THE SUPERIOR EXPRESS

Nuckolls County Election Results

Superior, Nelson plan July 4th celebrations with fireworks

Some communities have cut back, others have eliminated their Independence Day celebrations but Superior has more activities planned for this year and the day will conclude with the traditional fireworks show.
The fireworks show is a joint effort of a number of people. The City of Superior buys the insurance each year at a cost of between $750 and $1,000. Members of the Superior Volunteer Fire Department plan and present the fireworks show. The actual purchase of the fireworks is funded through donations received from businesses and individuals.
Weather permitting, the show will be presented at dusk Saturday on Brodstone Memorial Field.
Because of budget concerns the Lovewell State Park fireworks show will not be held this year.
Superior's Independence Day Celebration begins early Saturday with the 27th annual Firekracker Run. Late registration and packet pickup begins at the City Park Bandstand at 6:45 a.m. The first group of runners will leave the park at 7:45.
Events include both one-mile predict and one-mile runs, 10K and two-mile runs.
An advertisement in this issue of The Express lists the record holders in the various divisions and complete details on entering.
The race courses were designed to give the runners a tour of the community. Volunteers will man water stations along the route and a number of prizes will be awarded.
Refreshments will be available after the race and the Superior Swimming Pool dressing rooms will be open so runners may shower after the race.
The Water Balloon Wars competition sponsored by the Superior FFA will return to the football practice field at 2 p.m.
Six person teams will play 10 minute games with 25 balloons per team. There will be two skill level groupings.
For more information about the water balloon wars contact Lacey Ward or Dave Barnard.
A sand volleyball tournament will start at 12:30 p.m. at Lincoln Park. All ages and abilities are welcome to participate.
If enough teams are available, two divisions will be made-competition and recreation.
The competition division will be 4 on 4, meaning only 4 players on the court at one time. This division is thought to be good for high school, college age or any adults wanting a good challenge.
The recreation division can have 5 or 6 players on the court at one time. This division would be good for any age and skill level who want to come out and have some fun playing volleyball in the sand.
Teams may register in advance or on Saturday by contacting Peggy Meyer. A free will donation will be accepted for the Superior Juniors Club Volleyball teams.
The SCARED group will sponsor free swimming at the Superior Municipal Pool for all youngsters ages 5 through 17. If they don't have a season pass, all the youngsters need to do is sign the guest book at the pool office and SCARED will pay their admission fee.
Superior's July 4th Celebration has been somewhat of a spontaneous event in recent years. For many years the Superior Chamber of Commerce coordinated the event but when the chamber dropped out individuals and organizations joined together to sponsor events and the celebration has continued.
The Nelson community has also scheduled a number of Independence Day events.
The day starts at 7:30 in the Nelson park with a fun run and continues until sundown when the Nelson Volunteer Fire Department will present a fireworks display.
Other activities at Nelson include a washer board tournament, 6-on-6 volleyball, horseshoe tournament, free swimming, par 3 golf tournament and breakfast, dinner and supper meals. Most of the activities are in Harbine Park.
A road rally will depart the Nelson Legion Building at 1:30 Sunday.
Superior Publishing Company has printed several hundred commemorative T-shirts which will be available at Nelson and Superior.

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Commissioners hear more property valuation protests

Cooler heads were needed at Monday's regular meeting of the Nuckolls County Board at the courthouse in Nelson ­­ not because of controversy or confrontation, but because the air conditioning was not working.
Arriving for work in the morning, courthouse workers were greeted with warm, humid conditions inside the building. As the morning progressed, other electrical anomalies were discovered ­­ chiefly the postage meter and elevator were also not working ­­ so the problem was deemed to be electrical and not with the cooling system itself.
The county's electrical contractor and a City of Nelson lineman discovered a problem with the transformers on the utility pole on the street north of the building, and only two phases of the three-phase service were working. Repairs were made and normal courthouse functions were restored by the afternoon.
Meeting as the board of equalization, the commissioners conducted valuation protest hearings with the following taxpayers: Tom Bargen, one parcel; Marvin W. and Dorris E. Oltmans, represented by Scott Oltmans, two parcels; Norma L. and Lee B. Keldsen, one parcel; Daryl Debus, two parcels, not present for the hearing; Edwin D. Ficken, represented by Kelly Ficken, one parcel; Victor and Carol Meyer, five parcels; Marcella Kniep, one parcel; Tim Zikmund, two parcels; Holcim, Inc., represented by Dick Fish, one parcel.
The board of equalization is not scheduled to rule on these hearings until Monday, and the taxpayers will be notified by letter of their decisions. Those unsatisfied with the results have the option of appealing the decision at the state level, with the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC).
Michael and Karla DeVaney, Nelson, protested their valuation with the board of equalization at a hearing on June 22. After visiting the property with the DeVaneys, based on a recommendation from Janice Murray, county assessor, the board reduced the valuation on their house to reflect 90 percent completion, but will revert back to the original assessment when the house is completed. The DeVaneys did not protest the valuation of the land on which their house is located.
In other business:
· Vicki Ensign, county treasurer, reported on a three-day workshop she attended June 16-18 in Lexington. It was an annual continuing education workshop designed for county treasurers and sponsored by the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO). The purpose was to educate the officials about upcoming legislation and provide extensive training on the responsibilities of their elected position.
· Quotes were reviewed for replacing the chair lift located outside the north entrance to the courthouse ­­ $18,000 for a fully-enclosed unit; $13,000 for one similar to the existing non-enclosed lift. The current lift has reportedly become unreliable and needs to be replaced.
· Dan Jantzen, emergency manager, met with the board for his final time in that position. Nuckolls County had been sharing Jantzen with Thayer County, but pulled out of their agreement effective yesterday (Wednesday). Jantzen said there is $8,203.99 remaining in the Region 13 account to be dealt with, as well as a mobile command trailer owned jointly by the two counties. Commissioner Corman is negotiating with Thayer County on the division of assets.
· Gary Warren, assistant highway superintendent, and Cindy Buescher, road department secretary, reported to the board on activities of the road and bridge department. Warren said Larry Brittenham, Superior utilities manager, contacted him and said he has asphalt millings available for $10 per ton. Warren said there are a few places in the county the millings could be used to fill holes and he planned to pick up a load or two. The commissioners asked Warren to have a crew install a guard rail along the east end of the courthouse parking lot directly north of the building, separating the parking area from the lawn.
· The board received a letter of full compliance for the county jail facility from the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.
· It was reported that Karla DeVaney, clerk of the district court, is now certified to fill orders for passports.
· Jim Marr, county sheriff, was on the agenda for an executive session regarding potential litigation involving horses, however he told the board the situation had resolved itself.
· Darrel Stanard, the county's contracted appraiser, met with the board to discuss his fee for the upcoming budget year. After discussion, the board approved increasing his fee from $640 per day to $666 per day when he works for the county, less than Stanard requested.

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Stemper terminated; Baker elevated to chief deputy

Sheriff Jim Marr reported Tuesday that he has elevated deputy Brad Baker to chief deputy, replacing Scott Stemper. Baker has been with the department for about 15 years.
Marr fired Stemper, last week, one day after Stemper was cleared of domestic abuse charges. He had been on suspension since his arrest on May 16. Marr did not comment further on his decision.
A 24-year veteran of the department, Stemper was the focus of a Nebraska State Patrol investigation after the report of an alleged incident involving Stemper and his wife.
Dan Werner, Thayer County attorney, was appointed by Judge Mike Offner to prosecute the case, however after review Werner said he declined to file charges based on the evidence.
In addition to his role as chief deputy, Stemper was the county's D.A.R.E. officer and 911 administrator.

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Area residents recall bomber crash-landing near Eckley

(Editor's note: The following event was reportedly covered by both the Superior Express and Guide Rock Signal newspapers at the time, however we have been unable to locate those stories. Anyone with knowledge of the specific dates or in possession of the actual clippings is invited to share them with our readers.)
People from the Guide Rock and Eckley area well-remember when a World War II bomber crash-landed in a nearby field. Carol (Tyler) Fenimore, Superior, said she was in the eighth grade at the time at the Eckley School, but was home sick from school that day with a gallbladder attack.
"My mother was looking out the kitchen window and our neighbor's car came flying into the yard. He jumped out before the car had even stopped and ran into the field beside the house," Fenimore said. "We were the first three there. It probably wasn't very smart of us to just run right up to it. I suppose it could have exploded, but we weren't thinking about the dangers, we just wanted to see if every one was okay, if they needed help."
Fenimore's parents, Oscar "Mose" and Veda Tyler, rented the farm on which they lived. They were a mile and a half east of the Eckley School.
Miraculously, none of the crew members received even minor injuries. Fenimore said there were about six or eight crewmen, and they thanked the Tylers for their hospitality, apologized for crashing their plane in the field and used their telephone to call for help.
"I think they were pretty lucky," Fenimore said. "They just belly-landed in the bare field and didn't hit anything."
She said she remembers them saying they were headed for Denver, but doesn't recall them saying where they took off from. Fenimore said she remember all their different dialects, indicating they were from all different parts of the country.
A school bus from Eckley School reportedly witnessed the landing and followed it to the site, indicating it was probably about 4 or 4:30 p.m. Fenimore said she thinks it was on a Monday in the fall of 1943, probably September or October because there were no crops in the field. She thinks it was a B-24 bomber.
Fenimore's cousin, Owen Konzack, rural Guide Rock, was about 20 years old at the time and lived three miles east of the Tylers. He was among those who visited the site and saw the plane before it was removed.
"It slid about 10 rods on the ground before it came to a stop," Konzack said. "And two engines were knocked off when it hit the ground."
Konzack also remembers the field being bare, but his recollection places it in the spring of 1943, before planting.
"It was guarded by a U.S. soldier with a gun around the clock. The guard would let people in the field to look at it, but made sure no one took any souvenirs," Konzack said. "After about two weeks, a crew came from the base in Harvard, tore it down and hauled it out by truck."
Elvin Pritts, rural Guide Rock, was 18 years old and a senior in high school at the time. He said he heard they were lost in fog and flying low, looking for landmarks. Pritts at the time lived east of the Tylers, across the line in Nuckolls County.
"We were told about it, so my dad took me over to see it," Pritts said. "The soldier with the gun let us into the field, so we walked in and looked at it. I do recall it was foggy, rainy and damp the day it happened."
Fenimore said she remembers hearing the men didn't bail out of the crashing bomber because one of them had forgotten his parachute.
"Since then, I've often wondered about the crew," Fenimore said. "Whether or not they made it through the war. They were all nice boys, I recall."

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