 Kids cooled off on Neligh's Main Street Thursday afternoon with some water fun after the Fourth of July parade.  The top four winners took home trophies for the fastest turtles in the annual Old Mill Days turtle races on Thursday. A combined team of Mortensen, Kastrup and Meyer cousins took first place in the race, followed by Donmetrious Dredge 2nd, Grayson Olson 3rd and Trigg Bennett and Brody Hatterman 4th.  Hundreds of flag-waving parade goers lined Neligh's Main Street at noon Thursday for the grand parade, sponsored by the Neligh Young Men's Club. Kids swarmed as candy and popsicles were tossed out. Floats included many of the crowd favorites such as Lee Meyer and his watusi, "Howdy Doody," and a new favorite — the Petersburg Fire Department's 3-wheeled car. Parade winners were: Individual: Lichtenberg Tire Club Choice: Keystone Bar in Plainview Commercial: Cordell’s ATV Repair Community Pride: Antelope Memorial Hospital  The 4th annual Neligh-Oakdale 5K Color Run/Walk saw a jump in numbers as more than 75 participants got blasted with color in Neligh on Saturday morning. Coordinator Becky Kerkman said this was an increase of nearly 20 people from last year's event, which serves as a fundraiser for the Neligh-Oakdale Track Complex. "I was very pleased with the number of participants this year," Kerkman said. "And I am appreciative of the community members that helped run the color stations — we had the fire department, sheriff's department and EMTs helping out. It was great. We also have really awesome business sponsors and that is a huge part of our success." Special awards were presented to: Bree Kester of Neligh — youngest participant Philip Strassler of Virginia — traveled the furthest Laurel Miller — most experience Hunter Bennett was the overall winner with the fastest course time of 16:02. He led the runners in the 10-12 grade division, which had the two overall fastest runners. Cole Belitz was second in 16:07 while Tristen Kittelson was third with 16:26. Results by division: Female -- Grades 2-6: 1. Marissa Bennett, 23:44, 2. Peyton Svendsen, 26:04; 3. Kylie Lichtenberg, 30:19; Grades 7-9: 1. Callie Arnold, 19:06; 2. Tanith Roush, 23:19; 3. Sharon Bartak, 24:04; Grades 7-9: 1. Hailey Bixler, 22:55, 2. Olivia Nall, 24:03; High School Grad-34: 1. Tessa Hain, 17:28, 2. Ashley Thieman, 24:07, 3. Becky Lichtenberg, 24:11; Ages 35-59: 1. Traci Beckman, 23:01, 2. Heather Veik, 23:32, 3. Michaela Roush, 23:33; Ages 60 And Up: 1. Laurel Miller, 30:45, 2. Dani Mortensen, 33:12, 3. Donna Taylor, 35:05. Male-- Grades 2-6: 1. Graysen Sauser, 21:24, 2. Andrew Henry, 21:30, 3. Corbin Hoefer, 22:05; Grades 7-9: 1. Tristen Kittelson, 16:26, 2. Thomas Johnson, 18:53, 3. Isaac Guenther, 28:35; Grades 10-12: 1. Hunter Bennett, 16:02, 2. Cole Belitz, 16:07, 3. Griffen Claussen, 18:42; High School Grad-34: 1. Jacob Turender, 46:07; Ages 35-59: 1. Jeff Wickett, 17:55, 2. Shannon Hendren, 20:47  The popular kiddie tractor pull, sponsored by the Neligh Young Men's Club, drew more than 50 contestants on July 4. The event was held in front of the Antelope County Courthouse in Neligh. Winners by age division: 4 and under: Jozlynne Mack 5-6 year olds: Savannah Schindler 7-8 year olds: Lincoln Forbes |
