An Elkhorn Valley student qualified for Class D All-State Band last week.
Angel Qualset of Elkhorn Valley qualified for the Symphonic Band on the tenor saxophone. Qualset will perform with the Class D All-State Band in Kearney on March 23. The Elkhorn Valley wrestlers wore their “Hart” on their sleeves Friday afternoon and left one of their biggest supporters with tears of gratitude.
Kandi Hart was perched high in the Neligh-Oakdale bleachers when senior Brock Schaecher asked her to step down to the mats for a group photo before the district tournament began. Because she takes so many photos for the team, the Tilden woman thought nothing of the request until the entire team gathered around her for the photo. Recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Hart thought the gesture was very kind “of my boys.” That’s when the entire team took off their jackets in unison to display t-shirts in her honor with the hashtag #HartStrong on the sleeves. The tears started flowing, but the surprise wasn’t over just yet. Hart, who recently cut off her long, flowing hair in hopes of using it to make a wig to wear at her son’s summer wedding, learned the Elkhorn Valley team raised more than $1,000 in 72 hours selling t-shirts to cover the cost of her wig. They even had enough money left for a recliner, so she could rest after surgery. “I’m just so overwhelmed. I’m so humbled that they would do such a big thing for me,” said Hart through the tears. “I’ve never felt so special in all of my life. Those boys are my boys, and I care a lot for them, too.” But it wasn’t just the wrestling team supporting Hart on Friday, the girls basketball team wore the t-shirts as warm-ups that night, too. And dozens in the crowd of both events wore the shirts and stood up proudly for Hart to see their support. All in all, 114 shirts were sold in those three days. “We hope it helps lift your spirit and shows just how much you are appreciated,” Stephanie Thompson read to the crowd during the presentation. Little more than a month ago, Hart and her husband, Tim, received the devastating news. A faith-filled person, perhaps the most devastating aspect was that she would need help, something she confessed is hard for her. “I’m the one who helps others. I’m not the one who asks for help. I don’t know how to do that,” Hart admitted. With such an aggressive cancer battle, Hart knew she’d lose her long hair quickly. Her family found someone willing to make a wig from her long hair, but it would be costly. Considering the extra expenses of chemo, travel and missing work, a wig wasn’t a necessity. But the Falcon wrestling team disagreed. “The boys’ intentions were to raise enough money to be able to pay for the wig you are getting. They nailed it,” Thompson said. “Once what we were doing spread a little, we had people coming to us to donate.” Hart continued to wipe tears from her face as Thompson read more details about the fundraiser, all of which was kept from Hart. Even her son Tyler drove to Neligh to attend the surprise, despite missing his own district tournament where he is a volunteer coach. Son Doug and daughter Terryn were unable to attend, but were able to watch the live video feed via the Antelope County News. By Monday, more than 40,000 people had viewed the surprise video. “That just blows my mind,” Hart said. “Thousands of people were watching something about me. I like to be behind the scenes and don’t like all the attention. I had people come up to me all weekend and say they were praying for me, and I didn’t know who they were.” Hart credits that to wonderful people and to the sport of wrestling. “Wrestling is a close-knit sport,” she said. “You see the same families at every wrestling meet. Wrestling is really a big family, whether you know each other or not.” Despite having her second round of chemo on Thursday, Hart was still at the Neligh-Oakdale gym Friday afternoon to take photos of the Falcons — like she has for the last two decades. With chemo every other week, Hart chose her off week to be during state wrestling, which is almost a holiday in her family. Ironically, the first day of state is actually Valentine’s Day, which for a woman named Kandi Hart, can be a blessing and a curse. Of course, Hart married into the name when she and Tim tied the knot. “I married the love of my life. The name was a bonus,” Hart said with a chuckle. The two will spend the most romantic day of the year at their favorite place — state wrestling. “I can’t imagine a better way to spend Valentine’s Day,” Hart said. “I’ll be taking photos and watching my favorite sport with the love of my life. It doesn’t get any better than that.” Green Honor Roll (3.5-4.0): seated left to right: Christian Yaw, Kimberly Frey, Sierra Rystrom, Hannah Ollendick, Amber Miller, Mitchell Petersen, Prestin Vondra, Parker Klein, Brie Magefrau, Elizabeth Hoffman; kneeling left to right: Jailee Hogancamp, Abby Brown, Merinee Vaughn, Conner Larson, Joslyn Klinetobe, Jace Thompson, Haley Fleetwood, Angel Qualset, Josiah Wriedt, Alyssa Maughan, Brianna Maughan, Erica Brown, Taylor Hasebroock, Sibley Mollhoff; standing left to right: Abe Rautenberg, Drew Hansen, Blane Mollhoff, Dawson Hansen, Tristan Kallhoff, Mavrick Hagemann, Macy Hansen, Emma Qualset, Madison Parker, Joslynn Larson, Alexis Lind, Kennedy Penne, Rylee Herbert, Anneka Furstenau, Walter Furstenau, Brooke Wilcox, Mariah Hansen, Montana Howard, Carleigh Greene, Johannah Tassemeyer, Aneesa Halsey, Carter Rautenberg, Bria Gale, Braedyn Ollendick, Adam Miller, Carney Black, Gavin Clause, Ben Wilcox, Victoria Sierra, Trevin Hanson, Hunter Bennett, Madison Schaffer, Peyton Bromley, Karissa Fernau, Carter Werner, Kristi Nierodzik, Conner Klein, Delilah Harper, Daniel Chvala, Carson Anderson; not pictured: Damien Knight, Araceli Martinez, Brendyn Ollendick, Kody Qualset, Nate Decker, Waylon Warneke. White Honor Roll (3.0-3.49): kneeling left to right: Ruth Vigil, KayLeigh Fernau, Lacye Brandt, Elissa Wright, Aubrea Howard, Jorge Vigil; standing left to right: Ethan Frey, Kris Fernau, Chase Klinetobe, Jaxson Eischeid, Dylan Wright, Hunter Howard, Aaron Suckstorf, Alisha Larsen, Jacob Cleveland, Damian Smith, Brandon Evans, Erica Bacon, Kolton Krick, Skylar Glynn, Bryson Anderson, Kaylee Bacon, Olivia Nall, Sadie Smutney, Zane Richardson, Brock Schaecher, Reed Bennett; not pictured: James Fulsaas, Tristan Hecht, Felicia Short, Derek Hahne, Alexis Larsen, Maverick Short, Amaya Smith, Matt Wood, Desirae Kilonzo, Malachi Tegeler, Aiden Wurdinger-Meyer, Mason Schaffer, Kech Thompson, Whitney Wilkins.
First graders at Elkhorn Valley are learning what it means to be a philanthropist.
On Sunday, three representatives from Megan Eggers’ first grade class presented the class project called “Happy Birthday Boxes” at the Northeast Nebraska Youth Philanthropy Contest. Eggers said the idea for the project came from her student Mavrick Afrank and his mom, Emily. “Emily then brought up the idea to me and Mavrick thought it would be great to do with his class,” Eggers said. Eggers explained that the birthday boxes are basically storage containers “filled with the supplies necessary to throw a birthday party, (including) cake mix, pans, candles, plates, napkins, party hats, games, etc.” The idea behind the project is for children to be able to have a birthday party of their own whose parents may not be able to afford to throw one. “I absolutely loved the idea and knew that it would be something that kids this age could understand the feeling of, as birthdays are such an important event for them,” Eggers said. The class went through the process of finding out what to include in the boxes, how much each would cost and understanding the importance and purpose behind the project. “The class hand wrote their supply list, purpose statements, schools selected list, and made the balloons for our poster,” explained Eggers. “We then entered our project in the Northeast Nebraska Youth Philanthropy Contest.” Eggers selected three representatives, Amelia Wright, Eddan Sauser and Mavrick Afrank, to attend Sunday’s presentation and announcement reception in Norfolk. “They talked and shared about our project to others at the event and represented our class when they announced that our project would be funded and we will be receiving $1,000 to make 50 more birthday boxes,” Eggers said. The class will be distributing the “Happy Birthday Boxes” to area schools including Neligh-Oakdale, Battle Creek, Newman Grove and Elkhorn Valley to ask teachers and staff if they have any students that could benefit from receiving a box. “So proud of my firsties!” Eggers wrote on her Facebook page. More than 700 students from 96 high schools in Nebraska and Kansas will participate in the annual Honor Band and Choral Clinic hosted by the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Five Elkhorn Valley students have been selected for the various choirs: Honor choir-Angel Qualset; Festival choir-Mitchell Petersen, Prestin Vondra and Christian Yaw; and Women’s choir-Ruth Vigil. The Jan. 28 event will include 725 students who will work with UNK faculty and guest instructors before performing two public concerts. The 5:30 p.m. performance will feature the Festival Band and Honor Band, along with the UNK Wind Ensemble, and the 7 p.m. concert will showcase the Festival Choir, Honor Choir, Women’s Choir and UNK Choraleers. Both concerts will be held in UNK’s Health and Sports Center. Tickets, which include both concerts, are $3 and will go on sale at 4:45 p.m. that day at the center. The Tilden Legion Post 170 will host its 27th annual gun show at the city auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission is $4 per day, children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Peace choir and friends will present their annual Christmas Cantata, “Invitation to a Miracle” by Joseph M. Martin at 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 16 at Peace Church. The church is located at 4th and Antelope in Tilden. Light refreshments will follow the cantata in the church hall.
A free-will offering will be taken for Barb Roland of Oakdale. Barb is a teacher in the Ewing Public Schools. She is facing surgery for oral cancer, which has recurred multiple times. Please join us for a time of “faith, hope, peace, love, joy, light, and life” as we celebrate Christmas with familiar favorites and new compositions. Soloists are Shana Cornett of Oakdale and Mariah Hanson of Tilden. The choir is directed by Patricia Miller of Elgin. “Eats, Sweets & Treats”, a soup, salad and dessert tasting, will be held on Sunday, December 2, 2018 @ 4:00 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tilden.
Attendees will have a choice soups: tomato basil bisque, chicken noodle and broccoli cheese. Salad choices are: strawberry/ walnut (spinach, sliced strawberries, walnuts, mozzarella and balsamic vinegar dressing), apple/ cranberry/ walnut (romaine/ iceberg mix, sliced apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese and raspberry vinaigrette) and wedge salad (wedge of iceberg, onion slices, radishes, carrots, cucumbers and your choice of dressing). Attendees can choose one soup and one salad. The dessert tasting will consist of a variety of decadent dessert choices in small portions. Entertainment for the evening will be a fashion review of the latest trend in clothing from two of the local clothing boutiques, "Rose Grace Boutique" and “Third Haven Boutique”. The vendors will be on site to place orders. This is a great opportunity to start Christmas shopping early. Please contact Immanuel Lutheran Church (368-5690), Jen Rystrom (750-3544) or Kristi Miller (368-5851) to RSVP and give your choice of soup and salad. The cost is $15 per person. All funds raised will go towards the Teens in Christ trip to the National Youth Gathering in Minneapolis this coming summer. Changes are on the horizon for the 2019-2020 school year at Elkhorn Valley.
A new superintendent and two new principals will take over the school’s administrative roles. With the pending retirement of current superintendent Keith Leckron at the end of this school year, EV Principal Darin Hahne has been named the superintendent-elect. Hahne currently serves as the lone principal at Elkhorn Valley. At the November 12 school board meeting, it was decided to split Hahne’s position into two—a PK-6 grade principal and a 7-12 principal. He said the additional principal position was deemed necessary due to the increased enrollment at Elkhorn Valley. “We are right at 400 students now,” Hahne said. Elkhorn Valley is currently taking applications for the two principal positions. The new principals are expected to begin their duties Aug. 1, 2019. “Both positions are being advertised now,” he said. “It may be a lofty goal, but we hope to narrow it down by the first of the year, conduct interviews in January and try to get them hired by the February board meeting.” Elkhorn Valley announced its honor roll for the first quarter of the 2018-2019 school year. The Green Honor Roll consists of seniors: Kimberly Frey, Elizabeth Hoffman, Parker Klein, Brie Magdefrau, Amber Miller, Hannah Ollendick, Mitchell Petersen, Sierra Rystrom, Prestin Vondra. Juniors: Haley Fleetwood, Joslyn Klinetobe, Angel Qualset, Jace Thompson, Josiah Wriedt. Sophomores: Hunter Bennett, Gavyn Clause, Jacob Cleveland, KayLeigh Fernau, Trevin Hanson, Brianna Maughan, Adam Miller, Braedyn Ollendick, Victoria Sierra, Ruth Vigil, Benjamin Wilcox. Freshmen: Carney Black, Erica Brown, Karissa Fernau, Walter Furstenau, Bria Gale, Carleigh Greene, Aneesa Halsey, Mariah Hansen, Taylor Hasebroock, Conner Klein, Conner Larson, Sibley Mollhoff, Carter Rautenberg, Madison Schaffer, Johannah Tassemeyer. 8th Graders: Carson Anderson, Peyton Bromley, Daniel Chvala, Delilah Harper, Rylee Herbert, Alexis Lind, Araceli Martinez, Brendyn Ollendick, Madison Parker, Charles Qualset, Carter Werner, Brooke Wilcox. 7th Graders: Abby Brown, Nathan Decker, Ethan Frey, Anneka Furstenau, Dawson Hansen, Drew Hansen, Macy Hansen, Jailee Hogancamp, Montana Howard, Tristan Kallhoff, Joslynn Larson, Blane Mollhoff, Kennedy Penne, Emma Qualset, Abraham Rautenberg, Akecheta Thompson, Merinee Vaughn, Waylon Warneke, Whitney Wilkins, Elissa Wright. The White Honor Roll consists of seniors: Skylar Glynn, Paige Harvey, Damien Knight, Joshua McFarland, Brock Schaecher, Christian Yaw. Juniors: Bryson Anderson, Kaylee Raydene, Kolton Krick, Alyssa Maughan, Eric Mucker, Olivia Nall, Sadie Smutny, Jorge Vigil. Sophomores: Hunter Howard, Ashleigh Nelson, Felicia Short, Damian Smith. Freshmen: Erica Bacon, Reed Bennett, Jaxson Eisheid, Derek Hahne, Alexis Larsen, Alisha Larsen, Kristi Nierodzik, Amaya Smith, Aaron Suckstorf. 8th Graders: Desirae Kilonzo, Aiden Wurdinger-Meyer. 7th Graders: Layce Brandt, Aubrey Dexter-Menke, Kristapher Fernau, Mavrick Hagemann, Aubrea Howard, Chase Klinetobe, Britni Pelan, Mason Schaffer, Gabriel Vigil.
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