfor delinquents and thatbusiness owners should beolder than 35. He is theowner of North Platte’sfirst and only skateboardstore, Caravan Skate Shop.

He’s also helping tospearhead the construc-tion of a new skate parkwith the organizationSkate to Create to give peo-ple another activity op-tion. Raby is hoping thepark will give artistic peo-ple a place to gather andhelp dispel some of thecurrent myths about thesport he’s passionateabout.

Brock and EmilyWurl

It’s the same walk, fromone end of the campus tothe other, repeated eachyear on Homecoming.Brock Wurl, 29, popped thequestion to Emily, 30, nowhis wife, on the campus ofthe University of Nebras-ka-Lincoln on Homecom-ing in 2003, and the couple

married in August 2004.Each fall, they make the

pilgrimage to Lincoln totake that same stroll theymade the day they wereengaged, a tradition theyhope to continue untilthey’re old. The couple,both graduates of NorthPlatte High School, movedback to North Platte in2010 after Brock graduatedfrom law school at UNL.

Brock now works forNorman, Paloucek andHerman Law Offices inNorth Platte and Emily isa part-time recruiter forMid-Plains CommunityCollege.

Moving back to NorthPlatte has allowed the cou-ple to get involved with thecommunity, includingwork re-starting the Fel-

lowship of Christian Ath-letes at NPHS and theFifth Quarter during foot-ball season. They are bothactive at Bethel Evangeli-cal Free Church, and thisyear Brock was involvedwith the James O’RourkeTriathlon.

Kris RosenthalKris Rosenthal, 26,

works as a firefighter andparamedic for the NorthPlatte Fire Department.He was one of three peo-ple from the agency hon-ored in September forbravery in the line of dutyafter defusing a potential-ly deadly hostage situa-tion.

A native of North Platte,Rosenthal’s career as alifesaver began at theNorth Platte RecreationCenter. He worked as alifeguard there — along-side brothers Justin andRyan Thompson, who nowalso work for the fire de-partment.

ChristinePfortmiller

Christine Pfortmiller,28, makes a living sellinghandcrafted accessoriesthrough her own Internet-based business, while bal-ancing a marriage andfour children under theage of 8. Pfortmiller’smom taught her how tocrochet when she was 12,and she began creatinghats and scarves duringcollege.

She started selling hercreations on the Internetand going to craft shows in2007. In 2009, Pfortmillerbegan Pedestrian Designs.She makes her own pat-terns for her hats and pur-chases only fair-trade woolfrom companies that paytheir workers a livingwage.

“I do everything,” shesaid. “Production, market-ing, shipping, branding,everything. If I had asheep I would probablymake my own wool too.”

Garod RemusTwenty-seven-year-old

Garod Remus is a 2002graduate of North PlatteHigh School. His fatherowns both Jerry RemusChevrolet-Cadillac andPremier Toyota business-es and Garod continues toassume more responsibili-ty.

Unlike many up-and-coming professionals,Garod has the advantageof working in the samedealership his father start-ed at in 1976. However, hisfull understanding of thetime and effort that’s re-quired to run a successfulbusiness was gained byworking his way upthrough the ranks.

He is currently the salesmanager at the Chevydealership where he hastaken on some of the ad-vertising responsibilities,trips to car auctions inOmaha and Denver, Colo.and online vehicle pur-chases.

Levi GibbsLevi Gibbs, 28, is a pa-

trol officer for the NorthPlatte Police Department.He’s been on the nightshift since being hired onthe force in 2006. A formerMarine and combat veter-an, Gibbs said he draws onhis military backgroundon the job— even inthe pridehe takes inhis uni-form anda p p e a r -ance; hewas hon-ored as bestdressed of-ficer short-ly after be-ing hired.

Stationed as an in-fantryman in one of themost dangerous regions ofIraq, Ramadi, his battal-ion suffered the largestnumber of casualties thatany U.S. battalion has hadsince Vietnam. Gibbseventually rose to the rankof sergeant. At the end of2004, his battalion re-turned stateside. He ap-plied to be a military po-liceman in southern Cali-fornia, and began pursu-ing his dream of becom-ing a police officer.

After eight months,

Gibbs was honorably dis-charged and returnedhome to North Platte. It’shis military backgroundthat continues to drivehim to this day.

Chelsea FeusnerChelsea Feusner, 29,

takes her responsibilitiesas a woman in a leader-ship role seriously. She di-vides her time as part-time principal and part-time music teacher at HallElementary School.

A graduate of HastingsCollege, Feusner’s firstteaching position was inElm Creek. When her hus-band was offered a jobwith North Platte PublicPower District in 2007, thecouple moved to NorthPlatte. Feusner became in-volved in community mu-sic groups and was offereda position teaching at Mid-Plains Community Col-lege.

From there, she went toteaching music at Jeffer-son Elementary, and whenthe position of part-timeprincipal became avail-able at Hall, she appliedfor that job. Feusner has amaster’s degree in educa-tion administration fromthe University of Nebras-ka at Kearney.

DianaDiffendaffer

Diana Diffendaffer, 34-year-old owner of thed.diff clothing boutique, isa fairly re-cent trans-plant toNorth Plat-te. She andher hus-band Clarkand theirtwo sonsB r e n d a nand Eastonmoved totown inJune 2010.

The young family be-came part of the commu-nity after Clark accepted aposition at Great PlainsRegional Medical Center.Diana said she was frus-trated with the options forclothing shopping inNorth Platte, and onlineshopping didn’t appeal toher.

As a result, she openedd.diff on Feb. 29. It fea-tures clothing more up-scale than what is offeredin chain stores. Clothinglines include Cut From theCloth and Nic+Zoe, plusthe Yummy Tummysmoothing line.

Katie PinkertonIn a time when an in-

creasing number ofpeople are movingaway from rural areas,a new resident of NorthPlatte is proving to bean exception. KatiePinkerton, 27, moved tothe community in Sep-tember. Born andraised in Omaha, shenever had any inten-tion of ending up in asmall town. Now, shehas no intention ofleaving.

In 2010, she marriedRiley Pinkerton, aNorth Platte native, andwas approached abouta job with the U.S. So-cial Security Adminis-tration in Lincoln. InSeptember, Riley wasoffered a job working asa hydrological techni-cian for the U.S. Geolog-ical Survey departmentin North Platte andKatie transferred to thecommunity’s SSA of-fice.

Katie has alreadyfallen in love with theactivities the communi-ty offers. She partici-pated in the Walk toEnd Alzheimer’s, theJingle Bell Fun Runand Walk and is think-ing about joining theBusiness and Profes-sional Women Club.

Kira KautzGrowing up in North

Platte, Kira Kautz, 29,always knew she want-ed to be a veterinarian.Animals, especiallyhorses, are her passion.As a kid, she sometimeshelped a local vet, Mag-gie Hanfeldt, who gaveKautz her first lookinto the world of ani-

OUR NEXT ECONOMYD2 SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2012 THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH

Cindy Chesley

530-4706

Sandy Edwards

530-1894Patty Engdahl

530-8295Joy Epler

530-7129Cynamon Eshleman

520-1782

Nancy Faulhaber

530-1254

Vicki Holmes

530-1688Patty Hongsermeier

530-7165Peggy Janas

530-9426

Leslie Johns

530-6541

Brenda Malcom

520-6718

Jerry Nelson

530-8213

Kellie Golden

530-0711

Lawrence Ostendorf

530-2692Bruce Richman

530-0990

June Robinson

530-0914

Marilyn Schomp

520-0456Ashley Simpson

650-9969Sharon Skinner

530-1783Judy Splitt

530-1287Pat Thomas

386-4326

Arleen Petersen

530-1276

Traci Sawyer

530-2171

Sandy Conrad

530-1277Belle Edwards

530-0659

Sheri Mullen

530-5065

Barb Frels

530-1280Charlie Funk

386-8353

Young people building future of North PlatteThe city is full of quality folk under 35 years of age

Levi Gibbs

Please see YYOOUUNNGG, Page D3

Diana Diffendaffer

mal medicine.Kautz never imagined

that one day she would betreating animals not onlywith traditional veteri-nary medicine, but alsowith techniques that areconsidered “alternative”even when practiced onhumans.

Now a veterinarianwith Westfield Small Ani-mal Clinic, she has incor-porated acupuncture andchiropractic care into herwork with pets. Kautzsays the results can bedramatic—and, evenwhen they’re being pokedwith acupuncture nee-dles, the animals actuallyseem to enjoy it.

Bryan GentryBefore Bryan Gentry

traveled the country as aprofessional musician, be-fore he became a tattooartist whose work gracesthe bodies of hundreds ofpeople in North Platte andbeyond, he was just anoth-er kid with big dreamsand talents just waiting tobe discovered.

It was the first of thosepassions — musi c —thatwould eventually take the27-year-old on a wild ridearound the world. Itwould give him thechance to meet and tourwith many of his person-al idols and to make a liv-ing performing music forthousands of fans.

But, it was the second ofGentry’s passions — art— that would bring theNorth Platte native homeagain. Now an artist atTwizted Needle Tattoo,Gentry says the decisionto move home to NorthPlatte, brought him backto the things he’d alwayscared about most—hisfamily, his childhoodfriends and his art.

KassandraDouglas

When Dr. KassandraDouglas, 29, left NorthPlatte after high schoolgraduation her sightswere set on the horizon,and she didn’t have anyintention of going intothe field she’s chosen to

make her permanent ca-reer — chiropractic.

Today, she not only livesin North Platte again, shealso owns her own prac-tice in the community:River Valley Chiropractic.Douglas is a member ofthe North Platte AreaChamber and Develop-ment Corporation.

She employees one oth-er person to help withclerical duties and has re-cently added student mas-sage therapist Sara Pow-ers. She’s currently con-sidering plans for busi-ness expansion.

Cory and AshleyJohanson

It’s a North Platte lovestory. Not just one of highschool sweethearts, butalso of love for family andfriends, and the mid-Ne-braska town they’vecalled home most of theirlives.

After college, Cory andAshley Johanson movedback to their mutualhometown of North Platteand began making plansto raise a family. The cou-ple said they had a greateducational experience inNorth Platte, which theyalso wanted for their kids.

Cory, who worked in thecar and banking business-es in college, found em-ployment at two car deal-erships in North Platteworking his way up from asales position to a mangerof finance and sales.

He said it was a naturaltransition to the commer-cial ag banker position henow holds with First Na-tional Bank. Ashley hasbeen a first-grade teacherat Hershey Public Schoolsfor eight years.

Shayna DunnShayna Dunn, 30, is one

of just a handful ofwomen to ever work forthe North Platte Fire De-partment, however, theidea of being a firefighterwas nothing new to herwhen assistant chief Den-nis Thompson encouragedher to join the depart-ment. It was like return-ing home.

Dunn is a third-genera-tion member of the NPFD,following in the footstepsof her grandfather, a bat-talion chief; her uncle,

Chris Jarvis, at one timethe assistant chief of thedepartment and her fa-ther, David Dunn, also afirefighter and EMT.

StephenMcDowell andNick Bryant

Six nights a week, at atime when much of NorthPlatte is sleeping, thepressroom at the Tele-graph is wide-awake andbuzzing with activity.

At the center of the ac-tion are Stephen McDow-ell, 28, and Nick Bryant,31. The pair of veteranpress operators helpedlead the Telegraph to itsthird straight InlandPress Association PrintQuality Competitionaward this year.

McDowell has worked inthe Telegraph’s press-room for eight years, andBryant for six. The pairhas become close friendsas well as co-workers;however, when they’re atwork, McDowell andBryant say they’re fo-cused on excellence.

Bryant grew up inNorth Platte and attend-ed North Platte HighSchool, graduating in1999. He spent time trav-eling and living in Col-orado before returning toNorth Platte and startinghis career as a press oper-ator with the Telegraph.Bryant married his wifeKristy in 2007; they havethree children, Grace-lynn, Taylor and Gavin.

McDowell originallyhailed from Tuscon,Ariz., before moving tothe North Platte areawith his family. McDow-ell and his wife, Sarah,were married in 2005 andhave two children, Owenand Haylie.

Kirsten ParkerShe might not be from

North Platte originally,but no one would know itfrom her community in-volvement. Kirsten Park-er, 34, has been a residentof North Platte for thepast five years and hasher hands in pretty muchevery volunteer opportu-nity the town has to offer.

She is a native of Lin-coln, but as a child, shespent weekends with hergrandparents in Grand

Island. Her grandmotherran a free breakfast pro-gram in the community,which Parker helped with.Her love for helping peo-ple has continuedthroughout her life.

Parker is currently incharge of the First Na-tional Bank’s specialevents and marketing ef-forts and has thrown her-self into the many volun-teer opportunities NorthPlatte has to offer.

She has been involvedwith Woofstock, a socializ-ing event for dog loversand fundraiser for thePaws-itive Partners Hu-mane Society. Parker isalso a member of theNorth Platte DowntownAssociation, has raisedmoney for the AmericanRed Cross, is involvedwith the local Court Ap-pointed Special Advocatesprogram and last yearhelped organize the com-munity’s annualAlzheimer’s MemoryWalk.

Levi FisherThir ty- four-year-old

Levi Fisher, communitybank president at Equi-table Bank, is from aranching background. Hegrew up near Crawford,and today, runs a smallcattle operation north ofHershey where he and hiswife Keri raise two chil-dren.

A graduate of CrawfordHigh School and Chadron

State College, Fisher be-gan his career in bankingin St. Paul, Neb. He wasrecruited to North Platteand seven years agohelped start EquitableBank, which now also hasbranches in Omaha andGrand Island.

Fisher said it was a nat-ural move for him and hiswife because they wantedtheir children, Mekenna,8, and Peyton, 6, to growup in the country and un-derstand the importanceof agriculture.

Bryan Bohn A native of Ravenna,

Bryan Bohn, 31, is in histhird year of teaching atMadison Middle School.After graduation from theUniversity of Nebraska atKearney, he taught musicat Holdrege and Gothen-burg before coming toNorth Platte.

His music education be-gan early, when he startedtaking piano lessons inkindergarten. AlthoughBohn has spent time per-forming, teaching has al-ways been his calling.Since moving to NorthPlatte, Bohn has become amember of the North Plat-te Municipal Band, theSandhills Symphony Or-chestra and the Hatch-backs.

This year was Bohn’sfirst year as conductor ofthe Sandhills Symphony.He is married to JennaKoperski-Bohn, who is the

service coordinator forthe early childhood pro-gram at North Platte Pub-lic Schools.

Andy PullAndy Pull’s decision to

move to North Platte withhis wife Lisa was “a Godthing.” Fresh out of semi-nary school, he was look-ing at two places—hishometown of Fargo, N.D.and North Platte.

Dan Reimer, senior pas-tor and Bethel EvangelicalChurch, had contacted 30-year-old Pull about joiningBethel, but at the time Pullwas a finalist for a posi-tion at a church near Far-go. Pull told Reimer to callhim back in two weeks. Inthe meantime, the churchin Fargo informed himthat they were going to gowith another candidate.

Pull moved to NorthPlatte, became the youthpastor at Bethel and waslater promoted to associ-ate pastor.

MattFosket

In hisrole as ad-vocate atthe Bridgeof HopeChild Advo-cacy Centerin NorthPlatte, MattF o s k e t

YOUNGfrom Page D2

OUR NEXT ECONOMY SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2012 D3THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH

Matt Fosket

Please see YYOOUUNNGG22, Page D4

By ANDREW BOTTRELL

[email protected]

Bucking nationaltrends, the North Plattehousing market issteady.

That’s according toLincoln County Boardof Realtors PresidentBarb Booth.

“In the last year,we’ve seen fewer hous-es listed, but more peo-ple looking,” she said.“Right now, we coulduse 100 more houses onthe market.”

Part of that steadyhousing market is theconservative nature ofpeople and the economyin central Nebraska.

“We have an Ag back-ground. We’re very sta-ble. Conservative is nota bad thing,” Boothsaid.

She said the NorthPlatte market is differ-ent in that it’s less fluidthan the national mar-ket. Typically, she said,many families moveevery five years.

“We don’t — we don’teven plan to do that,”she said.

The rental market isalso improving, Boothsaid, in both terms ofavailability and the re-turn on investment forlandlords, though shesaid it’s still not com-pletely meeting marketneeds.

One of the toughestaspects of the housingmarket in today’s econ-omy is on young profes-sionals moving into amarket and decidingwhether to rent or tobuy. Typically, as lend-ing standards getstiffer, Booth said,lenders are looking forthe first pay stub from a

new job before they is-sue a home loan. Thatcan be tough on profes-sions like nurses andteachers that move intothe North Platte mar-ket.

“That puts a lot ofpressure on those peo-ple,” she said. “Youhave to have that firstpay stub from your nextjob.”

That means a numberof young professionalenter into six-month, orone-year leases, beforethey have a chance tolook at purchasing ahome.

When it comes time tobuy a home, the boardof Realtors suggests acredit score of at least620, though 640 ispreferable, and over 700will likely guaranteeyour chances of receiv-ing a home loan.

“We show a lot ofhouses,” she said, how-ever, standards for get-ting home loans haveincreased, thereforepeople who would havequalified five years agocan’t now. “Market val-ue apparent has de-creased [on homes].”

Booth said lendersare also getting “picki-er” about the homesthat people choose,wanting them to be ingood condition beforeissuing a loan to pur-chase the home.

“[Banks] now knowthat they may end upwith [the home],” shesaid.

Appraisers in the Lin-coln County are alsobacklogged, she said.

“We can’t close in 30days, or even 45 days.Two months — that’s along time,” she said.

There have even been

some cases, she said,where there are multi-ple offers on a particu-lar home, and the homeends up being soldabove market value,which she said was un-usual a few years ago.

“The secret in sellinga home is pricing itright,” she said. Work-ing with a realtor tocompare similar homesis one of the most im-portant aspects ofpreparing to sell ahome, meaning findingother homes that aresimilar in size andamenities and findingout how much thosehomes sold for in thepast.

Booth also believesthe conservative natureof central Nebraska’speople and economyplays into more respon-sible realtors, home-buyers and home sell-ers.

“We have some verystable things,” she said.“We are blessed with asteady economy.”

She also encouragedhomebuyers to do re-search for entering intothe market. For exam-ple, Booth said there isa federal grant avail-able that will loan afirst-time homebuyermoney for a down pay-ment and closing costsat 1 percent interest forthe first seven years,and, as long as yourpayments aren’t late forthe first five years, thefinal two years of thatloan will be forgiven.Booth said there are alot of opportunities forhomebuyers, but theyneed to work with Real-tors in finding those,and do their own re-search.


By DIANE [email protected]

The new Health and Sci-ence Complex at NorthPlatte Community CollegeSouth Campus is scheduledto open later this summer.The new facility will behome to the college’s nurs-ing, laboratory technician,dental assistant programs,as well as the math and sci-ence departments. Facultyis already packing up inpreparation for the moveinto the new building laterthis summer, said NPCCvice-president MarcusGarstecki.

“This is a project that hasbeen talked about for quitea few years now,” Garsteckisaid. “When we kicked offour fundraising campaignabout four years ago, therewere naysayers, saying thismight not be the right timewith the economy. However,we had some tremendouslocal organizations and in-dividuals step up to the

plate because they realizedhow important it is forNorth Platte and the sur-rounding communities.”

Groundbreaking cere-monies took place in May2011, and constructionshould be done by mid-July,he said.

The college’s nursingprogram is a popular one,Garstecki said, and oftenhas a waiting list for stu-dents.

“The equipment theywill be learning on is betterthan what we have seen,”Garstecki said. “We will beable to train future healthcare workers with high endtechnology.”

Students looking for ca-reers in the health field willbe learning on the bestequipment possible.

“Even though our nurs-ing programs are at theirmax for students, our othermedical courses have roomto grow,” he said. “Dentalassistant is one of thefaster growing occupations

out there and there is roomin that program as well asin our medical laboratorytechnician program.”

Students coming toNorth Platte CommunityCollege may know theywant a career in the healthfield but be unsure of ex-actly what they want tostudy.

“It’s a very skills specificfield, and we have severaltools to help them narrowtheir focus, to find out ex-actly what they want,”Garstecki said.

The $9 million construc-tion project is nearly paidfor, he said.

“We are close,” Garsteckisaid. “We hope to have itpaid off by the time weopen the doors. It has beena big project, and we haveused local contractors.Hopefully the project hasbeen a win/win for the col-lege and the community.”

This year, the NPCC alsorenovated the Learning Re-source Center on the South

Campus. The facelift in-cluded new carpet, paint,lights and furnishings.

“It wasn’t an attractivefacility for our students,”Garstecki said. “The re-model has been a great ad-

dition, and it is a muchmore welcoming place.”

NPCC is continuing toprovide a good educationfor its students.

“Our governing boardand our leadership have

put us on a good course tocontinually be moving for-ward,” Garstecki said. “Weare always looking at waysto improve our facilities tobenefit our faculty, staffand students.”

NPCC Health complexconstruction on schedule

Diane Wetzel / The North Platte Telegraph

Construction of the new Health and Science Complex at North Platte Community Col-lege South Campus appears to be headed for completion right on schedule.

Nursing program is popular, has waiting list

NP housing market doingwell despite tough economyRental availability is also improving, butis still not completely meeting the need

File photo

works with the communi-ty’s most vulnerable resi-dents and their familiesduring extremely difficulttimes.

Children who are sus-pected victims of childabuse go to Bridge ofHope. The facility and thestaff coordinate with oth-er professionals and agen-cies to help minimize thetrauma children can suf-fer following the disclo-sure, investigation and in-tervention process.

Fosket’s main role at

the center is to work withthe non-offending caregiv-er of the child. Fosket hasalso initiated and man-aged a volunteer pro-gram. He is active in theLincoln County ChildAbuse Prevention Coun-cil and is always lookingfor ways to educate peopleabout child abuse preven-tion.

Jace CainJace Cain, a 25-year-old

North Platte native, is tak-ing a passion of his andturning it into a business.Three years ago, Cain be-gan looking into CrossFit

training, which focuseson repeated everydaymovements in a high-in-tensity workout setting.

He is making that thefocus of his new gym,Cain Athletics, at 1204West A Street in NorthPlatte. His background asa registered nurse hashelped by giving him in-sight into diseases andpreventive measures.

A North Platte HighSchool graduate and long-time lifeguard with thecity recreation depart-ment, Cain received hisdegree in nursing at Mid-Plains Community Col-lege.

YOUNG2from Page D3


Small businesses growing and expandingBy ANDREW [email protected]

This past year brought anumber of new business-es, additions and new fa-cilities to community stal-warts.n In February, Diana

Diffendaffer opened up anew clothing boutiquecalled d. diff at 605 SouthJeffers Street.

The new clothing bou-tique offers a more up-scale clothing line thanmost chain stores, offer-ing clothing lines that in-clude Cut From the Cloth,Nic+Zoe and YummyTummy. The two levelstore features women’sclothing, shoes and acces-sories on the first floorand children’s fashions onthe second.

The name for the busi-ness comes from the la-bels that Diffendaffer usedin her own sewing back-ground. The store is openMonday through Friday,9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sat-urday from 10 a.m. to 5p.m.n In April, Cain Athlet-

ics, specializing in Cross-Fit training opened at 1204West A Street.

Jace Cain, owner andtrainer, is certified toteach CrossFit training,and offers various coursesfor all age levels and expe-rience levels.

The North Platte nativefirst became interested inCrossFit training severalyears ago because thattype of training usesevery day motions, andteaches people to use prop-er technique, and thentransfers that to a high in-tensity, gym workout.n Construction on the

Health Complex at MidPlains Community Col-lege South Campus alongState Farm Road in NorthPlatte began in 2011.

The new facility, whichis expected to be completein 2012, will help expandthe classroom space at thecollege. The health depart-ment will move from theNorth Campus to theSouth Campus, and muchof the mathematics andscience departments willalso move into the facility.

The $9 million projecthas been in the works, fornearly 20 years, the collegesaid.n In July of 2011, Great

Plains Heart Center’s car-diology clinic opened forbusiness, with Dr. ArshadAli leading the way.

The new facility offers24-hour, seven days a weekinterventional cardiologycare, which provides bothdiagnostic and treatmentservices. The new clinicalso gives the hospital theability to offer stents,something patients previ-ously had to travel to Lin-coln or Denver to receive.

Great Plains RegionalMedical Center hopes thenew heart center will be areferral site for physiciansin an area that stretchesfrom west of Kearney toSidney and from McCookto Valentine.

The clinic was tem-porarily housed in officespace at 611 West Francis,but in August moved intothe area south of the hos-pital’s emergency room,

previously occupied bythe Nebraska Heart Insti-tute.n Also in July of 2011,

work began on renovatingand upgrading officespace at the east end ofFrancis Street, so that AlloCommunications couldmove in.

The communicationsbased company out of Im-perial provides televisionand Internet servicesthrough fiber optics,something that wasn’tavailable in North Platteto consumers. The fiberoptics project is a $10 mil-lion investment and localcontractors are being usedto do the work. The officespace on Francis will actas the retail center forNorth Platte.

Allo has similar con-sumer-based fiber opticsnetworks in Gering,Scottsbluff, Ogallala andAlliance.n This past year, West-

field Small Animal Clinicin the Westfield ShoppingCenter at 1821 West AStreet doubled the size oftheir clinic and expandedservices.

Previously, the clinic op-erated a small kennel nearthe high school. In 2011,the clinic was able to ex-pand and move the kennelservice to the clinic inWestfield Shopping Cen-

ter. Now, they can offer 50spaces, and have expandedtheir kennel services to in-clude daily care and walk-ing.

The expansion also al-lowed them to increase thesize of their lab. Dr. CraigKelly said 95 percent of alllab work that needs to bedone can be in-house, andresults are mostly same-day.

The addition also al-lowed for an expansion oftheir x-ray services andtheir laser surgery servic-es.. Westfield Small Ani-mal Clinic offers digital x-rays, which helps lowertheir costs and provideson-spot x-ray services forpatients and clients.

Three veterinarians andthree techs are employedby Westfield, and theirservices also includeacupuncture and chiro-practic care.n In September of 2011,

Phelps Family Dentistrycelebrated the opening oftheir brand new buildingat 221 South Jeffers, at thecorner of C and Jeffers. Inbusiness since 2008, thefamily dentistry clinic ex-panded into a brand newbuilding in 2011.

The Phelps were able topurchase the building at221 South Jeffers and re-model the entire facility,from the inside to the storefront and even the roof.

The remodel helpedthem expand their busi-ness and workflow, adding3D imaging, which helpswith their single visitcrown service. That serv-ice allows patients to re-ceive crowns in one visit,rather than having tocome back twice to receivedental work.

They were also able topave the parking lot, whichhelps with aesthetics, andadd 1300 square feet ofleasing space next door.Depot Drug opened in Jan-uary of 2012.n The Asia Palace also

opened at their new loca-tion, 1318 South Chestnut.This past year, with thenew location, the Asianrestaurant expanded itsmenu and offers both in-store dining and take out.

The restaurant featuresChinese, Fondue, Tai-wanese and Thai.

n Vic’s Corn Popper inthe Westfield ShoppingCenter also expanded in2011, and is in the processof changing the name ofthe business in 2012.

In 2011, Vic’s added TheWest Wing, doubling thesize of the business forthe second time, and al-lowing overflow space, aswell as a party room, thatis available for rent.

It has also allowed Vic’sto bring in Shermie at thePiano to entertain cus-tomers on Wednesdaysfrom 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. n In September 2011,

Pinpoint Communica-tions completed a 1,700-square foot data center at1003 East State FarmRoad. The facility is alongPinpoint’s Denver toChicago fiber optics line,which will help strength-en the signal, and helplead to more infrastruc-ture in North Platte. Atthe time, Pinpoint saidthe facility will helpNorth Platte become ahub for activity betweenthe eastern and westernportions of the state.

Pinpoint works withmajor telephone, Internetand telecom companies tosend and receive signalthrough fiber optics.

Pinpoint did not identi-fy who the anchor tenantfor the facility was, butsaid it was an earthsta-tion uplink/downlink fora major wireless carrier.

Andrew Bottrell /The North Platte Telegraph

Andrew Bottrell / The North Platte Telegraph


Vic’s Corn Popper has ex-panded and will soon bechanging the name of thebusiness.

Westfield Small Animal Clinic located in the Westfield Shopping Center recently dou-bled the size of the clinic and have expanded their services.

Jace Cain opened his crossfit training facility at 1204 W.A St. offering courses for all age levels and experience lev-els.

Creating a Healthy Community TogetherWest Central District Health Department is excited to announce the upcomingCommunity Health Improvement Planning meeting to be held:

May 17th 9am - 3:30pm, Quality Inn & Suites located at 2102 SouthJeffers North Platte.

Lunch will be provided to all participants. Please RSVP to Shannon or Cindy by May 12th.

The community plan will build on the assessments conducted through the Mobilizingfor Action through Partnerships and Planning (MAPP) process, giving our community an opportunity to put the work we did together in September 2011 intoaction. Listed below are the community priorities determined through the MAPPassessments.

• Access to Mental Health Care• Access to Health Care• Disease Prevention/Management• Domestic Violence and Child Abuse• Teen Pregnancy/Healthy Pregnancy

Our goal is to ensure that all participants have the opportunity to share their expertise during discussions around the health and well being of our community. Ifyou want to contribute to this process but the above date does not work with your schedule, we still would like to hear from you, please contact West Central DistrictHealth Department.

We encourage you to share this information with others.If you have questions or concerns or need additional information please contact

West Central District Health Department Shannon Vanderheiden, Executive Director 308.696.1201 Ext 224

[email protected] or Cindy Glos, Assistant Director at 308.696.1201 Ext 225 [email protected]

Thank you for your time & commitment to the community!

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR COUNTY HEALTH RANKS?

o

NCTA completes its newEducation Center in 2011By DIANE WETZEL

[email protected]

On Nov. 18, 2011, a largecrowd gathered in the au-ditorium in the new Ne-braska Agriculture Indus-try Education Center onthe campus of the Nebras-ka Technical College ofAgriculture in Curtis todedicate the facility.

It was one of four majorprojects completed at thecollege in Curtis in thepast three years, totaling$15 million.

The four projects in-clude the Education Cen-ter, a major addition tothe Veterinary TeachingHospital, the Aggie Resi-dence Hall, the Biomassproject, which is designedto heat the campus withred cedar wood chips and

the George and Carol Gar-lick Aggie West ResidenceHall.

Planning for the projectbegan in 2007 when stateSen. Lavon Heidemannchaired a legislative com-mittee to look into the fea-sibility of the campus.The committee deter-mined that while the fac-ulty was ready to educatefuture generations of stu-dents, the campus, found-ed in 1913 was in direneed of new facilities andupdating of current infra-structure.

In 2008 the NebraskaLegislature agreed to ap-propriate $8.7 million forthe project, contingent onthe school funding a newresidence hall and stu-dent union and a $1 mil-lion match.

After donating $1 mil-lion to the City of Curtisto build a new communitycenter, former Curtis resi-dent George Garlick thendonated more than$800,000 to purchase Sun-set Haven NursingHome/Hillside EstatesAssisted Living facilitythat had closed its doorsand toward the construc-tion of a new residencehall.

During dedication cere-monies, NCTA Dean Wel-don Sleight told the crowdthat the expansion waspossible because of a co-operative effort betweengovernment, the agricul-ture industry, and the gen-erosity of more than 200donors representingfriends and alumni of thecollege.

Telegraph file photo

The new Industry Education Center at the Nebraska Technical College of Agriculture inCurtis was dedicated on Nov. 18, 2011.


New look coming into NP from south entrance

By ANDREW BOTTRELL

[email protected]

2011 ushered in a num-ber of changes to thesouthern entrance toNorth Platte on Highway83.

As the Nebraska De-partment of Roads contin-ues a resurfacing projectof the highway, Nebraska-Land Bank has purchasedthe entire block betweenJeffers and Dewey andLeota and Francis, withthe intention of building anew main branch.

In August 2011, the bankannounced that it had pur-chased the Time Saverbuilding and Rogers FineFoods. In December, bankPresident Mike Jacobsonannounced they had alsopurchased A&W and thenorth end of the block aswell. Nebraskaland Bankwill begin construction ona new main branch some-time in 2012, while contin-uing operation at theirdowntown location.

On April 25 Jacobsonsaid the project is onschedule for a completiondate of January 2014.

“That’s still our officialtarget date for completion.We’re right on schedule,

but it’s still early,” he said.Though not a lot of con-

struction has started atthe site, where A&W,Roger’s and Timesavershave been torn down, Ja-cobson said a lot of neces-sary behind-the-sceneswork has been completed.

“There are a lot of peo-ple that have been in-volved in the building con-struction,” Jacobson said.“We’re kind of like a duck,it may look like we’re justfloating out there on thewater, but our legs aremoving pretty fast.”

Jacobson said they areclose to finalizing eleva-tion sketches of the new,60,000-foot, three-story fa-cility, and the architectsfor the project are alsoworking on final layout de-signs, as well.

“We have the site plandone,” he said, saying herecently showed the bankboard elevations that areclose to finished. “The ar-chitects will bring us whatwe think will be a final setof elevations. Now theyare working with structur-al engineers to get the restof the design done.”

Foundation work couldbegin as early as August,and Jacobson said steel for

the building will be on sitein August and begin to beput together in September.

“Between now andwhen the steel gets deliv-ered to the site, they willdo the site preparation –bringing in fill dirt andgetting the right materialwhere it needs to be, andbuild the basement.”

Jacobson said therewould be a restaurant-typecomponent in the build-ing, though he didn’t elab-orate, saying there wouldbe one building on the lot,running parallel with thelot boundaries, with park-ing and green spacearound the sides.

There will be access tothe drive-thrus from bothDewey and Jeffers, Jacob-son said. There will alsobe a double ATM machineat the south end of theproperty, which will be op-erational before the com-pletion of the full project.

Jacobson said the ATMswill have the latest imag-ing technology, which willallow customers to makecheck deposits at that loca-tion. The ATMs will alsohave access from bothDewey and Jeffers.

“You’ll be able to accessit very conveniently going

northbound and south-bound,” Jacobson said.“We do plan to install dou-ble ATMs on the site, andthey will be towards thesouth end of the site. Ourplan is to develop thatsouth end and use it forstaging area during con-struction to stage the steel.And once the steel is gone,open up drive up ATMs atsouth end of the site.”

Gary Jones, who ownsthe Modern Muffler shopon that portion of theblock subsequently an-nounced that he had pur-chased the Royal Colonialand would be expandinghis business on that plot,including the addition of afull service car wash.

Purchases, constructionand demolition continuedon the ones in December,

as Centris Federal CreditUnion announced theywill construct a newbranch at the corner ofPhillip and Jeffers, wherethe Knights Inn Motelonce stood. That buildingwas torn down in Decem-ber. Centris, currently lo-cated at 301 East Philip,said they will begin con-struction in the spring of2012.

Roger’s, A&W, Time Saver will be replaced bynew building for NebraskaLand National Bank


Out with the old, in with the new. The building that once housed Roger’s Fine Diningwas demolished earlier this year to make room for NebraskaLand National Bank to builda new main branch between S. Jeffers St. and S. Dewey at the south entrance into NorthPlatte.

Great Plains Regional MedicalCenter steadily growing into future

By HEATHER JOHNSON

[email protected]

Great Plains Regional MedicalCenter has made great strides sincea year ago when officials an-nounced plans to expand both thehospital building and its services.

The idea is to make the facilityWest Central Nebraska’s regionalhealthcare destination. In May2011, media representatives weretreated to a luncheon where GregNielsen, hospital CEO, called for“steady, sustainable growth overtime.”

The goals listed that day includ-ed:n Adding on to the hospitaln Broadening the orthopedic,

general surgery, oncology and car-diovascular programsn Increasing work in bariatrics,

neuro-spine and interventional car-diology fieldsn Obtaining at least one quality

award by 2012n Maintaining The Joint Com-

mission accreditationn Becoming a certified stroke

center

Since then, every one of the goalshas either been met or is in theprocess of being met. The JointCommission accreditation was re-ceived, and 10 new physicians werehired, including two interventionalcardiologists and a pulmonarymedicine physician.

Building renovation plans arecurrently in the works for a five-story, 220,000-square foot additionwhere the atrium currently is. Theproject is anticipated to cost be-tween $75 million and $85 million,which would be paid for with abond issue.

By July, the hospital’s cardiologyclinic was open for business. In ad-dition to providing diagnostic andtreatment services 24-hours a day,seven days a week, the clinic alsobegan offering stents.

The move gave patients in thearea the option of receiving theprocedure closer to home, whereasbefore, they had to drive as faraway as Lincoln or Denver, Colo.

In August, GPRMC was certifiedas a primary stroke center—thefirst Nebraska hospital to receivethe designation outside of Lincolnand Omaha.

The facility received the Questfor Excellence award in November.It was presented for the work byGPRMC staff to identify early sep-sis and manage severe sepsis andseptic shock using evidence-basedmedicine. Sepsis, or blood poison-

ing, happens when bacteria over-whelm the bloodstream. It can befatal if untreated.

Barb Petersen, nurse practition-er, was recognized with the CaringKind award. The award is given tohealthcare employees who havedemonstrated compassion for pa-tients, cooperation with co-workersand dedication to excellence intheir job responsibilities.

David Pederson, chairman of thehospital board, was honored asTrustee of the Year for 2011 be-cause of his leadership and sup-port of the facility during its tran-sition and growth.

The hospital’s pharmacy also be-gan offering 24-hours a day, sevendays a week services, and theKnowledge Based Medication Ad-ministration program went into ef-fect. KBMA uses barcode scanningto assure patients are receiving theproper dose of medicine correctlyand at the right time.

In-patient epilepsy monitoring isnow available at the hospital, andthe facility has added a neurologistcertified in sleep medicine. Thatbrings GPRMC closer to anothergoal, which is to become a certifiedsleep center.

“We’re very pleased with theprogress we’ve had,” said Nielsen.“We’re pleased, but not surprisedwe were able to accomplish somuch in such a short time. We havethe employees to make it happen.”

Renovation plansare in the works fora five-story addition


Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte has made great strides in accomplishing a number of goals setin 2011. The plan to continue that process of growth has continued as the center is now working on a project that willrenovate the facility with a five-story, 220,000 square foot addition in the near future.

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New building means big changes for detention center

By HEATHER [email protected]

The Lincoln CountySheriff ’s Office and De-tention Center mighthave had its problemsduring construction, butyou wouldn’t know it bylooking at the finishedproduct.

Nine months after thefacility opened, the staffhas settled into a dailyroutine and operationsare running smoothly.

“Everyone’s job learn-ing and time manage-ment skills have reallycome into play,” saidJerome Kramer, sheriff.“We still have some shiftsthat are stressed for man-power, so overtime con-tinues to be an issue.We’re right at the bareminimum to cover all theposts, and they’re manda-tory positions, so we’vebeen filling them withovertime.”

Kramer said the in-mate population hasdropped the past coupleof weeks — staying in thelow 80s to high 70s.

“It just unexpectedlyspikes every now andthen,” he said. That hap-pened a couple of monthsafter the July move-in.

The population jumpedto 120 prisoners — upfrom the 50 to 55 aver-aged in the old facility.The budget had been setup for 90. Kramer said atthe time he didn’t knowwhat caused the in-crease, but he thought itcould have been becauseof suspended sentencesand everyone showing upat once to serve time.

New facility averages 100people per day

Since the jail opened, ithas averaged 100 peopleper day. All told, it’s had1,650 prisoners throughits doors and servedaround 90,000 meals. Thewasher and dryer haveabout 2,000 hours onthem.

“It was overwhelmingfor everybody at first,”said Kramer. “Learningnew jobs in a new build-ing was tough enough,but then we got ham-mered with a heavy pop-ulation, too.” He saidthat’s why he didn’t domuch advertising of thejail’s ability to housetake-in prisoners.

“We didn’t want toturn down money, but atthe same time, we didn’tneed anything else goingon,” said Kramer. “A lotof the inmates that comefrom other counties areproblem inmates. We areset up to handle them,and we’re getting to thepoint now where wecould take in more.”

The jail makes about$10,000 per month hous-ing prisoners from othertowns. It also raises over

$3,000 per month bycharging inmates for can-dy bars and other person-al items, and through feesfor phone and Internetuse.

“The Internet part isn’tas popular as we thoughtit would be,” saidKramer. “We hoped itwould eliminate thepostal aspect altogether,but it hasn’t.”

Inmate workerprogram expanded

Another change in thepast year was the expan-sion of the inmate work-er program. Prisonersnow do all the janitorialwork, the building andgrounds chores and themajority of the kitchenlabor. They also go out-side the building.

They help with mainte-nance across the street atthe courthouse, which in-cludes everything frompulling weeds and pour-ing concrete to stringingChristmas lights.

A couple of prisonersspend four hours a day,five days a week workingat the animal shelter.Some inmates are al-lowed credit for the com-munity service that theydo.

“We didn’t do much ofthat kind of stuff out ofthe old jail because wedidn’t have the separatehousing unit we do now,”said Kramer. “If theywould have gotten hold ofcontraband, it could havecontaminated our entirefacility.”

NPCC offers GED program

A GED program wasimplemented with thehelp of North Platte Com-munity College, and thedetention center recentlyhad its third graduate.

“We’ve also hired ourown nurse and easilysaved over a quarter of amillion dollars, in part bynot taking people to theemergency room,” saidKramer. “A large percent-age of our inmates cometo us with either physicalor mental problems.”

Next week, a mentalhealth contractor willalso be hired, which isalso expected to save a lotof money.

“Someone will come infrom Great Plains Re-gional Medical Center,”said Kramer. “They willdo the evaluations andpreventative things tohelp avoid potential sui-cides and offer follow-upcare for people whowould otherwise go to thehospital. It’s a security is-sue. It’s easier to do thosethings in-house.”

Video savestime

Also being done in-

house are video arraign-ments, which have cutdown on the number oftimes prisoners have tobe walked across thestreet to the courthouse.It’s something that’ssaved time and manpow-er.

“It’s nearly [equal to]an employee as far asworkload is concerned,”said Kramer. “We alsosaved money on theequipment. The originalbid was around $160,000and we got it for about$40,000.”

The videoconferencingroom serves a dual pur-pose. It’s also used forchurch services. Otherareas of the jail have be-come popular as well.

“Our facility is used alot by law enforcementrelated non-profits suchas the Bridge of HopeChild Advocacy Center,”said Kramer. “They takeadvantage of our train-ing and conferencerooms.”

A drug dog trainingseminar is planned fornext month. It’s open tolaw enforcement fromaround the nation, andit’s the second year it’sbeen offered.

Partnershiphelps those looking at criminal justice career

The jail also gets expo-sure by partnering withMPCC for a job-shadow-ing program. Kramersaid not only does it helpthe students decide ifthey want to pursue a ca-reer in criminal justice; itgives the jail staff achance to scope outprospective employees.

The four cats that re-side in the detention cen-ter have also garnered at-tention. They recently ap-peared in an AnimalPlanet documentary, and

have also been on “TheToday Show,” and “TheTonight Show with JayLeno.”

The inmates are re-sponsible for taking careof the cats, which helpskeep them from gettingbored and getting intotrouble. It also teachesthem responsibility andgives them something tothink about besides beinglocked up.

“We were actually con-tacted two weeks ago byHomeland Security,” saidKramer. “They hope toimplement a similar pro-gram at the federal level.”

Jail is meetingthe needs

He said overall, the jailis doing what it’s been de-signed for and is meetingall the needs. It’s de-signed for another 40 cellson the northeast corner,if it ever needs to be ex-panded. Kramer said hedoesn’t know when that

will be.“Back when we had

that big population spike,I would have said by thissummer,” he said. “Theintent by other people do-ing calculations was toget by with what we hadfor 20 years, and I neverdid believe that. I alwaysthought we would need toadd on after five. No onehas a crystal ball to knowfor sure.”

He said it would dependon the amount of crimeand the law enforcementofficers employed — notthe city’s population.

“We tried to get every-thing built into this bondissue to keep everythingas cheap as possible,”said Kramer. “We own thebrick, and the wiring is inplace. If we added on, itwould be dormitory typehousing, which is themost inexpensive. So, ifwe had to expand, itwouldn’t break thebank.”

Facility helps staff operateefficiently in processinglarger inmate population

Teletgraph file photos

Above: The new LincolnCounty Detention Centerwas completed and openedin August 2011. The build-ing was a vast improvementover the previous jail andthe visual of the front en-trance shown here is muchmore effecient than the old.

Left: Jail personnel havegreater security measures,while also being able tocommunicate with the pub-lic in the lobby of the newdetention center.

Telegraph sports online at www.nptelegraph.com

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Gothenburg project will help recruit new physicians

By DIANE [email protected]

With the dedication of anew physician’s clinic in2012, Gothenburg Memor-ial Hospital is poised togrow.

The $2.9 million clinicopened in January 2012and houses offices forthree physicians and twophysician assistants withroom for more. The facili-ty was built on the sitethat was once home to along-term care facilitythat closed in 2010. The18,000 square foot additionreplaced a clinic built in1977.

“The addition has thepotential to house eightdoctors and has a total of21 exam rooms and twoprocedure rooms,” saidMarcia Engel, human re-sources director at GMA.

USDA Rural Develop-ment has approved a $2.5million direct loan to thehospital to finance theproject. The USDA hasalso issued a guarantee ona $500,000 loan made byGothenburg State Bank.

Licensed for 12 beds,GMH serves the commu-nity of Gothenburg andportions of a four countyarea, including Dawson,Frontier, Custer and Lin-coln.

“Our intent in buildingthe new clinic is to help inrecruiting new physi-cians,” said Taci Bartlett,chief finance officer forGMH. “Our board of di-rectors prides itself onstaying ahead of the curveand thinking about newdirectors for the hospi-tal.”

Now the board is con-sidering options for theformer clinic, now sittingempty since the move tothe new facility.

“They are having someplanning sessions andtalking about the best useof space,” Bartlett said.“Whatever they decidewill probable be our nextbig project.”

The current hospitalwas built in 1969. A $3.5million addition was builtin 2004 to provide up todate medical care in theservice area.

Courtesy photo

Clinic opened in January thatreplaced building built in 1977

The lobby of the new Gothenburg physician’s clinic gives the Memorial Hospital an updated facility that will help inthe recruitment of new physicians.

McCook Community Hospital expands facility

By DIANE WETZEL

[email protected]

The year 2011 was a yearof building for McCookCommunity Hospital. Atwo-phase project with a$29 million price tag repre-sents the largest everbuilding investment in Mc-Cook to date.

January marked thecompletion and dedicationof the new patient wing,adding 25,000 square feet tothe hospital. The 25 singlepatient rooms offer threezones of care and manyamenities for patients andfamily members, accord-ing to Candy Crosby, mar-keting director for Com-munity Hospital Associa-tion of McCook.

The second phase of theproject began with thedemolition of the formerpatient pods last springand is expected to be com-pleted in early May. Thearea situated between theexisting hospital and thenew patient wing repre-sents 26,000 square feel ofnew space and 4,000 feet ofremodeled space.

The new state-of-the-artsurgery wing includesmultiple private pre-andpost-surgery rooms withsliding glass doors and cur-tains for privacy. It also in-

cludes three larger operat-ing suites with room for ex-pansion and two fully-equipped endoscopy suites,

Other areas included inphase 2 are a dedicated out-patient area for patients re-ceiving injections and infu-sions, a four-bed observa-tion area near the emer-gency room, a spaciouspharmacy and expandedgift shop. It also features alarge community meetingroom with a gas fireplace,and private admissionrooms for patients check-ing in.

One of the highlights ofphase 2 is the healing gar-den, designed to fill thearea between the patientwing and existing hospital.It has seven themed areas,including the Garden Atri-um, Butterfly Sanctuaryand Prairieland Patio.

In other progress news,Community Hospitaladded a second full-timesurgeon to its medicalstaff. Dr. Brenda Koprivajoined the Surgical and Or-thopedic Clinic.

Two visiting surgeonsfrom North Platte beganseeing patients and per-forming surgery at Com-munity Hospital, bringingthe total to five visiting or-thopedic surgeons on staff.

Working with the Calla-

han Cancer Center and Dr.Maria DeVilla, oncologistfrom North Platte, Com-munity Hospital developeda new chemotherapy out-patient program in 2011.Although limited in space,the program allows pa-tients who are able to stayin McCook the ability to re-ceive treatment close tohome.

In 2001, the McCook hos-pital supported 141 pro-grams, reaching 39,431 peo-ple. Programs includedhealthcare screenings, ed-ucational seminars, anddonations for communityservice groups, schoolsand other activities. Com-munity benefits totaled$2,215,645, including chari-ty care, unpaid cost ofMedicare, community ben-efit services, subsidizedhealth services, donationsand community buildingactivities.

“Our hospital is led byastute leaders who havebeen planning and actingin the best interests of ourpatients, staff and commu-nity,” Crosby said.

Courtesy photo

Phase 2 will include a healing garden

Courtesy photo

Above: McCook Community Hospital has finished Phase 1 of an expansion project thatincluded a new state-of-the-art surgery wing with multiple private pre- and post-surgeryrooms. Below: An artist’s rendering of Phase 2 shows the healing garding that will fill the areabetween the patient wing and the existing hospital.


Lake Maloney Golf Club clubhouse completed

By DIANE WETZEL

[email protected]

The new clubhouse atLake Maloney Golf Clubis up and running. Builtto replace a ramshacklepro shop and clubhousebuilt in the 1960s, the newfacility is the result of asuccessful fundraising ef-fort by club members.

“It was a very success-ful endeavor,” said boardmember and fundraisingchairman Dr. Jim States.“We had a lot of donorsstep up and a lot of volun-teer labor. We got it donein 90 days and we are pret-ty proud of it.”

One fringe benefit to thesuccessful fundraisingcampaign and subsequentnew building is an in-crease in members, Statessaid.

“We are approaching

300 members now and weare excited about that,” hesaid.

Lake Maloney GolfCourse is described as a“challenging regulationcourse,” by Golfing Ne-braska. Once a 18-holesand green tract, mem-bers rebuilt the courseand converted to grassgreens in the 1990s.

Located six miles southof North Platte on U.S.Highway 83 at 608 BirdieLane, the course is open tothe public.

“Being able to raise themoney in this economy isa real feat.” States said.“Letting people knowthere is a need, that is thekey.”

A formal ribbon cuttingceremony to officiallydedicate the new club-house will take place inMay.

Photos by Andrew Bottrell / The North Platte Telegraph

Above: The New Lake Maloney Clubhouse is completed and open for business. The interior is spacious with the proshop area providing equipment and supplies. Below: The outside of the clubhouse has a patio with seating for golferswho wish to spend some time chatting with friends.

Membership growing followinga successful fundraising effort

Buffalo Bill viaduct improvestraffic flow across Interstate

By ANDREW BOTTRELL

[email protected]

A project long in theworks, and important tothe future of North Plat-te, was completed in Au-gust.

The Buffalo Bill exten-sion was ready for itsgrand opening on Aug.18, 2011. The south exten-sion, which included theSouth Platte River bridgeand a viaduct over the in-terstate was 40-years inthe making.

“That project has beenon the books for manyyears,” said Jim Hawks,city administrator. “It’san 80-20 local match pro-gram.”

In a ceremony in Au-gust, long-time city coun-cil member DanMcGuire, and his wife,Tia, were the first totravel across the exten-sion, from Leota to Walk-er Road, crossing boththe South Platte Riverand Interstate 80.

The corridor, whichopens up the area to localtraffic, also is allowingthe city of North Platteto reevaluate the usageof Highway 83 — specifi-cally the large trafficarea between Phillip andLeota on Jeffers andDewey.

“It provides anotherway for ingress andegress to the city,”Hawks said. “It’s had atremendous effect al-ready on local traffic onthe Highway 83 corri-dor.”

Hawks said many peo-ple who are employed bythe hospital, Union Pa-cific and the schools thatlive near Lake Maloney,or southwest of town,

are now utilizing the ex-tension to get into andout of town.

“I’ve heard nothing butgood things,” MayorMarc Kaschke said. “Itwill allow a whole newarea to open up for devel-opment, as well.”

Hawks said there hasbeen some interest insome of the new loca-tions for possible com-mercial businesses atBuffalo Bill and WalkerRoad.

“There’s a lot of oppor-tunity for economic de-velopment,” Hawks said.

“We already have waterand power in that area.The opportunity to seethe city grow out there istremendous.”

Also as a result of thenew road, the city andLincoln County Emer-gency Management wereable to retool the large-scale evacuation plan forthe city. The new plansends all traffic, west ofCarr Avenue and southof the Union Pacifictracks, out of town uti-lizing Buffalo Bill Road,in the case of a large-scale evacuation.


The Buffalo Bill viaduct was completed in 2011 and thetraffic flow from both sides of I-80 has improved, cuttingdown the distance and time to access the northwest andsouthwest side of North Platte.

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308-532-5936121 S. JeffersNorth Platte, NE www.abtbank.com

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Splash pad gives kids a great place to play

By ANDREW BOTTRELL

[email protected]

The sound of kidssplashing through wa-ter will be a new soundat Memorial Park thissummer.

Through a communi-ty-wide fundraising ef-fort, the Betty KeenanMemorial Splash Pad atMemorial Park, 1000East Fourth Street, willgive kids of North Plat-te one more way to staycool during the summermonths.

The final touches tothe Splash Pad, whichincludes completing thelandscape around thesides, are being appliedearly this spring, and itcould be in operation bymid-May. There willalso be several benchesand a plaque dedicatingthe pad to Betty Keenan,which still need to be in-stalled.

“We look forward tothat opening up so thatkids have another placeto go and cool off thissummer,” said City Ad-ministrator Jim Hawks.

Judy Pederson, whohas helped spearheadthe fundraising for thepad, said she’s proud ofthe new facility becauseall the funds for it wereraised through grantsand private donations,and because the pad willbe free to use. Pedersonthanked the Keenanfamily who donated halfof the funds for thepark. She also said they

received grants fromthe Mid-Nebraska Com-munity Foundation, Pe-ter Kiewit Foundation,the Union Pacific Foun-dation and privategrants.

The fundraising effortalso included a picnic,which raised $1,100 incash, Pederson said.

She said Dan Keenantold her at the begin-ning of 2011, after sever-al years of inquiries,that he’d like to see itcompleted that year.

“That was the pushthat we needed to get itdone,” she said. “Weworked with a lot ofgreat people.”

The park, once openlater this spring, will beoperated by a push but-ton on one of the aquat-ic features, and will op-erate for a set period oftime.

Pederson said thegroup of citizens lookedat several different loca-tions before deciding onMemorial Park, includ-ing along West SecondStreet on land that isdesignated as a futurepark for the city, and be-hind Sonic, along High-way 83, south of theSouth Platte River.

Both locations didn’twork out, and the groupchose Memorial Park,which Pederson said, ul-timately, was a goodchoice, because the oth-er aquatic opportunitiesfor kids are on the northand southwest sides ofthe community.

“There was reallynothing on the east sideof town [for aquatics],”she said. “The east sideof town made goodsense.”

Pederson said it ener-gizes the park and givesfamilies one more op-tion. The park now hasa pavilion for picnicsand family reunions,horseshoe pits, a basket-ball court, tennis courtsand the Splash Pad.

“It will bring a lot ofyounger families overthere,” she said. Shealso believes that kidswho like to ride theirbikes on that side oftown will use it fre-quently, because they nolonger will have to crossHighway 83, or the rail-road tracks to get to anaquatic facility.

Pederson said thepark came in under the$175,000 they originallyhad planned to raise,but that they continuedto raise that amount ofmoney, setting someaside for maintenance,and possibly towardsraising funds to buildanother splash pad in adifferent city park.

She said because thatwas an option, theyasked the builders ofthe park, Dostals Con-struction, out of Gret-na, to put in inter-changeable parts, sothey could be swappedout in the future.

“We tried to be as flex-ible as we could,” Peder-son said.

The Memorial Park project named afterBetty Keenan will open later this spring


The Betty Keenan Memorial Splash Pad is nearly ready for use, as children will find ita fun place to play during the hot days of summer.

Renovation of 1913 Post Office should begin soonBy DIANE [email protected]

The faded lady of down-town North Platte is look-ing a little sprightlierthese days. The buildingknown as the 1913 Post Of-fice is now home to Cre-ativity Unlimited ArtsCouncil and one day willbe the Prairie Arts Center.

The building had satempty for nine years afteronce being a hub fordowntown activity. Oncethe center for governmentactivities, the building atthe corner of Fifth andJeffers Streets was turnedover to what was thenNorth Platte College (laterMid-Plains Community

College) in 1964. In 2000,Alan Erickson bought thebuilding and donated it tothe city of North Platte.Plans to refurbish it into anew City Hall weredropped as being too cost-ly. CUAC purchased thebuilding from the city for$10,000 after raising$250,000 in cash andpledges.

This month the bidprocess has begun forphase one of the renova-tion project, bringing thebuilding up to Americanswith Disabilities Act stan-dards.

“That means buildingthe stair tower and put-ting in an elevator,” saidStephen Granger, archi-

tect for the project. “Itmeans making bathroomsADA compliant.”

The constructionshould begin in the lastpart of May and take be-tween 90 to 120 days tocomplete.

Once that phase is fin-ished, work will begin todevelop the lower level ofthe building. This in-cludes putting in mechan-ical infrastructure forelectrical and heating andcooling and classroomsfor ceramic pottery andmetal sculpture projects.

Volunteer workdays inFebruary and March re-sulted in the removal ofsheet rock walls and ceil-ings and a general clean

up to prepare for con-struction.

“The grant money thegroup received will onlygo so far,” Granger said.“They are also continuingworking to raise money.”

Fundraising is ongoingfor the project. On May 11and 12, CUAC will have itsannual Herb Market.Along with herbs, thegroup will have seashellcovered terra cottaplanters, frosted glass gar-den candle holders andother handcrafted itemsmade from barn wood,handmade brooms andheirloom tomatoes.

This year’s featureditem is a hand crafted gar-den bench built by Gene

Gilsdorf and painted byKay Cooper.

CUAC’s vision is to cre-ate an education center

for the area, somethingthat will be a focus pointfor the arts community inNorth Platte.


Renovation of the historic 1913 Post Office building thatis located at the corner of Jeffers and Fifth Streets shouldbegin sometime near the end of May.


Fifth Street sporting a new look downtown

By ANDREW BOTTRELL

[email protected]

Downtown got a faceliftin 2011.

North Platte completeda total rebuild of FifthStreet, between Deweyand Bailey, including newsidewalks, a wider park-ing area and brick drivinglanes, to coincide with thecity’s traditional brickroadways downtown.

“It’s a vision for whatelse we can do downthere,” said Lisa DeBord,president of the Down-town Association.

Fully completed in De-cember, the project beganin October, and was paidfor through a CommunityDevelopment BlockGrant, through the stateof Nebraska.

“That East Fifth Streetproject was another ex-ample of working witheverybody,” Hawks said.“It acts as a selling point.”

The project, the first ofits kind that the city de-veloped downtown, givesthe city a guideline for fu-ture costs that might beincurred if all of the

brick streets are replaced.Hawks said the projectcame in right on budget.

“Some of the local con-tractors were concerned[going in],” Hawks said.“Probably they learnedsome things, too. It was alearning experience forall of us.”

Steele’s Construction,of North Platte, did mostof the work for the city,which cost about $250,000,which city officials saidgives them a guideline towhat it would cost to reno-vate more of downtown.

“The street before wasmaybe hard for elderlypeople to maneuver,” De-Bord said. “Now it givesthem a good surface,there’s good parking, am-ple light. The new lightpoles are beautiful.Everyone feels safer walk-ing in that area.”

The Nebraska Depart-ment of Roads has alsoagreed to partner with thecity to rebuild Highway 83from First Street to theJeffers Viaduct, whichcould happen in the nextfew years.

The improvement to

Fifth Street also comes onthe heels of the cityknocking down severalold and dilapidated build-ings along Jeffers, justsouth of Sixth Street. In

2010, the city built a newparking lot, dedicated toKeith Blackledge, formerTelegraph editor, whichincluded an ornamentalstreet clock, which was

funded by the local Ro-tary Clubs.

“For downtown the en-couraging thing is we im-proved the parking lot [atJeffers and Sixth] and im-

proved Fifth Street,”Mayor Marc Kaschkesaid. “I’m encouragedthat we’re finally makingan investment down-town.”

Project spruces up area withhelp from a CommunityDevelopment Block Grant


The project to renovate Fifth Street between Jeffers and Bailey in downtown North Platte was recently completed.The street was totally rebuilt to give more space for parking, while keeping the historic bricks in place.

Original Town works on Rail Town USA visionBy DIANE [email protected]

One year ago, RailTown USA took anotherstep from concept to reali-ty after the North PlatteCity Council approved a$50,000 grant and $25,000loan to the Original TownAssociation.

The OTA, the group be-hind the creation of thesuccessful yearly RailFest Celebration, is look-ing to further capitalizeon North Platte’s richrailroad heritage.

To that end, the grouphired California consult-ant Barry Howard.Howard and his company,Barry Howard Limited,have 35 years of experi-ence in designing a widevariety of projects, manywith railroad themes.

North Platte receivedthe official “Rail TownUSA” designation in 2007.

Howard first visitedNorth Platte in early 2011.

The question, accordingto ORA chairman DaveHarrod, is whether or notNorth Platte could sus-tain a Rail Town USAcomplex featuring histori-cal displays, shopping,and family friendly fea-tures.

In January, Howard re-turned, accompanied byconsultant Jill Bensley ofJB Research Company,also based in California,to take another look. Thetwo had a public meetingto hear ideas from thepublic about ways tomake North Platte a desti-nation instead of a pitstop along Interstate-80.

At that time, the duowere planning to collectinformation for a needsand feasibility study.

“You can have a lot ofgreat ideas and sit arounda table and talk aboutthem forever, but that isjust conversation,”Howard said during themeeting. “We are here to

provide the next step.”In March, Howard and

Bensley submitted an in-terim report.

“When you read the re-port, you get a littlequeasy feeling in yourstomach,” Harrold said.“It said from their per-spective, we don’t havethe critical mass of peo-ple dying to get to NorthPlatte to see 13 attractionsthat are all disconnected.I tell them that I wantmore than another visitorattraction, but somethingthat will lift North Platteup and across the finishline.”

The report was revised,he said.

“You can’t change thedata, but you can look atwhat works and come upwith some ideas,” Harroldsaid.

Howard and Bensleywill be back in North Plat-te during the first week inMay to present their find-ings.


Dave Harrold, left, of the North Platte Original Town Association, and Barry Howard, aCalifornia consultant spent some time in early 2011 looking at the city to help create a vi-sion for the future. The results of the study will be released sometime in May.


Water tower shroudThe North Platte water tower got a face lift and fresh newcoat of paint last year. The shroud protected the paintersand prevented the paint from being blown about by thewind.

THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPHD12 SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2012

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our next economy 2012

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